Who here played with pink glitter slime today?

You. You in the back? No? Okay. Let me tell you all about it.

It was promised it would happen today. Somebody – I am not sure whom, thought it would be a good idea to introduce the child to make your own glitter slime.

Pretty harmless, yes?

For the most part it is. IF, and this is a big IF the pink slime does not travel anywhere in the house other than the kitchen table.

Let me tell you what happens with pink glitter slime when it attaches to:

1. wood

2. bedsheets

3. flooring

This stuff does not come off of the above surfaces cleanly at all. It sticks to it like me holding onto the last donut in the box – That shit stuff ain’t moving.

So imagine my joy when it was announced that more slime was being created.

One thing I will say with her getting older is she now at least understands why I don’t want to have travelling slime and the slime must stay at the table and I have to tell you it’s nice. Whether or not she listens to me or not is a complete other story.

Back to the slime – today we made the following with the slime:

1. boogers (of course)

2. eyebrows

3. lips

4. snakes

5. pancakes

6. balls

and….that’s about it.

And then just like that, the 20 minutes were up and she was off skipping to do the next activity. It was something about My Little Ponies – I forget.

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

A few weeks back BW had one of those ideas where she wants to decorate and then I get busy. I cam into the house and I get “Hey Jimmy – what do you think about this idea?”

The idea is she wants to buy peel and stick foam tiles and stick ’em up in the kitchen. In a moment of weakness, I agree to this idea and then the day continues and I forget all about this.

Until yesterday when the stupid tiles arrived and there they were at the front hall with BW saying to me “Guess what you’re doing tomorrow?”

Installing backsplash tiles is what I am doing and how I spent my entire day today doing just that. This project – like all projects – took twice – if not 3 times as long as I had thought.

I thought I would be done by lunch. I was done by bedtime.

Things I have learned:

1. Math is hard. It’s tricky with all the measuring and straight lines and angles and stuff.

2. Start with the big chunks and then fill in the rest. Don’t do like I did and work left to right and then realize the one wall is slanting and it’s a good inch out from left to right and then you have to pull them all down and start over

3. Buy extra. You will need it. (See no.2 above)

I’m tired and I hurt. This was a much bigger job than I expected. This job looked fairly easy but it really took a long time for me to get right. I’ve been getting handier over the years but this being a first time for me it was tricky work.

Guys, if your wife sees this post and wants to do the same – hire this job out. You will thank me.

But. And this is a big But:

This is all worth it as it spruces up our kitchen and most importantly BW is happy.

And as we all know – a happy wife is a happy life.

Oh. I may have accidently agreed to repainting the kitchen cabinets later this spring.

Lord give me the strength…

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

And life has not been the same since.

There should be some training for this Dad thing. And I was lucky in a way as I had a bit of coaching from the nurses while the child chilled in the NICU for 51 days so I got a bit of a head start but even then they show you how the diaper thing works and you are on your own.

And since I brought her home six years ago, I have learned a few things I would like to share:

1. Distraction is your friend. Telling them to put their socks on will get you nowhere. But asking them about unicorns or dinosaurs or whatever and get them distracted you can get the socks on with ease.

2. Bedtime. OMG, the bedtime. I would be a millionaire if I had a fool-proof solution that worked but I found that sometimes you have to leave the room with them screaming and the fun has to stop. Also, what works today might not work tomorrow so it’s a moving target.

3. It will be hell peeling them away from the tablet. The tablet is also the best thing ever. It’s a constant struggle between right and wrong.

4. Pee before you go. Always.

5. Speaking of going: Plan to leave early because the peeing and going and getting out the door takes significantly longer than you could ever imagine

6. Daycare is expensive. Really Expensive.

7. Have them eat the same thing you eat. Life is not a restaurant. Besides, chicken nuggets suck – we eat better than that.

8. The day the car seat goes away is a good day. Same goes for diapers.

9. They help you see things that you haven’t thought about in a while. When was the last time you were excited about the first snow? Have a kid and they will remind you that snow is the best. thing. ever. – Also, Santa is kind of fun too. And don’t get me started on leprechauns.

10. Enjoy it. Because holy, does it go by fast. Yes it’s hard with the tantrums and the bedtimes and having to tell them to turn around in the booth at the restaurants – but in the end it’s all worth it.

Tomorrow we celebrate birthday number six. SIX! I can’t believe it.

