Raising a Boy

Saw this article and wanted to post it. I pretty much agree with every one of them, no matter how much you push it or not!

Ones the resonate the most:

Roughhousing Is Innate

Boys are physical. There's the jumping off furniture, the rolling on each other, the "hug" that turns into a full-body running tackle. Play fighting and roughhousing is surprisingly hard-wired into many boys. It's often how they connect and express affection. Don't worry – it's normal and experts say it's healthy. This kind of physical interaction can foster positive relationships, boost the body's feel-good chemicals and promote intelligence -- even if means stuff around the house is going to get broken

Even Sweet-As-Pie Boys Love Guns

No toy guns in your house? No bad-guy shows? No cowboy dress-up gear? It doesn't matter. Somehow, boys know what a gun is, and will turn anything from an empty toilet paper roll to a finger into a weapon. It's disconcerting, for sure, but it's not something to worry about. And if you try to ban gun play, you run the risk of making it that much more exciting. Think of it this way: Maybe he's a good guy looking to save the world from bad guys and hot lava

Pee Will Be Everywhere. Everywhere.

On the floor. Behind the toilet. On the wall. All over the seat that they neglected to lift up. Apparently, it takes time and an attention span not to spray the entire bathroom while urinating. And perhaps less surprising: No one notices or cares but you. Keep some Clorox wipes at the ready and remind yourself of this upside: Unless there's poop involved, your child won't ever need to sit on a dirty public toilet seat and it's incredibly easy for them to pee behind a tree in the park.

Post Baby - Funny Article

For all the moms (or soon to be moms reading this) out there... this one is for you!

A co-worker sent it to me and I peed my pants, literally - because I do that now - as I was reading it.

My favorite: #5 Worst Massage Ever... 

For you men out there... take a read. You'll have even more sympathy for those lovely ladies in your lives and perhaps increase the value of that push present! :)

Swim lessons

We started another round of swim lessons today- switched to Foss- and it's going great! It's just Cole and one other girl with the teacher. Apparently he was quite the show off.

Great Article

I haven't had time to talk about this article with J yet... I just read it... but I think I might have to. It's funny and I would love to hear if he had the same thoughts... I had some, so I would assume so...

Read it. Laugh. Enjoy. Commiserate.

Cutest Nursery Ever

I have to share some pictures of our friend's daughter's (aka - Baby Bro-Go's future girlfriend) nursery. Seriously, the cute factor is so over the top and I would like to live in there!!







Great job Sarah (and Jordan)!

Link for more

Cole, why are you so mad?!?!

Cole is back to throwing tantrums... it's lovely. Really.

To help me deal with living with a walking time-bomb, I've turned to humor.

Below is a post from Jason Good - It's so spot on that I couldn't help but share.

46 Reasons My Three Year Old Might be Freaking Out

• His sock is on wrong.
• His lip tastes salty.
• His shirt has a tag on it.
• The car seat is weird.
• He’s hungry, but can’t remember the word “hungry.”
• Someone touched his knee.
• He’s not allowed in the oven.
• I picked out the wrong pants.
• His brother looked at him.
• His brother didn’t look at him.
• His hair is heavy.
• We don’t understand what he said.
• He doesn’t want to get out of the car.
• He wants to get out of the car by himself.
• The iPad has a password.
• His sleeve is touching his thumb.
• He doesn’t understand how popsicles are made.
• The inside of his nose stinks.
• Chicken is gross.
• A balloon he got six months ago is missing.
• A puzzle piece won’t fit in upside down.
• I gave him the wrong blue crayon.
• The gummi vitamin is too firm.
• Netflix is slow.
• He jumped off the sofa and we weren’t watching.
• He’s not allowed to touch fire.
• Everything is wrong with his coat.
• There’s a dog within a 70 mile radius.
• A shoe should fit either foot.
• I asked him a question.
• His brother is talking.
• He can’t lift a pumpkin.
• He can’t have my keys.
• The cat is in his way.
• The cat won’t let him touch its eyeball.
• The inside of his cheek feels rough.
• Things take too long to cook.
• He has too much food in his mouth.
• He sneezed.
• He doesn’t know how to type.
• The DustBuster is going to eat him.
• His mom is taking a shower.
• Someone knocked over his tower.
• He got powdered sugar on his pants.
• The yogurt won’t stay on his spoon.
• EVERYTHING IS TOO HOT.

Honest Toddler (blog to follow)

My friend Amy clued me into the Twitter feed Honest Toddler. Since then, I've found that they also have a blog. Let me just say that if I could tap into Cole's mind, I think this would be exactly what was in there. God help me when he confirms that:

Recent post about sharing:

We already know that parents tend to be hypocritical when it comes to rules. Try not to hold it against them as most of their actions are born from a crippling fear that they’ll raise an embarrassment. 

But today a line was crossed. 

