tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63173011452098228962024-02-20T12:31:57.569-05:00TheKidsAreAlrightThis is a blog about the things I do with my two daughters. I'm trying to keep the posts short. I may veer off topic once in a while.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-69590233878791991382012-01-14T22:13:00.002-05:002012-01-14T22:34:09.443-05:00BasketballJess and I went to the Y today to play basketball. We played for about an hour, and she must have taken 500 shots. It was a no nonsense Jess. Grab the ball, throw her body at the basket, and shoot. It was like watching Larry Bird during a 3 point contest in the '80s. <br /><br />I was teaching her how to shoot from different angles. She would take a bunch of shots in that one spot, and then move on to the next one. And if she missed a few shots in a row, she had the Eli Manning look - which is to say, no reaction at all. But she made a lot more than she missed.<br /><br />After an hour she said she was tired. She should have been - she shot for an hour straight! But I guess she had a great time. She wants to go again tomorrow.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05285480477603216367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-89005818085981343342011-09-20T21:18:00.002-04:002011-09-20T21:37:57.190-04:00What My Kids Did On Their Summer VacationOkay, need to get back to blogging. Will try harder.<br /><br />This summer the girls discovered the thrill of roller coasters. We went to Hershey Park and rode basically every coaster they had. The wooden ones were awesome - very big, loud, rickety and bone jarring like a wooden coaster should. Jesse is especially fun to ride a coaster with - she talks a mile a minute throughout the entire climb up, then switches between screaming and talking through the rest of the ride. We also went on steel coasters that went upside down. I felt like I was a kid again.<br /><br />We spent a decent amount of time at the pool this summer. The girls do all sorts of flips and handstands for hours on end. <br /><br />We did get to ride waves in the ocean again, at both Ocean City and LBI. We also checked out the water parks - we had a blast. I might have been more scared than the girls on some of the drops. They are pretty fearless.<br /><br />Jesse and I also managed to squeeze in a lot of video games. She is the queen of playing all kinds of games, and we had many a battle on mini-golf.<br /><br />I also introduced the girls to a summer ritual from my childhood - a long game of Monopoly. The whole family played one Saturday, and it was fun watching the girls wheel and deal with each other. That Monday I came home from work and the board was out on the dining room table; I assume the girls quickly learned the game isn't fun when it's two people.<br /><br />The girls are fully back into the swing of things at school, and the fall has lots of fun things going on. But summer is still the best.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-23589945731412381742011-03-23T21:01:00.002-04:002011-03-23T21:19:13.746-04:00Pool SharkJessica's love of games goes beyond board games, card games, and the Wii - it also includes a new found love of playing pool. For the last couple of months Jess and I have been playing, mostly on the weekends but occasionally on a weeknight. I'm no longer <em>that</em> concerned that she'll tear up the felt with an errant shot. She is still too small to reach a lot of the shots but that doesn't dampen her enthusiasm or her determination. Neither does the fact that she often whiffs on the first two or three tries at a shot. The two of us have lots of fun, and I love watching the way she jumps around the table. It's pretty hard not to laugh and have fun playing any game with Jess.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-39019235807272757452011-03-15T20:23:00.002-04:002011-03-15T20:34:53.892-04:00This Notes for YouRecently Stef has figured out how to "read" music by ear. The other night she wrote down all the notes for the Star Spangled Banner by singing it and humming it and then translating it into notes that she played on the clarinet. For someone who only "hears" music, I thought this was amazing.<br /><br />I asked her if she could do "Here Comes the Sun" (a song she likes, perhaps proving that the Beatles will eventually outlast everyone and everything, including the beetle). For the next several minutes she hummed the song, then wrote down the notes and played it on the clarinet. She said she doesn't know how to officially write down all the notes, but she understands it the way she writes it. It reminded me of this story of how Phil Collins cued the horn section to play on his first solo album - he couldn't write the notes, so he jotted down a series of short and long lines based on how he wanted it to sound. <br /><br />Next, I wanted to see if she could play ABACAB, because I heard Genesis named it that because those are the musical notes. Alas, it was time for Stef to go to dance practice, so ABACAB will have to wait for another time. Perhaps the next rainy day I'll ask her to do Stairway to Heaven.