JSL Archives - Page 7 of 31

Aloha Friday: Bedtime Procrastination

July 13, 2012 TechyDad Aloha Friday, JSL, Sleep

For the past few nights, bedtime has been a stressful time. NHL is not to blame. He gets into his top bunk and quickly goes to sleep. JSL, on the other hand, has turned into the Kid Of A Million Excuses Why He Can’t Sleep. The air conditioning is on so he’s too cold. When I turn it off, he becomes too hot. Then, he needs to use the bathroom (something he did before getting in bed, mind you). Then, he needs a drink (again, something he did before going to sleep). Then, his legs are bothering him or his toes itch or he’s not comfortable for some reason. This will go on for over an hour until JSL is completely overtired and mom and dad are frazzled.

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Do your kids ever give bedtime excuses? If so, how do you handle them?

P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #147

GE Kids Day Animal Encounters

July 9, 2012 TechyDad Animals, Fun, JSL, Memories, NHL, Photos

My boys love animals. So when we went to GE Kids Day in Albany’s Empire State Plaza, they loved seeing the different animals that were there.

First up were some bears. Ok, perhaps these weren’t real animals, but they still loved seeing the Care Bears.

They also liked seeing some of the other costumed animals roaming around.

Onto the real animals, though. As we approached the two by two petting zoo, we saw this cute turtle and rabbit pair.

From here, we moved on to some goats who were quite happy that kids were offering them leaves to eat. It was like an all-you-can-eat-goat-salad-bar.

Moving on from the goats, there was a red kangaroo that was taking it easy in the hot, midday sun.

Then, there was a black and white lemur whose screech was quite impressive. (Sadly, he stopped screeching as soon as I got my camera set on video mode. Mischievous little lemur!)

A blue and gold macaw was sitting pretty on a perch.

Prowling around their cage were a pair of coatimundi – omnivorous animals that are related to raccoons.

There were also a few lizards and an alligator that NHL and JSL got to pet.

After the petting zoo, we moved onto an animal experience of a different kind. NHL and JSL got to ride a pony. NHL has ridden one before, but this was in kindergarten so he likely doesn’t remember it. This was JSL’s first pony ride. They both donned helmets and one after the other got atop Zoe the Pony for a ride.

Alongside the pony ride were some baby chicks, goats, and sheep to look at as well.

Given that the boys and I made lots of new memories and that this experience has deepened the boys’ love of animals, this was a wonderful way to spend a day.

A Tie Surprise

June 14, 2012 TechyDad Fatherhood, JSL

A few days ago, JSL gave me an early Father’s Day present.

Inside was a very special tie.

Yes, it’s a tie snake.

JSL kept asking me when I was going to wear it, but I kept putting it off. Then, yesterday, I surprised him. I wore a different tie to work, but changed into the snake tie when I went to his nursery school graduation.

JSL was surprised and happy. Even when the snake tried licking him.

I’m so proud of my now-Kindergarten Kid.

Later on, I found out that one of JSL’s teachers saw me wearing my snake tie at the graduation and (unbeknownst to me at the time) teared up. She told B that the ties were her father’s. He recently passed away and she donated the ties for the kids to use in their snake tie project. She had never seen anyone wear them. It made her very happy to see me wearing it, as if a piece of her father still lived on. This makes the tie even more special to me.

The Mother’s Day/Birthday Double-Post

May 14, 2012 TechyDad Birthday, Holidays, JSL, Mother's Day, Parenting

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. As such, we attempted to give B a day free from bickering, complaining, and the other pleasantries that come from raising two boys. B would have to weigh in, but I think we were mostly successful.

The boys snuck into our room at about 6:20am to wake B up and wish her a happy Mother’s Day. Had I been awake at the time, I would have headed them off and let B sleep in. Instead, we gave B her mother’s day present, I made everyone breakfast (including breakfast in bed for B), and then kept them as quiet as I could while B got back to sleep. (NOTE: Next time I let B go back to sleep, I’m confiscating her smartphone so she can’t check Twitter/e-mail/etc when she should be sleeping.)

Eventually, I got the boys dressed and took them to the park and then the grocery store so B could get some true quiet time. After picking B up, we all went out to eat an ice cream lunch (mine was blueberry flavor which makes it healthy, right?). We did some shopping and stopped by Mimi’s house to visit and drop off her Mother’s Day present. Then, we quickly picked up some dinner and had a nice cookie cake for dessert.

Fast forward to today. Today is a different kind of celebration. While yesterday was a celebration of B being a mother, today is a celebration of the event that made B a mother for a second time. Yes, today is JSL’s birthday.

It’s hard to believe that JSL is five already. It seems like just yesterday that we were welcoming him into our family. It’s been amazing seeing him grow and learn about the world around him. He is creative (often performing shows with songs that he makes up on the spot), loving (he adores his big brother and loves cuddling), and surprisingly bright (just when we forget how old he is and think of him as a baby, he shows us just how much he understands). Oh and he’s quite the little geek-in-training with a special love for Transformers and superheroes.

It’s a weird mixture of pride and sadness to see your little baby grow up. On one hand, I love the kid he is becoming. On the other and, I want him to be my baby for as long as possible. (He’ll be my baby for his entire life, but he likely will resent me calling him that when he’s 18.)

Happy birthday to JSL. Mommy, Daddy, and NHL love you very much and are so proud of you.

Aloha Friday: Arrrr You A Pirate Fan?

April 27, 2012 TechyDad Aloha Friday, Disney, DisneySMMoms, JSL, NHL, Photos, Smartphone/Tablet Apps

My boys love all things pirates. This is partially (ok, mostly) fueled by Jake and the Never Land Pirates on Disney Junior. So we were very excited when we found out that there would be a Swashbuckler Soiree at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.

Since I’m writing this post in advance (from my couch at home, not from Disney), I don’t have any photos of the pirate party. Instead, here are some pirate-ified photos of my boys and I courtesy of the free Android app Make Me A Pirate:

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Do you and your kids like pirates?

P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #136

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