An Extravaganza of Pumpkins and Tape

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

I hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Mom-E and I very much enjoyed ourselves, more so than in years past.

Perhaps this is because all small men were eager to ambulate and carry
their own Trick-or-Treat baskets (at least until the very end.)

This enabled Mom-E and I to just sit back and enjoy the boys in all of
their giddy excitement.

The boys made for an exciting entourage of superheros, dressing as
Iron Man (Big Brother), the Flash (Little Brother), and Robin (sans mask-
Bab-E Brother).

Big Brother wore the Dark Helmet-esque talking light up Iron Man mask
that was a favorite present from Aunt-E last Christmas.

Little Brother looked like a mini-Sheldon dressed as Flash.

And Bab-E Brother is just plain stinkin' cute.  Truth be told, he really
didn't even want to wear a costume, but a last-minute diaper change and
seeing his Halloween bucket proved to be enough of a distraction to
put a costume on before he had a chance to protest too much and try to
take it off.

And while Halloween was a great time for all, I'm not so sure that Mom-E
and I feel the same post-Halloween.

You know - the CONSTANT begging and whining for Halloween candy,
that if left to their own devices, would constitute about 95% of the boys'
diet the first week of November.

So, Mom-E and I have insituted a "one piece after lunch and one after dinner"
policy, as well as a "token economy."

That's right, negative behaviors mean that Mom-E and Dad-E confiscate a
piece of Halloween candy, and being extra helpful can earn them back.
So far, it seems to be a helpful motivator - at least after the boys figured out
we meant business and they lost about 10 pieces in a span of a 20-minute
dinnertime meltdown.

That's neat.  Yeah, fun.  Neat.  Neat.  Good times.

And of course no Halloween would be complete without...
PUMPKIN CARVING!

If your kids are like mine, there's tremendous excitement about selecting a
giant pumpkin and talking about carving it up...

...until, that is, it actually comes time to do the carving.

At which point, the crowd murmurs something about the pumpkin smelling
bad, the pumpkin guts being gross, and "hey Dad-E, we're going to go
outside and swing while you freeze on the porch and carve the pumpkin
for us."

Thanks, loads.

However, in an attempt to satisfy the hunger of our Transformer-obsessed
beasts, I we opted to go for a Deceptacon pumpkin this year.  I was a little
leery about the associated level of difficulty, but this pumpkin carving hack
was pretty pleased with the result.

But the pumpkin obsession didn't end there.

No, the boys were adamant that we needed to get some kind of inflatable
Halloween decoration this year, and even offered to chip in some of their
pennies to assist.

Little Brother was delusional was certain that Mom-E had already ordered
a large inflatable BOO sign, when, in fact, they had just perused.

So, after much politeness, comments about how practical such a
decoration would be, how nice the house would look, Mom-E and I
caved and I took the boys to Wally World to pick something out.

Yep, we ended up with a 9 foot tall inflatable stack of pumpkins.

(It was either that or the $98 15 foot stack of ghosts, and my wallet felt
a little light.)

Fortunately, being 2 days before Halloween, the inflatable was 25% off,
so not too bad of a deal, and the boys were THRILLED.

I mean genuinely THRILLED.  Like Christmas level excitement thrilled.
Like actually willing to HELP set it up thrilled (and by help, I don't mean
run around the yard and play while Mom-E and Dad-E do all the work).

You might be asking yourself, "What's that white box atop the pumpkin 

inflatable?"

Well, that's Little Brother's new "piggy bank."

Yes, you heard me right.  

Little Brother, who is more obsessed with coins that that mummy from

the long-ago Scooby Doo episode...

(Coin! Coin! Coin!)

...decided to tape this white box to the top of the pumpkin inflatable

box, which happens to be just big enough to fit all of his pennies.

All I can say is, "That boy's got creative style.  And a black belt in

tape."

Lord help us when he discovers duct tape.

Have a good weekend,

Busy-Dad-E

The Cool Thing About Boys

Is that while they're in the bathroom, looking at the walls (instead of where they should be aiming), and they spot the handprint art they made a year ago,

they make comments like this:

"Dad-E, there's a Yoda in the middle of my hand!"

"Why yes there is!"

Fatherhood is the awesomest job on the planet, light sabers-down.

And because I'm nerdy like that.

May the force be with you this week, and always,

Busy-Dad-E

Dad-E's Law

Let's face it, parenthood isn't all rainbows and unicorns.

Interestingly, I think that social media doesn't help this, and in fact, might make things worse.

Most people put their "good face" forward, being much much more likely to share news/pics of smiley, happy kids and parents, than things that are negative or maddening frustrating.  I know I do.

It makes you start to wonder, "How is it that those kids seem so happy all the time?"

Maybe they are.  Or maybe that was 2 minutes out of the day, and the remaining waking 13 hours and 58 minutes was one continuous tantrum.  Or somewhere in between, most likely.