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-48504043948990774552011-02-28T20:10:00.005-05:002011-02-28T21:43:21.437-05:00From Jonas to JustinIt's over for the Jonas Brothers. There was no exact point in time, no overt clues, or actual discussions. There never is in these situations. Just ask Leif Garrett. But make no mistake, the days of Jonas Brothers music, TV shows, posters, and assorted paraphernalia in our household is over. Cue the slow motion flashbacks (with Jonas Bros. mid-tempo music, of course): the girls and I at the Izod Center concert in the summer of '09; Stef and I at MSG in 2008; the 3D movie somewhere in between; the teen mag. poster pullouts; and countless car rides listening to Nick, Joe, and the other guy, the one who plays guitar.<br /><br />But weep not for the girls, or the Jonas's's', because something new, something <em>better</em>, always steps into the void. His name - Justin Bieber. His hair - immaculate. Stef has full-on Bieber fevor, while Jess is just along for the ride at this point. Stef bombards us daily with facts and figures related to his JB-berness: his favorite color (blue), his favorite outfit accent color (purple), his shoe size (8), his favorite team (Lakers), how many minutes it took him to sell out MSG (22) and his approximate fade from the spotlight (2012, hopefully). <br /><br />Bieber espouses the same "if you work hard, you can achieve anything" mantra that I heard repeatedly throughout the Jonas Brothers' MSG show back in 2008. I guess Bieber is working a little harder right now. Or maybe the Jonas boys are working really hard at regaining their anonymity. Or maybe it's just zeitgeist fellas.<br /><br />I actually enjoyed the Jonas run. So here's to you Nick (the talented one) Joe (the cute one) and Kevin (the other one). May the girls cheer you again in the summer of 2041, with their kids, when the reunion tour hits the Chris Christie Garden State Arts Center. If I'm still around I will join them.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-88033662368607433482011-02-15T21:21:00.002-05:002011-02-15T21:25:10.387-05:00Mancala MadnessAfter nearly 487 battles, I finally beat Jessica at Mancala. I told her I would mark the date; she asked, "Are you serious?" and I replied, "No, of course not." Then I remembered the blog.<br /><br />I followed up the historic win with another loss. That makes 1 win, 488 loses, and 9 "time to go to bed" disqualifications.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-84289485813525340572011-02-03T21:00:00.002-05:002011-02-03T21:21:34.980-05:00Helping OutThere were a couple of instances in the last week that made me realize how thoughtful the girls are.<br /><br />Last week during one of the many snowstorms we had, I was out shoveling the car so I could get to work. After about 10 minutes, Stef came out in her coat and pajamas. "Dad, I want to help you shovel" This was quickly followed by Jess, who also wanted to help, and who was also in her coat and pajamas.<br /><br />Yesterday I was trying to clear off what could easily be called "shrice" (a mixture of slush,rain, snow and ice) from the walkway. It was miserable out, but after a few minutes, both girls were at the door with their coats on. "We want to help," they said. It was way too shricy out for them, so I told them thanks but they should really go back inside. They did reluctantly.<br /><br />Then last night I came home, and Stef had made my entire dinner herself, as well as an awesome brownie concoction with chocolate icing in the middle.<br /><br />It made me realize that helping someone when they don't ask for it is even more impressive and appreciated then helping someone who does.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-21005525280817929692011-02-01T21:49:00.004-05:002011-02-01T22:31:15.122-05:00Time CapsuleEvery once in a while Steffi will hear me talk about politics (imagine that). She recently asked me if I was a Democrat or a Republican and for the first time, I wasn't sure. I remember being about her age and starting to read the newspaper because I was just getting very into sports. Occasionally I would glance at the front of the paper or watch the news with my mom. Between this and comments I heard from my parents, what little I knew about the Presidents could be boiled down to this:<br /><br />(then current) President Jimmy Carter: nice guy, peanut farmer, trying to make peace in the Middle East (I always thought Camp David should be called something more formal).<br /><br />JFK: Great President. He was Irish (so are we) Catholic (so are we); he helped get man on the moon and challenged us to "ask not what your country can do for you..."<br /><br />FDR: THE GREATEST President. He ended the Great Depression and improved the lives of millions of people with the New Deal. Built the middle class. Elected 4 times!<br /><br />Nixon: He was a crook and then Ford took over and he was clumsy.