Below is a snippet from the book that details some of the many jewels of financial knowledge that Tre has acquired during his 4 year tenure here in the world:

For his birthday, Tre received a brand new shiny Mickey Mouse piggy bank. He quickly went around the house looking for any change that he could find so that he could load his bank up. When asked why he was performing the current activity, he simply responded: “because Mickey is empty so I need to fill him up”. Look at that logic folks, it’s simple economics really; when your bank account is empty, you need to fill it up. This kid is a genius! In addition to scowering the house for loose change, Tre took initiative and religiously began helping Fefe move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. This task was routine, mundane, and offered little prestige if any at all, but Tre enjoyed doing it, and he did it well. For that, I was forced to put him on the payroll and offer him up a salary. Again, another nugget of gold from the 4yr financial guru. Find something that you love to do, do it well, and it will pay dividends.

Recently, Tre offered up his most logical and insightful words of wisdom in the financial department. After going on a huge shopping spree, and splurging by spending a nice chunk of his allowance ($3), the moment that defined this boy as a financial leader occurred. We took the boys out to Target and let them run wild, well as wild as Tre could run with $3. He purchased a Hot Wheels car, and said that he wanted to save the rest of his money for an orange. An orange, really? All the toys at your disposal and you decide to buy an orange? I was so impressed with his decision that I decided to pitch in a little extra and get him an extra item. Do you see what he just did there? If you invest in the unexpected, others will invest in you! Although that philosophy is exceptional, it’s not what got Tre inducted into the finance hall of fame. It was the rationale that Tre explained once we returned home that sealed the deal.

After his purchases, he had some change left over, two quarters to be exact. I told Tre that he should go ahead and put his change in his piggy bank. His responses forever changed the way I view money, savings, and spending. I’m confident that it will do the same for you as well. Tre exclaimed NOOOOOOO, I CAN’T PUT THE QUARTERS IN MY BANK! This threw me off a bit, so I asked for a little more information. Tre was quick to point out that quarters aren’t meant to go into his piggy bank since they go on top of his dresser because he needs them for the bubble gum machine. Hmmmm, let’s see exactly where this leads us shall we?

Me: “So Tre, if quarters can’t go into the piggy bank, then what does go in there?”

Tre: “nickels and pennies” (not sure what happened to dimes)

Me: “Well what are you saving your piggy bank money for?”

Tre: “To get dollars, so I can buy stuff to get quarters for the bubble gum machine”

GENIUS!!! So the key to financial stability is to save a little money until you can buy the things you want which allows you to use the left overs for the important things in life: bubble gum machines!

I know that you can’t wait to read more info from Tre, the great financial advisor, so be sure to place your orders for “More At Four – Financial Stability Made Simple” soon, copies are flying off the shelf!

The Small Things That Make Kids Happy

I looked out my window last night & the Christmas lights were still blaring bright, therefore, the extremely late holiday recap will continue. Today, I’ll give you guys a quick rundown of Tre’s birthday, but more importantly, discuss the difficulties and pitfalls associated with having a birthday that falls in between Christmas and New Year’s.
For some odd reason, this year, Tre was more excited about his birthday than he was about Christmas. I guess this year he truly understood that birthdays are special specifically for the birthday boy, while Christmas is shared by all.  And after stealing Ty’s shine on his birthday, why wouldn’t he be excited.  In the weeks leading up to his big day, we asked Tre what he wanted for his birthday

His response: “A CAKE”.

Ours: “Ummm, okay, what else do you want?”

His:  ”MY FRIENDS!”

Ours: “Duly noted, what about presents?

His: “BALLOONS!”

With his list of demands heard loud and clear, I chalked this us as a simple low cost birthday, no complaints here!

But then I got to thinking about it, perhaps Tre was asking for these types of things because he’s never had a real all out birthday bash type of party. Let me let you guys in on a little secret, having a birthday in between Christmas & New Year’s SUCKS! Each year we attempt to plan a nice party for Tre at a cool venue, but it inevitably falls thru.  People are just too busy with all the holiday hoopla to throw a birthday celebration into the mix as well.  So Tre ends up with a few friends over to the house and a small celebration.  We make sure that even though he’s being cheated on the festivities end, that his birthday is no less important than anyone else’s. He is always showered with tons of gifts, love, and attention from the moment he wakes up until the minute he goes to bed. But his requests had me wondering if that was enough, would he still feel special on his birthday without the big flashy party?

We were originally planning a Chuck E Cheese party, but as the number of available participants dwindled down to nearly zero, the plans changed to another year of celebrating at home.  The eagerness and anticipation he displayed in the days leading up to his birthday had me worried.  We only had two kids signed up to come over, yeah we had a cake, and yeah we had a TON of balloons, but would it be enough?  Would it be the party that his “almost” 4 year old heart desired?  After being awaken each and every morning and hearing “Daddy, now it’s only ‘X’ days until my birthday” for a week straight, my confidence in the answer being yes to the previous question shrunk exponentially.  The boy was clearly excited, I just hoped that we could provide him with whatever he had dreamed up in his little mind and had his hopes set on.

