Phonin’ It In

Lately, the naughty word around our home has been “IPhone.” Just so you know, EVERYONE has one…EXCEPT for Christopher. Last summer, Steph & I got Christopher a phone so that if he were to be out riding his bike with his buddies or needed to get a hold of us, he would have one. Unfortunately, I wasn’t THINKING that his phone was gonna be a status symbol for coolness. I was THINKING he would use it to COMMUNICATE with us if he NEEDED us. So obviously this was short-sightedness on my part.

So for the past 2 months, all I’ve heard is, “Daaaaaaaaaaad…can I get an IPhoooooooone?” and “Daaaaaaaaaad….everyone ELSE has an IPhooooooooone…why can’t I get one?” Well…let’s see…let me count the reasons WHY Christopher can’t have an IPhone…

1. He already has a phone (as mentioned) and I’m not paying to break a contract with AT&T that will lead to me paying some ridiculous cost for a phone AND a new contract.

2. He has an ITouch…which has a shattered front because he dropped it and now THAT needs to be replaced.

3. The ITouch he has now replaced the FIRST ITouch he was given which he lost.

4. He SEES his friends at school, at practice, around the neighborhood ALL THE TIME. If we moved to Seattle and he wanted to keep in contact with his friends via Facetime (which he has on the ITouch) or there was some other truly inspirational reason WHY a 10-year old boy needs an IPhone specifically to be able to be a 10-year old boy that is not simply “because it’s cooler than a flip phone,” then MAYBE I would consider it. Be that as it may, at this point in his young life, I’m not buying it.

So WHY don’t I want my son to be the coolest kid on the block? Well…it has more to do than just money actually. Honestly, I could care less what kind of phone Christopher has as long as when I call him, he answers. This, however, has been a problem. Because normally when I DO call his phone, it’s sitting on the counter in our kitchen or is at the bottom of his backpack set on vibrate or it’s at his friends’ house where he left it last night. 9 times out of 10, when I call the 10 digits that are my son’s phone number, I get an answering machine. And THAT drives me CRAZY!!!!!

Why does he HAVE a phone if he isn’t gonna answer it? Obviously, today we use our phones for a lot more than just calling people. I use mine to text, to take pictures, to keep my calendar, to play games to whittle away the time. There are multiple uses for a phone anymore and the IPhone, despite some downward trending on Wall Street, is the big daddy of them all. I have a 64 gig phone that I keep thousands of songs on, some movies, all of my contacts and who knows how many apps that I never use but they are free so I own them anyways. Obviously I have a reason to have an IPhone! But the NUMBER ONE reason I have a phone? Is so that if there is a problem, if one of my kids are sick at school, if my wife’s car breaks down on the side of the road, if a friend needs me to pick him up at the airport, if my Mom wants to chat about her daily medicine intake, if an employer wants to hire me for a job…ANY of the above things…I have a phone that I can magically pick up and talk to them. NOT for my music, not for sending hearts and kisses to my wife via text, not for snapping photos of my feet in my hotel room watching tv. No…it DOES serve a purpose and that is for communication.

So when I call my son while I’m waiting to pick him up in the school pickup line and I can’t reach him and I have to go around the line again because I don’t know where he is? Yeah…THAT’S irritating. When I call my son when he’s over at a friends’ house to tell him we need him to come home for dinner and as I dial the phone rings on the kitchen counter? Yeah…that’s annoying. When his friends want to video chat while he’s doing his homework and can’t seem to concentrate on the difference between “they’re, their or there?” Yeah…THAT is NOT what I got the phone for.

So I’d like to apologize to Christopher but I am not footing the bill for an IPhone at this time. However he MAY leave a message after the beep and I’ll get back to him at a later date.

beep.

