What you think does matter

Parenting: The Guilt of having two children Every now an then I am reminded by my two children - how I love or favor the other sibling. Like if I could ever love one over the other. My Daughter say: "you give him everything" My 5 yr old son says: "Kiki gets to do everything" Ofcourse they can't seem to understand that it's not favoritism - it's just that their at different ages and stages in their lives. So where Kiki the older child gets privileges my five yr old son doesn't - my 5 yr old gets more attention because he needs more guidance, protection - unlike his older sister I expect more from. But I do feel guilt sometimes. I always wanted three kids - it was just my thing. Ofcourse when I finally had children and found out how much responsibility and work was involved - I was happy to settle with just two. After all I already had one of each [ boy and girl ]. But I always feel like I'm short changing one or the other. When my daughter was bo

Here I am trying to spend some quality time with my son before I have to go to work and all he wants to do is play halo. It's sad really - because I'm the one who got him hooked on playing halo. But I guess spending some time with him killing aliens and defending the universe from a horde of evil Aliens is better than not spending time with him at all. The odd thing is he takes his command so seriously - I mean he is only four years old and he is concerned about the men that follow him in the game. He has figured out that they can die and that he can do something to save and protect them. He just insist on making sure his fellow soldiers are doing good. He doesn't want to go to the next level unless he can protect his fellow men [ and women - they have female characters in the game]. The odd thing is, when he plays as the alien, he doesn't care who dies - his fellow alien horde could drop by the thousands and he lets them - but let one of his fellow human being soldiers

Parenting Advice: Build your children’s self esteem with Rap Music? Here is a "Parenting Advice" and "Parenting tip" - It’s a bit unorthodox so hear me out. I used a little Nelly rap song to teach my child [ daughter ] to build her self esteem. " I am #1, 2 is not a winner and 3 no one remembers… What does it take to be #1 - hey, hey, hey ..." This method of “Parenting advice” may sound a bit off, but please - give me some time to completely explain my madness. I know most people hear the words “Rap music” and they think - degrading, thug, junk... So how did I teach my daughter about having good self esteem with a rap song? Well, one day I heard this song and it was so catchy - I spent days humming the chorus and singing the chorus to myself. I just couldn’t get it out of my head. Then came a conversation with my wife - she was expressing her concern over our daughters “shyness” and her fear that our daughter may have low self esteem. So an Idea

Ever get lost. Too embarrassed to ask for directions? Are you the type that wont take directions? Well I have a funny story for you. When I first married and moved to Florida - before the kids and all that. My wife wanted to take a trip to miami - you know, look at the beach. Now I didn’t want to go and I let it be known, but I went, I even did the driving. We drove over 600 miles that day why. Because when I finally got to the beach in miami, I was still unhappy and again let it be known - so we argued for 5 minutes, looked at the beach for 2 minutes and then got back in the car to drive back home. of course the traffic was bad and I got lost. It took the insisting nagging push of my wife to get me to ask a police officer [ sheriff here in Florida ] for help with directions. Once on the road it was late and my wife doze off. of course again I got [ let say ] confused and took the Florida turnpike [ wrong, really wrong ] I had no idea where I was, how to get off and I was not going to

I can’t believe what I just said - I think I had a brain fart. “Go watch TV or I’m going to hit you!” Did I just say that? I can’t believe this. I know I said this because I wanted my son to watch some educational television and yes I was in the middle of something and found it easy to just send him to watch TV. But it hit me after I said it - I was going to hit him if he “didn’t watch TV“ ??? Boy does that sound wrong in so many levels. I hear people talk like if the television is a baby sitter and how others believe TV is bad for kids [ too much tv that is ]. But in this case - I just wanted him to take time to learn. I have always made it a habit to have him watch educational television in the morning because #1 - I want him to learn and #2 - after a certain time there is nothing very educational after 12 noon. So I got a bit frustrated because he’s been watching “junk” tv with his sister and I wanted to make sure he got in the educational stuff like sesame street, Dora, Diego, Arth

Tip - how to keep home quiet As a Parent - a quiet home is a luxury - one that doesn’t come along very often. So I would like to take a second and offer up a small but effective way to do this. No medication, no games or distractions….. Just make sure they don't wake up ! Take a look at photo …..

