Saturday, May 17, 2008

Pushover Dad

We don't watch a lot of TV at our house especially lately. I think it is just my old age or turning into my mother, something like that. However, my mother is turning into my grandmother and now keeps her TV blasting so loud you can't stand it. Living with two very loud boys and the extremely loud exersaucer Baby Girl loves to bounce in has made me really appreciate the quiet. I was the girl that could do her homework while watching TV, talking on the phone, and listening to a CD (I mean cassette tape). No more. There was also that 10 days of bad behavior that caused the boys to lose every privilege they had. TV was lost and even the music in their room was taken away. I was getting down to taking away sugar in their diets because I was running out of stuff. Video and computer games had already been banned to occassional weekends because I don't like how they want to play them all the time and the focus they have on them. So, it was a bit of a surprise when Hubby was back from his trip and I was out at the store and came home to find this scene in my kitchen. On a weekday! (I think the look on the Big Guy's face says it all.)

I think they were playing something harmless like I Spy on the computer and having a great time. And gosh, they really were quiet and still. The problem is they would still be sitting there at the computer two days later if someone did not intervene. I can't remember what the excuse for this was...they had been good or something along those lines. Mmm-hmmm . I like to give him a hard time because I am the one that does all the hard work trying to keep them occupied without electronics and he takes full advantage of it as soon as I am gone. I even found Baby Girl watching Baby Mozart as a one month old with him. He also set up our DVD player in another room once with a video game so both boys could play in separate rooms at the same time. I will be gone for three days in June and I won't let my mind go to what might be going on while I am gone. They will probably be eating popcorn in their beds with the DVD player(s).



Does this look like a guilty face? It was Thursday and I left the Little Guy home alone with Dad.
I was at the gym (not at 5AM) and returned to find him watching Go Diego Go and eating Skittles. Right before lunch too! Hub says to me "He said he would eat his lunch and I told him yesterday he could have them today." Mmmm-hmmm. Maybe after lunch would have been a better idea?

By the way, those are the flowers the Big Guy picked out for me for Mother's Day. I haven't watered them yet. See the black spot on them? That is a bug.


This is proof that he really was eating Skittles. It looks like he is looking at them when in fact he is looking at that bug that jumped on his napkin.

Fun Daddy.
Mean Mom Cop.

No wonder they act bad when Daddy is out of town. They have detox from all the fun. I'm working on being more fun. Like the hamburger the Big Guy got yesterday in between meals. Who ever would have imagined? I have been known to throw a marathon Tom & Jerry fun-fest in the afternoon as well. Just this week I bought Chocolate Milk (organic of course) and once I bought one of the boys a huge pretzel at the Target Deli. I'm not sure any of these things are ever enough. I was asked four times yesterday why we had to leave the park so early even though we were there 3+ hours and longer than anyone else. We closed the place down and yet they won't remember that. I'm struggling to think of something else fun I have done...I let them watch a movie on the way home from the Doctor's office two months ago. I let them dig up our once perfectly landscaped backyard to their heart's desire. That should definitely count for something.

I think I will lighten up for today. I will let them eat all the popsicles they want and a few movies too. It is the weekend after all.

3 comments:

Kristin said...

Love the bug comments! HA!

BTW, how old are BG and LG? If you said, it must have been before I was one of your devoted fans. ;)

L a u r a said...

This reminds me of an OLD Bill Cosby comedy routine that I believe was made on vinyl record..."Dad is great, he gives us chocolate cake!" --for breakfast, justifying that cake has healthy ingredients like eggs and milk.

As parents, I think of dads as sprinters and moms as the marathoners. Dad do what gets them through a short time, and we suffer the consequences, don't we?

Things have gotten better for me now that the kids are a bit older. Joe takes them to ball games and air shows without me, on our boat--many times without me since I'm such a fair weather fan and can't tolerate the Texas heat. Life gets easier beyond those early energy-consuming years with kids!

Mary Craig said...

I do that, too-try to think of things I've done that are fun.

Sometimes, we're just trying to make it through the day.