Last Sunday started out as pretty much the perfect day for us. After church, we hit a local park for a couple of hours. Then we met Nana and Grampa at a restaurant for a leisurely lunch. By the time we got home, we were all ready for naps. All of us except C, of […]

This past weekend, the kids went to a birthday party with J. When they returned, they had huge inflatable swords. The things were about four feet long – taller than either of the kids. We inflated them, of course, and had ourselves a battle. I was a Giant with a shield (pillow) and a rather scary […]

Due to one reason or another, the kids took overly long naps the other day. This seems like a good thing, but it’s not. It always leads to a very difficult bedtime. This time was no exception. C simply wasn’t sleepy. After being put to bed, he kept re-emerging with new reasons why he had to stay […]

C’s gymnastics class ended a couple of weeks ago with a show for the parents. The kids performed routines, showed us how they used the equipment, and so forth. It was, in essence, a chance for the kids to show off. This was a great idea for everyone but C. The problem, you see, is […]

A year or so ago, I had to have a serious talk with my oldest (who was three years old at the time). He and his little brother (who was around 18 months old) were fighting rather regularly, and I was worried that he was going to seriously hurt the little guy by mistake. It happened after […]

I’m starting to think that maybe time-out isn’t such a great punishment, after all. It generally works pretty well, but when it doesn’t, it really doesn’t. You may remember this little episode. Well, the other night I found myself in another tough spot. N didn’t want to go to bed. I mean he really didn’t […]

The kids and I have been playing a fair amount of hide and seek. They’re still figuring out that whole “hide” thing, preferring to jump out at me as I look for them, but it’s still a lot of fun. When I hide, I often end up calling out “Where’s Daddy?” very loudly to keep […]

During our first go round with potty training, we quickly came to the realization that cleaning a training potty is a truly unpleasant job. In fact, I only did it once before heading out to the store to by a kid seat that fit on the regular toilet. Flushing is infinitely preferable to scrubbing. Kids […]

The other day, about halfway through the process of hanging Christmas lights on the roof, I learned a very important lesson. It happened as I was balancing on the peak of the roof. The sun was disappearing over the horizon, but I really wanted to finish. Looking around, I realized that I was surrounded by […]

I’m not really fond of heights. In fact, you could say that I’m downright scared of them. Over the years, I’ve tried pretty hard to overcome this little problem with the appropriate outdoor activities: skiing, mountain climbing, rock climbing, roller coasters, etc. It has, for the most part, worked. I’m still scared of heights, but […]