This is the year the training wheels come off for both of us. We’ve got this.

I guess the first thing to note is that I have gotten into the habit of writing every day. Some posts are better than others but I haven’t missed a day since her first day of kindergarten.

2024 Highlights

I went to Argentina for the first time. I also had my first alcoholic drink in 25 years. BW is a bad influence on me.

Leprechauns were big this year. Too big, as I had to find a new trick that would do overnight for like two weeks. I am not looking forward to March 2025.

We had both kindergarten training and then of course, the real thing. Hard to believe she’s halfway through the school year.

Our basement flooded and we had to have new sewage lines installed and then my man bathroom/office renovated.

The Child has stated she wants to change religions . Hey, whatever.

She was brave and went and go her own breakfast.

She fell off the playground slide. I didn’t know I could get to the hospital so fast.

We Made a TV. It wasn’t flat screen.

If you listen to Dad, good things happen. One day she will learn.

We went to Disney On Ice. And I had an 8 dollar Coke.

I’ve been driving an electric car for over a year. I’m never going to get an ICE car again.

Things got a bit messy here from time to time.

We had an online house tour. You don’t want to miss this.

I went to Texas and listened to a lot of headphones.

We thought about moving to Canada – Because: Don

We had our annual Pumpkin Smashing. It’s our favorite time of the year.

The Tent we bought years ago finally saw some use. It’s about time.

I heard a lot of No’s this year come out of her. This, we have to work on still.

I taught her about trademarks. I think.

I had just a taste of the bachelor life. I’m not sure I like it any more.

Paw Patrol is Out and My Little Ponies are IN. Well…duh, Dad.

OMG the accent. It could be worse I suppose.

Crafts were pretty big this year.. I have the glitter in my hair to prove it.

We’ve all come a long way this year, I have taken to writing this blog/newsletter/whatever you want to call it and since the first day of school I have managed to find the time and more importantly – the energy to write here every day.

BW is crafty this year. Very crafty

The Child? Well…we’re getting there. She’s easier than she was a year ago. We still have our moments but for the most of she’s really good and we are both glad to have her here. It would be real quiet if I didn’t have these two with me. I’m a very lucky guy

See you next year,

TH and Co.

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

There’s a few problems with letting her out this morning to make snow angels. First, even th0ugh she’s up early we’re still on a deadline. Then there’s the issue with snowsuits. We have none, or boots for that matter. We suck.

There’s definitely no time to get her into and out of a snowsuit anyway even if we did have it. Before you call CPS, Santa is on his way with boots and winter wear so everybody calm down.

So yeah. It was a struggle for all of us this morning.

We sent her in her sneakers because – no boots – but also that her teacher asked us not to send them in boots unless really necessary. She has 20 kids in her class and that’s 40 feet she has to shod twice a day and nobody wants to put boots on 20 kids twice a day.

Besides, her sneakers are like 3 sizes too big for her so her SMO’s can fit inside so they’re almost considered boots anyway.

Of course, the first thing she wants to do when she gets home is to make a snow angel. I try to talk her out of it. It’s cold and windy. And she doesn’t have the right clothes. I tried logic:

Come inside. We have hot chocolate.

She wasn’t budging and was going to make a snow angel one way or another.

Guess who won?

She was out there for the time it took to make the angel and then maybe five more minutes and she was frozen to the core and ready to come in.

The snow angel and the 6am start took all the energy she had for the day and even though a friend from across the street came over to play she lost it over some silly thing (Oh, she wanted me to play hide and seek. I said no. She has a friend right there and that’s what they are for.)

She lost it so bad her little buddy got wigged out and couldn’t get her snowpants and boots and coat back on fast enough to get out of the house that has a screaming hyena in it, instead of my daughter. I don’t blame her.

It took a while, but I managed to get her into her bed and we had a cuddle and I tried to not fall asleep while she reset her mood and got her shit together.

Once the shit (sorry, SH-Word) got back together with her she was pretty well behaved and seemed to have just enough energy to get through the dinner and bed routine.

A quick story read, and she was in bed and out cold a few minutes later.

Santa, if you’re reading this: Those boots and pants can’t get here soon enough if we keep getting more snow. I would appreciate if you could stop at our house first on Christmas Eve.

