When I Grow Up

The other night I asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. Katie thought for a few seconds, and then decided that she wanted to be a writer, and write books for kids and adults. I could actually see her doing this. She like to spend a lot of time drawing and making up stories to go with her pictures. She even started making a book this week called, "The Cat with Red Eyes". Coming soon to a store near you.

Andy thought hard about the question, and finally decided not to choose. "I don't want to tell you" he said. I let it go, and then tonight while I was putting him down for bed, he brought it up to me. "Dad, when I grow up, I want to be a Ninja." I chuckled of course. He quickly followed this up with some questions about the profession: "Are Ninjas bad?", "Do Ninjas use Lightsabers?", and most importantly, "Can I be a GOOD Ninja?"

So, it looks like I have one kids who is going to write books for the betterment of society, and one good natured assassian. I guess it could be worse!

Heat

Its been boiling the last few days. 90 in the shade in our house. Pool is a godsend. Kids swimming today, Jen and I taking turns sweating.

Dad's Day

We had a nice quiet dad's day today. Some very special presents with my very special family.

Negotiations

As the kids have gotten older, and more savvy to Jen's and my management skills, they have started to master the art of negotiation. I think all parents know what I am talking about here. I can't remember the first time it happened to be honest. I'm sure it was something as infantile as crying in response to something they don't like, and then us letting them off the hook. It's at that moment that they begin to realize they have some control over the outcome of thier lives.

Crying as a tactic is still in full effect, however, they are beginning to use more strategic means to get thier way as well; like compromising, or trying to create win-win situations. A few examples:

Us: "Eat your dinner."
Them: "Well, what if I just eat 2 of my chicken nuggets?"

Us: "We are turning off the TV in 5 minutes."
Them: "10 Minutes!" (Andy this morning)

Us: "Go pick out a book."
Them: "3 Books!"

Ok, well, none of those are win-win, but you get the point.

The scenarios are endless. To be honest, we are both getting quite tired of it. It's easy to objectively say, 'we are going to have zero tolerance' and therefor diffuse any elements of control. The reality is, there are situations where a compromise is far better than a meltdown, and there are other times when we are just so darn tired at the end of the day, that we just don't have the energy to uphold the law.

Last night, I put the kids to bed (which is always a battle) and Andy snuk back out to watch TV with Jen and snuggle with her on the couch. I was in the den. He had taken a very long nap earlier, and so Jen let it slide. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep next to her on the couch.

Now Andy knows that if daddy catches him out of bed after bedtime, that I will raise my voice at him and usually take away some upcoming privalge. So when Jen called for me to come put him in his bed, Andy instantly woke from a dead sleep, and sprinted back to his bed! We both had to laugh at his response. It's good to know that we still have a little authority, even when we don't always work for it.

I am sure that these challenges will only become more intese as the kids mature. I dread the teenage years. Until then, I will continue to appreciate any level of influence we have, and try to remind myself that independence and creative problem solving are good skills for my chidren to have.

Bella

Katie often ends up having to endure a lot more Hot Wheels and Power Rangers than most girls, considering many of our close friends have boys. However, once and a while she busts out "Bella Bella Dancerella" and strongly reconnects with her 'shego' -- the result is a lot of confusion on the boys faces. They don't know what to do but just stand there.

The Spoils of No-Soils

Andy has had a "Pee Pee" chart going on his wall. The idea is, that if he can go seven days without an accident, and without drinking juice at night before bed, that we would take him to Toy R Us to get something of his choice. Well, the big day finally came, and to celebrate his apple juice sobriety and clean sheets, we took him to the toy store as promised. You can see what he got: Darth Vader with removable helmet. And I quote: "See dad, he's good underneath."

Scooting

We have recently gotten scooters for the kids. Katie has it mastered already, Andy is still coming up the curve. So far no serious injuries. Andy gets mad at his scooter sometimes when it dosen't do what he wants.

Old Friends

Special treat for me this weekend. My old buddy Jeff "Zeeke" Ruzicka, came home for a week from Costa Rica to celebrate the 1-year birthday of his boy, Suede. Many old bros from the SD spin-off clan were in attendance, including: Karl "The Schlicker" Schlaich, Tony "Salami" Anselmi, Travis "T-Tau" Taylor, and Paul "PT" Torres. We had a great time catching-up and seeing each others kids. Travis is in the lead with 3, and Karl and I are in a tie for second with 2 each, followed by Zeeke, with one on the board, and one on deck. (Of course everything is a competition.)