Entertainment Reviewed and Skewed

Posted on May 2, 2012 by

Lately, I’ve been reading too many blogs. While I have enjoyed some captivating reading, I’ve let my writing slide.  The things I’ve read have given me an abundance of material and way too much to think about.  Although material has never been an issue for me because I have three little goblins who inspire  me. The main issue is that they also tire me out.  That’s a given, I know. 

I recently read a fascinating post called Tyler Durden’s Jedi Trek to the Hunger Game of Thrones in Search of the Crystal Skull Ring of Hogwarts. 

Yes.  That was BS, though it makes a nice Segway into the topic of this post.

Blogs on my reading list have made me think, stirred up anger, make me smile, , captivated my interest, educated me, and made me more fearful of clowns.  I also find that some blogs just provide some light reading and a nice way to pass time while the kids are asleep. Much like TV, there are thousands (if not more) opinions on movies.  Bloggers tear apart movies more so than a senior citizen dissects their early bird dinner, the freshness of their Decaf and the waiter who brings it.

I am a huge movie buff and have a long list of movies that I can’t wait to share with my boys.  For now, we have seen several  G-rated movies together, but still have a few years before I can share with them some of my faves: Goonies, Tommy Boy, The Indiana Jones Trilogy (yes, it’s a trilogy). It will be at least thirty years before I will share with them my other faves like:  Pulp Fiction, Casino and The 40-year Old Virgin.

Jamie has been to the movie theater with us on date night lately.  As our newest family member is 3 months old, he sleeps a lot.  Not at the most opportune times, especially for his Mama.  The darkness of the theater and for some reason the booming sound system have allowed us to see 5 movies with him sound asleep through all of them.  (His brothers were at the babysitter if you were wondering.)  The 5 of us only go to a movie together if it’s animated. We only stay for the whole thing if the boys are not.  We took them to see the new Muppet movie when it came out.  We had to leave early because the boys spent more time running around the theater than in their seats. This was particularly unfortunate because Mom and Dad were looking forward to the nostalgic movie that seemed to be marketed to our generation who grew up with Kermit and Fozzie.

When it’s date night with just my wife, myself and the baby, at the end of these movies, people always come up to us to tell us how shocked they are that he slept through the whole thing.  One of the most recent movies we took him to was “The Hunger Games.”  We had to see what the hype was about.  My review: ehh.  No come-uppins? Camera work to the likes of “The Blair Witch Project” and didn’t they do this already with the former Governator of California against the Former Governor of Minnesota in the 1988 hit, “The Running Man?”  For me, not knowing much about “The Hunger Games” itself, I had no idea there are two more movies in this trilogy, so I left the theater dumbfounded as there were so many questions left unanswered. One reviewer of this movie wrote: “What kind of message are we sending to our children if it shows society cheering for a sport of kids kill or be killed?” Although this writer makes   a valid point if there were no such thing as TV or the Internet that exposes ideas that are much worse.  My point being is that if your kids watch the PG-13 movie, be a parent and make sure they know what they’re watching.

Next movies on our list to be seen, “The Five-Year Engagement” I would describe it, but if you’ve seen any ad for this one, it pretty much shows the entire plot but hopefully not all the jokes.  The other movie I am looking forward to is called, “This Is 40.”  The trailer looks hilarious and is described as a sort of sequel to “Knocked Up.” For those of you who don’t know, “Knocked Up” holds a special place in our hearts, because we first saw the movie on opening day, the day we found out my wife was pregnant with our firstborn in 2007. 

So, we’ve always taken advantage of our movie-sleeping babies and so far it has worked out in our favor. This means that we’ve never been asked to leave or had popcorn or junior mints thrown at us.  AJ’s first movie was Iron Man.  Andy’s first movie was Iron Man II.   I can’t remember which was first for Jamie, but it works well the next Tony Stark appearance will be in the Avengers (opening this month). We are hoping the tradition will carry one when Jamie is our third child to sleep through an Iron Man. In ten years or so, we’ll share these movies with them which they’ll love but probably won’t care about our sappy story.

