I’ll have to try this with my kids.

(via Bits & Pieces)

Probably took six months to film.

(via bizzia.com)

Dawn: Iain, did you pee on the floor?
Iain: No. The dog did it.

The dog was outside.

Maybe my son is getting up in the middle of the night and shitting over the living room carpet, too.

I watch less than a couple of hours of television a week, but the kids watch it a lot; it’s their baby-sitter. We want to reduce our dependency on it, keeping them busy with creative and engaging activities instead.

I know a couple people who are tv-less, which I respect a lot. I’m doing some googling about breaking the tv-habit, but I could use any advice and ideas:

How do you keep a 7 year old and 3 year old busy without a television and without destroying the house?

Le ballon by ddbparis

Fortunately, I didn’t slam the door shut (Christ, I shudder now thinking about it); I let go of the door and pulled his tiny fingers (he’s three years old) from the crack between the car’s body and door’s edge. He was wailing.

I’m a pretty calm guy; I don’t panic in dire situations and tend to keep a level head when an emergency arises. I point that out because that demeanor helps a LOT around upset children; you not panicking helps calm others down, eventually.

I looked at my son’s finger and saw a slight indentation where the door bent into them. I asked him to wiggle his fingers, which he did while streams of tears dripped on my shoulder. I told him we’ll get a cold cloth to wrap around his fingers, which would help the pain. He nodded as we calmly walked into the house and methodically did the following, which I gave him a running commentary about as I was doing it: got a face cloth (“Now where are the face cloths?” I ask. “There, Daddy”); ran the water until it was ice cold (“Is that cold enough” as I have him touch the water); soaked the cloth; squeezed the excessive water out (“That good enough?”); folded the cloth neatly, wrapped it around his fingers showing him how to hold it in place with his thumb.

“How’s it feel now?” I asked him.

“Better, Daddy. Thank you, Daddy.”

Now, I try to not to think about what could’ve happened as I lay in bed trying to get to sleep.

This parent stuff is gonna be the death of me.

• The Tears Never Stop
• I Thought My Son Was Dead
• Photos Of Iain And Jody
• Swallowing An “AAA” Battery
• Changing A Two Week Old Baby’s Diaper

I also got a bottle of single-malt scotch for my birthday, an MP3 player to replace one that broke awhile back, and a DVD player that plays Divx files — and the package from Tom. I can’t decide what I like the most, though I’m leaning more towards Iain’s message.

The film won awards back in 1993 when it was released.

UPDATE: It was removed from YouTube but can be viewed here.

Other exotic things she eats like candy: black olives, pomegranates, dill pickles; raw vegetables like red pepper, turnip, peas, cabbage; eating beans from the garden before we get a chance to harvest them…

That’s what happens when you live with a vegetarian, although our kids aren’t vegetarian; they can make that choice when they’re old enough to do so.

Kiddie Records Weekly

My five year old daughter listens to them while going to bed. It keeps her up, but it also makes it easier to get in bed.

One of our favorites is The Selfish Giant, based on the classic Oscar Wilde story. I remember seeing the animated movie as a kid, making me cry like a baby.

Update: I just discovered the Bozo Approved recordings. That’s a little creepy.

I walked into the bathroom today and found nine bars of soap stacked around the sink. Nine. I then see the wrapping on the floor from the Costco-size package of soaps we had.

Me yelling out: Caitlyn, what’s with all soap here?!
Caitlyn: What, Dad?
Me: Soap! Is someone REALLY dirty? Did you unwrap all this soap?
Caitlyn: Oh. Yup. It was just sitting there.

I should create a blog just for the stuff my kids come up with. For those new to the area, here are some highlights:

• Cauliflower Popcorn Video
• Kids Telling Jokes
• Leaving Your Kids In The Care Of Strangers
• Ode To A Fish
• My Daughter’s Request
• A Conversation with my Three Year Old Daughter
• Cereal and a Hug
• Is Toothpaste Food?

Last night I woke up and it was too quiet in the room. I could sense my son sleeping beside me, but couldn’t hear him, couldn’t feel any movement – no breathing. A sense of urgency gripped me and I blindly reached around to locate him, feeling for his chest to detect the expected up-and-down rhythm: there was none. I shook him, and he stirred and started crying. After *I* started breathing again, I consoled him back to sleep. I then had to get up and distract myself to get the hellish what-ifs out of my head. I think in my groggy state I didn’t give myself enough time to detect his movement nor to listen to him breathing; I must’ve woken from a bad dream that disoriented me.

That’s the second time that’s happened. I’m going to start sleeping on the couch. I never worried about this shit with our daughter.

Jody had this to say about it: “It was a fun experiment. We’ll make another video someday, although I don’t know of what.” (Music by Greg Brown.)

Update: I’ve been J-Walked and linked to from other sites.

Another update: The video is now available courtesy of Google Video:

Previously on Sunday Morning Scoff: Spaghetti Squash.

I don’t go to movies often, but I would if I could take my children. Unfortunately, there are only a few children movies released annually, and one of those was so boring my daughter wanted to leave, which we did (that movie was Robots). Yes, there are a lot of children movies available for purchase and rental, but it isn’t the same; going to a theater with a four year old is fun, frustrating, exciting, and often hilarious (if not for you then for parents around you).

I hate the phrase “… enough profit”. How much is “enough”? Stupid capitalism.