May
16
Bathroom Monster Eating My Poopie
Filed Under Fatherhood | 1 Comment
I think I know why Eli is so afraid of the bathroom lately. Since his first successful visit to the potty last week he has shown no interest in going again. Matter of fact, he won’t even go in the bathroom except for a bath and brushing his teeth.
So I asked him.
DAD: “Eli…why won’t you go into the bathroom?”
Eli: Potty Monster
DAD: “Don’t be silly, there is no such thing”
Eli: It eats Poopies
DAD: “Who taught you that”
Eli: Silence
DAD: “Eli…who taught you that there is a potty monster”
Eli: “Friends”
Must be the kids at daycare. So now I have to convince Eli that there is not a poopie monster in the bathroom. This should be interesting.
May
13
No Mommy. Daddy do it
Filed Under Failures | 2 Comments
Eli has reached a new pinnacle of harshness towards Mommy the last few days. Nothing can be done by her if I am around. It is getting to the point that it is destroying Jodi’s confidence and morale. I am not sure what to do. The question really is becoming whether or not this is a stage or something is driving his behavior. What I don’t understand is why he can be fine with her when I am not around but as soon as I walk in the door Mommy is like the plague and I am like his favorite person in the world.
Anyone have any insight on what is going on here. It is all encompassing, for example this morning Jodi got Eli dressed. When it came to the shoes Eli saw me and screamed about his shoes being on. He took them off and demanded that I put them on. He demanded that I make his breakfast, that I bring the breakfast to him and that I take him to school. Any effort on the part of my wife was met with a stern no and that daddy do it. He will even force her out of the way if she tries to get involved.
It is flattering but very scary. Eli is definitely in a daddy funk and it has to end, not because I don’t like it but because it really is affecting Jodi in a bad way. She takes him to the park, she snuggles with him, she gives him treats, she plays with him…it is not like she is bad cop and I am good cop.
Anyone go through this? HELP! I don’t want to have to call Nanny 911
May
10
In a Rut
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Thank God for the warm weather and the return to lots of out door play. Lately, against my own good judgment and best wishes Eli has been watching a lot of TV and staying in the house. At first it was cute, he wanted nothing more than to do puzzles, listen to music and watch TV. Now it has become an obsession. Thankfully at least he has seen the light of day at school and for a few minutes riding his Spider Man scooter!
I have lost my way. Where are the days of art projects, coloring, kicking soccer balls, playing indoor hockey and other activities. I am in a rut and I am taking Eli with me! I need to make a change. Crap I don’t even remember when the last time we sat down to write numbers and letters or worked on anything truly educational. Damn, we don’t even read stories lately, instead it is a pillow fight! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!
Time for a shake up. TV is going to go off again and the great outdoors are going to open up. Next weekend, I am going to take Eli to a local state park and we are going to go for a hike! Time to get back into books, back into art and music. Wish me luck!
May
7
When is a Lie a Lie?
Filed Under Fatherhood | 1 Comment
Jeez…I am facing what I consider one of the most crucial tests of my parenting skills and I am not sure how to react. We are working on potty training Eli and we know that consistency is the key to success. We plan on using this program we read about that basically requires a weekend at home to complete the transition. Anyway, to the point.
Eli went pee and poo on the potty the other night but has not done so again. Last night Eli started tooting and I asked if he needed to go poop on the potty. He said no. I asked him if he was going poop and he said no. I smelled it, and I knew he had to poop but he would deny it over and over again. So I checked his diaper and a little poop was there. I asked him if he was done pooping and he responded yes so I changed him. Reminding him that big boys go on the potty I asked again if he was done. He said yes. Two minutes later, he finished pooping in his diaper.
Clearly he lied to me. But at what age is that a lie? Eli is not ready to be potty trained, that much is clear although he is getting close, but he flat out told me something he knew was not true. I think that is the burning question I want answered. Did he willingly and knowingly not tell me the truth or does he not understand the concept.
I know I shouldn’t be upset about any of this but internally I am.
May
4
Eli Goes Bowling
Filed Under Fatherhood | 4 Comments
About a month ago Eli came to visit me while I was bowling on my league. He immediately yelled that he wanted to bowl but we were hesitant. How can a kid who is not even 3 pick up a bowling ball and actually bowl?
Today I had a bowling charity event and I figured it was a perfect time to bring Eli and give him a chance. Eli picked out a bright green bowling ball (6 pounds) and went with me up to the lane. I told him to put the ball down, and push it really hard down the alley. I let him know he couldn’t step over a specific line. It took Eli exactly two frames before he demanded that he do it all by himself, and he did. He bowled every frame after that by himself. Picking up his ball, walking to the end of the approach, put the ball down, rolled it and watched it hit. Each time jumping up and down like it was the best thing he had ever achieved in his life. He scored 67!
Eli was tired so he didn’t bowl a second game but boy did he have a blast! Maybe he will like bowling his entire life like daddy.
