A Rainy Day Post

Today the boys and I had plans to go walking at this local nature park. However Mother Nature had different plans. The rain started coming down around 9:30 and kept on coming. The boys were pretty let down that we couldn’t go out but as any parent knows, always have a back up plan.  A favorite rainy day activity of mine growing up was making a fort. The tanks occasionally try this in their room but usually run into some construction problems, I decided to give them a free lesson. Within an hour we had a fort constructed and I must say the boys were quite enthused. They both contributed great ideas when building and were very interested in what they could do to help. After I finished the fort I popped some popcorn and put in a movie for us to watch.  Eventually mom came home saw our fort and decided to join us inside. We moved the table inside and ate dinner under the fort. I must say it was quite a rewarding rainy day. Does anyone have any other experiences of their children being engaged by something similar to this? I must say it was great to see my boys so excited; maybe there is something more here?

A Midsummer Night’s Update

Hey all, so since my last post not too much has changed. The neighborhood watch is in full effect; I patrol the neighborhood every Sunday and Tuesday with a neighbor. We have yet to encounter the vandal but there have also been no break ins since we started looking so that is a positive. A couple of months ago I posted my to do list for the summer and I finally have finally started to move forward with that shed. We applied for all the permits and have decided on placement and the wood we want to use. I’m hoping to begin building by next week. Another thing on my checklist was to host a neighborhood barbecue/party this summer. The wife and I were talking and we decided to have a shed warming party! I think this would be a fun way to knock off two birds with one stone and break in the new addition to the yard. Other than that it’s mostly business as usual around here. The tanks and I have been enjoying the slow days of summer and have been getting quality time in the sun every day. Hope you all are enjoying this summer as much as I am.

Neighborhood Problems

Life has been kind of hectic since I last posted. School is out and summer hours are in full effect. As usual the boys have been keeping me busy but it’s nothing I can’t handle. However there has been some quite disheartening news lately. In our neighborhood there has been a recent string of break ins. Most of the incidents have involved cars being broken into but last week someone reported their garage had been rummaged through. I think this is awful, my oldest realizes what is going on and is terrified and my wife has been parking in the garage since then. If someone cannot feel safe in their own home, where are they supposed to feel safe? I’ve talked to a few other members of our neighborhood and we have decided to start a neighborhood watch. We are having our first meeting tomorrow and we are going to break down a schedule to where there is a pair patrolling the streets every night. I am excited at the prospect of catching this vandal and finally putting this nonsense to rest. As of now this dad truly is on duty.

Father's Day Follow-up

As a quick follow up to my Father's Day post, I had a great day with the family and ended up getting a gift card to the homebrew shop. I decided to use some of it right away and picked up ingredients to brew up a small batch of Milk Stout. Here's a picture that I took a few hours after I added the yeast:

Definitely looking forward to trying this in about a month and if the results are good, I'll step the recipe up to make a 5-gallon batch.

A Dream Father's Day

Every year on Father’s day my wife surprises me with some sort of activity.  Last year we took the boys to Niagara Falls for the day and went out to eat afterwards. I love when my wife plans activities and she always picks great ones. But I got to thinking...what would the perfect Father’s day be like. Picture this:

The sun creeps in my window and I awake. I get up from bed and peek out my window at the sun shining on my beautifully manicured lawn. Suddenly my bedroom door swings open and it’s my boys. Full of life and vigor they have brought me breakfast in bed. An egg and goat cheese omelette, wheat toast, and a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice. My wife is behind them beaming with admiration at how proud they are of what they have given dad.

After breakfast I shower and dress and our family is out the door. We head to the nearest state park and spend the morning playing in the sun and feeding the ducks. Around noon we sit down for our picnic lunch or sandwiches and fruit salad and everyone cleans their plates. With the sun high in the sky we all head to the nearest miniature golf course and play 18 holes as a family. The wife and tanks get a few good shots in but in the end dad isn’t losing on Father’s day.

With evening setting in now we venture back home for my favorite time: presents. Mom’s up first and hers is a good one. She gets me that hedge trimmer I’ve had my eye on for so long. I could say lawn care is a hobby of mine but my wife says it is more than that. The boys bring out their gift next, a picture of dad and the boys with their fish from the fishing trip we went on earlier this year. That one’s going on the desk in the office.

As a family we watch The Incredibles and dig into a pint of cookie dough ice cream. Everyone laughs and eventually falls asleep and the perfect Father’s day is complete.

Whatever my wife does have planned I’m sure it will be more than enough as it always is. But if anyone happens to see her maybe point here in the direction of this post. Hey, a dad’s gotta dream.

A Summer of Meals

Summer is now only a few weeks away and the tanks and I have a lot to look forward to. My boys have great appetites but there are days when they decide to be the pickiest eaters in the world. I think this has more to do with their moods than the menu sometimes. In order to combat this I have been thinking of ways to make meal time more of a treat and to get them open to whatever is on their plate. It is very important to introduce various foods from a young age to make sure your kids picky eating habits to continue later on in life.  Here are a couple ideas I had to make sure meal time is an event that everyone looks forward to.

-Involve the boys: Everyone likes to feel important so I have been trying to have the boys be involved in preparing the food however they can. Even if it just means setting the table it’s a way to them in the mood and ready to eat.

-Variety: I mentioned this earlier but variety is the spice of life. Getting your kids introduced to all sorts of foods from a young age can create eating habits that they will carry throughout their life. Showing your kids there is more to the world than pizza and chicken fingers is important.

-Talk with your child: During meal time when your kids are eating tell them about what they are eating. An open dialogue is always a great way to keep your kids interested and asking questions. If your child asks questions give him answers. If he says I don’t want to eat this tell him why it is important and what it does.

-Keep mealtime in the kitchen: It is important to build good meal time habits now. When I was growing up my family had dinner at 6PM every night around our kitchen table. It was something I looked forward to and could count on. If you let your kids eat in front of the television one day they will wonder why they cannot do it the next. Routine is important and it is your job to make sure that routine is the correct one.

My children’s nutrition is something I have deeply invested myself in. With the way our society views food I can’t help but be cautious of my children’s diet. I would love to hear some other takes on the subject and how other peoples children act during meal time.