Catchphrase

"Shane, do you like crackers?"

"OH, YEAH!"

Shane's response took me completely by surprise. I let out a long, belly laugh. "That was funny, Shane!"

The next thing I know, it's my son's new catchphrase. He says "Oh, yeah!" instead of "yes" now.

Ryan and Kim Again

Carrie's cousin, Kim, and her fiance, Ryan, visited us again last Sunday. We all played Parcheesi until Shane awoke from his nap. I hopped up to get the boy, and Carrie quickly cleared all my pieces off the table!

After Shane was awake, we all ended up talking and playing in Shane's room. Shane, as usual, was a total ham with an audience.

What I didn't expect was Ryan got hyped up and played his heart out with Shane, too! I went into Daddy rest-mode to save some energy for after he left! (NOTE: It took a while to upload and edit, and it's about 11 PM so I didn't break this video down into slips. It's long, so if there was one to skip: this is it.)

At one point, I said "Someone's going to be tired and sleep well tonight....and Shane will, too!"

Shane scared Carrie at one point by walking over her head and jumping onto the bed! The nervous mommy smile cracks me up.

Kim hung back at first (camera shy!), but Shane wasn't about to let part of his new fan club sit out. He ran over to her and had her hide "in a cave" with him.

Ryan took the opportunity to launch stuffed animals.

It was a fun day. Ryan's definitely a "kid person" and Shane ate up the attention and churned it into high-grade toddler energy.

Say "Goodbye Viewing Audience, Shane!"

The Store Forest

Carrie, Shane, and I made a family trip to Home Depot tonight. We did a little research on replacing the banister that fell and did a lot of running around. 

Shane discovered the garden section and Carrie taught him a new game. 

Isn't my wife awesome? I don't think our trips to Home Depot will ever be the same. Shane's going to demand to hide in the trees and say "Tell Mommy come get me!" until he's ten. He does not show nearly the same amount of interest when I run around. Mommy has the magic and Shane is spellbound when she plays with him.

There was a weird lighting effect on my phone, but I took some stills, as well.

Happy Birthday, Love!

August 29th - Carrie's Birthday and Judgement Day.

Happy birthday, Love!

No machines rose to up to ruin the day, and Carrie and I got to spend some quality time together. The day went by so quickly. It felt like we watched a movie, ate lunch, and then it was time to pick up Shane from daycare.

Time flies when you're having fun with the one you love.

I managed to wash all the sheets today, too. Do you think that counts as a gift?

A New School Year

Oh, if I haven't mentioned it: I'm back at work full-time. The first few days are half awesome catching up with old friends and half boring sitting through meetings and checking off bureaucratic tasks that need to be done. It averages out to "I'm glad to be back at work again" and "I'm optimistic about the year" without accomplishing much. Tomorrow is department meetings, but mine department will finish around noon to allow people to set up classrooms.

Shane started going to daycare full time as of Monday. He seems pretty happy with it. He's not fighting it in the mornings, and I heard him say "Goodbye!" to some teachers by name. Huzzah! The only downside is the extra $$$ it costs to have him there five days a week.

Depending on what happens with Carrie's job, we may not need to continue. To make a long story short, my wife is hoping to move to a part-time position within the organization. She's more than a little overqualified for the position she applied for and it hasn't gone unnoticed (she's gotten a lot of compliments and "why did you settle for this?" type of remarks). If things work out, she'll be able to transfer to a part-time evening position three times a week that would allow her to be at home with Shane, learn something new and set herself up for advancement whenever Shane goes to kindergarten.

Super quick update accomplished. I'm staying up too late and I need to switch my hours over faster!

BTW

By the way, if it sounds like any of my potty-training stories are complaining: they're not.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them poop.

I actually find most of the stories pretty hilarious.

It would be nice to quit shelling out for diapers, but it's not going to happen until it happens. I keep trying, because I feel like I have to make a successful potty trip available to Shane to qualify as a decent dad. Plus, I don't want to deal with diaper rash again. Shane may not remember how much it hurts, but I do.

Potty Training in a Nutshell

I talked to Nana on the phone today.