My wife has a great affinity for movies too, but I think that being pregnant for over half of our marriage has made her hormones take over, because I recently noticed the Twilight movies on our DVR.  Hhmmm.  That’s okay by me, as long as I don’t have to watch.. I’m sure she feels the same about the  childish- immature-vile- not-always-funny-adult cartoons I’ve taped on our DVR that she won’t have to watch.

 

If you are looking for something for your kids to do in the summer to beat the heat, try the Marcus Movie Theater Kids Dream Summer Movie Program($2)  http://www.marcustheatres.com/Promotion/PromotionDetail/5/ and the Regal Movie Theater Summer Movie Program($1) at  http://www.regmovies.com/summermovieexpress/default.aspx These theaters run recently released movies at a low price at ten just before nap time. This is a great place to introduce your preschooler to movie culture without breaking the bank. Plus, since there are so many kids at the show (and summer camps), if your kids misbehave, then they can join the 20 other kids in the movie theater who are doing the same.

There is so much out there for our kids.  I’ve written about this before but the boys tastes have changed.  They still love Scooby Doo although his unrefined speech may be contributing to Andy’s currently limited vocabulary.  Jinkies.  They still watch Superwhy, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Sesame Street (although AJ seems pretty much over Elmo, can you blame him?).   My preference would be for them to watch more Sesame Street, as it’s very educational and keeps them engaged.  That, and it has Super Grover 2.0

So the latest additions to their parentally approved programming are as follows:

  • Team Umizoomi:  This teaches kids about shapes, colors, working together and recognizing patterns.  It’s really wonderful to watch them participate in this show.  They are Umi-friends. Plus, my wife’s friend’s daughter-in-law is the one who does the music for that show.   
  • Lazytown:  A completely wacky show with an emphasis on exercise, healthy eating choices and reading.  Very fun to watch the boys imitate and run around.  The title makes no sense to me, but the rubber puppets and stories really hold their attention, too. 
  • Wordworld: another animated series that creates a link between animals, objects, plants by forming them out of words.  Hard to explain but it really helps kids make the connection between these things and how words represent them. 
  • The Little Einsteins:  Their emphasis on art, culture, animals and classical music is very interesting.  They travel all over the world in Rubber Rocket and solve problems for lost animals, create an interest in the music and give credit to the composers and artists portrayed in the episodes. 
  • The Octonauts:  Educational and animated, but very bizarre.  It focuses on sea life and their adventure takes place in a submarine with a cat who is captain, a penguin who is a medic and for some reason, a talking turnip.  Interesting.  They work together to help injured or lost sea animals, they sing and dance and explore the ocean.  This was their favorite until they discovered Scooby.  

One main plus about these shows as they’re all shown on the PBS, PBS Sprout, Nick Junior or Disney Junior networks.  That means there are no commercials.  When they watch Nickelodeon or Boomerang, AJ can’t help but tell me about the toy commercial he saw and how he wants it.  Much like commercials are shoved down our throats today.  Hallelujah for DVR.  

My boys do much more than watch TV.  They both love books and playing outside.  AJ has been reading to his class and we decided to get him a book we love.  Shel Silverstein’s Where The Sidewalk Ends.  He has been reading poems to us each night since we bought it and at the end of each poem, he laughs hysterically whether he gets it or not. 

I gave both of them reading lights in their bedroom so they each take books to bed each night, to read, to look at pictures and to sleep with.  It has really helped with bedtime and our peace of mind.  Plus, I kind of worried about AJ reading books in the dark, although it seems to have worked for him.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Wipes

Posted on April 16, 2012 by

How can I get my kids to sit so still??