Exploiting my Children online ? ? ? ? Interesting, I was asked if I felt ok with Exploiting my children.. When I asked, what they meant by “exploiting my children” - they said : “You know, putting them out there on the internet for all the world to see. Don’t you think your exploiting them - by putting their life on display for people to see?” It was an interesting thought. And I could see why people would think that - they think it because they’ve seen what happens to child TV stars and lets not forget all the wacko’s out there. But let me explain a few things - at least from my personal life. My children are the world to me. They are the joy of my life and the air I breath. When my little girl was born I promised to be there for her, unlike my father who left when I was five. As she grew up I realized two things - one, time and age will erode my memory of all the good things I have done and do for my children. So I started keeping a journal and a large book of photos, mementos and co

Indiana Jones and the temple of Quietness I said it before I’ll say it again - I love video games. Especially if they give a bit of “Peace and Quiet” in the home. Oh, there is nothing more exciting than watching my kids play - that is, play quietly. Ofcourse since I’m a big fan of games myself - I play a little myself. And I have to say, if you want a nice clean game that will help your kids use those brain cells and enjoy themselves [ plus keep them quiet ] I suggest you get “ Lego Indiana Jones “ tribute game. This game is cool, especially if you’re a movie buff and an Indiana Jones fan. It pretty much takes you thru all three Indiana Jones movies - [ not last 4th installment ]. It’s great, you get the whip, you fight, jump, solve puzzles and ofcourse it has movie clips in Lego format. So cute. The only bad thing is, if you’re an avid player - or a junkie like me - you could easily go thru the entire game in about three days [ give or take a day - depends how good you are and

My son is always saying he wants to be a soldier. He is only four years old. His mom cringes when he proudly says it - for fear of lossing her little boy. Let us Honor all those who have given much in service - In service to you, to me, to thier children. Sacrificing thier lives, family, and so much more. In honor of those who have gone before, and those in the present. Thank you for what you have sacrificed. I recieved these photos via email and thought to share it with all.

I love video games, no really. I love videos games, I’ve always been a fan. I could play for hours and when I was a kid - it was a normal thing for me to play all night in my pursuit to save the princess, destroy the evil monster or capture the prize. There were many a sleepless nights where just me, my game console and several cups of coffee was what I had in the wee hours of the night. I once played “Zelda” for three nights and three days straight. No sleep for me, I was going to save the princess - I did by the way. So what’s my point - Do you want to know why today’s parents love game consoles, why they are willing to pay three hundred dollars or more on a simple game console. Why they do not find it a waste of money to pay $129 dollars for a DS or other hand held game… let me give you a clue: Listen, do you hear that.. The silence .......... I was wondering why the house was so quite. The spouse was taking a nap and the kids - well, not a peep. I thought they were a sleep but when

Children are crazy - or at least maybe only mine. With all the possible places they can sit - sofa, couch, love chair, stools - they have to bring into the house a fold up lawn / beach chair to sit on. But it’s not enough that they have to bring it in - they start arguing and fighting over who will sit in it. Give me a break - you have the entire sofa to sit on but they both want to sit on this one fold up chair. Here I am just trying to enjoy some down time, and all "hell" breaks out in my living room. Over what - a stupid fold up chair. Come on, when I was a kid 90 percent of the time we sat on the floor. First it began because we couldn’t afford a sofa, then it was just habit to sit on the floor. But not my children, they want to fight over one fold up chair. Sometimes I think they do just to drive me mad. But what they forget - that just like the HULK ..... "They don’t want to see me Angry....."

I just want to share a comment with you all. The reason, becuase I can relate. I myself often find myself scrouging and debating weather is it even worth the effort to go out - considering the price of gas. life sure has changed for me and many other americans. here is a comment i recieved yesterday: comment: Hello, Ive been trying to find help with finances for a while now. I have a 4 yr old boy in day care and a new baby girl , born MAY 13th. I work full time and so does my significant other. We both have even taken on over time. Its been hard on us considering that I work 12-8am 6 days a week and then stay home with my infant during the day. YOU can call me zombie!...Anyway, even with all the overtime it seems like there is always a bill that is late. I guess nobody realized they had to budget for gas being 4 dollars a gallon! I am currently trying to find new employment so that I CAN PAY my bills, but its virtually impossible to run around town in my car and drop off applica

The day after the dog was gone... Well the sleepy long days of summer have arrived. The first day after the Dog was gone - my kids did what every kid does durring the summer - Slept in ... I can't blame them, I know some people might say - thats lazy or teaching your kids to be lazy... But thats the point. They are kids. I say let them enjoy it. They going to grow up. And I teach them and train them to do a lot of things. heck my duaghter has been working on a mathbook for the last four days. shes been practicing her math skills and this is a book i used in collegde. Did you know that if you wanted to find the answer to any math questin that dealt with dividing a number by five - all you had to do is multi by the number by two and you have your answer.... This is what shes doing - learn strong math skills. So why would i argue about her waking up late. as long as she washes the dishes, cleans her room and helps around the house and ofcourse does some learning during the summer - &q

