children
DAD, CAN PEOPLE FLY?
04/05/16 09:18
Conor and I were lying in bed before school. “Dad, can any people fly without things to help them?” No, Conor, only birds can fly. All people need a machine to help them fly. “Like an airplane, helicopter, or a kite?” he quizzed. “That’s right, son,” I said, knowing I was letting him down. “Well, I want to fly,” he squeeked out. “Many, many people want to fly really bad. And that’s why two brothers named Orville and Wilber Wright invented the airplane.” I informed him.Then Conor stood up on the bed. “Dad, you stand over there.” And so I stood, bracing myself. And he jumped! “See dad, I can fly.” Conor always has to have the last word. And that’s when we got him dressed for school and stuffed him into his car seat. We drove. We didn’t fly.
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EASTER BUNNY MUST BE HURTIN’
26/03/16 22:04
Woke up Saturday with a plan. Easter egg hunt at 9:00am. Not easy to do after a beer hunt the night before. Silly rabbit.
Forgot the Easter basket. Where’s a grocery bag? Ding. Got it. Let’s go honey. Let’s go Conor. That bunny waits for no one at the Quincy Nazarene Church.
300 kids. That’s a lot of competition for some eggs. That Easter bunny must be in a lot of pain. Conor ties his running shoes. Damn, we forgot his helmet.
The whistle blows. The kids charge. No elbowing. No tripping. No crying. I was hoping for a little more drama. No, not really.
Conor checked his bag. Thrilled. Easter booty from the Easter bunny is worth waking up for. Even if he did whine the whole way here.
“Here dad, hold my stuff, I see a bouncy house.” Conor ran off with his friends. Wish I could find a bouncy couch. And take a nap.
Wait, what? We have to rush to ice skating lessons after an ambitious Easter egg hunt? What? Oh yes, here it is in my calendar.
DAD, I ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING
23/03/16 23:22
Yesterday, Conor and I were having a talk and I was trying to tell him that during a full moon, the tide gets really high because of the moon's gravitational pull. He told me, "Dad, I already know everything." I got a bit perturbed at him and said, "You know what Conor, you may think you know everything, but the truth is, you don't. We never stop learning. We can learn something new every single day of our lives." He got quiet for a second, then said, "You know what Dad, I already knew that, too." That boy is too smart for his own britches! I was pissed off and done with the conversation. Conor 1; Dad 0.
UPSET ABOUT HIS UPSET STOMACH
12/04/14 21:56
Conor is two and a half years old and tonight is the first time I've ever seen him get an upset stomach and lose his cookies. He started off by telling me, 'Daddy, tummy.' No other explanation than that. I rubbed it and thought he was just showing me how far it sticks out because it is rather round. He waited about five minutes and said again, "Daddy, tummy." I think I heard some gas but what's new there? So I rubbed his tummy and asked him if it felt okay. He said, "no'. So I sat on the bed with him and we talked about Curious George and how Curious George likes to visit the chocolate factory. Then Conor put his little hand up to his mouth and said, "Daddy, my mouth!" and his eyes looked so scared. I figured it out immediately. I grabbed a towel and he was still looking scared. I told him that it was okay to let whatever was inside come right out of his mouth and that it would be okay. He did! And it went everywhere. Of course he started crying and his mom had grabbed him by the time he threw up and poor thing was covered in hotdogs and milk. She was a real trooper and took him downstairs for a bath.
I still remember how scared I was when I was a little boy and I had to throw up. I thought I was going to die. Seriously. It was the worst feeling I had ever felt. To be able to breathe again after that was quite a surprise. Conor threw up two more times that night and there was major cleanup necessary. We took his temperature and he was normal. The next morning he was completely fine and we returned to normalcy…whatever that is!
CONOR THINKS I HUNG THE MOON
15/10/13 21:29
There’s something special about a dad and his son that just seems to make the world make sense. I feel like all the stuff i learned once upon a time has a purpose again. And if my son doesn’t like that I’m always imparting bits of trivial knowledge into his brain, he doesn’t show it. In fact, he acts like he relishes it. He’s only two but I thought he might like to know that the moon is only 270,000 miles from Earth. And when i took a picture of it this weekend with a powerful Nikon lens, I pointed out the acne spots were really places where asteroids collided with the moon. He laughed and clapped. I never really thought of it that way but I decided it was funny and thought applause was in order. I mean it really must have been quite a sight to see two foreign bodies crash into each other 270,000 miles away. I mean, it’s not like anyone got hurt or anything. He was playing with the wheel of my bike this weekend and as it spun, I explained that once an object is in motion it will continue that motion until an opposite force makes it stop. He rubbed his finger along the rubber until it stopped. He laughed. I said, “exactly”. Then he realized he burned his finger on the spinning rubber and he lifted his finger for me to kiss and make better. I did as told and he smiled. I didn’t tell him of the phenomenon ‘placebo effect’ because that would ruin everything.
It’s a brief time that my son is a little boy thinking that his dad hung the moon. I’m going to milk it for everything it’s worth. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-oct-2013.html#sthash.csgaEp8K.dpuf
PANCAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN SO MUCH FUN
13/10/13 21:32
Conor doesn’t like when I ignore him in the morning when making breakfast. But if I include him in the process, he’s happy as a clam in mud.
