I went to college, read the NY Times, and have a world view. Am I "elitist"?

SFGate columnist posted a humorous"checklist" yesterday on the signs to check to determine if one is "elitist" or not (Are you an elitist? - 18 revealing ways to know for sure). I never really paid much attention to the word "elite" up until this election cycle, because the word used to conjure up someone who thinks they're better than others, mainly by virtue of having an education and knowing a thing or two about the world. In the hands of the Republicans and right-wing talk show hosts who use the word "elitist" to describe liberals or those who are out of touch with the folks out in middle America, make those who are associated with the word to be one step short of being communists, invaders, or anyone else who isn't "one of us". What's up with that?

Suddenly, having an education, being well read, or asking the presidential candidates tough questions are areas that are suddenly taboo and off limits; anyone who does must be "elitist, out of touch with average peoples' concerns, or unpatriotic. I'm really bothered by all of this because the consequences of being uneducated and misinformed have dire consequences for the future of our country. In an age of globalism that requires us to compete with the rest of the world and an ever increasing need for scientific and technical education all around at home, to "dumb down" the public by attacking people who are educated is quite simply vulgar and disgusting.

In the race for the White House, I expect and demand that the brightest and smartest person be elected to occupy that position in Washington. I certainly hope that the person who does get the job is humble and understands the people who elected him or her, but I also expect that person to be super smart and wise. Calling that person "elitist" is disingenuous, because it degrades the qualifications needed to run the most powerful country on Earth. Call me elitist if you will, but I'll take being smart and ever questioning any day.

Summer is almost over **sigh**

School's just started for me, and I'm having a hard time getting into gear with things. I know it's just the last vestiges of summer that are still hanging on, but that should change after Labor Day on Monday. School starts for my son next week, which I know my wife is looking forward to, but it'll somehow be bittersweet when that happens, because that officially seals it - summer is over! School work begins in earnest, the air gets crisper, leaves begin to fall, and the long trudge towards next spring. I enjoy the promise of the colder months, and being able to sleep at night with the window open at night, but as soon as it gets cold again, I'll bemoan the fact that summer was too short. Anyway, with a few more days until the semi-official end (Labor Day) of summer, we should all enjoy the coming days before the year's school and work routines get into high gear.

I've been on vacation...the blog will resume shortly.

I've been away from writing on the blog for a couple of weeks now, but I've been thinking about it. I'm going to resume shortly, but I'm probably going to change the angle of the blog a bit, and make it less about kids and family. I guess I'm going to open up the blog a bit. I'll see though. Please stay tuned!

...Oh brother, they named their kid what?!?-Part 4

Things just keep getting better (or going south, depending on how you look at it) with the kooky kids names. Here's a link to some wonderful examples of bad kids names. Dow Jones? That kid can absolutely not fail in his life! He'll have to be a stockbroker no matter what!

Watching me, watching you - Google Analytics makes it possible

As I reach the 2 month point of having this blog, it got me to wondering how many people have actually viewed this blog and from where. About a month ago, I signed up with Google Analytics which allows anyone with a website or blog to view the amount, frequency, and location of where traffic to a site is coming from. I mainly did it to see if any readers would come by and visit my blog. While there haven't been thousands of visits over the past month, it turned out to be almost a couple hundred. Ultimately this blog has been for myself and noting things that I've found interesting concerning my kids and whatever else has been on my mind.

The scary, but also neat aspect of this too,l is the ability to see where readers are from - right down to their town, analyze how long they visit, and see if any of them are repeat visitors. The kind of scary-neat thing about this is that I can see on which days my blog garnered more interest, and therefore determine the most popular blog entries. Based on ratings, I could then take that data and create entries that grab the most attention. Although this might seem kind of cool, wouldn't this pinpointing of information and catering new blog entries to the user interest specifically, potentially quash other blog entries that I might actually want to write about, only because I want to satisfy what the public wants? I'm sure if I entered some lewd, profane words in my blog and threw in some dirty pictures, interest would go way up and that might draw attention to me. Is that what any one really wants?

