The lack of discipline in alarming!
I've gone on and on here in my blog about how lucky I am to have the family that I do, and that is certainly true now more than ever. I love my wife and kids more than I could ever put into words here in this blog. However, and let's face it, however is just another more fancy way of saying but, over the last week to ten days, my kids have lost their minds! This of course has caused my wife and I to lose our minds as well. In addition, Stacy and I have lost all patience or ability to reason. My kids have gone crazy!!!
I've probably talked about how sometimes it seems that I speak a foreign language, or at least my kids hear me speaking a different tongue. Lately however, it's gotten really bad. There has been a lot of yelling in our house over the last few days. Sure, we took a yelling moratorium on Sydney's birthday, but most days lately are quite hard to take. I know that both of my kids are very intelligent. Shoot, as I mentioned here, Denny is from outer space. Last I checked, it takes a few brain cells to build and operate an intergalactic space ship. Well it's because of this intelligence from my kids that I sometimes feel as though I'm on some version of the old show "Candid Camera." I mean, I have to get after them both for the same things every single day!
An example scenario.
Let me just give you a rundown of what I mean. Today while I was in the living room picking up, Denny was in the kitchen and it was awfully quiet in there. As any parent will attest, that's not a good sign. I go in there, and before I do, I know exactly what is going on. He has opened the stove and is standing on the door so he can reach the cookies that are set to the back of the counter. So, I take him off the stove door, give a two year old the appropriate lecture on how he could hurt himself, he ignored me, and went straight for the living room. So, while I'm cleaning up the mess he made on the counter, I hear a familiar noise from the living room. That noise was Sydney yelling "Come look what Denny did to the TV!" Again, I know what it is he has done, because he did the same thing yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. And, every single days since time began! He has climbed up on the end table and turned off the cable box, opened the now broken DVD player, and has attempted to shove some toy into said DVD player. So, I'm starting the slow burn at this point. I take him down for the dangerously high spot he has found, put him in the chair and again give him the appropriate lecture for a two year old. Again, he ignores me. At this point, I get them up to the table to do some coloring. The same situation plays itself out from the day before. Denny breaks and throws the crayons. Sydney yells at him, walks over to him and tries to wrestle the half-crayon from his hand, resulting in a fist fight that ends with her hair being pulled and him screaming because she has delivered a rather impressive roundhouse right to the side of his skull. So, they get separated and put into the ever effective "Time Out." This is just a small sample of what happens here lately. I didn't even tell you about how the other night I had stopped and gotten them some Chicken McNuggets and the abuse I took for not giving them to him right away. I put them on the counter to cool and told Denny to leave them there. Of course, when I wasn't looking, he tried to take them. I took them from his grubby little hands and told him that I meant it when I said no. I started to wash my hands at the sink when I felt a large object ramming my hip. He had headbutted my hip! When I turned to face my attacker, he lined me up for his attempt at setting the NFL record for longest field goal in the history of the game of football! I managed to avoid the kick, but by this time, my own anger was red lined. He got his little behind swatted and put on the couch for a good ten minutes while the nuggets and I cooled off.
It's my own fault.
I have never been a very disciplined person in my life. I don't mean that I acted up as a child or anything. It's just that I have never instilled in myself the discipline needed to accomplish anything that I wanted to. I have always wanted to teach and coach at the high school level, and I have just never finished my degree despite multiple opportunities. I don't always discipline myself when it comes to the upkeep of our house. Sometimes things don't always get done how they should. So, my point is, how can my kids learn discipline from me if I don't have any myself? How can I expect them to do what I say, when I don't even do what I say I am going to?
I just don't know what to do. I'm trying really hard to get them to mind us, but it's not taking at all. I don't know if they are bored or what. I don't know how they can be bored though, I try and do different things with them all of the time. I am really trying to switch up our everyday routine so that boredom is not an issue. Maybe they are BOTH aliens and have been sent here to test the limits of human patience. Yeah, I think that's it. I am being studied by aliens. It's the most logical explanation.
Okay, I'm done now. Have a great night. See, most people will read that and know that I meant to "have a nice night." To my kids that means "try to run your father into an insane asylum before he's 40!
Sydney & Denny
September at the Park
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
The 5th Birthday!
Yesterday was the big day!
