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Sometimes Ya Gotta Do Stupid Things For Your Kids

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Sometime all it takes is a hint of a laugh to break a child from the midst of tantrum-hood.

Knowing what you, as a parent–and tantrum-breaker–can do to get that laugh is going to change from instant-to-instant. Hurting yourself is one way to get a laugh. I’ve gone to that well far too many times to count. Sometimes it takes singing out-of-tune (as if I can sing any other way). Or, telling a joke.

But, there are times, like in the above video, where you just do something completely stupid and it works like gangbusters. To set the scene: We were on our way home on Monday night and Sophia was clearly tired and wanted her cup of PediaSure, which she has every night at bed time. Well, we didn’t have any with us. And we had a solid 30 minutes until we’d be home. The whining started. It got worse. And it got louder. So, in that instant I blurted out that I wanted my milk, in the highest, most baby-like voice I could muster. And, what do you know? It worked. To the point that she clamored for me to repeat it ad nauseam.

I had no idea I could make that voice. Believe me, I’ve done a million voices in my lifetime and THAT was never one of them. I’m glad Sarah was riding next to me to capture it–without me even knowing she was recording it. Seriously, sometimes it just takes you doing the most stupid thing you can think of to snap your kid from sure tantrum into laughter.

What are some of the stupid things you’ve done to snap your kid from falling into a tantrum? If there’s video, share it! Let me know in the comments, on Facebook, or Twitter!

Saying Goodbye: A Eulogy For My Movember Mustache

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I can hear Boys II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye” playing in my head. A single tear slides down my cheek as I do one final pass with the razor. As quickly as you appeared, you are gone. And I miss you, dear friend.

On Monday, it was your time to go. It was your turn to be laid to rest. You were with me through good times and bad. Through thick and thin. Be it rain, or wind, or snow, you were there. Clutching my face, holding me tight, and keeping my upper lip warm.

I only knew you for a short time–but it felt like we had been together forever. You started out frail and thin–barely a whisker to be found. But you grew. OH DID YOU GROW. Some mocked you and called you names. Names like ugly, gross, disgusting, and creepy. But I know you are so much more than that.

Even though Sarah says she is glad to have her husband’s face back, you will be missed, you will be loved, and you will be remembered. I will hold a place for you in my heart always. You will always be MY Movember mustache–and nothing anyone says can ever take that away from us.

Rest easy, old friend, for we shall meet again another day.

staches

Our Little Linus — Maddie Needs That Blankie

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Kids have a certain need to feel comfortable. At all times. Hell, even as adults, we have our own needs to feel comfortable. I know I do. Having something that can make you feel reassured whenever possible is a must for many people. For many adults, that item is oftentimes their smartphone. But, that isn’t what I’m gonna talk about. For lots of kids, through the ages, there is that one thing they just can’t let go of–the blankie.

Linus courtesy peanuts.wikia.com

Linus courtesy peanuts.wikia.com

Sophia never really had something that she would always need to have with her. Unless you count the pacifier. If you do, then she had that–for a long time. But, Maddie is different. Siblings can be different, did you know that, guys? It’s true. Maddie has recently taken to toting one of two blankies around with her, as often as possible. One if blue and one is brown. Aside from color, they’re virtually identical. Each has an animal head pillow, which I guess makes it more comforting–since she just plops that bad boy down and lays down in the middle of the floor all.the.time.

I’ll be honest, I love that she has found something that makes her happy, that makes her feel comfortable, that makes her feel a sense of security. Do I KNOW for a fact that’s how she feels? Of course not, she’s one, and can’t talk yet. But, I can sense it. She reminds me a lot of Linus from the Peanuts comic strips. Heck, she even looks like him half the time when she pulls the blue blankie around, as you can see in the picture above.

I honestly don’t remember if I had something that made me feel secure when I was a kid. There are two stuffed animals that I have a vivid memory of from my childhood–one a penguin, which I named after the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. The other was a tiny stuffed clown with shoe laces to tie, a zipper on its hat, and buttons on its vest. His name was Buddy Buttons. I still own him. Sophia would sleep with him for a while, until the zipper snapped off and a jagged edge was left on his hat. As for his name, my cousins renamed him “Pee Pee Clown” when I was young. Why? They said I tossed him in my kiddie pool and proceeded to pee on him. Did it actually happen? I hope not. But, they claim it did, even all these years later.

