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What I Don’t Need

In my youth, which means before I had kids, I had trouble getting up in the morning. I had to be very careful to set my alarm, or else I would sleep through whatever it was I had to do. Ahhh, youth.

I haven’t set an alarm clock in four and a half years. Surprise surprise, that’s exactly Thing 1’s age.

It is impossible for me to oversleep for anything now. Most days, Thing 3 is my alarm clock. We can’t set the exact time he goes off, but he is sure to be standing in his crib and doing his cock-a-doodle-do (aka crying) sometime between 5-6:15am.

Just in case Thing 3’s wakeup call doesn’t work (not likely), I have backup Plan B – otherwise known as Thing 2. As soon as he wakes up Thing 2 will come into our room and climb into our bed.

So, what happens on those rare occasions, like when I travel for work, when there are no Things to wake me up? Do I go back to my oversleeping youth? Not to worry.

My natural clock has been “readjusted”, from so many years of waking up by 6am, that it is impossible to sleep any later. It’s quite a ~~curse~~ blessing, really. It doesn’t matter how late I go to sleep, I will be up at 6am. Just like the Things.

Parenting Poll Of The Week – Let Them Win?

I have played many, many games with Thing 1 this week. I’ve discovered that he is highly competitive and doesn’t like to lose very much. He’s not really a sore loser, and he doesn’t usually get upset when he loses. But whenever I win, he insists on playing again. And again. And again. Until he wins, then we can stop.

I don’t let him win, but I find myself hoping I lose. Not because I don’t think it’s good for him to experience losing. But because I don’t want to keep playing.

What about you?

[poll=17]

Greatest Playground In The World

I’m not a big fan of malls, but they are the perfect place to bring kids on a rainy day. Here are some pictures of my trip with Thing 2 to Tysons Corner Center this weekend.

Thing 2 has what we call an “inner rhythm”. He often goes around humming, singing, and dancing in his own little world. No matter what is going on around him. Here he is dancing his way through the mall. Strangers are entertained, and often stop to look and laugh.

Thing 2 In The Mall

No trip to the mall would be complete without a stop at the indoor play area. In case you don’t have kids, or haven’t been to a mall recently, these are the areas where parents let their kids loose to climb, run, and scream in a (somewhat) controlled environment. It is total chaos.

Mall Playground

If the above photo looks blurry, that’s because the kids are in constant motion. Finally, here is a shot of Thing 2 doing his famous “monster face”.

Monster Face At The Mall

No More Games

Thing 1 has been home from preschool now for seven days while he recovers from surgery. He’s in good spirits, but use of his right arm is limited, and we need to help entertain him. So we play a lot of games. Over and over and over. I estimate I’ve played 26 games of Trouble, 14 games of Chutes and Ladders, 12 games of Candy Land, 35 games of Spiderman Yahtzee.? We’ve also played our share of Go Fish and War.

With his little brothers at daycare all day, it’s the most one-on-one time we’ve spent with him since before his brothers were born.? I know he’d prefer not have his right arm bandaged up and be able to run around, but I think he’s really enjoying all the special attention he’s been getting.

This must be what it’s like to be an only child.? Having to deal with three all the time, I usually imagine life with just one kid must be easier.? But now that I’ve been doing it for a week and a half, I see that, in some ways, it’s actually easier to have more kids!? With all the fights I break up between Thing 1 and Thing 2, I didn’t realize how much they actually entertain each other.

Without his brother there, Thing 1 is constantly asking me “What do I do now” and “Can we play a game again“.

If you have any game suggestions, please please leave them in a comment.? I’m about to start another game of War.

Kids Are The Best Patients

Patient Thing 1 had surgery six days ago. He was born with a hemangioma on his shoulder. It started as a little red dot, and eventually grew to several inches in diameter. It used to look like he was wearing a shoulder pad on one side, but it became flatter over time.

We’ve always known he would eventually have surgery to remove it. The doctors suggested we wait until just before school age, when he’s still young enough not to remember it, but old enough to allow the lesion to recede somewhat on its own. After school age, he might become self conscience about it. Up until now, it bothered us more than him.

The surgery was at Children’s National Medical Center, at an outpatient location. I’m sure to the doctors this was considered a “routine” procedure Continue reading Kids Are The Best Patients

Parenting Poll Of The Week – Do As I Say Not As I Did

We all have episodes from our past that we may not be proud of. Many are the exact behaviors we tell our kids not to do. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t have sex, don’t pierce, don’t get a tattoo.

Luckily for us parents, MySpace, YouTube, and digital cameras weren’t around when we young, so maybe there is no publicly available evidence. But, we still need to decide what, when, and how much to tell our kids about our checkered past.

[poll=16]

Whatever It Takes

When you want something so badly, there is no length you wouldn’t go, no road you wouldn’t travel, to get it. Sometimes, the end really does justify any means.

Such is the case with potty training. Thing 2 has been reasonably good with #1. Pooping, however, has been a much different story. When wearing diapers, he liked to go to his spot in the playroom and spend some “quiet time” with his castle, if you know what I mean.

To ease the transition, we’ve tried to make going on the potty as familiar to his routine as possible. So, I find myself in scenes like this. At the time, it didn’t seem like an odd thing to do. Looking at the picture now, I see it needs some bit of explanation.

Potty Training - Whatever It Takes

Go Dads!

Thanks to dad-to-be James, I just learned about a new site called BabySpot for sharing photos and videos of your baby.

Parents from all over the world congregate here to share their child’s baby pictures, offer parenting tips & tricks through parenting blogs, and to meet new people and share family stories on their family blog.

And the best part is it was started by dads. Imagine that, fathers excited, interested, and involved with their babies!