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

I didn’t get out of the house in time before she got up so I ended up making her breakfast (making might be a bit of a stretch here – it was a PB sandwich) and having a cup of coffee before I headed out and there was no screaming as I was leaving which can be the norm sometimes

Because she was up early she had time to fart around before school so I had her buried under 4 blankets on the couch and she was so excited as today she got to go to school in PJ’s and watch a movie at school and then come home and watch “shows” on her new tablet.

Even the teachers are tired. They’re like “Screw this, let’s play a movie.

She came home bouncing off the school bus wearing a coat that was 3 sizes too big for her, but she’ll grow into it. It’s a really nice coat. If the dog eats it, it’s getting put up for adoption – she has been warned.

She could not resist the snow and then she asked me if the snowplow had come because there’s no snow on the driveway. I had to explain weather to her and the grass is colder – or something – heck – she caught me off guard. Nobody warned me parenting would include pop-quiz science-y weather questions. I was not prepared.

Of course, the big attraction of the day was the new tablet that she was finally allowed to watch tonight and she was great about it. She got off it when asked, and in return she got to watch it a bit after dinner. I do hope that one day she will get through her head that if she behaves then good things happen around here.

Pizza for dinner (home made!) and then I allowed her a bit more time with the tablet and then off to bed without much complaint at all.

It’s like Christmas came early (for BW and I anyway)

5 more sleeps!

Tonight after bath can we watch the show with the tall puppets?

Tall Puppets?

Yeah, you know – where he goes me me me me

OH. You mean Beaker!

I had completely forgotten about Beaker.

Poor Beaker. He always got the bad end of the stick when it came to the experiments that Dr. Bunsen Honeydew dreamed up.

I may have written about this in the past, but after the bath we have a snack and watch a YouTube video or two. Lately we’ve been on a how it’s made kick and in fact, I wrote about how we saw how they make the ultimate Canadian junk food.

Anyway, tonight she wanted to have the snack with the Muppets.

She has a memory I can only envy. She remembered that at the end of the piece they show the Statler and Waldorf clip.

I didn’t remember that. She did.

Boy, this takes me back to “back in the day” when, if we behaved we might get to stay up and watch the muppets. I think they were on about 7pm on a Sunday but I could be wrong. I do remember it being a big deal to be able to watch the Muppets.

I hadn’t thought about the Muppets in recent years, until today.

Today, she can pick and choose from so much entertainment it’s hard to keep track of all choices there. We caught her watching a video about constipation the other day (It’s good to be informed!)

I wonder if all this choice is good for her? She asked me if we had cars when I was a kid and yes, we did. In fact we had the most famous car in the neighborhood:

We were a little bit past the horse and buggy growing up (thank god) and I told her that I wasn’t that old.

Now, go to bed. If you behave we can watch more Muppets tomorrow.

Keep Experimenting,

TH and Co.

“What!?” she asked.

“We’re going to the Museum?” she squealed with joy.

OMG you guys. You would think that this is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to her. It’s not and we’ve been more than once before. I think this will be her fourth trip.

Then the feature list started where she had to tell us about each and every thing you could do there.

In case you were wondering, here’s what you can do there:

1. You can sit in half a Ford Mustang at the entrance.

2. You can put your hand/face up against a wall of pins and go around the other side and see what it looks like.

3. You can pretend to be a mechanic on cars

4. You can visit a replica car wash where you get dressed up as a car and then you walk thru the (pretend, thankfully) car wash.

5. There’s a water section where you can take toy boats down a kid sized version of the Erie Canal

6. There’s a treehouse with a slide.

7. You can pretend to milk a cow and plant vegetables

8. You can pretend to be a garbage man (sorry, sanitation engineer) and dress up and take out the garbage.

10. You can play doctor at the play hospital

11. You can build with construction tools

and a whole lot more!

OH! Also, they sell snacks! Dad, don’t forget the snacks!

Tonight, we got reminded of every. single. thing you can do there of them, so we are alllll up to date with the Children’s museum in Buffalo.

It’s all she talked about. We had to go through my photo album of past visits because we had to revisit and remember all the good times we had before.

I guess this is exciting and I am going. I wonder if it’s because she’s a good six months older since last visit so there’s more for her to do or if it’s just what’s old is new again and it’s exciting

I have no idea.

What I do know is that we’re going early to beat the crowds. I want to get in and out of there before it gets crazy busy.

3 more sleeps until the big day. I can’t wait.

TH and Co.

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

I will give you a minute to read that last bit and let it sink in: NO Child under foot for 3 hours!