MY KID IS A GOAT
23/08/13 15:42
Recently, my wife and I took our 21 month old son to the Berkshire Mountains to visit the Hancock Shaker Village. Here, they have a small farm for visitors to see how the Shakers used to live. Our son was intrigued with the cows, goats, pigs and chickens. And when the staff invited Conor into the field to play with the goats, Conor glowed. And after about three minutes in the pen, he turned into a goat himself.
"There is some indication that having a good imagination translates into more creativity as an adult. But even more intriguing--and the idea getting the most attention in labs these days--is a possible connection between pretend play and the ability to get along socially in the world. In particular, researchers are investigating whether pretend play facilitates the development of children's theory of mind--the ability to understand that others have thoughts and feeling all their own."
From an article in the American Psychological Association entitled "The Power of Pretending" by Beth Azar
EYEBALL SCANNING FOR KIDS' SAFETY
11/07/13 16:06
A growing number of schools are replacing traditional identification cards with iris scanners. Winthrop University in South Carolina is testing out iris scanning technology during freshman orientation this summer. In June, students had their eyes scanned as they received their ID cards. The college will be deploying scanning technology from New Jersey-based security company Iris ID. "Iris scanning has a very high level of accuracy, and you don't have to touch anything," said James Hammond, head of Winthrop University's Information Technology department, CNN reports. "It can be hands free security."
"Imagine a world where you're no longer reliant on user names and passwords," Anthony Antolino, CMO of Eyelock – another iris scanning company, told CNNMoney. "If we're going through a turnstile and you have authorization to go beyond that, it'll open the turnstile for you, if you embed it into a tablet or PC, it will unlock your phone or your tablet or it will log you into your email account."
In an attempt to ease the concerns expressed by privacy advocates, iris scanning companies say all the data they collect is encrypted and owned by the individual businesses that employs the technology and not the tech company itself.
On one hand it makes sense, I suppose. But on the other hand, it just seems like we're losing our privacy little by little. The more our identity lives in databases, the more people have access to it. My son will never know the amount of privacy we had growing up. So much for skipping a class and heading down to the lake for a swim. The school, the police and I will know where he is at all times. Good for me, bad for him.
A BIG TRUCK MISUNDERSTANDING
08/07/13 16:17
Conor has a little trouble saying, 'truck'. The result is embarrassing. We're working on it.
COOL HAND CONOR GETS A TIMEOUT
11/06/13 16:20
At 20 months old, Conor's just now at the age where we think he can understand right from wrong and can benefit from discipline. So we're now instilling the old 'timeout' rule. In his resistance to eating what he doesn't like, his rebellious act of choice is to throw food. We give him one chance to correct the behavior on his own.Then he gets a 30 second timeout in his playpen in the next room.
In true Conor fashion, he catches on fast. He cries the whole time and waits for us to come back. Tonight, after the third timeout for throwing his hotdog pieces, I asked him if he knew why he was in a timeout. He didn't respond so I reminded him. Then just as I had commented during the last two timeouts, he said with enthusiasm, 'Okay, let's go back into the room', meaning the dining room.
He's a great kid and takes his punishment well. But just as this picture suggests, it's bound to get more difficult as he gets older and gets an attitude. Time will tell!
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN TO A CHILD THAT WAS INURED IN A BOMBING THAT ITS OKAY TO GO BACK OUT AND PLAY
25/04/13 06:41
As I walked down Boylston Street today in Boston, I came to the site where the bombs went off during the Boston Marathon of 2013. And as tragic as that event was, something caught my eye that made me stop in my tracks as my knees began to weaken. An 8-year old boy in a wheelchair was sitting in front of the store that was still under repair from the bombing last week. This child was injured in the blast and his caretakers were reintroducing him back into society. He had two Trauma workers that were wearing Trauma logo'd jackets and were pointing to different places on the sidewalk. The little boy was listening but he seemed confused. It was heart wrenching to watch. I think of my own 18-month old son and how innocent he is. How would I ever begin to explain what happened in a way that he would ever be able to relax in a crowd ever again?
Those terrorists not only took the lives of citizens, and the legs from others. They also took the innocence from children who no longer get to grow up with the kind of naiveness that makes being a child so much fun. The scars you can see are bad enough. The scars we'll never see are even more sinister.
I didn't want to take the little kid's picture. I'm not that kind of a blogger or guy. I simply took a picture of ground zero as a reminder that the world we live in is, indeed, fragile. Yes, Bostonians are resilient and yes, life goes on. But the scars will last. And they are reminders that we must make an effort to live harmoniously. It's not a given. We have to make it. We have to create it. We have to feed it. And we have to guard it.
Like that little boy, Boston is a little less innocent than it was one week ago. And now, we have to get up, brush ourselves off, hug each other, and do what we can to see that love outsmarts hate.