I think that I've mentioned a few(dozen) times that yesterday was my daughter's fifth birthday. I just want to say that it was an amazing day. We started out by eating the exact breakfast she wanted. Pancakes from McDonald's with strawberries and whipped cream. Mommy made it look really cool by making smiley faces with the fruit and cream. Sydney usually isn't a big breakfast girl, but she hoovered her breakfast then. We then spent the day up until it was time to go to school doing exactly what she wanted to do. When she said she wanted to do something, we did it. Now that I think about it, that's not any different than any other day around here. So, her Royal Highness, Princess Sydney allowed us to go to the store and pick up her cake and the cupcakes she was taking to her class. At school they went on a short field trip to the fire station in town, and because it was her birthday, she got to sit in the truck! She was very excited about that. After school it was off to my parents for her party. We had one of her favorite meals for dinner, hot dogs and chips and dip. My wife makes this killer dip(which she got the recipe from my mom, who got it from her mom) that is actually very simple. Cream cheese and milk blended together. Not the most healthy of dishes, but it is so good. My kids eat the heck out it. Shoot, Denny eats it straight without chips. I may have to watch for childhood obesity with that one!
Then it was on to the gifts for Princess Sydney, and that really made me feel amazing. She got quite a few good gifts that had her really excited, but when she opened her gift from Mommy and Daddy, it was like her head was going to explode! To be fair, we are with her all the time and know exactly what she wanted, and she does always get what she wants, so...
I'm such a pushover.
My grandfather always gives the kids on their birthdays whatever cash he may have in his pocket at the time and he came through again with Sydney. Usually its like $5-$10, and she got $8. She wanted to spend it right away, so we went to Wal-Mart before going home. We decided that she would get this one gift she has been asking for that we hadn't gotten her already. It's one of those Pillow Pets. It's a pillow that folds up and looks like a stuffed animal. She wanted the unicorn one, and of course she picked it up right away. We felt that it wouldn't be fair if she got an extra gift and Denny didn't get anything, so he got one too, only a dog. Each one was $20, and with Sydney contributing her eight, we are now on the hook for $32! As we walked around the store she noticed a Barbie doll she has been wanting and that became the object of her obsession immediately. It was also $20. We told her she could only get one thing, and since there was only two unicorns left she should stay with the pillow pet. This led to lots of tears and just utter sadness from her. I tried to reason with her, but she really wanted that Barbie, and the unicorn. I'll bet anyone can guess what happened from here right? Yep, she got both. I can't help it, she's my little girl and if it's at all within my power, she will get anything she wants. I know that I spoil her, but she's mine and I'll deal with the spoiledness when it come up. She is really good about taking no for an answer when the times come up that I have to tell her no due to lack of funds. She seems to kind of get that. I know I talked about her not getting the concept of money in this post but, I think she realizes that when I say we don't have the money for something, it means we can't get it. At that point anyway. She also knows that when we do have the money, she will get her Daddy to buy her anything she wants. There is going to come a time when she wants a car, and I'm screwed. Someone please tell me how to stop being such a pushover with my kids, and my wife for that matter as well.
Anyways, I've included some pictures of the big day here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed living them! Have a great night!
Right after she woke up. She's not a morning person!
Her haul of gifts!
Breakfast with Denny.
My Grandfather, Denny, Sydney and my niece Ava.
Isn't she beautiful?
They do get along sometimes.
And of course, the cake with horses!
I think that I've mentioned a few(dozen) times that yesterday was my daughter's fifth birthday. I just want to say that it was an amazing day. We started out by eating the exact breakfast she wanted. Pancakes from McDonald's with strawberries and whipped cream. Mommy made it look really cool by making smiley faces with the fruit and cream. Sydney usually isn't a big breakfast girl, but she hoovered her breakfast then. We then spent the day up until it was time to go to school doing exactly what she wanted to do. When she said she wanted to do something, we did it. Now that I think about it, that's not any different than any other day around here. So, her Royal Highness, Princess Sydney allowed us to go to the store and pick up her cake and the cupcakes she was taking to her class. At school they went on a short field trip to the fire station in town, and because it was her birthday, she got to sit in the truck! She was very excited about that. After school it was off to my parents for her party. We had one of her favorite meals for dinner, hot dogs and chips and dip. My wife makes this killer dip(which she got the recipe from my mom, who got it from her mom) that is actually very simple. Cream cheese and milk blended together. Not the most healthy of dishes, but it is so good. My kids eat the heck out it. Shoot, Denny eats it straight without chips. I may have to watch for childhood obesity with that one!
Then it was on to the gifts for Princess Sydney, and that really made me feel amazing. She got quite a few good gifts that had her really excited, but when she opened her gift from Mommy and Daddy, it was like her head was going to explode! To be fair, we are with her all the time and know exactly what she wanted, and she does always get what she wants, so...
I'm such a pushover.