I was at the park this afternoon building a desert city when an “I’m changing the world one poo at a time” gPants wearing NON WALKER crawled over and put his wet gums on my red shovel. In my dreams my mom would have said something like, “Hey baldy, get away from my kid’s toys” and pushed him on to his back, but no. When I went to pull it away from him and strike his Charlie Brown head with my pail she not only humiliated me by catching my arm mid-hit but sang “We Share!” loudly in my ear. 

Now, I understand that moms and dads behave like caricatured versions of themselves at the park, trying their hardest to emulate the bubble gum disciplinarian Mary Poppins in order to earn the respect of their peers, but this was ridiculous and I am outraged. 

Why should I share? Do we live in communist Russia? Did everyone at the park chip in ten cents so that I could have these dollar store sand toys? Did this fat baby’s ancestors save our forefathers aboard the Titanic? Why do I owe this kid even a second with MY toys? 

To teach me kindness and generosity. Yeah because I’m really feeling charitable right now. Forced philanthropy. That seems like a wonderful idea. Maybe we should donate some of mommy’s shoes and daddy’s “collectables.” I’ll get right on that. 

I’ve been asking for a tic tac for MONTHS and even though I know my mom’s purse is full of them, have been denied repeatedly. I can’t get a sip of soda. The buttons on the washing machine are off limits. Seems like this “sharing” concept only applies to yours truly. 

If you’re reading this, gKid, rest assured that I have a bite waiting with your name on it. Next time I see you at the park bring your own toys and steer clear of me. PS. Your orange cloth-plastic-hybrid diaper made you look like a jack-o-lantern with arms.

Source: http://honesttoddler.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/sharing/#more-170

I Feel You

I've referenced our friend's Nicole and Justin's blog before - they have a daughter who just turned two and, much like Cole, has been developing a "personality". With that said, I have to repost the conversation she recently put on her blog... J and I have had the same one recently (minus the "second one" so don't get too excited) so it's nice to know we're not along:

Me: How in the world did she (pointing at our little monster) take over our house?

Justin: I have no clue. What just happened?

Me: What do we do? How do we get control back?

Justin: We don't. We start over with the next one.

Me: Oh dear. At least she is silent and not screaming...

(Hannah is staring at us smiling and trying to happily shove mini wheats in our mouths.)

Justin: She is possessed.

Me: It feels that way lately.

Justin: When should I schedule her exorcism?

Me: As soon as possible.

The reality of parenting a toddler. Argh.

I think it's funny

A good friend of mine works at an elementary school and shared this story on her blog... Her post had a "moral of the story" ending to it where mine is simply "ha! I love the internet" plot.

Happy Tuesday: 

I work in the kindergarten hallway...and although it is loud at times, I have come to adore and love the little rascals. My friend, Anya, a kindergarten teacher showed me a homework assignment that one of our shared students had completed. It's kindergarten, so it is simple: Cut out photos of things that start with the letter "Z." Well, our little dear brought this back in to present in front of the entire class:

source: http://justinandnicolejohnston.blogspot.com/ 

Guest Blogger Monday

Guest blog writer Jason Rogowski here.

Feeling pretty good on this Monday morning after a couple big wins by the Pack, the complete collapse of the Vikings (including watching Favre act like he died after getting a little scratch on his chinny-poo), and a very productive last few weekends getting the house ready for the little Tasmanian Devil. We had an awesome dinner Saturday night with the Pugh's celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary. In the spirit of Halloween we took them to Forepaugh's in St. Paul, which is haunted according to a fable of lust, suicide and lovers scorned. Nothing too weird happened but we did have a screaming 2 year old next to us so she must have been spooked by something. Or just a brat. Spooky.

The dinner was also a "thank you" to the Pugh's for taking the renegade grey tiger for an extended stay with them - never thought I'd say this but it's just not the same putting on my socks in the morning without fear of losing a toe. But, now the carpets are all cleaned of cat hair and the nursery is basically ready to roll. This has to be one of the only times Brittney and I are prepared for something more than one day (or 10 minutes) in advance. I guess looming parenthood has already changed us some.

Speaking of change I also attended my first full blown yoga class Sunday morning. I knew it was not going to be a picnic and I was right. What a great workout for the whole body - and I was very impressed with the instructor. She is definitely a natural in that environment and it was fun to listen to all the people thank her after class, even though I was balled up in the corner trying not to vomit.

Looking ahead the house is getting a bit of a makeover with a new furnace and some new windows. We haven't had heat for the last week because the old rust bucket hit the fritz once and for all. And the windows and doors will make the winter a little more bearable by eliminating the breeze through the living room. After that I will be off to the motherland to fill the freezer and once again provide for the family. This year's harvest will be of utmost importance, as I expect Bone Jr. to be eating venison by age 3 weeks. Venny sticks by age 2 months.

Hope everyone has a good hunt if that applies to you. Otherwise, enjoy the last bit of fall before Thanksgiving and the most wonderful holiday of them all. 'Tis soon the season to put in Christmas Vacation and play on an endless loop.

Clark W. Griswold, out.