A Letter To My Kids

This is a post for my children. Someday, I hope they are reading through the massive amounts of writings that I have done through the years and come across this and realize a few things…

This morning, I woke up, poured myself some coffee and watched my wife, your mom, as she was preparing your school lunch. She had already been up for about 45 minutes and had already gotten a shower as she was getting ready to go to work at 8am. It was 7:05. I asked her if I could help get your lunches ready and she told me I could make the sandwiches if I wanted to do something. As I was making your turkey & cheese sandwich with mayo, mustard and lettuce sandwich on hawaiian rolls (she was VERY specific about this), I noticed that she was also preparing you a side salad with carrots and a little cup of dressing that she was putting in little Tupperware cups, vegetable soup that she had made from scratch and was heating up on the stove, a small bowl of strawberry jello that she had made and a snack bar. I note the contents of what she packing because, quite honestly, if it had been ME packing your lunches, you would have gotten a peanut butter & jelly sandwich on regular white bread, some potato chips, maybe some grapes and a juice box. I MIGHT have POSSIBLY used wheat bread (if I’d seen it in the bread drawer first) but a SALAD with SOUP that I had made from SCRATCH? Not a chance.

Sounds like an average morning so…my point to this is?

Well…it’s not that your mother loves you more than I do. We both love you equally. However your mother goes ABOVE & BEYOND when it comes to taking care of you and she loves you so much that she will take the time to make sure you have the best she can give you. And this isn’t just in the case of just your lunch box either. Your Mom works harder at making sure that you have a great childhood than I have ever done in your short time here on this planet. Despite what you may think of her sometimes, there is no one who will do the things that she does to make your life as good as it can be. I’ve watched her. I’ve seen her struggle with you over your homework. I’ve seen her bust her butt to make sure she can get you, Christopher, from practice then to a game, pack you a bag of clean clothes so you can change, make sure someone can take you home, run to the store to get a gift so that she can take you, Ava, to your friend’s house for a birthday party, drive across town so that she can get something from someone for some charity engagement she has that night, drive back to get Christopher from the game, take you home to get a shower, take you to your friend’s house to play for a while then go get you, Ava, from the party, drop you off at another friend’s house then go home, change, and then go to a meeting, etc & so forth. Just WRITING this is exhausting to me, so DOING it sounds like a nightmare! But she does it and she doesn’t say a word about it to either of you.

Your mom makes sure you have what you need and gets you to where you need to go to get it. She makes sure that you understand all the things that are happening in your life. She is concerned about your future. She worries about you when you’re unhappy. She takes care of you when you’re sick. She has never once complained about doing ANY of these things. When I get frustrated when you whine about someone not passing you the ball during the game or dealing with having to make you something for breakfast that’s NOT cereal (seriously…what is WRONG with just eating cereal for breakfast?!?!), she will take the time to listen, she will make you eggs, she will understand your logic and make it all work.

My point is this…love your mother. Unequivocally. Don’t ask questions. Don’t talk back. Don’t take her for granted. Don’t think for a second that you can live without her. Because I’m here to tell you…you can’t.

I’m a a 44-year old man and I still have an undying love for my Mom. She did for me exactly what your mother is doing for you today and she has never asked me for anything more than a hug and a kiss before I leave her home. Your mother will be the same way. Live your life, enjoy it! But don’t EVER think you got it for free. Your life was not free. Your mother gave you your life. She gave birth to you, she cares for you, she loves you and when the shit hits the fan, she is gonna be there to help you get through it. Will dad be there? Of course I will. But trust me, MY take on things will always be peanut butter & jelly to her turkey & cheese sandwich with mayo, mustard and lettuce sandwich on hawaiian rolls. And it’s in THOSE details where you will find that she matters the most. I’m not belittling the things that I do for you. Trust me, I know my role. But it’s your Mom who is the angel on the top of your tree and so any time you think it will be okay to mouth off, be disrespectful, complain about the little things that don’t really matter, I want you to think of ALL of the things your mother does for you and I want you to reflect on those things.

Peanut butter and jelly will get you through, but turkey & cheese sandwich with mayo, mustard and lettuce sandwich on hawaiian rolls with homemade soup, salad and jello are the things that make your life special. Treat your mother with respect, love her as much as your heart will give and NEVER take her for granted. This matters very much to me because if you don’t understand that, then I have failed you as a father. Love your mother with all of your heart and your life will be greater than you know. Trust me when I tell you…mine has been.

Love you both,

Your dad

Prince…NOT Prints

Ok…maybe I can see where there MIGHT be some confusion…

So the musical education of my children continues. Of course, Christopher is into the rap music and Ava is partial to all the Disney tunes right now, but occasionally I try to mix in something that they haven’t heard in order to try to get them to come to their senses. So tonight we were driving back from a fun family outing and I had the radio on and a Prince song came on. I took the opportunity to educate Ava in all that is Prince…

Me: Ava…this is Prince.