My boys are good boys.  They give us hugs and kisses.  They smile and laugh uncontrollably.  They sometimes even hug each other.  They have moments of genuine concern for the well-being of their brothers.  They help each other and play nicely together.  They sometimes help pick up their messes.  They sometimes even follow directions.

Other times their behavior is abysmal.  They embarass Mom-E and Dad-E in public.  They get "hangry".  They yell at each other and call each other names.  They punch and kick.  They fight over toys and won't share.  They talk back to Mom-E and Dad-E. 

And the other night, after a day that started out great and an evening that went downhill as small men got hungrier hangrier and more tired, the boys and I had a heart-to-heart talk.  Basically, they needed "put in their place."

We went over the laundry-list (including laundry) of all the things that Mom-E and Dad-E do because we love them, care for them, and want them to be good boys.  An "A to Z" from "Who makes sure you wake up on time and get dressed?" to "Who reads you bedtime stories and tucks you in at night?"

I think it helped remind them of how much we have to work together as a family.

The next morning, I planned to get up at 6am to workout.

Apparently, I neglected to set my alarm, because at 7:15am, Big Brother came into our room and WOKE ME UP.  "Dad-E, I'm dressed.  Can we get breakfast?"

I think I'll call it Dad-E's Law.  It happens when you're "guilty" of the very same thing you just reprimanded your kids about.

"You better be thankful Mom-E and I wake you up and get you dressed in the morning."  So thankful that you wake Dad-E up, after getting yourself dressed, when Dad-E sleeps an hour past his alarm."

Than you, Big Brother, so that I wasn't late for work, and for waking up and getting dressed yourself.

Let's face it.  We're all children of God.  We're all fallen.  We all screw up.

But we're all loved.  And we love each other.

We're in this together.

Have a good weekend,
Busy-Dad-E

O Brother Where Art Thou

Happy Fatherhood Friday everyone!

As I was conceptualizing this post, I had this feeling that I was recycling the title of a previous post.  Sure enough, I am.  It was interesting to go back and see the ongoings over 3 years ago.  A good reminder of one of the reasons I blog - to remember.

Because we know that as parents we suffer from this mild (or not so mild) chronic fatigue and/or sleep deprivation-induced dementia that makes it hard to remember what we just said what we had last night for dinner.

That post was about Little Brother missing Big Brother when he started Pre-K.  Man, does that seem like forever and a day ago.

So this time, the tables are turned.

The other weekend, Mom-E ran a race, and all 3 boys had the opportunity to participate in a "Fun Run" for kids.

It made sense to enter all 3 of them, because they all pretty much run around all day, so while they're running around anyway, they can earn a medal and some other prizes.

I'll admit that we had slightly higher hopes for the length of the Fun Run.  We thought it was going to be a big loop, but instead they had the kids run about 50 yards and then suddenly stop.

Of course, Bab-E Brother, who despite being 2, avidly runs pretty much everywhere he goes, took one look at the gobs and gobs of kids, and decided that Dad-E should "chauffeur" him and carry him the entire distance.  (Suddenly, Dad-E is glad this was only 50 yards).

But Big Brother and Little Brother both took off at the start, although they got separated amidst the traffic.

When they got to the finish, Big Brother was VERY CONCERNED that he couldn't find Little Brother.  Indeed, it was a huge mess of parents and kids, made worse by the fact that all of the kids were wearing the same race day t-shirt.  Big Brother, in frantically trying to find him, happened to find me, and so we looked together.

He spontaneously told me that he was about to ask one of the race officials, "Can I get a medal and a bag for my brother, so that he's sure to get one, because I can't find him?"

This coming from the boy who would barely talk to his kindergarten teacher for the first half the school year.  For him to willingly want to talk to a "strange" adult speaks volumes.

Of course, Mom-E and found Little Brother, and we met up within a few minutes.

But I was very proud to see Big Brother so genuinely concerned about Little Brother's well-being.

Because let's face it, they're brothers.  Most of the time they're fighting about each other's toys, or getting annoyed at someone who keeps singing the Transformers theme song (over and over and over), or calling each other "doo-doo head" or some-such nonsense.

So it's good to know that when push comes to shove, they've got each other's back and they stick together.

Good boys.

Have a good weekend,
Don't get lost,
Busy-Dad-E

Compound Words

On the way home from Cub Scouts the other night, Big Brother spontaneously blurted out:

"Dad-E, iceskating is a compound word."

"Yes it is, buddy."

"Baseball is a compound word, too."

"You got it!"

"And father."

"Huh?"

"Father."

"I know.  Father is not a compound word."

"Sure it is.  F-A-T ... H-E-R."

*Sigh*  "Not quite, buddy."

"What about FATTER?" interjected Little Brother.

That's my boys.  Almost 8 years of fatherhood, and the word "father" is synonymous with fat her.

Lovely.  Just bloody lovely.

