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
Tales of the Sisters: Obdurate Lethargy 2008-03-06 19:04:00 One of Michael’s dear sisters is a study in energy conservation, both mental and physical. Having recently attained the status of teenager-hood (by no effort of her own, other than merely riding upon the earth for thirteen trips around the sun) she is now ascending to a seasoned ripeness of sloth.Now, I’ll give you: Most teenagers tend toward laziness. They’re difficult to pry out of bed, and make great protestation at being asked to do anything beyond that which is essential for sustaining life and absorbing entertainment.But this particular sister has plunged indolence to a new nadir. To this sister, every expenditure – and I do mean every one – is hard work.She prefers to lie down on the couch to watch TV rather than sit up, because sitting up is too hard.When my wife and I ar Read more:Tales
, Sisters
I'm No Baby Sitter 2008-03-04 12:53:00 I just now heard a man say "Yeah, I did a lot of baby sitting last Saturday..."I thought to myself, "So.... you were watching someone else's children and getting paid for it?"No.This is not what he was doing. He was caring for and engaging his own kids on Saturday.See, if you're a teenager looking to make a few bucks on a weeknight watching some kids while their parents are out, then you're baby-sitting.You do not baby-sit your own kids, men. You are as much a parent to them as mom is. Or, if you believe you're not, then you should be. Don't leave them high and dry, dad. They're yours. And it's a privilege.Be grateful for the time you get. Read more:Sitter
Thrill Issues 2008-03-03 15:36:00 When you’re a dad, there’s a fine line between playing with your child and causing grievous harm. And it can come from nearly every kind of physical play, whether it’s tickling or roughhousing, or the “scary chase game”.It was the latter sort that was the cause of consternation this weekend.It started innocently enough. I suddenly noticed how eerily quiet it was downstairs, which given the population of the home at the time (myself, my wife, and Michael – sisters were away at various functions), could mean either of two things: a) Michael was getting into trouble quietly without his mother’s knowledge, or b) Michael was directly tormenting his mother and she was helplessly trapped.As I came up the stairs I could hear Michael and his mom in his room giggling and talking quietl Read more:Thrill
, Issues
Don't Harsh Michael's Buzz 2008-02-29 10:41:00 Overheard at Ms K's yesterday:Hurried father of another child, raising his voice: "Billy, hurry up and get your coat on! We have to go!"Michael
: "Hey, Dave? You're scaring me over here."
Peer Pressure 2008-02-26 12:02:00 Once again we had cousin O spending the evening with us last night as her parents went to their meeting.When her mom handed my wife a fully-stocked diaper bag, jammies and a list of instructions, she knew we were in for the long haul this time. Not that we mind, of course.This little nearly-two-year-old is a precious little gem, cute and cuddly and a nice contrast to Michael's boyishness. She reminds me in many ways of Michael's older sisters when they were little. Those days seem like an entirely different life for me; even my high-school days feel more recent.But cousin O can motivate Michael in a way that no one else can: younger kid peer pressure.This is something that Michael is just not used to, being the youngest in the family by a large margin. Nor has Michael fully come to a decis Read more:Pressure
Stop Means Stop 2008-02-21 14:39:00 Michael has been spelling everything lately, or asking what is spelled by letters he sees.Sometimes he’ll ask things like “What’s T…R…O...U...B...L…E spell?” But more often, his question is more focused on a single letter within a word. “What ‘W’ doos?” he’ll ask. In other words, “What does the letter ‘W’ do in this word?”He’ll find letters everywhere, all over. Inside of refrigerators, on shoes, on toys, on signs, under tables, behind doors, on his friends’ clothes, etc. “What ‘G’ doos? What ‘C’ doos? What ‘H’ doos?”Grammar hitch aside, I think this is a great step for him. He’s interested in learning to read, and to spell. He already can spell ON and OFF, and knows what an EXIT sign means, and knows what LOVE spells, and what OPEN mea Read more:Means
