Aurora's first manga

Today we went to Borders so Aurora could spend a gift card she got for there.  I picked up a Python book and thumbed through it for a while.  Then Kim needed me to watch Aurora because she wanted to go look at books in places other than the kids section, where Athena and Arianna wanted to hang out.

Aurora had already picked out a book, but was still looking around.  We went over to the history section for a while a checked out what was in store there, and then started heading back to the kids section.

On our way back we ran into the manga section, and I made a comment to Aurora about how I'd like for her to try manga to see if she liked it.  She started talking about putting her book back and I told her that she needs the book she wants to buy, not the one I want her to buy.

She asked me what manga was about, so I randomly picked up a book that looked like it may be something in her area and showed her the first page.  I showed her how the first page is what we normally think of as the last page.  I then put the book back and started looking for something that I thought was closer to what she may like when she asked me for that same book back.  I explained it was just a book I randomly selected, not necessarily anything I thought she would like.

While I looked around she thumbed through the book and declared she wanted to put her other book back and get the one I had shown her.  It is called Neko Ramen.  It is about a cat named Taisho who owns a Ramen shop and comes up with ridiculous ideas about how he can sell Ramen, such as using spaghetti noodles and calling it Italian Ramen.

I double checked she really wanted to get this book I just randomly grabbed off the shelf instead of the one she had already picked out.  She assured me she was, so she ended up buying it.

On the way home she read through the book and thought it was really funny.  She thought it was really weird how the excited faces look.  I explained that it is part of the manga art style.  It took us both a while to realise that you ride from top-right, down, then move to the top of the next panel to the left.  We started off thinking you started at the top-right, moved left, and then down, until we realised why the panels sometimes made no sense.

I hope Aurora takes to this manga thing.  Aurora and I have didn't interests in books.  She likes non-fiction and historical fiction type books.  I prefer science fiction and fantasy.

I have been able to get her into the Narnia series.  We have finished The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  At first she did not like The Magician's Nephew, but she gave it a second shot and started to get into it.  We are presently taking a break from the Narnia series and reading James and the Giant Peach.

So, if this trend continues, Aurora and I will have more things to do together.  Plus, it has been nice reading good children's books that I would otherwise not put any interest into.

As for me, I'm reading a chapter a day of an eleven-hundred plus page book on programming in Python, which is followed by another Python book that covers more advanced topics on the language and is equally as large.  Fun times.

Tallahassee to Atlanta for TMBG

It's been forever since They Might Be Giants came to Tallahassee.   I found out in December that they would finally be making an appearance in March.  I wanted to take my kids, who are fans of the three kids CD/DVDs they have put out.  I found out the minimum age was (I think) fourteen to get in.

I knew they did kids shows from time to time, so I looked at their other shows going on around the same time and located a kids show in Atlanta the following weekend.

So the Tallahassee show as a lot of fun.  It was kind of weird seeing the crowd.  I first saw TMBG when I was in middle school, and I don't think there were too many people older than I am now at that show.  This time there where only a few people who looked like they where probably in high school.
They even played the one song I was looking forward to, which is She's An Angel.
They played a good number of music off of their kids album.  It was a good marker to see who was a parent in the crowd, as only few people could be seen singing along.
Another really great thing about this concert is that both Kim and I were able to go ... TOGETHER.  It was awesome.  we never get time together to do anything that's just fun for the two of us.  I love going places with my kids, but it is nice for just Kim and I to do something awesome together every one in a while.
The following Friday I got my Vanagon cleared out, and most of our stuff packed for the trip.  I packed enough food so that we would have to stop along the way either.
One rather scary thing about this trip was that I had never driven my Vanagon more than around sixty miles outside of Tallahassee.  I was planning on driving there and back in the same day, an almost 600 mile trip.
We took the US27 route to avoid Interstates, and perhaps see some cool small towns.