See you on FAT-HER-HOOD Friday,
Busy-Dad-E

Wheel of Costumes

Hello there!

I hope you had a nice weekend.

Of the myriad of decisions our school-age children make, arguably one's choice of Halloween costume is easily in the annual top 3.

With just over 2 weeks to go, I'll admit that Mom-E and I have been running a "stall" offense.

You see, about 2 weeks ago, our Transformer-obsessed boys, with Big Brother as their fearless leader, decided that they wanted our WHOLE FAMILY to be a "combiner Transformer" for Trick-or-Treat.

A "combiner" is when 5 or 6 individual Transformers combine to form a single, ginormous Transformer.  Those of you from my generation may know of combiners like Devastator, Superion, Bruticus, Defensor, Menasor, or Superion.

Did I mention that Big Brother wanted to hand-make each of the 5 combiner Transformers out of cardboard boxes?

And Little Brother is so on-board that he's been painting empty Capri-Sun boxes with WATERCOLORS to help prepare costume material.

Oh, and the best part is that when we become the combiner, Dad-E gets to carry two of the three boys (and Mom-E the third) around the neighborhood for Trick-or-Treat.  Which two doesn't matter, they're all heavy, especially when I start thinking about some of the hills.

And I'm sure that as a 2 year-old, Bab-E Brother will have no problem cooperating.  Especially because according to the older boys, "He wants to be a Transformer for Halloween, because we told him that's what he wants to be."

As recently as a few days ago, Big Brother was busy diagraming uninterpretable blueprints for how we were going to construct said MONSTER.

I meant to say TRANSFORMER instead of MONSTER, only I didn't want to.

Fortunately for us, children's minds about Halloween costumes change like the weather.

All of this is made more fun because - thanks to a donation by one of Gramm-E's coworkers - we have no less than 5 bazillion costumes at home.  Why would we want to wear one of those?

Oh, that's right, because that would be the EASY thing to do.

So, yesterday, Big Brother decided he was going to be Iron Man, complete with a Dark Helmet-style helmet from last Christmas.  Thanks, Aunt-E!

That sent Little Brother into a frenzy of costume changes more hectic than a hoard of supermodel divas at a fashion show.

It started with Wolverine, which was fine until he remembered that the Wolverine mask was not custom-made to fit HIS head.

It ended with a cross between a Red Power Ranger suit, and a white ninja mask belonging to Storm Shadow from GI Joe.

The best part is that Little Brother insists, no DEMANDS, to wear special gloves and boots with his costume.

And putting on said gloves and boots is a cross between scrubbing in for surgery and preparing for extended deep sea diving.  He puts on the costume, and then has me, one at a time, put on each glove, boot, and mask so that the costume stays tucked nicely inside.

Did I mention that the gloves are Lightning McQueen winter mittens?  And the boots are rubber galoshes with monkeys on them?

Priceless.

Oh, and the best part is that this whole costume frenzy took place while our lunch was sitting on the kitchen table getting cold.

I better go eat now - that food has been sitting there a long time.

Have a good week,
Chose your costume wisely (Mom-E and I will be wearing very authentic TIRED PARENT costumes, aka clothes),
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

First Note From a Gwarrel

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

Mom-E gave me the heads-up the other day that Big Brother came home with a note from a "gwarrel" (girl in Little Brother-speak) in his class.

For a few brief moments, I anticipated all kinds of brotherly teasing and yelling and screaming about somebody having a "gwarrel-friend."

However, according to Big Brother - who is an "Honest Abe" - apparently everyone in the class, the teacher included, received one.  (Making me think, "Wow, this gwarrel spent a LOT of time writing notes.)

Still, it was very cute and very sweet.  But don't tell Big Brother that.  He might scream and run for fear of "cooties."

And yes, we agree that Big Brother is cool.

Have a good weekend,
Busy-Dad-E

New 'Nastics

Well, we've started a new adventure in gymnastics, or 'nastics as Little Brother calls it.

And it's been a while since I've written about 'nastics.

We changed to a different gym, mostly due to a much less pervasive smell of feet, better viewing space, a more formal evaluation and feedback process the kids, to make sure they're in the right class.

Oh, and the fact that all 3 boys are now taking 'nastics, and the new gym's classes are such that everyone's class is on the same day in a 2-hour time block.

After taking a leave from gymanstics for a while, Big Brother has returned from the sidelines, and seems to be enjoying himself.

Little Brother has continued to enjoy his 'nastics.  He's really pretty strong, especially given that people accuse him of being Bab-E Brother's twin.  We were briefly worried this week when they changed Little Brother to a different class.  Although they moved him to the right one for his age, he is one of only 2 boys, and let's just say he has absolutely no interest in anything that could be even remotely perceived as gwarrely ("girly").

But in terms of energy, enthusiasm, and excitement, Bab-E Brother definitely takes the cake.