Well I was wrong, Tre loved his birthday! He would have been satisfied with just the few things he asked for.  When he woke up in the morning and came downstairs and saw balloons everywhere he light up like a light bulb.  He began jumping up and down, singing that it was his birthday and he got balloons!  The smile and excitement in his face was truly priceless.  I started to perk up, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.  When his friends arrived, he had so much spunk while welcoming them to his party that you would have thought he was a paid doorman.  Again, I perked up.  The kids played, not with the mountain of toys that were strategically placed throughout the house, but with the BALLOONS! Yes, the balloons that Tre so eagerly asked for was all that was needed to make his party a success.  Those three little boys played with those balloons for the entire duration of the party.  There were fights over the balloons, crying when a balloon was laid to rest (popped), and disagreements about how to play with the balloons.  I couldn’t believe it.

Yummm CAKE!!!

After playtime came cake time, we sung Happy Birthday, and Tre wasted no time blowing out his candles.  I’m almost positive that he didn’t make a wish, even if he claims otherwise.  He loved his Cars cake and now that he got everything that he asked for, his birthday was complete right?  Come on, who are we kidding?  As humble as this child was in his wish list for his birthday, there was no way that he was turning down gifts.  He eagerly opened his gifts, ripping the wrapping paper off with the skill of a well-seasoned vet; tossing clothes to the side, while examining toys with a curious eye. 

Too Much Cake Maybe?

Then he unwrapped his turtle, a turtle that oddly enough he had been asking for constantly, constantly until it came time to build a birthday wish list, strange I know.  He was ecstatic about the new turtle; unfortunately, the turtle didn’t share the same feeling, check the Twitvid below:

 Twitvid: “When being a pet owner goes wrong” http://www.twitvid.com/ALJ7R

After the party was over, we played and played and played.  We played so much that Tre didn’t want to leave the house.  He ended the night in typical Tre fashion: when it was time for bed, the tears began to flow and the dramatic super star that he is began to shine bright.  He threw his head into his hands and softly said “I can’t believe it”, confused, I asked “you can’t believe what buddy?”, he just responded again “I just can’t believe it Daddy, I just can’t”.  It took Fefe and her motherly ways to get him to open up and explain what exactly it was that he couldn’t believe.  It turns out that he couldn’t believe his birthday was over, he wanted it to last forever. Lol.

Well that let me know that he truly enjoyed his special day and it didn’t take a sweet 16 style party to make him happy.  I learned to listen to my kids and not to put my thoughts onto their requests from now on.  If the boy wants balloons, then dammit, I’ll give him balloons!

#11 When The Wind Blows

When the wind blows, we move with it

Have you heard the news??? If you follow my Twitter or Facebook, then no doubt, you probably have.  If not, then start following, so that you aren’t the last to the party next time.  Okay, time to fill you in: We’re moving!!!!!!  No, not the Daddy’s Fish Bowl site, but our actual residence.  Our family is packing up and high tailing it from the great state of North Carolina all the way across the country to the Twin Cities in Minnesota.  Well I guess that isn’t all away across the country (I was never good in geography), but hey you get the point.

#10 One Man, One Saw, One Tree 

December is here and boy did it come around quick this year. As most of you may know, December is my month of the year; although, that may change now that I’m back in a cold climate area. But Christmas is in December and it’s my favorite holiday, there for December wins “Month Of The Year Award” time and time again. We usually kick off our holiday rituals by going to pick out our Christmas tree together, this year we were able to do something a little different. Instead of going to just pick out our tree, we actually picked it out and cut it down ourselves. What an adventure that was; luckily we all survived and no one injured any vital organs and came back with all limbs intact.

#9 The Boy In The Plastic Bubble 

Never A Good Sign

Last weekend I’m sure many of you saw my frantic tweets about Tre being rushed to the hospital by ambulance and being admitted into the ICU. You would think that seeing your child whisked away strapped to a gurney in an ambulance would be enough to frighten any parent, surprisingly however, I wasn’t shaken at all by the situation. If anything, I was a bit angry because I felt that the doctors and nurses were going extremely overboard. Well it turns out that Tre is quite a bit more fragile than I had ever anticipated and although he made it thru his hospital “bid” and got paroled early for good behavior, he clearly wasn’t put of the woods yet. Apparently the hospital stint was only the first hurdle for us to overcome in a long race against allergies and asthma.

#8 The Cheating Husband

Til Death Do Us Part...Maybe Not

Have you ever been accused of something that you know deep down in your heart, you didn’t do?  Have you tried to explain your side of the story, offering explanations, justifications, and just down right sound logic to no avail?  Only to have your accuser look at you with a condemning look that can make the most innocent man feel guilty.  If you have experienced these things, then you know exactly what I went through last night.  It was a horrible experience; it is over now, although the look on her face was one of distrust after our dialog was finished.  I don’t know where we stand after this, but one thing is for sure: I love my wife and would never break our sacred vows by cheating on her.