The morning was cold, and the bus has no  heat, so I packed lots of blankets, which Aurora said didn't make her warm enough.  I had the car DVD player setup as well, and we started the trip with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Athena's pick.
The van ran great on the way there, and the girls ate the sandwiches and apples I packed for them.  We made it the whole way stopping only for gas, and odd looks at the van from the locals.
The van ran great the whole time, and was actually able to maintain speeds up to 70mph, when not going up a hill, which is pretty good for one of these vehicles.
We arrived twenty minutes before the show started, to the discovery that the show was soled out.  I felt pretty dumb.  Reminder to self, don't drive the kids six hours away for a show you don't already have tickets for.  The lady at the box office told us to come back when the show started to see if there was availability.  Indeed there was and we had entry.
The security guy made me go back to my car to leave the camera.  Note number two, keep camera in pocket when trying to get it into a show.  Other parents didn't have their camera on display upon entry and where snapping photos of their children and the band the whole time.
They Might Be Giants where much more into this show than the one in Tallahassee.  There was a lot more energy on stage.  It was really cool to see a packed room with children and their parents singing and dancing along to TMBG.  As a function of parents who get their kids into good music, it was obvious most of the parents there where pretty awesome parents, which is something I can't say for most places I go to take my kids for children's events.
Aurora was tired and sat down for the whole show.  Athena spent most of the times either dancing, or in my arms watching the band.  Towards the end of the show Athena made a friend and danced with her.
The kids favorite part started during the song bed.  At the end of the line "and so directly to bed I go" a canon shot out papier-mâché over the audience.  The kids where really thrilled to catch the falling pieces of paper.  This happened a few more times throughout the show.

A sock puppet, called "The Avatars of They Might Be Giants" did a show and sang a couple of songs, which the kids thought was pretty funny too.
After the show Flansburgh handed out stickers, which we all three got, and I followed up with receiving a high-five from Flans.
Afterwards we grabbed some Greek food, and headed home.  The DVD player seemed to have broke itself while we were at the show, so there where no movies, or any other entertainment, for the drive back.
Athena fell asleep first, and Aurora went out only later on in the night.  We got home around 11:30pm, and I was quite famished from the day.

Being A Parent Is Hard

Being a parent is hard.  The life of a parent is filled with meeting other people's needs, and neglecting many of his or her own.

Today's examples:

It seems I cannot go a morning where at least one of the girls doesn't have a major meltdown.  On the surface getting ready in the morning would appear to be a routinely trivial task.  The reality is that every morning is drama.  The hard thing for me to accept is that I have no control over this.

I try to make it as easy as I can.  I put Aurora and Athena in my bed, put on an episode of Pink Panther and completely dress the girls myself, and do their hair.  Pink Panther gives them a reason to open their eyes and stay awake as I dress them.  By the time I am done each girl is completely awake and dressed.  They have only two tasks to prepare for the day, brush their teeth and put on their shoes.

Without fail at least one girl will throw a major fit over at least one of  these tasks.  Usually more than one task involves a fit.  This morning it was Aurora and her shoes, and Athena had a slight problem with brushing her teeth.  Every morning Arianna has a big fit about us brushing her teeth.  Since I do everything else for all the girls, I make Arianna's teeth Kim's task.

On the way to drop Arianna off at daycare a lady did not break in time and had to pull to the right of me to prevent from rear-ending me.  By the time she came to a complete stop half of her SUV was beside my van, effectively putting her nose in Arianna's back had she not stopped.  Then when the traffic started back up she pulled forward real fast and cut in front of me.  This lady just about put my baby in serious physical danger, and then used it as an opportunity to cut me off.  It's times like this I have to use mental will-power to not let road rage get the best of me.

Aurora has tennis practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 - 6.  I don't get off work until 4:30, and practice is on the other side of town, so Kim takes her almost all the time.  Today Kim called me and asked if I would do it.  I agreed, and she said she'd meet me at day care to give me the tennis racket from her car.

Not paying attention to the fact that Aurora needs to be there at 5:00 I get a call from Kim at 4:50 as I'm shutting down my computer reminding me that I completely messed up tennis practice for the day.  Aurora really looks forward to tennis practice and has been pretty upset in the past when we've had to miss it.

