We do a lot of singing, not just kid songs, but also invented songs and plenty of classics. A little while ago, I found myself humming a strange little ditty by Arlo Guthrie while I cleaned the dishes after dinner. “I don’t want a pickleJust want to ride on my motorsickleAnd I don’t want a tickle‘Cause […]

Last weekend, we stopped at a fast food place on the way to wherever we were going. They must have had the music on pretty loud in there, because we could hear it blaring out as we pulled up to the pickup window of the drive-through. “Stop in the name of love,before you brea-eak my […]

A few months back, we moved the kids into the same bedroom. It wasn’t really a tough decision. The room N had been in has terrible insulation. When it started getting cold and we discovered the problem, we moved him out of there as quickly as possible. Fitting the two beds into the same room was […]

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 […]

Today’s tale is published in the Seminole Chronicle.Click here to read it. Keywords: shark, pirate, playground, central winds

Some of you have no doubt been thinking, thanks to my previous tale, that I’m incompetent when it comes to administering a time out. Last night, it was my wife’s turn. The little guy put her through the ringer, refusing to put on his pajamas (or allow them to be put on) no matter what […]

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 […]

One evening during these past holidays we had a few friends over. Among them was a little girl who is just about the same age as C. They played together pretty well, with N trailing along after them, while the adults mingled, chatted, and watched a little football. Eventually, however, things broke down. The little […]

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 […]