My grandfather always gives the kids on their birthdays whatever cash he may have in his pocket at the time and he came through again with Sydney. Usually its like $5-$10, and she got $8. She wanted to spend it right away, so we went to Wal-Mart before going home. We decided that she would get this one gift she has been asking for that we hadn't gotten her already. It's one of those Pillow Pets. It's a pillow that folds up and looks like a stuffed animal. She wanted the unicorn one, and of course she picked it up right away. We felt that it wouldn't be fair if she got an extra gift and Denny didn't get anything, so he got one too, only a dog. Each one was $20, and with Sydney contributing her eight, we are now on the hook for $32! As we walked around the store she noticed a Barbie doll she has been wanting and that became the object of her obsession immediately. It was also $20. We told her she could only get one thing, and since there was only two unicorns left she should stay with the pillow pet. This led to lots of tears and just utter sadness from her. I tried to reason with her, but she really wanted that Barbie, and the unicorn. I'll bet anyone can guess what happened from here right? Yep, she got both. I can't help it, she's my little girl and if it's at all within my power, she will get anything she wants. I know that I spoil her, but she's mine and I'll deal with the spoiledness when it come up. She is really good about taking no for an answer when the times come up that I have to tell her no due to lack of funds. She seems to kind of get that. I know I talked about her not getting the concept of money in this post but, I think she realizes that when I say we don't have the money for something, it means we can't get it. At that point anyway. She also knows that when we do have the money, she will get her Daddy to buy her anything she wants. There is going to come a time when she wants a car, and I'm screwed. Someone please tell me how to stop being such a pushover with my kids, and my wife for that matter as well.
Anyways, I've included some pictures of the big day here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed living them! Have a great night!
And of course, the cake with horses!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
I'm a little off of my game!
My blog topic for today.
When I sat down at the computer tonight to type up my blog post, I had this topic that I had been running through my head all day long. I had worked out just about everything I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. I even started typing it up. Then I realized that I'm kind of an idiot sometimes. The whole topic I had in mind was just not something that was really that interesting. I was kind of bored with my thoughts, so how in the heck can I expect anyone else to want to read it?
Sydney gets to dominate this post.
I'm going to just let my daughter and her artistic ability do the talking for me tonight on the eve of her fifth birthday.
These are some of her latest art projects from both home and at school. I think she's starting to do really well with this sort of stuff. She is starting to stay in the lines when she colors, and since I still can't do that, I'm fairly impressed.
Her birthday.
Like I mentioned, tomorrow is her fifth birthday. I just can't believe that it's been five years already. It's amazing how fast time really does fly. It has gone even faster since she was born and then when her brother came along as well. I'm really trying to appreciate the time that we are in right now. The kids will only be this age once, so I want to enjoy it. There is going to come a time when they are too cool for their dorky day. That might be the case now, but that's okay.
I'll have some pictures tomorrow night of her birthday party at my parents, so look forward to that. And, I'll have my game back to give you some funny, interesting, insightful material to read. Until then however, have a great night!
When I sat down at the computer tonight to type up my blog post, I had this topic that I had been running through my head all day long. I had worked out just about everything I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. I even started typing it up. Then I realized that I'm kind of an idiot sometimes. The whole topic I had in mind was just not something that was really that interesting. I was kind of bored with my thoughts, so how in the heck can I expect anyone else to want to read it?
Sydney gets to dominate this post.
I'm going to just let my daughter and her artistic ability do the talking for me tonight on the eve of her fifth birthday.
These are some of her latest art projects from both home and at school. I think she's starting to do really well with this sort of stuff. She is starting to stay in the lines when she colors, and since I still can't do that, I'm fairly impressed.
Her birthday.
Like I mentioned, tomorrow is her fifth birthday. I just can't believe that it's been five years already. It's amazing how fast time really does fly. It has gone even faster since she was born and then when her brother came along as well. I'm really trying to appreciate the time that we are in right now. The kids will only be this age once, so I want to enjoy it. There is going to come a time when they are too cool for their dorky day. That might be the case now, but that's okay.
I'll have some pictures tomorrow night of her birthday party at my parents, so look forward to that. And, I'll have my game back to give you some funny, interesting, insightful material to read. Until then however, have a great night!
Monday, November 8, 2010
I think my son is an alien!
He must be from outer space.
I swear my son, who is again only two, is not from this planet. I have often thought that he was a little crazy, or a bit of a little dufus. I have however decided that I was wrong. He has to be from somewhere other than the planet Earth. There are things that he does that just make me shake my head. I love that little boy more than I can put into words here. However, I sometimes have to wonder if my DNA could produce a child that behaves the way he does.
Walking with him.
