11 posts tagged “stay-at-home dad”
Just after Christmas, when the visiting in-law grandparents were safely stuffed back on an airplane, my 3 3/4 year old decided she wanted to learn to read.
It has been an explosion of knowledge.
I am not keeping track of a word list that she can recognize or spell yet, as I'm not sure day to day how much of it is sticking in long-term memory, but it would be impressive.
Our favored method is to use an email client to compose a message (in super huge font)
one word on one line at a time.
This past week, she expressed an interest (i.e. "NO, I want to do it!") in typing the words herself.
So, she's also learning the letter location of the QWERTY system as well.
She's been copying some of her favorite sections of Doctor Seuss books in this fashion.
Now she's hitting up educational game websites to master their spelling games.
She long ago became bored with the content on noggin.com and nickjr.com having explored every link on their sites.
She is more competent with the use of the mouse and navigating via browser bookmarks than my parents are.
Her latest expansion is math fractions games.
She was on a spelling game when I left the room to go make us nachos.
I came back and bam, she's doing math.
My wife's response, "Are you going to save anything at all for her teachers when she starts school?"
I'd write a child development book on how it all happened, but dude, I don't think it's me.
We haven't pushed either of our kids, but simply provided resources for them when they expressed an interest themselves in exploring a given topic.
Now the 21 month old, I'll just be glad when she's finished potty-training (about 90% there now.)
She's also learning her alphabet, animals and sounds they make with a ringed flipcard set.
She started potty training (felt like early) because she wanted to keep up with big sister.
Now she looks like she wants to do the same thing with playing on the PC and reading her own book words.
It's daunting, this whole parenting young kids thing, but I think I might not have screwed up too bad.
I think they'll both be ready for school on time, likely way ahead of peer grade-level.
I am anticipating feeling incredibly relieved at that hand-off of learning to the teacher and at the same time weirded out, considering that at this pace they should surpass my own knowledge of most topics somewhere around middle-school age.
The In-Laws arrived last Thursday.
They left this morning.
I have my house back.
Within the house, I have my office back.
*Enormous Exhale*
Ahhhh.
That's better.
The kids enjoyed their visit... The wife worked half-days.
and I managed not to murder any of them.
Good times.
What time is your alarm clock set for? Do you use the snooze button?
We have a three year old that is set to "Daylight".
As soon as she sees light, any light, even the faintest glimmer from the sun, she's pounding on our door in the morning.
As for the snooze button, I have yet to be able to locate it on my daughter.
My weeks are largely filled with trying to keep the two knee-highs from killing themselves from lack of experience or ability as they explore the world.
That means lots of the "Why?" conversation that often turns cyclical unless I'm on my A-game for explanations.
Simultaneously, I educate them as I keep them entertained and engaged.
That means lots of wagon rides and trips to the park playground or pool.
Or napping.
I really like it when they nap.
They can't hurt themselves when they're napping.
So, when the wife walks into the office just now, and asks me what I want to do this weekend, I stare blankly.
What do I WANT to do?
I get into a rhythm of coping and surviving after a while... you might call it a groove.
It's a really great skill to have.
Except that it shuts off the nerve endings to ambition or drive or desire.
If I was all geared up to get a book done just now, I would be bouncing off the walls and probably be appearing in court, because I would have done something dastardly to the kids to get enough peace to focus on my words.
The two of them make it impossible to focus. They are needy. Constantly hungry for food, or attention, or learning and for some reason they really like me. As in attached-to-my-knees like me. It's a blast, as in both fun and deafening (two little girls shrieking.)
So long as I don't want to get anything else done that doesn't revolve around them.
So, for now, I am content to be without desire, or ambition, or a book deal... or plans for the weekend.
Rather, I don't look at the desire, ambition, or weekend plans that I know are lurking beneath the surface.
They bump my legs beneath the water from time to time, but I tell myself that it's just a small fish, and keep treading water.
One day, sooner than I will ever think it will be, the kids will be gone and I will be glad that I didn't miss them because I was too driven to get something else done.
For now, all I want is a soft chair and a warm sun, something, preferably cool to drink...
and naps, I want the kids to nap their little hearts out when they aren't playing and learning.
What do I want to do?
I want the kids to grow up smart, healthy, strong, and cute of course.