He has been drooling (literally and figuratively) about wanting to do 'nastics, having been relegated to watching Little Brother for months now.  Given his various attempts to do somersaults and other jumps at home and in the viewing area at the gym, it was clear to Mom-E and I that we should sign him up ASAP.

Bab-E Brother is energetic to begin with, but I've never seen him quite so fired up as he was for the first class.

The gym has a very cute little penned off area for the toddlers.  

And while all of the other kids were circled up sitting on their spots, Bab-E Brother pretty much started running around the area, jumping on mats, hanging on bars, etc. 

He was so hyper that he was "that kid."

You know, the one who needs to be simultaneously sprayed with the Ritalin mist-fan and shot with the Benadryl dart gun.

But fortunately, he did calm down (eventually), and without medication.

I was sure that afterwards, the teachers were going to try to sell us a harness for him.

(Insert reference to SNL Sketch with Mike Myers and Nicole Kidman - "My mother says harnesses are cruel."  "My mother says they're very necessary.")

He's very cute.  Bab-E Brother refers to 'nastics as "My School."  And one of his favorite parts is the hand (and foot) stamps they get at the end.

So much so that he informed Mom-E in advance of the class this week that he would NOT be taking a bath that night (to preserve his stamp).  Fortunately, Mom-E had transient occlusion of both of her ears with wax when he said that.

But it's been very fun to watch all of the boys frolick around, jumping in the foam pit, jumping on the trampoline, and in Bab-E Brother's case, pretty much jumping non-stop for a half-hour.

What has been somewhat less fun is chasing Bab-E Brother around the viewing area for the 1.5 out of the 2 hours that he is not doing 'nastics, because the anticipation and excitement seem to linger.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,
Busy-Dad-E

Creative Spelling

And, no, I'm not talking about "label" or "usual".

Let's face it, preparation for weekly spelling tests can be a bit tedious (aka it's the third week of school and we're already tired of it.)


And I'm only talking about what it's like for parents!

No doubt for kids it can be quite arduous, too.

This week, we were practicing words on Thursday afternoon for the Friday test.

Big Brother missed about 5 of the 15 words (in part because he was preoccupied with his Trio blocks).

But when we said we were going to practice them again later, he pretty much protested with a "Why?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you have a test tomorrow and you still can't spell some of the words?" I ventured a guess to myself.

Fortunately, when later arrived, Big Brother was at least willing to work on his spelling words.

After spelling "bonus" correctly, Big Brother proceeded to write "poop!" at the bottom of the page.

And that's when one of those moments of parental spontaneity kicked in.

"You know what, Big Brother. Every time you spell a word correctly, you can write 'poop!' or 'pee!' at the bottom of your paper."

Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly), it worked as a motivator. Other than Little Brother and Bab-E Brother barging into the room just to be ornery, Big Brother maintained pretty good concentration. He got 13 of 15 correct, and got to write "poop!" a lot, which made him happy.

On the flip-side of the page below, we drilled on "label" and "usual" until he had them down, and he got to write "poop!" a bunch more times.

But I opted not to show you that, because you're probably already tired of seeing my kid's "poop!"

Hahahahahaha!

Have a good week,
Busy-Dad-E

Mini-Wuffins

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

The other evening, out of the blue, Big Brother decided to help me make dinner.

Little Brother is often Mom-E's helper in the kitchen (particularly if it involves anything chocolate).

But this was the first time Big Brother extensively assisted with dinner.

His first request was that we make corn muffins.  Fine.

But as we put them in the oven, he made a special request for Wuffins, too.

And since he was extensively helping and doing an excellent job, the answer was an easy "Yes."

Only problem was that the muffin pan was "occupied" by the corn muffins.

So, being the resourceful soul that he is, he quickly suggested that we make "Mini-Wuffins", and we did.

As was the case with regular wuffins, they turned out quite well.  In fact, maybe even a tad better.

But I can't help thing that this would be a great item for a fast-food breakfast menu:

A 6-piece mini-wuffins with a side of maple syrup.

That was a definite advantage of the mini-wuffins - they were quite easily dunked in syrup, and less messy, because you can eat them in one bite.

The boys have always liked french toast sticks, so I figure if my kids will eat them, there's definitely a market for them.

So if anyone knows any big-wigs at any fast-food places, let me know, and we can make our case.

I'm already thinking of slogans like, "We Ain't Bluffin', We Got Mini-Wuffins".

Okay, I better stop now.

Have a good weekend,

Busy-Dad-E

Riding Machine

Go Big Brother, Go!

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

After an entire summer of pretty much blowing off his bike, suddenly with the start of school, Big Brother suddenly had rejuvinated interest in mastering riding a bike with two wheels.

Little Brother and Bab-E Brother are also avid riders.  Little Brother has got the hang of riding a bike with training wheels.  Bab-E Brother has a Lightning McQueen trike that he powers Fred Flintstone-style with his feet.