#7 The Sexist Toddler: Male Elitism At A Young Age

Boy Dog, Girl Dog, Who Cares Right?

I’m just going to be blunt here; Tre is a toddler sexist. I have to call it how I see it, even if that means bashing my own flesh n blood. The sad part is, I blame myself. Well not really, but whenever something goes wrong with a child, everybody rushes to blame the parents, so I figured I’d beat you guys to it. Apparently he’s been this way his entire life and I’m just now realizing it. Maybe deep down I’ve always known the truth, but did my best to suppress it in hopes that it would go away. However, lately, it has become undeniable; his blatant sexism and total disregard for the opposite sex is now too much to ignore. You may be wondering how is it possible that a toddler, a child so pure, so innocent could be labeled something as harsh as a sexist. Well it’s really pretty simple; he feels that the male persuasion is superior in every way, shape, and form (his words, not mine). How do I know this you say? I know this because Tre refuses to utilize feminine pronouns to address individuals belonging to the female gender. To Tre, everything is he, his, or him, regardless of the sex of the person he’s referring to. I don’t know about you, but to me that seems pretty sexist.

#6 Planes, Trains, & Automobiles 

All Packed & Ready To Go

Fefe & Tre come back to Minneapolis tonight, FOR GOOD this time and I thought it was only fitting to share with you the story of Tre’s first plane ride, train ride, and (Minnesota)car ride; which took place a little over a month ago when we made the trip to Minneapolis for the first time (and what we thought was the last time).  It was actually his second plane ride, but seeing as how he was only a few months old for the first one, I think this trip qualifies as his (un)official first trip on an airplane.

As with everything that Tre is involved in, associated with, or a part of, his plane ride was full of spectacle, laughter, drama, and pretty much plain ole pure entertainment.  So sit back, kick your feet up and get prepared to enjoy the Tre Variety Hour (or 15 mins in this case).

#5 Hoarders: The Toddler Edition

A Hoarder & His Stuff (Can You Find Him?)

For most people, breaking up is hard to do.  Whether it’s breaking up with a lover, a close friend, or a trusted colleague, it is never an easy task.  But what about breaking up with personal belongings?  Is that just as difficult as breaking up with a person?  If you ask Tre, his answer will most certainly be YES!  This past weekend, in preparation for our big move, we attacked out attic, as evidenced in the above photo.  During this 2-3 hour marathon cleaning session, we found old toys, old clothes, old pictures, pretty much just all things old!  But for one member of our family, old meant new and this daunting task turned out to be a 1940’s gold rush for him

#4 You Win Some, You Lose Some

Win, Lose, Or Draw?

From the look of the picture above, I guess it’s pretty safe to say that Ty lost this one. I really wish that I could tell you guys that this was an epic battle for the ages, complete with a training montage, Rocky Balboa style; but alas, I can’t. This thing was over before it even got started, I’m talking split second, one hitter quitter, wam bam thank you Ma’am. Looking at that picture, all I can think is, why my boy? What could I have done differently to protect him? The answer to those questions is staring me right in the face; I should have stopped this along time ago.

#3 Imitation Of Life 

Notice Anything Different?

Typically, I open these posts by beating around the bush, starting out with rudimentary questions and examples, ending on a cliffhanger and letting the situation unfold as the post goes on. Well I’m not going to do that today, I’m just gonna get straight to the point. That point is: Tre got his ear pierced this weekend. Yeah it looks cute, yeah he really loves it, and yeah he took the procedure like a champ. But none of that really matters. The only thing that matters in this story is the ‘why’ he got his ear pierced. The reason why he got it pierced can strictly be attributed to the imitation of life.

#2 Stay At Home Mom vs. The Working Dad

and the WINNER is....

Okay DFB family, time for a serious topic here at the bowl. As I write this, I have my vodka & cranberry sitting next to the computer; attempting to recover from the events that just took place in my household. Timeout, I know you may be thinking how dare he bring up a serious topic while under the influence? My response: some of the greatest ideas known to man were created while in a bar & written on a cocktail napkin! I’ve even included a reference. (editor’s note: the events actually took place 2 nights ago.  I guess there was more vodka than cranberry in that drink and I didn’t get a chance to finish the post).

And now for the NUMBER 1 post of 2011….

#1 As Evil As They Come

Apparently, Evilness & Fashion Sense Don't Go Hand In Hand

Have you ever met someone who was just down right mean? When I say mean, I’m talking about borderline evil! I have met such a person, I have looked them in their eyes and lowered my head in shame due to their behavior. It isn’t easy to stare down the face of evil and walk away unscathed, but somebody has to do it, someone has to stand up for the little people, and yesterday, that someone was Ty.