I have noticed that when I walk with him anywhere, it's like when Elliot and his brother took ET Trick-or-Treating with them. They had poor ET under that sheet like he was a ghost, and the little guy was walking all over the place. Elliot had to lead him from place to place. It's like that with Denny. I have to hold his hand obviously, but while I do, his attention wanders. It's like he sees something shiny and is drawn to it. It might be a stick on the ground, or a piece of paper on the floor of the supermarket, or a cat down the sidewalk from our house. The point is, he doesn't ever just walk with me from Point A to Point B. I don't remember his sister being like this when she was his age. He must be from Planet Dufus or something.
He's indestructible.
Over the course of this weekend he has fallen about 273 times and only has a small scratch under his right arm that is even halfway serious. Sure, his legs each have about nine bruises each, but for what has taken place this weekend, he's doing pretty good. With the amount and severity of some of his falls, you would think he's be in traction or dead or something. If it were me that had taken a couple of, or even one of, his falls, it would take an ambulance to come get me before I moved again.
Let me run down a couple of his falls for you. First, and most serious, is the one at Toys 'R' Us on Saturday night. This is the fall that I could see happening but couldn't do anything to stop. It is also the one that made me sure that I was going to be spending time in the ER very soon. We had gone to TRU(the shortened version of the store name, because that's a lot of typing. Probably not as much as the explanation, but you get my point,) to look at toys so we could have ideas for Sydney's birthday and the upcoming Christmas holiday. We were just looking and not buying, the kids had had that made very clear to them. That didn't stop them from reacting as if they had walked into the magical land of Oz. There was a lot of squealing, and "Can I have this Daddy?" going on. However, for the most part, they were both very good. I don't do well in stores after being there for a while. I think I get it from my Dad(sorry Mom, and Stacy, I seem to be a lot like the man.) I was starting to get impatient, we had been there for almost an hour. Well, to get to the point, Denny leaned a little too far out of the cart while reaching for a toy on the shelf and went head over heals out of the cart. He literally did a flip and landed with the front of his head hitting the cement floor. We scooped him right up, and I think he was more scared than anything, because he doesn't even have a bump on his head. I'm telling you; alien.
Then he was standing in his chair at dinner(despite several "requests" that he sit down) and just fell straight down the front of the chair and under the table. He cried a little, but was fine. For good measure, he did the same thing at tonight's dinner. He also stood on a small scooter we have in our basement and fell off from that. That is of course, on top of the number of falls he takes as a "normal" two year old. I'm telling you the kid could be just walking along in the house and fall for no reason! I think he has trouble with our gravity here on earth! There is no way someone could take the falls he takes and not be hurt without having some sort of special protectant. Like an alien skeleton. Maybe he draws his ability to withstand injury from our sun like Superman got his strength. Maybe the air here on earth gives him super solid bones, I don't know. I just know that he can not keep falling like he does without getting hurt!!! It's going to lead to his father being proven to be very human! The gray hairs he has given me will be nothing compared to the cardiac event I'm sure to have the next time he stands on the end table and lets himself fall backwards like he's doing the "Nestea Plunge" onto the couch! I'm telling you, he's from somewhere else.
So this picture above shows him at one of his rare calm moments. Seriously though, how can someone be this cute and be from Earth?
Really, I hope that someday he reads this and realizes just how much his Daddy loves him. Actually, I hope that I do a good enough job of making sure he knows how much I love him that reading this just reinforces it for him.
As always have a great night and see you tomorrow.
One last thing.
I did have my heart ripped from my chest this afternoon, and it hurt really bad. My Detroit Lions played an excellent game for about 58 minutes, then blew up and became the same old Lions for the last two minutes. The coaches made a couple of really bad decisions that basically was the turning point of the game. So instead of being on a winning streak for the first time in what feels like eons, they lost again. They had a chance to beat one of the better teams in the NFL, but instead ended up making me scream and throw things again. Why do I put myself through this every season? Oh well, Duke basketball starts in one week! I can't wait!
I swear my son, who is again only two, is not from this planet. I have often thought that he was a little crazy, or a bit of a little dufus. I have however decided that I was wrong. He has to be from somewhere other than the planet Earth. There are things that he does that just make me shake my head. I love that little boy more than I can put into words here. However, I sometimes have to wonder if my DNA could produce a child that behaves the way he does.
I have noticed that when I walk with him anywhere, it's like when Elliot and his brother took ET Trick-or-Treating with them. They had poor ET under that sheet like he was a ghost, and the little guy was walking all over the place. Elliot had to lead him from place to place. It's like that with Denny. I have to hold his hand obviously, but while I do, his attention wanders. It's like he sees something shiny and is drawn to it. It might be a stick on the ground, or a piece of paper on the floor of the supermarket, or a cat down the sidewalk from our house. The point is, he doesn't ever just walk with me from Point A to Point B. I don't remember his sister being like this when she was his age. He must be from Planet Dufus or something.
He's indestructible.