Back to my main points. Knowing that your children have something they can hold tight–and hold dear–that makes them feel just a little more secure is a wonderful thing. Now, if Maddie is still clinging to that blankie when she hits her 20’s, well then that may be a different issue entirely!

What about you and your kids? Did you or they have something that makes them feel more secure? Let me know in the comments, on Facebook, or Twitter.  

Fall Fun: Orchards, Pumpkins, Apple Slingshots, and Corn Mazes

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IMG_5602Fall–when the air starts to turn crisp, sweater weather officially arrives, and everything pumpkin spiced invades EVERYTHING. It’s also the perfect time to take your kids out to local orchards and take in all the fun that comes along with them. Pick out a pumpkin or 12? Check. Saunter/get lost in a corn maze? Check and check. Use an apple slingshot? You know it. Let the kids run all their energy out on a huge playground? Absolutely. Hay rides? Check, please. Pony rides? Not this year, but we could have. Consume awesome food made at said orchard? OH YOU KNOW WE DID THAT. Apple cider for the win, my friends. FOR.THE.WIN.

This year we took trips to different places over two weekends. First, we hit up Oregon Dairy in Lancaster County. Our plan was to do the corn maze, but we didn’t have a chance to. So, we ate at their restaurant and the food was fresh and awesome! And, we let Sophia and Maddie pick out some pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. Later that night, Sophia begged to go to a pumpkin patch again. That trend repeated for about 56 consecutive days, roughly.

IMG_5603And then, this past weekend, we went to one of our favorite local orchards, Linvilla Orchards. It’s a blast–and packed with people–every time we’ve gone. Last year, we did apple picking for the first time, and it was fun and tasty, of course. Not only did we bring home some awesome apples, but we picked some peppers and tomatoes, to boot.

http://instagram.com/p/uYhIeCJsnq/?modal=true

IMG_5599This year, we did as much as we could handle. The corn maze was huge. To be totally honest, I’ve never been in a corn maze before–so this was a first for me. And it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Why? Oh, come on, you know I got lost! This was a pure free-for-all-find-your-way-we-will-give-you-no-help-type of corn maze. It made it more interesting, to say the least. Especially once Sophia decided she was the line leader and that she would lead us out. Did she walk out first? Yes…

Before we hit the corn maze, though, we launched some apples as far as the eye could see. Apple slingshots are AWESOME. Seriously. Stuffing an apple in a slingshot and just letting that puppy fly as far as possible is really fun. I had no idea it would be as fun as it was. Linvilla really does offer so much to do with your family. If we wanted to make it through everything and really give each thing the time it deserves, we’d have to go for two days straight. Two full days.

IMG_5607The last thing we did was let the girls pick out some pumpkins. We chose the smaller-sized pumpkins, because we just don’t have the room for GIANT pumpkins. We took so many pictures while we were there, that I could have done an entire post of nothing but photos and videos.

IMG_5611Sarah and I talk a lot about family traditions and what things we want to make traditions with our family. Both our families growing up had a lot of traditions, and we don’t just want to pass on those ones–we want to create some of our own. If going to orchards and pumpkin patches and dairy farms every October is one we can turn into an every year thing, then I am all for that. I’ll admit, I don’t always do well in crowds, they drive me insane. But, I’m realizing that for my kids to get the chance to really see all there is out in the world and to experience a lot of the same fun things I experienced as a kid–then I have to suck it up and deal with crowds. And that’s just what I’m going to do. Just don’t expect to ever see me out on Black Friday. I’m not that crazy!

IMG_5598If you really want to have a blast doing Fall-type activities, I highly suggest you check out both Oregon Dairy in Lancaster and Linvilla Orchards in Media. And no, they didn’t ask me to write about them or pay me to write about them. We just loved our experience there so much that it felt like it needed to be said. One thing I want to do in the future is a night hay ride, which they also offer for groups. Hay rides are awesome, so why not do it at night?!