Ava: Prints?

Me: No…PRINCE.

Ava: Oh…PRINCE. I thought Prints would be a weird name.

(silence)

Me: This was a popular song when I was a young boy. I thought it was a pretty good song.

(silence)

Ava: Dad?

Me: Yes…

Ava: Is it a boy or a girl? ‘Cause it sounds more like a princess.

Me: (changing the channel) Nevermind…

THE END

And Then “Toy Story 3″ Happened…

Christopher & Teddy

You remember the storyline of “Toy Story 3,” right? If not…let’s recap. Woody and his pals are put in a box and are ready for the junkheap because their “boy”, Andy, is all grown up and has no need for them. That is the premise and there are great adventures and eventually, the toys find their way back to Andy for an emotional ending.

Cue to MY house.

I decided it was time for spring cleaning. Had to happen because BOTH of my kids had been neglecting their rooms and, quite frankly, they were a disaster. Also our downstairs living room (which doubles as a kids playroom) had apparently been hit by a tornado so…dad went to work. And as always, there were casualties. The random Happy Meal toy…GONE! A stick from some backyard adventure…GONE! A couple hairbands with strands of hair attached…GONE! A Barbie shoe without a double…GONE! Pillows were fluffed and beds were made. The vacuum found its way out of its hiding place and floors were swept. Needless to say, I was a busy beaver for about 6 hours. Everything was looking good. I had about 5 garbage bags of trash ready to go when the kids got home from school and admired my handy work.

Ava was happy with my cleaning job, proclaiming me her new hero and she even told me that she had never seen her room so clean!

In Christopher’s room, Christopher was looking over everything. I told him I had put some things up in his closet, rearranged some of his playthings and organized his trophy shelves and such. He looked around the room and then did the unthinkable. He went over to his bed and, in one fell swoop, gathered up his 6 or 7 stuffed animals that he ALWAYS had in their place on his bed and handed them to me.

“I’m too old for them now. Can we just put them up in the closet also?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Obviously this HAD to happen at some point but I hadn’t expected it to be so sudden. I imagined they would fall behind his bed and then would be left there or maybe Stella would start picking them off one by one, chewing on limbs or fins or whatever. But not like this. This was too easy! He wasn’t even blinking at the idea of putting them away and for whatever reason…this hit home with me.

“You sure, buddy?”

He looked over them as he handed them to me. He glanced at the cast of characters that had been decorating his bed for so long. Barkley the dog (the namesake of our REAL dog), a dolphin, 2 teddy bears (minus his favorite, Teddy, who is still down in the laundry room waiting to be washed from some art work disaster), a small stuffed pug and another dog of which I have forgotten its name. He glanced them over…

“Yeah…I’m sure.”

I took a deep breath and held his animals in my hands. “Okay…well…I’ll put them up here and if you ever want them, you can get to them, okay?”

“Okay dad. I wonder if AJ or Erik might want them (his cousins).”

This idea was a good one (see “Toy Story 3″) but for whatever reason, I don’t want that to happen. These animals are HIS childhood. So I’m pretty sure, they’re safe. These pals of his won’t be going anywhere out of our house. But I tell him that’s a good thought and I start to close his closet door when I stop for a second.

“You absolutely sure?” I look back at him and I see he’s thinking about it. I don’t know why, but this actually made me feel better that he was considering the whole situation. Then…

“Ya know…can I have Barkley back? He’s my favorite and the first stuffed animal my Grandpa gave me. I’d like to keep him with me.”

“Sure thing, bud. Here ya go.” And I reached up and handed Barkley back to him. Barkley is in serious need of some work. His stuffing is flat and his fur all matted but this is HIS. If anything can sum up a childhood, it’s a child’s favorite stuffed animal and so…for now…he keeps a little of that with him. I know he’s 10 and I know it’s time but still…I’m glad he held on to that one animal, just for now. It tells me I still have a little time. He’s not all grown up just yet…and with that thought…I took a deep breath and went on with my day.

Barkley & Barkley

Morning IChat

So having Facetime has been a huge asset when I travel. I get to talk to my kids like I would if I were right there in the room with them! Or do I?