TAYLOR SWIFT WAS A CHILD REJECTED BY HER PEERS
23/04/13 06:47
This is such an interesting article about a mother who was pained to watch her own daughter be rejected by her peers. Instead of playing with her friends, multi-platinum recording artist Taylor Swift, opted to write and play songs in her bedroom as a pre-famous teen. Well, I guess Taylor Swift has no shortage of friends now. But then again, how many of them are hanger-ons and how many are died-in-the-wool friends? Great article in Elle Magazine; http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/cover-shoots/taylor-swift-3?cid=obinsite
THE CHURCH HAS A NEW POOP
13/03/13 06:57
Today, I told my 17-month old son the Catholic Church got a new Pope and we were going to go upstairs and see him on TV. He looked at me and said, "new Poop?"
As I thought about his miscalculated mimicry, I understood how insightful his comment was. For 600 years, there hasn't been a pope who has stepped down from his duty as Pope. And with Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI stepping down but living only kilometers from the new Pope, who knows what kind of affect that may have on the new Pope or even the Church itself? I hope that Pope Francis from Argentina is able to lead the Church in the humble way from which he has lived his life to this point. No doubt it's exciting to watch a new Pope ascend the balcony after the white smoke billows from the Sistine Chapel. Let's just hope he's not stepping into 'new poop'.
WHAT DOES AN 18-MONTH OLD EAT
28/02/13 11:15
Good foods for toddlers:
mashed potatoes with cheese,
diced tomatoes with pinto beans,
apple sauce,
lental soup drained,
spinich or cheese ravioli
scrambled eggs (with or w/o cheese),
cut up fruit (blueberries, strawberries, banana),
toast with butter or jelly
pancakes w/ fruit...
apple cinnamon pancakes
blueberry pancakes...
hard boiled eggs or omelets,
french toast w/ fruit
grilled cheese w/tomato or grilled cheese w/ tomato soup
cut up chicken or chicken nuggets, veggies (carrots, green beans, peas)....we get these veggie cups at wal-mart...30 secs in the microwave and you've got a toddler sized veggie...they're great, and some applesauce or yogurt
PB&J on whole wheat (or whole grain white bread)...or sunbutter & jelly if she hasn't had PB yet. You could always try cream cheese & jelly.
Quesadillas: chicken & cheese, spinich & cheese, or some other combo
deli meat w/ cheese...either cut up or a sandwich...My DS loves ham & cheese or turkey & cheese sandwiches with tomato.
mac & cheese w/ broccoli (you can even add shreaded chicken for a full meal)
Mini pizza bagels or english muffin pizzas (if you make your own sauce...you can blend in some veggies)
For dinner my DS eats whatever we eat: (and leftovers become tomorrows lunch)
examples: grilled Hawaiian chicken w/ grilled pineapple, white rice, and orange glazed carrots
vegetable lasagna
grilled steak w/homemade loaded mashed potatoes and broccoli w/cheese
hot dog, sweet potato fries, & corn
Snacks: string cheese, yogurt, applesauce, graham crackers, animal crackers, cut up fruit: grapes, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, canteloupe, ...fruit cups (in juice)...pears, mixed fruit, peaches, etc. cut up cheese w/crackers, my DS loves the apples w/ caramel (I try to avoid giving him the caramel b/c it's so sticky)...ummm....
other cereals: try fruity cheerios, apple cinnamon cheerios, honey nut cheerios, jumbo multigrain krispies (my DS's favorite), corn chex, quaker oatmeal squares,
DON'T FENCE ME IN
19/02/13 09:25
A strange thing happened this evening after coming home. Conor was awfully fussy and kept wanting me to pluck him out of his high chair where his mom was having trouble feeding him. After I rescued him from his chair, he cried to be let down. But when I let him down he cried to be picked up again. It was very frustrating. I asked him what he wanted but of course, he can't really talk yet. He pointed towards the living room but I couldn't figure out what he was pointing at. So I put him down and offered him my hand hoping he might guide me to what he wanted. Sure enough, he took my hand and pulled me in the direction he wanted to go. At last, we ended up at the front door and he pointed to the door handle. He wanted out. When I opened the door, he smiled and walked to the door frame and stepped out into the rain. He looked pleased and wanted to walk down the stairs. I obliged him. When we finally got to the street Conor let my hand go and he looked around and smiled. He was happy.
Then it hit me, for the last 3 days we spent almost the whole day just sitting in my dad's front yard in San Benito, Texas, soaking up the sun and the fresh air. Conor was now cooped up in the cold Northeast and he wanted to feel the fresh air, even if it was raining. I let him stand there for a couple of minutes and then picked him up and gave him a big hug. I promised we'd take him out tomorrow. I then came back inside, ordered him a raincoat online and will wait on its arrival. There's no reason to keep a little boy trapped inside a house when he wants to enjoy the great outdoors. Even if it's raining or snowing. It's time to get the right gear so he's not fenced in.
GRANDPA TOOK US TO THE ZOO TODAY
17/02/13 11:26
Grandpa and Grandma took Conor to the Gladys Porter Zoo today in Brownsville, Texas. The gorillas and chimpanzees were cool. But not as cool as the rocks in the playground area.