<br /><br />I bring this up because if Steffi were to ask me to point to great Democrats in history, I basically have to dust off the 1977-78 talk track above. Oh, and the current President is a Democrat who really wants to be Reagan. <br /><br />Now excuse me, I have a sports page to read.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-5447298736255374122011-02-01T21:17:00.001-05:002011-02-01T21:34:19.160-05:00The DanceSaturday was the annual daddy daughter dance for Jess and I. She was not feeling well but as expected, she did not want to miss the dance. As I noticed with Stef, the older Jess gets the more she actually wants to dance with me. Of course she spent a lot of time running around with her friends, dancing, comparing jewelry, outfits and the candy they took from each table, but we did get to dance to a few numbers before she ran out of steam due to not feeling well. The only thing we missed was the obligatory "livin' on a prayer" closer from the D.J., but I'm never sure if that one is for the girls or the middle-aged guys pretending they can reach the high notes of the chorus.<br /><br />Overall we had a blast and we can't wait to see the pictures.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-45931593215788466872011-01-18T21:46:00.003-05:002011-01-18T22:07:29.488-05:00Basketball PersonalityI finally convinced the girls to go to the open gym at the Y to play basketball. Last Saturday we spent a couple of hours shooting hoops, and I thought the way each of them played reflected a part of their personality. Stef had a quiet confidence about her, finding that being a few inches taller then the last time we went made all the difference in being able to reach the ten foot basket and make shots. She hit a lot of bank shots from all angles and was really getting the hang of shooting.<br /><br />Stef also wanted me to teach her how to do a layup. She spent quite a bit of time determined to get the hang of jumping off one leg and hitting the spot on the backboard that I told her would guarantee the ball would go in. It reminded me of how she puts her mind to certain things in order to master them.<br /><br />Jess, on the other hand, must have taken 700 shots and made about 4. She had a most unorthodox shooting motion, hopping on both legs, landing, then jumping up again, then shooting. I hadn't seen anything like it since the Felix Unger leg kick. She was getting nowhere near the basket, but she didn't get upset, angry, or defeated; she smiled ear to ear while chasing down every errant shot. She is always about being in the moment and enjoying it to the fullest, and if that included hopping like a bunny and shooting a ball 3 feet short of the basket then so be it. I gave her some advice on shooting but really, she seemed to care less about making a shot. I think she just liked being with me and Stef.<br /><br />So the girls learned a little about basketball and I learned a little more about what makes them tick.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-21950156231371757172011-01-12T21:05:00.003-05:002011-01-12T21:35:21.493-05:00WordsI have been very conscious of trying to instill and reinforce confidence, self-esteem and a positive attitude in the girls. When they talk about the future, I tell them they can do anything they want if they try hard enough. So I was really forced to think through what I've sometimes used as a flippant remark about, of all things, the Dallas Cowboys. They were playing about a month ago and Stef asked, "Which team is that?" I said, "The Dallas Cowgirls". <br /><br />"Why do you call them Cowgirls when the team is the Cowboys?" she asked. Which made me think "yeah, why <span style="font-style:italic;">do</span> you call them that? Like the old comment, "you throw like a girl," am I trying to say that that is somehow inferior to a boy? Stef got the vibe that I meant it derisively. It did seem a little cavemanish the more i thought about it. Especially when I tell the girls there are professional women's sports teams that they could play for when they grow up.<br /><br />Earlier today, out of nowhere Stef said, "Dad, remember you called the Dallas Cowboys the Dallas Cowgirls." "Yes," I said. "I don't know why I said that. But I do know one thing. A team of Cowgirls would beat a team of Cowboys any day of the week."<br /><br />"Yeah!!" Stef yelled as she went back to her room.<br /><br />Yeah indeed.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-36647817557539370582010-11-16T22:52:00.004-05:002010-11-16T23:11:25.773-05:00The ExplanationStef is a cheerleader for the football team, but she's admitted that she doesn't really understand the game at all. I've offered for her to watch the Giants with me but she repeatedly declined, until this past Sunday. Having to explain why there are four downs, why they are called downs, why the first down is called first down, why they need to go 10 yards and not more or less became a little exhausting, and that was just in the first five minutes. Trying to explain why a quarterback runs or throws (hint - it has to do with the 10 yard thing), why yellow flags are thrown, what a punt is; it all became a little much for the both of us. Stef slowly stopped asking questions and left after I yelled at Eli for throwing an interception that was returned 101 yards for a Cowboys touchdown. She doesn't understand why I hate the Cowboys so much (it's like asking why does the sun rises in the East - I don't know, it just does).