I felt really bad and wanted to make it up.  I was going to take her to the park but when I looked outside I realized it's that time of year when it begins getting dark really early.  Instead I headed up to Publix and bought some ice cream.

It turned out Aurora was not as upset as usual, but she was happy to see that ice cream would be following dinner.

As soon as I placed the ice cream in the freezer I made dinner, with only a little bit of room in between serving everyone I had a quick chance to actually eat myself.

While I was eating Aurora had a major melt down because she's hates having to actually put work into doing homework (she is spoiled because pretty much everything tailored to someone her age is completely below her abiliites and is finished without effort.)  In stead of working hard she completely broke down yelling at people, being nasty to Kim, and slouching down kicking everything around her.

Next Judith called.  When Aurora spoke to her Judith told her that she should visit the Smithsonian Kids website, so we did that after dinner to help her calm down from homework.

Afterwards it was back to homework, which she finally finished and I knocked out the kitchen while Kim tended to the other two girls.  After the kitchen was done, and Arianna's lunch was packed, I read Arianna two books and put her to bed.  Kim, worn out and half asleep by this time read the other two girls their books while I took a shower.

Once out of the shower Kim was asleep with the two girls crawling all over her.  I then put them to bed, a process which takes about ten minutes as I talk to them and tuck them in.  Then Arianna declares she needs to go potty.

When it was all said and done I woke up at 6:45am, it is now 9:00pm and I finally have a moment to myself.

And such is my daily life.  Very little of my day was spent for me, and none of my day had any time for my wife.  It is no wonder so many parents do such a poor job.  It is so tempting to take shortcuts, like giving my children empty-calorie TV dinners, packing lunchables for lunch, yelling at them in stead of effectively working things out (actually there is more yelling going on at times than I'd like to admit), sitting them in front of a TV all afternoon, etc.

Children Acting Their Age

Sometimes I say something silly to my children like, "You are eight,  you need to act like it."  Replace eight with the age of the child.  The silly thing about this is that when I say it they usually are acting their age, which happens to entail them doing something immature.  However my real message is, "You are not acting as mature as I want you to act and I would like you to start acting it."  I think my children receive the message with that understanding at\s well.

If I am right then I am using the "act your age" words as a red herring to successfully convey a similar, but different message.

Do I go for accurately conveying my message or effectively conveying my message?  Being a parent is difficult for someone like myself who likes to overcomplicate what should be easy matters.

Making Lunches

School is starting up next week and my kids have been spending their last two weeks of summer in daycare/summer camp. That means much of our school routine has started back up, including making lunches each night.

I take feeding my kids right to be pretty important, so I don't leave it up to the whim of school to feed my kids well. Just look at the public school lunch menu and you'll see why.

Packing healthy lunches that my kids will eat is no small task but one I'm working down to some sort of soft science. It is soft because what my kids claim to like and not like changes semi-regularly.

When packing I have three criteria I try to meet.

• Little Waste
• Healthy
• My kids will actually eat it.

With lunches it is easy to have a lot of waste. Juice boxes/pouches and individually wrapped food items can make each of the three kids lunch have quite a bit of waste. I've purchased some small glad juice boxes which are just like kid-sized water bottles for keeping juice. With these I can purchase a large container of juice and just put a little in these containers and send them off to school. One large jug of juice that is recyclable is less waste than multiple juice pouches that have to go in the trash.

Source: http://www.glad.com/containers/gladware_containers.phpI've also purchased a bunch of small 4oz containers for putting food. These store great because the lids lock when stacked. With these I can buy a large container of some sort of food, like apple sauce, and divy them out into these smaller containers.

Sending your kid to school with junk food is easy. There is no lack of junk food at the grocery store. Often it tries to label itself in ways to appeal to kids, appear healthy, or both. The Kraft Lunchables tries to sell itself as "wholesome" when most of those are just low-quality meat packed with fillers and sodium, some crackers (with more sodium), very low-end cheese (which resembles cheese as much as Nehi resembles juice) and a small candy bar. Parents fall for these shortcuts in droves.