I am always looking for ways to pass the time for my kids.  One thing they love to do, as any kid would, is paint.  It’s a difficult activity to accomplish when you have walls, floors or clothing.  That, coupled with my OCD tendencies proves to be very difficult.  But, I have to bite the bullet and just let them go at it.  At 2 and 4 years old finger-painting is synonymous with painting.  If I give Andy a paintbrush, he will easily confuse it with toothbrush, hairbrush, dad-brush or brother-brush.  AJ loves to join in and paint whatever (or whoever) Andy is painting. 

I barely remember painting as a kid.  Those memories have been replaced with nightmares of painting my rental properties and no longer have a fun connotation to them.  However, those memories are to be replaced with new ones so long as I can cope with the mess.  I took these pictures knowing it was going to make my skin crawl but I was eager to chronicle their hijinks.     Every day there is going to be something that’s going to drive me nuts and I, for the most part have come to terms with that. 

I have too many worries to let a little mess get to me. While I do overreact in some situations my wife reminds me that we have 3 kids and we have to expect messes on a daily basis.  AJ actually calls me out on it as I have witnessed and yelled at them when milk is spilled.  On some days I react calm and collected, some days not.  Either way, AJ quotes me saying “No use crying over spilled milk, Dad.”  He’s right.  I just don’t have to always like it.  So as we get closer to warm weather, I try to prepare myself.  The painting was on a rainy day and it proves to be fun for the boys and the older they get, the longer they wait to become fully, mentally and physically immersed in paint.  But both of them do eventually get paint in their hair and somehow in their belly buttons. 

One thing I’ll never get used to is sand.  We have a sandbox and when my boys play in the playground after school, I can’t keep them out of the big sandbox with their schoolmates who like to throw sand.  Okay, my sons are the instigators who throw sand.  Today after the park, a shoe was emptied on the kitchen floor which had more sand in it than a clown car has clowns.  If there’s ever a reason not to let your kids sleep in your bed, it’s sand. 

The other pictures that I’ve added are from 2 of 4 Easter egg hunts that my boys attended.   Easter is the new Halloween.  Reimage Church in Greenville actually had a Hot air balloon go up and drop eggs into a field.  It was a great idea and I was anxious to see it executed except for the first lift off did not agree with the winds.  I was glad we made the decision not to see it as the crowd was huge, must have been in excess of 3,000 egg hungry hunters.   

My boys obviously have extensive experience in brush strokes and hue saturation so it’s pretty clear; they have potential in careers as volunteer face painters.  Fingers are crossed.   

So please enjoy these pictures of my boys, painting, playing, dancing, Easter-egg hunting and of course of baby Jamie taking it all in from the sidelines.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

NCMom: “We Totally Started The Fire!”

Posted on April 3, 2012 by

There hasn’t been a recent post for NCDADS.ORG in a while. Readership might be wondering, “Where in the world has Ken been?” Well, as a guest blogger, I’d like to answer that question and more…

If Ken hasn’t posted in the morning, it probably means that he is up with AJ and Andy. He is making breakfast. Getting the kids dressed. Wetting and combing the boys’ bedhead, because they do not often cooperate with haircuts. Wiping Andy’s nose. Getting me a drink because I am on the couch nursing Jamie. Changing diapers.

After breakfast, he is playing with the kids and arranging for a time when I can nap. Reading stories to the boys. Making kids laugh with his crazy sense of humor. Taking the kids to the park. Blowing bubbles. Pushing on swings. Washing our clothes. Playing scrabble online while kids watch a cartoon. Changing diapers.

Afterwards, on school days, he is picking up AJ at preschool. Getting treats for the boys without spoiling their lunch. Making a mean grilled cheese (Wisconsin style—-extra extra cheese!) and whatever else AJ names as his favorite lunch of the day. Shaking his head in amazement at the wonderful lunch he provided and the full plates of food that remain. Watching our dog Lotti drool over too many leftovers. Drying our clothes. Straightening up the living room. Cleaning the bathroom. Trying not to get too annoyed at AJ’s misses.