<br /><br />The whole thing reminded me of one of George Carlin's best routines - the difference between baseball and football. I can't figure out how to link to it here - just search George Carlin baseball versus football and it will pop up.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-90290216104870624552010-11-03T23:35:00.002-04:002010-11-04T00:08:08.153-04:00HalloweenThis Halloween was bittersweet, and not just because a neighbor handed out grapefruits and sweet tarts (okay I'm kidding. It was grapefruits and twizzlers). This was the first Halloween where Stef did the friend trick-or-treating thing. Because I was with Stef a lot on Friday and Saturday, I was privy to the extensive texting, phone calls, and in-person meetings necessary to get five pre-teen girls to agree (eventually) on a meeting spot. I didn't even ask her if she wanted to trick or treat with Jess and I, fearing it would shoot me into some type of Halloween-induced fourth dimension for interfering with the sanctity of the first ever friend-trick-or-treating-without-my-parents-plan.<br /><br />I still vividly remember walking a 16 month old Stef through the Scotch Plains Municipal Building, her Blues Clues tail wagging back and forth as I tried to explain to her that if she held out her bag a stranger would drop a piece of candy in it. This was her first official active participation in trick or treating; at 4 months old we pushed her around in her stroller up the block for all of 5 minutes, her annoyance with an itchy pumpkin costume soon abundantly transparent. <br /><br />It's another example of the "they grow up so fast" axiom, although she still isn't too old to share a tootsie roll with the old man.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-14936828524733325902010-10-24T20:04:00.003-04:002010-10-24T21:16:23.253-04:00The Triple HeaderMy highlight of the week continues to be watching the girls play soccer. This weekend was great because Stef's game was on Sunday so I got to watch both girls play. Saturday, Jess had 2 games; we had to leave at 6:30 am to make it to the tournament by 7:30, but we had fun listening to radio Disney on the way there. Her team has some awesome players, including herself. Unfortunately, they have yet to win a game. <br /><br />The coach sent a note to the parents this week saying that the girls have caught onto the fact that they haven't won a game. He didn't mention if they've caught onto the fact that they've been outscored by a googleplex. I was told during the sign-up period in July that every team should win 5 and lose 5 games, not including tournament play, although every team should play .500 ball there as well. Without questioning his sincerity, I guess I'm looking forward to the 12 week winning streak over the next four weeks.<br /><br />The first game Saturday was a close one. Jess scored the first goal of the game on a great shot, and her team led 1-0 at the half, the first time all year they have led a game at any point. Five minutes into the second half, her team had given up two quick goals, and they lost 2-1. <br /><br />There was a 2 1/2 hour break between games, and in true seven year-old fashion, rather than head to a diner or a Dunkin' Donuts to relax, Jess stayed and played with some of her teammates on the playground. I spoke to a lot of the parents and parent-coaches between games, and we all agreed that the girls have amazingly talent (the roster is made up of girls who basically scored at will last year on the smaller, goalie-less fields) but they are still learning how to play on a field that's ten times larger than last year, and on teams that now have goalies.<br /><br />Game two was expected to be much tougher because the girls they were playing were older. Jess's team was outshot 20-0 in the first ten minutes; our goalie should have been wearing hockey goalie pads based on the speed of the shots. Corner kicks flew in across the mouth of the goal, two on ones quickly became four on ones, but because of the outstanding goalie play and the fact that goalposts can stop shots the score was only 4-0 by halftime. In the second half Jess drew the short straw and played goalie. She played well, giving up only two goals on shots that would have been over my head. Jess still had fun, the weather was great, and I put Mr. "the goal is that every team play .500 ball" out of my mind until this post.<br /><br />Stef's game on Sunday was great. She played the most aggressive soccer I've ever seen her play. She scored a great goal from about ten yards out, and nearly had another one. In the second half she switched to playing defense. At one point she ran across the field to chase down another player and knock the ball out of bounds. She also knocked the ball out of the box a few times when the other team threatened to score. Stef has always been able to excel at whatever she puts her mind to, and it is great to see her play so well this year.