Parenting Archives - Page 13 of 22

Aloha Friday: Mish Mash of Feelings

July 22, 2011 TechyDad Aloha Friday, Anniversary, Disney, Marriage, Parenting, Travel, Vacation

Thanks to a bunch of last minute planning, we’ll soon be heading to Disney World. This time, without the kids. This will be our first time to Disney World sans kids since our honeymoon. (Of course, we didn’t have children then, so it was easy to go by ourselves.) In the short time that we’ve come up with the idea for this trip and planned it, I’ve had a weird mixture of emotions.

I feel happy at getting to spend a week with my wife without little guys interrupting. Don’t get me wrong. I love my boys. It’s just that sometimes I want to spend time with my wife. We get very few date nights and even fewer complete nights without kids. Our only “vacation” without the kids was when we went to BlogHer last year. That trip, while fun, was hardly a romantic getaway. We’ve been married for 10 years and we deserve this time to ourselves.

While I’m feeling happy, though, I’m also feeling guilty. After all, the kids love Disney. Since we told them what we’re doing, they’ve alternated between begging to go and accepting it sadly. If we announced tomorrow that it was all a cruel joke and they were coming with us, they’d be the happiest kids in the world.

Along with the guilt is fear. Not just my fear of flying, but fear of the unknown. We’ll be leaving the kids with my parents during the week. My parents have never watched the kids for any length of time. I’m sure they’ll do a good job, but my mind keeps conjuring up scenarios. What if NHL has a panic attack? What if JSL won’t eat anything? What if the boys don’t behave? Every less-than-perfect scenario is playing through my mind and it scares me.

Still, I know that we need this trip. We need time away from the kids. If we don’t get time off to work on us from time to time, the constant stress could negatively impact our marriage. And a negatively impacted marriage is *NOT* going to raise our kids well.

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Have you gone on trips without your kids? If so, have you ever felt this mixture of emotions?

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 #97

A Guilty Getaway For Two

July 18, 2011 TechyDad Anniversary, B, Disney, Guilt, JSL, NHL, Parenting, Vacation

I’ve written before about feeling guilty, whether it is leaving for work, having a night out to myself or even just dedicating some time to me instead of putting everyone else in my family first. Right now, I’m feeling a different sort of guilt.

You see, last month B and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. For the past 8 years, though, we’ve only had one trip away from the kids: BlogHer 2010. (Having the kids sleep at their grandparents for one night while we sleep at home less than a mile away and then get them first thing in the morning doesn’t count.) Of course, BlogHer was fun, but it was very rushed and often B and I were going in different directions. Not the kind of trip you go on to help rekindle those romantic sparks.

So we began to look into trips to take together. Ten years seems like an appropriate length of time to have a Honeymoon Part 2 and we loved Honeymoon Part 1 so why not go to the same place: Disney World.

Now, I should note here that our plans are still very much up in the air. We might wind up going to Disney. We might wind up doing something else. We might even scrap the whole “take a trip with just the two of us” idea entirely. Still, the planning means that I’ve been thinking a lot about going to Disney World and leaving the kids behind (possibly in the care of my parents).

Here’s the guilty part. Our kids love Disney World. No, that doesn’t sound strong enough. They ***LLLLOOOOVVVVEEEE*** Disney World. JSL, on a nearly daily basis, asks when we’re going back there. I can just imagine the screams of horror that will erupt when they find out that we’re headed to the home of Mickey Mouse without bringing them along. There will be crying and screaming and guilt trips galore.

Part of me keeps saying “Why not bring the kids along? They’ll love it!” But, then I realize that we love Disney World too. Why should their desire to see Disney World again trump our desire to have one “just the two of us” trip every ten years or so? We’ve gone to Disney World every year for the past 3 years (once on a family trip and twice for Disney Social Media Moms). The boys have gotten hooked, but we were hooked first.

There are things we’d love to do at Disney World that you just can’t do with little kids. I’d love to go on the African Safari trek and some of the backstage tours. I’d want to spend time lazily walking through the countries in Epcot while holding B’s hand without screams of “I’ve got to go potty” ringing in my ears. I’d like to try some of the more upscale/romantic, less kid friendly restaurants. I don’t want to spend every meal wondering whether JSL will eat anything other than Mac & Cheese or pizza today. It will be wonderful to navigate through crowds without lugging a stroller and changes of kid clothes.

In short, as much as it is fun doing this:

I want to have a bit of time to do this:

Just please don’t tell NHL and JSL yet. I’m still steeling myself for their response.

Mom Field Trip = Dad Day With Boys

May 12, 2011 TechyDad Comics, Family, Fatherhood, Fun, JSL, NHL, Parenting, Photos

Today, over on TheAngelForever.com, B is recounting the story of her mom field trip with Christina from CutestKidEver to see Rene Syler (aka Good Enough Mother). But what of the flip side? What did the boys and I do while B went on her road trip? Well, the boys and I had our own fun times.

As you may remember, I was undecided on whether or not I should go to Free Comic Day. After B left, I made my decision: We were going. I armed the kids with their Green Lantern rings from our Green Lantern party, got them into the car and headed over to Zombie Planet.

I had heard that the 501st, a group of Star Wars fans who dress up like Stormtroopers, would be there. NHL was excited to see “costumes.” Ever since Disney, he’s gone costume-crazy. He must meet (and get his photo with) any costumed character who is anywhere near him. He was not disappointed.

We got out of the car and there, in front of the store, was a single Stormtrooper. He was joined by a Tusken Raider.

The Tusken Raider would occasionally make a growling sound (like the one that the movie Tusken Raider made as he stood over Luke Skywalker). This scared NHL off from getting his photo taken with the Tusken Raider. So we went indoors and proceeded upstairs to the free comics section.