Facing A Grim Responsibility 2008-02-19 14:20:00 It has been a bizarre extended weekend, packed with events:Took the family to my wife’s ex-husband’s home Friday for his birthday; spent most of the time chasing after Michael to ensure he wasn’t getting into anything he shouldn’t. Took the family up to the mountains for some snow time on Saturday. By the time we got everyone gathered up, packed up and ready to go, it was after noon. Then we had to stop and buy a new jacket, snow pants and boots for sister S, followed by a stop for lunch for everyone. It took us seven hours total of travel time alone to provide ourselves with one hour of actually touching actual snow. Sisters S and B spent their time sledding down the hill; Sister L found a snow fort and moved in. Naturally, Michael did the same, clambering in over the side, head f Read more:Facing
, Responsibility
What She Said 2008-02-19 09:20:00 Last night Michael's cousin O stayed with us while her parents were at an appointment.She likes to sit right between Michael and sister S, who's like her second mommy.We were having spaghetti, and I was relating to my wife my tales of the day, when out of the corner of my eye I spy Michael making a grab for his spaghetti with his fingers."Michael, use your fork," I tell him. I notice that O, though only half Michael's age, is using her fork handily. I shake my head forlornly, wondering where I went wrong with Michael.He picked up some spaghetti with his fork and ate it. He ate a few more bites that way, while I watched.I then returned my attention to my own dinner, and in regaling my wife with the day's incidents.Again, in my peripheral vision I can see Michael look over at me and then slo
Compassion International 2008-02-15 13:06:00 A couple of my favorite bloggers are in Uganda this week for CompassionInternational
. They're meeting amazing people and doing amazing things. Any one of us can help someone out. We're going to. Please take a look: Rocks in my Dryer Boomama
It's Not Stinky 2008-02-15 11:00:00 Morning; time to get going for the day. I'm in the kitchen making coffee when I hear Michael coming downstairs chattering to himself.“My music is gone!” Michael says, as I'm coming around the corner to ensure he’s not going to venture into the Forbidden Zone: Either of his sisters’ rooms.“Your music?”“Yeah, my music is not on,” he says again.“Okay, uh… I’m sorry to hear it,” I stammer, trying to think of an appropriate remark. Finding the correct response to Michael’s non-sequiturs remains an intellectual exercise for me on a daily basis. “I gots my blankie,” he says, changing the subject. He’s wrapped up in his blue blanket. Yesterday morning when he awoke he was wet and this blanket got some of the fallout in the process. I’d meant to toss it in the wash
Sleep is Overrated #2 (part three) 2008-02-11 15:20:00 (continued from part two)After depositing the soiled articles in the laundry room, I sat at the kitchen table, vowing not to return upstairs again. He could go to sleep or not, he could come downstairs, he could throw books around his room, it didn’t matter. I was beyond any compassion by this point.Gradually my veneer of sourness sublimated to a thin film, and finally evaporated entirely leaving behind the undercoat of regret and shame. I had been angry with a little boy who just needed to be comforted and helped through feelings he couldn’t deal with himself; emotions that probably scared him as much as it angered me.So back up I went.His mom was just finishing reading him “Green Eggs and Ham” when I came in. He turned and looked at me, and smiled like “Oh good, you’re here. Read more:Sleep
, part three
Sleep is Overrated #2 (part two) 2008-02-11 14:43:00 (continued from part one)“Okay, pick a book, please.” I’m pretty sure I said that out loud. My mouth moved in the fashion to form the words and I felt my vocal chords working. But the ambient sound level was such that I couldn’t hear myself at all. It was like sitting adjacent to a 747 jet engine throttled up for take-off. I had to amp up my own voice in order to be sure he heard me.“Michael, you have a chance to read a book here. Please calm down so we can read. I’ll wait just a bit.”And wait I did, counting off a full thirty seconds. I would have waited longer, but his howl was starting to bore into my skull and dissolve my brain. Knowing I didn’t have much left to lose, I shouted over the din: “I’ll come back when you calm down. Please stop crying,” I said, turned Read more:Sleep