Sometimes I wonder, No matter what you do - kids just have a way of getting everything mixed up. Tell me - what do you think my son said to me in this picture...... After all I do to teach my son right from wrong. Yes, I let him play video games and some of these games involve "armymen shooting" and even halo. But when it comes to tv, movies, etc.. I make sure he sticks to kiddy stuff and that I teach him "bad is Bad" and "good is Good". Well, today he woke up and ate breakfast, kissed mom goodbye and then disappeared into his room. He then emerged with his snow gloves and hat on. What did he say - "Dad, I'm gonna go steal like that guy on tv.".... What???? I assume he means the guy on the tv show where they show people how unsecure they are in thier homes and they prove it by breaking in. Then they supply them with better updated security systems. But ofcourse - what he remembers is - "the guy stealing ???????? " Help me lord......

Oh the Hypocrisy of fathers Day ! I hate Days like Fathers day - it’s so fake, so hypocritical. You know, the one day out of the 365 day year where your family takes the time to show you how much they care for you as a Dad. Well, the hypocrisy goes toward all days - mothers day, valentines day, even birth days. I love my family and they love me. I know this not because they gave me a nice fathers day card and some very nice cloths [ better than a tie .....] But because they show it too me every day of the year. On fathers day, my wife went out shopping for five hours with the kids, ate lunch out at Paneras restaurant and came home and didn’t have to cook. What was my reward - that I had peace and quite for five hours and had to cook my own meal. yea, like I said I got the fathers day card and nice clothing. But I think my wife got the better end of this deal. My point - I hate it when I am obligated to give someone something on a particular day - and if I don’t, it’s taken as a sign of

I just have to laugh , no really. I don’t think my wife did it intentionally but it is ironic. Let me explain - - My sister-in-law came over yesterday and she noticed a red Elmo child seat by the coach. Being the overly excited ELMO fan she grabbed the seat up in her arms and jokingly hugged, kissed and exclaimed how cute and lovely the seat was… My wife just stood quite. Then my sister stopped and embarrassingly said - “you know, this smells funny…” she took a good sniff and said “hey, this smells !” and my wife with a straight face said “ I’m sorry, that chair belongs to the Dog .....”. Ofcourse my sister-in-law dropped the chair quickly and went running..... OH, I wish I had the camera with me, it would have made a great video. But hey - that will teach her, next time she will stop and think before she acts. The dog probably thought it was rude of her to grab his chair - but then again he probably was surprise to see a human sniffing his chair. . . .....

Day 6 th of Summer Oh the joy of being right.. I told you so............................ This morning [ as early as it is ] I arose to the sweet smell of victory. And all I could think to say was " I told You...} But I didn't. It seems that my wife is a bit upset becuase my duaghters room smells bad - ofcourse it does. The dog has been sleeping in her room and it's dog she smells. *** Surprise *** Not happy at all she orders my dughter to clean her room and spray that smelly princess stuff called Freebreez ???? Oh then she orders her to walk the dog. Oh joy what a wonderful morning this is! Now my duaghter is upset becuase [ already used to waking up late in the day ] she has to get up at 7 am to walk the dog [ well it wasn't going to be me ]. Ofcourse I couldn't help but document the disgruntle little girl walking the dog. Ofcourse this only means that I have to put up with a "angry little girl" for a couple of hours early in my morning - but since I'

Day 4 of Summer I came home to find an uninvited guest. or atleast not invited by me. This guest was smelly, sad looking and of the four legged variety. Yes a dog. My daughter and wife consented to babysit a friends little pooch and now I have four children to take care of, the son, my daughter, the dog and my wife..... It's funny because this dog looks more like a rodent than he [ i think it's a he ] he does as a dog. I ofcourse put my foot down, almost stepping on the small china doll like dog. I told the family ... well, I swore that I was not going to walk it, bath it, feed it, care for it or worry about. That they would have to watch this "thing" and make sure it wasn't going to break, chew, piss or poop on anything in the house. And they said fine - not like I could kick the dog out, my friends would not like me much - it's just that I didn't get to vote. And since they underhandedly sneaked the dog into my [ our ] house with out my consent - I didn&