Author: suburbandaddy

A Tale Of Two Trips

To paraphrase Dickens, our recent trip to the beach was both the best of times and the worst of times.? At times we were relaxing, having a great time, watching the kids enjoy the sand and surf.? But that was just a teeny, tiny portion of how we spent our days.

The rest of the time was a lot of whining, crying, and fighting.? And of course, a fair amount of drinking to drown out the same.? To illustrate the two extremes, I have some video to bring you closer to my world.

We start with the best of times.? First, the kids are reasonably clean for the beach.? I defy anyone to get rid of all the sand after a one year old has been sitting in wet sand and shoveling sand into his mouth for hours.? Second, they are dressed in coordinated outfits.? SuburbanMommy insists we do this once per trip and take family photos.

Stay tuned for video from the worst of times…

Television and Giant Mushrooms

My kids don’t watch what I’d consider a lot of television.? In fact, many times, I wish they would spend more time watching TV.

But this weekend, Thing 2 really wanted to watch movies.? Finally, SuburbanMommy gave him the old parenting line: If you watch too much TV, your brain will turn to mush.

He didn’t seem to grasp the concept of brains or mush, and didn’t make much of it.? Then, a few hours later, while we were eating lunch, we were talking about what Thing 1 and Thing 2 would do during “quiet time”.?? That’s what we call the time on weekends after lunch when Thing 3 naps and we attempt to have some quiet.

So Thing 2 says,? We can’t watch a movie during quiet time, because it will turn the TV into a giant mushroom.

I Am Officially Old

That’s it.? It’s official.? I am old.

How did I come to this realization?? It wasn’t because I regularly fall asleep by 10pm.? Or because, as Thing 1 puts it, “Daddy forgets everything”.? And it wasn’t when I noticed that I’m almost twice the age of many of my kids’ preschool teachers, and they call me Mister.

No, last night I happened to come across the new 90210.? Luckily for me it was on before 10 o’clock.

It’s pretty much the same cheesy stuff like the Peach Pit (Nat is still there), with kids who look nothing like the ones in my high school, dealing with a lot of crises I don’t remember having in high school.

Back From The Beach

Another summer ends with a beach trip for Suburban Family.? It wasn’t much different than last year’s adventure.? We were happy we went, and happy when it was over.? It was one of those trips.

The kids had a great time, which is the whole point, right?? For Thing 3, it was his first time to a beach.? He loved diving head first into the water and eating sand.? When I say eating sand, I mean shoveling it in by the handful and laughing as he was doing it.? It may be all laughs going in, but it isn’t much fun when it comes out the other end if you know what I mean.

Eating Sand At The Beach

Thing 3 also had what was probably the single best time of his life, running through the spraypark fountain outside our restaurant.? It was a lot of fun to watch, even if most of the rest of the trip he was a handful.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 loved the beach, mini-golf, and getting to eat ice cream sometimes twice a day.? We decided to relax many of our regular rules while on vacation and go with the flow.? It worked for the most part.

A big surprise was how well the two of them got along.? They actually shared a bedroom which I thought would be a disaster, but it worked out great.? One night, I overheard Thing 1 explaining to Thing 2 all the stuff they would do on the beach the next day.? Something about digging a hole and making sand castles.? And Thing 2 was actually listening to his big brother, hanging on every word.? Incredible.

Best Friends

Don’t let these photos fool you.? The trip was not easy.? When Thing 3 woke up at his usual 5:30am, everyone else had to get up at the same time because there is no keeping the noise down in a condo.? And the rooms were far from child friendly.? Every 2 minutes someone was either bumping their head or breaking something.? Especially Thing 3.? Fifteen months is a tough age to travel with.

I’ll sure I’ll have more stories, videos, and pictures to post from our trip in the coming weeks.? But, for now, I’m just happy to have survived another family vacation, and happy to be back from the beach.

No Win Situations

There are some parenting situations you just can’t win.? Case in point: Thing 1 and Thing 2 were at it again, in the throws of a heated sibling rivalry.? For a change.

I managed to get control of the situation and both agreed to sit down and quietly watch a TV show together.? They actually agreed on which show to watch, which is quite a win by itself.? Usually, there is an epic battle between The Backyardigans and Diego.? It really doesn’t matter who wants to watch what. Just that one doesn’t want whatever the other wants.

But this time, they agreed.? This time, SuburbanDaddy wins.? Well, not so fast.

Two minutes into it, Thing 1 says he can’t hear, so I make it louder.? Then, Thing 2 says it’s too loud and it’s hurting his ears.? Another heated sibling rivalry ensues.? Lots of screaming, crying, whining.? Some if it mine.? There is no winning.

Looking Forward To Monday

By the end of the work week, I’m glad that it’s the weekend.? Well, for the most part.? I don’t exactly get to relax on weekends, but at least I don’t have to think about work for two days.

By the end of the weekend, after two days of “relaxing”, I’m ready for it to end.? There is no sadness Sunday night about having to get up early and go to work on Monday.? Maybe 5 years ago, but not any more.? No, now I look forward to Mondays.