Preparing AJ and Andy for nap. Preparing AJ and Andy for nap. Preparing AJ and Andy for nap. Changing Andy’s diaper. Sending the boys to their room for nap. Getting the boys water before nap. Tucking the boys in for nap. Listening intently for peeps from the bedroom. Folding laundry.

Finally sitting on his chair and pulling up the computer to write a blog post before Jamie interrupts and needs to burp or play or attention. He’s not sure which will console, but brings him up on his lap, hugs him close and rocks him until he is at peace.

Gently placing Jamie in one of his various infant contraptions that has somehow made it through niece Sadi, nephew Jace, and brothers AJ and Andy. Picking Jamie back up and trying a new swing. Wondering why Jamie is still crying. Trying a new setting on the swing. Trying to hum the intro to “How I Met Your Mother.” Picking Jamie back up. Bringing him up on his lap, hugging him close and rocking him until he is at peace. Double checking Jamie is asleep.

Second try. Gently placing Jamie in his bassinet. Breathing a sigh of relief. Pulling up the laptop and waiting for it to start-up. Disbelieving the sound of the pitter-patter of little feet. Then, shaking his head tirelessly as AJ runs to the front room and asks for a treat. Trying not to lose it as Andy enters the room sans clothing shouting “Wah. Wah,” in an attempt to get some water to wet his whistle. Putting on a diaper. Putting away laundry.

Taking the boys outside to play with various bikes, scooters, plasma cars, bubbles, and balls in the driveway. Protecting Lotti from the boys, especially her biggest fan Andy. Fixing the swingset. Making the outside more kid friendly—this means de-pooping the lawn. Waiting patiently for the time when AJ can depoop and also mow the lawn and countless other chores in Ken’s head. Changing diapers.

Continuing to watch the boys while I finish nursing Jamie and prepare dinner. Bathing the boys. Yelling at the boys for splashing. Warning the boys if they splash one more time, they are out. Picking up the wet, clean boys kicking and screaming. Shaking his head that AJ wants to be first at everything. Putting Jammies on the boys. Wiping Andy’s nose. Emptying the dishwasher. Wondering when I will help out more with the household chores. Loving me anyways.

Having a nice family dinner. Hoping Jamie does not fuss and interrupt. Fielding a question from AJ, “I’m done. Can I have dessert?” Telling AJ, “No, because you didn’t eat a nice dinner.” Telling AJ the same thing after he takes a tiny bite of dinner. Repeating. Repeating. Repeating with every little bite. Staying firm on his principles. Clearing the table. Washing dishes. Washing Andy. Changing diapers.

Winding the kids down before putting them down. Reading the kids a story or two or three. Tucking the kids in and performing various bedtime rituals meant to assist this difficult endeavor. Kissing and hugging. Shaking his head at AJ trying to read books in bed in the dark. Hoping the boys go down without a fuss, or maybe just a less fuss than the previous night.

Sitting down to open his laptop to begin writing his blog, but agreeing to hold and care for Jamie while I take a shower and answer some emails. Continuing to care for Jamie while I get a head start on sleep for the evening which will allow me to up with Jamie to nurse in the middle of the night without losing my mind. Telling himself, “It’s 1 am, time to lay down….what else can I say? Perhaps my blog post will have to wait another day.” Admiring his keen rhyming skills.

It’s been over a year since Ken established ncdads.org. Besides being delighted by Ken’s writing proficiency, I am selfishly reaping the benefits of him chronologically detailing the intimate moments of our kids’ early years. I am grateful that he can use his talents to illuminate special moments in the lives of our children. I’ve already sat back and reminisced about Ken’s account of Jamie’s birth. Even though it happened two months ago, I’m glad he captured so much of the details, which have already faded into the cobwebs of my memory and been replaced by Jamie’s new smiles and coos. Thank you, NCDAD, for taking such special care of our family and sharing your trials and tribulations with others in such a meaningful way. You impress me everyday. Spicy. Spicy.  You are an amazing father and husband. I love you! K

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

True Story

Posted on April 3, 2012 by

On our most recent date night, we walked into the theater when a fly flew right into my wife’s eye.