Sleep is Overrated #2 (part one) 2008-02-11 13:08:00 I am so tired.This is the brand tired that other parents can commiserate with, the kind that only comes from dealing with a child in the wee hours.The song says “There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God.” I’ll tell you, at this point I am counting on that.Yesterday Michael’s little couch nap only lasted 20 minutes. He woke up bawling. This is that “where am I, what’s going on and why isn’t everything the way I expect it to be when I wake up” kind of crying. It went on, and on, and on, and on.Until he threw up in his mother’s hand.“Help! I need help over here! Michael’s throwing up!”I was in the kitchen putting the rice container back in the cupboard with one hand, holding a large pot in the other, and had two bags of noodles clamped between my teeth. Read more:Sleep
Burning Off Energy 2008-02-10 18:56:00 We took Michael to the park today because he was obviously bored.I found this out after vacuuming out the van. Michael had been "involved" in watching Chicken Little. By this I mean the movie was playing, and Michael was standing in the kitchen swinging his karaoke microphone around while it played "twinkle twinkle little star".When I came back in the movie was still playing, but by this point Michael was naked and was tying the lanyard of his mom's work badge around his leg, waist and other protruberant body parts.Ho-kay."I can see Michael's winning," I said to my wife."He's bored. He needs nakey time.""I guess so." I said. I was thinking that I should have put him down for a nap.When he decided he wanted his mom to sniff his butt, I'd had it."Okay, Michael, that is not okay. You need to Read more:Burning
, Energy
What's That Spell? 2008-02-06 12:10:00 Driving to Ms. K's this morning, coming around the corner to our first stop sign.Michael starts reading from the back seat:"S...T...O...P. That spells 'Stop Sign'.""Yes, Michael, it spells 'Stop'. You're right," I tell him, affirming his budding spelling ability."No, it spells 'Stop Sign'.""Actually, it just spells 'Stop'." I sound it out for him: "SSSS TUH AAAHH PPPPUH. 'Stop'. It's a sign that says 'Stop', and that makes it a stop sign.""It spells 'Stop Sign.'""All righty then."
The Other Super Bowl Highlights 2008-02-05 16:59:00 Well, it was a great game. My team lost, but that’s okay because they played hard. Okay… the defense played hard. Neither team’s offense quite matched the other team’s defense. There were some spectacular plays, though, like the one where Eli Manning managed to uncoil himself from a certain drag-down sack and pitch the ball to David Tyree, who despite being completely covered, somehow caught it with his helmet and kept control of it while landing on his back. That was history-making kind of amazing.Michael gave us quite a few highlights here at home though too. Some great plays. Some big action. And certainly more offense than we saw on the field in Phoenix.Earlier in the day, I had tried to get Michael interested in throwing the football around at noon to help him burn off a littl Read more:Super
, Highlights
, Super Bowl
You're Hungry, I say! 2008-02-04 13:37:00 Parenting can seem so one-sided and fruitless, for long stretches of time.You go along thinking that you’re showering your children in learning, life skills and the judicious benefit of your years of experience; and convince yourself that all these pearls of wisdom clatter roughly to the floor only to be trampled upon. You believe your precious impartations merely bead up and roll off unabsorbed like water off a wax-coated block of Carborundum.But every so often, you get glimpses of just how greatly and how deeply your children truly do observe and quietly assimilate. And in those times, you are humbled, and perhaps feel a bit exposed. And you may feel like remaining very quiet.A few nights ago (my decrepit memory can scarcely recall exact dates and situations for such things without con Read more:Hungry
A Game Of Patience 2008-02-03 11:59:00 Having become fatigued with Monsters, Inc., Michael pulls down his interactive Disney ABCs. It’s a book with a DVD and a remote that a toddler can use. The graphics are cheesy and the songs are insipid, but it provides him some level of educational entertainment and provides us five or ten minutes of time to ramp down from defcon red to orange or, on a good day, yellow.So as his mom is in the process of removing Monsters, Inc. from the DVD player, he starts getting the ABC DVD out of the packaging. I see that he has it up to his face, and is turning it around with his fingers like a miniature steering wheel.I quickly jump to the rescue. “You can’t do that, Michael. You’re going to ruin it,” I say.“I don’t want to ruin it,” he says, hurriedly attempting to put it back in the