I had a story to tell.

Playgrounds!

Shane loves a good playground. There is no neighborhood playground for my development, but there are a ton in the community near by. 

Shane and I decided to go sample some of them. I've never seen any "playground police," and that probably wouldn't have stopped us anyway! It's a shame to let good playgrounds go unused.

The first playground was on the way to our grocery store. No kids, but a fun quick romp.

Playground stop number two was surrounded by townhomes. It was so new, that the swings were flat!

We had to run home for a moment, but playground number three had a roller Shane found fascinating.

After a while, Shane decided that he did NOT want to be on the same side of the fence as me. Shane would demand I stand outside the fence if he was in it. If I came into the playground, he would try to run out and away. There was a road nearby, so (of course) I wouldn't let him.

The boy is stubborn! Nana dubbed him "Mr. Independent." I was a little annoyed that my son didn't want me on the same mulch as him when I was taking him playground hopping, but the roller eventually mesmerized him and I snuck back in. How do you think I got pictures?

I was ready to pack Shane up when another family arrived.

At first, Shane bawled. It was his playground! He did not want anyone else there and he opened the gate and tried to do a high-drama run off into the sunset. I apologized, dragged him back and gave him a "quit it"/"nice boys share"/"I love it when you're friendly!" sort of talk.

We hung to the swings at first, but soon Shane decided the other kids were okay after all.

I'm a sucker for socializing my son, so Shane and I hung out for close to another half an hour. Once Shane started to play, I did my best to fade and let the kids be kids. It helped that the little girl was patient and used to playing with her 4 year-old brother.

The other mother didn't really respond to a few questions/statements I asked, so I parked over to the side. She spoke to her kids in an Asianic language, too. I think it was Mandarin. I recognize some Japanese, and it didn't have the 'sing-songiness' I associate with Korean, but she didn't speak long enough for me to really say anything for sure. Mainly, I was happy her kids were playing around and sometimes with mine!

Plus, I was in an extra good mood: Shane didn't crap himself on three different playgrounds! Maybe he only feels comfortable doing his #2 in plastic tunnels.

Goals Update

This post is more for me than anything. I teach kids to reflect on goals, so I try to practice what I preach.

Accountability time. How'd I do?

Games

Shane's getting to the age and ability level where he understands games. I took this short video while trying to teach him "Don't Touch the Floor."

He didn't get it, but he does love bridges.

There have been successes. Carrie taught Shane how to play "I Spy" on Monday...and he's good at it! Georgeanne was impressed when saw Shane on Friday.

Shane's a bright kid. I know I'm probably biased, but he keeps impressing me with his sponge-like memory. He asked me to read "Goodnight, Moon" on Wednesday. I was too slow for him, and he started to "read" to me. Shane's memorized most of the book. I haven't read it to him in over a couple of months either! He probably used the pictures to figure out a lot of what he didn't know, but that's impressive, too!

Water Fountain Fun

Nana had the brilliant idea of meeting me halfway out to pick up Shane. There was an interactive water exhibit full of kids that Shane was playing with when I arrived! He had a blast!

I stayed with him for half an hour after Nana left. Shane ran and ran and ran! He jumped; he clapped! He was in little boy water heaven. 

Shane acted like I was a stranger trying to kidnap him when I decided it was getting close to nap time.

He's So EASY!

Every babysitter tells me, "[Shane] is so easy!"

I love hearing people love on my child, but another part of me thinks "if only you knew!"

Shane views me as the authority figure in the house, and he doesn't like it. Sometimes, you can see the gears working in his head. I'll tell him "No hit kitty." He'll look at me, raise a hand, and slowlllly creep towards the cat. It's his way of asking "Where's the line? Is it here?" He'll push a little farther. "What about here?"

I try not to get sucked in to more battles than I should, but when Shane tries to stomp on a cat or put a chair on a table so he can jam a stick into the ceiling fan I don't feel like I have a choice. I'll let him fall off a couch or poke a finger on a thorn outside. I will move the end table with corners away from the couch, and I will make sure Shane doesn't run into the thorns at a sprint, but natural consequences are better teachers than I.