LARGEST BLIZZARD IN 30 YEARS HITS BOSTON
09/02/13 12:41
Quincy got 30" of snow overnight. It started at about 10:30am on Friday morning. I took Conor with me to work and after two hours of playing with him and a couple other kids who came with their parents, we all decided to get out the office and go home before the worst of the storm hit. Conor and I picked up his mom and before going home, decided to go to Bye Bye Baby for a snow suit. As all the stores in town were closing down early, we called ahead and they were closing in 15 minutes. We were about 17 minutes away. We picked up the pace and arrived with one minute to spare. It was easy finding him a suit and I picked up this little red sled while I was at it. All the winter stuff was 50% off. The store was making room for swim suits and flip flops. Go figure.
By 6pm the snow was really starting to accumulate. It was fun looking out the window and seeing the landscape change as the flakes fell. At 9:30pm, the electricity went out. And that was a turning point for us. The temperature was at 71 degrees but with a house full of wall-to-wall windows, the temperature started to drop immediately. By midnight, the temp had dropped to 59 degrees. Worse, the news said that those living on the coast should consider evacuation. Tidal waves as high as 28 feet had been sighted. What? 28 feet? Are you serious? So, as the tide rose, I looked vigilantly out the window to give the family enough notice to get ready to evacuate on foot it necessary. We begin to collect family treasures that we would want to save
if the worst came to pass. And we gathered warm clothes for all of us and put them in a central location so we could quickly put them on if necessary. Lastly, because the winds were as strong as 65 miles an hour and the whole house was shaking, we all slept together in the downstairs guest bedroom. And nervously but excitedly, we all settled in.
By 8am, the temp in the house was 51 degrees. Val and Conor stayed in the warm bed while I went outside with a shovel. Shockingly, the snow was up past my knees. I started digging my SUV out. I kept seeing the city snow removal truck two roads away from mine. But it did me no good. We live on a private road and the city's snow trucks look at us and flip us off. At least metaphorically, speaking. For four hours I dug a section of the road of 30" of snow.
By noon I had dug the car out and at the same time, the electricity came back on. Things were looking up. After a big breakfast of french toast, bacon and orange juice, we all dressed for fun and headed out with Conor and his new sled. He was bundled up great but his boots are made for rain and not snow and after a short time out, we returned with a crying baby. Upon pulling off his boots, we realized his feet were cold. Tomorrow I'll see if I can find him some warmer shoes. And then it's out to enjoy a big snowy adventure land that I foolishly moved to 5 years ago from the warm and kind temperate climate of Atlanta.
LARGEST BLIZZARD IN 30 YEARS HITS NEW ENGLAND
09/02/13 12:00
Quincy got 30" of snow overnight. It started at about 10:30am on Friday morning. I took Conor with me to work and after two hours of playing with him and a couple other kids who came with their parents, we all decided to get out the office and go home before the worst of the storm hit. Conor and I picked up his mom and before going home, decided to go to Bye Bye Baby for a snow suit. As all the stores in town were closing down early, we called ahead and they were closing in 15 minutes. We were about 17 minutes away. We picked up the pace and arrived with one minute to spare. It was easy finding him a suit and I picked up this little red sled while I was at it. All the winter stuff was 50% off. The store was making room for swim suits and flip flops. Go figure.
By 6pm the snow was really starting to accumulate. It was fun looking out the window and seeing the landscape change as the flakes fell. At 9:30pm, the electricity went out. And that was a turning point for us. The temperature was at 71 degrees but with a house full of wall-to-wall windows, the temperature started to drop immediately. By midnight, the temp had dropped to 59 degrees. Worse, the news said that those living on the coast should consider evacuation. Tidal waves as high as 28 feet had been sighted. What? 28 feet? Are you serious? So, as the tide rose, I looked vigilantly out the window to give the family enough notice to get ready to evacuate on foot it necessary. We begin to collect family treasures that we would want to save
if the worst came to pass. And we gathered warm clothes for all of us and put them in a central location so we could quickly put them on if necessary. Lastly, because the winds were as strong as 65 miles an hour and the whole house was shaking, we all slept together in the downstairs guest bedroom. And nervously but excitedly, we all settled in.
By 8am, the temp in the house was 51 degrees. Val and Conor stayed in the warm bed while I went outside with a shovel. Shockingly, the snow was up past my knees. I started digging my SUV out. I kept seeing the city snow removal truck two roads away from mine. But it did me no good. We live on a private road and the city's snow trucks look at us and flip us off. At least metaphorically, speaking. For four hours I dug a section of the road of 30" of snow.
By noon I had dug the car out and at the same time, the electricity came back on. Things were looking up. After a big breakfast of french toast, bacon and orange juice, we all dressed for fun and headed out with Conor and his new sled. He was bundled up great but his boots are made for rain and not snow and after a short time out, we returned with a crying baby. Upon pulling off his boots, we realized his feet were cold. Tomorrow I'll see if I can find him some warmer shoes. And then it's out to enjoy a big snowy adventure land that I foolishly moved to 5 years ago from the warm and kind temperate climate of Atlanta.
FIVE-YEAR OLD THREATENED WITH SUSPENSION FOR MAKING GUN OUT OF LEGOS
30/01/13 12:53
This is what happens when common sense is thrown out the window and paranoia takes over. The Massachusetts daycare teacher needs to grow up and so does Barnstable School Superintendent Mary Czajkowski.