Over the course of this weekend he has fallen about 273 times and only has a small scratch under his right arm that is even halfway serious. Sure, his legs each have about nine bruises each, but for what has taken place this weekend, he's doing pretty good. With the amount and severity of some of his falls, you would think he's be in traction or dead or something. If it were me that had taken a couple of, or even one of, his falls, it would take an ambulance to come get me before I moved again.
Let me run down a couple of his falls for you. First, and most serious, is the one at Toys 'R' Us on Saturday night. This is the fall that I could see happening but couldn't do anything to stop. It is also the one that made me sure that I was going to be spending time in the ER very soon. We had gone to TRU(the shortened version of the store name, because that's a lot of typing. Probably not as much as the explanation, but you get my point,) to look at toys so we could have ideas for Sydney's birthday and the upcoming Christmas holiday. We were just looking and not buying, the kids had had that made very clear to them. That didn't stop them from reacting as if they had walked into the magical land of Oz. There was a lot of squealing, and "Can I have this Daddy?" going on. However, for the most part, they were both very good. I don't do well in stores after being there for a while. I think I get it from my Dad(sorry Mom, and Stacy, I seem to be a lot like the man.) I was starting to get impatient, we had been there for almost an hour. Well, to get to the point, Denny leaned a little too far out of the cart while reaching for a toy on the shelf and went head over heals out of the cart. He literally did a flip and landed with the front of his head hitting the cement floor. We scooped him right up, and I think he was more scared than anything, because he doesn't even have a bump on his head. I'm telling you; alien.
Then he was standing in his chair at dinner(despite several "requests" that he sit down) and just fell straight down the front of the chair and under the table. He cried a little, but was fine. For good measure, he did the same thing at tonight's dinner. He also stood on a small scooter we have in our basement and fell off from that. That is of course, on top of the number of falls he takes as a "normal" two year old. I'm telling you the kid could be just walking along in the house and fall for no reason! I think he has trouble with our gravity here on earth! There is no way someone could take the falls he takes and not be hurt without having some sort of special protectant. Like an alien skeleton. Maybe he draws his ability to withstand injury from our sun like Superman got his strength. Maybe the air here on earth gives him super solid bones, I don't know. I just know that he can not keep falling like he does without getting hurt!!! It's going to lead to his father being proven to be very human! The gray hairs he has given me will be nothing compared to the cardiac event I'm sure to have the next time he stands on the end table and lets himself fall backwards like he's doing the "Nestea Plunge" onto the couch! I'm telling you, he's from somewhere else.
Really, I hope that someday he reads this and realizes just how much his Daddy loves him. Actually, I hope that I do a good enough job of making sure he knows how much I love him that reading this just reinforces it for him.
As always have a great night and see you tomorrow.
One last thing.
I did have my heart ripped from my chest this afternoon, and it hurt really bad. My Detroit Lions played an excellent game for about 58 minutes, then blew up and became the same old Lions for the last two minutes. The coaches made a couple of really bad decisions that basically was the turning point of the game. So instead of being on a winning streak for the first time in what feels like eons, they lost again. They had a chance to beat one of the better teams in the NFL, but instead ended up making me scream and throw things again. Why do I put myself through this every season? Oh well, Duke basketball starts in one week! I can't wait!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Daylight Savings
Really, why?
So tonight in my part of the country, we observe the end of daylight savings time. We turn our clocks back an hour at 2am. I guess I just don't understand why we do this. I know the explanation that it gives the farmers more daylight in the summer to do their work. That's all nice and good, but did anyone think about how it's going to affect me? I didn't think so. Does anyone realize what the time change is going to do to my kids? We are getting an extra hour of sleep tonight. Yeah right! My kids will still sleep the same amount of time as usual. Their little body clocks are not programmed with a snooze button just yet. When they wake up, it doesn't matter what time it is, they get up out of bed. And since it's not really good parenting to just let a 4 year old and a 2 year old run around your house unattended by adults, I have to turn off my own body clock and get up. It's one of the many joys of parenting you're not told about when you fantasize about becoming a parent.
An insane time of day!
So, what all of this means is that in the morning when my kids reach their sufficient amount of sleep, they will get up at an insane time of day. I'm sure they will be up about 5am or something stupid like that on a Sunday morning. Of course that's not the real problem though. Where it becomes a problem is tomorrow night. They are going to be tired at the time of day that is their usual bed time, which is usually around 8pm. Of course that will now be 7pm, and I'm not letting my kids go to bed that early. So, there will be plenty of whining, and fighting and bickering and moaning about that time. And, that's just from my wife and I. The kids will probably be cranky as well! HaHa, I made a funny joke!