Riding bikes at our house is pretty much like rush hour traffice on a busy interstate in the middle of a thunderstorm.  Our driveway slopes, making it not very friendly for someone learning to ride a two-wheeler.  That leaves 3 boys and 3 bikes to ride on a fairly narrow sidewalk leading to the front door.

(Translation: it's crowded, difficult to turn around, and everybody is frequently crashing into each other - often on purpose.)

So two nights ago after dinner we headed to a parking lot to give the boys more room to safely ride.

The result was amazing.

After two times of crashing pretty quickly after I let go, Big Brother just "got it."

Next thing you know, he's riding laps around the parking lot with relative ease.

Afterwards, we celebrated with slushies for everyone!

Last night we headed back for more biking.  This time he's riding even faster, and able to better control his brakes.

You can guess where we'll be again tonight.

He still has work to do.  He's a little more nervous - and hence wobbly with his steering - while riding in our neighborhood, but he's getting the hang of it.

But this major accomplishment so aptly summarizes much of child development.  It's not a linear process at all, but rather discrete with these quantum leaps.

This weekend he couldn't ride a two-wheeler.  This week he can.  Amazing.

In retrospect, I might've seen this coming.  Over the Christmas break, we did some riding.  Big Brother was able to ride about 10-20 yards before crashing, although turns weren't possible.

But it was clear during t-ball season that his coordination has really improved, and I suspect this translated to him being able to balance and ride the bike.

Needless to say, Mom-E and I are quite proud (and rightly so is Big Brother)!

Keep up the good riding, buddy!  We love you!

Have a good weekend,

Ride on,

Busy-Dad-E

T-Ball Coach

As you might imagine, t-ball season came to a close for both Big Brother and Little Brother a while back, and I've been meaning to write a related post.

Thank you, marbles, for continuing to rattle around up there, so that some coherent words may form.

I didn't write as much about t-ball this year, compared to season's past, although there was plenty of fun and excitement.  Perhaps that was due, in part, to the fact that we were at t-ball 4 days a week.

The boys' highlight was the TROPHY at the end of the season.  And while they had fun playing actual t-ball, by the end there was quite the focus on the trophy.  So much so, that when Big Brother's team announced that there would be trophies, Dad-E had to contact Little Brother's coach to make sure they'd get trophies, too.

Lest we have a full-blown (nuclear) freak-out at home lasting an unspecified number of days.

(Brief digression.  I generally agree with one Adam Corolla about the problems of creating a "Participation Trophy" generation.  But when it's Y t-ball and the boys are 4 and 7, I think it's fine.)

And so it ended up that Big Brother got his trophy and Little Brother ended up with 2 trophies: 1 from the Y, and 1 because the Y didn't tell his coaches about their trophies and they went ahead and ordered some.

The most important thing is that both the boys really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Little Brother did so despite the fact that 3 of his last 4 games were cancelled by a regularly scheduled Monday afternoon thunderstorm.

My two favorite moments of his season were:
1. He's standing on 2nd base.  A ball gets hit up the middle, and instead of running to 3rd he took off into the outfield along with the players from the other team.

2.  He's playing 2nd base.  Starts having a jovial conversation with the player from the other team who's standing on 2nd base, completely oblivious to the grounder that just went trickling past him.

I'm so glad that Big Brother played t-ball again this year, making it his 3rd season.  Initially, he wasn't going to play, but after he remembered that you get cool snacks after the games, his stomach led him to sign up.

My favorite moments of his season actually didn't occur while he was playing:
1.  In the middle of one of Little Brother's games, when Little Brother was playing in the dirt, Big Brother ran onto the field during the game to show him how you should get into "ready position" while watching the batter.  He's such a good coach.

2.  Since the season has been over, Big Brother has - on his own - asked me to play catch with him and practice batting.  He's never done this before.  It's always been at my asking, and typically lasts less than 2 minutes.  My boys do not have to play baseball, but I have very fond memories from my youth/Little League days of playing Pitch-and-Catch with my dad in the front yard.  Big Brother is left handed, and I told him that means he might make a very good pitcher, and so he's been quite interested in working on his throwing skills.  So, as the father of 3 boys, I admit that his interest in playing ball brings, as Yoda would say, "warm feelings to my heart."

3.  At the start of 2nd grade, Big Brother filled out a sheet about his likes favorites.  He made statements like, "When I grow up, I want to be a baseball player.  My favorite thing to do is play baseball.  When I'm home I like to go outside and play baseball.  My favorite sport is BASKETBALL."

Ah, kids.  No shortage of entertainment.  Love those boogers.


See you on Fatherhood Friday,
Busy-Dad-E

Second Grade

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

It seems like just an eye blink ago, Big Brother was starting first grade.

And now here we are starting second grade.  Yes, school started this week.  Unbelievably early, I know.  But at least no homework so far.

***

Dear Big Brother,

Mom-E and I are so proud of you!  Second grade is going to be an exiciting awesome year!

