So Ty has been back for over a week now and I can honestly say that he definitely can tell that we missed him. From the time we picked him up at the airport until the time he went sleep that first night, you would have thought that all four of us were glued together at the hip. Activity after activity, game after game, discussion after discussion, it was all Ty, all the time. That first day, you would have thought we were the perfect ideal family, all smiling faces and loving gestures. Then the sunset, the moon came out and I swear those kids turned into werewolves overnight. The fighting, bickering, and competition picked up right where it left off, and that’s when I knew, that our family was back to normal. Read on to hear more about that magical event filled day that Ty came back home to his family. Check back next week to read about the days that followed, once the parade paraphinala was taken down and the cameras stopped rolling. Today, you get the happily ever after fairy tale, next week you get the nightmare!
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.
Hot Wheels are to little boys what Barbie is to little girls. Everyone knows, that Barbie is nothing without her dream house and accessories, same holds true for Hot Wheels cars. What good is a car without a good track to race it on? That’s why today’s toy review is on the Hot Wheels 4 Lane Elimination Race Track.
This new and improved track is a redesign of an earlier version that we had for Ty. I must admit, they corrected all of the issues that we had with the previous race track and added a few extra bells and whistles to the 4 Lane Elimination Race Track. For starters, this track is actually pretty durable, we’ve all had race tracks in the past that couldn’t hold their weight in water, well Hot Wheels got the formula correct this time and produced a product that can stand up to the normal (if you can call it that) wear and tear of a toddler. It also features a foldaway design, which comes in handy for storage and transportation, that’s definitely a plus in my book.
Functionality wise, this thing is simple to operate and gets the job done without much complication (contrary to our video review below, lol). Your toddler, pre-schooler, and school age child will all be able to handle this race track with no problem at all and be provided with hours of entertainment in the process. Any toy that can span 3 separate age groups is definitely a winner. The basic principle behind each and every race is 4 cars start at the beginning and only 1 is left at the finish line. Throughout the race, cars are eliminated based on their position in the race. There are several eject pods located throughout the track which fling cars that are lagging behind off of the track. This is a cool concept, but the race is over so quickly, it is a bit difficult to take it all in. It would have been nice to toggle this option on and off somehow. That would add a bit more variety to races, instead of always having only one car finish the race, another variation could be to see which car travels the farthest after the race.
Overall, this is a great toy, which took a previous design and improved on it tremendously. It’s an inexpensive accessory that will extend the life of your child’s Hot Wheel cars collection. If your little guy loves cars like mine does, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up.
This toy is Tre tested and Daddy Approved! Buy It Now!!!
Tre got an upgrade; he’s now rocking a hemi instead of a flimsy!!! I mean seriously, if you saw the wheels this kid was previously pushing (and you will) you would definitely agree that he was well overdue for a vehicular make over. Tre’s new wheels are sponsored by Jeep, and it has shock absorbing springs, adjustable rear suspension, steel rims & beefy tires! Everything a toddler needs to become KING of the road, or concrete in this case since the sidewalk is his primary stomping ground.
Father’s Day just passed and luckily, this year, we made it through without any blunt head force trauma, crying, or disappointment. If you’re a bit confused, you may recall last year’s Father’s Day Tragedy and oh what a tragedy it was. Anytime you have swinging golf clubs connecting with human skulls, you’re pretty much destined for a tragedy of some sort. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. Today, we’re hear to discuss the 2011 Father’s Day Tragedy! Before you get your box of Kleenex ready, let me warn you, they won’t be needed. This year, Father’s Day was excellent and the only tragedy to discuss is the fact that Fefe finally got the better of me, so my ego was a little bruised. If I had to choose, I guess a bruised ego is better than Fefe having a bruised skull…I guess.
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).
With Memorial Day Weekend basically staring us in the face (how many of you are at work staring at the clock right now, probably reading this post just to pass the time until the party begins!), anyway, like I was saying, with Memorial Day Weekend pretty much front and center, I felt that today was the perfect time to blog about this ultra cool deal. After you read this post, you’ll probably want to offer me your next born child, but rest assured, I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart; although, monetary gifts are surely welcome. Read on to be dazzled, be wowed, be amazed by the deal that’s sure to provide tons of fun for you and your family at absolutely no cost at all. Oh yeah, by the way, in place of monetary gifts, I’ll settle for you naming your next child “Keith”, boy or girl, it doesn’t matter, I’m not picky.
Okay, so maybe “overcome the odds” is a bit much for the actual content of this post, but in a way, it is actually pretty fitting. That’s because Tre did overcome the odds; the odds of having an overdramatic Dad who didn’t take time out to think about his actions before actually acting on them. If you’re a bit confused, don’t worry, things are about to become clear in 3…2…1 remember this post: “A Horrifying Fairy Tale”? Yup that one, the one were I got a little too involved with my bedtime story duties. If you recall, my Big Bad Wolf was just a little too big and bad for Tre’s liking. It took Tre a while to overcome my debacle, but eventually the “Three Little Pigs” became his favorite book, replacing “Jack and the Beanstalk” completely. In fact, he’s listened to the book so much that we no longer have to read it to him, he takes care of that these days. Check it out!
I honestly wanted to get this post done and completed yesterday, really I did. But due to unforeseen circumstances, that wasn’t possible. Okay, maybe the circumstances were foreseen. Maybe I knew I’d be getting drunk beyond belief, partying until the wee hours of the morning, and partaking in all types of unscrupulous activities, which required days of recovery time. Okay, so it wasn’t that bad, but when you get to be my age (33yrs old), your body just doesn’t allow you to party like the good ole days. If you’re wondering where I got the age of 33 from, it was derived from an age-old formula that us parents call Child Aging Compound Interest or C.A.C.I. for short. You basically add up the ages of all of your kids, then divide by the number of children (because once you have more than one, leveraging comes into play) and then add that number to your current age. Now let’s see if DFB has any math wiz readers…who can tell me my true age??? Anyway, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this post; my freaking birthday!!!! Well, it actually starts before my birthday, because Tre had a few funny antics to share while picking out my present.
Today is my first day of work, which means I’ve been in Minneapolis a little under a week now. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks (okay, maybe it’s not that prolific), then you know that I had to leave my family behind while I sorted out our living situation. Doing so has made these past 5 days feel like an eternity, but we’ve been managing fairly well so far & I’ve even wrangled a few funny tales concerning the kids and their “unique” ways of dealing with my departure. We’ve got betrayal, deceit, jealousy, and even murder people. Oh yes, a lot has gone on since I departed from my family, and if you thought that Daddy’s Fish Bowl was going to be any less spectacular than it’s been throughout the last year, then you are sorely mistaken. So go ahead, get your popcorn ready & sit back while I take you on this journey through the life of the family-less family man.