CONJUNCTIVITIS IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS
28/01/13 12:59
Got a call from daycare today saying to come pick up the boy. 15 months into his life and Conor gets pinkeye. It's medical name is conjunctivitis so I like pinkeye better. Sounds less…permanent. It's highly contagious and schools don't like it.
What exactly is conjunctivitis? It's a virus (or bacteria) that causes inflammation of the clear membrane that covers the white part of your eye.
How is it spread? Conjunctivitis is passed from one person to the next after the infected person rubs their eyes then touches another person or touches something that the next person then touches. That's really the only way you can spread pinkeye. It turns your eyes red for about 4 days and makes them really itchy. Like having sand in your eyes. It makes my eyes hurt just writing this. It usually goes away on its own but it's still important to see a doctor because there are side effects that can occur with untreated conjunctivitis and you don't want that to happen.
We took Conor to the doctor within 2 hours of the school notifying us. A common secondary condition that can occur with pinkeye is an ear infection. So the doctor checked Conor's ears and sure enough, he had an ear infection. So now we have a mild antibiotic for his ears and eye drops for his eyes. Giviing a baby eye drops is like telling an elephant to tiptoe through a petunia patch; it ain't gonna happen. The trick is to give him eye drops while his eyes are still closed in a horizontal position and when he opens his eyes, the liquid runs into the eyes and it feels good and you're a hero. Bam!
CONOR JUST ROCKED HIMSELF TO SLEEP ON HIS ROCKING HORSE
27/01/13 13:02
Conor was having the best time on his wooden rocking horse for about 20 minutes this morning. But after awhile, I saw that he would rest his chin on the horse's head, and when the rocking would slow down he'd sit up and get the horse to rocking again. At first, I thought he was resting and just enjoying the ride. Then I got closer when I saw that his posture wasn't right. I noticed his eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy. He was sleeping. I gently lifted him off the horse and took him to his crib where he curled up in a ball and continued to sleep. I tried to use my iPhone to record the event but as usual, it had run out of battery juice.
THE SIMPLIST OF THINGS CAN BE A REAL PLEASURE
18/01/13 13:05
OUR SON IS SHOWING NO SIGNS OF SHYNESS
07/01/13 13:11
It was cold today in Boston and Conor needed to run around so we took him to Natick Mall where they have a little kids indoor playground. After he got tired out, we visited the Yogibo store, Yogibos are like the bean bag equivalent of 1978. Except cooler. When we arrived, there were a few girls trying out the Yogibos and having a good time. Conor, not having a shy bone in his body, inserted himself into the middle of their conversation and somehow made the meeting about him. I dug around the internet to see if this was a normal attribute in kids and it's not necessarily so. There are in fact, shy kids and it's usually hereditary if they exhibit signs at an early age. There is a stage of infant development called 'stranger anxiety' and it doesn't last very long in the development process. And Conor has shown signs of it at times but after he sized up the situations, he ran into them head first.
BROTHERS GRIMM MINUS THE GRIM
26/12/12 13:13
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING WITH A ONE-YEAR OLD
18/12/12 14:10
Ah, come on, Christmas shopping with a child? That's a recipe for disaster. Unless you just make a game out of it. Mom shopped while Conor and I amused ourselves. Tiny Elton John had a great time and the holiday shoppers got a kick out of us, too. It's great being a dad!
RAISING YOUR KIDS TO BE ENTREPRENEURS
10/11/12 14:24
Do you ever look at your child and wonder, "What's he/she going to grow up to be?" And do you wonder what role you play in that decision? Well, I sure do. I play the piano, the guitar and the flute for my son daily in hopes that he'll get interested in playing music when he gets older. I'm not saying I want him to be a professional musician, but I know that music has been a great communication tool for me when I need to get things off my chest. Or I want to tell others what's inside my head.
I read him books and tell him stories so he understands words, speaking and inflections of voice. I think it may help him enjoy books and reading when he gets older because that's where all the answers are. I try to pick out toys that are wooden, and fabric that are texturally interesting to the touch so that he appreciates aesthetics and design.
My wife and I talk and laugh around him and are affectionate so he sees that these are the ways we treat others that we care about.
But there's still something lacking as I try to teach my son how to think as an adult. I was always taught to work hard and everything else will follow. And it has worked out okay for me to some degree. But as I grew older, I saw that there were others around me that were not working as hard as me but were just as successful or more so. And I wondered, 'what do they know that I don't?" And one day I picked up the book, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," and it began to sink in. I have come to believe that it's not necessary to work hard as it is to work smart. And this means understanding the world around us. It means to discover what others around us need or want and find ways to provide it. And when we discover how to provide it, delegate those tasks to others so it frees us up to make other discoveries. It's called being an entrepreneur. Since I have moved to Boston, I have met dozens of entrepreneurs and am friends with many of them. And i'm intrigued with their belief system.
Most of these entrepreneurs are no smarter than your average Joe and sometimes, not as smart. And they don't pretend to be smarter. It is their natural ability to think of an idea and hire someone to find the solutions for them. It doesn't dawn on them that they don't know enough to run a company. It doesn't cross their minds that they are in over their heads. They just know that they have an idea and that if someone should be able to make money from that idea, why not them. In essence, they claim their prize, they step into the ring with both feet and only then do they ask, "How in the world am I going to succeed. And one step at a time, they find solutions to each problem.