May
2
First Pee Pee & Poo Poo on Potty!
Filed Under Accomplishments | 1 Comment
Eli did it! His first Poo Poo and Pee Pee on the potty! The scenario was so innocent. Eli told me he went poo poo and needed a diaper change. What he really wanted was me to turn on the bedroom light so he could stall a bit longer before going to bed! When I went to change his diaper he had a tiny nugget and I could tell he was not done. I asked him if he wanted to go sit on the potty and he said NO! I offered him M&M’s, staying up late, and the world and he said no. I told him he would have to back to bed after I changed his diaper and then he said, no potty. Once again, this was just a ploy to not go to sleep so I made him promise to go sit on the potty or back to bed. He said yes and we went into the bathroom. I showed him the big potty with his elmo potty seat and he said no, so I offered him the low to the ground little potty and he said yes. He sat down on the potty, with his diaper off and we started talking about everything and playing word games. Eventually he started passing some gas and a bit of poop was visible out of his tush. We stayed there for 40+ minutes while he squeezed on the largest poop I had ever seen and even went pee.
At times he told me he was scared so I held his hand and kept him distracted a bit with toys and games. The best thing was him saying he was not done yet and he wouldn’t get off the potty until he was done. As soon as he was, we cleaned him up, did a happy dance, gave him praise for going like a big boy and rewarded him with his favorite TV show, a Popsicle and some M&M’s!
Wow, I am so floored and proud of him! He was scared, he was brave, he was such a big boy! I can’t wait to see if he does it again tomorrow!
May
2
RaisingEli.com turned 3!
Filed Under Fatherhood | 2 Comments
I can’t believe it, but this blog has turned 3 last week and I forgot all about it. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who comes and reads the blog, and a very special thanks to all who comment. As most bloggers are, I live to see people leaving comments. It is nice to see that there is now a community of dad bloggers who support each other as well as the moms who want to hear a dad’s warped view on raising a child.
I look forward to another 3 more years. Maybe the blog will be around long enough for Eli to start posting!
May
2
Birthday Party Emergency
Filed Under Failures | Leave a Comment
You know what they say, if I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all. This definitely holds true for setting up Eli’s 3rd birthday party. We had to change the date and time of the party because guess what, it conflicted with another kids party from his class. You would ask, why the hell would you schedule a conflicting party and the answer is quite simple. Eli was not invited to the party so hence we didn’t know about it.
So why wasn’t Eli invited? It seems that all the other kids were invited from his class and Eli gets along so well with this little boy. According to reports from certain key people at daycare, Eli was “supposed” to be invited but you know how that goes. When the cat is out of the bag, the invitation was accidentally lost.
Needless to say we swallowed our pride and rescheduled Eli’s party in hopes that his school friends would attend. I tell you what, it is no pleasure when a parent of another child comes up to you questioning why you would ever think about hosting a conflicting party. The insinuation was like getting punched in the nose and all I could do is plead innocence for not knowing.
As for the other little boys party, we still never got an invite and will not be going if one suddenly arrived in Eli’s mailbox. Some things are just better left…ignored.
May
1
New Games at Bedtime
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Bedtime is crazy time here. Eli always seems to find this reserve of silly energy which has included pillow fights, bouncing in bed, dancing, spinning, rolling around, flopping, climbing up and down daddy, covering daddy with the blanket etc. We put Eli to bed around 7:30pm and he actually goes to sleep around 9:30 (we usually leave his room at about 8:30pm).
It is really kind of fun and an enjoyable bonding experience but I have realized that allowing him to get this riled up is not a very smart idea. To combat this I have started trying to play new games with him that are calm, relaxing and tiring.
One such game is the I like the (fill in the blank) animal. The goal is to make him think of uncommon animals without saying one that he is thinking about ruining his concentration. Another game is a simple number game where we take turns telling each other which numbers we like. The best game however is making various animal noises in turn. It brings out quiet giggles, talk of being silly and usually results in him drifting off to the point that he rolls over and goes to sleep.
Bedtime is quality time.
Cheers
Apr
28
Gas
Filed Under Fatherhood | 7 Comments
I received an email a few minutes ago asking which USA based companies buy their gas from Middle Eastern countries. Luckily for me, I had received another email in short order that claimed that the following companies do not import Gas from the Middle East.I am not sure if it matters to you but here is the list:
Sunoco, Conoco Sinclair, BP/Phillips, Hess and ARC0
What I find amazing is the simple fact that gas can cost vastly different amounts of money even though the gas station is directly across from a competitor. For example I have a Mobile, Exxon and Hess station within 500 yards of each other. The Mobiles station charges $3.79, The Hess $3.65 and the Exxon (which is also Mobile) charges $3.85. None of the three have a superior location or benefit for the consumer. They all sell coffee, they all sell treats and they all have the same number of pumps. What could cause the price to go up? The answer is GREED!