Indeed, you're already excited about getting to play on the "bigger" playground.

I'm glad you know a few people in your class from last year, and hope that you make many more new friends this year.

It will be exciting to watch as your skills continue to develop more this school year.

Mom-E and I enjoyed your class work from the first day of school, with some very concrete responses, and others that were more creative.

Nice job on the correct spelling of Transformer!

As introspective as you are, it strikes me how you said that if you were a feeling you'd be inside.  I truly understand what you mean.

Just know that no matter what, those feelings can always be shared with Mom-E and I.  We are here for you.

Here's to another great year!

Love,

Dad-E

Do As I Say

Not As I Do, the saying goes.

Such was the case the other evening.

We happened to have some Coke in the fridge.

Little Brother happened to see said Coke.

"Can I have some Coke?" he inquired.

"Can I have some?  I want some, too?" Big Brother and Bab-E Brother echoed.

We've done pretty well with holding off on soft drinks for the boys.

Although not long ago they got a taste of Sprite, which they liked.

And so Sprite became the "gateway drug" that got them to darker-syruped drinks, including Coke and Root Beer (Side note - Little Brother calls it Fruit Beer and Bab-E Brother calls is Root Bear, so I guess between the two of them they're batting .500).

Their absolute favorite, unsurprisingly, is the Coca-Cola Freestyle.  The cornucopia of soft drinks.

But we keep the Coke at a minimum, reserving it for an occasional treat.

Back to our story, the boys actually had a little Coke the night before, so when they asked again, we explained,

"No, we're not going to have any more Coke right now.  I know it tastes good, but it's really not good for you."

Fortunately, they accepted rejection without any significant protest.

As we were getting things together for dinner, Mom-E asked me, "What do you want to drink?"

"What do you want?" I retorted.

With "unified mind", we both answered (softly), "Coke!"

And so I snagged a Coke out of the fridge and handed it to Mom-E, who had nabbed 2 OPAQUE cups.

And while the boys were settling down at the table, Mom-E did what any reasonable parent would do - she snuck back to the other end of the house, opened the Coke, and poured our drinks.

Everyone enjoyed their meal, and fortunately our boys are too short (and they didn't climb on top of the table - this time), and so Mom-E and I drank Coke undiscovered.

Call it "Great Moments in Covert Parenting", or "Do as I say..."

Although I called it "Just plain good."

Have a good week,
Busy-Dad-E

I Like Big T-Shirts

And I cannot lie.

No Bab-E Brother can deny.

Oh, wait.  Better stop there, lest I start sounding like Ross and Rachel singing to Emma.

***
But seriously, apparently Big and Little Brother's newest craze is "Don't wear your own jammie top."

What started with Little Brother wearing one of my shirts to bed has spread to Big Brother.

So now both boys are wearing my old, oversized t-shirts to bed (you know, like the free XXXXL shirts that Delta gives you as a 'thank you' for being stranded overnight.)

But the each child opts for different styles.

You decide your preference.

Little Brother is a "tuck it in" kind of guy.  He literally tucks (okay stuffs would be a more accurate) the t-shirt into his jammie shorts.  And the results are quite striking: rail thin torso, badonkadonk butt (literally no better way to describe it), and rail thin legs.  He looks like he swallowed a tire and it got stuck at his hips.  Either that, or he cushioned his tush by wadding a whole roll of toilet paper into his shorts.

Big Brother is a "don't tuck it in" guy.  He likes the fact that he can pull his head and arms inside the shirt (like a turtle), draw his legs up, and his whole body is inside the shirt.  "Look, I'm in a tent."
(Wow, thanks dude. I promise I'm not that big.)  He does NOT like the fact that when he stands up, we tell him that it looks like he's wearing a dress.

Either way, my t-shirts for sleeping in seem to be in short supply.

But, nonetheless, their desire to "be like Dad-E" warms my (normal-sized) heart.

Have a good weekend,
Busy-Dad-E

Wanna Be Big Boys

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

So, Little Brother and Bab-E Brother have really been bit by the "big boy bug" this week.

Bab-E Brother has started spontaneously talking about wanting to wear big boy underwear.

Wanting to attempt to capitalize on his interest (and NOT AT ALL swayed by the dream possibility of not having any children in diapers for the first time in 7.5 years), Mom-E got him some Thomas underwear, and the frog potty pictured below.

He promised Mom-E that he would sit on the potty (fully clothed, of course), but to my knowledge he has not.

And last night he told Mom-E that he wanted to wear Thomas underwear to bed (OVER his diaper, of course).

But hey, interest is interest, so we'll work with it.  (However, I definitely see a "throw the diapers away" full onslaught potty training weekend in his future.  See previous posts on potty training.)

Random aside - something funny I want to capture by writing it down - is that Bab-E Brother has a new habit of how he refers to himself.  He won't refer to himself in the first person, "I do that", and not even the Bob Dole style third person singular, "Bab-E Brother does that".