Here’s a sequence of events while chatting with my daughter this morning. She was somewhat distracted by the television and her favorite Disney Channel show this week. Here’s what I saw throughout most of our “chat”…

If there’s one thing about my daughter it’s that if she ain’t interested, she’s not gonna fake it. LOL!

So now I have a new segment for this here blog…and I’m sure, through the years, it’s BOUND to be interesting…or not.

We’re All Learning Lessons

He’s just as good as he looks…sometimes.

The things we learn as kids are often times passed down from generation to generation. Whether it’s teaching our kids how to sew, how to cook, how to tie your shoes or any number of things. Many people have gone on to do great things and the first thing they do is thank God…and then their parents. And I imagine the people they became are a direct result of the parents they had.

The other day one of my best friends sent me this link to my wife and I. The article is called “What Makes A Nightmare Sports Parent And What Makes A Great One.” In it, the author highlights a survey that has been ongoing for over 3 decades and according to it, the absolute worst part of growing up and playing sports for kids is the ride home after the events. Not the losing or the coaches or the weightlifting or any other part of practices. Not the lack of playing time or the fact that there wasn’t enough Gatorade for everyone after the game. It’s the ride home and the misery that accompanies it that is the absolute WORST part of playing sports at any level.

After reading this, I thought about it and I wasn’t sure WHAT my thoughts were. I mean, I remember the drives home after basketball games and I remember my Dad giving me pointers on what I did right & wrong but I don’t remember ever thinking as I was leaving the gym, “I bet my Dad is PISSED!” or “I hope Dad didn’t leave me behind because I only scored 2 points tonight.” I remember there being long rides home because I was mad at myself for not playing the best I could or there would be disappointment that my team lost or there was excitement because I had played well or because we won but I don’t recall there ever being a time where I would say the worst part of playing sports was because my parents talked to me about my performance after an event.

Cut to 25 year later. This weekend I had the opportunity to go to 2 of Christopher’s basketball games. In the first one, he played one of the most impressive games of his young career that I have seen. I want to say he had 16 points, played good defense, had a couple assists and some rebounds. He had a great all-around game and his teammates also played as hard as they could but they still lost to one of the better teams in the league by 12 points. Nevertheless, all of the parents there were happy with what they saw because ALL of our boys played their hearts out and worked really hard despite the loss.

The second game was this morning and it was the exact opposite. Christopher is playing on a team where he knows few of the boys on the team, he’s easily the most advanced player on the squad and he knows it. So it was disappointing today when his team had an opportunity to win but fell a little short losing by 1. Christopher had 7 points and did do a lot to keep his team in the game but there was a different vibe to the way he played today compared to yesterday. And so here is where, as a parent, I needed to make a judgement call and so I did.

After the game yesterday, I was as supportive as I could have possibly been. He worked hard, held his head high against a team that had blown them out earlier in the season and despite the loss, Christopher had gone out swinging like a champion. In today’s game, when his team needed him to step up and be a leader, he didn’t. Instead he didn’t listen to his coach (who has been coaching him for 3 years now), he didn’t try to incorporate his teammates into the game (3 games into the season and he doesn’t know their names yet?) and he completely fell apart at the end of the game instead of staying positive and working to try to get an opportunity to win the game.

Soooo…after today’s game, I thought about that article my friend sent me as Christopher sat quietly in the back of the car. He was mad at himself and he had cried at the end of the game when they lost after he turned the ball over. I had a choice to make…do I console him? Do I scold him for being a jerk on the court? Do I just drop it? Or do I say (as the article says to do), “I love watching you play buddy!” and leave it at that.

Well…needless to say…the first 5 minutes of the drive it was quiet. Then I made a judgement call. This was a great time to make a point and despite what that article said, I firmly believe that this is the age where our kids are learning what it takes to be not only a good athlete…but a better, all-around person. And so I let him have it with both barrels.

I told him I was disappointed that he played like he was the only one on the team (he took several poor shots and didn’t pass the ball when he had teammates wide open). I told him I was disappointed in the way he disregarded the coach on the sideline when she was trying to set up plays. I told him I was disappointed that he didn’t look to HELP his teammates who are younger than he is and are still learning the game. And I told him that it is a slap in the face to his teammates that he has been playing with them for 3 weeks and STILL doesn’t know any of their names. I don’t care if they’re the best or the worst team, I don’t care if they win or lose, but for him to act like he is so far above his teammates and not be the kind of player that they can look up to (especially since he IS the best player on their squad) was a slap in their face and they deserved better.

