Author: suburbandaddy

The Problem With Holiday Gifts

It happens every year at this time. The holidays are over and we’re left with lots of new toys, games, books, crafts, silly bands, coloring books, dvd’s, and other stuff. Some of the stuff will used daily. But some will be used once and forgotten, or it will be broken after a single use.

Then there is the dreaded stuff that has a million pieces which are scattered throughout the house by Thing 3 and Thing 4 and never to be found again, rendering the game/toy/puzzle useless. If you are one of our beloved friends or family who gave one of these gems, thanks, and expect payback someday when you have kids.

And while we’re on that subject, please, please don’t get us any more toys which make constant, loud, annoying, impossible to shut off, noises. These toys will have the batteries removed by the anti-Santa. Haven’t heard of him? He’s the guy who comes at night after the kids are asleep and removes batteries.

The worst part of all the new stuff each year is finding where to put all of it. It’s not like we had all this extra room a week ago. Drawers, shelves, and buckets are already filled to the brim with stuff. And now we have all this new stuff to find room for, most of which is crap, junk, broken, or forgotten already.

I’m considering a new “zero sum” Santa policy next year. For every present he gives he also takes an old one away of equal size. So you better be careful about how many things you ask for.

And Here Comes The Payoff

After a Christmas Eve with family where they were all up way past their usual bedtime, bouncing off the walls with excitement. Then a late night for us cleaning the feast and doing Santa’s work. This morning Thing 1 led the way, up at the crack of dawn, for a morning full of presents and candy (only on Christmas morning). The afternoon brought no naps and tantrums.

All leading up to now – the big payoff. 7:55pm and all four kids are quiet in bed. Do you hear that sound? Me neither, it’s quiet. Except for
maybe the crack of another bottle of wine.

There is a winter storm warning for tomorrow. A possible Nor’easter. Which means tomorrow has the chance for 4 soon to be very well rested kids to be trapped inside the house again.

Better enjoy this while I can. Crack that wine.

Update In Pictures

This is always a busy time of year.? Here’s a quick update in pictures on what we’ve been up to the last few weeks.

Thing 1 turned 7 years old.? Hard to believe.? He had a fun laser tag birthday party which seems to be the norm for that age group.? I’ve been to three laser tag parties in the last month.? There are worse things.

photo5

We enjoyed some two layer, double chocolate frosted cake.? I was ordered entrusted to make the cake.? Believe it or not, it was the first time I’ve ever made one.? I thought it came out pretty good but there were comments that the frosting maybe wasn’t as smooth as it could have been.

photo

We celebrated SuburbanGrandpa’s 75th birthday.? Grandpa was thrilled to be with all his grandsons as usual for Thanksgiving.

photo4

And also this year, a first Thanksgiving with a granddaughter, Thing 4.

IMG_0278

He received a really big birthday card from SuburbanNephews who don’t like to pose for pictures.

photo3

But the excitement level picked up for everyone when SuburbanGrandpa opened his present – an iPad!

photo2

The Secrets To Potty Training Revealed

I am by no means a potty training expert, but I do have a fair amount of experience. We’ve been through it already with Thing 1 and Thing 2, neither of whom were what you’d call a quick learner, so we had to try many different approaches. Thing 3 has basically been potty training for the last 6 months with only limited results. And I’ve been answering questions on the Pull-Ups facebook page all year so I have seen and heard it all.

Now I’m ready to reveal the secrets to potty training.? Follow these easy steps and your life will be so much easier and your child will be using the potty someday. Continue reading The Secrets To Potty Training Revealed

A Busy Week

In the course of just one week, Thing 4 has gone from taking her first crawl, to pulling herself up and standing, sitting back down on her own (not always a given), and starting to shuffle her feet. At that pace she may be walking next week, when she turns 9 months old.

Compliment Or Put Down?

Thing 3 (to Thing 2): You are NOT my brother anymore. You’re a duck.

Most people would not take this as a compliment. But to Thing 3, ducks are sacred. He likes to feed them, touch them, run after them, and read books about ducks.

Every night he sleeps with two duck stuffed animals and each day he takes them with him to preschool.

If Thing 3 could be a duck, he would. So calling his brother a duck I can only assume is a high compliment.

Important Decision

Parenting is full of potentially life-altering, important decisions. Today I am faced with one of those crucial, everything rides on it, can’t take the pressure I need a drink kind of decisions.

Thing 3 needs new shoes. His current ones, Spiderman sneakers that light up, are worn and have holes in the front. People are going to start thinking we don’t care about the well being of his feet. Or that times are tough and we can’t afford new ones.

No, we are just avoiding the inevitable struggle that happens when we get him a new anything. Thing 3 is not exactly easygoing when it comes to change. He refuses to drink milk out of any cup but a blue one with an orange top. And this weekend he watched the same DVD a dozen times in a row. So you can imagine what getting new shoes is like.

I know what you are thinking. Get him the same exact shoes he has now. Duh. Well, a trip to Target didn’t find them in stock anymore. And not surprisingly he didn’t find anything else to his liking. Although, he wasn’t so polite in his refusal. It was more like “Nooooooooooooo!” followed by a face down in the middle of the store episode.

On to Plan B – order them online. Surely some store must have Spiderman light up sneakers in toddler size 9? Not so lucky. The only ones I can find are in size 7.

Now I’m left with one of those life altering decisions. Do I get a different Spiderman sneaker that doesn’t light up? Do I go with similar light up sneakers but with a different character? If so, which one? I found a Batman shoe that looks a lot like the Spiderman one but I don’t know how he’ll react to Batman. What about Toy Story 3 sneakers that light up? Sure, he loves, loves, loves Buzz Lightyear but for some reason refuses to wear a Buzz shirt. Lightning McQueen? Touchy subject around here.

What to do? What to do?