Honorable Mentions:

Coming Home With A Bang

The Naughty List (Part 2)

If you missed part one of this troubled tale, head on over and read it so you’ll have some context for the funny part 2 of this post!

As if the shame of enacting the Santa ClausE wasn’t weighing heavily enough on my conscious, Tre decided to jump in and be my assistant authority figure.  My assistant seemed to take much more pleasure in the naughty list punishment than I did however.  Typically, I don’t let the kids get involved in repercussions of each others disciplinary actions, but when Tre decided to ensure that Ty knew exactly what was looming over his head, I let it go.

Immediately after I finished writing my letter to Santa, Tre seemed as devastated as Ty.  This was the first that he had heard of a naughty list and the implications of having your name placed on it.  He had tons of questions:  Daddy, why is Ty on the naughty list, are you really going to mail that letter, Ty not gonna get NO presents, not NONE?  With each question, Ty’s sobbing multiplied on an exponential basis.  It was as if Tre was asking the exact questions that Ty wanted answers too and my responses weren’t exactly what he was looking for.  Tre seemed to genuinely be sad that he would have to carry the burden of opening Christmas gifts on his own.

The next morning, his sadness was quickly replaced with satire.  It was as if during his sleep, he got Inception’d.  I literally think Leonardo Dicaprio came to him and placed the idea in his head that no gifts for Ty meant more gifts for him.  Because the next morning, Tre was on the warpath, I mean truly ruthless.  As soon as Ty woke up, Tre asked him if he was on the naughty list, utilizing a tone and demeanor that could only be described as sinister.  Ty elected to ignore the question.  Tre, determined to get answers, especially since Leo had corrupted his pure young soul,  asked me the same question.  The conversation went something like this:

Tre: “Daddy, is Ty on the naughty list?”

Me: “Yes, Ty is on the naughty list”

Tre (turns to Ty): “Ty, you are on the naughty list and now you not gonna get no presents”.  By the conviction in his delivery, you would have thought that he was providing brand new information to Ty.

Ty (annoyed): “Okay Tre, I get it”

I think that Tre took this as a personal insult, how dare his question annoy Ty?  Especially with his current designation as a naughty list kid, who did he think he was?  So to get even, Tre decided to take it upon himself to try and get all of Ty’s gifts revoked, not just those coming from Santa.  Another conversation ensued:

Tre (in a quite eager voice): “Daddy, but Ty already got a present under the tree, he on the naughty list, so he don’t get NO presents right?”

***sidenote*** As if this statement wasn’t bad enough on its own, to make matters worse, the present under the tree that Tre was referring to is the one that HE bought for Ty.

Me: “Ty can have that present because it didn’t come from Santa”.

Tre: “Ty, you get one present for Christmas, just one, not a bunch of presents.  Only me, Mommy, and Daddy, and Tank would get lots of presents.

SMH, really Tre?  The dog?  You had to go as far as throwing the dog into the present mix as well?  Does his evil know no bounds? This had gone far enough, if the boy dug the dagger in any deeper, he’d be cutting thru the couch that Ty was sitting on.

I could tell that Ty was getting extremely upset by Tre’s innocent (but hurtful) banter.  To be honest, I didn’t feel that bad for Ty, I was actually happy that someone was reminding him of his misdeeds and subsequent consequence of those deeds other than myself or Fefe.  Maybe the ridicule that his little brother was providing would be the icing on the cake that allowed him to realize the error in his ways.

In Tre’s defense, he did take it upon himself to notify me that Ty had been good in school as soon as I came home from work.  He even campaigned for me to take the letter out of the mailbox so Santa won’t get it.  He was fighting for Ty’s freedom as if Ty offered up half of his allowance as incentive.  I was happy to hear that Ty had a successful day in school (even if it came from his campaign manager and not him), and I look forward to hearing about many more.

I don’t know if it was the threat of losing Christmas alone, or the fact that Tre added a little something on top, but Ty truly seems focused on turning his behavior around (even if it is only for the next 2 weeks).

To most, those words may sound like a harmless line from a children’s Christmas song, but to others, especially those who have not been on their best behavior, those words can haunt dreams and ruin lives.  Unfortunately, we have one of the “others” in our household this year.  Ty is currently feeling the wrath of Santa’s greatest ability: the ability to single handedly transform a child’s behavior with 3 magic words, “The Naughty List”.

On Friday, Ty’s report card came home; while his scholastic categories were excellent, his behavioral ones were not up to par.  This isn’t new news to us, as we’ve been dealing with behavior issues from him all year long.  He’s not listening in class, having trouble following directions, and isn’t obeying the rules.  It’s such a drastic change from last year; in kindergarten, he was the model student.  This year, not so much, it’s as if he has gone all Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde on us.  He’s Jekyll at home, and Hyde in school.  My expert clinical opinion on the matter is that Hyde thrives on attention and uses it as a source to bring his character traits to the forefront.  Apparently, Ty is very popular in his class this year and most of the kids look up to him; hence the continued emergence of Hyde.

