Midnight Wind Detector

My 2nd daughter’s car alarm went off twice in the night and told the whole neighborhood that it was really windy outside.

Learning the left hand from the right

My 11 year old son finally has a reason for doing so – it’s a board game named Robo Rally.  It’s a lot of fun, but if you don’t get this part right, your robot drives off the map and in to the abyss.

I’ve yet to beat him at the game, though.  Which is really embarrassing since I’m the profession programmer.

You know you need to be on a diet when…

Your 4 year old draws a picture of your family, and you’re the round circle on the side with a tiny head.

The benefit of having a little brother…

My 18 year old son took his 2 year old brother to High School with him the other day – to test his cognitive abilities as part of his Psych class.  The little brother spent the rest of the afternoon going to classes with his big brother, being cute, etc.

Afterwards, the 18 year old confided in me that his little brother was a “living pick-up line!”.  A cute little brother attracts more girls than a puppy!

One more – and we’ll be Aces!

I wonder what it would look like to have 5 moles painted on the side of my big van?

(reference)

Thriving

My 2 and 4 year old boys went to the Doc today for their annual check-ups.  They both gained almost 20% in weight and they each grew 5.5 inches taller in the last 12 months.  The 2 year old jumped from the 30 percentile to the 75 percentile for his age.  The 4 year old from 50 to 65 percentile.

Glad to know the grocery bill is doing something!  And, we didn’t break anything at the doctor’s office either! 

Mole Whackin Team

My 11 year old son and I have the system down.  I create the flood and he runs the whacker.

We’ve gotten three in the past week already.  Spot em digging, flood em with the hose, whack em with the shovel when they come out, and bury em - but don’t simply bury em – cuz if they ever “come to” again – burying a mole is like throwing Br’er rabbit in the briar patch.

Rabbits in the Carrot Patch

My 14 year old daughter, who fancies herself as rather “rabbitine”, planted a garden of carrots in the back yard, and surrounded the patch neatly with yarn strung from stick to stick. 

A few days later, the carrots started to show, and then a few days after that – they had been eaten away – by none other than the real rabbits who live in our neighborhood.  I’m told that the violating rabbit’s name is “Carl-Marvin”.

I find the whole affair sweetly, strangely and tragically ironic.

Howie and the Cedar Chips

I purchased a hamster for my 14 year old daughter – I couldn’t resist – the eyes.  Anyway, I told her that they smell nice like cedar chips at first – because that’s what’s in the cage, but after awhile, there are other things in the cage too – and the smell changes.

Well, she fell in love with him at first sight – I told you it was the eyes - and she named him “Howie”.  And, a few days later, she admitted that what I said about the cedar chips was true too, and that Howie wasn’t so “sweet smelling” anymore.

It’s a good thing that Howie is only a stuffed hamster!

A Strong Man

It takes a strong man to admit that he has soft hands.

Well, ok, a secure one.