She's A Keeper 2008-01-31 21:44:00 Reason #1259 why I love my wife:Right now Michael is trying to watch Monsters, Inc.His mom is tormenting him horribly."Please, mamaaaaa! I wanna waaaaaaaatch iiiiiiiiiiit!""Just a minute, Michael... I gotta find this..."He crumples with a huge sigh, falling back on the couch.She has the movie on pause, and is scanning forward one frame at a time, looking for a hidden mickey.Michael is not pleased.But I am. Read more:Keeper
Michael's Words 2008-01-31 14:03:00 We’re currently enjoying that amusing stage in which a child starts using his own words in conversation; as interjection, adjective, noun, conjunction or dangling participle.Naturally these words are not found in Webster’s or on Wikipedia, and they make no sense whatsoever to anyone but Michael
.The words are Degoy, Bdickle, and Bootyoddio.The first is pronounced “dih GOY”, the second “Bdik uhl” (think “brickle” but with a ‘d’ in place of the ‘r’) and the last “BOO dee yah dee yo.” The first two are usually said repeatedly and quickly, like “degoydegoydegoydegoydegoy” and “bdicklebdicklebdicklebdicklebdickle”, and are of limited use other than as a means to express transition or interjection.The third is spoken only once, and is a catch-all word that can Read more:Words
Our Nature Revealed 2008-01-27 16:53:00 This morning I decided we'd have blueberry pancakes. These are best made with fresh blueberries, with which we are blessed two months out of the year. Our backyard has two sturdy blueberry bushes which valiantly produce a healthy harvest of berries each year, between the end of July and the middle of August. It's a great time of year.But during the lean months with "R"s in them, we can still buy bluberries thanks to the growers in Chile and Brazil. I'm hoping they're not destroying rainforest to grow them, though... if so we'll have to suffer with plain pancakes until the local growers can provide.I digress. I'm skilled at digression.While starting in on making pancake batter, Michael decided he wanted "to make" with me. This means that whatever it is I'm cooking in the kitchen, he wants t
A Status Report 2008-01-24 17:20:00 Just a little milestone chart so we're up-to-date on where Michael is with his stuff:Hair Color: Still red.Eyes: Still blue.Sleeping in his bed at night: He does, and stays there. In fact, lately it's been necessary to bring the prybar in to wake him up in the morning.Riding his Tricycle: Not so much. It's pretty cold outside. That dang ol' Winter thing.General health: He's still coughing some, from the cold or whatever he had. Currently we're treating it as an upper respiratory infection.Use of fork: Still working on that one. Although I will say, I think I've scaled back to about 75% of my previously-reported level of fork usage admonishment. So I guess that's progress.Movie of choice: Spirited Away, the US version of the Japanese Anime hit directed by Hayao Miyazaki. He's totally fascin Read more:Status
Robo-brat 2008-01-22 10:37:00 I don't know what Michael's deal is the last few days, but I think it may be a mild form of demonic possession.As his fever has broken and his activity level has climbed over the weekend, he's been really rude to everyone.You know how some little kids can be, particularly two-year-olds. Every other word out of their mouth is a stern "NO!" But Michael's bad-mannered behavior has been more akin to that which you would ordinarily ascribe to a 16-year-old.His grandmother was here over the weekend on a very short trip (but long enough to give my wife and me a chance to go out together on a date. Thank you mom!), and of course wanted to get as much grandchild time in as she could.But Michael was more interested in watching "Spirited Away" (what he calls "Mom and Dad turn into pigs") than he was
Ah, Technology 2008-01-20 22:52:00 Things have certainly changed in the last 30 years or so.The amount of technology in everyday things, particularly kids' stuff, totally astounds me.So I'm getting ready for a much needed evening out with my wife, and happen to catch a little conversation that began downstairs:Daughter S, calling to daughter L upstairs: "L!"A minute or two go by. Finally, L comes out of her room and calls downstairs:"What's up, S?"S: "I need you to open your gate! I can't get in!"L: "It is open. Try it again."S: "Oh. Yeah, it is. Thanks!"I'm still in awe: they were playing together, but in completely separate parts of the house. Each with a gameboy DS.L informs me that with the wi-fi capability they have, they could very well have been playing together on opposite sides of the Earth.I used to be happy playi Read more:Technology
