Wednesday, June 22, 2011

360 days of summer continues! Bike rides are on the menu - with a side of skinned knee and sore backside. Even though I need a doughnut to sit down, and a pillow to put under my bottom like I was a victim of a horrible prison event, I still loved it. What's great about bike rides is not the pedaling, or the riding, or the stupid helmet. What's important is looking at the kids, and seeing how awesome they think it is (and noticing how little they are screaming and yelling at each other during this glorious ride.) In the end, aren't half of the activities we do just designed to keep the kids entertained so they don't kill each other and make you watch an excess of soap operas to escape the madness? If this sounds like you, I suggest a bike ride!
As any apocalyptic dad (a dad who plays by his own rules) knows, other people's opinion mean nothing. However, everyone will have an opinion of how you're doing. "oh, they shouldn't do that" or "do you think your child performing a touchdown endzone dance in that fountain is appropriate?" - the answer is SHUT THE HELL UP. I'll parent how I want, and if you think that's going to be the end of the world...sorry. But I digress. My point is, people will still nitpick no matter what you do. So just do what you like. You'd think a bike ride would be sufficiently sanitized that no one would offer complaint. Maybe they shouldn't have been flipping brodies on the park grass. Maybe they shouldn't have been spitting their water at each other while they rode past. But come on! Victim-less crime. Would you rather they spat water, or spray painted your fence? The choice is clear. Have fun out there!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

I think the world has become two polar opposites when it comes to parenting. On one side, you've got the parents who do nothing with their kids - the hands-off parents whose kids you see roaming the streets at dusk - and the way too hands on parents, who stop their kids from breathing too loudly. Those parents, though trying hard to make sure their kids don't end up in the "what do you want to do now?" roamers who eventually end up doing something illegal, are actually doing harm to their kids as well by being too strict. If too many fences are put up, human nature tells us to knock the fences down! And once the fence is down...the animals roam free. That's not the way.

You need to give the kids some leash. Let them go a little bit. Let them be kids. Who cares if you get a few dirty looks from stuck up Grandma in the cereal aisle? She can be indignant. She can think "those kids aren't well behaved." That's her OPINION. In my opinion my kids are perfectly behaved. Not too wild. Not too boring. Just right. And that knowledge makes me smile while they are dumping out the captain crunch on the floor.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

We've been trying to get game time going at our house. The problem is having enough time. I've even been setting the games out to force us to remember to play. But it hasn't worked yet. All its done is get the kids over excited. There's just not anyu time for it after dinner. Maybe we should do it during dinner?
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