Then there's the "Who's the boss?" game. Shane asks me for something (like milk). I get it and then Shane throws a fit saying "He doesn't want it!" He'll cry, run out of the room, and he's recently said "You no love me!" He's smart enough to be manipulative - that's a blessing and a curse. He's not shy about communicating, either. Yesterday, I asked "Do you want to go to Home Depot?" He replied. "NO! I want to go Home Depot with Mommy!" He was pissed when I told him Mommy was at work.

This morning there was a 20 minute on and off scene when I brought Shane's cup out without a top. I've put a top on his cup only a few times in the past couple of weeks, but he was extra offended today. He wanted a top. He needed a top!. Tears gushed. "Daddy go away! I sad! I crying!" He ran out of the room, banged on a table in the sunroom, and demanded juice. "I no like warm milk! I no want warm milk!" he shouted. I said, "You asked for milk. Daddy made you milk" and did my best to ignore.

Eventually Shane settled down, snuggled in next to me and drank his milk. "I like warm milk!" he said. ::Sarcasm:: Gee, I never knew ::/sarcasm::. It's all in a day's parenting.

Another classic example is when I offered Shane whipped cream from a milkshake at Chic-Fil-A a couple of weeks ago. He dropped to the ground yelling "I don't want it! I don't like it!"

He demanded I buy something else. Of course, I said, "No."

He cried, so I picked him up off the floor and took him to a table. I kept a calm voice and asked again "Do you want some ice cream, please? It's yummy!"

Shane said "NO! I no like whip cream!" and whipped his head back and forth. He struggled to hop up and run away.

A man who looked like he enjoyed his Chic-Fil-A was trying not to laugh. I smiled, shrugged, and put a dab of whip cream on my finger. I tapped it on Shane's lips and you know what happened next? He opened his mouth as wide as he could and looked at me. He just sat there calmly with an open mouth.

The man lost it. He started cracking up and apologized (I don't blame him - I thought it was funny enough to share online!). I gave Shane a scoop of whipped cream and he opened up for more. Shane smiled, looked at me and said "I like whip cream! Ahhhh!"

I love my son, but sometimes Shane wears me out and frustrates me something fierce. I'm a patient man, so it rubs at me when I feel like I'm being impatient with my own son. Then I feel guilty, because he's my son! I should be extra patient with Shane! That leads to guilt, and guilt doesn't build an attitude called patience.

I'm sure Shane feels the same way about me. I must go from lovable and caring to frustratingly dense whenever I won't do whatever he wants : ).  Sometimes, we just need a break from each other.  He's so thrilled and excited by new things and new people that he becomes adorable. Whoever's watching him tells me how "easy" and "wonderful" my son is and I smile. He's certainly wonderful, but he isn't always easy!

Another playground, another diaper

Shane's streak continues. All throughout the neighborhood playgrounds, Chick-Fil-A, and now Burger King.

I tried to take Shane to two different model train stores on Monday, but both were closed (go figure).

I took Shane to Burger King to make amends and explore somewhere new.

Shane took off running when he saw a new play-place. He scrambled up squirrel-fast. He ran through the tunnels above me for maybe 2 or 3 minutes before he quieted down...

...and started grunting.

We all know what that means.

"Shane, are you pooping?" I already knew the answer.

"No." Shane lied.

I waited until the grunting stopped.

"I need to change your butt. Come down, please."

"No."

Shane pooped a couple of hours prior to us going out. He was taking antibiotics though, and those can cause diarrhea. Diarrhea makes for nasty diaper rash.

There were three options as I saw it:

1) Tell Shane to come down again

2) Crawl up after him.

3) Wait him out

I asked Shane to come down once or twice more, but I already knew that wasn't going to work. The boy is stubborn and he wants to be the boss. There was no emergency, so I didn't want to climb up myself, either. Those crawl places are hard plastic and not as comfy on adult knees.