Popular or not, one thing I refuse to tolerate is inappropriate behavior in school.  Our kids have a pretty good life and their only end of the bargain to uphold is to do well in school.  If they drop the ball on this, the gavel of Justice will reign down with the force of Judge William Adams.  Okay sorry, bad analogy, not funny, let’s move on.  We have tried many things to curb his need to impress his friends (which for some reason he feels can only be done by misbehaving).  Talks upon talks have yielded subpar results, removing television, gaming, and toy privileges have been met with mediocre success.  We’ve even gone as far as sending him to school in his play clothes and sneakers.  Since he puts such a high value on his appearance when it comes to school, we thought this would be the perfect solution.  But alas, the misbehavior continued! The issues subsides for a short period of time, then it rears its ugly head again.

So this time when we received the report card informing us of his continued inappropriate behavior, I took it personal.  I set out on a personal crusade to set this boy straight, even if it took everything I had!  What do most pioneers do when seeking success?  Rely on the resources of others of course; remember, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know and I just happen to be close personal friends with Santa.  I decided that it was time to bring my relationship with the big homie in red to the forefront.  I have very high values; however, fortunately for me, bribing my child with a fictional holiday character wasn’t written into my moral code.  So I pulled the Santa card.  I’m not proud of it, it’s not something I’ll write about in my New York Times best selling memoirs, but hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

There was pure pandemonium in the house as I spoke dictation to myself while writing the note to Santa.  I ensured Ty heard every carefully picked word, so that he could feel the real impact of what was happening.  Santa was informed of Ty’s repeated misbehavior and of his broken promises.  A strong recommendation was made to move Ty to the naughty list and revoke any presents that were due to him on Christmas.  The tears flowed, the pleas were voiced, but it was too late.  Ty was going to suffer the consequences of his actions, and Santa was the executioner.  I did slip a clause in the letter, which gave Ty a way out, a chance to redeem himself before Christmas.  I let Santa know that I would be sending him another letter and ask him to move Ty back to the good list if and only if Ty could follow the rules at school like he is suppose to.

This was of little comfort to Ty at this point.  As far as he was concerned he was moments away from being on the naughty list and his Christmas was doomed.  After the tears dried, we sat down and explained how Ty could take the future of Christmas into his own hands and redeem himself.  We’ll see if he actually does or not.

I know that the threat of Christmas isn’t the best way to go, and ultimately I’ll have to put up (shut up isn’t an option) and withhold Christmas gifts if things don’t turn around.  Because what good is an empty threat?  I’ve pulled my trump card and if it comes to it, I’ll lay it down on the table with a big thud.  Hopefully, I won’t have to.

What are some other ways of modifying a child’s behavior in school that have been effective for you?  What do you do when your child’s need for peer attention outgrows his rationale thinking ability to do what he knows is right?  Weigh in with you hints and tips…you can even call it a Christmas gift if you like, and forget about that Maserati you were planning to send.

Check back tomorrow for part 2 of this story which features Tre and his own special form of discipline for Ty and his misbehavior.

Smart Cycle Racer – We purchased this toy for Ty a few years back and he got a lot of good use out of it.  This item is both educational and physically stimulating.  Your preschooler has the opportunity to learn a wide variety of subjects while getting some well deserved exercise at the same time.  And they have the nerve to say that video games are bad for kids, not when the Smart Cycle is involved.

Kid Tough See Yourself Camera – This is another toy that Ty was once the proud recipient of, only this time around Fisher Price has come back with quite a few improvements.  I already thought the original was a great idea; it gives children the chance to take real live pictures that can even be uploaded to your personal computer, all without the risk of ruining your $300 point and shoot camera.  This toy is build kid tough and with the intention of taking quite a beating.  It’s rough exterior will ensure that your little one will be taking pictures for quite some time to come.  The biggest improvement to this year’s model is the rotating camera option, now the little ones can take perfect pictures of themselves as well as you.

Chuggington Train Table – Having a cool train set just isn’t the same without providing a train table to go along with it.  Adding a train table helps bring the action right to your preschoolers level, which will only enhance playtime imagination.  In addition, the table adds a ton of extra scenery that will allow your child to really feel like their train set is coming to life.

Roary The Racing Car – A remote control car is usually a kid’s first experience with driving and being behind the wheel.  That being said, help your insurance premiums out and get them going early by learning good driving techniques while practicing with their remote control cars.  Roary is based off of the popular animated series and comes equipped with easy button navigation that even a preschooler can control as well as realistic racing sound effects that they will be sure to enjoy.