I began to wonder if I could teach my son to think this way. And in my search, I came across a TedTalks speech by Cameron Herold that really made me think that perhaps there is a road map. I think the speaker is a little too quick to assume some of his points. But that's exactly what an entrepreneur does so I cut him some slack. But I took many of his points to heart and will incorporate those examples that make sense to me as I teach Conor to be self sufficient, independent and to think bigger in a world that needs big answers.
Here's the speech and examples of how to get your child to think like an entrepreneur.
CONOR'S FIRST BIRTHDAY
09/10/12 14:47
Conor's first birthday was on a Tuesday so we plan to wait until Saturday to have a party. We're not that into parties but it is his first one so we opted to invite a few of the neighbors. But tonight, we opened his big present from us; a #1 red race car. He and his dog are pretty impressed.
WWII MUSEUM IN NEW ORLEANS
18/09/12 14:59
The old lady in the elevator didn't think the WWII Museum was appropriate for a baby but we had fun. The museum focused on the invasion of Normandy and the war with Japan. We highly recommend the museum if you're a WWII buff but Conor was only good for about an hour of it before he got antsy and wanted to stand in the stroller instead of sit. Considering he's only 11 months old at this point, I'll consider that a victory. After he waived the white flag, we gracefully made our exit.
CONOR GIVES THE NEW ORLEANS AQUARIUM TWO THUMBS UP
18/09/12 14:57
It's our fifth day in New Orleans and we're staying about 5 minutes away from the New Orleans Aquarium. We decided it might be a good way to start the day. So we took Conor. He enjoyed the fishes for about 5 minutes but was really interested in crawling through the aquarium. This didn't seem like a really good idea so we let him sit or kneel but kept the crawling to a minimum. Here he is saying hi to the local eel. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-sep-2012.html#sthash.fuCD9zcQ.dpuf
MY COUSIN WHIT GOT MARRIED TODAY
16/09/12 15:07
Weddings are such a great excuse to get together and see family you never get to see except at weddings and funerals. This was a chance for Conor to meet his uncles, aunts and cousins. I know he won't remember them next time he sees them but it's a good attempt at starting a tradition of meeting on a semi-regular basis so that he has some roots when he grows up. Conor got to meet his great Uncle John who's a lawyer and likes to duck hunt. And his great uncle Whit who's a pharmacist and likes to bullshit. I wonder which of those traits Conor will get?
CONOR GOES TO NEW ORLEANS
15/09/12 15:10
New Orleans is known for its many shops, rituals and parades that honor the dead. Conor's not so sure he likes the practice. - See more at: http://dadsdecoded.com/blog/index_files/archive-sep-2012.html#sthash.fuCD9zcQ.dpuf
8-YEAR OLD BOYS COULD JOIN THE NAVY IN 1812
09/09/12 15:19
Conor, Valerie and myself took a couple of our friends from Ireland to see the U.S.S. Constitution today. The tour is free and is quite good. The ship is still a commissioned U.S. warship and sets sail approximately twice a year to sail around the harbor. The U.S.S. Constitution is also known as 'Old Ironsides' because when the English tried to sink the ship, their cannon balls were seen to hit the side of wooden the boat and bounce off. One of the jaw dropping facts we heard today is that boys as young as eight could join the Navy back during the early 1800's. Turns out the compartment where the gunpowder was kept was quite small and boys could get in and out of their easier than a grown-up. So boys were taken to see and sent into battle because they were the right size. What's even more shocking is that both sides knew that the small boys were the ones who were running for gunpowder. So it was important to try to shoot the boys when possible to slow the soldiers down from being able to load their cannons. My, my how things have changed. Unless your an Al Queda terrorist, then it's okay to send 8-year old boys to their death with explosives strapped to their bodies.
WHY KIDS PLAY PEEK-A-BOO
06/09/12 15:24
Conor has enjoyed the peekaboo game since he was about 6 months old. He would pull a blanket up over his head and then drop it and laugh. Then pick it up again and do this about 5 times before he had enough. But there’s something especially cute now that he can crawl and can hide from a distance. Why do kids find this so exciting? Because they are testing a new concept as their brain matures called, ‘permanence’ which is a fancy college word for ‘things still exist even when I can’t see them.”
MY DAD MEETS CONOR FOR THE FIRST TIME
24/08/12 15:46
It's been 10 months since my son was born and I have to admit, I was looking forward to Conor finally meeting my dad. I get frustrated thinking that it took this long to make it happen but with work, travel and planning, here we are and that's all there is to it.
To think my 10 month old would somehow recognize his grandpa having never seen him before would be folly but I still wish he hadn't looked at my dad like he was a complete stranger. I wish he wouldn't have shied away as I brought him right up to my dad to say hi. If my dad was disappointed he didn't show it. He just chuckled and told his grandson that it was good to finally meet him. We then piled into the Jeep and headed home. Once home, grandpa got busy with the pinto beans that have been cooking slowly for a few hours, put some pork on the grill and mixed up some cornbread from cornmeal and tossed it in the oven. I snuck a taste of the beans and gave half a bean to Conor. Here we are just after stealing a taste. Conor's starting to warm up to his grandpa but is still not quite sure. But then again, those pinto beans taste pretty good. Grandpa can't be all that bad.
