Bedtime Stories
Mia has reached another milestone in her short life - the ability to listen to a longer book with chapters. About a year ago we tried to read Charlotte's Web one chapter a night and while she loved to read it every night she didn't always remember what had happened the previous night or seemed interested in seeing the story progress. More often than not she wanted to go back and re-read bits that we had already read.
So, while perusing the library a little over a week ago I found myself in the older children's section and noticed that the library had several books sitting on top of the shelf that were being featured for the week. One of the books was The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. I don't remember the first time I read this book but I loved it. I always had a fantasy about going out and living on my own, making cool and useful things out of common objects and who wouldn't want to build their own swimming pool?
I checked the book out and told Mia I had a special story to read her that night. We got home, Mia got ready for bed and we settled into our big comfy recliner and started the book. And from the first page she was enthralled. She was so interested to know where the children had come from, what was going to happen at the bakery, and why they didn't buy any donuts...
As we neared the end of the first chapter I was very curious to see her reaction when I stopped reading and it was exactly what I had hoped for. She was very disappointed that we had to be done for the night but she was excited that we would get to continue the story the next night. This also served for her as a very good motivator to get ready for bed quickly because we wouldn't read until everything was done.
Well, Mia loved the book and we ended up finishing it in about a week (Mickie read a couple chapters during the day when Mia couldn't wait to see what would happen next). So now I am really excited to be able to share some of my favorite stories with her - the only question is what story will be next? I'm thinking of Matilda by Roald Dahl but we'll have to see.
Putting Up the Pool
Summer time is here and it was time to put up the pool. My awesome bargain hunting wife upgraded our pool last fall to a 12' wide, 36" deep, 1800 gallon, container of joy. The pool's original price was over $100 and she got it for $15. Score! Unfortunately it was missing the pump and filter so the good deal has turned into a bit of a hassle but hopefully we'll get it resolved.Read more
See You In Chicago!
I'll be at WordCamp Chicago this weekend and would love to talk to you! If you have questions or suggestions about the plugins or site I would love to hear them!
If you see me, mention that you saw this post and I'll have a small token of my appreciation for you! An update is coming soon to the Custom Admin Branding Plugin. I've been waiting for WordPress 2.8 to come out before I release it but a few of the changes and fixes you can expect are:
- Your images won't be replaced anymore when you automatically update the plugin.
- There will be updated modification options for your admin headers.
- You'll be able to completely customize the login screen - e.g. if you don't like the rounded box you'll be able to do something different.
- And much more!
Fun Game for your NCAA Championship Party
Our youth group had our annual Final Four Frenzy activity this past Saturday. Most of the time the students really don't care about watching the games, its mostly just a time to hang our with their friends. But this year we introduced a new game that got everyone watching and totally into the game - even the girls.
Its called Scoreboard Bingo and this is how it works.Read more
For the Boys
Mia and I were watching Hannah Montana this morning and a commercial came on for a show on Disney's new network (XD) which is primarily aimed at boys.
Before the commercial was over Mia turned to me and said with disdain in her voice, "Dad, would you watch that movie?"
I said, "Sure."
"Well, I wouldn't."
"Why not?"
"Because its for boys." And she emphasized the word boys like the evil disgusting creatures we are.
Kudos to the Disney marketing group.
Valentines Day 2009
I love Valentines day and I really dislike Valentines day.
First, why do I dislike it? I really can't stand the fact that we (guys - and to some extent girls) are pressured into expressing some sort of mega-love and affection on one particular day. I always feel that if we don't do something spectacular or if I don't come up with the world's most creative date then somehow I have failed. I guess I also feel a little guilty because I know I should be expressing the mega kind of love on a regular basis.Read more
Night
I've always had an interest in Israel but mostly because of the Biblical significance and how it relates to my Christian faith. However in recent days I've been very intrigued by its history in the 20th and 21st century. I've been absolutely fascinated by the Jewish people and their struggle to exist as a people and as a nation.
I recently have been reading books and getting documentaries from Netflix about their war for independence and then the 6 day war. I guess what has fascinated me the most is how despised of a people they have been. A good portion of the world would like to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth completely. What I find interesting is that the world for the most part stands by and for the most part idly accepts those feelings.
I just finished reading Night by Ellie Wiesel which is a first hand account of someone who lived through the holocaust. I can't remember reading a book that was so chilling and numbing. Probably like much of the world thought at the time, my mind did not want to believe what I was reading. I had the benefit though of historical fact, other testimonies, and the privilege of walking through the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem to aid my understanding.
Reading that book has given me a deeper perspective on what it must mean to be a Jewish person. They fight against those memories every day. And each new day is a fight to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Date Night
A couple weeks ago me and one of my good friends were hanging out early in the morning during our weekly accountability session and we wanted an easy way to be able to date our wives. Its so important that you continue to date your wife after you're married but with kids and responsibilities it becomes almost impossible. So we committed to work it out. We got together with one more friend and formed a co-op of sorts to help each other out.
The way it works is that we schedule date nights for every other Friday and each couple rotates to watch the others kids. Since we have 3 couples in our rotation we get 2 dates in a row and then watch kids for one week. We each have 2 kids so the number of kids isn't a huge burden for one couple. In the future I could see adding more couples to the rotation but we would have to double up on the babysitters which could be fun as well.
Last night was the first one and was a lot of fun. We dropped the kids off around 6 and headed to Okoboji Grill in Ankeny. We had a $25 gift certificate from Restaurant.com that we had bought for $2. The only stipulations were that you had to spend at least $35 and %18 gratuity was included.
The gift certificate was a bit of a fiasco because they were very slow with the service so they offered to pay for part of our meal - unfortunately we couldn't have them do that because then we wouldn't meet the $35 requirement. They ended up giving us a coupon for a free appetizer for next time. Our total bill we paid was around $18 which included 2 entrees 2 drinks and 2 desserts. The food was worth a little over $40 so we got a pretty good deal.
After that we just walked around Wal-Mart. Doesn't sound too exciting but it was fun just being together by ourselves. We tried to play the guitar hero demo they had set up but it didn't work right.
I'm really looking forward to these nights and hopefully it will work out. Get together with a couple friends and do it yourself!
Thanksgiving Wrap Up
We left on Tuesday and decided to drive all day to maximize our time out there. There were a few things that we were a little apprehensive about:
- This was Jace's first long car trip - he would be tested on his sleeping ability
- Our portable dvd player quit working
- We would be making stops every few hours so Jace could eat
- Last time we took a winter trip to Colorado we got stuck in Nebraska for three days. That is a punishment no one should have to endure.