Leap Pad – Dads love gadgets, Moms love gadgets, so why would we expect anything different from our offspring?  Kids younger and younger are falling in love with gadgets and while you may be tempted to hand over your iPad to quiet your youngster down during a boring appointment, the thought of a cracked screen may be enough to make you resist. That’s why you should get them their own Leap Pad, modeled after the iPad with child learning in mind; it makes the perfect gift for a young geek child.  Instead of Angry Birds, let your child learn cool words (MC KEITH in the house).

Power Wheels Jeep Wrangler – If your preschooler is ready to put down the remote control and really get behind the wheel, this Power Wheels Jeep Wrangler will provide a little buffer between you and the keys to your actual car.  With room for 2 and enough horsepower to accommodate most daredevils, your kid will love exploring in their new vehicle.

Mickey’s Camping Adventure – Play time is all about imagination time right?  So this Mickey Camping Adventure is right up imagination’s alley.  Just think of all the creative play options that will come to life when your child opens this toy.  Mickey and Pluto can set out on numerous adventures as their camper opens up to reveal a campsite with various activities.

Memory Card Game – Now is the perfect time to tap into your little ones ever growing brain and get the juices flowing with a simple game of memory.  As these games come in a variety of character themes, I’m sure you’ll no doubt be able to find one that captures the attention of your preschooler. 

Play-Doh Fairytale Stories Collection – Let’s face it, as parents, we all hate Play-Doh.  It’s messy, kids get upset when colors mix together, and those things dry up pretty quick when dealing with little ones who don’t always close containers all the way.  So why is this on the list you ask?  It’s simple, kids love play-doh, they love taping into their inner Michelangelo. At least with this version, parents get a little bonus to go along with the heartache. This Play-Doh kit comes along with three fairytales that you can read along to your child as they sculpt the characters of the story.  Now playtime and story time can become one in the same.

So this year, I’m using Thanksgiving as an opportunity to share the gift of “gratitude exercises” with my family.  If you aren’t familiar with gratitude exercises I’ll give you a quick rundown: it’s simply taking time out each day to recognize the good things in your life that you are grateful for, simple things that are often overlooked, but make a world f difference in your everyday life.  It is real easy to focus on the negative events in ones life because they come in quick, hit hard, and can leave a lasting effect. Positive occurrences on the other hand are easy to take for granted because we expect these things as a part of our daily lives. For example, a woman running late for a meeting ends up breaking the heel of her favorite shoe  and is very upset about it, not to mention I would think it’d be pretty uncomfortable walking around lopsided for the remainder of the day.  I’d say that’s enough to screw up a person’s day right?  It is enough, until gratitude exercises come into play and you realize that yes the heel broke, but you are grateful for the fact that you are able to walk.  How many people wake up and realize how fortunate they are just because they can get out of bed?  I’m positive that the person who can’t walk on their own would switch places with that broken heeled woman in a minute and be proud to carry on the rest of their day in that “unfortunate condition”.

See gratitude exercises can do wonderful things for your life, taking negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones will most certainly improve your outlook on life.  That’s why I’m introducing this to my children this year during Thanksgiving, I want to ensure that they don’t grow up feeling as though they are entitled to all of the luxuries that we provide for them;  because in the blink of an eye, it could all be gone. If for some unfortunate reason that did occur, I want to ensure that my boys have strong moral character to realize that they will be just fine, that things and possessions don’t define who they are and even when things seem like they are at their worst, you can always find something to be grateful for and someone who would trade places with you and look at your “bad situation” as an improvement to their life.

To start off, I asked both of the kids what they were grateful for. We’ll discuss in more detail over dinner, but as you can see, we’ve got a lot of work to do with one of them, lol.
Ty’s Response: I’m thankful for my mom and dad and my friends and our family. Oh and for food too.
Tre’s Response: I’m thankful for playing this game *proceeds to pull out his iphone*

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! One thing that I’m thankful for is all of my wonderful readers, you guys give me an outlet to share the thing that means most to me: my family.

What are some things that you are thankful for?  Leave a comment and let me know.

A Sample Of Ty's Many Build & Grow Projects

I typically don’t get too excited about specific companies or products, unless it’s Apple, or PS3, or Right Guard deodorant. Okay, so maybe I do get obsessed excited about a few things here or there, but today’s company/product is different, it’s different because it’s totally awesome! Hmmmm, maybe I’ve said that before as well, um, okay, let’s just go with this one: it’s different because I said so! Too strong? Ah, I got it, it’s different because it’s totally FREE!!! Whew, now that that’s out of the way, now I can focus on more important things like explaining why the Lowe’s Build And Grow clinic is so awesome.
Lowe’s knows (I like the ring of that, time to get their PR person on the phone) that Dads love to build stuff and that MOST Dads also love spending time with their kids, so to make things easy for us fathers, they married the two together and sprinkled a little spice on it. Biweekly, Lowe’s sponsors a build and grow clinic where children ages 6-12 (I’ve seen kids outside this range on both the lower and upper limits) get a chance to construct a wooden project absolutely free.  But there’s nothing truly special about that, I’ve got a gang of home projects that I could work on with the kids, so what makes what Lowe’s does stand out?  The fact that they cater the projects to the kids, not only are the items fairly simple to build, but they also make it fun by supplying easy to follow blue prints, , safety goggles, and a worker’s apron.  After completion, the children are rewarded with a certificate of merit and a themed patch that can be affixed to their apron.  In my opinion, it’s the quadruple threat:

• Kids build something that they can play with
• They gain valuable confidence and basic construction skills
• They are rewarded for their efforts and given a medium to display their accomplishments
• They get to spend valuable time with their Dads

Ty's First Creation

Aliens Are Amongst Us

Ty and I have been participating in these clinics for quite some time now, and he thoroughly enjoys it.  He loves collecting new patches and displaying his work in his room and I love completing the work with him and seeing his craftsmanship improve.  Seeing as how I recently proclaimed myself to be the world’s least handiest handy man, I may not be the most qualified to assist on these projects.  But that’s another area were Lowe’s shines, these projects are so simple that even a caveman can do them.  That means, I come out looking like Bob Vila to my boy when it’s all said and done.

Tre's First Project

This past weekend, Tre tagged along for the first time and completed his first project.  I was a little worried because he’s pretty young, but he did a great job as well and had a ball constructing his Science Lab kit.  If you take away the hammered thumbs, I had a ball too!  While I was busy getting blugend to death helping Tre, Ty was busy constructing his kit with very minimal help from me.  He was proud to have finished building the Science Lab all by himself, and I was proud that my fearless instruction over the past year had led him to that point.  See, with Lowe’s Build & Grow Clinics, everybody wins.

The Dynamic Duo

If you’re interested in participating in this activity with your child, just head on over to the Lowe’s website and sign up.  This week they are sponsoring a Santa Sled, so it’s the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

*Lowe’s did not pay me in any way, shape, or form for this totally incredible endorsement. ..even though they probably should have* (joking)

Let’s start with Tre, who as you know, is 3 years old.  Up until a few months ago, Tre was all 3 year old everything: it was really quite amusing.  For example, when it was time to leave the park, we’d tell him that he has 5 minutes left and then it would be time to go, he would reply “NO, I got 3 more minutes cause I’m 3 years old!!!”  Okay, fine, great, 3 minutes it is, you win kid!  Other times however, it didn’t work out so well: “Tre, you can have a cupcake after dinner” Tre’s response: “NO, I need 3 cupcakes cause I’m 3 years old!!!” Umm, not so great, you lose Dad.  Things carried on in this manner for months, he needed 3 kisses cause he was 3 years old, he needed 3 pillows for bed because he was 3 years old, three, three, three, everything was three; I started to believe we had triplets.  Then one day it all changed, 3 years old was no longer the cool age to be and he made sure we knew it.

We’ll get back to Tre’s transformation in a minute, but right now, let’s quickly switch gears to Ty for a moment.  Ty has to be the oldest, youngest kid I know.  Like seriously, when you think of childhood, what are some traits that come to mind?  Mischievous, curious, happy go lucky, gullible, etc, etc.  Well when I think of Ty, he doesn’t fit that mold, he’s not mischievous, in fact he’s one of the best helpers and assistants I know. Gullible, yeah right, refer to this post for my thoughts on that.  Curious, guess again, the boy thinks he knows everything and most times he’s pretty much right on target, so he doesn’t feel the need to ask questions a lot.  Another thing that comes to mind when thinking of children is of course toys; yup you guessed it, Ty doesn’t fit the mold there either.  The kid basically has a complete toy store at his disposal, yet can’t find anything to occupy his time.  In fact, at the tender age of 7, he’d much rather go shopping for clothes instead of toys.  It baffles the hell out of me, play damnit!!! There are so many cool toys out there that I he should be playing with, that it kind of makes me mad.  On top of it, he constantly makes references to getting older so he can do things like buy new motorcycles for me and him, or a new car for Fefe.  See, even the boys dreams don’t reflect that of a child.  Children are selfish little creatures, and this boy’s life aspiration is to grow up and buy things for his parents?

Back to the other problem child; one day I made a mistake, a mistake that forever change the landscape of Tre’s fickle age relationship understanding.  I asked Ty to plug something into a socket for me and Tre through a fit because he wanted to do it.  I explained that he wasn’t old enough to do it and Ty was, so he would have to wait.  He understood, and all was well once again…for a few days at least.  Not long after the plug and socket incident, Tre started saying things like “on my birthday, when I turn 6 yrs old, I can do that plug”, thinking nothing of it, I would respond by just yessing him off.  Then the statement slowing changed: “on my birthday in December…..”, “on my birthday THIS December…”, “in a few days it’ll be December and I can do that plug”.  Whoa whoa whoa kid, slow down here, what happened to ages 4 and 5?   Tre got it in his head that all that stood between him and doing big boy things was a number, one that he didn’t have to earn, but could merely pick and choose as he pleased.  He was going to turn 6 years old on his birthday (which miraculously went from being months away to only a few days out) whether we liked it or not.  He even started planning out all the other perks associated with being 6 years old: he would get 6 pieces of candy now, he could stay up late until 6 o’clock, and could even take 6 friends (stuffed animals) in the car with him. The nerve of this kid, not only is he altering the time space continuum and warping 2yrs in time, but he’s also assigning perks that his older 6 year old brother doesn’t even get.