I've been using a system of trial-and-error to find things I know my kids will eat. For Aurora I've got shelled sunflower seeds, and Yo Kids yogurt, and Craisins. Athena likes her Apple Sauce and Arianna likes Nature Valley bars. These aren't necessarily packed with nutrition, but they are not bad and represent a good starting point to building a good lunch. They all get a 4oz cup of fresh fruit as well. Sometimes I'll pack them a few slices of lunch meat or a sandwich with any combination of peanut butter, jelly, and/or honey. Unsalted whole-wheat crackers are a favorite as well.

As much as I find eating healthy to be important, it is also just as important to live a little. Sometimes we'll get them snacks that go from not healthy to unhealthy. For not healthy we may get them Goldfish. For unhealthy it could be a sugar snack like Little Debbies. I think giving your children things that are considered unhealthy (candy, TV, etc.) in moderation is rather important. Your teaching your children these things are alright, you just have to enjoy them responsibly. You don't want to find your child like a Catholic freshman in college.

As the year continues I will keep experimenting with different foods and finding out who like what. I've already started building a list on paper. I will buy the different items I know I can rely on in large containers and divy them out in the smaller tupperware and hopefully be able to feed my kids healthy food that they will eat with as little waste as possible.

Preparing for a baby.

This post deals with the mad shopping spree that comes before giving birth. There is a large amount of amenities to purchase for your human-to-be. Unfortunately, most of it is pure crap. It is absolutely useless. Stick with the basics. You don't need a special diaper garbage can, a changing table, a seat so your baby can sit up, bottle sanitizers, or any of that other crap. Don't get sucked into baby-gadget overload.

When I buy stuff for a baby shower I get things I know every parent will need; diapers, wipes, baby Tylenol, Orajel, cabinet locks, etc. Friends and family will inundate you with clothes (many of which will suck, like FSU pants), teddy bears, books and toys. You will have so much of this stuff it will eventually be more in the way than anything. You won't have a place to put it all. So don't request any of it. Just let it come and accept it with a smile. Take what you don't like and either donate it to a women's center, regift it to someone who may appreciate or need it, or sell it at a consignment shop.

I would strongly encourage you to tell everyone to not get you bottles or socks. These are two things you don't want to have different kinds of. For bottles I would suggest you get the kind that take the plastic insert, and get the same brand. This will save you a lot of time trying to find a bottle, lid, and nipple that match. Trust me, this is a real pain. Having all of your bottles, lids, and nipples matching will make your life a lot easier.

Matching baby socks is really difficult too. They are all teeny, and the differences between them can be really subtle. Having all the same kind of matching socks will also save you lots of time and frustration. If you want to splurge on getting your child cute things, get cute outfits, stick to plain and consistent socks.

Don't believe Gerber. Powdered milk is not a sufficient supplement for good old breast milk. I refer you to http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/breast_bottle_feeding.html for an explanation why. I want to emphasize this line, "The AAP says babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months." I would take issue with "For many women, the decision to breastfeed or formula feed is based on their comfort level, lifestyle, and specific medical considerations that they might have." The only reason to not breast feed is for a medical consideration. As a mother you have no right to deny your child the benefits of breast feeding. Doing so is selfish at best. This is not to say you should never give your child formula. Keep some on you just in case you have to feed your baby and breast milk is not available or impractical. I do believe you should be prepared to breast feed in public, like when dad is out for a longer period of time with the child than unrefrigerated milk will allow for. This is becoming more and more acceptable again. A good blanket makes this more comfortable. I think this is a matter of personal preference though.

Get yourself a good quality breast pump. Don't let price dictate which one you think is best. Ask your ob-gyn about the different models. You definitely want to go with an electric pump unless you have wrists of adamantium (which you don't btw.)