So now I have to wonder…will what I say make ANY sense to a 9-year old? Did me telling him all of those things make him a better or worse person? Or am I a contributing factor to the decline in children’s attitude about sports? Or I am trying to live vicariously through my son by pushing him harder than I should? I realize it’s just a game but it’s NOT about winning or losing. It’s how you face adversity and work as a member of a team that should be the first thing learned in sports. It’s playing the best you can against ANY kind of competition and being a good sport after the final buzzer has sounded. In the case of today’s game, I felt Christopher let his ego get the best of him and because of that, his team lost. I told him I felt they didn’t lose in the 4th quarter when he had the turnover but in the very 1st quarter when he decided that he was the best player out there and didn’t have to play with his teammates.

Obviously this made him feel even worse but after sitting quietly for a while he came and sat down and ate some pizza and then I took him to his friends’ house and so here I am, wondering if I’ve been too hard on him or if what I said needed to be said and he might have learned something from his experience. I guess only time will tell but I DO know this…if I had simply said “I loved watching you play buddy” and NOT said anything about his attitude on the court today, I think that would have made me a bad parent. It’s our job as parents to help guide our kids through the early part of their lives and while I understand what that article was saying in regards to parents who have a “must win” mentality when it comes to sports, I do not. I just want to see 4 things when my son or daughter are playing sports:

1. Have fun.

2. Work hard.

3. Listen to your coach.

4. Be a good teammate.

Today Christopher DID work hard (there were only 5 players on his team) but the he certainly didn’t look like he was having any fun and he certainly was not listening to his coach or his teammates. So are my rules so wrong? I think not. Anyone who knows me knows I just want my kids to enjoy their time on the field/court/whatever. But when you get an attitude at the age of 9? Yeah…something needs to be said. And I’m pretty certain my Dad would have said the same things to me….

Texts My Kids Sent Me

So we got our kids ITouches for Christmas last year and they LOVE them! The only problem is…they have no texting etiquette! So now, I’m CONSTANTLY getting texts and pictures and short videos and just about anything they can throw at me which is fine…except when I’m working and my phone is blowing up with blurry dog pictures and texts like this…

And then there’s Christopher, who gets a little more detailed in his texting but still some of it gets lost in the translation and it drives me a little bit crazy at times…

So there ya have it…the start of communication between myself and my kids. I imagine that this will be the way I talk with them from here on out because Ava has even started texting me when she’s in the living room and I’m in the kitchen! And we ALL know where this heads. Gotta be on your toes at ALL times! LOL

Konversations With Kids: Christopher’s First Texting Lesson

So for Christmas my kids wanted socks, clothes, makeup and ITouches. If you think something called an ITouch is obscene, it’s not. Essentially it’s an IPhone without the phone part. But other than making phone calls, they do everything an IPhone does. And they aren’t cheap. But Stephanie convinced me that the kids would really, REALLY like one for Christmas so…Santa made the delivery. And so far, it’s been kind of fun having them. The kids text me and send me pictures and today Christopher sent me a video and so it has been kind of nice to see what goes on with them while I’m on the road.

So today Christopher was watching the UC Bearcats bowl game vs Vanderbilt and was giving me a play-by-play when I decided to give him a little advice on his grammar. The following are our texts…

And I didn’t hear anything from him beyond that point…

Hey…just because we’re texting doesn’t make it okay to use incorrect language. Gotta set a precedence at some point…might as well be now! LOL (which means “Laughing Out Loud”…if you didn’t know. That’s “texting speak”…)!

All He Wants For Christmas Is…Seriously???

This man is a little confused…

Gotta love the holidays! The decorations were up 3 months ago, the music has been infiltrating the airwaves and commercials and I am counting the days to “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (even though I own it on DVD). And now is the time for the kids to make out their lists so that we can check it once or twice and hope that Santa understands that we are trying to make ends meet. Anyway, with Christopher getting older, I imagined that there would be all kinds of things that he would be asking for. Here is the list I IMAGINED would happen…

1. A new bike (preferably a Harley)
2. A smart phone
3. The latest and greatest computer games
4. Under Armour Sweatshirts
5. Under Armour shirts
6. Sweat pants
7. New Nike Jordan shoes
8. A fish
9. A hamster

So expecting this list, I was mildly surprised and more than a little taken aback when Steph shows me Christophers list and it consists of the one thing I would NEVER have guessed.

