Category Parenting

Lace ‘Em Up, Gentlemen!

“Dad, I think I just had my most brilliant idea ever!” Given that my daughter’s bustling brain is perpetually percolating with interminable innovation, I figured this was going to be good! “I’m just going to wear sandals and Crocs when…

The Current Battle Strategy

My daughter had an important announcement: “Although I don’t really like animals, I actually don’t mind LEARNING about animals.” Given her tendency to, in past eras, run away screaming from all four-legged creatures, I figured this refreshingly mature perspective was…

Subtle Suggestions for Family Game Night

Although there isn’t a pretentious bone in her body, my daughter is working on maintaining composure and minimizing dramatic body language when faced with a less-than-preferred set of circumstances.  She comes by this naturally; my wife has been described as, “possessing…

Are We There Yet?

“Are we there yet?“ 4 small, seemingly benign words. And yet, when these 4 words are spoken at 4-minute intervals on a 4-hour road trip by all 4 of your children, even the most patient of parents can ferment into…

Anywhere But Whole Foods!!!

Many young kids dread going to the doctor because they associate the experience with shots.  Other children cringe at the mention of going to the dentist.  My daughter, on the other hand, looks forward to doctor and dentist appointments…but the…

The Old Man and the Sea

I asked my daughter if she wanted to play a board game, and she instead elected to read a book.  So as I continued to draft my 298th Destined-To Be-Unread-And-Sent-To-Trash email of the day, I glanced over at what she…

Decompression Day

When asked to name 3 things she did yesterday, my daughter gave the following list: 1. Decompress 2. Decompress 3. Decompress And after this delineation, she exhaled deeply, saying, “And boy did I NEED it!”  Yeah, the previous day had…

Coach Jay: The G.O.A.T.

Coach Jay was doing an admirable job of staying positive as he shepherded the Flying Pancakes through the Valley of the Shadow of a 12 goal deficit. The opposing team had the 2nd Coming of Messi playing for them, and…

Flexing in Fred Meyer

We were down to our last ½ tub of Cottage Cheese, and given that it’s one of the three things I eat, my daughter and I were forced to make an emergency run to Fred Meyer.  And after we secured…

Take Me Back to 2006, Larry-Boy!

20 years ago, we lived in a much different world. We somewhat-legally downloaded music and burned CDs on a near-nightly basis. We looked forward to the release of Pirates of the Caribbean…on DVD!  Shakira taught us the importance of Honest…