The Google Analytic tool is cool to have in place, but I won't let that determine where my blog goes or what it is I say in my blog. Perseverance in this thing will pay off for someone in the end. But remember, I have the power to watch you, and I see if you're really looking at my blog, so you better pay attention! ;-)

Click here to see the report on my blog from the past month: Click here!

Viva la Piscina! The summer would be unbearable without a pool to go to.

Before moving into our first home 5 years ago, the concept of an organized subdivision was something that seemed very conservative and restricting as a homeowner. Confronted with the reality that moving into a house in the South required mandatory membership into the community "Homeowners' Association" or HOA, and with that, yearly membership dues, I wondered if it made more sense to buy an unincorporated home in a neighborhood without dues and HOA restrictions. We ultimately settled on a community that is quite organized and has a wonderful pool and recreation area. At $400 per year, the dues aren't too bad, considering the amenities that are included with our home.

Since having children, the pool amenity of our community has been wonderful. We used to not frequent it as often when we were child-less, but with kids, it makes for a day of "sun and fun" and it wears the kids out quickly. Plus, it's a great meeting place for other families with kids to meet up and catch up on all things parenting and kids. There are only about 3 weeks left to this year's pool season, and so it will be something that we'll miss. Even though we gripe and grumble whenever our community HOA dues are up each year, we need to realize how good things are when pool season starts and how much use we get out of it.

Never leave home! The World just got a whole lot smaller.

With the new "Street View" feature on GoogleMaps, you never have to leave the comfort of your home to see the world up-close. Watch the vlog for more:

Tony Whaley talks about Google "Street View"

...Oh brother, they named their kid what?!?-Part 3

This story popped up on Yahoo! and everywhere else today. It'll definitely go in the "Odd News" file. I think it's a fitting story to go into my goofy name series. "Talula Does The Hula" - Need I say more?

"Let's go to the library!"....The what?

The other day while out running errands with my son, I thought of something that he and I could do to pass the time and keep him busy. We were driving in our downtown, and I thought, "Hmm...we haven't been to the library in a while.", so after the errands were done, we drove over to the library. I've been to the library with my son a couple of times over the past year, but driving in to the parking lot and seeing my son react to the news that we were going to the library, really got him excited and interested in going. Getting out of the car upon arrival, he was full of energy and pulling at me to move faster. Once we got in there, he seemed to know which section to go to and what books he wanted to have a look at. We ended up staying for about a 1/2 hour, and I ended up checking out 5 books for him.

While I'm happy that he's happy about going to the library, the act of going to the library, checking the books out, and reading them over and over at home gives me a bit of pause about this resource. I'm glad that my 3 year old son is enthusiastic about about getting books and having them read to him, but I wonder in this day and age, what with the Internet and countless other diversions, how many kids still go to the library, or for that matter, care to actually read anymore. Although my son watches his share of TV each day, there are times in the day where he's content to simply have a book read to him. If reading a book is enlightening to him (which it is) and makes him happy (which it does), the chore of going to the library is worth everything. With the temptation of fancy and cool gizmos all around, electronic and online virtual games, HD TVs, and of course the Internet, I hope the simple act of going to the library, picking out a book, and holding it in hand and reading it continues. I'm afraid though that it's a tradition which will die out eventually because of overall lack of interest.

"I'm going to do my blog entry", says my 3 year old

This is going to be real quick, but my 3 year old son is really into "pretend play" right now. His main thing right now is playing "Chef Pisghetti", the chef from the Curious George cartoons on PBS. He loves playing Chef Pisghetti from the show, and imagines himself making all sorts of dishes and then serving them to us.

This morning though, while my wife and I were eating breakfast and he was playing away, my son came up to me and said, "Daddy, I'm going to write my blog entry now." Blog entry? From a 3 year old? O.k., there's a ton of stuff that he says which he picks up from my wife and I, but to say that he's going to write a blog entry blew us away!

If the question of whether blogs are a fad, I'd have to say that if a 3 year old mentions blogs, I think the future of blogs is pretty safe.