So, if you don't see a post from me tomorrow, don't be surprised. I'll probably be sitting in front of the TV with the NFL Sunday night game on. Of course, I'll be asleep snoring so loud the neighbors call the cops, but that's okay too.
Have a good night, and don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour before bed tonight. IF you live in the area of the country that does that. If you don't live in this part of the country, please don't turn your clock back an hour, and then blame me when you're late for everything tomorrow or Monday. It's not my fault!
So tonight in my part of the country, we observe the end of daylight savings time. We turn our clocks back an hour at 2am. I guess I just don't understand why we do this. I know the explanation that it gives the farmers more daylight in the summer to do their work. That's all nice and good, but did anyone think about how it's going to affect me? I didn't think so. Does anyone realize what the time change is going to do to my kids? We are getting an extra hour of sleep tonight. Yeah right! My kids will still sleep the same amount of time as usual. Their little body clocks are not programmed with a snooze button just yet. When they wake up, it doesn't matter what time it is, they get up out of bed. And since it's not really good parenting to just let a 4 year old and a 2 year old run around your house unattended by adults, I have to turn off my own body clock and get up. It's one of the many joys of parenting you're not told about when you fantasize about becoming a parent.
An insane time of day!
So, what all of this means is that in the morning when my kids reach their sufficient amount of sleep, they will get up at an insane time of day. I'm sure they will be up about 5am or something stupid like that on a Sunday morning. Of course that's not the real problem though. Where it becomes a problem is tomorrow night. They are going to be tired at the time of day that is their usual bed time, which is usually around 8pm. Of course that will now be 7pm, and I'm not letting my kids go to bed that early. So, there will be plenty of whining, and fighting and bickering and moaning about that time. And, that's just from my wife and I. The kids will probably be cranky as well! HaHa, I made a funny joke!
So, if you don't see a post from me tomorrow, don't be surprised. I'll probably be sitting in front of the TV with the NFL Sunday night game on. Of course, I'll be asleep snoring so loud the neighbors call the cops, but that's okay too.
Have a good night, and don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour before bed tonight. IF you live in the area of the country that does that. If you don't live in this part of the country, please don't turn your clock back an hour, and then blame me when you're late for everything tomorrow or Monday. It's not my fault!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Learning the meaning of money.
A chance to teach something important.
I've probably mentioned that my daughter has a birthday coming up real soon. It's this coming Tuesday in fact. She turns five, and I can't believe it's been five years since I became a father. It seems like time has actually flown faster than I can ever remember it doing. I am still surprised that with as big of a nervous wreck that I was, the hospital actually let me take her home! I guess it's because my wife was with me, and her mothering instincts are second to no one's. Anyhow, where I was going with this is that she has started receiving some birthday cards in the mail. There was one from my wife's Aunt and Uncle that included a ten dollar check for the little girl to buy herself a present with. It was made out to my wife because they don't usually let young children cash checks, but it was for Sydney nonetheless. This gave me the thought that I could start teaching her the lesson of the value of money. Now, seeing how I have never really had money, or been good with the money that I have had, maybe I'm not the right person to be teaching her this lesson. But, I am her father so I guess I should give it a try.
She thinks you "buy" money!
Well, my wife cashed the check and promptly gave Sydney two crisp five dollar bills. She said "I have two dollars!" We had to tell her that the fives on the bills meant that they were worth five dollars. She has learned enough about math that she knew that added up to ten dollars. We had told her that she could go to the store and buy herself whatever she wanted and that if it went a little over her $10, Mom and Dad would pay for the rest. She said she wanted to buy "Toy Story 3." That was fine, it's only about $15, so we were fine with paying the rest. I knew the little boy would watch it as well, and my wife and I both enjoy all of the "Toy Story" films, so it was a good purchase.
While we were on the way to the store, I had her hold her money and told her not to take it out of her pocket until we paid for her movie. She told me she didn't want to give up her "dollars" and wanted to keep them forever. I guess that's good, but it's not the lesson I was going for. I wanted her to learn that we can purchase items in exchange for the money. I think it confuses her that more often than not, we use our debit cards to purchase things. So, she thinks you just swipe a card and you get stuff. Anyway, after agreeing to part with her "dollars" in order to get her movie, she asked me if I could "buy her some more money for her birthday?" I don't think my lesson is sinking in quite yet.