Next up is Halloween and that’s going to be a whole other story!

What activities do you do with your family and kids in the Fall? What have your experiences been like, good and bad? Share in the comments below, on Facebook, and Twitter!

 

Tyrant – Living Under the Reign of a Toddler

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Tyrant4

She’s turning three, the terrible twos are over, we thought. The threes are worse, they said. We didn’t believe them. Perhaps, we were mistaken… Sophia is as sharp as a tack. She’s far smarter than I thought she would be as a three-year old. She’s more advanced than I thought she would be at this point. It amazes me every day. You know what doesn’t amaze me? Living under the tyrannical reign of a toddler. Continue reading →

Wedding Season: Kids Edition

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Ahhh weddings. A beautiful occasion filled with love and fun. We’ve had our fair-share of weddings recently. First, my sister got married back in April. Then in back-to-back weeks, we had weddings for friends and then family. The one common theme that tied them all together? They were all kid-friendly. And our kids were with us!

I’m gonna be honest with you, attending weddings with a 3- and 1-year old is such an insanely different experience than going to one without your kids.

http://instagram.com/p/s5Wxy6lKIh/?modal=true

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Discipline, Kids, and You: My Reaction to the Adrian Peterson Story

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APUnless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard, seen, or talked about the Adrian Peterson story. How he used a switch–a tree branch with no leaves–to give his 4-year old son a “whooping”. Why did his toddler son deserve to get beaten, bruised, cut, and scarred with a branch? He pushed one of Peterson’s other children. He was indicted in Texas by a grand jury on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child.

You are also probably aware that the Minnesota Vikings deactivated Peterson from Sunday’s game against the Patriots. And then on Monday, decided it was the right thing to do to activate him again, stating ” they will let the legal process play out before deciding on further action.” Continue reading →

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The Parenting How-Tos You Never Thought You’d Need – Episode 1: The Great Crib Escape

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Note: This post originally appeared on PoppinBottlesDadCast.com

We’ve talked about it for a while and teased you enough. Without further ado, we reveal the debut of The Parenting How-Tos You Never Thought You’d Need. Episode one features Nick getting in–and out–of the crib.

If you’ve ever had a screaming baby that you just couldn’t soothe, this is for you. We at the Poppin’ Bottles Dad-Cast take you through a step-by-step on sleeping–and escaping from–your child’s crib. The Great Crib Escape, ladies and gentlemen.

If you liked that, subscribe to the YouTube channel for more in the future! Go like the podcast on Facebook and follow on Twitter

Siblings Teach Your Kids the Best Things…

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Having siblings is awesome. Growing up with a brother and two sisters, we always managed to have fun, drive each other crazy, drive our parents crazy, and get in plenty of trouble. Now that we’re all grown-up? The hijinx don’t stop–especially when we get together for an extended period of time. Now, I don’t mean we just bust each others balls, crack jokes, pull pranks, or hide mannequin heads in creepy places–although, yes that ALL happens. Every time. What I’m talking about is all the super-cool-awesome-amazing-hilarious things they teach my kids. And by super-cool-awesome-amazing-hilarious, I, of course, mean all the things that I’ll have to un-teach them, or pray they don’t get in trouble for at daycare.

While learning how to whistle a technical foul, and pretty much every other foul or penalty or card in other sports was hilarious–and thoroghly enjoyed by all of us–there were many other things taught to Sophia. Maddie? She’s only one, they have time to get to her. Continue reading →

My Kid Said What?!

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my kid said whatI wish I had a video camera recording at all times when Sophia speaks. Seriously, the girl says some of the most out of this world things. I’d also like to have a camera trained on mine and Sarah’s faces when we hear the things she says. Half amusement, half confusion, half concentration. One too many halves? Three halves make a whole, right? No? Oh well. I’ve written and “illustrated” some of the gems Sophia has come up with before, but there are far too many other times that I haven’t written down the stuff she says. Continue reading →