Hooray For Saturday!

Operation: Tooth Fairy

I never really paid much attention to when kids start to lose their baby teeth, so I was amazed to receive a text message from my wife, while I was over at a friend's house, that read, "S is about 2 lose a tooth".  I was even more so surprised when a text arrived four minutes later that read, "It is out & it is bleeding".

Wow, our daughter had lost her first tooth.  I didn't even know it was loose.  Wow...wow.  I was kind of thinking that out loud and one of the guys made reference that I wasn't home to see it.  I kind of shrugged it off and let them know, I had seen plenty of other stuff.  My friend then mentioned that it was good that my wife was able to witness this and I agreed.

I arrived home to indeed see a gap in the bottom front of our daughter's mouth, where hours before there was a tiny tooth.  She was very happy about it and told me in a very excited shrill, "I lost a tooth, I'm getting big!"  Things were already being prepared for the Tooth Fairy to come.  My wife had told her a story about the Tooth Fairy coming, taking the tooth and leaving some money in place of the tooth.

It came time for our daughter to go to bed and the plan was laid out.  My wife has this little pillow with a pocket on the front of it, that she had as a child, for use when the Tooth Fairy would come.  So the tooth, that was in a tiny ziplock bag, was put in the pocket, on the pillow, and then the pillow was placed on the nightstand next to our daughter's bed.  Our daughter also wanted to leave a glass of water for the fairy, in case she needed a drink from all the flying around.

Seeing that our daughter takes after me, and takes a long time to fall asleep, I was the one that would perform the Tooth Fairy switch-a-roo when I decided to head up and go to bed, which was about 2:30am.  Operation: Tooth Fairy was underway.  As I got to the top of the stairs I noticed her door was closed a little more than it normally is.  Of course, right when I pushed it open, she rolled over on her back, face up.  I gave her a couple of minutes to get back in dreamland and went back in.  Alas, the tooth pillow was not on the the nightstand, it was in bed with her!  Awesome!  It was snug tight between her bed pillow, her blanket and her neck.  It was at that point I noticed every sound my body was making; from my gaper breathing through my mouth because of my current waterfall nose, my left knee squishing with every move and the one floorboard under her carpet that never makes a sound, creaking when I stepped on it.  There I was, holding my breath, felling the pressure I could only think that a bomb squad would feel.  Looking back it's hilarious, but in the moment, I'm pretty sure my forehead was sweating.

It went down with no problems.  That is unless you count a little girl shaking your shoulder at first light in the morning, looking at you eye to eye as you lie in bed sleeping, telling you in a voice that she thinks is whispering but is really just waking up her little brother, "Daddy, look the Tooth Fairy came and I got paper money!!!"  Needless to say the show, which is my daily life, got started early today.

Porcelain

Will spending time in front of toilet, with a child sitting on it, drive one crazy?  My answer is swaying to yes.

I am still entrenched in what seems to be the never ending battle of potty training our son. 

The Little Man just doesn't care if he drops a deuce in his pants.  He could care less.  All of my actions are based on timing.  He doesn't tell me when he needs to go, which is the biggest hurdle.  I've been pretty good with timing the urination, but I have no clue when he's got one in the chamber.

We recently went and purchased him more new underwear, which he likes a lot.  I have offered rewards, such as candy, crackers or toys, if he was to let one float, but he just isn't in to it.  We have even gone to the store and purchased a nice new Tonka set, which features four wheeler, on a trailer, being pulled by a pimped out truck, with a camper on the back of it.  He is very aware that the prize is his once he drops a deuce, but at the rate we are going he'll be driving a real four wheeler, on the trailer, being pulled by a pimped out truck by the time this is accomplishment is achieved.

Until then, he's walking around with big thick tube socks pushed down around his ankles, with sponges in them to avoid messing floors if my timing is off, and he has not a care in the world!

A 'W' In His Bed

First off, let me prelude this story by telling you I couldn't make this up if I wanted to.  However, I know some of you that know me might think I am doing so just because of my views on current events.

In the wee hours of the morning, as I was hanging out with my good friend, insomnia, in the basement watching some TV, I hear crying going on from upstairs.  It was The Little Man.  Usually our kids sleep pretty good, once they fall asleep, but on occasion they do wake up with tears.

So I head up the stairs to see what's going on.  As I arrive to the second floor, The Lady is up and calming him down.  I ask if everything is ok and she said that he took off running and went into Doodlebugs room scared.  As we are putting him back to bed, we ask him what's wrong.  He answers, "There is a 'W' in my bed!  There is a 'W' in my bed!"

He does have a puzzle of the alphabet which has every letter in the alphabet, which was on the floor of his room.  I thought, he must have been playing with it before he actually went to sleep and perhaps there is a piece of it in his bed.  I take the pillows and covers off his bed, nothing.

The Lady goes back to our bed as I calm the dude down and assure him there is no 'W' in his bed or any other letter for that matter.  I go lay down in our bed, having to go back and fourth a couple of times to calm him down before he finally goes back to sleep.

Each time I lay back down in our bed The Lady just starts cracking up, as I do too.  Saying nothing, just laughing.  Finally I say, "Nightmares, whew!" and the wife adds, "I'd be crying if I had 'W' in my bed too."

All day today The Little Man was thanking me for getting 'W' out of his bed and putting it in the toy box, which was the thing that finally calmed him down.  For the record, I didn't move any letter of the alphabet or sitting president from his bed, into the toy box.

Learning To Swim

Our children are taking swimming lessons at the YMCA, as part of our burning daylight summer.

It's safe to say, I never had a swimming lesson in my life.  Oh, unless you count being thrown into a depth of water that was over my head and then being told to get to the water's edge.