Here’s the thing, you see. When I was a kid, I wanted ALL the good stuff. I wanted cassettes and a boom box and a new basketball and some new toys and a video game system and if I got one or two of them, I was a happy puppy. But NEVER, EVER…in my youth would I have EVER asked for what my son is asking for Christmas this year.

Steady yourself…

He wants socks.

I kid you not. And not just regular white socks but NBA socks and Nike socks. And he wants certain colors.

Of socks.

I have to be honest…I dunno what to say. I was all set to see this list and then say “No, no, no…absolutely not!” but I’m thinking that there’s not much I can say in this situation. What am I supposed to say? No…you can’t have socks?!?

In all my years, this may be the most ridiculous request for a Christmas gift that I’ve ever heard…but if that’s what the boy wants…who am I to deny his request? So yes Christopher…this year Santa will be bringing you socks. I’m pretty sure THAT won’t be a problem. I just hope this doesn’t come back to bite me down the road…

“Remember that year that all I wanted was socks Dad? Yeah…well…now I want a new car!”

It’s gonna happen…I just know it.

Oh yeah…and he wants a new football. Geez…aren’t the socks enough?!?!

Homework Breakdown

Can I just tell you…one of the joys of parenting has been the load of homework that my 4th grader has been bringing home every night. Between English and Science and Math and Art and Reading and THEN he has football practice (which ends this week thankfully…), it has been like pulling teeth to get it all done and make sure that he understands it all. For the most part, he has been an excellent student. Sure he gets a little unfocused at times but the kid has a lot on his plate and under the circumstances, he handles it pretty well…

Until today.

Today was the breaking point. I wish I could have recorded it for the future to show him because it was MUCH funnier than what I’m about to write but I gotta tell you, he was at his breaking point and so…it went like this…

(Ava is at one side of the table working on her math problems. Her math consists of counting coins. Pennies, dimes, nickels, quarters, half dollars, etc. Christopher is on the other side of the table doing long division problems.)

Ava: “So if I add 3 pennies to 2 dimes I get 23 cents…right?

Me: “Yep! Good job Ava! You’re getting it!”

Christopher: “I need help.”

Ava: “But on the next I can’t use dimes…right? I have to use nickels?”

Christopher: “I don’t get this. I need help.”

Me: “That’s right, Ava. Don’t use dimes. How many nickels makes up a dime?”

Ava: “Two.”

Me: “Correct…so you can use how many nickels and how many pennies to make 23 cents?”

Christopher: (in serious panic mode) “SERIOUSLY?!?! I’M OVER HERE TRYING TO DIVIDE 3,567 BY 3 AND I HAVE ALL THESE NUMBERS AND I NEED HELP AND SHE’S WORKING WITH PENNIES AND YOU WON’T HELP ME?!?! IT’S PENNIES! 1+1 EQUALS 2. WHAT’S SO HARD ABOUT THAT?!?! IT’S JUST PENNIES! I’M TRYING TO DIVIDE BY THE THOUSANDS AND SHE’S WORKING WITH PENNIES AND NICKELS? HOW MUCH EASIER CAN IT BE???”

Ava & I both stop to look at him. His face is red and I can tell he is completely frustrated.

And we both start laughing at him. At first he just stared at us…and then he started laughing also.

“It’s not funny, you guys! This stuff is hard!”

And then we laughed even harder!

Poor guy. No one gives him any sympathy. LOL!

Stella Gets A Cone

So our little terrier mix has gotten her girlie parts removed and needless to say, the post-op incision has not been fun for her. She’s such an active little puppy that the stitches have come loose, she’s chewed on them, we’ve had to have them “glued” and even with her cone on, she STILL manages to itch at them. She’s supposed to get them out this week but I have to imagine this entire event has been somewhat of a frustration for her. We’ve tried to keep her at minimal energy but when all she wants to do is run & play, it gets kind of difficult. I wish I had HALF of her energy! For her art class assignment, Ava was to write a paper to someone she wished she could talk to. She chose Stella. Here is her attempt at getting Stella to lay low a little bit…

Tax Day 2011: Notes From My Round World

Aloha from the banks of the mighty Ohio River!

