Last night we had a couple friends over for dinner – no children, just adults. Our kids are getting better and better at being polite during these meals. They interrupt less frequently, listen to what others are saying, and don’t try to monopolize the conversation. But I can tell that it’s hard for them, especially for […]

By now, you probably have discovered that I do a lot of improvisation. Sometimes it works out (like finger love). Other times, it doesn’t (see finger of doom). My most successful, I think, has been Air Five. In case you don’t remember Air Five, it’s a way of “high five”‘ing your child from a distance. […]

Not so very long ago, one of my wife’s friends gave her a recipe for “Beer Bottom Chicken”. Basically, you balance your chicken on an open beer can for roasting. No, I have no idea how or why this is supposed to improve the flavor of a roast chicken. I could understand pouring the beer […]

Stone Mountain has a fantastic ropes course called “The Sky Hike.” It’s three stories tall, with the first level starting about twenty feet off the ground. It’s the sort of thing that gets your pulse racing just to look at, and then doesn’t dissapoint once you’re on it. The only problem is the height requirement, […]

Our six-year old had a birthday party to go to the other day, so I took our five-year old out for lunch as a consolation prize. As we sat in the restaurant eating, Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” started playing on the radio. I, of course, started singing along. “No Daddy!” he said. “Stop […]

Today’s Tale is in the Chronicle. Click here to read it! Terms for Searchers: Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth, Thumb, Power  

Just got back from a camping trip where, among other things, we spent a couple days camping at Stone Mountain. The first morning, I cooked up a quick breakfast (camp eggs) and we set out to climb the mountain. The trail is not overly strenuous at its beginning, but it gets pretty steep. At the top, […]

Back when the summer was just getting started, we had some house guests. More specifically, our guest was my six-year old’s best friend – a girl who had moved out of our neighborhood about a year ago. During the visit, the two reconnected (as they always do) just as though they’d never been apart. This […]

My wife has discovered a new method of bringing the kids into line. It’s from a book called “1 2 3 Magic” and it’s a variation on the old “you better be good before I count to 3″ schtick. Part of the routine, apparently, is that you don’t tell the kids why they’re in trouble. […]

One of the kids’ closest adult friends has a southern twang to her accent. In case you haven’t heard it, it often adds an additional syllable to words. “Well” becomes “Wayell.” “Cat” becomes “Cayat.” My youngest picked up this accent, but shortened it up. Instead of “cat”, he says “kyat”. Actually, it’s almost “Keyat”. Last […]