I went with option number 3. Normally, I'd just kick up my feet and sit in a chair. Shane eventually comes down to check in. It can take him 10 to 15 minutes and diarrhea has cooked his butt in the past, so I didn't really want to wait that long. I figured that: A) Shane would eventually want to slide and B) if I positioned myself just right so he couldn't see me, Shane would probably come looking sooner.

I caught an ankle, before he got too far. Shane was very upset when I pulled him out, but our rule is "If you poop, no more playground." I had diapers in the car (what experienced Dad does not?), but I prefer to avoid public restrooms when home is less than 10 minutes away. I grabbed some chicken nuggets for Shane to eat and we pulled away.

I saved a buck on the chicken nuggets at Burger King, but it wasn't worth it overall. Chick-Fil-A has better nuggets and more kids running around.

Bottom line: Shane likes to poop on playgrounds.

Only Shane..

I cannot tell you why, but Shane loves pine cones for some reason. He's made us harvest everything in reach.

Reason I Know He's Mine Without a Paternity Test #2,312

Why sit and watch TV when you can make a bridge and watch TV?

Ahhhhh - Break Day!

Shane's at daycare. I have no more classes.

Today is going to be a day of rest.

I plan on catching up in my Bible reading, pay some bills, mow, work on the front plant bed, break down branches I cut last week, wash puked on clothes, fill out the writing sample for an interview tomorrow, and drink do a bit of cleaning around the garage.

And you know what? I do find it restful. These are all tasks that are secondary to taking care of Shane or my job, but I see them sitting around undone. It's nice to get a break from child-care and teaching, get out in the sun, and cross a bunch of random lines off my to-do list.

I may even take a nap after I mow and shower. Clean living with a clear conscience...

Saturday Grill-Fest

On Saturday, we walked across the street for dinner with our neighbors. They're the ones with the little boy close to Shane's age.

We've been getting to know them better since around May. Shane and I pop over for quick visits every week or two, and the boys splashed around at the pool once.

I met my best friend growing up when I was three. Shane's getting close to that age, and I would love for him to have a friend. Especially one like that. Plus, they're good people.

Saturday was a lot of fun. The boys played outside partly with each other, partly next to each other. Mike, Jessica, Carrie and I got to enjoy adult conversation. It's socialization at all levels, so I'm thrilled.

It's maybe a 10 second jog from their front door to ours, so we'll see where this goes. Mike and I talked about taking turns tag teaming yards, because we're both having trouble stopping weeds and watching a little boy simultaneously.

Here's a clip of Daniel and Shane swinging into action.

This is a clip from the boys playing out back at the BBQ. Later, Shane and Daniel got to try and climb into a hammock together. There were some pretty cute failures before I intervened.

There was a hand-me down small moon bounce, as well! I didn't get any video of the boys on that one, but Carrie snapped a quick pick of us trying to collapse all the air out!

Daniel ran up our driveway on Friday, as well. He and Mike had been on a walk when Daniel stopped and demanded to knock. The boys were laughing and playing upstairs for a while before it occurred to me to grab a camera. I missed most of the giggles, but I caught the tail end of it.

It's hard to parent and get good footage. The boys ended up running around chasing each other in a circle on the driveway afterwards. I think everyone would love for them to end up as buddies. They certainly are cute playing together!

Size Comparison

"Daddy has BIG BUTT!"

Shane's learning the difference between big and little. It can make for some awkward (yet innocent) comments.

"Shane has little nose. Daddy has BIG NOSE!"

It doesn't help that Shane tends to get very excited when he says 'big.'

It's funny when he does it to me, but Carrie's first reaction was priceless!

Daredevil Child

Have I mentioned that Shane tends to have more courage than is safe for most little boys? One of his favorite new games is to jump off of stuff.

Like his bed.

   Thankfully, my son is made of rubber.

Volvo

The older I get, the more I realize things never happen in isolation. There are always other 'plot lines' running.

Wednesday, I volunteered to take Shane to my parents house to make Carrie's morning a little easier. I dropped him off, and then scooted over to class. There was no reception, so I didn't get Carrie's message until an hour in.

The Volvo died.

Again.

It's happened at least five times now. A jump start fixed it, but no one can figure out what's causing the random dead car syndrome.