My daughter hates it whenever I have left the house to go to work. To the point that when she was just two years old and I worked for Coke, she tried to get me to take my work shirt off and stay home with her one day when I had stopped home for lunch. Well, I have explained to her that you have to work in order to get money to buy her toys. It was the only way I could think of to explain it to her young mind as to why Mommy and Daddy had to go to work and not always stay home with her. Now that I was, until recently, an employee of Wal-Mart, and my wife works in the vision center at Wal-Mart, and we do 90% or our shopping at Wal-Mart, she thinks we go there to "buy" our money as well as everything else. She thinks the only reason we go to the local Meijer's store is to ride the 1 cent mechanical horse! Both of my kids love that thing, and it's been around since I was a kid! So, I think she thinks that Wal-Mart is where all of the money and good are! I guess she's right in some degree, but I think she might be too young to understand completely the lesson I was going for. Or, the possibility exists that I don't know how to teach it!
Does anybody have any good ideas on how to get this lesson across to a five year old? If so, I would love to hear any suggestions. I would love to be able to teach my kids to better value money than their father has. Because I can go through money like nobodys business. I have never learned how to save it with any consistency, and it would be nice to learn that myself.
Thanks again, and have a great weekend.
Weekend football predictions.
I would like to put out a major prediction for this weekend's games. I am picking my Detroit Lions to shock everybody and beat the New York Jets by a score of 27-17. Take it to the bank, with a least 10% certainty.
Also, I am picking both UM and MSU to win big on Saturday.
I've probably mentioned that my daughter has a birthday coming up real soon. It's this coming Tuesday in fact. She turns five, and I can't believe it's been five years since I became a father. It seems like time has actually flown faster than I can ever remember it doing. I am still surprised that with as big of a nervous wreck that I was, the hospital actually let me take her home! I guess it's because my wife was with me, and her mothering instincts are second to no one's. Anyhow, where I was going with this is that she has started receiving some birthday cards in the mail. There was one from my wife's Aunt and Uncle that included a ten dollar check for the little girl to buy herself a present with. It was made out to my wife because they don't usually let young children cash checks, but it was for Sydney nonetheless. This gave me the thought that I could start teaching her the lesson of the value of money. Now, seeing how I have never really had money, or been good with the money that I have had, maybe I'm not the right person to be teaching her this lesson. But, I am her father so I guess I should give it a try.
She thinks you "buy" money!
Well, my wife cashed the check and promptly gave Sydney two crisp five dollar bills. She said "I have two dollars!" We had to tell her that the fives on the bills meant that they were worth five dollars. She has learned enough about math that she knew that added up to ten dollars. We had told her that she could go to the store and buy herself whatever she wanted and that if it went a little over her $10, Mom and Dad would pay for the rest. She said she wanted to buy "Toy Story 3." That was fine, it's only about $15, so we were fine with paying the rest. I knew the little boy would watch it as well, and my wife and I both enjoy all of the "Toy Story" films, so it was a good purchase.
While we were on the way to the store, I had her hold her money and told her not to take it out of her pocket until we paid for her movie. She told me she didn't want to give up her "dollars" and wanted to keep them forever. I guess that's good, but it's not the lesson I was going for. I wanted her to learn that we can purchase items in exchange for the money. I think it confuses her that more often than not, we use our debit cards to purchase things. So, she thinks you just swipe a card and you get stuff. Anyway, after agreeing to part with her "dollars" in order to get her movie, she asked me if I could "buy her some more money for her birthday?" I don't think my lesson is sinking in quite yet.
My daughter hates it whenever I have left the house to go to work. To the point that when she was just two years old and I worked for Coke, she tried to get me to take my work shirt off and stay home with her one day when I had stopped home for lunch. Well, I have explained to her that you have to work in order to get money to buy her toys. It was the only way I could think of to explain it to her young mind as to why Mommy and Daddy had to go to work and not always stay home with her. Now that I was, until recently, an employee of Wal-Mart, and my wife works in the vision center at Wal-Mart, and we do 90% or our shopping at Wal-Mart, she thinks we go there to "buy" our money as well as everything else. She thinks the only reason we go to the local Meijer's store is to ride the 1 cent mechanical horse! Both of my kids love that thing, and it's been around since I was a kid! So, I think she thinks that Wal-Mart is where all of the money and good are! I guess she's right in some degree, but I think she might be too young to understand completely the lesson I was going for. Or, the possibility exists that I don't know how to teach it!
Does anybody have any good ideas on how to get this lesson across to a five year old? If so, I would love to hear any suggestions. I would love to be able to teach my kids to better value money than their father has. Because I can go through money like nobodys business. I have never learned how to save it with any consistency, and it would be nice to learn that myself.
Thanks again, and have a great weekend.
Weekend football predictions.
I would like to put out a major prediction for this weekend's games. I am picking my Detroit Lions to shock everybody and beat the New York Jets by a score of 27-17. Take it to the bank, with a least 10% certainty.
Also, I am picking both UM and MSU to win big on Saturday.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Letting myself go!
My SAHD uniform.