At home on a "staycation"

I've been home all week on a "staycation" - a vacation week off from work, but with the emphasis on staying home during the time off. Ok, there was a brief 4 day getaway that began last week and carried on into the weekend, but as far as traveling indulgences go, that was about it for this week and the rest of the year for that matter. I'm using the week to take care of chores around the house, end of semester school work, and of course, taking a load off of my wife's shoulders in watching the kids during the day. Before gas prices went crazy and the U.S. Dollar lost most of its value against world currencies, my thoughts about vacation were always focused on "the next vacation", as in, "Where are we going next?" With belt-tightening the focus of most American families nowadays, the "staycation" is the place to be when it comes to thinking about "Where are we going next?"

Being home, which is seemingly hum-drum and routine simply because it's home, has it's appeal. There are plenty of things to do around the house, toys for my son to play with, things for dad to fix, a community pool to frequent, and a familiar bed and pillow that await at night. It may not be some far off locale, with exotic food to eat, but it is home. Even though the "staycation' may be the vacation spot of choice this year for our family (and many other families I'm sure), I can always dream of the far and distant locations that would be fun to travel to and visit someday. After all, the places I'd like to visit someday aren't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon, so staying at home on a "staycation" isn't so bad, and I can dream of where we'll be going someday.

Obama bumper sticker or not - it's tough in a "red" state

A fellow Grad school classmate and blogger commented on my post about Obama coming to my town last week for a "town hall" meeting, and echoed his enthusiasm about feeling comfortable about finally being able to come out of the woods in terms of supporting a Democrat candidate and not feeling weird about it. His comments prompted me to think about my own optimism for this year's election, with that optimism tempered by a slight feeling of trepidation about openly supporting Barack Obama for President. I'd like to place an "Obama '08" sticker on my beat-up Honda Civic, but I'm a bit fearful of what would happen to me or my car if I went ahead and affixed the sticker as I'd like to.

You see, I live in a very "red" part of suburban Atlanta, Georgia, where "good ol' boys" and "W" stickers run rampant. I'm afraid of getting my car tires slashed, run off the road, or getting non-stop dirty looks as I drive around. Why should I feel this way though? It's not like Barack Obama or the Democrats are some fringe, weirdo party, or Communists (but judging by talk radio, Obama and the Democrats might as well be sporting scarlet letter "L's" on their shirts to alert others to their presence).

I know that I'll eventually put the sticker on my car, but after 8 years of being shoved into a corner and hearing that being a liberal or a progressive is bad, I'm really starting to feel like, "The last 8 years have been the worst for this country in its entire history!", and nothing could possibly be worse than what we've had. I guess it's going to take Democrats and progressive-minded individuals some time to get over the repressed feelings they've experienced over the past years. I'm gradually seeing more and more Obama stickers on cars in my area of town, so maybe my car will be the next one that sports one.

You will love "The Backyardigans"...you will love them.....

Part of watching a toddler grow up is a study in observing their TV viewing habits as they gradually get older. Initially, my son started out with the "Baby Einstein" series, then moved onto "Sesame Street", followed by a phase of a new show each week, until he settled on his latest and most favorite show, "The Backyardigans". He's been watching "The Backyardigans" for the better part of 9 months now, and there's no let up in his desire to watch more episodes. It's a fun show to watch, and the 5 characters in the show, Pablo, Tasha, Tyrone, Uniqua, and Austin, all meet up in the yard behind their houses, and proceed to go on adventures built on their imaginations. It's a really fun show to watch, and the songs the characters sing are very catchy and tied to some music genre in music history ("Rock", "Be-bop", "Salsa", "Cabaret", etc.). I catch myself singing the songs on my commute to work in the morning, or to myself while I'm at work.