MORE BACTERIA ON A GROCERY CART THAN A TOILET SEAT. GROSS.
14/08/12 15:56
Did you know there is more bacteria on a shopping cart than on a public restroom toilet seat? According to several recent health warnings, swabs taken from shopping cart handles and seats have shown saliva, blood, fecal matter, mucus (and worse), plus Listeria, Salmonella, Staph, E. Coli, and general individual bacteria. Why are they dirtier than a bathroom's seat? It's because most stores clean their shopping carts only a couple of times each year. A restroom is cleaned at various times each day.
How do you keep your child safe from such disgusting germs? The answer is to use baby wipes or sanitizer and wipe down the front of the cart before you do your shopping. It's that simple.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
17/06/12 16:16
My son gave me his feet for my first Father's Day. I have to admit I welled up a little. I feel so lucky to have him in our lives. We spent the day hanging out while mom went to a baby shower. We went to Home Depot and bought manly stuff. Then we came home and worked on the boat until it was dinner time. Then we played a little more until at last, he conked out. Not a bad Father's Day at all.
CONOR LEARNS TO STAND ON HIS OWN. GAME CHANGER.
03/06/12 08:40
Conor is apparently right on time, according to developmental stages when kids learn to stand. from six to 9 months, says Wondertime.go.com. According to Parenting.com, "It takes most babies about 1,000 hours of practice from the time they pull themselves upright to the time they can walk alone." So when I do the math, if Conor started practicing right now, 24 hours a day without sleeping, he will be walking in 40 days. But since child labor laws prevent such treatment, it'll still be sometime before Conor can walk. Whew!
To help a child prepare to walk, you can do the following;
1. Let the rascal walk in front of you while you hold his hands
2. Hold only one hand so he learns to feel what balancing is
3. when he can stand on his own, step away and call his name so he'll take a few steps on his own.
4. Arrange sturdy furniture that he can hold on to as he walks so he can do so without your help.
HAPPY AND THOUGHFUL MEMORIAL DAY
29/05/12 08:55
It’s a bittersweet day. Great to have a day off and connect with the family over a long weekend. And sad to think of the men and women who have given their lives so that we can enjoy days like this. My Grandfather, great uncle, uncle, dad and brother all served in the military. Most served in the Navy except my brother, who joined the USMC. I’m lucky enough that they all survived the many wars through the years, but it’s still a tragic day for so many.
LUFTHANSA MAD IT DIFFICULT TO FLY WITH A CHILD TODAY
21/05/12 09:03
I'd like to say the flight back to the states on Lufthansa after 13 days in Europe went smoothly, but it's not so. Not because of our seven month old but because of the Lufthansa staff. First, our ticket agent in Dublin failed to check our luggage through to Boston. We had to pick it up in Frankfurt and go through security all over again. Argh! Then, we had to leave our stroller at the gate in Dublin and Lufthansa said it would be waiting in in the jetway when we landed in Frankfurt. No stroller or car seat. Hello baggage claim with a stiff back. Argh! Then while on the tarmac, a Lufthansa flight attendant asked if the infant car seat was FAA approved. After a 5 minute conversation and a sticker on the side of the seat, we buckled back in. Argh! Then upon arrival in Boston, once again, Lufthansa forgot to deliver all the strollers to the jetway and all the parents had to carry their children, diaper bags and carry-ons through security and on to baggage claim. Argh! All this happening in the final hours after 13 days abroad, the trip to Europe was great and traveling with Conor was a real gas. In more ways than you can imagine. "Honey, I think Conor did it again. Must be the altitude."
BOY APE FOUND IN THE TREES OF MOUNT USHER IN EASTERN IRELAND
19/05/12 09:13
Tarzan. George of the Jungle. Chistopher Robinson. They’ve got nothing on Conor Driskoll. 7 months old and a good sense of balance, I found a great place for Conor to dangle his legs and sit on the tree like a big boy at Mount Usher Gardens on the eastern sea coast of Ireland. This botanical garden is probably one of the most impressive I’ve seen with exotic trees, flowers, suspension bridges and flowing river through the middle of the estate. But what I really liked most was taking my wife and son and seeing them both enjoy the strange lush green surroundings of an Irish spring. Conor wanted to touch all the leaves, flowers and grasses. He was very studious and laughed when he touched the pine needles and they poked him back.
VISITING THE HOME OF GRIMMS FAIRY TALES
13/05/12 09:33
This is Kassel, Germany. It’s not close to Berlin, Hamburg or Munchen. It’s actually in the middle of Germany, about an hour north of Frankfurt. This is the home of the Grimms Brothers. This is where they wrote and collected most of their stories. The first edition was 86 stories that were published in 1812. By the seventh edition, there’were a total of 211 stories. All editions were extensively illustrated. First by Philipp Grot Johann and after his death, the work continued by Robert Leinweber. Snow White and Hansel and Gretel were among the very first stories to make the first edition. And there was plenty of criticism on its suitability for children. After all, in Rapunzel, she asks why her dress is getting so tight around her belly after visits from the prince. Oops, that had to be re-edited on subsequent publishings. I offered to take Conor into the forest for a hike but he refused. He saw smoke in the woods and didn’t want anything to do with the cannibalistic witch.
