Parental Equation

Parents + 3 Boys =

(Mom-E + Dad-E) – Sleep – Sanity – Privacy – (Being able to find ANYTHING) – (A moment to sit down and do NOTHING) + Picky Eating + (Unflushed toilets x Dribbles on the floor)^3 + Transformers theme song (ALL DAY LONG) + Mess^3 + Laundry^3

= Love^(infinity)

Have a good weekend,
Busy-Dad-E

And They Called It Puppy Love

(The funny part is that despite it's cuteness, if Little Brother awoke to find Pupp-E snuggled up against him, he'd likely scream bloody murder).

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
Busy-Dad-E

40 Minutes

So the other evening, Mom-E and Dad-E went on a nice little date.

We have some good friends with two boys who are the same ages as Big Brother and Bab-E Brother, and the 5 boys enjoy playing together.  So, from time to time, their boys come over to our house while their parents go out on a date, and vice-versa.

Side note - everyone has a good time when they come over, and Mom-E and I have gotten a glimpse of what it would be like to have 5 boys between the ages of 2 and 7.

*Hold on a minute...I need to go take a nitro.*

(Seriously, the boys are all well behaved, it's just loud, controlled chaos at times.)

Anywho, so Mom-E and I are driving on our date.  We're going to quickly get a sandwich and then catch a movie.

Suddenly, I look at the clock on the dashboard and realize, "We only have 40 minutes to eat and get to the movie!"

Still being in "parent mode", I mentally break down our to-do tasks.  Mom-E and I have 40 minutes to accomplish the following:

1. Get out of the car.

2. Walk into the restaurant.

3. Order our food.

4. Get our food.

5.  Eat our food.

6.  Go to the bathroom.

7.  Walk back to the car.

8.  Get into the car.

9.  Drive to the movie theater (about 5 minutes away).

10.  Park at the movie theater.

11.  Get out of the car (again).

12.  Wait in line for tickets.

13.  Find our theater.

Of course, as you can imagine, Mom-E and I actually breezed through our "to-do" list, with ample time for leisurely, laughable dinner conversation, an extra bathroom break, and enough time to make an extra stop at the grocery store to do all of the weekly shopping.

Okay, so we didn't actually go to the grocery store, but we were not pressed for time.

Apparently, I forgot that when it's just two adults, 40 minutes is an ETERNITY!

Granted, if the boys were with us we'd have to add about 6 more "Go to the bathroom" steps, and a couple more for the eating step, including:

a.  Dance on the tables.

b.  Run around the restaurant screaming like wild monkeys.

I'll clarify that joke by saying I'm just joking.  At least about item (a).

But it's true that what took Mom-E and I 40 minutes probably would've taken us about 2 hours as a family.

And I'm cool with that.

Trust me, a date with Mom-E every now and again is refreshing and relaxing and, well, VERY NECESSARY.

But I still like the joyful chaos.

Have a good week,

Busy-Dad-E

New Family Portrait

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

I love Little Brother's picture!  Very neat to see him make figure drawings that are starting to resemble actual figures.

Just don't be mislead to think that I'm a cross between an insect and a guy walking/hovering on stilts.

And yes, Mom-E really does have 3 arms (that's how she gets so much stuff done).  Either that or it's a tail and she's been captured by the Gatos, too.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,

Busy-Dad-E

Cat Wars

Episode IV: A New Fear (Uncool Cats) 

Episode V: The Gatos Strike Back

It is a dark time for the Busy-Dad-E family.  Although Little Brother sleeps through most of the night, the Gatos have continued to plague the realms of Little Brother's subconscious, and pursued his dreams if he sleeps in his own bed.

Evading dreaded nightmares of the Gatos, Little Brother, led by his blankie, has established a new secret sleeping location in the remote ice world of Mom-E and Dad-E's bed (and sometimes only if Mom-E and Dad-E hold him until he falls asleep - visibly trembling for our comfort - kinda like the guts of that dead Ton-Ton...but I digress).

The evil Gatos, obsessed with finding young Little Brother, have dispatched thousands of little Gatos into the far reaches of Little Brother's neurons...

***
Our scene begins with Little Brother awakening at 5:45 am, screaming bloody murder, as he discovers that the Gatos have captured him from the remote ice world of Mom-E and Dad-E's bed, and transported him back to his own bed, where he is "all alone" (except for his Big Brother in the bed next to him, Mom-E and Dad-E in the remote ice world right down the hall, and Bab-E Brother in the room next door).

Our scene ends with the fact that it's 5:45 am, and it's time for everyone to go back to bed...even if only for 15 more minutes before the alarm goes off.

Have a good (Gato-free) week,
Busy-Dad-E

Uncool Cats

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

Lots of young kids have fears about things like monsters, or ghosts, or the dark.