The other day though, my son, along with some of his friends, watched a "blast from the past" - the old "Schoolhouse Rock!" series that's been re-issued on DVD. I have fond memories of this series when I watched it 30 years ago on ABC, either on Saturday mornings, or in the afternoons, combined with an "ABC Afterschool Special". Watching some of the clips in the corner of my eye as my son watched the DVD, I couldn't help but think about how the TV viewing and broadcasting times have changed. This was an instructional series, with episodes such as "Conjunction Junction", "I'm Just a Bill", or "Three is a Magic Number", and the whole idea that the ABC network would broadcast this show out of the goodness of its heart kind of baffles me now when I think of it. Sure, there is the occasional Public Service Announcement that comes on the air nowadays, but nothing like "Schoolhouse Rock!" It seems that now, everything is geared towards ratings and keeping the shifting attention spans of the little kiddos glued to TV sets. Some would probably wonder about "Schoolhouse Rock!" if it ever came on the air, and go "Huh?" I don't get it!"

At least with my kid's current show obsession of "The Backyardigans", there are no commercial interruptions of the show, even though it appears on a for-profit, cable channel. Plus, if my son ever wants to watch a show again, we tape everything around here, so even if there were commercials, he wouldn't have to sit through any of that useless garbage. So, I guess until he discovers the next show that interests him, it'll be "The Backyardigans" for a while longer around here. I'll just add this show to the memory of shows I use to watch as a kid.

Travelling with kids? Take lots of "stuff" with you.

There's a George Carlin skit that I remember as a kid that left an impression on me, and which sort of describes a trip from this past weekend as it pertains to taking a condensed version of our home with us for this trip.

George Carlin "Stuff" skit

I just got back from a weekend "getaway" to the north Georgia mountains with my family and two other families. We rented a mountain cabin for four days of relaxation and family time. While we all had a good time and relaxed as best we could with kids running around everywhere, the planning that goes into such a trip becomes a logistical nightmare and it's something that requires patience, checklists, and lots of second-guessing ("Did we remember to bring that ...(fill in the blank with whatever item)? or "Did you remember to turn off the ... (fill in with any kind of appliance)?).

The funny thing about going on a trip with kids is that you're packing things that allow the kids to have a sort of comfort level around them, which ends up resembling a smaller version of the things they have around them at home. Favorite plush toys, games, blankets, DVDs of shows, particular sippy cups and dining utensils - all these things and more, go into making a quick trip to the mountains an excursion that's worthy of having a brigade of Sherpas at our beck and call to make the trip happen. In our case, the Sherpas just so happen to be us, the parents. Man, kids don't realize how lucky they have it when it comes to going on trips and making sure that their "stuff" comes along!

Weekend Getaway to Blue Ridge, Georgia

Trying to get a picky eater to change

My wife and I joke that my son is on the "white food diet": Plain noodles, unseasoned rice, plain white bread, vanilla ice cream, and gallons of milk. It's frustrating to both of us, because despite our efforts at getting him to try new foods, he always falls back to his old "favorites". Even though I keep reassuring myself and my wife that this is only just a phase in the life of our 3 year old, I think to myself, "Man, he's missing out on a lot of good and diverse foods!", and my worry is that he'll never develop a taste for exotic foods. Friends of ours with kids his own age are going through similar "food fights", but somehow I think that our son is a bit extreme in not wanting to eat new foods. O.k., I'm happy that my son has never had a Coca Cola or a soft drink in his life, that he's not really into candy or chocolate (although the few times he's had it, he's said, "I like it!"), and junk food in general says nothing to him. He loves water, plain noodles, whole milk, rice, and the most basic of pizza - cheese pizza.

Hopefully, when his baby sister comes of age and is able to eat on her own, she'll show more of an interest in varied foods, and show her older brother that new foods are o.k. to try. If he doesn't like them after at least trying them, he can opt out of trying them. Baby sister's got a way to go with eating exotic and more adult fare, so the wait will continue until our toddler eats something new.

...Oh brother, they named their kid what?!?-Part 2

"Your son's name is Hayden? My son's name is Kayden!" - an exchange that was overheard between two moms at the community pool the other day.

I won't go into explicit detail about why I find the above two names annoying, they just are to me. Something about them just doesn't sound real or grounded in family history. Kayden??? Huh???

Tonight I read two blurbs on the subject of bad names, and felt compelled to write something about it and carry on with my previous rant on kids' names.

