Bedtime Dynamics
As Savannah and Alyssa share a room we have a near nightly ritual where one gets mad at the other for some infraction of the Sisters Code of Conduct™ (at least on the nights where they don’t both test how…
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Father of Daughters
As Laura was going out to visit a neighbor she (or one of our girls who was going with her) found one of our naked barbie dolls on the sidewalk up the street (has anyone noticed that barbie dolls are…
Neighborly – Like Leonard Goss
I was having a rough day today so I was pleased that Laura showed up at the office with the kids to give me a ride home. Not two blocks from work we turned a corner, hit the gutter, and…
Prioritizing My Time
I am starting to discover how much effect my marathon training is having on my time. I had been feeling good that I was able to do my training in the early mornings so that it did not interfere with…
Dutch Oven Saturday
One of the things I enjoy doing is cooking in my dutch oven. Last summer I started a habit of cooking in the dutch oven every Saturday (nearly) and I liked it enough to decide to do it again this…
Rules for Life
We have reduced the number of rules for our children to four. We think that the kids should be able to remember four rules and we are confident that anytime they break a rule we can identify which one they…
Use Your Privileges
Last night right after I got in bed, Laura and I have a fun little interchange: Laura: Can I make one last Mother’s Day request? David: Sure. L: Can you go shut the window in the girls’ room? D: Good…
Every Day Should Be Mother’s Day
I don’t really care about Mother’s Day as an excuse to celebrate. I think of all the comments I heard today about fathers and/or children making breakfast-in-bed for Mom and then I find myself standing at the sink doing the…
Non-Binding Resolutions
While listening to NPR today I heard a senator talking about many agreements we have made with the Iraqi government where the Iraqi’s failed to do what they promised. He attributed that failure to the fact that “the agreements [had]…
Too Helpful
I have been thinking a lot lately about one of the lessons that I have learned as a parent. Sometimes it is very easy to be too helpful to our children. We may want to tell them more than they…