Unlike last year, when it was “take as many as you like”, there was a 5 comic per person limit. I had gone online the previous days to Free Comic Book Day’s website to see which comics would be available. This meant that I knew just which comics were the best for my boys and which should be skipped. The only complaints from the boys came when NHL looked out the window and spied Spider-Man. He insisted that we *HAD* to go outside right now to meet the web slinger.

I explained to NHL that we needed to check out (even we had nothing that we were being charged for). Besides, I had brought some Phineas and Ferb action figures that needed peg stands. I hoped that the comic shop would be able to help. (Sadly, they didn’t have what I needed.)

Finally, we left the comic shop and NHL immediately approached Spider-Man for a photo.

Then, I made a Geeky Daddy decision. NHL was wearing a Green Lantern ring. Green Lanterns Hal Jordon was supposedly “born without fear.” So I couldn’t very well let him leave afraid of the Tusken Raider, could I? I’d have been deducted 30 Geek Points!

I spoke with him about it and he finally agreed to get his photo taken.

After that, we headed home for lunch and some comic book reading.

Once the boys were fed, I decided that it was too nice of a day to be couped up indoors. So we grabbed some of our colossal cannons and headed out to play.

Eventually, NHL had a bright idea. His great-grandmother had given them some butterfly nets, but NHL thought they’d make great colossal cannon disc catching nets. And they did!

Our next door neighbor’s daughter, N, also came over and played with the boys for quite awhile. Eventually, they tired of chasing after green discs and wanted to play with bubbles. Cue the Winnie the Pooh bubble blower!

They also wanted to play with chalk and I eventually relented.

I noticed the skies were getting dark and warned the boys that we might have to go inside soon. Besides, B’s return time was getting closer and closer.

As B pulled up, I hurredly gathered the chalk and got the boys (and N) off our driveway. The boys said goodbye to N and hello to B. Then, as we walked in, the heavens opened up. Perfect timing!

The boys and I had a fun day together and B had a nice Mommy Road Trip. I’d call that a win all around!

Shifting Gross Out Goal Posts

April 8, 2011 TechyDad Aloha Friday, Fatherhood, Gross, Parenting

Yesterday, I chronicled our journey through the body. Along the way, I highlighted some pretty gross photographs that I took. Becoming a parent has changed my life in many ones. One of the biggest surprises was how my idea of what constitutes “gross” has shifted.

Back before we knew that B was pregnant for the first time, we did the “test the pee, see if you’re pregnant” test. This particular test required B to pee in a cup and then hold the stick in the pee for a minute. Since B had the job of actually peeing in the cup, it became my assigned task to hold the stick in the pee-cup.

Standing there, with a cup of urine in my hands, I felt wave after wave of nausea hit me. The smell, sight and just plain idea of holding someone else’s pee make my stomach (and a few other internal organs) turn. Luckily, I didn’t succumb to the nausea. Even better, the test came out positive.

Fast forward a few years. Did the idea of someone else’s pee in my hands disgust me? Not at all. In fact, I was quite comfortable relaying stories of the Day of the Seven Diaper Diaper Change (where NHL filled up diaper after diaper as quickly as we could change them) or of the Great Projective Pooping Incident (where his poop shot out 4 feet and then covered a span of rug stretching another 4 feet, timed right when we needed to head out to see a house). I could even discuss these subjects in the middle of lunch (and be amused at the reactions of the non-parents within earshot).

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Has being a parent changed your definition of what “gross” is?

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 McLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #82

The Repetitive Parent

February 24, 2011 TechyDad Parenting, Technology, Twitter

“Sit Down.” “Clean Up Your Toys.” “Don’t Hit Your Brother/Sister.” “Don’t Put That There!” “How many times do I need to tell you…”

As most parents can attest, parenting can be a repetitive task. You instruct your children to do something but, when the same situation arises soon afterwards, they don’t remember your instructions. Instead, you need to repeat yourself. Over and over again.

Every night for dinner, we go through the same routine. I serve everyone their food and notice NHL is standing while eating. He, apparently, hasn’t heard of this remarkable device that’s been invented recently called a chair. He also doesn’t notice one right next to him.

“Sit down.” I tell him. So he sits… with his legs pointing to the side. This means that I can trip over his legs as I walk past and he isn’t facing the table. The latter means crumbs on the rug.

“Put your feet facing forward,” I say. So he complies. Then he picks up a piece of food and eats it right over his lap. I envision food falling down, missing his plate and the table and hitting his pants, the chair, the rug.

“Eat over the table,” I instruct. So he does. Until the next meal when we begin the cycle all over again.

I’ve joked about getting a sign made (and laminated) that I can just hold up. After all, if I’m going to say the same thing over and over again, I’d like to spare my poor vocal cords. I’ve even mocked up a sample.

During a Twitter conversation with slpowell, I mentioned this sign idea. Then, re-reading slpowell’s original tweet that mentioned a “digital voice recorder”, I was struck by inspiration. Instead of a printed sign (which is bulky and can only say one thing), how about one of those Staples Easy Buttons? They only cost $5.50 at Staples and I recalled seeing instructions online as to how to hack them.

Of course, those required more work (and purchasing tools such as a Dremel) than I was willing to put into the project. So I did the next thing that came to mind: Searched the web to see if anyone else was selling these. Turns out, people are. Here’s one shop that sells them for under $4. (Shipping seems to be a flat rate of about $6.50 to me.)

Another intriguing option was this site that sells the buttons with the option of branding them. As a bonus, this button comes with a strap (which can be used to hang the device in plain sight and yet out of the reach of little hands). These cost $5 each.

I’m tempted to order a bunch with a “Parent Vocal Saver” logo on them and sell them online. Would you buy such a device?

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