From the SFGate.com newspaper website, there was a write up in the "Daily Dish" section of the site, that dishes out gossip and stories about celebrities. One item was on Chris Martin, the lead singer of the band "Coldplay", and the reasoning behind the naming of his two kids, Apple and Moses. Ok, the names are bit a quirky and New Age-y, and they really seem to annoy me because I'm thinking, "What were Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin thinking when they named their kids that? They seem to be smart people!" I guess it's because they can, just like every parent can, when it comes to naming kids. As far as Chris Martin goes, he doesn't see any fuss in any of it, and according to him, his kids' names might as well be "noise", as in "Hey 'Noise'", because to him a name is just a noise that one speaks. Huh? For more on Chris Martin, read here: "Chris Martin Defends 'Unusual' Baby Names".

In another article from "Parents" magazine, there was a whole advice-type article titled "What Your Doctor, Babysitter, Preschool Teacher (And All The Other Pros In Your Life) Really Want You To Know." Under "The Parenting Expert", their advice to the question of what rule no parent should violate, it's bad kids names. The expert says:

"Don't give your child an annoying name. Especially, do not name your kid after a character in a movie. Nobody wants to end up being named Morpheus because his dad was really into 'The Matrix'. That's just plain idiotic." - P. 96, Parents Magazine, July 2008

Ha! I felt somewhat vindicated in reading that tonight. I usually don't get upset about most things, but as I stated in my earlier post about kids names, bad kids names are simply my pet peeve.

Barack comes to my town tomorrow!!! Whoo Hoo!!!

When I opened my e-mail on this past Saturday, I received an e-mail from the Obama campaign announcing that Barack would be holding a town hall meeting at the local high school here in Powder Springs. I closed the e-mail upon glancing at it, and did a classic double-take, when I realized, "Barack is coming to my little town in Georgia!" Now, I know Powder Springs was probably chosen because it's within an extremely Republican leaning county in Georgia, Cobb, but also close to Atlanta, where he and his campaign can quickly get in an out of (he's in Atlanta tonight for a fundraiser dinner) but also make his pitch in a normally conservative area.

As soon as I found out about the event and saw that tickets were free for the town hall event, my heart sank with the feeling of ,"Oh, the tickets are already gone". And gone they were. I'm happy about that, because it re-affirms my belief that a huge groundswell of support exists for the Democrats in this state, it's just that we've been relegated into hiding over the past 8 years. It's good to see Barack coming into a hornet's nest and challenging the status quo.

On my way to work tomorrow morning, there's a part of me that wants to play hookie and go on over and at least stand outside amongst the thousands to be a part of what I think will be history this November. I probably won't go, but I'm at least a bit warm and fuzzy inside knowing that there's a movement for change out there, and it's happening in my "red" backyard.

Waste Not, Want Not

To my three year old son, fine dining means peanut butter sandwiches (no crust), rotini noodles (hold the sauce) and as much milk as he can drink (slightly warmed in the microwave). Some goldfish crackers as an appetizer and a few M&Ms as a dessert round out the meal for him.

For the sake of the other patrons as well as our own sanity, my wife and I have pretty much put "fine dining" on hold for the next couple of years, at least when we are accompanied by our children. Then we discovered the all-you-can-eat (or, politically more correct, all-you-care-to-eat) pizza buffet. Not only is it incredibly affordable for adults, children up to 3 years old eat for free. Since our son added cheese pizza to his diet, we have frequented the local establishment on an almost weekly basis.

We would like to take the opportunity to teach our kids that even when you are confronted with 17 different types of pizza as well as a selection of pastas and a salad bar, you should carefully consider how much you will actually be able to eat before you heap food on your plate. Each time we walk in there, we are saddened by the abandoned tables with piles of plates with food on them or, in one case, a huge pile of left-over pizza crusts. In this day and age of tight budgets, and high gasoline and food prices, isn't it important that we all do our part to be more mindful of waste? When did it become acceptable to just throw away food like that?

I am sure the restaurant still makes a profit; after all, they wouldn't be in business otherwise. It would just be nice if people could set a better example for their (and our!) children, and improve their own health in the process.