After returning home from a long week from The Masters last week, there have been plenty of things going on that I figured if you cared, I would share. If not…move on and don’t feel badly about it!

* Our new puppy, Stella, is getting acclimated to her new home. Sure…there are still accidents but for the most part, she is learning quickly and is always sometimes mostly a joy to be around. She DOES have her quirks though and that includes biting and being a little insistent on hanging from Barkley’s ears and tail. LOL

* I know I have a reputation for not being the best cook in the world and it is well known in our home that my daughter has a sweet tooth…but seriously Ava?

Stephanie: “Maybe when we get home your Dad will make you dinner.”

Ava: “That means we’re gonna have pasta or soup. Daddy is good at cooking those.”

Stephanie: “And that’s pretty much all he can cook.”

Pause

Ava: “Maybe when we get home he will bake us some cookies for dinner?”

Stephanie: “Um…no.”

* Stephanie started her new job today.  She will be working part-time at a cosmetic store called “Sephora.” Apparently women LOVE their makeup products! Which basically means Stephanie’s first 3 paychecks have already been spent…

* Christopher’s baseball team, The NKY Bulldogs, have been playing well here as of late. They’ve put together a few wins and last night Christopher pitched a couple of innings. He looked GREAT, holding the other team to only a few runs in those innings and his fastball was clocked at 75 mph! (just kidding) He also knocked in a few runs and got a double for the first time in his 2-year playing career! I was so proud of him and his team and they have really started to pick it up a notch. It’s a credit to his coaches and all the boys working as hard as they have been to continue to improve with each game. In a couple of weeks, Christopher’s team will travel to Indianapolis for a tournament. Here’s hoping we can pick up steam and really start to get ready for some out-of-town tournament action!

* And in MY little world, I am enjoying some really great new music by the Foo Fighters, The Raveonettes and a few other artists. If you like music, go HERE to see more of the stuff I’ve been listening too. Also…I’m in the midst of my 30 Day Song Challenge which has been extended over more of 30 days but I figured as long as I get it done…no one really cares. Actually…no one really cares anyway but you know what I mean.

* Last but by no means least…HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister Kathy today! She has the unfortunate birthday date of April 15th which means every year on her birthday I get to pay the taxman. This, for the most part, means I hate it when my sister’s birthday rolls around. But this year, I get a break and get some money back! So…there ya go! Guess I owe my sister a birthday gift, right? Happy 26th birthday sis! Again…  :-)

Ohio State Buckeyes…Big Ten Champs & We Were There!

So I took some much needed time off this week and to cap it all off, Christopher, his buddy Jackson and I all piled into Stephanie’s Traverse and drove to Indianapolis to watch THE Ohio State Buckeyes, the #1 ranked team in the country and now the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, win the Big Ten Tournament. After a close win vs Northwestern and a another tough win over Michigan, OSU needed a much bigger win over Penn State in order to secure their national prominence…and they got it. The best part…it was Christopher’s first college basketball game and we got to see a big win! Here are some pictures of our day…

At Conseco Fieldhouse

We had…seats…

A few conversations/questions from the day…

(crowd) O!…H!…I!…O!
Christopher: “Uh…dad? What are they spelling?”

Christopher: “What is their (Penn State’s) mascot?”
Me: “A Nittany Lion.”
Christopher: “It looks like a pig.”
Jackson: “No…it’s a dog. Or a vampire. It’s a pig-dog-pire!”

It kind of IS a pig-dog-pire…

Christopher: “What just happened?” (several times)

Christopher: “What did he (the announcer) just say?” (several times)

Christopher: “I want a pretzel. With cheese. And Skittles. And a water.”
Lady Behind Counter: “That’s $15.” (Christopher also ate Jackson’s ice cream)

Christopher: (after the game) “Dad…why did they put that ladder up?”
Me: “They cut down the nets after to celebrate the win.”
Jackson: “Why? Aren’t they gonna play here anymore?”

GO BUCKS!!!

We were wearing our colors!

Post-game Celebration!

We had a great time!

