Category: NHL

Aloha Friday: From Crib To Bunking In A Bed

Aloha Friday, JSL, NHL

Before NHL was two, we went for a trip to see some friends in Pennsylvania.  While there, NHL slept in a bed by himself for the first time.  (He was still sleeping in his crib.)  When we got back home, NHL was restless at night.  We quickly figured out that his problem was that he had gotten a taste of a big boy bed and wanted more.  We got a twin bed, put it in his room and retired his crib to the basement for storage.

After JSL was born, the crib was brought back out and JSL slept there.  As he began approaching three, he seemed to have more and more restless nights.  We would often find him pushing his body against both sides of the crib at once or with arms and legs in the crib slots (at which point we would need to help him get free before he woke up).  We would get him a bed like NHL’s but their room isn’t big enough to support two beds.  There would be literally no space to walk past the beds.

We’ve considered our options and right now our best bet seems to be bunk beds.  JSL would get the bottom bunk and NHL the top.  Of course, we’re worried about potential dangers of bunk beds, but we also don’t see any other option considering their room size.

My Aloha Friday question for this week is: Have you ever had bunk beds?  If so, what do you recommend we look for/look out for?

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 MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #40

Cooking With TechyDad (and NHL and JSL): Pita Pizzas

Cooking, Food, JSL, NHL, Parenting, Politics

NHL and JSL love the Disney Channel. One of the "mini-shows" they have on (filling time between regular shows) is "Tasty Time with ZeFronk." In this show, a dachshund (ZeFronk) makes tasty snacks which a cat named Dom always steals. After one episode showing Pita Pizzas, NHL remarked that he wanted to try making this. We made a trip to the grocery store and later that week, we were ready to cook.

First, we gathered our ingredients. Pitas, mushrooms, cheese, sauce and meatless pepperoni. (You can use real pepperoni if you’d like, but it’s not Kosher so we use the soy-based variety.)

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Next, we did what ZeFronk always does before cooking: We washed our hands!

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Now, it was time to cook. I laid four pitas down on two cookie sheets.

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The boys took their positions by the stove, standing to step stools to help them reach. I put some sauce on each of the pitas and the boys used a spoon to spread it out. (There are no action photos of JSL because I was too busy helping him to take photos.)

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Next, NHL spread out some mushrooms. JSL protested at this saying he didn’t want mushrooms so I let him know that we could customize it. He could have no mushrooms, no pepperoni. B and NHL could have mushrooms, no pepperoni. I could have the works.

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With the ‘shrooms in place, we applied the cheese.

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And then the pepperoni.

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Into the oven they went for 8 minutes. (Obviously, this step was done by me.)

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And then we had Pita Pizzas to enjoy! Healthy and tasty too! YUM!

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Geeks-In-Training Meet Free Comic Book Day

Comics, Fatherhood, Geeky Pursuits, JSL, NHL, Superheroes

As a father, I have many responsibilities. I go to work Monday through Friday to pay our bills. I take the kids on excursions to let B get some quiet time. I cook dinners. I even change pull-ups and wipe rear ends. My most enjoyable fatherly responsibility, however, is training them in the geeky arts.

NHL already likes Star Wars. Both he and JSL love Looney Tunes. JSL will even, when prompted with “Rabbit Season” say “Duck Season! Fire! PSSSH!” (The sound of him imitating Elmer Fudd’s gun.) They also both love computers. NHL will beg to be allowed to learn more about computers and JSL has come to expect being able to see his grandparents via Skype whenever he wants.

On the superhero front, NHL watches Batman The Brave and the Bold with me and wants to know everything about all the heroes and villians. He gets especially excited when the heroes begin beating up the villians. (Perhaps too excited, but that’s a topic for another blog post.) He’s also watched Super Hero Squad, Spectacular Spiderman and X-Men: Evolution with me to get him into Marvel’s heroes and villians.

» Read more

Aloha Friday: Dealing With Strong Emotions

Aloha Friday, NHL, Parenting

You might not know it from talking to me in person, but I can have some pretty strong emotions.  However, over the years, I’ve learned to keep them bottled up.  It might not be the healthiest thing to do, but it is what my life experiences taught me to do.  Now NHL is showing some of the same strong emotions that I have felt and I’m struggling with teaching him how to manage them. » Read more

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