Turning three isn’t what it used to be…

Right now, it is summer break for my three year old son – no preschool mornings, twice a week, to give my wife a break. If all goes well (i.e. if we manage to get him potty-trained by September), he will go back to school in the Fall.

When he started school last September, his social life really started to take off. His calendar began to look like that of a presidential candidate, with appearances somewhere else every morning. Preschool. Music classes. Playgroups. My wife morphed from a stay-at-home mom into chauffeur-around mom, busy with shuttling the offspring to carefully scheduled gatherings of the toddler set.

Hand in hand with this development comes the addition of new friends. Basically overnight, at least 9 more kids (his preschool buddies-to-be) turn into instant future birthday party guests. Birthday parties in the digital age are very different from the birthday parties I attended in the late 60s and early 70s. The invitation arrives via email as an “evite” with cute graphics and instant RSVP options. And this is only the beginning. Around the third birthday, the pressure starts to build. What to do? Spring $250 to rent the jumpy place (bring your own pizza, cake, napkins, cups and drinks)? A clown, a pony? How about Build-A-Bear, at $25 a guest, unless you want the bear to go naked? And the goodie bags! When did that start? Granted, I am ancient, but I do not remember a single birthday party I attended in any way other than I had fun. We would go to the friend's house, have cake and soda, play games where you could win small prizes and go home after two hours or so. That's it. No princess/pirates themes, no pressure. There is even a website that deals with out-of-control birthday parties - www.birthdayswithoutpressure.org.

While we managed to celebrate our son's birthday with pizza and cake at a park, he has attended three or four parties organized at jumpy places or gymnastics facilities, where the staff will even take notes during the unwrapping of the presents so that the birthday kid has an easier time with the now mandatory thank you notes. God forbid you forget to send out a thank you note…

Most of the time, I end up being the party escort to give my wife a break on Saturdays when these events are usually scheduled. So look for me there, trying to keep my son from tumbling off the balance beam, making small talk with other dads and secretly wishing I was home taking a nap.

The newspaper stopped

No Sunday paper today. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. Hmmmphhh.........

The newspaper keeps coming

I looked out the front window and sure enough, a newspaper got delivered. It's been at least 8 months since our subscription officially ran out, and initially our paper kept being delivered each day up until the end of May, but for the past 4 weeks (except for one Sunday) we've regularly gotten the Saturday and Sunday papers. I'm happy to get the paper, and if paper delivery does stop completely, we'll sign up for weekend delivery. I'm sure that my household's story of renewing only when it's absolutely necessary and seeing if the paper will arrive tomorrow is happening to others as well. For now, I'll just let it run its course, but I wonder how long the newspaper can keep this up. The newspaper must be hurting badly if it continues to deliver, and they must be hoping that we'll eventually renew.

Mom's night out... (Dad's logistical nightmare...)

Tonight my wife, Sabine, had her first night off with some of her girlfriends in over 6 months without any children (a 3 year and 5 month old). I'm happy for her, although I was kind of fearing what my evening would be like. I was sort of quiet and to myself when she left, but I suppose I was just mentally preparing my strategy for evening (when one is crying, and I have to feed the other dinner, which one do I tend to first?).

The evening went smoother than I had expected, and I was even able to go outside with both of them tonight for about a 1/2 hour. My daughter was attached to me in the Baby Bjorn, and my son "mowed the lawn" a few dozen times with his toy mower while I watched. Later, I got my son to bed on time, and my daughter finally went down around 10pm tonight, after her bottle and countless times of walking around the living room with her in my arms to get her to sleep.

I think what tonight made me realize is: how do single parents handle kids day in and day out without going absolutely crazy?!? I know that my wife has enough to deal with during the day when I'm at work and is exhausted when I get home, but at least I come home, and we can then share the burden of looking after both of the kids. O.k., tonight was only 5 hours out of my busy life (there are dishes to wash, things to catch up on, and I've got a class paper to write for school tomorrow!), but the 5 hours without my wife around helping, made me wonder how any single parent manages it alone with kids.