I just don’t understand it, what’s so wrong with just being a kid and being happy with your current standing in this world?  Why is Ty more concerned with clothes and getting a job than he is with toys and playing hide and seek?  Why is Tre constantly trying to use is age to get access to better deals and opportunities; isn’t that a privilege reserved specifically for senior citizens?

Look, I understand that my kids childhood won’t shadow mine exactly, but I had a pretty darn good one and enjoyed life so much just being a kid and living the kid dream.  So it feels like  if my boys continue down this path of “older is better” they are going to miss out on so much that life has to offer to a young carefree soul. They both love life and are genuinely happy, but it seems like they are growing up so fast and aren’t attempting to apply the brakes at all.

What are your thoughts? Are kids growing up too fast these days?  What can be done to derail this constant need to become older faster?

Since we are on the topic of AGE, after leaving your comment, why don’t you head on over to today’s other brand new post and weigh in: The Day that THEY Don’t Tell You About

Super Nerd

Last week, we took Tre for a kindergarten assessment in the hopes of getting him enrolled early for school.  Our hopes were quickly eroded, but we’ll get to that later.  The exam was a piece of cake and he aced it in typical Tre fashion, and by that I mean with charm and a ton of personality.  The kid was a natural and it made me extremely proud.  After watching him fly through those questions, I was sure that he was a shoe in for the job.  Unfortunately, even with all of Tre’s style and charisma, he wasn’t able to dazzle his way into a kindergarten seat for next year.

If Tre was a few years older, others would probably look at him as the snobby know it all kid that they can’t stand.  I’m sure of it, because I look at him that way at times, yes, my own flesh and blood can be a snobby know it all.  Don’t believe me?  Well let’s take a look at this:  Part of the test was to assess the child’s cognitive aptitude, and Tre’s cognition is apparently so off the charts for a 3 year old that he made them redesign the test.  The lady made several statements and asked Tre to repeat the statements after her.  He did fine until she said a statement that didn’t make sense to him, that’s when Mr. Know It All showed up.  The lady told Tre that “the kids love to play in the rain”, Tre, knowing that he has never looked out of his window and witnessed children playing in the rain, responded as if the lady was an imbecile.  He told her “no, no, no, silly, kids like to play in the sun”.  She giggled and said yes they do, but can you repeat the sentence after me?  Tre promptly told her no I can’t, because it is wrong, kids don’t like to play in the rain, they like to play in the sun so they don’t get wet.  After such sound logic, the teacher had no choice but to agree and cross out the word rain on the test and replace it with sun.  Next his mathematical skills were put to the test.  Tre was asked to count to 10 and he did without a problem.  But Tre being Tre, he couldn’t stop there, he said “you want me to count by 10s, 2s? I can do it see” and proceeded to show off his counting abilities  All in all, he scored a 40 our of 45; you only needed a 22 to pass.  So needless to say, we were pretty confident.

Going into this thing, we knew that Tre was well prepared for Kindergarten; Fefe works with him daily on shapes, counting, spelling, math, writing, etc.  Because of this, we had high hopes that one of two things would occur: 1) Tre would be admitted into kindergarten a year early or 2) Tre would be placed in a pre-k class that would challenge him.  Neither of those things occurred at the conclusion of the testing.  Instead, we were told that the purpose of this screening was not to assess early admission into kindergarten, but rather admission into pre-k.  Okay, great we thought, that was our second choice anyway, so everyone’s a winner.  Nope, if it were backwards day, we’d be correct, because we were more like losers instead of winners.

We were told that Tre is too advanced for the pre-k class and would be bored and under challenged.  We were also told that he is on more of a 1st grade level instead of kindergarten, but he would need to actually be in kindergarten before an official decision could be made on that matter.  However, since Tre’s birthday isn’t until Dec, he’s not eligible to begin kindergarten for another 2 years.  WHAT??? Get the hell out of here.  So you’re telling me that my kid has not only surpassed the learning criteria for his current age group, that he is more than prepared for kindergarten and quite possibly already performing on a 1st grade level, yet he has to wait 2 years to showcase his abilities?

I refuse to accept that and will continue to look into other options that will give Tre the ability to be properly challenged and educated.  If the boy can change the criteria of a standardized test that has been in place for many moons, then I most certainly think that they can change the age restrictions a bit and let the kid in.