Ask EJ

Ok, I am going to try something new out.  EJ, my 3 (almost 4) year old has told me that she doesn't need to go to school because she knows everything.  I now need your help...ask her a question.  It can be whatever you want and on Friday I will post her answers.  Be creative and have fun!

Bring it!

The Little Things

We have had pretty good weather the past two days (finally) so I have been out walking around the neighborhood running errands with the kids quite a bit.  It is interesting to see them get excited about different things as we are out.  Yesterday EJ saw her favorite truck, a cement mixer, 5 times.  Yes she counted.  Every time she went nuts.  M on the other hand got excited at trucks, buses and construction equipment, telling me the color of the vehicle each time.

Today as we head out for errands I get an idea...riding the train.  About halfway through the errands the kids were getting a little restless.  Perfect time to negotiate...they are good for the rest of the errands and we will go on the train.  Worked like a charm.  

Waiting for the train.  Headband was mom's idea this morning.

The train! Can it go faster?

All that excitement wiped them out.  Success!

Total travel - 4 stops and half mile walk home.  Best $2.25 I have spent.

What I told my kids about Boston & Newtown...

NOTHING

I have been reading things about what to say to your kids about these tragedies and I don't get it.  Now my kids are almost 4 & 2 but at least a couple of the articles I read targeted a 4 year old.  I find no reason to tell them about it because: 1. how will they find out any other way 2. it will open up all sorts of questions EJ in particular doesn't need to be asking yet.

What will me telling my kids about these things (or any in the near future) accomplish?  Make me feel better?  I don't know.  I'm not naive, bad stuff happens but can't my kids be that way for a little longer?

Music that doesn't suck

Ok its been long enough, The Avett Brothers are coming back and you get to hear the full band this time.  Although this is one of their slower songs it is very powerful.  I highly recommend seeing them live, the energy they put forth on stage is incredible.  Anyways, on to the music.  Enjoy...

Quick thing to start the weekend

Busy day so I had M take his nap early so we can get some stuff done this afternoon.  M sleeps for around 3 hours so I had time to play with EJ some games that only she can play and help her with her workbook.  After doing that for a bit EJ decided she wanted to lay down for a little bit and asked me to wake her up when M got up.  M gets up and I play with him for a little bit and then send him in to wake EJ up.  At some point in her sleep EJ knocked her stuffed frog off her bed.  M walked over and picked it up and whispered "EJ...here" and then patted her back.  So cute.  EJ just rolled over and kept sleeping, now facing him.  M's next move?  He took the soft basketball nearby and bounced it off her head...Brotherly love only goes so far.

My sweet devil

Funny Kids

We had our kitchen cabinets repainted last week.  Part of that process involved us getting new hinges.  For some reason the type of hinge we needed was sold at one place in all of Chicago and they didn't have enough.  No problem, we ordered new hinges and they came today.

Our beautiful newly painted cabinets

Now on to the kids...M & EJ were playing great together so I figured I would hang the rest of the cabinet doors.  The kids were coloring right by me at their little table when I started and about halfway through EJ asked M to go upstairs with her to her room to color the cardboard house she has up there.  When I heard EJ ask M I was happy since she usually doesn't want him in her room let alone coloring her house.  What great kids, right?

I am putting on one of the last doors and EJ calls out to me "daddy look at my arms!".  I asked her to come down and show me...

They're washable, right?

Yes, that is marker on her face, arms and hands.  M has it on his face, arms, hands and, as I found out when I changed his, diaper his legs.  EJ thought it made her look "extra special".  

Once I got past the initial shock I started laughing and haven't stopped since.  At least they were playing well together.

Music that Doesn't Suck

Sick kids this week has slowed me down from blogging.  Hopefully they get better soon since we have a busy weekend coming up.

Anyways, that's not what this post is about.  It's music time!  I went to a show on Monday with a buddy and really liked the opening band, The Lonely Forest.  Enjoy...

Living With Kids in the City

When we were looking to move from our townhouse into a house in the city last year we brought the kids along.  It was a good way for us to see how kid friendly the house was and also it was always funny to hear EJ's responses.  When we finally settled on the house we wanted we asked EJ what she thought of it.  EJ's response was "There are no swings, no slide, and no monkey bars!"  We got the house but we still had the problem of no swing set.  There is a park 3-4 blocks away but that wouldn't do for miss EJ.  Our solution?   

Nothing beats an early morning slide in your PJs

Yes, that is a slide off the deck and the kids love it!

