Bare feet will always be the best way to find lost LEGOs. The running joke I heard as a kid is that if I didn’t pick up my LEGOs, I’d step on them, break skin, and get gangrene. But fostering my kids’ creativity is worth the pain of stepping on their LEGOs.
Black Holes, the Couch, and the Minivan
The other day, I had the rare opportunity to clean the house from top to bottom without interruption. My wife and my mother-in-law took the kids to the state fair on a weekday to beat the crowds, which left me with an evening alone at home. I seized the chance to do some deep cleaning of the various nooks and crannies that tend to be glossed over when we tell the kids to pick up after themselves. I liken these areas to black holes, which have a gravitational field so massive, nothing can escape it. Not even information stands a chance of escaping, thanks to things only astrophysicists and mathematicians understand. But because I’m an armchair physicist today, this is my chance to compare something relatable to something as mysterious and terrifying as black holes. So I took my vacuum cleaner and prepared to begin my cleaning expedition into one of the most well-known, dangerous, and possible prospective areas inside the house: the couch.
My Kids and Their Video Games
I’m always impressed with the way my kids react to different video games. I do a fair amount of gaming myself, so being able to introduce my kids to a lot of fun and nostalgic games brings me a lot of joy. I see a lot of value in letting them be creative in sandbox type games like Minecraft. Even old-school games like The Incredible Machine give them a chance to build and create with resources they otherwise wouldn’t have. They have a chance to use their imagination and learn how to develop creative problem-solving skills. My job is to steer their creative energy in the right direction.
Making Time for Everyone and Everything
If you are anything like me, you may have looked in the mirror at some point recently and asked yourself how you got here. If you feel like you are the subject of the Talking Heads song Once in a Lifetime, then you and I are in the same boat. And if you’re like me, you realize that life is short and it isn’t getting any longer. Each day can seem like we are just getting through it while we wait for our kids to be self-sufficient. Perhaps you feel like this period of life is just the stage you have “get through” before you can start living the good life. That good life may be a time you believe you can stat accomplishing your life’s calling or start crossing s of your bucket list. I’ll let you in on a secret: it’s not. Every passing day can be a lost chance to do the things you’ve always wanted. Just like in the Talking Heads song, life will march on whether we want it to or not. Rather than have a freak out moment like I did, it’s time to start putting your identity in something that isn’t based on the things you do. Let me tell you what I mean.
My Kids Are Now Doing to Me What I Did to My Parents
Isn’t it funny how when were kids we swore we’d swore we’d never have the same rules in our house as our parents had when were kids? As an 8-year-old, I was convinced that when I had kids, I’d never let my kids have a bedtime. I’d also let them have cookies in their bed, never have them brush their teeth, and never make them eat any food they didn’t like. I swore I would never make my kids eat tuna noodle casserole, as I was I scooped another helping on my dinner plate. When I was a kid, I was sure I knew better than any grown-up. Well wouldn’t you know it, now that I’m a grown-up with kids, I can unashamedly say the one thing that 8-year-old me would have never uttered: Mom and Dad, you were right.
The Journey to Lose the Dad Bod
I’m going to be really vulnerable with you. I’ve got a dad bod. I don’t care what’s trending on Google right now. It’s not good for me. For years, learned about fitness, I did occasional cardio, but it hasn’t been enough. Six years ago, before my oldest was born, I weighed 220 lbs./100 kg. That’s not terrible for someone who is 6’2″/190 cm, but not exactly great either. But today, I top the scale at 260 lbs./118 kg (obviously, that’s not muscle because this post is about losing a dad bod). Today, I’m intent on fixing it.
Frugal Dad or Cheap Dad? – #JustDadThings
Now that I’m a dad and I have to think about some of my life choices in dollars and cents, I find I’m thinking about ways to save. I want to be a frugal dad. This means more than just looking for the best sales. It applies to so many different areas of my life, I sometimes think I’m starting to become cheap. Some of it’s practical, like “Why should I drive to the store when it’s only three blocks away?” or “Why should I buy the more expensive cereal when the store brand is just fine?” My wife has answers with “You can’t carry a week’s worth of groceries three blocks without a cart” or “Store brand cereal tastes like cardboard” (no, it doesn’t). But it’s not without a purpose. If you save more in one area, you can spend more in a meaningful area later. Let me explain.
How to Take a Nap in a House with Three Small Kids
In my recent post about how I put my three kids to bed by myself, I mentioned that I miss taking naps whenever I wanted. Before my wife and I had kids, we could nap after work, after church, and after pretty much anything. With one child, it can still be done, with just a couple exceptions. With three kids, the only way you’ll get to take a nap is in between daily activities with your spouse’s help. So if your iced quad-shot Venti vanilla latte isn’t curing your daytime tiredness, try these tips for taking a nap in a house with three small kids.
6 Indoor Activities to Do With Your Kids When It’s Too Hot Outside 🔥
Summertime is here in northern Minnesota. The forecast next Tuesday says we’ll see a high of 85°F/29°C. To many of you guys, I’m sure that doesn’t sound too bad. But we’re used to winters with temperatures and windchill around -40° (Fahrenheit or Celsius, it’s the same). This time of year, we’re trying our best to survive this heat. So what can you and your kids do? You can follow my lead by doing some of my favorite activities. Here are six of the easiest indoor kids activities you can do with your kids when the weather gets too hot.
How to Put Three Kids to Bed By Yourself
Bedtime in our house is a bit of a tiresome (heh, you like that? Dad pun.) affair. It’s just me and the three kids each night, forever locked in a desperate game of chicken to see who will sleep first. First, some context. My wife works from home in the evening and doesn’t get off work until 10:00pm. That means I am alone to serve dinner and begin the evening ritual called Bedtime. How it goes down varies slightly each night, but here’s a rundown of a typical night and how you can successfully complete Bedtime on your own.