We took it to a dealership in Richmond on our way back from our Christmas Vacation and got lots of head scratching. We took it to a shop specializing in European cars up here and they didn't see anything wrong. We took it to ANOTHER dealership near Carrie's work and they proclaimed the batter to be old. Everything was covered under the warranty, thankfully. They swapped in the new battery, declared her "HEALED!" and we're back at square one again.

Carrie took the car in for more mechanic head-scratching. The error was coded "un-reproducible." There's probably a warning light or a sensor somewhere not turning off, a loose wire grounding itself somewhere, or some other seemingly minor issue that's causing the hiccup.

For now, the car works fine. I went outside and tried starting the car a couple of minutes ago to make sure there were no surprises in the morning.

It Broke

Carrie broke her foot again. Same one as last time.

Thursday night, Carrie said, "My foot hurts."

An hour or two later, "I think it's swelling."

The next morning, she got an x-ray and a surgical boot (in that order). Stress fracture. My wife is going to be stomping around with one black boot for the next couple of months.

It made for a hilarious trip to Harris Teeter, though!

I coaxed Carrie into sitting on Shane's favorite cart with him! Aren't they cute together?

I got a big kick out of carting Carrie and Shane around. The cart was so long I pretended it was a boat. I broke out all my nautical terms. "Full speed ahead!" "Bringing over to starboard!" "Dropping anchor in dairy!"

Carrie was a good sport with all the wisecracks. I think she was half-annoyed and half-amused by my laughing. I won't know for sure until I ask her to hop in again! I'm thinking it would be fun to pretend to be a race car....

Drop and Give Me a Change

I was on the phone with my grandma when Shane stopped playing, and plopped down in front of me.

"Change my butt here, Daddy."

How's that for a conversation stopper?

Shane's streak continues. Grandma McCrory and I laughed and then I took Shane home to do some duty.

Post-Daycare

After day-care on Tuesday, Shane and I went on a school bus hunt. It's wasn't far.

Literally, we walked down the parking lot. There were three mini white buses that Shane likes to say goodbye to.

Shane was ready to kick down doors to get a look inside, but everything was locked up tight. We drove across the street to the elementary school to look for the large, yellow variety, but none were to be found.

Shane did surprise me. Tuesday is Subway day. Shane asked for Panera instead. I figured he was messing with me. I must have asked him ten times on the ride over if he wanted Subway, but there was no dissuading him. It was our most expensive dinner out to date. The children's menu was a bit over priced, but I did notice bagels are cheap on Tuesdays. I love my bagels. I may steer Shane back, so I can grab a dozen.

Most Memorable Sermon (to me)

The newsfeed brought up a picture that triggered a memory today. I decided to share it.

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The most memorable sermon ever happened many years before I met my wife. I was in college and living at home.

My family liked to eat out together after church. My father was fed up with everyone always being late wherever we went. There were days he'd go out to the car, wait, and then come back in to herd.

This Sunday, Pop declared that anyone who was late to church would not get to go to lunch with the family.

This Sunday, Matt and I overslept.

The family van had already departed by the time Matt and I came tearing out. We skipped breakfast, hopped in my car, and raced to Christ Church. I barely stopped the car before Matt jumped out and started running. He was almost hit darting in front of a car. I saw, because I was running a few steps behind him (I had to finish parking the car, after all!).

Matt and I made it to the church doors on time, panting and hungry. Pastor Todd greeted us. He was something of a family favorite. He used to work with college kids, my sisters used to babysit for his kids, his littlest one started dropping F-bombs in front of the twins while they babysat once and they almost panicked until they figured out he was trying to say "fire truck," yadda yadda. 

Pastor Todd asked us "How are you today?"

Matt said, "Hungry."

I must have been busy catching my breath, because I don't even remember the exchange. Pastor Todd replied back and we hurried to find Dad so we could get credit for being on time.

Service began, and bellies rumbled. To make matters worse, there was a breakfast table set up on stage as some sort of prop. It was a reminder of a skipped breakfast for me.