Funny Kids

New bit for the blog. My kids do/say some pretty funny stuff. I have a blog so I might as well document it for posterity so I can bring it up later and embarrass them like any good father would do.

EJ showed me her band aids. I knew about one so I asked her about the other. Her response? "Mommy pushed me down on our walk". I ask mommy what happened "EJ wasn't paying attention and ran full speed into me".

MVP is not potty trained but is starting to be interested in the toilet. Tonight when he was getting ready for bed he said "pee pee" so my wife took his diaper off and he ran over to the kid potty,stood 3 feet away and tried to pee in the toilet from there. After peeing all over the floor he was quite proud of himself.

Yes these are my kids but they do have some of their mother's traits...

A successful attempt

Music That Doesn't Suck

Crazy week has put me behind in getting posts up.  Working on something that should be up late tonight/early tomorrow.

Back to the music.  Got my 3 day pass for Lollapalooza in August.  I have gone every year since they have had the festival in Chicago.  It is a good way to discover new bands since if you don't like them you can just walk away and see someone else.  Tickets are sold out so if you didn't get them and want to go I would wait until just before the show to scalp as prices drop considerably in the week before.

Went and saw this band last week with a buddy.  The wall of sound The Joy Formidable put out live as just a 3 piece band is incredible.  You could tell they were having fun with each other on stage and at least to me that makes a huge difference.  The bassist actually stage dove.  I can't even remember the last time I was at a show and that happened.  Enjoy...

Happy Anniversary

Ten years ago today I married the most beautiful/wonderful/intelligent woman in the world.  I can't believe it has been that long but I don't think I would have been able to do this with anyone else.  I am the luckiest man alive.  Thank you for being there with me through all the highs and lows B.  Love you.

Quarterly check in

I was sitting at EJ's swimming class the other day and as I was watching her use the kick-board by herself for the first time I was shocked.  Everyone always says to cherish the time you have with your kids because they grow up fast but I guess I never thought about it.  Now that I have the time to think about it here are some things that have happened since the beginning of the year:

EJ

- can swim by herself (in shallow water)
- can use a kick-board by herself
- walks everywhere
- rides a scooter/bike way better than last year
- understands reasoning
- has grown taller/skinnier
- wants to help doing chores/cooking (I hope this one lasts forever)
- things are now "not fair!"
- has memorized all 3 of her nighttime prayers

M


- talks in sentences
- has grown an inch in the last month
- can shoot a basketball on a mini hoop with pretty good accuracy
- can play by himself
- plays catch
- will kick the ball back and forth
- loves cars
- eats with a fork and spoon
- can sing the ABC's

I'm sure there are probably more that I have forgotten but I have an even number for both so I think I'll stop here.  You know make sure I'm being "fair" and all.

Music that doesn't suck

The Black Keys are M's favorite band and this is his favorite song.  It's funny when listening to music with him because he will stand by the speaker and when a song comes up he'll say "no" if he doesn't like it.  If he does like the song M immediately starts bobbing his head and dancing.  I'll try and get video of this posted sometime soon. Enjoy...

Happy Easter!

I am writing this late Thursday night as we are driving through Indiana and Ohio to see my family in Cleveland for a long weekend. We do this drive 5-6 times a year so the time usually flies by without incident (and I now have probably jinxed myself). Earlier, when I was driving, EJ decided that it was a great time to sing Christmas carols. My favorite was the 15 minute remix version of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

Today started out great as I met up with some college buddies and their kids for lunch. It's crazy to think about how the lunch would have been vastly different 7 years ago. First of all we wouldn't have met in the suburbs/drove. Second, we probably wouldn't have been able to drive...ahh kids. No, we actually had a great time and made the usual promises as we left that we need to get together more often. I would love for it to happen but it keeps getting harder (I blame them for living in the suburbs).

The rest of the afternoon involved me finishing getting ready for our trip (in an unusual move I actually packed last night) while being pulled in every other direction by EJ & M. It is amazing what the kids can do when they know I am getting its ready to go on a trip. Put the dog's stuff in the car...come back and EJ has M in a headlock...take snacks/drinks out to the car...come back and both are screaming while playing tug of war over something. It goes on and on. I think my all time favorite was when they somehow got a bag of spinach out of the fridge and scattered it all over the house. M decided that wasn't enough so he rolled in it and had grass (spinach?) stains on his clothes after.

So this post was supposed to be about Easter...I saw this on another blog and should have used it today:

Step 1 - hide 4 Easter eggs in your kids' room
Step 2 - tell them you hid 6 eggs
Step 3 - take a nap

Have a Happy Easter and if you are traveling, safe travels.