We saw the movie in 3-D anyway.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dinner In Diapers

Posted on March 20, 2012 by

We realized shortly after the baby was born that our kids were in for less nutrition, more brain-rotting TV and lower safety standards.  Okay, just the first two.  Basically, we are finding out daily that there are so many more things we’re in store for than just acclimating Jamie to our world.  We are adjusting every aspect of our lives to fit his.  I can’t imagine being a kid 4 years old or under.  I think Jamie’s brothers might have it the worst. 

I have just been at a loss for words lately.  I think that all the kids in the house are afraid of losing their ranking in our family bracket, because they are in a competition to determine who can make the most noise to get their voice heard.  Message received boys.  Loud and clear.  Don’t tell the big brothers, but the baby is by far the loudest yet.

While we pretend to have things down pat, honestly, I haven’t sworn this much (under my breath) at a kid since I was one.  I utter more expletives (to myself) than I did at 10 years old to classmates when I believed that I invented them.  It’s scary.  I am realizing every day how unprepared I am for this new adventure.  Right now, the house is quiet except for my typing (and extreme backspacing).  I am sitting with Jamie and every couple of minutes, I see him brace himself, his arms and legs tense up and shake like a turtle, knocked on its shell.  I started to crack up as I visualized the comparison, I woke him up.  Damn. 

At 6 weeks old, he clearly runs the house.  It’s funny as I know at one time the dog ran the house.  She was frightened of plastic bags and deathly afraid of balloons and the creatures that wield them.   You’ve come along way, doggie.

Sit UBU Sit

While we often know when we need a break from our kids, our kids also need a break from us.  I used to think I was fun but my son proves otherwise every day.  Today AJ says to me with the inflection of an audio book narrator, “I’m so tired of you Dad!”  I was at first mad as he seemed to be disrespectful, but I understood him completely.  Without ever verbalizing in this same way, I know I’ve felt that way too.

One way to combat this is to give them a break.  In our house, we want to have traditions like the family dinner, but we also want them to embrace childhood without breaking the house or the bank.  This means letting them be kids.  My father loves to tell my boys (and their cousins) “Quit acting like a kid!” making fun of us yelling at them.  My brother was here last weekend with his kids and I hear how ridiculous I am when he yells at his kids.  No offense Bro, I only mean that we both sound like Dad.  He’s probably offended.  I’m kind of offended.  Dad would definitely be laughing if he knew how to turn on the interweb google machine to read this.

I often get mad especially when the boys try to include the 6-week old Jamie in their horse-play.  I’m sure my neighbors hear it before my kids do, so naturally I get louder and louder.

This weekend our house was loud, has smelled of corned beef and cabbage and reeked of hoops.  St.  Patty’s Day:  My favorite Irish basketball holiday.  So knowing that we have taken over their TV we have allowed them to have a night in for themselves.  Dinner for 2, without Mommy and Daddy (in the room).  They’re having chicken fingers and apples with barbecue sauce and caramel sauce.  I’m sure they’ll dip both in both.  We love to have family dinners and most nights it’s pretty successful.  AJ sometimes plays the teenager, especially when he says that he’s done and wants to go play in his room.  Tonight, he’s happy to have his playmate to eat dinner with even though Andy’s stripped down to his diaper and steals from AJ’s plate.  Sometimes we just have to let things like that slide.    This worked tonight and allowed us to watch some B-ball and eat the best Reuben ever made.  I’d have a picture of it but I ate it too fast.  I’ll leave that to the food bloggers and the Facebook updates of those with nothing to say. 

