Bang a Drum

Circle of Cars

Tastes like chicken - Posted by Lisa

As Christopher lay in bed last night, delaying sleep at all costs trying to fall asleep, I could see from his darkened profile that he was apparently ‘digging for gold.’

Me: Christopher, don’t pick your nose. Do you need a kleenex?
Christopher: No, but…I got some chicken in there.

Mmmmm, McNuggets anyone?

Bad Hair Day? - Posted by Chris

Nope, not me!

Official Bear Pic - Ian - 9 Months Old - Posted by Chris

One might think that we take perfect Bear Pics on the first try. This is far from from case. If you'd like to see a "Bear Pic - Behind the scenes" click here.

Catching Bugs - In January - Posted by Chris

I'm sure there are many places in the world that you can catch bugs in January however Michigan isn't one of them.

Our "baby" starts school tomorrow! - Posted by Lisa

Well, not school really...

Tomorrow morning, Christopher starts in the child care program at the local elementary school (where he'll go to kindergarten in '09). He'll be going approx 8-4:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays. (sob!)

I've been wanting to get him in this program for the longest time, but he had to be 2.5 and potty trained. So that turned out to be the big motivator for learning to use the potty. At the beginning he'd ask "I go to school?" every time he took a pee! Chris and I decided that once Christopher held up his end of the bargain, we certainly couldn't let him down.

I have to admit that I'm a little emotional and nervous tonight about it. I'm scared that he'll be really homesick and won't want to go back. I'm even scared he won't eat anything substantial from the lunch I packed him! I was planning on starting him with just half days, but the teacher recommended diving right in with the full day. I hope that's the right thing to do!

So I've got his lunch packed, clothes laid out, his pillow, blanket, change of clothes (in case of an accident), and outerwear all ready to go (as well as Ian's since he'll be along for the drive over). I just need to finish up his paperwork (almost done), and get myself showered tonight so we can all be ready to go in the morning.

Any last minute bits of advice?

Flight Lessons - Posted by Chris

First official movie release from Pricekids Studios

The Negotiator - Posted by Chris

A common discussion in our household.

Lisa: "Christopher, what do you want for lunch?"
Christopher: "Hmmm, how 'bout oatmeal?"
Lisa: "How 'bout pizza, or spaghetti, or mac and cheese?"
Christopher: "How 'bout oatmeal?"

What a Smile! - Posted by Chris

Kids say the darnest things - Posted by Chris

Here are a few gems from our household...
"Don't be mad Mom, be happy."

"Mom, you the best girl I have!"

As Christopher and I descend the stairs after bath time, "Hi Mom, Hi Enon (Ian), this is my daddy".

Point to Ian and saying; “Look a baby” as if he hasn’t seen him almost every day for the past seven months.

“I popped a poop”

Ian's Official Seven Month Bear Pic - Posted by Chris

Cookies: Lessons Learned - Posted by Chris

Tonight, Christopher and I worked on a project that I've been planning for some time now. We baked chocolate chip cookies (from scratch)! The cookies came out delicious and the activity was a great opportunity for Christopher and I to share some one-on-one time.

Here are a few of the lessons I learned.

Be Prepared

When working on a project as easy as baking cookies, its easy to fall into old habits. I'm sure most good cooks will recommend getting all your ingredients ready before you start, however I tend to get things out as I need them. This method works when your baking by yourself or with another adult, however with a toddler its difficult to keep him on track and scramble for eggs, flour and butter.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

This title should be the mantra for all parents with small children. Being a engineer by trade, its difficult for me to overlook some of the seemingly unimportant details of a project. During our cookie baking, Christopher was determined to spill as much of the flour as possible. After a few minutes I managed to get my brain under control and decided that an eighth of a cup of missing flour wouldn't ruin the cookies

Give Yourself Plenty of Time

When we started our project I figured an hour was plenty of time to mix and bake a least one sheet of chocolate chip cookies (we had to try some before bedtime). In the end we did have enough time however we bumped into bedtime a little bit. While I believe this activity was worth a later bedtime, its now an hour past Christopher's regular bedtime and he is still not asleep.

Don't Forget to Have Fun

Our cookie baking project was lots of fun and I'm looking forward to planning something similar as the holiday season nears (maybe gingerbread men!) As parents we often forget that activities that we view as work can be great fun for our children. Christopher loves to help out around the house and having him help with baking cookies was fun for both of us.

Just when you thought Halloween was over... - Posted by Chris

Happy Halloween - Posted by Chris

Click here for more Halloween Pictures

Very Cute - Posted by Chris

Last night at bedtime:

Christopher: "Hey Mommy, you a girl right?"
Lisa: "Yep"
Christopher: "You beautiful"
Lisa (tearfully): "Thank you, kiddo"

Birthdays are Bad - Posted by Chris

The following conversation occurred at our house this weekend:

Christopher: "Birthdays are bad."
Lisa: "Birthdays aren't bad, they're good. On your birthday you get to open presents, eat cake and ice cream and sometimes play games."
Christopher: "Oh"

A few moments later...
Christopher: "Hey Daddy, birthdays are good!"

There's no crying in baseball! - Posted by Chris

Besides the Tigers won tonight!

I'm a Hammer! - Posted by Chris

Tonight, as is the case every night, we headed upstairs for our nightly bedtime ritual. After brushing teeth and changing into warmer 'jammies', Christopher asked, "Where's Turner and Pat the Hammer?".

If you haven't seen Disney's Handy Manny then you are probably not familiar with these two characters from the show. Pat is a lovable but not too bright hammer (pictured) and Turner is a rather grumpy screwdriver. Christopher has a toy plastic hammer and screwdriver that he religiously takes to bed with him and which are now named appropriately Turner and Pat the Hammer. After quickly finding Turner in Christopher's bed, I began the search for Pat while Lisa tried to get Christopher to focus on stories.

I looked in Christopher's bed, closet, dresser, our room, Ian's room, downstairs (twice) and both upstairs bathrooms with no luck. I began to get desperate as it became evident that Christopher was not going to go to bed without Pat. "I need Pat the Hammer" he said tearfully. Finally after searching high and low, I decided to check Christopher's bed one last time. This time I removed everything and sure enough Pat was there, hidden under Lightning McQueen (yet another incarnation brought to us via Disney).

With stories finished and Pat and Turner in hand, Christopher crawled into bed (after I convinced him that there weren't any scary noises in his room). Christopher, Pat and Turner are now sound asleep.

Sweet Potatoes are Yummy! - Posted by Chris

Ian's Official Five Month Bear Pic - Posted by Chris

We thought this one was too cute not to share also