Both the boys are really into pretend play. They are always turning blocks into people, pillows into trains, or otherwise converting the toys they have into pretend versions of real things. One toy that they don’t convert is their plastic toy cash register. It’s a cool little thing with a real scanner on it. You […]

C loves Sprite. Whenever we’re at a restaurant, that’s one of the first things he asks for. We don’t usually give it to him, of course, but he always asks. In fact, he and his brother are curious about pretty much everything that adults drink. The other day when we went out for pizza, instead of […]

Today’s tale is in the Chronicle. It is easily the “quietest” tale I’ve ever written and uses a different style than what I usually do. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know either way, though. I always appreciate the feedback! Click Here to Read It Words for Searchers: Black Hammock, Alligators, Margaritaville

One of our birthday traditions for the kids is a trip to the Magic Kingdom at Disney. C’s trip (he just turned 5) started out a little rocky. The big guy was acting strangely all morning. When we talked about what rides we were going to do, he was quiet. When we talked about things that […]

“It’s hard being five.” That was C’s opening line to me at breakfast this morning. He turned five years old last week, and apparently was finding it a bit tougher than he’d expected. “Oh yeah?” I asked, “Why?” “Yellow stickers and green stickers and red stickers… Oh yeah. It’s hard being five.” His kindergarten readiness […]

N is three years old now, and resisting naps with all his might. The other day the two of us were home alone, around his usual nap time. I was pushing him on the swing and his little eyes were drooping closed so much that I was worried he was going to fall of the […]

From my kids’ point of view, much of my work consists of me sitting at my computer and typing. There’s no need for them to differentiate between spreadsheets, e-mails, word processing, coding, or any of the rest of it. To them, it’s just daddy sitting at a computer and typing. The other day, my wife and […]

School started up again last week for C. For kids in pre-K, this is a time of lots of adjustments. New friends, new teachers, less free time… all that fun stuff. After work on Monday, I both wanted to hear how his first day went, and wanted to get some playtime in with him. I figured he […]

C started school again this past week. He’s in what they call a “kindergarten readiness” class – meaning he’s repeating pre-K. I was horrified when this idea was first suggested, but I was eventually brought around. He was born two days before the cut-off, meaning he was destined to be either the youngest in his […]

Generally, when we go out to eat with the kids they drink either lemonade or milk. They rarely want water and we don’t let them have soda too often. When we go to a restaurant that doesn’t have lemonade, things get a little tricky.  I was at such a place with my youngest a couple […]