When the music stopped and the teaching began, Pastor Todd walked in front of the congregation. He did a short introduction. The sermon was going to be on the Parable of the Great Banquet and Todd asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to sit at the breakfast table.

The gears in my head started turning.

Food.

Volunteering sounded like a good idea. I turned to Matt to tell him "Let's do this!"

Matt's hand was already up. He was already all in. 

My hand shot up next to his.

We were the only hands up (or at least the only hands way up and twitching that I could see) and Pastor Todd called us forward. He had us sit up at the table in front of a smorgasbord of pancakes, eggs, orange juice, and other breakfasty foods. 

The sermon rolled on and Matt looked at me.

"Let's eat everything," Matt said.

Once again, Matt beat me to the punch. He's always been an "all-in" guy when he's into anything (it's what makes him so fun).

I grabbed a biscuit and chowed down.

We devoured most of the food with gusto. I don't think Pastor Todd counted on two boys snatching rolls from each other and shoveling food like starving animals. The congregation must have laughed at our exuberance, but we were too busy chewing to notice or even hear.

At one point, Pastor Todd looked up and did a bit of acting. "Masters!" we looked up. Todd said something like "The guests aren't going to make it and all the food will go to waste!"

Our mouths were full. We couldn't have replied even if we had been told what to say.

I slapped my forehead in mock surprise, grabbed my cup and downed my OJ. Everyone laughed. I don't think I could have said anything more eloquent if I wanted to. Even Todd lost his pastor face and laughed.

By the time the sermon was done, Matt and I weren't worried about making it to lunch. We were full.

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Years later, I still remember the story. I think it's important to find a church that doesn't feel like a chore to go to every week. A church should be a place of joy, learning, fellowship, and accountability (that last bit may not sound fun, but it's still important). Carrie and I found that in our current church. We just had a guest speaker who had a very memorable sermon about showing the love of Jesus. He talked about how he met some men from Ghana by being friendly at a super market at 3 AM. They ended up going with his family to Disney land. 

The speaker went on to talk about how he thought Jesus must have been an incredibly dynamic person when he walked the earth. He wasn't some form of moral police (quote: "Put down the beer! You're driving the camel!"). He was someone who loved deeply and showed it in ways unheard of (like laying down his life for the sins of everyone). I figured I'd share the link: http://vimeo.com/72149289

It was one of those messages that spoke to me, because I want to be that loving and that lively and that all in. Believe it or not, I can be a bit of an introvert in that people tire me out. I enjoy conversation, but I don't normally go around with abandon looking for it, because I have to tame the ADHD and focus! Otherwise, I have a tendency to speak before I think and we all know how that can go.

So there you go. Two posts in one.

Comics!

I saw this and had to share: It's a glance at Calvin and Hobbes 26 years later. I read all of their books as a kid and I still love them today. I will probably eBay, garbage sale, library, or Amazon some of them again when Shane's old enough.

http://www.pantsareoverrated.com/archive/2011/05/10/hobbes-and-bacon/

I scanned through the webcomic that made this and they had a few others one. Their last post was in 2011, so I went ahead and downloaded the picture and posted it here. In case their site disappeared one day, I think this is a small bit of artwork that deserves to live a little longer!

Busy Monday

My goal was to take Shane all sorts of cool places this summer.

On Monday, I took him to the doctor's office. He's had a bad cough and congestion for almost two weeks now. Carrie and I didn't think it was anything serious, but we pay for insurance so why not?

We were there for over an hour to hear "It's a bad chest cold or allergies," and I had to pull out all my Daddy tricks to survive.

Like spinning rolley-chairs.

After we got home from the doctors, Georgeanne and Janis came by for Shane's IFSP meeting. It went on for over an hour. How's that for a pair of back to back exciting adventures for a little boy?

They Keep Multiplying...

The tank grew when I wasn't looking once, but this is ridiculous! Ha, ha!

A while back, Carrie noticed one of her fish was pregnant. To protect the babies, she upgraded. We now have an adult tank and a 'spawning' tank. 

Does the water level look a little low in the main tank? It's because of Min.

