A boy after my very own heart

The bittersweet thing about the twin bed is that it allows Kelan certain freedoms. The rules are basically to be in bed by eight and then do whatever, as long as you don't come and bug us.

Sean and I listen for loud noises and commotion, but so far he hasn't been too wild. We are learning, however, that he is quite the little night owl- sometimes up in his room talking to himself and turning on and off his light for an hour or so before falling asleep.

The other night Sean captured this little moment in time when he went up to check on him.

I would use this as evidence of his amazing intellect, falling asleep with books and all, but I'll wait until he's falling asleep with Nietzsche to get all braggy about it. And there is the whole talking to himself thing, I mean, what is that all about??

I was tempted to say that this was the funniest thing that happened all week, but Sean discovered that you can change titles of DVR recordings and got all clever (read: kind of obscene) with some recordings...I'll call it a tie.

Hey, whaddya got there?

Who knows where he learns these phrases.

Certainly not from me...

We got Kelan a bike today. I think it's safe to say he likes it. As usual, we put it together during his nap and surprised him with it. Here is the unveiling...

That person you hear in the middle of the video is our neighbor. We had to scavenge for a bike pump after futzing with ours for a good 15 minutes. We don't know about that shaggy haired weirdo at the end, she must have wondered up from the street.

I give it a week before the bell mysteriously disappears from the bike, but how cute is it when kids say stuff like "That's pretty cool!"

Culture shock for this mama

It's been a long winter and I've been forced to get creative with indoor entertainment. Even so, like any SAHM (well any SAHM that isn't lying through her teeth, or employing lots of outside help), I have to admit that if the TV broke for more than a day, I would probably require inpatient mental health care.

Earlier this winter, I realized that The Bad Girl's Club was probably not appropriate for the preschool crowd. When Kelan looked up from his fire truck one day and asked, "Why she crying? She need a hug mommy?" I knew my reign over the TV was done. Since then, it's been locked on Nickelodeon and PBS.

Let me tell you, I strive to keep an open mind. I have seen a lot in my twenty six years of life and it's kind of hard to shock me, but seeeeeeriously what in the world is up with children's programming??? And is Nick Jr. actually for kids, or is it a cover for daytime stoner television, because it would be so embarrassing if I made that mix up...

First of all-Yo Gabba Gabba. Need I say more? I would describe it as Teletubbies on acid. It never fails that when Kelan is parked in front of that show, I'll look up from my book/email and see something that makes me do a double take. Usually it is a group of people in spandex with drawn-on mustaches "rocking out", or kids with beehive hairdos dancing to techno music. I'm not making this stuff up.

Just as odd, Lazy Town. I just recently discovered this one, and it actually scared Kelan at first- which is saying a lot. When he saw the tall back-flipping guy in the blue spandex fighting with a guy in a banana suit, he ran over to me and said, "I need a hug" which translates to "This is freaking me right out."

Oh, and also, Toot and Puddle should just come out already, it's 2010.

There's more. So. Much. More. A few shows that I don't mind, like even. Who could hate Oswald? How soothing is Fred Savage's voice? Very. Franklin and Little Bear? Tolerable! I could go on, but I think I've made my point.

THANK GOD FOR SPRING!!!!

Semantics and parenting

Where is our plaque?


Because clearly we are parents of the year.


Besides throwing our kid into a twin bed without so much as a warning- because transition schmansition (another post entirely), Sean and I had this amazing parenting moment this past week:


Sean: (to Kelan) You can have a piece of gum if you get your clothes on nicely.

(turns to me) Is bribery a frowned upon parenting technique?

Me: er, it's not bribery! It's... reward as incentive.

Then something amazing happened. We both looked at each other and a light bulb went on.

Both in harmony: Positive reinforcement!


It was special.

And it's not "crappy parenting"- it's... well yeah, it's that.