So as you can see from the picture I've included, I'm not in what you would call the best of shape. I've never been "ripped" but there was a time before when I looked a lot better than what I do now. In my defense though, I was a lot younger then. I have definitely let myself go! And the worst part about it is, the picture above shows what has amounted to my SAHD uniform. I wear just about the same thing every day. Not the same shirt, but a lot of times I wear a rotation of about two or three pairs of shorts. I do wear two different pair of running pants when I leave the house(which is mostly to take my daughter to, or pick her up from school. I make myself presentable, but let's just say, I've looked better. I shower regularly, so I don't stink or anything like that. It's just that I think that subconsciously I've decided that since I stay at home most of the time, what's the point?
How about being around for my kids?
It has occurred to me that perhaps I should start to take better care of myself for the simple reason that I want to be around for my kids. The path I'm currently on is leading to an early grave. I don't know about you, but I'd like very much to not have that happen. Now, I've stated all of this before in previous posts, but I think I've hit rock bottom! I feel horrible. I have to drag myself out of bed each morning because I'm still tired. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I don't sleep well, probably because I don't do anything during the day to physically tire myself out. I walk with the kids most days, and I play at the park with them, but that's not much of a workout at all. My eating habits are in a word; abysmal. Unless you consider Keebler Peanut Butter Cup cookies a health food. I love those things. Also, I don't think Pepsi at a rate of a two liter every 24 hours is considered "healthy." I love my kids and I want to be able to play with them without having to rest every couple of minutes because I'm so out of breath. I want my wife to look at me and not see this guy.
I also mentioned in my last post the singer/songwriter Michael Jackson, and well he had a song that is fitting for what I feel right now.
Time for a change!
I know that Michael Jackson's song wasn't about physical fitness, but rather changing the world one person at a time. However, I am going to take the name of the song to heart and make some changes in the way I live my life. I would like to be a SAHD for a lot longer. I don't want to keel over due to heart failure because my arteries are so clogged no blood can pump through my body. That is why I am making it known here on my blog that it's time to start making that change. I would like each and every person who reads this to be my personal trainers. Keep on my sorry behind to do something each and every day in terms of a workout. Make sure I'm staying on the diet I have planned for myself. And for goodness sakes if you know me personally and you see me in the store and I have Peanut Butter Cup cookies in my cart; beat me to a fat bloody pulp!
Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed my rant once again.
Have a great day.
So as you can see from the picture I've included, I'm not in what you would call the best of shape. I've never been "ripped" but there was a time before when I looked a lot better than what I do now. In my defense though, I was a lot younger then. I have definitely let myself go! And the worst part about it is, the picture above shows what has amounted to my SAHD uniform. I wear just about the same thing every day. Not the same shirt, but a lot of times I wear a rotation of about two or three pairs of shorts. I do wear two different pair of running pants when I leave the house(which is mostly to take my daughter to, or pick her up from school. I make myself presentable, but let's just say, I've looked better. I shower regularly, so I don't stink or anything like that. It's just that I think that subconsciously I've decided that since I stay at home most of the time, what's the point?
How about being around for my kids?
It has occurred to me that perhaps I should start to take better care of myself for the simple reason that I want to be around for my kids. The path I'm currently on is leading to an early grave. I don't know about you, but I'd like very much to not have that happen. Now, I've stated all of this before in previous posts, but I think I've hit rock bottom! I feel horrible. I have to drag myself out of bed each morning because I'm still tired. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I don't sleep well, probably because I don't do anything during the day to physically tire myself out. I walk with the kids most days, and I play at the park with them, but that's not much of a workout at all. My eating habits are in a word; abysmal. Unless you consider Keebler Peanut Butter Cup cookies a health food. I love those things. Also, I don't think Pepsi at a rate of a two liter every 24 hours is considered "healthy." I love my kids and I want to be able to play with them without having to rest every couple of minutes because I'm so out of breath. I want my wife to look at me and not see this guy.
I also mentioned in my last post the singer/songwriter Michael Jackson, and well he had a song that is fitting for what I feel right now.
Time for a change!
I know that Michael Jackson's song wasn't about physical fitness, but rather changing the world one person at a time. However, I am going to take the name of the song to heart and make some changes in the way I live my life. I would like to be a SAHD for a lot longer. I don't want to keel over due to heart failure because my arteries are so clogged no blood can pump through my body. That is why I am making it known here on my blog that it's time to start making that change. I would like each and every person who reads this to be my personal trainers. Keep on my sorry behind to do something each and every day in terms of a workout. Make sure I'm staying on the diet I have planned for myself. And for goodness sakes if you know me personally and you see me in the store and I have Peanut Butter Cup cookies in my cart; beat me to a fat bloody pulp!
Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed my rant once again.
Have a great day.
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