One afternoon my wife came home to find the kids wearing my pajamas and whacking each other with whiffleball bats.
"Mommy we're Jedis!" my daughter announced, while wearing my (not fresh) pajama bottoms tied up under her armpits and swinging a green bat at her brother's head.
"Yeah, I'm Qui-Gon Jinn" my son yelled, parrying, while wearing my pajama shirt like a cloak.
"More like Qui-Gon Dork," she muttered, "Now where is your father?"
I was in the kitchen making chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream - for dinner.
She took away my blog...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Offsetting the Recession
Tired of hearing about my follicle oriented anxieties, my wife patted me gently on the head, kissed my increasingly exposed pate, and said,, "Don't worry there is more of you to kiss."
"Good, I'm growing more to kiss here to!" I said proudly, patting my expanding belly.
"Good, I'm growing more to kiss here to!" I said proudly, patting my expanding belly.
Pie Fears
I saw the very cute move The Waitress, in which Keri Russell plays a waitress who bakes wonderful pies. As she bakes she sings to herself:
That’s ok – more for me. Those books about how the human body works has really paid off.
Gonna bake a pieNaturally the song is stuck in my head and I sing it to myself (not that I ever bake pies). Now, because my kids have heard it they are afraid of pie because there might be a heart in the middle.
Gonna bake a pie
Gonna bake a pie with a heart in the middle
That’s ok – more for me. Those books about how the human body works has really paid off.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Applying Political Theory to Parenthood
Having failed at so many, many worthwhile endeavors Father Goof is a graduate student. As part of my program, I am taking a course on political theory, which, to my surprise, is having practical applications to the art of parenthood. The other day we learned about the Borda count, an election method in which voters rate their choices and the candidate with the highest rating wins. My attitude towards democracy in the home usually echoes Lycurgus who when an Athenian told the Spartans to adopt democracy, answered, “Begin with your own family.”
Nonetheless the Borda count proved useful for maintaining social harmony in my kingdom. The other day, I picked up my son from school and asked him where he wanted to go to dinner. He told me Baja Fresh. I asked him what his second choice would be. At first he grumbled that he wasn’t really getting to choose, but I told him that if he picked two and his sister picked two then they would be bound to agree on one and everyone would be at least a little happy (thankfully they only eat at three restaurants.)
“Good idea Dad, but let me ask her which restaurant she wants for dinner.”
He is learning how to set the agenda to control the outcome – impressive.
When we got to her school he asked her, “Do you want dinner at Baja Fresh or the noodle place?”
“No Baja Fresh, I want noodles!” she voted.
“Daddy, she wants the noodle place.”
“Buddy,” I told him, “If you asked her right, she would have picked Baja Fresh and you would have gotten your first choice.”
“That’s ok Daddy. I was empowering her.”
I think I should stop reading my political theory homework to him for bedtime (although it does have the ended effect – Rawls, Habermas, and Dahl are good, but no one beats Amy Guttman for narcotic effect.)
Still it is an improvement, his previous attempts at empowering his sister have resulted in timeouts for him and the application of ice to his sibling’s forehead.
Nonetheless the Borda count proved useful for maintaining social harmony in my kingdom. The other day, I picked up my son from school and asked him where he wanted to go to dinner. He told me Baja Fresh. I asked him what his second choice would be. At first he grumbled that he wasn’t really getting to choose, but I told him that if he picked two and his sister picked two then they would be bound to agree on one and everyone would be at least a little happy (thankfully they only eat at three restaurants.)
“Good idea Dad, but let me ask her which restaurant she wants for dinner.”
He is learning how to set the agenda to control the outcome – impressive.
When we got to her school he asked her, “Do you want dinner at Baja Fresh or the noodle place?”
“No Baja Fresh, I want noodles!” she voted.
“Daddy, she wants the noodle place.”
“Buddy,” I told him, “If you asked her right, she would have picked Baja Fresh and you would have gotten your first choice.”
“That’s ok Daddy. I was empowering her.”
I think I should stop reading my political theory homework to him for bedtime (although it does have the ended effect – Rawls, Habermas, and Dahl are good, but no one beats Amy Guttman for narcotic effect.)
Still it is an improvement, his previous attempts at empowering his sister have resulted in timeouts for him and the application of ice to his sibling’s forehead.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Brisk Fashions
Finally, cool temperatures have arrived. Hat weather - swimsuit season for balding.
But this is my first hat season with a beard. The overall effect is imposing - I am telling people I have converted to Amish.
But this is my first hat season with a beard. The overall effect is imposing - I am telling people I have converted to Amish.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Crative Discipline
My wife was talking on the phone with her sister, who has a dog (but no children). During the phone call the dog mis-behaved and my sister-in-law ordered, "Bad dog. Get in your crate!"
My wife laughed at this and when she told me about it I mused about getting a crate for our children when they misbehave (which is frequent). Child abuse issues aside, my wife doesn't think it would work. We'd order one of our children into the crate and the other child would start screaming, "No, that's my crate. It's not fair she/he always gets to go in the crate and I never do."
My wife laughed at this and when she told me about it I mused about getting a crate for our children when they misbehave (which is frequent). Child abuse issues aside, my wife doesn't think it would work. We'd order one of our children into the crate and the other child would start screaming, "No, that's my crate. It's not fair she/he always gets to go in the crate and I never do."
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