But lately Little Brother has been afraid of something else ... cats.

Yes, cats.

We don't have a cat.

And he's not afraid of seeing cats outside, or going somewhere with cats.

No, he's actually been afraid about having a dream about cats.

Apparently he had some kind of nightmare about cats recently.  I don't know if they were talking about cats in pre-K, or what else might've brought this up.

But he's been very afraid to sleep alone.  (Which he never does, because Big Brother's bed is in the same room next to his.)

He insists that I sleep with him in his bed.

And I "indulge" in that I'll stay in their room for a few minutes until they fall asleep, but as soon as they're out I'm off to help Mom-E with dishes, laundry, lunch-packing, or picking up the (seemingly) 8 tons of toys littering the playroom.

And in general, Little Brother makes it through most, if not all, of the night in his own bed.

But man, if he wakes up to find me not there, does he go into a screaming tirade that darn near wakes up the whole house.

(Okay, it just wakes me up.  Everyone else is still passed out, fortunately.  And I usually let him join us in our bed for the last hour or two.)

He keeps asking me why I don't stay with him, and I reply with the usual, "I don't fit in your bed...I might roll over and squish you...etc."

Maybe I should suggest that if he wears his Power Ranger costume to bed, he'd be able to ninja fight any cats that might enter his subconscious.

After all, he has said before that he ninja fights chickens.  Why not cats, too?

Have a good weekend,

Stay cool (cat),
I'll be sleeping in my room,
Busy-Dad-E

Magic Carrot

Hello there!

I have a cool video and a funny post to share, but ____
A.  The video wasn't uploading to Blogger.
B.   I was too tired to write last night.
C.  General laziness got in the way.
D.  All of the above.

So, for some random fun, I share this picture.

I've probably eaten 100's of pounds of carrots in my life, but I've never seen one quite like this:

So my question for you is:  This carrot most closely resembles ___
A.  A pair of legs
B.  A bird's bill
C.  Chopsticks
D.  Go get some sleep, Dad-E

Have a good week,
Busy-Dad-E

I Optimus Prime You

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

                          He does look very loving...

Big Brother has never been one to shy away from hugs or affection.

But for some reason, lately, he's decided that he does not like to say "I love you."

He's fine with Mom-E and I saying that to him, but he declines to repeat it.  "I don't want to say it."

I guess now that we're in second grade, that "mushy stuff" is less attractive.

So I asked him if instead of saying "I love you", if he wanted to have a secret "code word" that he can say to mean "I love you."

He liked that idea, and of course being 7 years old, decided without hesitation that the code word should be "Optimus Prime".

So now most every night he tells me "Optimus Prime" before he goes to bed.

By extension, I'll assume if he starts telling me "Megatron" that he's not happy with me about something.

Have a good weekend,
Autobots roll out,
Busy-Dad-E

Conversations with a 2 Year-Old

Talking with a 2 (closer to 3) year-old is just fascinating.  I love the sheer curiosity about everything, the funny phrasing, and the perseveration.

Just a few of the random conversations/comments from Bab-E Brother lately.  And to make it funnier (and more realistic), you have to say Bab-E Brother's parts REALLY LOUD (just 1 notch below screaming) - he has "voice immodulation, loud type", meaning his voice is stuck at this one volume most of the time.

- He loves to ask where EVERYTHING comes from.  TV's, dresser drawers, Dad-E, blinds, you name it.  Now couple that with the fact that, 75% of the time, when he uses the word "They", he really means "I", and you get the following.

"Dad-E, where does Target come from?"

"Oh, they built the store..."

"No THEY didn't!"

"Yes, technically you're correct.  You didn't build the Target store."

- Big Brother and Little Brother were having a debate about fast-food chicken nuggets, and whether they're good for you.  Big Brother was trying to explain that the chicken itself was okay, but that the "fried" part was unhealthy.  Little Brother didn't like this explanation and was arguing.

Suddenly, Bab-E Brother blurts out, "Your Mom-E says that McDonald's chicken nuggets are BAD FOR YOU!"  (Well, at least we know despite his loud voice, that his ears do indeed still function.)

- He was looking at an image of Jesus, and after a moment deep in thought, proclaims, "Jesus is too big to wear jammies."

Never a dull moment around here.  Never a dull moment.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,

Busy-Dad-E

Labor Day 2012

Happy Labor Day 2012!

I hope that you are enjoying time with "you and yours".

Unfortunately, I am laboring day, although I hope to join up with Mom-E and the boys ASAP.

Enjoy this funny post from Labor Day Past.  Fortunately, everyone is healthy today.

Cheers,
Busy-Dad-E