BW and I had the night to ourselves. I listened to music and she started to wrap Christmas presents while the child was out of the house. Also, I loaded the dishwasher and ran it.

We were just footloose and fancy free for 3 whole hours. (Well…not really)

We sent the child to night school (art) and she loved it.

Can I go tomorrow?

Um. No. It’s a monthly thing

You see, we sent her to art class for kids. At night, so parents can have some time to themselves! This person that runs the class is genius! She charged us about $20 an hour which when now that I think about it it’s about the same price as a baby sitter, but in reverse: We stay home and kids go away.

I went to pick her up, and I took her home and she was excited to show mommy her new artwork and to tell mommy that she was wrong: she did not have to send her with a snack as they provided one. It was some popcorn and TWO Oreo Cookies!

Get it right, Mommy!

She tried to milk the fun a little longer and wanted to stay up and eat Halloween candy but don’t push it kid. It’s bedtime like 3 hours ago. It’s my bedtime for crying out loud.

PJ’s and a toothbrush and tucked her in and she was done.

“I’m One Percent Awake”, she told me.

I bet you are. It was a busy day for you. Goodnight.

Stay Awake,

TH and Co.

We had tried to get her to behave all week by dangling this big surprise in front of her all week but it didn’t really work so hot so that backfired.

When it was time to go finally, she didn’t want to as she was watching her tablet.

“Oh No”, we told her. “You will want to go to this. Trust us”

Once we got there and she realized what the big surprise was she was of course excited and spent the entire time on the edge of her seat.

Surprisingly, she didn’t ask for any of the crap they were selling on the way out so that’s a plus. If she keeps behaving well like today – as I say: good things might just happen again.

Keep skating,

TH and Co.

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

It was time to go. I am never going to use them again because: streaming services. I’m a bit of an audiophile but sometimes comfort and convenience wins over total audio bliss these days. I have taken the tests on streaming quality and I can’t tell the difference in quality most days anyway, so goodbye CD collection.

Some say records are the way to go and I do believe in this to a point but again – who the heck has the time for that? I am currently listening to music through the crappy speakers in my laptop and it’s not great, but it’s fine. I can keep an ear out for the child.

And now that I can talk to a smart speaker and it will play what I want? Ya. Goodbye Cd’s.

About a month or so I decided it’s time to get rid of these things. I can live without hearing Sussudio in high fidelity – or at all. That’s another thing, Some of the music I like sounds like crap regardless due to the time or technology or equipment it was recorded on.

Thankfully this is less of a job than selling all my Dad’s Cars where I had to figure out what the heck it was, and then take photos and box them all up. Selling CD’s is easier because they have a bar code and I can scan that and with a few clicks of buttons on my phone, I am done. I start the auctions at $1 and save for a few exceptions of maybe five bucks a disc most have been going for a buck, if at all.

Making Money Selling CD’s

This really hasn’t happened. I have made maybe $100 for the 500 I have listed so far. This will not make me rich it seems

If I sell a CD for a buck, you would think that you would get the buck but eBay is sneaky with the fees. They charge on the total order, so 15% of about six bucks equals about 13 cents a disc profit after the fees. Then there’s the cost of the envelope and the label printer I bought and the labels. I am sure I am operating at a loss with this little venture.

About half sell I have found. Nobody needs another copy of Thriller so that one’s going to the Goodwill. I could have realized a bit more but I graded these as good as far as condition goes and for the most part, they have been better than that and I have had no complaints from the buyers on quality. It’s better to under promis and over deliver in this case I have found.

I had thought about saving them for the child in case she might be interested but by that time iPhone 29 will be out, so the thought of having to skip songs to get to the one you want will not be that attractive by then I would think. I can only imagine what the technology will be like then.

I really won’t miss the record stores and the searching and then being able to only afford one CD purchase – if that – and then getting it home to find out you wasted 20 bucks and back then 20 bucks could buy a lot of jos louis instead.

Now I just pay less than that 20 bucks a month for music for all of us, and I get storage for my current collection as well as a selection of others including new releases and I even get an ad free YouTube experience which is a much, much better experience.

It’s been 42 years since the first CD player came to market and that silly Phil Collins song was released 3 years later. It’s time to let go.

All this to say that with few exceptions, you’re better off just dropping your CD collection off at Goodwill. You won’t be missing much but I bet somebody else will be thrilled with your Thriller CD.

