Sick Kids = Unfair

As unfair as life is on a regular basis, there are a few unfairness-laden situations that you deal with on a regular basis.

First and foremost, it is not fair for kids to get sick. The discrepancy in energy between children and their parents is the second thing that comes to mind. While we will talk about the specifics of the energy discrepancy another time (most notably, how unfair it is that children, who are fragile and not wise enough to know how badly they can [and often do] hurt themselves, have enough energy to power a small city, while their parents, who are supposed to be keeping them from getting hurt, among the thousands of other things they have to do that are just part of being an adult, hardly have the energy necessary to get up to stay awake), Ellie is sick right now, so I would like to take a moment to talk about the whole kids being sick thing.

Probably won't be seen in this house for a few weeks

I Am Not Good at Photography

Seriously -- I am not a good photographer. Of course, if you've read any of my other posts with pictures, you totally already know that. 

While the results are not always good (read: pretty much never good), they are, at least, fairly entertaining from time to time.

Anyway, I'm not feeling particularly wordy today, so here's a picture of baby boy looking stoned. 

You're welcome.

"Life is full of highs,
with someone to stir and someone to fry."
Not Pictured: Stir-Fry

One day, he just might take issue with me posting this picture of him (which is really just the result of bad timing, I swear), and when that day comes, I will take it down, no questions asked. Until then, enjoy it. I do.

Secret Of Survival - Music

Recent text message I sent to my wife:
"So I'm pretty sure that I have a mental disorder that I just made up."

When she asked about it, rightly puzzled by the statement, I told her that I that I think I suffer from a music deficiency. Not like an aversion to, or inability for music, but that my body lacks something naturally to help it function that I get from listening to music. Kind of like how Seasonal Affect Disorder (or SAD, which is the best and most appropriate acronym ever) involves feeling off without exposure to sunlight, I feel a bit off without the presence of music. I like to call it Musical Affect Disorder (or MAD).

Fun With an Egg Package - Goggles

It was a slow morning around these parts. I wasn't feeling great. Honestly, I probably could have slept for another three hours, had that been a viable option. 

So yeah, the kids were extra energetic and I was the opposite of that. Not the best combination.

I went into the kitchen to see if anything looked like it could be interesting for the kids when I spotted an empty egg package sitting out. Ding! Jackpot! I could totally do something fun with this...

Egg not included

And then I stood there, just staring at the thing for three or four minutes, trying to think of what we could possibly do with it.

Blank.

Egg cartons should totally be fun though, right?

The Secret World of Arrietty

It's no big secret that I am a fan of Studio Ghibli. For those who are still unfamiliar with Studio Ghibli, I would say that they are more or less the Japanese equivalent to Pixar. The movies are still hand drawn 2D, but their quality and popularity is on par. Their films are even distributed in the US by Disney, and while not all of them are bordering on perfect, several of them are. Not only that, but even the lesser Studio Ghibli movies still have some of the most vivid imagery that you will every see. Okay, so I could go on about Studio Ghibli for much longer than anyone would care to listen, so for now, we'll just leave it at that.

Last weekend was one of those times where the stars line up just right, and the universe just works like you hope it will. In this case, Studio Ghibli's new movie, The Secret World of Arrietty arrived in theaters the same week as my birthday. Naturally, we took the kids to go see it. The movie is based on the classic book The Borrowers, about tiny people living underneath the floorboards (the old cartoon show, The Littles, was loosely based on the borrowers as well).

I'm Confused.

Suddenly, I find myself wanting to check the labels on football pads, athletic cups, and chainmail shark suits, among other things. You know, just to make sure.

Okay, so honestly, I never thought that Cam's Tonka Hard Hat would be appropriate for use on a construction site, but this made me laugh.

Valentines Day

Valentines Day?
...more like Velveeta's Day.

Get it?
...because it's cheesy. See what I did there?
Yeah, I'm funny.

So in any case, Valentines Day kind of makes me laugh. The cards, the candies, etcetera, they all have the corniest Valentines Day messages on them. In fact, many of these messages are pretty much cornier than anything else that has ever been made commercially available.

Yeah, even this.

Tiny Food is Novel and Cheeseburgers are Delicious

As anyone who read my previous post about the eating habits of my daughter should already know, she can be pretty difficult at the dinner table. The Dinner Wars, as I like to call them, are (one of) the bane(s) of my existence.

So it is with great shock and excitement that I can announce that this is what she ate for dinner last night: 

Okay, so the real thing didn't have anything on it
but cheese, and she only ate half of it,
but that's kind of beside the point

Boots is the Worst

As I mentioned the other day, I am not a fan of Boots the Monkey. In all seriousness, I think he must be one of the worst ideas for a character, pretty much ever. The voice is bad enough, but that's not the real problem here.

Why is Boots such a lame character?
The answer is in the question.

"Totally pulling them off..."
-Ted.
Also, Boots.
Sadly, both were wrong.

Easy Activities - Maptime

It's a map, it's a map, it's a map, it's a map, it's a map. It's a map!

Dora, I hate you. Not as much as I hate Boots and Map, mind you, but it's still hatred and I will not hesitate to label it as such. I will get into that more on another day, but for now, suffice it to say that I can't even think of a map without that song popping into my head. 

It goes without saying then, that this activity resulted in that song looping through my head, ad nauseum.

No cartography lessons, thank you very much

Dude, Cam - Is That A Snake In Your Pants...

... or are you just excited for lunch?

Yup. Snake.

Kids Are Like Amplifiers

From time to time, childless and less-child friends ask me what it's like to be a parent (or to have three kids). I respond with some answer about how it's a combination of stress, frustration, and transcendentally happy moments.

I think I have a new answer:

"Kids are like amplifiers."

Yeah, but my kid goes to 11.