To Infinity....And Beyond!

Buenos Dias!

Happy Friday to you all once again. It sure does seem like I am in some sort of routine where Friday is my "blog post day", doesn't it? Maybe I'll have to put one up on a Monday or Tuesday soon, just to throw everybody off.

Allow me to start by expressing my gratitude that all of us and our children are safe and healthy. I have been following the crazy events that have been going on in China (4 separate attacks at schools where people have gone in and attacked/killed children and teachers), and I cannot begin to stomach it, let alone to understand it. While the world is already full of so much violence, the thought of grown individuals (one of them was a freaking doctor!) going in and targeting defenseless children really doesn't sit well with me. It just makes me want to run home and hold Landon tight in my arms. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims, as well as anyone else who has suffered from violence to their families.

Anyhow...on to more rosier subjects, shall we? As you may have inferred from the blog title, Landon has recently ditched Shrek for a new favorite movie (in this case, it's movies)....Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2....Landon actually calls them "Woody and Buzz" and "Woody and Buzz Too!"...but we get the idea. The little dude is totally obsessed with these movies and recently got a really cool Buzz Lightyear action figure that appears to be super-glued to his hand. He has sort of developed a "love/hate" relationship with the thing, and likes to throw it around, beat it up, and drown it in the bath...but never wants to be away from it....I am going to refer them to a couples' therapist if things don't change soon.

I have to say that I forgot how funny those two movies are...I think that the second one is funnier than the first....especially the pig, who is my favorite. While I will say that it's nice to have a break from Cars and Shrek, I must admit that Michaela and I find ourselves wondering if he's getting too much TV time. Right now he watches about 10-15 minutes in the morning while he's eating a snack and I'm getting him ready for school....then when we get home from school in the evening he'll watch a movie (so roughly an hour and 20 minutes)....all told, that's about an hour and a half or so of TV every day (with the weekends being hit or miss)....I think that this is one of those parenting "gray areas" as I don't really think that there is a perfect answer. On one hand, I completely agree that there is such a thing as too much TV for anyone, especially a two year old...on the other hand, there are quite a few things that need to be done around the house (getting him ready for school, preparing dinner, any cleaning, etc.) and Landon doesn't seem to be quite old enough to go off on his own and play for more than a few minutes at a time. But he is more than content to sit and watch a movie for a while which allows us this essential time. I'm sure that there are some "holier than thou" types that say "any TV is too much TV!", but we all can't be super parents and the sad reality is that we need to get things done.

I know that most of the readers of this blog are parents, so you tell me...in your opinion, how much TV is too much? Where do you draw the line with your kids?

As you can see by the picture, Landon is getting pretty good at drinking without lids anymore. Sure he'll occasionally tip it too fast and get a face full of milk, but that's a rare thing now days. While he continues to be a good eater, one odd thing we have noticed is he recently has had an aversion to chicken. He used to love it and would scarf it down without us having to ask. Now it seems like a total battle just to get him to try a bite. We do continue to request that he tries everything on his plate, but we don't require him to finish anything. It's a different mindset than I had growing up, as my parents (and most parents back then) had a "clean your plate" mentality. Michaela and I have agreed that we want Landon to be adventurous with his food, but we don't want to plant the wrong ideas in his head about overeating, so as long as he tries it, that's good enough for us.

In other news, my stepdad Dennis was kind enough to come over on Thursday evening to help me install a ceiling fan in Landon's room. This was a new experience for me, and I'm really glad that Dennis was willing to help, as it turned out to be a tougher job than I originally expected. As there was no light or electrical component in the ceiling, we had to splice in from another part of the house, which required a trip up to the attic. The attic is not fun at the best of times, but it turns out that it really sucks in the late afternoon. While it was only 85 degrees outside, it was more like 115 degrees in there by the time we started. Needless to say, we were both drenched in sweat and covered in dusty insulation within minutes! At the end of the day, we got it all taken care of and the end result is a very nice-looking, functional ceiling fan which should keep Landon's room nice and cool this summer. And of course, our dog's seem to dig it already...they're constantly fighting over the coolest tile in the house, and I'm sure they'll both just park it on the hardwood floor underneath his fan as the heat ramps up.

Speaking of the dogs, when did ours get so freaking old? Seriously, look at this picture of old man Guinness here...he's so gray! We recently had to transition over to the "mature" dog food, which is just another way to say "old dog food"...bummer. While both of our boys are getting up there in age (Guinness is 8, Jack is 7), they both still think that they are puppies and are always looking to play or rough-house...until their joints remind them that it wasn't a good idea.

The calendar is starting to look a little crowded over here, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be in June before I can blink. This weekend looks tame, but then we're in Yuma from next Thursday to Sunday, followed by Memorial Day weekend, Michaela's 30th birthday, and then a trip to San Francisco....so yeah, it's going to be busy.

In the meantime, be grateful that our kids are safe and healthy, and that we can provide for them and teach them to reach for.....


Infinity and Beyond!















(This is Landon's Buzz Lightyear impersonation...he likes to say the "And Beyond!!" part, but is having trouble pronouncing "infinity").