Author: suburbandaddy

A First Time For Everything

Something I realized this Halloween is that there hasn’t been a lot of innovation in the candy industry since I was a kid.? The Things’ bags are filled with all the old familiar favorites – Snickers, KitKats, Butterfingers.

I also realized that to a three year old, there is nothing familiar about candy.? It’s all so new and cool.? Especially candy corn.

On Halloween, Thing 2 tried candy corn for the very first time.? He declared, “I love candy corn!”, even before eating it.? I guess he just loved the concept of a candy version of a vegetable.? After trying it, he also said “It’s like a mountain” and compared the taste to chicken nuggets.

Luckily, the camera was rolling to capture the moment.

Is Halloween Candy Safe To Eat?

Kit KatI probably sound like a typical (old) parent, but way back when I was a kid, Halloween was different.? More innocent.? We got homemade candy like popcorn balls and fresh baked brownies, wrapped in a napkin.? We actually stepped inside the house instead of standing on the doorstep.? Yes, it was a kinder, simpler time.

All that changed in 1982 with the Tylenol poisonings near Chicago.? Remember that one?? That was the event that prompted safety seals on medicines, and ended the era of homemade Halloween treats.? I remember that year my parents examined every piece of candy in my bag,? looking for an open wrapper or an exposed razor blade.

Or maybe they were just confiscating the ones they wanted to eat themselves, like I do now.

After this year, I have a different perspective on the safety of Halloween candy.? I always assumed if the wrapper was intact, the candy was safe.? Well, now I’m not so sure.? There is another danger to watch out for.

Take a peek at this video of Thing 1 and Thing 2 handing out Halloween candy.? Sure, there is some cute banter back and forth.? But keep a close eye on where Thing 2’s hands go.

Still feel like eating that Kit Kat your kids brought home?

Introducing Spider-Bat

According to the National Retail Federation, the most popular kids costume is a Princess.? Other popular costumes include Star Wars, witches, and Spiderman.? See below for the full list of the top 20 most popular kids costumes from 2005.

This year, I feel very comfortable saying that Thing 2 will be wearing a truly unique costume, one that I don’t think we’ll see as we trick or treat, and probably not one we’re likely to see again.

His costume started as Spiderman.? But he didn’t like the mask part, so for the last few weeks he’s been the unmasked Spiderman.? Then, SuburbanMommy got a Batman costume for Thing3, and Thing 2? loves the Batman mask.? But he also loves his Spiderman costume, especially since it is the kind that has the built in muscles.

To Thing 2, he isn’t just wearing a costume.? He believes he actually is Spiderman.? For several weeks now, when someone says his name, he impatiently corrects them and says No, I AM SPIDERMAN! (Some days he says he is Yucky Man, a character from a Backyardigans TV Show, but that’s a whole different story).

So, we have Spider-Bat.? Part Spiderman, part Batman.? Oh yeah, there is one more twist to the costume.? This new superhero creation, Spider-Bat, also wears womens high heel shoes.? Nothing too high, mind you, because that would make catching the bad guys difficult.? But still high enough to get noticed by the other superheroes.

Spider-Bat In High Heels

2005 Top Kids’ Costumes

# of Children

1

 Princess

11.8%

3,778,217

2

 Witch

5.2%

1,664,215

3

 Spiderman

4.5%

1,439,321

4

 Monster

4.1%

1,304,385

5

 Darth Vader

3.9%

1,259,406

6

 Superhero

3.9%

1,259,406

7

 Star Wars Character

2.5%

809,618

8

 Batman

2.4%

764,639

9

 Ninja

2.3%

719,660

10

 Clown

2.3%

719,660

11

 Pirate

2.1%

674,682

12

 Angel

2.0%

629,703

13

 Pumpkin

2.0%

629,703

14

 Power Rangers

1.8%

584,724

15

 Cinderella

1.7%

539,745

16

 Vampire

1.5%

494,767

17

 Cheerleader

1.5%

494,767

18

 Cat

1.5%

494,767

19

 Ghost/Ghoul

1.4%

449,788

20

 Soldier/Sailor

1.4%

449,788

How Did The Dinosaurs Die?