On that same note, get a food processor and be prepared to make your own baby food. If you don't think this is important, go buy a jar of baby food, like peas, and eat it. You will notice that it doesn't actually taste like peas, Then get the green beans or the carrots. Yep, they all taste the same, like water mixed with flour. You should be respectful enough to your child to feed them good foods. They are more likely to take to green vegetables and other good foods if they actually taste good. Don't worry about those fancy baby-food cook books. They are nonsense. Simply steam the vegetables, throw them in a blender and then put them in containers. We found it necessary to buy some Gerber food to keep in our diaper bag for those times we didn't expect to be out. We would use the empty containers to store our food. What I would do is keep them in the freezer and just have enough thawed at a time to last two days. Each day I would take out a days worth and that would make sure we had a good supply in the freezer and a good supply ready to go. Another trick is to put the food in ice-cube trays and they can more easily be thawed by sitting in a container that is sitting in hot water. Never microwave the food you make, it kills many of the nutrients. So my original point was that you should get a quality food processor. When you are making a lot of food at once a good food processor can make the difference between a pleasurable experience and frustration.

Start offloading responsibility. If you have a project you want to get done, do it quickly or just give up. If you have extra-curricular things going on, or stay late after work a lot, give up as much as you can. You need to spend that first year readjusting to all of your new responsibilities, especially your financial ones. Day care can run almost to a grand a month, and after you have left work and picked up the child from daycare, the rest of your day will be cooking, cleaning and caring for your child. The idea that you might consistently have some spare time is foolish.

Females, kick Dad in the nuts and tell him to be a man. Seriously, the vast majority of fathers act like they are retarded. Changing a diaper, taking the child to the doctor or a birthday party, or taking on other necessary responsibilities is not rocket science. You know how you try to show your wife how to set the alarm clock and instead of listening she gives you that blank stare like your speaking Klingon. Yeah, if you can't do basic tasks for your child then your just as retarded. Don't let your man do this. It sucks just as bad for you to do these things as it does for him, so tell him to grow a pair and stop his moaning. It's not going to get easier in the future. As time rolls on you both will tire of various tasks and will rely on each other to make sure everything gets done. You can't do it by yourself and there's no reason you should have to.

When you buy media, don't get the cheap crappy stuff. I'm talking about the $1 books at the dollar store, or the $5 movies at the grocery store check out. Get good videos. Think Dr. Seuss books. I think one should set a high standard for entertainment. Honestly, do you want your child watching the equivalent of Friends or Hanna Montana in fifteen to twenty years from now? The answer is no, if you weren't sure.

A well equipped diaper bag is a must. Be sure to not overdo it either. You don't want a bunch of useless stuff in your diaper bag that makes finding anything difficult. It's been a while, but I think this is what I kept in my diaper bag:

• Formula


• Bottles with measured water already in them. Separate bottled water is fine too.


• Formula.


• Lots of diapers and wipes.


• Plastic bag for disposing of poop diapers.


• Baby Tylenol and Orajel.


• A complete change of clothes.


• A blanket.


• Finger food.


• A bib.


• Hand sanitizer.

I'm pretty sure that is close to complete. Some of these items can be added or removed as is appropriate for the age.

Self image

I think that the most important attribute you can instill in your child is a positive self-image, and a positive attitude towards others. Today children are bombarded with images about who they are suppose to be, and children are responding en masse, especially girls. Since I have girls, and girls are more likely to have self-esteem issues, I'm going to focus on them.
Let's look at a few facts:

1. 53% of American girls are "unhappy with their bodies." This grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen (Brumberg, 1997). http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_mediaeffect.shtml


2. Over 90% of patients with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa are women. http://www.about-face.org/r/facts/bi.shtml


3. A majority of girls (59 percent) report dissatisfaction with their body shape, and 66 percent express the desire to lose weight. The prevalence of overweight girls is 29 percent. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/hogan599.htm


4. At 5’9” tall and weighing 110 lbs, Barbie would have a BMI of 16.24 and
   fit the weight criteria for anorexia. She likely would not menstruate. http://shamansdance.com/get_real_barbie-fact_sheet.pdf