<br /><br />Thanks girls.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-31993682213202693452010-10-21T08:05:00.002-04:002010-10-21T08:12:22.930-04:00DistressedThe other night Jess and I were sitting on the couch and I noticed she had these cool jeans (for a seven year old) that had some beads in the shape of a heart, some torn threads on one leg and a small hole in the other leg around the knee. "Those are cool, they call them distressed jeans," I said. Jess replied, "No, these just have a hole in them."<br /><br />I was never a clothes horse.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-19750268688888216742010-10-10T21:23:00.003-04:002010-10-10T21:29:33.760-04:00FriendshipI was raking leaves the other morning and found a quarter half-buried in the ground. I handed it to Jessica and said, "Look, I found a quarter, put it in your bank." She looked at me pensively, so I said, "It's okay, I found it next to my car; it probably fell out of my pocket." <br /><br />She replied, "Well, my friend lost some quarters when we had our lemonade stand, so I think it's hers." We gave her friend the quarter today. I found out that the lemonade stand was in August.<br /><br />What a good friend!Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-22200471619067163042010-10-07T22:54:00.002-04:002010-10-07T23:05:06.492-04:00The CompetitionI got home early enough tonight to play the Wii with Jessica. We are like McEnroe vs. Borg on Wii tennis. She still doesn't understand the scoring but we will rally for quite a while over each point. Tonight she beat me in tennis, we tied in baseball, and I barely beat her in bowling and in mini-golf. I like that she's competitive but the whole time we will make jokes to make each other laugh. She also threw out a golfism during mini-golf. Hitting a putt short, she admonished herself, "C'mon, hit the ball." I've only said that 10 times a round for 25 years.<br /><br />After a couple hours of Wii, we pretty much called it a night, but not before she beat me in two games of Mancala. I've never been able to figure that game out.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-6040977044865493202010-10-05T20:44:00.004-04:002010-10-05T21:12:14.898-04:00Power ShowerAccording to a consumer survey from the U.K., men and women spend roughly equal time in the shower each day - a woman spends about 10 minutes, 40 seconds in the shower, while men average 10 minutes, 1 second. <br /><br />According to an informal observation by me, the men and women of this household would average 10 minutes in the shower per day as well, provided I cut my shower down to 14 seconds.<br /><br />The point is the girls tend to linger in the shower, particularly Jess. Tonight I was lost in thought reading the latest issue of Rolling Stone when I noticed 15 minutes had slipped away. "Jess, it's time to finish up," I told her. "Okay," she replied. "I just need to wash my body and rinse my hair."<br /><br />On second thought, let's cut that to 6 seconds.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-35028791952412710602010-10-04T21:11:00.006-04:002010-10-04T21:43:56.195-04:00BeliefsEvery once in a while I think about how the girls will view the world when they get older. Specifically, I wonder if they will someday consider themselves a liberal or a conservative. I don't care, except being a liberal means setting yourself up for a lifetime of frustration and disappointment. The entire Democratic party needs a fireside chat from FDR, stat.<br /><br />I bring this up because of what Stef wrote for us to read at the back to school night for parents. In writing about herself, she mentioned the following beliefs:<br /><br />- people should be treated equally<br />- teenagers shouldn't litter<br />- she believes in giving food to the food bank<br />- trees shouldn't be cut down<br /><br />Well at least she didn't mention taxing the rich.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-77252636176797073532010-09-29T22:52:00.003-04:002010-09-30T00:01:06.669-04:00HockeyLast weekend the girls and I were invited to see the Rangers play the Devils at the Rock. At one time hockey was a popular sport, particularly in the late 80s and early 90s. Today, it's on nobody's radar. If hockey were a celebrity, it would be Ian Ziering. Yes, I know, <span style="font-style:italic;">who </span>indeed.<br /><br />Anyway, hockey is still a great sport to see live, the tickets were free, and Jess was happy to be going with one of her friends. The last time I went to a hockey game the girls weren't even born, and Ian Ziering was enjoying a comfortable career on 90210. It's been so long that I forgot about the atmosphere associated with a hockey game, namely:<br /><br />1) The fighting: There were at least five fights during the game, including one in which a Ranger player ducked and covered his head to avoid a further beatdown. During the first fight, I glanced at Steffi, who looked like someone witnessing the ice turning into a burning ring of fire. I told her that hockey is one of the few endeavors, other than boxing, mixed martial arts, or being a Real World cast member, where fighting is condoned, if not encouraged. By the end of the third fight, Jess and her friend were slow motion fighting with each other.