Tomorrow night we’ll return to our family dinner and dream up the next way to weasel out of it on Thursday when the madness returns. We may have to let them watch Scooby Doo in their play room.  My brackets are still in good shape and the games have been awesome to watch, but Andy just turned 2— which promises to bring a whole new meaning to “March Madness.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Tinkle Tube

Posted on March 8, 2012 by

Vote for it here.  This is a revolutionary device that helped (will help and is currently helping) us potty-train our boys.  It is being voted on to be put on the shelf at Wal-Mart. 

http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/4784/Tinkle-Tube

http://www.babyrockapparel.com/tinkletube.html

visit their website for unique kids’ clothes and gifts and please cast your vote.  If you are raising a boy of potty-training age, this has our full endorsement.  2 enthusiastic and dry thumbs-up! 

There are so many great ideas out there, please let me know if there’s anything that you endorse in raising your kids.  Whether it’s your parenting philosophy, a reward system that works for your kids or a great, practical product like this, we’d like to hear about it.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

Posted on March 1, 2012 by

I am a glutton for punishment.  Today I had quite a bit of ambition.  My wife had a rough night with the baby.  Not rough but long.  She loves being able to do whatever she can for him.  It’s difficult for her to complain when she knows how important it is to take the best care of the kid. 

As I got up in the morning, it was in a rush to get boy #2 to school.  Once I dropped him off, I had to come back to pick up boy # 1 to take him to gymnastics. I decided to address some important paperwork while he burns off (not enough) energy.  Even without a traditional job, the paperwork is never done. 

Today, I was alone with all 3 kids.  Easy, (well maybe easier), when we are at home, I felt like I was in pursuit of a Guiness World Record.  I finished up (very little of) the unfinished paperwork and took boy #1 home to get boy # 3 before picking up boy # 2 from school.  Still with me?  Afterwards, I took the kids to the 2-year old park. It is well fenced in to contain my horizontal kids and keep a close eye on the car-seat pacifier bound kid. 

My fatal mistake was commenting to another Dad who was there with his son.  I said, “You got it easy.”  It was at that moment when I realized that I said something self-involved and kind of ignorant, especially since those were the only words I said.  I think I made that comment because I am still so new to having three kids that the situation still amazes me.  He politely commented after my remark that he had a third one on the way. It soon became  apparent that I was just feeling sorry for myself, especially as I was having a hell of a time getting my kids in the car as it started to rain. 

My Adidas!

So, I’ve bought these boys shoes within the past 3 months and they need to be replaced.  If only the kids would outgrow the shoes before they fall apart. This was the case for us. So shotty-made shoes made me realize the Target shoe department sucks.  While I know my kids play hard, I also know that the reduced price and the red tag is just to allure us to buy crap.  Well done Target.  While I normally appreciate the deals, I shall curse your shoe department along with the Dollar Spot. 

So rather than debating the crappy consumer plastic products that come from China, I decided to check out Kohl’s to look for brand name shoes.  Crap.  Skechers and Adidas both made in China too. 

My day of chaos continues  when I challenge myself to balance two kids on foot trying on everything that resembles a shoe….in the shoe department (fortunately not the bear trap department).  The baby cried in his stroller, but was completely angelic as crying does not involve running after anyone in a panic through a department store..  The other 2 can cry, run away, and play supermarket sweep with the knee-high shelves minus the shopping cart for the items to fall into.  When they found empty shelves and decided to treat them as bunk beds, it was a decent minute and a half break while I frantically looked for shoes that fit them.  Fortunately, I hadn’t thought that the top shoe shelf could fall under the weight of a kid with worn-out shoes.

Once I sized them, it took forever to find just the right shoe.  I was happy to find something that has the potential of lasting a little longer than their last pairs.  The sizing charts by the way took another minute and a half while the kids played “Dance, Dance Revolution” in front of the angled mirror minus the music. 

As difficult as it was to meander through the shoe department, we made out with some cool new shoes.  As promised, I had to move forward to the toy department.  One problem with living here in Greenville, NC is that there is not much to do for toddler age kids on a rainy day.  Everywhere we go will require some spending.  While the shoes were a required expense, the dual remote control cars for them were not.  I didn’t see until after we got home that the box said ages 6 and up.  Sorry guys, guess they’re both for me. 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment