Owner: Being Michael's Daddy URL:http://being-michaels-daddy.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:17:55 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A day-to-day chronicle of being daddy to Michael, the entirely unexpected son of a second-time married couple and their brand-new blended family. Site statistics:Click here
I do care 2008-04-28 22:59:00 One phrase that I am very cautious to avoid saying to my kids is "I don't care."It's really easy to throw this one out there to them without meaning any harm, but I think it sends a bad message to them.And I'm not talking about something huge, like if one of them comes up and says "I love you, daddy." Any parent who has even a sliver of a caring heart would never respond with "I don't care."I mean for little things, where you mean to express an absence of strong opinion in either direction about something.For instance, if Michael asks whether he can watch SpongeBob, assuming there's no reason not to, I'll say "That's okay," instead of "I don't care."Or, if one of the girls asks whether or not they have to go with us to the store, I'll say "It's up to you," instead of "I don't care."This is
Tales of the Sisters: A Near Miss 2008-04-30 12:37:00 Tuesday night is traditionally “my night” – on these nights, we have my two daughters with us for the evening, so that the time in between weekends isn’t so long.Last night was special because my mother is in town, and would be leaving today. She’d be able to see those two just once more before she left today, driving from Portland down to Sacramento (I hope at her age I am as motivated and able to do stuff like that).And because we hadn’t taken the opportunity before, my wife and I accepted my mom’s offer to watch the kids while we went out to dinner. By our own selves. The very concept of having an evening to ourselves sounds as delicious as a ripe peach on a summer day.Grandma had assured me earlier that she’d swing by and pick up B & L at their mom’s house after S cam Read more:Tales
, Sisters
Quoth Michael (III) 2008-05-02 10:36:00 We're driving to Ms. K's and playing the "find the fire hydrant game", in which we must point out fire hydrants we see on the way, whether real or imagined.Michael
: "Why they all yellow?"Daddy: "Well, they're yellow where we live, but in other places they're red, and in others they're green, and in some places they're all kinds of colors."Michael: "I don't like the blue fire hydrants."Daddy: "You don't? Why not?"Michael: "Because they make me sick."Daddy: "They make you sick?"Michael: "Yeah, because they don't listen to me."I had no idea fire hydrants possessed such idiosyncracies.
No Big Deal 2008-05-02 08:10:00 Michael's eating dinner, shoveling the food in a bit faster than usual. His sister is sitting next to him.Suddenly Michael starts coughing, and though it's a sizable bark, it doesn't sound serious, so neither his mom nor I become alarmed.His sister, though, feels the need to respond."Michael, are you okay?" she asks."Yeah, I'm all right. I'm just choking," he says, and crams another fork full of chicken into his mouth. Just an average day in his life. Eat dinner, choke, watch TV, play with legos. No big deal. Read more:Big Deal
Tasty? 2008-05-03 11:56:00 So I'm sitting here checking my statistics, hoping that some miracle has taken place and suddenly I have 43 readers, when Michael comes strolling up behind me."Mmmm. Tasty
good!" he says. I hear him take another sip on his cup.Then it hits me: I didn't give him a cup this morning.Eyes wide, I spin around to see him sucking on a cup of chocolate milk that had been left out on the table last night."NOOOOOOOOOO!" I yank the cup out of his hand. This is one of those situations where we ignore object retrieval protocol."But it's tasty good!" he says."No, it's not! It's going to make you sick!""It's got germs in it?""Yes! Worse than when you leave your juice out.""Water got germs in it?""No. But Chocolate Milk gets bad quick," I explain. I realize this is not going to sink in. Not the way I wan
Fun with Pronouns 2008-05-05 12:06:00 Michael does not quite grasp the nuance of personal pronouns.Everyone is “He” or “Him”.Michael lives in a house that is brimming over with girls: three sisters, a mom, even the cat is a female. A majority of his playmates are girls. Yet he latched on to the masculine as pronoun of choice for universal use.Referring to a sister, he’ll say things like:“Where he get that?” When his mom steps on an errant Lego and yelps in pain, he says:“What happened to him?”And when the cat makes good her escape through the cat door, he says:“He’s going outside.”We all try to gently correct him, in every case. Our responses are swift and emphatic: “Where did SHE get that, Michael.”“What happened to HER!”“SHE is going outside!”But it makes no difference. We’ve been fighti
Message from the Front 2008-05-04 16:09:00 I was away on Thursday, traveling out of town on business early in the morning and returning late in the evening.While infrequent and fairly benign, these trips always make me tense up; not because I’m anxious about business, but because I know that my poor wife has to deal with Michael all by herself.Here is her day, in her own words, copied from the emails she sent me:Have had a fun filled day with all kinds of adventure.The latest thing that happened is B called. She asked for you and I reminded her you were in California. I didn’t bother to mention you were on your way back. Anyway she asked if I would answer a question regarding meat. Sure, I said.“Is hamburger that has been in the fridge for just over a week still good? It is brown on the outside but pink in the middle.” “W Read more:Message
, Front
Gray-doh 2008-05-06 13:12:00 Like any healthy, normal three-year-old, Michael likes playing with Play-doh. And like any healthy, normal three-year-old, he ends up mixing all the colors together. His mother coined the term “gray-doh” for the inevitable result. We own a large amount of gray-doh now, in several lovely shades. There’s the hard-core goth gray-doh, the result of mixing very strong, rich colors together. There’s the military olive drab gray-doh, the result of mixing the standard colors. There’s earth tone gray-doh, which comes from mixing neon colors together. And then there’s springtime light gray-doh, which is what you get when you blend together the pastel play-doh that comes out during Easter season.To add a charming point of very rich irony, Michael has decided that he does not like the gray
Quoth Michael (IV) 2008-05-07 22:00:00 We're getting set to brush Michael
's teeth, one of Michael's several nightly ablutions.He stands up on the step-stool while I prepare the toothbrush with Crest.He drags a hand through his freshly-washed hair and examines his reflection in the mirror."Uggghh!" He says, disgusted with what he sees. "I don't want to be handsome!"Such a burden at such a tender age. And such humility, too.
A Public Service Announcement 2008-05-07 14:09:00 Today I am at home with one of Michael's sisters. She should be at school, but, for reasons that I will not go into at this juncture, is home with me. I may relate the gist of the tale on a future date when it has reached that ripeness that allows us to recall it with a sense of humor.And by then, Michael may be in college.Anyway.You may notice a new banner off to the right.I direct you, my dear 42 readers, to Joeprah.com.This is a man to be proud of: a stay-at-home dad wrangling three little girls who keep him very busy, and who inspire his awesome web site. It's more than a blog, it's Joeprah.com! This guy is a scream. And he produces some top-notch videos as well.Take a look, peruse a bit, read for an hour, spend the day. There's plenty to see. Read more:Public
, Service
, Announcement
, Public Service
, Public Service Announcement
Not Feelin' The Love 2008-05-08 14:31:00 As Jeremy rightly pointed out, yesterday was Michael’s fourth birthday (his party is this Saturday; I’ll post pictures then).Hooray, Michael is officially four now.Which means he now gets FOUR minutes in the time-out chair.And that he did, shortly before bedtime last night.On normal weeknights, he and his sisters get a turn at watching a favorite TV show in the evening. He got to watch SpongeBob for his turn, and his sister wanted to watch Cash Cab for hers. Once SpongeBob was over, we turned to the Discovery Channel.“Nooooo!” Michael protested. “I don’t wanna watch Cash Cab!”“You got your turn, now it’s your sister’s turn,” I said, taking the SpongeBob DVD out of the player.“No! It’s not his turn! I want SpongeBob!” he shouted. I ignored his protest, returning
Quoth Michael (V) 2008-05-10 12:58:00 Sister S and Michael
are playing in the living room; S lying on the couch, and Michael is hovering around and bothering her in a way that only he can.S makes a feeble attempt to poke Michael with her foot."No!" Michael shouts. "You can't kick me! I'm magical!"Because if he weren't, it'd be perfectly okay to kick him.
Happy Birthday 2008-05-11 23:32:00 Michael turned four on Wednesday. On Saturday we had his party, at a local kid party place.All in all, it was a successful party and a great time was had by all. The proof was that we literally hauled Michael out of there kicking and screaming. He did not want to leave.As I promised, some pictures of the festivities. First of all, there was climbing in the play structure. A great way to burn off e Read more:Happy
, Birthday
, Happy Birthday
Manival 3 2008-05-13 15:35:00 Over at Schaefer's Blog is the The Manival 3, where a number of manly bloggers, and we here at Being Michael's Daddy, have posted some advice/tutelage/punditry on various aspects of being fatherly, husbandly or just manly in general.I highly recommend popping over there to read a bit.I'll wait.
What's Important 2008-05-12 22:47:00 Tonight I sat at the dinner and finished up my salad, while Michael goofed around with his orange play-doh and chattered loudly.Meanwhile, I was trying to listen to the questions on Cash Cab. I admit it: I'm a TV addict. I have to face this fact. I like it. Way too much.And that particular show is cool because they ask a lot of bizarre, random questions, and I usually know the answers. And so that
A Mystery: Michael's Natures 2008-05-12 15:24:00 For the last few nights Michael
has had a last question before going to bed:"Will you get my natures?" or "I need my natures."Natures? "What do you mean, Michael?""My natures, I need my natures.""Is it this?" we ask, pointing to a particular toy with plastic trees on it."No, my natures!""This?" while touching his bookshelf."No.""Michael, we'll get your natures tomorrow," I say, putting an end to i Read more:Mystery
Just Sittin' 2008-05-15 11:37:00 I was running late to work again this morning. I practically force-fed Michael his last three bites of sausage, gave him his morning dose of medication, got him dressed and we were out the door like a shot.He was not pleased. He wanted to play with a new puzzle that he’d gotten for his birthday.“Not right now, Michael. You’ve got to get to Ms K’s and daddy has to get to work.”“But I wa
The Apple and the Tree 2008-05-14 12:36:00 Saturday mornings I usually make some sort of breakfast-ish thing for the whole crew. This last weekend it was waffles and bacon. Michael specifically told me he wanted waffles.“I wanna waffle,” he whimpered, seeing me serve up his Papa G and Gramma M (my dad and step-mom, who were visiting last weekend).“Okay, Michael. Sit in your spot please,” I said, put a little waffle on his plate, cu Read more:Apple
Day Off 2008-05-16 13:51:00 Today, Michael decided he was going to be sick. That is, he got the sniffles, gagged on his phlegm, tossed his cookies in front of Ms K, so she called his mom to bring him home. She's training on a new job and can't miss work, so he and I are at home. He is currently playing with his computer recuperating. Coincidentally, it is hot. Beastly hot. Hot beyond purpose for this part of the globe:Which
I Am Man 2008-05-18 20:33:00 Just to show you that Michael's Daddy some times takes on the big, manly chores around here, I offer some photographic evidence.This weekend was one of high accomplishment.It's just the kind of guy I am, one who takes care of his home and family by tackling the hefty projects. This is how I earn time for relaxing in front of the game, Corona in hand, pretzels at the ready. Observe, the following s
News - and a Note from Michael's Mommy 2008-05-18 11:16:00 Big news! Jeremy over at Discovering Dad has some big news! Go check it out and see what I mean.In a related story, my wife and I were discussing the blogosphere in general, and how obsessed I can get some of us can get about blogging, and all that it entails. That is, I was moping about my rank according to various meters, and how I was not satisfied with the way things are. "I can't believe my r Read more:Michael
, Mommy
A Stinky Situation -- Part II 2008-05-21 10:45:00 As I had said yesterday, our smelly little friend had returned sometime during the early morning hours and had given us the goods.My wife and I were sharply awakened at 3:53 by a scent so overpowering, so gut-wrenchingly strong that we were forced out of our bedroom, towels over our noses. It was like being beaten about the face and neck with angry skunks.We continued downstairs, stalked by the cl
A Stinky Situation -- Part I 2008-05-20 16:31:00 This morning at 4:02 AM, you would have found my wife and me standing barefoot in the garage, huddled close together whiffing a gallon bottle of vinegar, practically weeping and wondering whether we’d last the morning.What could cause this descent into madness, this headlong voyage into raving lunacy?This:We have a skunk living in the yard. We’ve known there was a skunk in the area for some ti
No, Thanks. 2008-05-22 18:00:00 While we wait for more news on the backyard creature saga, this.Last night Michael and I were goofing around in the family room, him tripping all over his legos and demanding tickles and such. In a tidying kind of mood, Michael's mommy brought over a little box that contained three pieces of candy. They were "Krabby Patties", little gummy representations of the burgers SpongeBob makes at the Krust Read more:Thanks
A Stinky Situation -- Part III 2008-05-22 11:31:00 As I had said yesterday, I called a local wildlife removal service and pleaded with the guy to come out and get this skunk.He said he could be out around six PM, and I made sure he would do everything we needed: trapping, exclusion, and deodorization. “Yeah, we do all that,” he assured me. I was able to concentrate a whole lot better while at work that day, knowing that relief was in sight. Wh
A Stinky Situation -- Part IV 2008-05-24 11:34:00 (disclaimer: no skunks were harmed during the making of this post.)Day 1, Wednesday: After showers and breakfast we made our way out to the back yard to see what we might have caught.The first trap was sprung! And through the translucent side we could easily see a shadowy form inside moving around.Risking injury and possible stinkiness, I cautiously approached the trap and leaned down to peer into
What Brings Out the Kid in Me 2008-05-24 23:44:00 Jeremy over at Discovering Dad is sponsoring a contest to ask “What brings out the kid in you?” And so I must share.As my memory fades and my childlike tendencies are shoved further into the corner by the responsibilities and cares of the day, I relish those times I can truly allow myself to let my inner child out to play. For me, it’s my memories, and links to my past that does it. I was t
Nerve Surfing 2008-05-26 17:56:00 I love the little guy. I really do. But Michael has a way of riding my nerve the way no other child of mine can. He's skilled at it. I believe it is his daily objective. If, at the end of every day, the single checklist item of "Surf Daddy's Last Nerve
" can be scratched off, he can go to bed content.Today's little delight came just before he sat down to eat lunch.Michael's Mommy had just offered m Read more:Surfing
A Visit with Attle 2008-05-28 17:50:00 Last Sunday I took the family to Seattle for the day, on the recommendation of one of my daughters. Both Michael’s Mommy and I used to live in that area during previous phases of our lives, before we’d met. So Sunday morning at just before 9 AM, we were out the door. Michael kept asking us all: “Where’s Attle?” and “Are we going to see Attle?”We had lunch on the east side, at a littl
Family Words 2008-05-30 17:27:00 Irritainment: The electronic busybox that Michael rediscovered, and that he had to bring with him in the car on our trip to Seattle and play with for three hours five inches behind my ears.Chair Chow: The chunks of food that get left behind in Michael's booster seat, to which he'll return later and snack upon.Elbrow: When you're four and you get confused about whether you're talking about the hair Read more:Family
, Words
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