Instead, he's opted for third person plural.  So, "Sometimes THEY fall" really means "Sometimes I fall."  Too cute.

***
Little Brother also has the big boy bug.

He's recently discovered that some of Big Brother's jammies fit him, even if a little baggy.

And taking everything to excess, for several days he pretty much would only poach wear Big Brother's jammies that he poached.  Such that Big Brother became a little distraught when he noticed, "Hey, those are the Iron Man jammies I wanted to wear."

So, getting some resistance there, Little Brother did the next most logical thing.

He started taking MY jammy shirts.

The hilarious part is that he INSISTS on TUCKING THEM IN to his jammy shorts.

As you can imagine, my short sleeve t-shirts are pretty much long-sleeve t-shirts for him.

And the shirts are so long that when he tucks them in, it looks like he's been wearing a diaper for about 36 hours straight.  (Not that he wears diapers, or we've ever left a diaper on that long, but you catch my drift.)

If this keeps up, no doubt I'm going to walk into my room to find the floor completely littered with t-shirts that he has strewn while searching for just the right one.

Have a good weekend,
Busy-Dad-E

The Matrix

The boys decided to take the "blue pill".

****
So Big Brother and Little Brother (and Bab-E Brother, by indirect extension) have been (blissfully unaware that they are) in "The Matrix" for the past few weeks.

You see, things kinda came to a head this summer, between 3 boys at home (all day) with different schedules and the same Type A temperament and the heat (amongst others), things were not going well behavior-wise.  Although there were trends of things going south towards the end of the school year.

And sadly, for both Mom-E and I, but especially Mom-E - by virtue of being home with the boys - parenting was becoming less fun and more of a chore.

And that "just ain't right."

But when even the most mundane of requests had the potential to be a WWF (I know it's WWE, but when I was watching it growing up it was WWF) Royal Rumble, it kinda makes it hard to enjoy yourself.

So Mom-E and I instituted a new behavior chart plan, called "Busy-Dad-E Bucks."

Because the truth is that children do better with structure and accountability.

(Don't get me wrong, we weren't letting them pillage the house like Vikings, but we needed a more formal system.)

And particularly with Big Brother, who is pretty logical and has an emphasis on fairness, this structure has allowed him to feel "in control", when in fact it's Mom-E and Dad-E who are in control.

Hence, the Matrix analogy.

Ah, the challenge of parenthood - to be warm and friendly while still maintaining control.

So, Busy-Dad-E Bucks works like this:
1.  Behaviors we want to reinforce earn you Busy-Dad-E Bucks.  Most things, like making your bed, putting clothes in the hamper, getting dressed without having to be nagged, earn $1.  "Bigger things", like trying a new food, earn $2.

2.  Behaviors we want to go away cost you Busy-Dad-E Bucks.  Again, most things, like yelling or hitting your brother, cost you $1.

3.  The boys can watch a morning cartoon for "free", but after that, any additional TV or other "screen time" (i.e., computer or iDevice) must be "purchased" with Busy-Dad-E Bucks.  So, an extra TV show or a block of computer time costs $5.  Any outdoor activities - swimming, riding bikes, etc. - are, of course, free.

4.  We also keep track of "good behavior days", in which the boys lose $2 or less of Busy-Dad-E Bucks.  Good behavior days can be redeemed for bigger rewards.  For example, 2 good behavior days, can be redeemed for your choice of things like going bowling, playing Putt-Putt, or a kid's meal lunch treat.

5.  The boys have a say in adding things that can either earn or cost you Busy-Dad-E Bucks.  As Little Brother pointed out, "You forgot to list 'poo-poo' as words that we shouldn't say (outside of the actual need to go potty)."

6.  All Busy-Dad-E Bucks are kept track of on a behavior chart, rather than using something like play money, which could much more easily get lost or stolen.

And the boys, particularly, Big Brother, bought into the plan, "hook, line, and sinker."

As soon as I explained the "program" to him, Big Brother said, "Dad-E, can I go make my bed?"

"Heck yeah, buddy!"

And so, a couple weeks into the program, it's not uncommon for Big Brother to reflexively get dressed, put his clothes in the hamper, and make his bed in the first 10 minutes after waking up.

But it ain't all roses all the time either, I can remember one tantrum where a certain child lost about $18 in a span of 10 minutes, thanks to repeated use of the words "stupid" and "dumb".

But what we've found is that when the boys get upset, the tantrums are less intense and shorter, because they don't want to lose more "Busy-Dad-E Bucks."

So, anyway, while this is still a work in progress, and doesn't change the fact that it's still chaotic with multiple small children, the air at home is much more peaceful.

And parenting is more fun again.

And, yes, you can have a Busy-Dad-E Buck for reading this post, IF you share the blog with 3 of your friends.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,
Busy-Dad-E

182 Days Until Christmas

Hello there!  I'm back!