I want to give them what they need to do that to their best.
Even when that means not giving them something, so that they learn a lesson.
Also, I want to feel like it is enough to do this for them and not feel that I'm behind where I should be for myself.
Here and there on a good day, I get that.
Meantime, the wife was still waiting for an answer, looking at me like I'm pathetic for not having the next two days planned out.
What do I want to do?
I fall back to my reserve position, looking at her lewdly, and reply, "You."
No, not the whiskey.
A real live one.
It ran through the backyard, circled around, peeped in the back sliding glass door, startled the hell out of two boxers and one stay-at-home dad who was cooking tater-tots at the time, and then sped away to do whatever the hell it is that wild turkeys do.
Yes, that bumps the mosquitoes off the top of the list of largest wildlife I've seen in Tennessee so far.
Now, back to my taters and tots.
Gabba, gabba, hey! as the Ramones would say.
Had a spare moment that coincided with the eldest daughter finishing a jigsaw puzzle.
Took her outside in the sun.
Started doing jumping jacks.
Got her to join in.
The laughing might have been more exercise than the jacks.
Until a sojourning pill-bug became more fascinating.
And my eyes shut with stinging sweat.
Latest creation for the musical "Punk-Tot" genre:
She's A Miner
Is this one mine?
Can I have some of those?
Yeah, this one's mine.
Daddy? Oh daddy. Daddy?
Is this one mine?
Can I have some of those?
Yeah, this one's mine.
This one's not like the other one.
Well, this one's outside.
This one's not my other one.
I have two of those.
This is not inside.
Yeah, this one's mine.
Daddy? Oh daddy. Daddy?
This is not inside.
It's a bug!
Daddy, it's a bug!
Well, it's squished.
It's spider-parts.
Just like my baby spider.
Just like the water spout.
And I've spilled.
I've spilled my water out.
Daddy, can I go get it?
Can I pick it up?
Yeah, this one's mine.
I will clean it with a towel.
Because this is my outside towel.
Well, I will give it a ride to the grass.
Then I will smack it in the daytime.
Because the lights are off.
Is this the daytime?
Yeah, the lights are sleeping.
The lights wake up at nighttime.
Daddy? Oh daddy. Daddy?
It's a yellow butterfly.
It's not a moth.
Is it yellow?
Is this one mine?
It flies all over the place.
Well, it's not a giant mosquito.
Yeah, this one's mine.
My eldest 3 year old is a master of this art.
The 6 year old girl next door saw us checking the mailbox at the street on Friday.
She came over and said hi and asked if my daughter wanted to come play.
Girl: "Hi, do you want to come play at our house?"
Eldest: "Well, we're checking the mailbox for letters."
Girl: "We have lots of toys that we can play with and I'll share with you."
Eldest: (pointing to the sky) "That's an airplane. Mommy rides airplanes to work in other cities."
Girl: "I cleaned my room so that we have room to play. It didn't take very long at all."
Eldest: (pointing two-handed at our house) "This is our house. It's not our Michigan house. This is our Nashville house. We have two houses."
Girl's Father: (loading bags into car.) "C'mon - - - -, we have to go now. Come get in the car with your sister."
Girl: (to Father) "In a second." (to Eldest) "Maybe we can play sometime?"
Eldest: (to me) "I have to go potty."
Me: (to Eldest) "Say bye-bye."
Eldest: (walks inside.)
Me: (to Girl) "Oh, maybe she can play later. Bye-bye."
Girl: (to me/Eldest) "Bye-bye." (to Father) "I'm coming Daddy!"
The camera to PC cable has been located!
This is the pie that my 3 year old helped me make for her mama, in the wee hours of Mother's Day.
Musical preferences are blossoming in the household.
Youngest daughter, aged 1, now has a favorite tune to spin around and squat to.
She goes all grinning, sparkle-eyed for John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom".
She even baby-babbles the guitar parts.
At this age, eldest daughter loved to groove her little bounce and spin to Nirvana's "Negative Creep".
From there she has progressed (digressed) into "Yellow Elephant" as her favorite; the British children's song from a CD given her by the Millionaire because he couldn't help himself after seeing another song titled "Never Play Cards With A Cheetah" on the disc.
Yes, he's that cheesy, and freely admits to being so.
