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 - 12.11.10

I have officially arrived at that point in life where I am more embarrassing to my two older kids than I am a cool guy to hang out with.  It's sort of a tough pill to swallow at first because I guess I had visions that my kids would always think their Dad was the coolest thing out there.  I'm not sure why I thought that would be the case because I certainly went through a phase with my own Dad where it wasn't cool to hang out with him.  It was though, just a phase and I later came around to appreciate the great qualities my Dad has and yes, how cool it can be to just hang with him every now and then.

It's with this experience and knowledge that I don't mind doing silly stuff in public that polarizes my kids - Kyron thinks I'm hilarious and Makela/Caleb want to crawl in a hole.  I know sooner or later, they'll all come around to seeing how good I look in my Buffalo Wild Wings hat, but for now this picture says it all.

December Days - 12.7.10

Seven days of blogging in my December Days series and now a third blog about Kyron!  The other kids are starting to voice their jealousy, but I don't think any of them would want to be the focus of this entry!

One of the tough things about growing up in our house is that sooner or later you are bound to have a picture taken that you immediately want destroyed.  The older kids are able to create such a stink about it they often times will win out, regardless of how great of a candid shot I think I got.  The younger kids, don't have the same pull (yet) and I am able to capture moments like I did tonight.  (A couple years ago I took a similar shot of Caeden)

Poor Kyron is sick tonight with a fever, body aches, and feeling like he may throw up.  Mom is out at a MOPS meeting so that leaves me as the primary caregiver and comforter.  Not sure that even taking this picture is the best way to demonstrate my sympathy for him, but it certainly captured the moment and his face says the rest.

An hour after this picture was taken, he's curled up in a blanket on the couch next to me asleep for the moment. I have a feeling I'm in for a long night though....

End of an Era

This last week was a sad week in our house because it marked the end of an era for our family.  Kyron had his last day of preschool and it marked the end of that stage for our entire family.    It will be great to have all our kids in grade school and beyond, but it is amazing me at how fast that part of our life has gone by.  I am sure Kyron will do great in Kindergarden next year and have no problem adjusting to the longer days, we'll just have to see how well Mom and Dad adjust to the change.  IMUA!

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.

End of the Basketball Season

Last night we had the end of the season banquet for  Caleb's Pups Basketball season.  This was Caleb's first year playing competitive basketball, he has only played rec level until this year.  Last year, at the end of his third grade season, he set the goal that he wanted to make a Pups team and he worked hard over the entire year to improve his skills and put himself in a position where he could compete, intentionally working toward his goal.  I was so proud of him when he accomplished the goal of just making the program.


I think the season was a good challenge for him, but I am so proud of how he has continued to focus on trying to improve and compete, doing both with class and dignity.  When his coach introduced him last night to congratulate and recognize him for the season, he talked about his improvements and development as a player, but what really meant the most to me was how he talked about Caleb's character and attitude at practice and during the game, always smiling and always encouraging.


His jump shot, court awareness, ball handling, and aggressiveness will all continue to develop and serve him well on the court but his attitude and character will cross over into every aspect of his life.  As his parents, we couldn't be prouder of Caleb for his work this year and I look forward to next year as well.

Caleb is #5 in the video

Dad's Night at PreSchool

Tonight was the last time I got to go to a Dad's night at preschool for one of my kids.  While I had a fun time going on a Bear Hunt and watching Kyron sing little songs, it was also one of the strangest Dad's night experiences I have been on over the years.
The kids all fill out a survey about their Dad's before the evening and their answers are read aloud to everyone.  Here were Kyron's answers:

MY SPECIAL DAD

• My favorite thing to do with Daddy is: play games and play bb guns with him. We have 2 BB guns.
• His favorite food is: spaghetti
• His hair color is: whitish blue
• Dad loves to watch Star Wars on TV!
• Daddy is really happy when he is watching Star Wars!

There are so many things strange about this survey.  First, we don't have ANY bb guns!  Where is he playing bb guns at?  Second, I hate spaghetti! Third, 'whitish, blue'!? Fourth, Star Wars? I can appreciate visiting a galaxy far far away, but I'm no fanboy and I haven't seen Star Wars in years. I sat there in confusion when Kyron's teacher read his answers, but after she handed me his survey his answers became a little more clear..... at the top of the survey was the first question:

• My daddy's name is: Brian

BRIAN! Really!  My own child doesn't even know my own name or all his answers were for his other Dad.......Brian.  I don't know who Brian is, but from Kyron's portrait of his Dad, he's a clearly a handsome dude.