5. Three minutes spent looking at models in a fashion magazine causes 70% of women to feel depressed, guilty, and shameful. http://www.taft.cc.ca.us/newtc/StudentServices/health/women_issues.htm

Finally, let's look at a video that details the steps a model goes through to get her face on an advertisement. The real sad part about this video is that the model is actually quite attractive and represent a healthy image of a woman. What she is made up to be is no more real or realistic than the clone troopers in Star Wars (which where all CGI btw.)
Children come into this world knowing virtually nothing. They will believe anything you tell them. When we bombard our children with images of people that are so fake they can't even find real people that look like them, and have to be made up digitally, then our children will believe that image. When our further images show that only the best of the good looking are liked and valued, then we have created a real problem.

I'm not sure this is the best
way to fight anorexia.
The common fix for this problem is to throw money at helping our children reach these unattainable, and unhealthy images. There is a temptation to believe we must buy our children this and that so that they can fit into a mold that has been dictated by corporation with the purpose of maximizing profits, not maximizing mental health and self esteem.
I think the best solution is to subject your children to these images for the purpose of discussing reality versus pretend. SpongeBob isn't real, dragons aren't real, and the models in advertising aren't real. Also, let your child know that you are not going to spend fifty dollars on a named-brand shirt, when it is not affordable, and other perfectly "socially acceptable" shirts, and other clothes, are available at a perfectly reasonable price. There is a chance that this may bring your child social grief in school when they do not fit in with popular kids. But let's face it, do you really want your children hanging out with children at school who only allow people in their group based off of such superficial standards? I definitely do not. What will more than likely happen is your child will move on to real friends with real personalities and values.
I'm not exactly sure what the most effective way is to overcome this problem. You can only shield your child from so much, and if you shield to much that may be a problem within itself.
What I try to do is to instill a sense of self worth into my children. I am constantly reminding them that they are both beautiful and wonderful and that I love them very much. I offer them praise whenever the get something right, and support when they are having trouble with something, reassuring them that they can do it if they continue trying. I also let them know that when it comes to liking things, it is better to choose what you like, not what others think you should like.
It is my hope that when they become teenagers they will have the self confidence to be the person they are, and resist pressures to be something they would prefer not to be.

Being a parent and a friend

I have heard many parents says, "I am not my child's friend, and I am their parent." I take a different approach. First, I am my child's parents. Next, I am their friend.
Okay, so what do I mean by that. When I say I am first a parent, I mean that parenting is my priority. A good parent works hard to help raise a child in the manner they should go. A good parent provides the wisdom and guidance necessary to help a child grow into a healthy and happy adult. A good parent understands that there are times to be a hard ass and times to be soft and understanding.
A friend is someone who is always there for you. A friend can be trusted. We go to our friends to discuss personal matters, and help us work through our problems. When we have messed up and need someone to turn to, we call on our friends.
I have met parents that are proud to just be a parent to a child. They dress, house, and feed their children. They give them chores and make sure they do their homework. That's where the relationship ends. This is a mistake. Being a friend is part of being a parent, but it never trumps being a parent.
If your child is messing up, you don't just do what friends do and carry on. As a parent you take corrective action to help your child get back on the right path. If your child's teacher calls you in for a conference because your child has behavior problems in school, it is time to take on that parent roll and drop the friend part. On the same token, if your child is maybe having a hard time with relationships, you should be their friend to listen to them. It is a delicate balance that probably nobody gets exactly right.