<br /><br />2) The Cursing: In 1979, when I was a hockey fanatic, Denis Potvin of the Islanders broke Ranger Ulf Nilsson's ankle with a hip check. To this day, when a fan finishes whistling a short tune, the crowd will chant "POTVIN SUCKS!!!" What does this have to do with last Saturday's game? Well, the Devils fans have taken over that chant by following the whistling tune with "RANGERS SUCK!!!" Stef was intrigued by the clear, distinct whistling preceding this fairly frequent chant.<br /><br />3) The Scoring (and Cursing): Since the mid-90s, scoring has been way down in hockey. On the positive side, Saturday's game had lots of scoring, with the Rangers winning 5-4 in OT. On the negative side, each Devils score was followed by Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll" playing full blast, which included the fans chanting, "HEY...YOU SUCK" after every goal. I assumed this was aimed at the Rangers, not Gary Glitter.<br /><br />4) The Chanting (and Cursing): I loved going to hockey games when I was younger. Ranger fans would yell "Let's go Rangers", which in turn led Islander fans to yell "1940" (which prior to 1994 was the last Ranger's Stanley Cup win). Since "1940" is no longer in play, the Devils fans reacted to each "Let's Go Rangers" chant with, "RANGERS SUCK!!" It should be noted here that the Devils play a very predictable, vanilla form of hockey. Evidently their fans use the same approach to berating an opponent.<br /><br />All in all, the girls had a blast and are interested in going to another game. I'm not sure if they could understand what was happening down on the ice, but I had no doubt by the end of the night they knew who sucked.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-34704825714007766342010-09-18T07:07:00.006-04:002010-09-18T07:33:30.236-04:00The QuestionLast night Jessica wanted to have a friend over for a sleepover. Below are excerpts of the conversation<br /><br />Jess: "Where is Mommy?"<br /><br />Me: "She's out. Why?"<br /><br />Jess: "I want to invite (redacted) over for a sleepover, but Mommy's not here."<br /><br />Me: "Well, I'm an adult too (sometimes), and I'm okay with it. Why don't you call your friend and invite her over?"<br /><br />Jess on phone to friend: "Do you want to come over for a sleep over? Great! Ummm, hold on."<br /><br />Jess to me: "Daddy, where is Mommy?"<br /><br />Me: "She's out, what's your question?"<br /><br />Jess: "What time can she come over?"<br /><br />Me: "Whenever she wants to."<br /><br />Jess (after hanging up phone) "Um, I need to call Mommy and tell her. What should I say?"<br /><br />Me: "Tell Mommy that the Man of the House decided it was okay for your friend to sleep over."<br /><br />Jess on phone (I overheard from another room): "Mommy, (redacted) can sleep over. I'm so excited. What? Ummm, Daddy wanted me to tell you something. The Man of the House said it was okay."<br /><br />Full disclosure: I was told ahead of time that the sleepover might happen. Without that knowledge, this would have been the conversation:<br /><br />Jess: "I want to invite (redacted) over for a sleepover."<br /><br />Me: "Where's Mommy?"Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05285480477603216367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-68531507294847449102010-09-11T16:05:00.004-04:002010-09-11T16:41:09.107-04:00A Half, Full DayOne of the things I try to do with the girls is to have them look at the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. Stef has started playing a guitar, basically strumming chords herself to see if she likes it. This morning she told me she started writing a song, but it only has two chords in it. I told her that was twice as many chords as a John Lee Hooker song, and he was one of the greatest blues artists of all time. I think she thinks I'm making these things up...but so far I haven't had to do so.<br /><br />Later on this morning, Stef told me she'd rather play offense on her soccer team, but she didn't win the tryout for offense so instead she's a midfielder. I told her that Franz Beckenbauer was one of the most famous soccer players of all time, and he was a midfielder. In fact, midfielders are considered the field general of the entire soccer team. <br /><br />But the last glass is half-full moment of the day came not from me, but from Jessica. She had her first two games of the year in travel soccer. In the first game, her team looked a little overwhelmed. The team is all new, they've only practiced once, and the field is 4 times bigger than the field they played on last year. The other team had what looked like future World Cup stars, kept the ball on offense the entire time, and scored 5 goals while taking about 84 shots. Jess barely touched the ball at all.