Father and Son Time

One of the good things about having a struggling NBA franchise in your city is that you have the opportunity to get tickets on the cheap for some quality (visiting) teams.  This afternoon I had the impulse to get a couple tickets for the Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers and decided to surprise Caleb after his own basketball practice with a night out with Dad.  

He is a big Lebron fan and we had a blast!  It was a competitive game down to the last minute with some pretty good highlights to watch later on ESPN.  I don't remember the last time just He and I did something like this, but the experience was a great reminder of how important these dates with Dad (or Mom) are.  

Unfortunately, there were three kids left out of this surprise that were a little upset, so looks like I have three more dates coming up. :-)

It Won't Be Like This For Long

A co-worker of mine forwarded a video of Darius Rucker's song It Won't Be Like This For Long to me and others today because she was moved after hearing it as it relates to her experiences as a new mother. I have heard other songs like this (Father/Daughter relationship): Butterfly Kisses, Ready, Set, Don't Go, or (my favorite) Cinderella but today this one really hit me.

The last part of the song, especially, really spoke to my experiences as a parent right now. When my daughter, Makela, was born and through those first couple years I was so scared to have any more children because I couldn’t comprehend HOW I could love another one as much as Her; but that’s the real miracle of being a parent because somehow you do! Your heart doubles in size in an instant and you just do! You hold on to those memories of the early years with each "first" experience and just try to cherish each memory as they are created.  

Fast forward to today and Makela is at that stage now where she’s a tween and all the conflict with Mom and Dad is happening more frequently. I am so fearful of doing things that drive her away, but trying to balance that with the responsibility I have to teach and guide her. It’s tough and seems to get tougher each day, but this song is a great reminder that it won’t be like this for long and I need to enjoy/appreciate/cherish/celebrate EVERY moment with her.

It Won't Be Like This For Long (Lyrics)
He didn't have to wake up
He'd been up all nite
Lay'n there in bed listen'n
To his new born baby cry
He makes a pot of coffee
He splashes water on his face
His wife gives him a kiss and says
It gonna be OK

It wont be like this for long
One day soon we'll look back laugh'n
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on
It won't be like this for long

Four years later bout four thirty
She's crawling in their bed
And when he drops her off at preschool
She's clinging to his leg
The teacher peels her off of him
He says what can I do
She says now don't you worry
This will only last a week or two

It wont be like this for long
One day soon we'll drop her off
And she wont even know you're gone
This phase is gonna fly by
If you can just hold on
It wont be like this for long

One day soon she'll be a teenager
And at times you'll think she hates him
Then he'll walk her down the aisle
And he'll raise her veil
But right now she up and cry'n
And the truth is that he don't mind
As he kisses her good night
And she says her prayers
He lays down there beside her
Till her eyes are finally closed
And just watch'n her it breaks his heart
Cause he already knows
It wont be like this for long
One day soon that little girl is gonna be
All grown up and gone
Yeah this phase is gonna fly by
He's try'n to hold on
It wont be like this for long
It wont be like this for long

Kids and Sports

I have been a sports fan my entire life.  I have those teams that I am faithful to through thick and thin (Blazers, Cowboys, Yankees), and as a relatively recent transplant to the Indianapolis area I have come to really enjoy the local teams here as well.

Nothing compares to watching my own kids play though.  I may talk about how busy life is with kids playing sports all over town, but game days are typically my favorite days of the week.  Whether it’s Caeden making a great cross-over dribble, Caleb making a catch in the outfield, or Makela’s volleyball team winning a tournament, seeing my kids having fun and experiencing success on the court/field is awesome.  Even now, I am sitting watching Caleb in his basketball practice and have a stupid perma-grin on my face because I’m having so much fun.  I can’t help it!

At the same time, I am also concerned with the seriousness of sports at such a young age.  It’s great that we live in a community that has such great opportunities for kids, but it also concerns me that there may be a lot of pressure put on these kids.  Are travel teams too much?  Will they burn out and end up hating sports?  I am fearful of these things, but at the same time want to develop a healthy level of competitiveness which can serve them so well even beyond sports.

I just want to make sure I’m doing the right things for my kids for today and tomorrow.  The sports fan in me is thrilled with the kids’ involvement, but the parent in me can’t help but be slightly concerned.