Where's this generation's "Dead Kennedys" band?

My wife and I got our son to sleep at 9:15 tonight, I emptied the diswasher, and went for a 1/2 hour power-walk through the neighborhood to unwind from the day. I had my iPod in hand, put it into "shuffle" mode, and the first song that popped up in the line-up was the Dead Kennedys' punk gem, "Too Drunk To F***". The Dead Kennedys and the song I just mentioned aren't what you think - a tasteless, crass band, with lewd and mindless lyrics - they were an innovative Punk band of the late 70's and 80's that sang songs filled with social commentary. I interpret "Too Drunk to F***" to be their parody of "good 'ol boys" or delinquents who have to be plastered to have a good time. The DK's most notable song from the era was (my favorite!) "We've Got A Bigger Problem Now", which was a commentary on the politics and scandals of what now seems to have been a sane choice for president, Ronald Reagan.

The reason I write about the DK's is that I realized that on this evening in West Georgia, I was pumping myself up with the song as I walked through my suburban Atlanta neighborhood. The DK's were about questioning politics, power structures, and the social ills of society. I'm a middle-aged guy with a family and a mortgage, who still grooves to songs of protest from another era.

As I listened to the DK's while on my walk, I wondered, "Which bands are the voices of protest now?" I couldn't really name any off the top of my head. It might have been good to have had a band like the DK's to listen to over the past 8 years...

Bouncing off the walls (the ceilings, the floors...)

When the weekend rolls around, the inevitable question with kids comes up, "What are we going to do today?" Today, Saturday, is an overcast and somewhat rainy day, so the question of what to do becomes severely acute, since the options of what to do decreases. We could go to the mall, or to a kid friendly museum and walk around for a few hours, but these are options which seem to be more interesting to adults. There is an option that is more kid friendly and what I like to call a phenomenon, because of how these places have sprung up nearly everywhere: indoor jump zones (see links below).

Indoor jump zones are big halls filled with inflatable jump houses, obstacle courses, and giant slides that serve as areas where frazzled parents and their hyper kids can go to when going outside and playing in a playground becomes prohibitive. Going to one of these jumpy places is kind of like a "reverse insane asylum", where kids can wear themselves out and really bounce off the walls, while parents can sit on comfy couches and talk with other parents, surf the Internet with their laptops via free Wi-Fi access, or jump with their kids to wear off some energy.

In my area outside of Atlanta, it seems like jumps zones have sprung up everywhere like wild mushrooms, and I guess that says a lot about demand for this kind of activity. During the summer, with kids out of school, these jump zones have really become a destination for parents trying to find ways to keep their kids busy.

It must really be a sign of the times we live in that we'd have to go somewhere to jump around and have fun, but the lure of these places is that they cater both to the parents and their children. My kids are still a ways away from being outside by themselves and playing, so indoor jump zones are a really great way to blow off some steam, escape the house from ensuing cabin fever, and help frazzled parents answer the "What are we going to do today?" question.

Some "indoor jumpy zones" in metro Atlanta:

Kangazoom

Pump It Up

Gorga Monkeys

Jump 4 Joeys

Monkey Joe's

“Hey, can you help me with … (insert description of computer problem here)”

I regularly get asked technical questions, usually computer related, whether amongst friends or by my family. I’ve become the “go-to-guy” when it comes to answering things about hard drives, how much RAM a computer should have, or if a particular brand of video camera is a good buy. I don’t mind the questions so much, but what does annoy me (slightly) is the time that answering such questions takes. Every time I think there’s a short answer to something, explaining the gizmo, what kind of alternatives there are to the gizmo, and how the gizmo works, the better part of an hour usually passes. After an exhausting day at work or a busy weekend day with the kids, sometimes the last thing I want to do is be the guy answering the “tech hot line”.

My dad in particular takes up a lot of my time in answering computer questions, but I realize that his is a generation where computers haven’t really been part of daily life. On the other hand, my two young children will not know a world without computers and modern technology, and I guess it’s fair to say, they’ll know this stuff like riding a bicycle.