I am going to miss the lasers though.

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

I have the domain name and a laptop – and most importantly: an audience. Well…all 23 of you.

I guess you could call me a writer. You would be the reader.

Hard to believe it’s 50 posts already. She’ll be off to college before we know it.

A few of my favorites:

I forgot how funny/silly some of these are.

I guess that’s why I am doing this – to remember the good stuff. Nobody wants to remember the bad stuff. We only do fun here.

Until next time..

TH and Co

PS> Today we went to our park because it looks like today will be the last day of summery weather so we decided to make the most of it.

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

Every day I wake up wondering what I will write about and by the day’s end I have almost too much to write about.

Take today for example: I Ubered, came home for a bit and then went out to Uber again some. I was on my last trip of the day when BW called:

Do you have a passenger in the car? She asked.

No. I replied

Get home! I think she dislodged her shoulder! I will meet you at the hospital !

I didn’t know I could drive that fast. Of course I was way way on the other end of town so it took me a bit but I got there just after they did.

You all know the joys of Emergency room visits so I will save you the minutiae of all and tell you the wait wasn’t too bad and we were out of there in under 4 hours

The first doctor comes in and asks questions and then he leaves. Then another doctor comes in and asks the child pretty much the same questions and if her arm hurts?

With a confused look she replied:

“Well…Yea? “

Of course it hurts! She fell off the slide. What kind of question is that!

Oh, right. This is how we got here. I got a bit ahead of myself. The child was at the park with her friend when she fell off the slide. No adult witnessed this because the park is literally in the backyard of her friend’s house and across the street from our house. It’s not in line of sight but I still get wifi from the house when I’m at the park so it’s real close.

BW didn’t hear anything, but out neighbor did and rescued my injured little bird and brought her home to mommy.

Then, I get that phone call from BW and the fun started.

They did x-rays – she got stickers
They gave her medicine – she got a popsicle.

She’s living her best life ever at the hospital.

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The diagnosis? A buckle fracture (it’s okay, I had to look it up too)

They sent her home in a sling and told us to make an appointment with a bone doc in about 10 days to get her looked at and make sure she’s healing.

As I put her to bed tonight she told me:

“You know, they should make the walls of the slide taller so you don’t fall off. “

Or…says Dad: You could be more careful and not try to climb up the slide. Slides are meant to be slid down and not climbed up.

Until next time,

Be safe!

TH and Co.

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. – TH and Co.

Today was the last day of the child's after-school Spanish class and I am not sure how much learning was done, but there was a pinata and every kid came home with some candy. She greeted me with 3 Dum-Dums and some horrible looking chewing gum.

She was eyeing the dum-dums, but it was too close to dinnertime so I told her she could try the gum if she wanted to. Then I realized that she has never had chewing gum as it's not a thing really in our house. Bubble gum and older parents don't really mix.

I had to tell her to not swallow it as you don't swallow gum. You're just supposed to chew it - as that's where it gets it's name.

Of course this opened an entire conversation on the way home in the car about what would happen if you swallowed gum. I said it wouldn't kill you but it's not really good for you. Gum is for chewing and not swallowing.

It got quiet in the back seat. And then she tells me she doesn't want the gum and hands me this half-licked and nibbled on chiclet of bubble gum.

I think that might be the end of the bubble gum here for a while.

It started to get nice out this afternoon and she wanted to play with a friend outside but she could not find a willing participant and she came home without a playmate. I offered to go for walk around the block with her on the scooter and she lit up with a big agreeable smile.

"Let's go, Dad"

Off we went:

We might not be able to chew gum - but we have the walking down - scooting too!

Thank you for reading! When you Shop Amazon I get a small commission on what you buy and this costs you nothing. Want to know what else helps? Subscribing. Lastly you can always buy me a coffee. - TH and Co.

It’s nice. we had fun. That’s not the problem.

I have no complaints about the venue or the trip. We were there for 2 and a half hours and we only left because we got hungry as we had missed lunch.

My beef is with the pricing: Like the title says, I paid money to watch her play indoors.

It cost 15 bucks for her, and 7 bucks for me = 22.00. I don’t have a beef with the cost either. Nobody rides for free. I get it.

My complaint is you charged me a fee for no value. It’s not like i am going to go in the bouncy house with her or dress up or even play with the legos. My one job is to make sure she has fun and exercise and to get her away from the screen for a few hours today.