TV

The role that a TV should play in a child's life is one often talked about in parenting magazine's and things of the like. The following is my thoughts on the TV dilemma and how I deal with it.
When I became a parent I noticed things I had never noticed before while watching TV. All the "bad" things on TV become more apparent.
The worst thing on TV is not what is shown on the TV shows. Sure, there is some bad language, some bad language and content not suitable for your children, but the real problem is the commercials. The goal of a commercial is convince the viewer, which the commercial sees as being a potential consumer, that they should desire the product in question. To do this advertisements put in to play all sorts of clever tricks. Advertisers have spent millions in researching how to hood wink audiences into desiring products they don't need, and otherwise would not want. The constant bombardment of effective advertisement has driven our society into a culture of over-consumers.
One major technique employed by advertisers is to make the viewer feel insecure with a promise that their insecurity can be satisfied by purchasing their product. Unhealthy and unrealistic images bombard advertisements defining for us what it means to be a man or a woman, a boy or a girl. These standards are not based off of healthy ideals, but on what convinces people to spend more money on their products.
Advertisers are smart and they know that the sooner they get the children hooked on a constant state of consumption to squelch artificial insecurities that they are likely to have customers for life. Commercials aimed at children too young to even be in school exhibit girls in lots of flashy, low-cut outfits. The clothes are always top of the line and the girls are made to look perfect. The message to the children is, "This is how you are suppose to look, and we sell the things that allow you to look this way." Children are impressionable and have no way of knowing any different. Certainly what they are seeing on the TV is much more exciting and provocative than anything you, the parent, have to offer the child.
The solution is to simply turn off the TV. However this doesn't need to mean a life with no TV. My children watch TV all the time. They just don't ever watch commercials.
We do this by buying our children's favorite shows on DVD. This provides all sorts of advantage. First it is financially sound. A minimum cable package starts at around fifty dollars a month. That's about one full season of your favorite TV show per month. By purchasing DVDs as our pocket book allows we save money, and we can watch our favorite shows when we want, not when they happen to be on.
We also suggest DVDs of our children's favorite shows as gifts for holidays. This saves us money as well.
Most of the DVDs have been ripped on to their computer and the DVD has been tucked away so that they do not become scratched or lossed over time. On a limited basis they can bring up any of their DVDs on their PC by simply clicking through a few menus. So instead of watching whatever SpongeBob episode happens to be on, at whatever time Nickelodeon happens to decide to air it, we have four full seasons of SpongeBob available to us whenever is convenient for us.

Parenting

I have been wanting to blog about my ideas about good parenting techniques, but have never gotten around to it. Now that both my brother and sister are going to have children (with separate partners mind you) I feel compelled to finally get around to it.
I have always been hesitant about giving out parenting advice. It seems that whenever someone is going to have their first child every parent feels compelled to tell them what they think about parenting. I figure that they will find out when the baby comes what a big change it is, and as that child grows they should be able to figure most of it out. Certainly what information I may offer now will not be remembered by the time it may actually be useful, assuming it actually is useful.
So the main purpose of this blog is to just flesh out for the record my thoughts and opinions on parenting, for whatever they are worth.
My first piece of advice to any prospective parent is to take a look at what their parents did. Think about the things that they did right and the things they did wrong. It is natural for a new parent to do exactly what their parents did, even if they don't realize they are doing it. It is important to only repeat the good things they did and learn from their mistakes.
Take this new roll of parenting more seriously than anything you have ever done before. As a parent you have the full ability to ruin your child's self image for the rest of their life, or to set them on track to live a happy and successful life. Children put a lot of emotional stake in who their parents are and what their parents think of them. Even as adults many people still put a lot of stake in their image of their parents.
As a parent remember to be interesting and fun. Don't be that parent that takes their child to work, comes home, makes dinner, cleans, watches TV and then goes to bed. I mean, many nights that will be necessary, but you should show to your child that you are an exciting person.
Go out and do things with your child. Go camping or fishing. Visit cool places like national parks or a local place of interest. If you ever learned to play an instrument get some sheet music for kids songs so that you can play them their favorite songs while everyone sings along. Whatever it is you do, make sure it is interesting. Children need to understand life can be fun, and the world we live in is awesome. There is a world out their beyond the social awkwardness that is grade school.
At the playground don't just let your kid loose. Get on your hands and knees and play with your children. Climb up the slide with them, go down the fire pole. Ran around and scream while you chase them. It is good exercise, it develops a strong bond with your child, and it reminds you that you are still young (assuming you aren't becoming a parent in your 40s.)
Being a parent is tough work filled with lots of stress. Take every opportunity to have fun while you can. It is a lot harder than it may sound, but it is also very rewarding.