COWBOY CONOR RIDES THE WILD WEST OF KASSEL, GERMANY
12/05/12 09:39
Today is our first day in Kassel, Germany with Conor. It’s also his first day ever going to a neighborhood park. The slides, swings and bouncy animals are all different than in America. The slides are metal pipe slides and the swings were in a sort of pit and you would climb to the top of the artificial hill and swing into the bottom of the valley or pit and then swing up and out again. It was really fun. Later, we went to a baptism where Valerie was the godmother of her good friend, Britt’s son, Nikolaus. But for Conor, riding the German horse with his cowboy hat was much more exciting.
THE AUTHOR OF 'WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE' DIED TODAY
08/05/12 16:41
If you don't know his name, you know his book, "Where the Wild Things Are." When asked where he got the idea for the monsters in his book, he replied, "they're my aunts and uncles. They're all monsters." Sendak wrote his book in 1961 and the following year the American Library Association awarded him the prestigious Caldicott Medal for his illustrations in the book. Other children's gems that Sendak authored are, "In the Night Kitchen" in 1970 and "Outside Over There" in 1981.
His latest book was written in 2007 while he cared for his cancer-strickened partner, Eugene Glynn. He has been quoted as saying, "I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because i miss people. They die and I cannot stop them. They leave me and I love them more."
The queen of Sweden has presented Maurice Sendak with the Hans Christian Anderson Award for his illustrations and Bill Clinton awarded Sendak the National Medal of Arts back in 1996.
"Where the Wild Things Are" was my brother's favorite book growing up and so Maurice has a special place in my heart for this simple connection. Rest in peace where the Wild Things Are, Mr. Sendak.
JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF PORSCHE
29/04/12 17:18
Today is Sunday in Stuttgart and the Mercedes Museum was so much fun yesterday that my colleagues and I decided to visit the Porsche Museum today. It was very cool but very different from the Mercedes Museum. While the Mercedes Museum was about the history of Mercedes with no holds barred. Meaning that during WWII, while Mercedes became an armament factory and had to use forced labor to build the Third Reich’s ammunitions, they owned up to it and spoke matter-of-factly about it. They pointed out the error of their ways and how the Allied Forces bombed the factories to smithereens. The museum was as much a timeline of world history as it was a museum about cars. Porsche, on the other hand, glossed over all the bad times and focused purely on its successes. And all of those successes stemmed from the design flair of curvy fenders and fast engines. Porsche has never strayed from the iconic shape and it was awesome to see the history of the brand all under one roof. The picture here is the stainless steel ceiling at the museum. Since we all know the iconic shape of Porsche, I concentrated on the mosaic-type ceiling that shows a reflection of our world as an abstract painting; broken yet whole.
When my son is old enough, I’d like to take him here. And show him which of the Porsche’s I’d like him to buy me for my 70th birthday.
CHILDHOOD DREAMS REVISITED IN STUTTGART, GERMANY
28/04/12 17:23
Childhood dreams never go away. They just find park benches in our minds in which to sleep on until we one day shake them up when something reawakens our imagination. Today, that happened when i was walking through the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart, Germany and saw this magnificent race car from 1939. It got up to 387 miles an hour on a nearby raceway. It’s shape, color and stealthness made me relive those days in the 60’s when these were the cars of Batman and Flash Gordon.
PINNOCHIO - THE MAKING OF A BOY FROM SCRATCH
04/10/11 22:25
I think my favorite character in “Pinocchio” is not Pinocchio himself, or even Geppeto, the woodworker who made him, but Jiminy Cricket. Jiminy Cricket is hilarious because he’s supposed to be Pinocchio’s conscience but he’s so wrapped him is his self ego that he keeps giving up on Pinocchio which causes Pinocchio to get in deeper trouble. It’s such a great commentary on how the ego is what gets us in trouble every time. Innocence is to blame for many people doing the wrong thing, but ego is responsible for not allowing us to see the error of our ways and therefore, us getting into really deep trouble.
In true story form, the climax came when Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio survived all their trials and tribulations and won the right to come back home to Pinocchio’s father, Gepeto. But instead of finding his father and they all living happily ever after, Pinocchio found that his father had left home to find him. So instead of the movie being over, Pinocchio had one last obstacle to overcome; he had to find his father. This was the greatest scene of all for his father had gotten eaten by a whale and was living his his belly. And Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio had to find the whale and rescue his father. This was a very imaginative scene where Jiminy and Pinocchio had to think of a ways to keep themselves from floating back to the top of the ocean as they walked the bottom of the sea in search of the whale.
In the end, Pinocchio discovered a way to get the whale to open his mouth so they could escape. Pinocchio was so focused on saving his father that he was willing to give his own life. And as a result, the fairy that gave him life the first time, came down to Earth and resurrected him so he could live again, this time as a real boy. Yes, you’ve heard this theme before in a story about another great son who wishes that he were just a real boy, but that’s where the similarities ended for me.
We went to bed very content and can’t wait for our little boy to be born any day now. As of today, he’s 10 days overdue.