We had the kite but that did not end well so we had to find alternative entertainment for today because she is still home from school.

This is not the way to do this long term if you ask me because as a parent that has to pay to trail behind the child to the chorus of “Dad, watch me” over and over again. I have already paid. One can only play doctor for so long there - or dress up.

BTW we also have those things at home and I could have saved the 20 bucks and I would have been closer to my own bathroom and coffee maker if the need be.

In my mind the 7 dollar charge from Play U is a big F*** U.

Play U - if you’re reading - just jack the rate to $22.00 a kid and be done with it. Offer a discount for two or more kids and we would be all like “take our money!”

I wanted the sizzle, but you sold me the steak.

The restaurants have this figured out. Kids eats free is the same thing - a lie - the restaurants eat the cost of 4 chicken nuggets and instead sell a bowl of spaghetti for 30 bucks each to mom and dad.

There’s no such thing as free, it’s just hidden.

Play U, if you’re listening - hide the parent surcharge in the kid’s admission. We will think we’ll be getting a deal because 22 bucks is a small price to pay for a happier child but I’m not happy I had to pay 7 bucks to get there.

Thankfully, school starts Monday and she’ll be back to the real University on Monday morning . Wait! now that I think of it - this is another example where the school is advertised as “free”, but if you’ve ever paid taxes you know that’s not the truth.

There’s no such thing as a free ride - it doesn’t matter if it’s on the school bus or down a slide on a bouncy house. We all pay.

The trick is to make us feel like we’re getting value when we have our wallets out.

And today? I wasn’t feeling it.

Until next time,

TH and Co.

If you’re 7-years-old

You dance in the sunshine.

Today was also a good time to wear a sundress to school and then eat popsicles on the front porch when you came home. Then when the the sundress became too hot you changed into the shorts and tank top you see above.

You didn’t like the carpenter bees hanging around even though we told you they were harmless.

You also put on some sunscreen and wore a pink fuzzy purse and walked up and down the street with a pink umbrella and sunglasses without a care in the world what the world thought.

And then you came inside, had dinner and a quick rinse in the tub to wash off the day. Before you went to bed you would have had a facial with mommy and then you would have melted down over nothing at all because it was a long day and you were tired.

You would have tried to fight it and stay awake but those eyes got heavier and heavier and you were fast asleep by 8pm.

If you are 60 Years Old

You would have woken up and got the child off to school.

You thought about mowing the lawn but boy, the water in the yard is still ankle deep so instead - in morning you cleaned out the garage and put away the snow shovel, at long last.

Then you might have had an afternoon nap because the yard can wait until another day.

Later you might have then given our BW’s car the good cleaning it needed to turn it from a rolling garbage can to something that resembles the SUV it was designed to be after a long winter of cookie crumbs and salt stains

Then you would try to navigate the dog, dishes, the roomba and laundry and meltdowns and other things that need to be done for the day.

You might also wonder why it hurts to move now that you’ve stopped.

Keep Dancing. Just don’t stop. Trust me, I know.

Until Next Time,

TH and Co.

The weather finally perked up a bit to the mid 50’s and compared to yesterday it was balmy - so we’re taking it - and when she got home from the last day at the zoo she wanted to fly a kite.

Dad? he wanted a nap.

We flew a kite. No nap for Dad.

And then after dinner we had ice cream.

Kites and ice cream.

Not bad for a Wednesday in April.

Until Next Time,

TH and Co.

I come home from an afternoon of driving the very nice people of Buffalo, NY around and when I get in the door it’s quiet

Like, FREAKY quiet

BW is in the family room buried under a pile of fuzzy yarn working her obsession project of 2026 (this in itself could be a post) and there’s no noise.

At first, I heard and misunderstood that she was over at Carson’s house but I was wrong. Shewas home, but where.

“I dunno, upstairs” BW told me

I did what any concerned parent would do when it was way to quiet. I went a looked.

She wasn’t in her room, but there was a clue - our bedroom door was closed. Our bedroom door never closes because we like to hear what’s going on

I went downstairs to tell BW what I had found and she suggested I check.

“If she’s asleep, I’m not waking her up”, I told BW.

“She might have her device on her” BW replied.

Nyeah, she can be bad, but she knows better. She loves that thing too much to mess with the no-device rule that much.

As I was going to check on her against my instincts, I was met by the child at the top of the stairs.