The Dawn Breaks 2008-01-18 10:28:00 Finally, I think Michael is getting over his plague.He spent the night in our bed last night, and was very still. This is highly unusual; in the past, whenever he's slept in our bed, he's been like a rabbit on a spit: constantly rotating.He was also boiling hot most of the night. As reported earlier, we didn't have a reliable reading as to his temperature, but just by feeling his forehead we knew it was high enough to be worrisome.And he wouldn't eat or drink anything yesterday at all. Not juice, not sausage, not even junk food.Today his mom resolved that he'd be going to the doctor, since he was in danger of becoming seriously dehydrated.Except that this morning, while watching a little cartoon blurb called "Captain Carlos", he decided he wanted some blueberries. Luckily, we had some.He a
Stay Little 2008-03-10 10:49:00 Michael crawled up to snuggle with his mom on the couch. He's not feeling well, and as such seems very tiny.Mama: "Michael, don't ever get any bigger, okay? Just stay little."Daddy: "Well, get to five or six, and then you can stop growing."
It's Okay... 2008-03-08 20:51:00 Breathe.Breathe.Breathe.It's okay... it's okay... it's okay...Breathe.Breathe.Find your center.It's okay... it's okay...It's okay that the marbles for the marbleworks set are all collected in a Elefun net. At least they're all together.It's okay that the Play-doh colors have been hopelessly blended together. We may not have red, blue, yellow or white anymore, but dark greyish-green is still a color, right? And it still mostly smells like Play-doh. And sweaty fingers. And peaches. And Cheerios.It's okay that the once-pristine Dr. Seuss books are now enhanced with carefully executed scribbles in ball point pen. They have character now.It's okay that the coins to Michael's Smart Street game are distributed throughout the house: under chairs, behind canned goods, in vents, between couch cushio
Role Modeling 2008-03-14 10:42:00 Ephesians 5:25 says: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it."Men, despite what you may have learned, as a husband and father you have a critical role: taking care of your wife, and modeling behavior to your kids.Your son will be watching you and learning from you exactly how to treat a woman, and how to treat his children.Your daughter will be watching you as well, and learning exactly how a man is going to treat her. You know you don't want her ending up with someone who is cruel, rude and uncaring. So model the kind of behavior you want her to expect from the man she chooses.Your wife needs to hear that you love her; she's not going to simply infer it from the things you do. Tell her every day, and mean it.Further, she needs to know that you l Read more:Modeling
Telephone Magic 2008-03-13 10:17:00 Every parent knows the truth in the maxim that states that as soon as you get on the phone, your kid(s) wants your attention. Immediately.We all know that kids are born with this kind of clairvoyance that alerts them to a parent, nearly always mom, who has picked up the telephone and is beginning a conversation. They can be any where in the house, playing quietly, fully engaged in something. As soon as mom picks up the phone, though, instantly they are yanked away from whatever else they might have been involved in and are transported to mom's side to pester her with needs, wants, nags and whining.Michael puts a different sort of twist in this phenomenon.Lately, when mom gets on the phone to have a meaningful conversation with a friend or some other sort of long, involved dialogue, Michael Read more:Magic
Quest For Fire 2008-03-18 14:20:00 Michael is obsessed with fire-related things.Fortunately, I can safely say he’s not obsessed with fire itself; he knows that fire is really hot and is therefore something to be avoided, so at least I don’t have to worry about him setting the house on fire yet. His current obsession is for those things we have around us that help protect us from fire.Like fire extinguishers.He knows that in any public building, you can look for a “sign that points down” and you’ll find a fire extinguisher there. When out shopping at Costco, Staples, Home Depot, the grocery store, or anywhere else – as soon as we hit the door he begins his vigil to find the sign that points down, which is what we adults understand to be a slender, vertical arrow decal inscribed with the words “Fire Extinguisher Read more:Quest
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