Tag Archives: fatherhood

Hot Days Are Coming (A to Z Challenge)

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Activities, Blogging, Busy Dad, Challenge, Dad, Family, Kids, Parenting

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Tooting Bec Lido, in South London from www.wikipedia.org

 

I’m talking about the hot days of summer and the fun kid activities during those days. My kid’s are tired and done with snow and is starting to ask about going to the parks and playing outside. They are also asking about one of their favorite activities dealing with water and it is not fishing.

I hear every other day the same question over and over again. My youngest daughter comes up to me and says, “Can we go swimming today?” As the rest of them follow her into the room my wife and I are in. I see now that they are sending the youngest one in to ask the question they all want to know. How clever they are.

My kids have been around water since they were babies. It is an activity my wife and I love doing with the kids. I benefit of doing this activity is that all four kids will be to bed and asleep early on the days they swim.

So we try to go every time we can to our local swimming pool. Our local swimming pool has a diving board and several slides for all ages as well as a play area for the younger kids close to the zero entry point of the pool. We always have a blast going to the pool.

On the days it is too cool to swim, we tend on going to the parks around town so that they can play on the park equipment. This year this might be a little different since so bad things have happened with some of the equipment at parks in a town nearby. But that is for a different time and different post.

I hope that it doesn’t get to hot this summer. Last time it gotten in the 100 degree range we didn’t go outside as much since to was extremely too hot. Time will only tell.

So what are your favorite family activities during the summertime or is your family more of a wintertime family? What memories do you have during those family times do you remember? Please feel free to leave your answers in the comment section of this post.

Thank you for taking time to read my posts and leave comments. I was also thinking about starting a podcast but I’m still not sure about it yet. I’ll have a poll up later about that topic your you to answer.

 

H

 

Games You Play With Your Kids (A to Z Challenge)

08 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Activities, Advice, Blogging, Busy Dad, Challenge, Dad, Family, Kids, Parenting

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Pawns from a game from www.wikipedia.org

 

Today is kind of an extension from yesterday’s post “Having a Fun Day With the Kids”.  Some of the fun days we have are playing all kinds of different games from card games to board games.

My younger kids like playing matching games and a couple different board games we have including some Disney game with have.  I can’t remember the name of it right now.  They also have “Hungry, Hungry Hippos” as well as “Connect Four” and “Go Fish”.  Both games I remember playing when I was a kid.  At least “Connect Four” I do remember.

My older son likes to play the same games as the younger ones as well as others.  His favorites are “Battleship” and “Monopoly: Tournament Edition”.  He is quiet good at both games or I’m getting worst at playing them (Insert your old age joke here).  At least he has his name on the trophy from the Monopoly game for the last 5 or 6 games we played.  He also is willing to learn and try learning card games like “Cribbage”.

But the best things about playing these types of games is the interaction that I have with my kids and having them smile and laugh when they are beating me at the games.  There have been several times that tears have been shed at the end or during games in my house.  But I address them when they come.

Since my kids are getting older and starting to play with the Nintendo DS’s, Tablets, and Laptops We own, we are seeing these types of games getting less frequency then they have been in the past.  This is the hard part of being a parent.

So now it’s your turn.  Do you have some type of game night or any certain games you play with your kids?  Do you have any memories of games or game nights with your kids that stick out to you?  I know I have a few and if I list them all, then this post would be 2,000 to 3,000 or more words and I want to keep the posts short like the rules state.  Leave your comments below.

 

G

 

It’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Day in My House (A To Z Challenge)

03 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by in Activities, Blogging, Busy Dad, Challenge, Dad, Family, Kids, Parenting

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choc-chip-cookies

 

Today my oldest son (T) turns eleven years-old today. He is growing up so fast that in a few years he will be in high school and then college. So to honor his birthday today I baked chocolate chip cookies so he can take them to school and the cake part of a jello cake. My wife did the jello part of the jello cake.

 

I know you are thinking that I have 4 kids so that should be normal thing in my house. But it is not a normal think in my house. We try to keep healthier type of snacks in our house like peanut butter and cheese crackers.

 

So this is a big deal in my home and the kids are very excited about it and the chance to have pizza again this week. My family could eat pizza everyday of the week. But this is for another post at a later time.

 

I’m used to making cookies and cakes from a pre-mixed bag. The kind that only needs the liquids and an egg added to it. But last night I made them from scratch. I also realized how hard it is to make cookies from scratch compared to the pre-mixed bags. I also thought how many birthdays I could do this before he leaves my house for a place of his own.

 

So making them from scratch is well worth the hard work since he will only be eleven only once. Especially when I can control how much chocolate chips can go into them. Did I ever mention how much my family and I love chocolate.

 

I could go on with this topic in more detail, but I’m writing this for the A to Z Challenge and will stay close to their rules on how much words are in a single post. This is an awesome challenge by the way.

 

Have you ever done something hard that you found out the value is well worth it? This could be baking something, building something, or even doing something in your life. Please share your experiences in the comments below.

 

C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bedtime Rituals (A To Z Challenge)

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Activities, Busy Dad, Challenge, Dad, Family, Kids, Parenting

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Today’s letter is B and so I’ll talk about Bedtime Rituals for my kids.

The bedtime ritual at my house is pretty straight forward and boring at some times. But seeing the smiles on my children’s faces is well worth the time and energy to do it. The only time we don’t follow the ritual is if we are traveling or staying the night other than our home.

So here is our normal bedtime ritual. Each night starts with a bedtime snack. This can be as simple as peanut butter and crackers to even ice cream sometimes. As long as they think it is special you can give them any type of food you want.

Then my kids will pick out certain books (One book per kid) they would want me to read to them. I’ll start with the boys books first and finish reading to the girls. The books don’t have to be long novels type, but short simple ones like “Why Are You So Grumpy About” by Tom Lichtenheld. Longer ones I tend to break down into chapters per night. Even sometimes my kids would want me to read a story out of their kids bibles. The fact you are reading to them is the main thing they remember.

Then I will tuck the younger ones in and let them read for a little bit longer by themselves or have them listen to a CD like Frozen. Which my girls almost know every song by word and sound now. The boys favorite right now is “Everything is Awesome” from the “Lego’s Movie”.

Then I’ll check back later to remove books and shut off the radios and lights in their rooms.

Since I told you what the bedtime ritual is like at my home, what are the ones you do in your home? Are you a parent that has a ritual you follow or one that fly by the seat of your pants? I would like to here other bedtime rituals from other parents. Just leave a brief comment explaining it or even a link if you have written about it on your own blog.

B