<br /><br />During the game, I thought maybe it was a mistake to sign her up for travel soccer. She went from scoring 8-10 goals a game to trying without success to chase Pele Patty sprinting down the field with the ball on a string. <br /><br />After the game, when I asked her what she thought, she said "It was awesome. I love soccer!" And in the second game, the team played much better, Jesse had a few shots on goal, and she scored right before the end of the game.<br /><br />The day was only half over, but it was definitely half-full.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-123411561991548552010-09-04T08:53:00.002-04:002010-09-04T09:15:11.550-04:00AgreementI was watching a Today Show segment yesterday morning on Barack Obama and his kids. He is amazed at how fast his kids are growing up, and can't believe that his oldest daughter has gone from infant to near-teen in the blink of an eye. <br /><br />The story reminded me that this is the first President that I share even a little bit of a lifestage with, since our kids are roughly the same age. It must be similar to the feeling the Boomers had when Clinton was elected, or the fake cowboys had when W. was elected.<br /><br />This might be the first time I actually agreed with Obama on something. Frankly, I'd rather find agreement with him on his approach to fixing the financial collpase, his health care policy, his military strategy...I could go on. While not even the leader of the free world can stop the march of time, hopefully the President will realize that everything else is within his power to change for the better.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-44450923142575659042010-08-20T23:22:00.004-04:002010-08-23T13:59:00.376-04:00The Cell PhoneToday was a day Steffi has been looking forward to for months – the day she got a cell phone. Why today? Because last September we told her we would get her one in August before she went to middle school, and she circled this day on the calendar.<br /><br />So Stef and I went to the Verizon store today and picked out a phone. She loves it. It’s blue, it’s got a slide out QWERTY keypad, a camera, and best of all, her own cell phone number. <br /><br />Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it has one more thing. I asked the salesman what packages they had to help parents monitor a child’s cellphone. “You mean the Lojack Tracker?” he bellowed in a voice that rattled the walls of the store. Before the echo subsided, Steffi asked, “You want to track where I am on the cell phone?”<br /><br />The first thought running through my head at that moment was why Verizon calls such a thing the Lojack Tracker. Couldn't it be called <em>Rainbows and Sunshine</em>, <em>Project Candy Cane</em>, or something innocuous so your pre-teen doesn’t know what it is. Why not the <em>Clean Up Your Room</em>? Kids stop paying attention after that phrase.<br /><br />I sounded like George Bush when it was discovered he had been wiretapping our phone calls for years. “I don’t want the service to spy on you,” I explained to Steffi. “I want the service so I can protect you.”<br /><br />In the end, Steffi was happy, Verizon got another customer, and I had a new appreciation for W. Okay, let's just say two out of three ain't bad.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317301145209822896.post-38509507643400382662010-08-13T07:49:00.004-04:002010-08-13T08:22:23.311-04:00The CollectionThis was the content of the note I saw first thing this morning when I went downstairs to get a cup of coffee:<br /><br />Chismas<br /><br />every kind of si lly band there is that we don't have<br /><br />J+8 (scribbled out)<br /><br />J and S<br /><br />I didn't need the "J" to figure out this was the work of Jessica, the ultimate collector queen. She absolutely loves things that are part of a collection, whether it's Care Bears, Webkinz, Silly Bandz or the Fairy Books, a collection of 101,407 fairy books that are themed in groups of seven books ("the weather fairies", the "rainbow fairies" the "pet fairies" etc.) "Foods that start with the letter Q fairies" and "neo-conservative leader fairies" rounds out that series.<br /><br />Luckily Jessica picks things that are relatively inexpensive, and these collections don't always overlap (there was a heavy up period in Care Bear activity a few years ago, while the fairy books are within the last year). Although it's waned, I'll occasionally come home to see 25 Care Bears staring back at me from the couch, a sure sign that Jessica was watching a Care Bears movie.<br /><br />I think she gets this from me. Out of the ten hats I own nine of them are some form of Giants hat (but each one <span style="font-style:italic;">is</span> different, as Jessica would say). I also own most Rolling Stones albums, including buying Exile on Main Street in every form except traveling minstrel. <br /><br />I am happy that Jess shows such devotion to her toys. And if this Christmas I can find "Sports Fairies" Silly Bandz with Barbie Fairy names in Care Bear colors, I will have hit the jackpot.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07587077658272513924noreply@blogger.com0