“Did you have a NAP?” I asked,

Turns out that yes, she did have a nap. We keep telling her that naps are needed sometimes and apparently the trampoline at Carson’s house combined with a a healthy dose of fresh air wore her out…and she was out.

And, you guys - she was a delight tonight. Yes, there was a little bedtime pushback but nothing serious and she PJ’d up and brushed teeth and then played quietly in her room for a good half an hour.

When she was done, she came looking for me with her favorite stuffy in her hand and told me to tuck her in - she was done.

When I was tucking her in tonight she told me that she really liked the nap and she might have one the next time after she plays with Carson.

I gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her that I thought that was a good idea because naps are awesome.

Tonight’s Lesson: Even the ones that fight naps the hardest eventually succumb to the power of the nap.

Until Next Time,

TH and Co.

Remember homework as a kid? Actually, to be completely honest I have absolutely zero recall of doing any homework. Ever. This probably explains a lot but that’s a story for another day.

The child? She has two days of homework every week. TWO DAYS! In first grade.

The first homework is the one we do Sunday night and it’s kind of lame - she’s supposed to read poetry and talk about it. This sounds like a session in a shrink’s office more than homework for first grade if you ask me.

I let BW tackle this one.

The spelling word challenge? That’s me most times. I am not sure why - but to quote Bruce Hornsby and his Range - that’s just the way it is.

Word homework is so effing complicated it took both BW and I multiple times to read the instructions when she first came home with it. We were both so confused at first at what the teacher even wanted us to do.

The word homework of the week is this: The child has to write about five words of each phrase or whatever they are learning that week.

Today was plurals with both -s and -es. For example: frogs and boxes, dogs and purses - you get the idea.

This should be where the homework ends. You sit with the the child and help her spell a few words and you’re done right?

Oh. No.

Now you have to play some games with her - they give you about five choices and you have to do three. I try to pick the three easiest and of course the child picks the 3 most annoying.

How annoying? Annoying. Very Annoying. Very, and even more VERY. Annoying.

Tonight she had to write the words on the piece of paper, cut them out and then lay the small paper with words on them and then throw a “snowball” at them. The snowball was supposed to be a pair of socks - does the school think we’re rich? A PAIR of SOCKS? THAT MATCH?

In this house? - Ha!

So here we are a past-bedtime-o’clock throwing a pair of socks at little pieces of paper on the floor. And, because it’s a 7-year-old throwing a sock - aim isn’t the best skillset we have here - so it takes multiple attempts to land said sock on said word so that the homework can end and we can go to bed.

I may have helped her at the end:

It’s D.O.G. Okay, we’re done - let’s go to B-E-D.

That’s one word I know how to spell real good. :)

Keep Learning,

TH and Co.

Get mommy a valentine’s day gift.

Despite it being the coldest day of the year we bundled up and warmed up the car and went to…McDonald’s

Don’t judge me. It’s fast, cheap and she loves loves loves it. Also, it comes with a toy and gets her out of the house1 and it’s McDonald’s. You know what your’re getting and dear old Dad solved the lunch problem.

Besides, we can’t shop on an empty stomach. That’s the first thing you’re told. That, and you have to wait half an hour before you swim.

Anyway, off we went to our favorite strip mall that includes a Dollar Tree, T.J.Maxx, Michaels and Target all side by side.

It’s a suburban Dad’s dream. Or at least it’s easy to park.

When we got out of the car we had a mission but it seems they have differed upon arrive.

Me: Get mommy a Valentine’s Day gift that was picked out by the child.

The Child: Here’s some socks - they will do. Now let’s go to the toy section and get me a toy because I see slime on sale!

We negotiated about this, the child and I:

“Oooooh, slime”, she says

“No”, I say “You’ve had a treat every day this past month and we just came from McDonald’s so the answer is no”

“Pleeeeassseee”, she whines.

“Sigh, OKAY FINE. We will get the slime if you no longer whine”, I replied, defeated and downright depressed about my lack of will power.

Once the slime was in the cart, according to the child our browsing was now over because we were getting slime! Lots and lots of slime.

“I want to go home”, she told me.

It was cold and we had shopped so I was quick to agree because shopping for valentine’s day gifts with a child as the ultimate decider is no much fun.

I hope BW likes slime for valentines day.

It was either that or socks.

Until Next Time,

TH and Co.