The filter is 'open-air.' Min noticed that the water tastes far better from the filter than from her water bowl. Between her and evaporation the water level has dropped considerably. I've noticed that the kitty water bowl is staying around the same level lately. I wonder if Max is sampling the fish water, too.

The baby fish are all growing up. They'll outgrow the tank soon. I've asked Carrie to make sushi, but the answer is "no" so far.

That's ok. I can wait until they're larger.

Zucchini Cobbler

Ever since we started out garden, Carrie has had me eating more veggies. I'm not a 100% past them not coming from a supermarket, but I trust my wife if she says they're good.

Then I eat whatever she makes.

It's partly a husbandly support thing (Carrie's trying to eat healthier) and it's partly a my wife's a great cook thing.

Two words: Zucchini Cobbler.

I performed an "I love you" bite the first time my wife made it (fully prepared to keep a straight face) and ended up eating most of it.

Even Shane likes it!

I'm not allowed to cook, but I wonder if Carrie is going to pass on her tricks to Shane.

Playtime(s) with at Nana and Pop's!

Shane loves playing at Nana and Pop's! I'm going to let my phone and the videos do the talking this time around (and I'm making a mental note: holding the phone sideways means black bars on the sides....bah).

Shane loves Jama's stair-chair, but it's not just him! Cole joins the fun later on in this compilation of staircase mayhem.

Pop woke up Patrick, but I think it's Patrick's fault for not sleeping through the horn.

Remember when I said Shane is a gross motor boy? Here's more proof!

UPDATE: I forgot to add this one! D'oh!

Cousin!

Shane got to spend some time with his cousin this week! Kathleen, Stu, and Cole stopped by Nana and Pop's on their move down to South Carolina. Stu's going to be a teacher down yonder.

I snapped some picks of Nana blowing bubbles while the boys played in the tub.

Hit It!

Shane was terrified the first time I showed him a hand dryer. He hid behind me and said "NO, DADDY NO! I NOT!"

Now, they're the highlight of any trip to a public restroom.

Summer Trip to Gpa and Gma's

Airplanes were the theme of this visit to Grandpa and Grandma's.

What Summer?

It's hard to believe that next school year's contract starts in a couple of weeks. This summer was a working summer. I spent the first week off of school doing all the chores and things that Carrie and I let slip in the May/June rush. Then, I started two online classes, spent 3 weeks teaching summer school, and after next week I will have spent 3.5 weeks in classes.

Time has been zipping by, but it's still a little bit like a vacation to me. There's no stress of grades, job security, SOLs, conflicts or drama in the classroom. Instead, it's personal work towards my own goals, and work and chores for my family.

I will have one week fully off before school starts again! I don't know if I'll spend it in one last mad rush to complete all of the landscaping or to try and do some other sort of project. I'd like to start the school year focused without a lot of side tasks mucking about.

Grandparents Are...

We are very fortunate to have grandparents in the area! I feel like I am always trying to take care of business (home, work, or Shane's!) and I have not gotten around to doing any of the 'field trips' I wanted to do this summer.

Thankfully, there are grandparents for that!

Shane spent the weekend visiting Grandma and Grandpa and now on Wednesday Nana, Pop, and Jama took him to ride the Metro around. I took him to Subway yesterday, but that wasn't quite the same thing.

A little boy needs his adventure quota filled! I'm grateful that Carrie and I have so much support with filling it!

Physical Edumacation

In some ways, Shane is the opposite of me as a toddler and more like the adult me. 

To me, there seem to be three main areas of toddler growth: social skills, gross motor skills, and fine motor skills. Most children have their preference and they tend to show the most growth in one area. 

Shane is a gross motor boy. 

I was a fine motor skills boy. I was the bottom of my class in kindergarten for gross motor skills! I could not walk across a 4x4 plank according to Nana.

Here, you have Shane cruising on concrete wheelstops in a parking lot.

Like all of my family, I eventually found my inner monkey. All of my brothers and sisters worked to terrify Nana by scaling trees, hopping on roofs, and dangling from heights.

Shane is doing it years before I figured it out.

By the way..