I guess being the tech go-to-guy amongst friends and family should be cherished, with the realization that if I ever become unemployed, I’d at least have something to fall back on. Although I may come home tired and or I’m busy with my kids when I’m home, I’m usually more than happy to help my friends and family out with their problems. I know that my wife isn’t too happy with me manning the computer hot line, but the inner geek in me sometimes can’t resist.

Everyday is "Father's Day"

Yesterday was Father's Day, the day that dads are supposedly allowed a day of rest, are given an obligatory necktie present or bottle of "Old Spice" aftershave, and are given free reign over the TV remote to watch whatever their heart pleases. Yeah, right....

First of all, I personally don't put much weight in "celebrating" Father's Day, since everyday around the family and kids is a "Father's Day". Sure, it's nice to have the acknowledgment of my family that day, but why even bother celebrating one day, when being around the wife and kids, and helping out should be the true meaning of what it means for it to be Father's Day? Working dads may have it tough, what with work during the week, and it's understandable that dad wants some quiet time to himself, but the heavy-lifting that's carried out at home is really the honor that needs bestowing on the wives and partners who look after the kids. I'm o.k. with celebrating Mother's Day and giving mom and the wife the praise they deserve for making it all work.

This past weekend was pretty tough for my wife and I in trying to deal with an attention-starved 3 year old boy, who thinks we give too much of our attention to our 5 month old daughter. I realize that being home in the evenings and on the weekend is a relief to my wife who needs a break from a constantly dependent baby girl and an over-hyper son who jumps all over us for our time every waking moment. The way I see it, "Father's Day" - being there when I can for the family, allowing my wife rest when I'm home, and playing with the kids - is everyday.

Tony W.

...Oh brother, they named their kid what?!?-Part I

As a parent, I have a pet peeve with kids' names. I'd say that when it comes to names, I'm a bit of a traditionalist.

The other day at the park, I heard a mom call out to her kid whose name happened to be "Wrigley". Wrigley?? Can you imagine, "Come here 'chewing gum', come here!" What kind of name is that? I know that I'm probably going to get a lot of flak for this, but I have a pent-up frustration with the names I hear when I'm out and about. I think to myself, "What poor kids!"

I've found a few sites that already do the work of humorously examining and critiquing bad names.

"The Bad Baby Names Blog"

"Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing"

I suppose my awareness of bad kids names became heightened when I lived in Germany, where it's against the law to name your kid whatever you want. If the name you choose isn't on a list of nationally recognized names, then you don't get to name your child that name. Sweden also had similar restrictions in place, but a court struck down the law prohibiting parents from naming kids "Lego", "Metallica", and "Ikea". "Elvis" was on the list too, but this one is o.k. I guess (click here for the article).

One of my wife's aunts once said, "Every parent has the right to mess up their kids however they want"; while each parent does their best at raising their own kids, with the usual struggles and milestones that make parents proud, naming your kid is for life, and I think parents really need to think this one through.

Go outside and play!

The following video clip is a cautionary tale about watching too much user-generated video content on the Internet with a child.

(*** WARNING - there's one humorous clip which I've removed profanity from; don't worry, it's harmless to watch, and my son never saw the clip beyond the first few seconds ***)

Links to video clips used:

Monster Truck Madness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XRntxoykZM

Mah Na Mah Na:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwSFSkJvwZ4

R-Rated Bert and Ernie (excerpt from the movie "Casino", feat. Joe Pesci & Robert DeNiro):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NShgvtEro7I

Parenting in the 21st Century...

Welcome to my first blog entry; I hope to use this space to comment and post observations about what it's like to be a parent in the 21st Century. I'm a product of last century parenting, and saying "last century" is appropriate I think, because come to think of it, however our parent(s) raised us, that time was "Leave It To Beaver", compared to today's "Matrix"-like world. Things are really much more complicated nowadays, compared to the pace of growing up 30 years ago. I guess it's always relative though, with every generation commenting on how things were "back then".

Anyway, with that said, I hope to highlight issues that new parents face and share my observations of the busy life of a parent at the beginning of the 21st century.

-Tony