Lesson learned.

Best Of Both Worlds

I can't believe our daughter is about to graduate from preschool.  Her last day of class is a week from today, which also is the big night.  The big night is the graduation ceremony that the school is putting on for the class.  From what I gather, not only will the children be dressed in cap and gown and graduating from preschool, they will be performing for our entertainment.

Doodlebug can't keep a secret for anything and she has spilled the beans to me about the live performance, which will include the musical numbers Best Of Both Worlds, by a girl the daughter refers to as Hannah Bu'tanna and Y.M.C.A., by The Village People.  Hmm, OK.

I'm not so sure about fueling the Hannah Montana fire, isn't that show geared towards kids over 10 anyway?  Luckily, Doodlebug doesn't seem to interested in everything Hannah, just the one tune to practice.

I only hope that she can come out of her shell during the performance, as she does around the house when she is singing and dancing.  If so, it could be quite a show.  Whatever the case, Dad might shed a tear.

Baby Boom

There are a whole lot of pregnant people out there. 

Now there is one less.  My wife's cousin gave birth to their son on Monday night.  He showed up five weeks early, but seems to be doing well.

There is a sister, another cousin, playgroup people, and other countless strangers out there walking around with one in the chamber.  All I can think about when I see them is all those bottles they are going to be washing.  Seriously, that's the first thing that comes to mind.  Ugh, bottles.  Even if the woman is breast feeding, it seems like there is still a bottle thrown in for the dad to get a feeding in.

The washing bottles, nipples, caps and tops, then running them through the sterile machine thing, then putting them on the drying rack, then putting them all together to be ready to stick it in the child's mouth...no way, don't miss that one bit.  It's safe to say, hands down, that song and dance was the most annoying part of having a baby.

Forget the non-stop colic with the first one and the being born three months premature with the second one.  I no longer have to wash bottles, whew!

Just Another Day At The Park

Yesterday was the first day in a very long time the kids were able to run around at the park without a worry to what the weather conditions were.  Very rare.  It was the best weather day we have had in quite some time.  The sun was out, it was around 70 degrees and windy. 

We went to the park after lunch, played for two and a half hours and we loved it.  The park was packed with moms, kids and me.  You could sense the cabin fever of the past month being cured, not only for the children but also for the parents, as everyone took time to take in some fresh air and run wild in the park.

Another thing I realized at the park is how fast our children are growing up.  Over the winter, The Little Man learned to climb up the ladder parts of the apparatus on the playground, without ever practicing on it, and Doodlebug is now swinging in a "big kid swing" as long as someone would like to push her or swing beside her.

Watching the children on the playground yesterday really made me take a moment to realize, it is true what parents with older children have told me.  They really do "grow up so fast".  A friend of a friend, who is a stay at home mom to their now grown children, summed it up to me really well the other night.  She said, "The days are very long, but the years fly by."  How true that is. 

Some days are longer than others, but it's these days due to lack of daylight and warm weather, that has made this winter creep by.

Welcome To The Institution

Music is a big part of our lives, we listen to tunes daily. 

I have alluded in the past that the kids will sing along to anything.  So it was no surprise that Doodlebug was walking through the house today, singing at the top of her lungs the following:

I'm going to rehab to say hello, hello, hello.

Momma has been listening to some Amy Winehouse in the car.  Please dear, another tune on the album.

A Night With The Doodlebops

Well we made it down and back from Lexington, KY to spend some time with The Doodlebops, as they rocked Rupp Arena.

The Little Man was going bananas as the silly performers hit the stage, while Doodlebug was a little timid (as always).  I think she might have been freaked out from the height of the seats we were in for a short time, but she came around a few times and got to her feet to sing and dance.

The Doodlebops did not disappoint, as far as song and dance went.  Moe, the orange fella, made his money with a vast array of break dance moves that he would fall into at the drop of a hat.  Deedee, the purple babe in the group, had a couple of solo moments one of which was a tap dance number, while Rooney, the tall mop-headed blue guy, really rocked his guitar during one tune.  Bus Driver Bob was there for the always standard, Get On The Bus Song, but his performance was lacking, perhaps it was an off night for the driver.  Audio Murphy, the big blue dog that runs the recording studio, made an appearance for a song and he brought some cool video visuals to go on the big screen behind everyone on stage and their were some dancers dressed in very colorful outfits that joined The Doodlebops on a few numbers.

Overall the star of the show was Moe Doodle.  He had the kids rocking and getting loud, was break dancing like crazy and of course he pulled the rope.  Much to everyone's surprise when he pulled the rope, he didn't get a bucket of water dumped on him, like what happens on the television show.  Confetti and streamers filled the air when he pulled the rope, which started the last song which was an encore of Get On The Bus.

Was I wrong as a parent for being sad that The Doodlebops didn't finish with their normal ending song, where some of the lyrics they sing go...

We're The Doodlebops, We're The Doodlebops and we thank you oh yeah!

...perhaps a thank you was in order for all the money we dropped on overpriced trinkets, but I'm not sour. 

The Doodlebops have themselves a money making machine, in that live rock show and good for them.  Our kids were entertained and it was a blast to watch them freak out while watching their favorite rock stars.  Here are a few more pictures from the show. 

Parents be warned, there is plenty of merch to buy and they wave it right under your child's nose before the show, during the intermission, and after.  I would recommend going here and making a purchase, then bringing it with you in your bag and presto it on your child when the time is right.  That's how I will roll from now on.

We Are Pulling The Rope

The family is hitting the road this evening to Lexington, KY, where we will be attending the Doodlebops show at Rupp Arena.

The children are bouncing off the walls about this and right now it seems like 7pm will never get here. 

We could be in for a rockin' good time.