Green Eggs and Ham

I was fortunate to grow up with a creative and fun mom.  She was tough, but also lots of fun.  I didn't always appreciate that creativity and fun approach as a kid, but as an adult I can attribute most of my creative ability and interest to my mom.


One of the funniest memories I have of my mom attempting to bring some creativity and humor into our family was when I was in grade school.  In celebration of St. Patrick's Day (and my brother's birthday) she got up early to make a big breakfast....of GREEN eggs and ham!  It was simply adding a little food coloring to the meal, but us kids threw an absolute fit.  We groaned, complained, and refused to eat it.  Pushing her to a point where she had a response that was not what she or anyone would call a highlight of her parenting skills.  She erupted on us with "Shut up and eat your food!  Be glad you have a fun mom!" (Let me assure you this was not a typical parenting approach by Mom which is probably one of the reasons I still remember it)  She was so angry we couldn't appreciate her efforts, but she certainly succeeded in creating a memorable experience.


Today, in honor of my Mom and St. Patrick's Day, I attempted to recreate the experience, but with less yelling and (my hope) less complaining.  Thanks to Caeden and his adventurous spirit, the Green Eggs and Ham were a hit!

December Days - 12.29.10

My sleepy kids waiting at the airport

I don't think my kids have the type of 'special needs' the sign in the picture is in actual reference to, but on travel days like today, the whole family has a history of special needs.

Thankfully though, despite a 4am wake-up time today was actually a pretty good travel day.  The kids all did great on the planes and through the airports.

We only had one really stressful experience occur when we were in the car getting ready to leave the Indianapolis airport and Caeden calmly told me that he had forgotten his iPod Touch on the plane.  I raced back inside the airport to the Southwest counter and told them we had left an iPod on our plane and asked if there was anything she could do to see if someone could check the pocket of the seat Caeden was sitting in.  She called right down to the gate and someone had actually turned it in!  I had to go back through security and down to the gate, but we got his iPod back safe and sound.

Big shout-out and fist-bump to the honest traveler who turned it in!  You saved the holidays for a little eight year old boy.

December Days - 12.23.10

Today was the 3rd annual Red vs. Green family basketball game.  This is something that us boys in the family started a few years ago and it has turned into a heated family competition.  The build-up involves months worth of planning and organization as we arrange schedules and a facility to host this family event.

This year, Marcy's Dad retired from the game and the Red team had a big free agent signing with Kyron joining the team as a player.  The game was tightly contested through 4 quarters with Caleb leading the Green team in scoring and Caeden leading the Red team.  Kyron proved his value on the court scoring more points in his first game than his Dad and Uncle Travis did combined!

At the end of regulation, the score was tied 40-40 and we were prepared to call it a tie, but after some negotiation from the boys we agreed for a single overtime period.  Five minutes later we were still tied at 47-47 when the final buzzer went off.

Our boys are starting to take this game a little too serious and all the adults were nervous about the potential of driving home with someone from the losing team in their car.  I think we've decided we need to change the format of this game and find another family we can play against.  That way our family can be united as we win or lose. :-)

Big shout out to Uncle Travis for providing the custom team shirts for the game and to Kyron who was chosen as the game MVP for not only his 12 points in scoring, but his "just having fun" attitude.  The video below shows the consensus play of the game by Kyron.

Cheaters never win! well, they're not supposed to!

Several weeks ago Caeden participated in his second Math Pentathlon. I joked that it was the minor leagues for future Chess Club members, but we had a great time cheering Caeden and his teammates on in each of their contests. I was really disappointed though and left with mixed feelings on the event after talking with some of the parents who were helping out.

Parents volunteered to monitor matches and help resolve any challenges the kids came upon during their match. The instructions to the parents were that they could not intervene unless one of the players used a challenge card to dispute something. What was disappointing, however, was that in talking with several parents they acknowledged watching kids purposely cheat to win (obvious stuff like moving a piece when the other player looked away), but because the other player didn’t see the wrong doing they didn’t know to challenge. Since the monitor couldn’t intervene unless a player challenged, the cheating player often got away with it. So we had instances of monitors knowing that wrong doing was happening, but helpless to do anything due to the rules.

I’m not sure what that teaches kids. Some of them were clearly learning that cheating is ok and will have benefits, so long as they don’t get caught. I’m not comfortable with that and refuse to allow my kids to think that is acceptable. It’s just disappointing to me that there are first graders learning such false truths at a young and impressionable age.


Despite my personal disappointment though, I was proud of Caeden’s effort and sportsmanship in the competition. It was also great to see him trying something different than sports.

December Days - 12.23.09

Marcy and I have been blessed with kids that are not really that picky when it comes to food. Sure, they have their favorites and others they don't like, but for the most part they'll eat whatever we make or choose to serve. In addition, they also aren't afraid to try something new and even something strange. Which brings us to lunch today. My 7 year old, Caeden, joined Marcy and I, along with my parents, for sushi lunch. That's not that big of a deal since all my kids like sushi and typically jump at the chance to eat it. What was special about today is my growing appreciation for Caeden's adventurous spirit, even when it involves his palate. We saw a Spider Roll on the menu and after learning it was a soft shell crab roll we debated if we should try it. I have eaten soft shell crabs before, but for him to first process the term 'spider' with food and then the concept of eating a crab's shell, it took some conversation before deciding to try it.

Like the trooper he is, he waited long enough to pose for the picture before diving in and trying it. I love having adventurous eaters, but as you can see from that pile of plates, it can also be expensive. Like I told my mom though, it was money well spent for a little bonding time with one of my kids as we created a fun memory. My only regret is that I would have brought my camera in from the car to capture the moment instead of the resorting to using my phone.