I flew a plane for the first (and probably) last time on Sunday. Are you surprised? I was surprised.

I Never Knew

As a kid, my brothers, sisters, and I all seemed like we were immune to poison ivy.

Well, except Matt.

Bottom line: I never learned any of the treatments other than "don't roll around in it." (After all, it was Matt's problem).

Now I'm older and quite susceptible. I got a patch on my calf a couple of weeks back and decided every vine along our fences had to go. They would have gone sooner if my brush killer spray had not broken the moment I tried to use it (cheap plastic - my grip isn't that massive!).

Thursday, I made good on my promise. I filled up a contractor bag full of vines and weeds, but some of the little stinks managed to tag me. I knew better than to itch, but a leaf must have nailed me in the crook of my elbow. That got smeared around nicely.

Before this sounds like a "woe is me" post, I discovered a poison ivy treatment.

I turn the hottest water I can bear on the rash.

It's borderline euphoric and completely counter-intuitive. I found myself thinking "this is probably so bad, but it feels so good!" so I checked the internet. Apparently, I re-discovered common knowledge. The hot water causes the itch to go into overdrive, the body/nerves/brain does something crazy, and then the itch is gone for the next chunk of time.

It sucks most of the time, but I never knew poison ivy could feel good. I'm tempted to go jam my arm under the kitchen faucet before bed to get my 'fix.'

I bring this up, because of Shane. I was trying to protect him from the ivy (parents do that), but in the end I proved where some of his behaviors come from. The therapists noted Shane was sensory seeking long ago, and it definitely comes from me. I always assumed my sensory seeking was more or less normal (and maybe it is for us ADHD types), but there have been a few times I've begun to think otherwise.

For example: One fine evening, Shane was playing peek-a-boo or some other game with his hands around his face with Carrie. He looked up and said "I see two Mommies!"

Carrie was startled.

I looked over and said, "Oh, he's pressing on his eyeball and it's giving him double vision. No poke eyes, Shane!"

Carrie looked at me funny.

"What, you never did that as a kid?" I said. "You do a gentle poke" which I did, "and now I see double."

Carrie kept looking at me funny.

There have been other times when I've noticed Shane getting excited by smelling different seasonings or playing with different textures. I wonder if he's going to keep pursuing sensory stimulation as he gets older (and I hope he stays away from drugs, alcohol an tobacco!). I also wonder if he's going to have my ADHD.

I've been meaning to write about what having ADHD is like for me, but I've yet to get around to it. Here's a quick sneak peek. Multiple sensory inputs (particularly tactile ones) can actually help focus me when I'm suffering from an acute outbreak of shiny-itis.

Several of my more observant students over the years have noticed I tend to play with my lanyard, stuff a pencil behind my ear, and pick up random objects to fiddle with while teaching. There have been many times I have accidentally walked off twirling a pencil that wasn't mine as a baffled student sat in my wake wondering where their writing utensil had disappeared to. I am fond of ripping off a piece of tape to play with while I work, as well. Sometimes, in the spirit of generosity and understanding, I'll hand out tape to some of my more scatter-brained kids for them to play with. Results are varied, but usually no one is hurt and my lesson moves on.

Many of my ADHD kids I work with get a kick out of knowing I have what they have. I'm just way better at maximizing the pros and hiding the cons.

Well, that turned out to be a much longer post than I expected. I meant to mention the ivy, transitioned to Shane (as any obnoxious parent can do), jumped to ADHD and now I'm breaking the fourth wall.

Rambling post is done and posted for now.

You Know...

You know you've watched too much Thomas & Friends when after your car is serviced you text your wife that it's "ready and raring to be really useful!"

Shane and Carrie Photo-Op

My wife and son are extremely photogenic together.

New Rule

If a certain wife texts a certain husband and says "Shane bit someone?" and that certain husband immediately fires back a request for clarification then the wife must respond in less than three hours.

Screen Captures and a Cameo

I turned on the motion controls and figured out how to take screen captures on my phone. It's relevant because I got a random text from my tutor family.

It would have been my rights to say "no" since Jarrod was teaching Shane how to say "Go Cowboys!"