Glad to know that people still visited the blog in my absence, even if it was largely from Google-ing pictures of beachballs.

Summer is going full-tilt here.

We're at the t-ball fields 4 nights a week these days - 2 each for Big Brother and Little Brother.  Both boys are having a good time (their favorite part of t-ball is snacktime) and bladders have been quite cooperative.  It's been interesting and insightful to realize that even at age 7, the boys are still unable to firmly grasp consistently, cognitively, the "rules" of baseball.  Hence Big Brother recorded an out by fielding the ball as the second baseman and just running over and touching first base, without throwing the ball to his teammate.

And at age 4, t-ball is just oodles and oodles of fun.  My favorite moment was watching Little Brother stand on second base as a runner.  His teammate hit the ball up the middle and into the outfield.  Instead of running to third, Little Brother chased after the ball with the fielders on the other team.  Too cute!

***
We made a trip with the whole family to San Diego, the highlight of which was a return visit to Legoland.  Of course, the boys' favorite part of that visit was picking out a new Lego toy.  We also enjoyed visits to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier, Zoo and Wild Animal Park, and Sea World.  Amazingly, the boys did pretty well on the flights (although man were we a sight at the gate with all of our entourage).

Little Brother dressed up in his Wolverine costume for part of one of the flights.  He literally boarded the plane dressed as Wolverine.  How awesome is that?!?!  As adults, we have a lot to learn from him.

(Unfortunately, mutants/superheroes still fly at full price.)

Other travel highlights included all 3 boys, most adamantly Bab-E Brother, INSISTED on wheeling their carry-ons throughout the concourse.  It was a very cute sight.  Even when we got to the hotel, Bab-E Brother pretty much through a tantrum if he wasn't allowed to continue to wheel his carry-on around.  And at various points during the flight, 1-2 children fell asleep in my lap.

Strangely these moments when the boys crashed in my lap were probably the most peaceful and relaxing part of the trip for me.  Or perhaps not so strangely, given that we had 5 people "crammed" into a hotel room for the better part of a week.

***
Other than that, the garden is still growing, at least some of it.  We harvested all of the corn - the ears were small, but tasty.  The squash plants died.  The cucumbers, however, continue to flourish.  The basil plant survived the onslaught from the cucumbers and is actually thriving, which makes for some very tasty burger toppings.  The carrots are coming along, and should be ready to harvest soon.   And we finally have our first (tiny) green pepper growing.  Once everything is "done", we hope to dig everything up and plant another round of seeds for late summer.  Pictures to follow soon.

***
By now, you're probably scratching your head about the title of this post.  Today actually marks the half-way point between last Christmas and next Christmas.

They may refer to "Christmas in July", but around here, the boys have had the Christmas spirit since about May.

Perhaps this is a by-product of having birthdays relatively close to the holidays, but Big Brother and Little Brother have already been "working" on their Christmas lists.

And by "working", I mean Big Brother has hacked the computer password, and is able to browse on Amazon.com (quite proficiently).  Of course, both boys have found "rare" Beyblade sets from Japan that are like $99 apiece.

And of course, despite my suggestion that they might change their minds over the next 6 months about what they want (and they already have, pretty much every day), they continue to add to this list (which has not made its way into writing).

We also continue to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas.  And while they can articulate this - and understand that Santa brings them each 3 presents, because Jesus received 3 presents - it's very hard at age 4 and 7 to focus on things immaterial.  Hopefully though, with enough repetition, this lesson will sink in.

Have a good week,
Busy-Dad-E

School's Out

School's out, school's out,
Teacher let the monkeys out...

Unfortunately, the monkeys are now at our house.  All.  Day.  Long.  Swinging from the ceiling.

Big Brother and Little Brother are officially done with school.

And while, Mom-E and I are basking in the glory of fewer lunches to pack, the absence of homework and AR (the latter deserving it's own "Amen!"), and more relaxed schedule overall, Big Brother had a very eventful last day of school.

Mom-E was at the gym, when she heard that their had been an armed robbery at a pharmacy about 1/2 mile from Big Brother's school.

Despite the fact that the suspect got away, Big Brother's school was placed on "soft lockdown" and parents were not notified, which surprised both Mom-E and I.

Mom-E and I decided that we'd both feel more comfortable if Mom-E picked up Big Brother (I think they were pretty much playing Nintendo all week). 

And being the last day of school, with all kinds of programs for parents (the place was crawling), soft lock-down consisted of the PE teachers hanging out in front of the school?

Mom-E felt like the staff looked at her ask if she was from Mars, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Fortunately, Big Brother was quite happy about this.  His class had a pizza party that afternoon (still can't get the boy to eat pizza), but Big Brother was more excited about getting to open his end of the year prize.

Needless to say, an eventful last day of first grade.

Fortunately, the suspect was apprehended later in the day.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,
Busy-Dad-E