We go to dinosaur museums, and read books about dinosaurs all the time.? The kids know all about dinosaur bones and fossils.

Last night, after reading a dinosaur book with SuburbanMommy before bed, Thing 1 asked her “How did the dinosaurs die?”.? SuburbanMommy’s response: “Ask Daddy”.

It’s not a question I’ve thought about. At least not in a very long time.? Maybe I should have paid more attention when we visited the Natural History Museum.

My immediate answer was that a meteor crashed into the earth, causing so much smoke and ash, that the sun was blocked and the Ice Age ensued.? SuburbanMommy thought I was making it up.? Who knows where I got it from.? I probably got the idea from a movie.? Or an episode of Backyardigans.

Some Google searching this morning made me feel a little better, or not, about my answer.? I found some support for my meteor killing the dinosaurs theory.? But I also found several other explanations – disease, volcano, or climate change.

Last night’s question about dinosaurs has made me think of some questions of my own.? If a not even 5 year old can stump his parents, what’s going to happen when he gets a little older?? Forget about not being smarter than a 5th grader.? I’m not sure I am smarter than a 5 year old.

Where Are The Dads With Minivans

I drive a Honda Odyssey minivan.? I actually like it.? Why shouldn’t I?? Because it’s not manly?? Please.? It’s not like the 4 door Civic I drove last year, before getting the minivan, was any more manly.? And I don’t care what car you’re driving, snot on your shirt and cheerios stuck to your pants are not going to be cool.

The minivan has leather interior, 5 CD changer, and doesn’t struggle when you drive up a hill with the AC on.? It’s a shiny new car.? So why is it so bad for a dad to drive one?? I don’t get it.

When I pick up the Things at preschool every day, most of the cars are minivans.? But I never, and I mean never, see dads driving them.? Except me.? Are all they all laughing behind my back?? Or maybe they’re secretly jealous.

When we got the minivan, SuburbanMommy didn’t want to drive it.? She didn’t want to be one of those moms who drive minivans.? So it became mine.? I’ll say it again – I like driving a minivan.

If you are a dad with a minivan, where are you?? Come out of the garage.? Be proud.? Drive it like a man.

Oreos and Intoxication

Did you know that Oreo’s can have an intoxicating effect?? Maybe not on me or you, but to a couple of preschoolers, eating a few Oreo’s is like downing a few shots of Tequila.

I wrote a few weeks ago about the best of times and worst of times during our beach vacation.? That was the best of times.? Unfortunately, it was also the exception.

This video will give a more accurate look at what our week at the beach was like.? Thing 1 and Thing 2 acting silly, drunk on Oreo’s, harassing passerby’s, and generally being unruly.? This episode is actually not too bad since we are outside in the middle of the day.? But it’s a little different at 6am.

Teaching Values To Children

As parents, we try to teach our kids right from wrong.? We lead by example, and hopefully, when the time comes for them to act on their own, we pray the right values have been instilled in them.

I have already failed miserably to instill a critical value to Thing 2.? Sure, he is only three years old and there is still time to change his course.? But this value is something so close to our core, so basic, that I fear it can never be undone.

Thing 2, my son, is a Washington Redskins fan.? There, I said it, and it pains me as I type these words.

Like many in the Washington, DC area, I was not born and raised here.? I grew up in the New York suburbs, a loyal New York Giants football fan.? We now live just a few miles from Redskins Park, the team headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia, and the influence of all the local Redskins fans was apparently too much for Thing 2 to resist.

At their preschool, Fridays are “wear your favorite team jersey to school” day.? Thing 1 wanted a Jets jersey, which I can live with because it is still New York.? Even though he only wants the Jets because he loves airplanes.? Thing 2 sees all his friends wearing Redskins shirts and now that is the only one he’ll wear.? If I tell him he can’t, he’ll only want it even more.

How could I have failed so early to teach the right values to my child?? Will he pass down his own misguided values to his children?? I know what needs to be done.? I need to concentrate all my efforts on baseball now…and not allow him to become a Red Sox fan.