Maybe Next Year…

I dunno if I mentioned it, but this past August we piled into our Explorer and headed north to Chicago for my daughter’s 6th birthday. It was a fun trip. Stayed near the river. Got to see some of the filming of “Transformers 3.” Ate some deep dish pizza. Went on a boat tour. For 3 days we hung out in the Windy City and all the kids REALLY wanted to do was stay at the hotel and swim. Fair enough…we did that.

And the kids were happy.

For her birthday, Ava got to hang out for a few hours at the American Girl Doll store. She got a little blonde doll by the name of “Laney”  with a violin and a couple of new outfits. Christopher was forced to hang out in the store with us…which was a thrill of a lifetime for him, I’m sure.

Then we all piled back into our Explorer and drove the 300 miles back to Cincinnati.

So recently my wife and Ava were discussing plans for next year. You figure with trip like that, it would be pretty hard for a 6-year old to come up with something better…right?

So the conversation went like this…

Mom: “So Ava…have you thought about what you want to do for your birthday next year?”

Ava: “Yes.”

Mom: “Well…what is it?”

Ava: “I wanna go someplace.”

Mom: “Someplace where? Like Chicago?”

Ava: “Uh huh.”

Mom: “We might be able to go somewhere. Maybe New York or Washington or…?”

Ava: “Well…I was thinking about it and I want to go to China.”

Mom: “Oh. Yeah…well you’re gonna have to discuss that one with your daddy.”

The End

They don’t make deep dish in China…

The Crossroad (A Narrative By A Father)

Recently a blogger friend wrote about her exploits with her kids and how she is afraid to let go. I imagine she and my wife are in the same boat. My son, who is 8, has been struggling for control with his mother for the last year or so now. Frustratingly, he calls to her for just about anything & everything, and then he turns around and decides what he wants to do. Prime example being his homework. Christopher likes to ask for help and then, when his mother or I try to help him, he gets snotty and despondent. This strikes me as funny coming from a boy who can barely remember his middle name half the time (gets that from me), but I find it somewhat hopeful that now that he IS trying to break free of the “leash”, he will find out what the word “responsibility” means.

I gotta think that the animals that live in the wild are more attuned to this sort of nurturing than we are.  Animal cubs/chicks/pups/etc get maybe a year…and that’s a long time. From there they are on their own. Humans, on the other hand, coddle and kiss boo-boo’s and try to make life so picture perfect for our kids.We do this for probably a lot longer than we should. I know MY kids aren’t lacking when it comes to entertainment and clothing and food and toys. They have everything they need and much more. So for my son to be giving us a hard time is new to us but I get it. And I gotta respect it. But I explained it to him in a way that I thought he might understand and it went a little something like this…

Me: “Christopher, the way I see it…you’re at a crossroad.”

Christopher: “Huh?”

Me: “A crossroad. You know…when you’re riding your bike and you’re going straight but then you see a turn and you decide you might want to go that way instead so you do, even though everyone else is going straight. A crossroad.”

Christopher: “I don’t get it.”

Me: (picking up a pencil and flipping over his homework assignment) “Look…it’s like this…(drawing a cross-like road and and a makeshift stick bike)…you’re riding this way (north), following your mother and me. Suddenly we come upon a stop sign (drawing sign badly). We continue north but you see that there are other options. You could go left or right OR you can follow us. At this point, it’s YOUR decision to make. Do you want to follow us? Or do you want to make a few decisions on your own and make some mistakes along the way? It’s your call.”

Christopher: (Looking at me with those big blue eyes that he got from me) “….ummmm….”

Me: “Do you understand what I’m saying? You can decide what you want to do. Do you turn left and maybe find something new and exciting (drawing a left hand turn on the paper with a happy face)? Or do you go right and get yourself into a lot of trouble (drawing a right hand turn on the paper with a frowning face)? Or do you follow us and let us lead your way? Your call.”

Christopher: “Hmmmm…” (he looks at me and then at the paper)

Me: “Do you understand ANY of this?”

Christopher: “Yeah Dad. I get it. Sooooo….”

Me: “What? You gonna go left, right or straight?”

Christopher: “Well…I’m not sure. (takes a few seconds) But…shouldn’t we erase all that before I have to turn in my paper?”

And so it has been decided…the leash stays on for a little while longer…

Yep…EXACTLY.