Yacko’s “guns”
So the other night the boys were practicing TaeKwonDo forms. Michael was trying to get Yacko to hold his arms out a little more. I told him to show us his muscles. He made his best body builder pose and said “I have big guns. They just aren’t loaded yet.”
June 5th, 2008 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
Playground John Wayne
On Saturday, Whacko almost got into a fight with a kid on the playground over his sister’s honor.
Two kids who were a little older than Whacko were playing some kind of game. They’d get close to Dot and say “Ahhhhh, monster!” and run away from her. Not a particularly nice thing to do, but nothing that was going to harm her. This didn’t stop Dot from taking offense. As she was holding forth to me about how mad those boys were making her, Whacko came up and listened quietly.
After a moment he says, “I’ll handle this.”
He marches up behind the bigger of the two kids, probably a foot taller than he is. He follows the kid all the way around the equipment and up the ladder towards the slides, giving him the 1000-yard stare the whole time.
When the kid stops, Whacko puts on his best Aanakin-is-about-to-murder-the-Separatist-leaders demeanor and says “Stop calling my sister a monster.” Of course, it’s Whacko, so it sounds more like, “stop calling my sistow a monstow.”
By this point, they’re about 20 feet away, and I don’t hear any more of the conversation until I hear Whacko say “I know Tae Kwon Do” and the other kid kicks the air to show that he at least thinks he knows it, too.
Part of me wanted to see what would develop, but I formed a quick mental image of someone tumbling off the playground equipment and instead took the opportunity to say, “Time to go home, guys.”
On our way back to the van, I told him that I knew he was a good kid, but did he remember the first rule of Tae Kwon Do? (The first thing they teach the kids in the younger classes is never to use Tae Kwon Do to cause trouble or hurt others). He grins and says, “I know, Dad. I was just doin’ psychs.”
August 16th, 2007 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
An adventure
Our adventure to Lincoln unexpectedly got split into two separate adventures.
First, the TaeKwonDo tournament. We travelled to Lincoln, NE for the Midwest regional championships, and the boys did us proud.
Yakko got first in his group in both forms and “sparring” (sparring, for yellow belts, consists of doing their one-step exercises back and forth, with the one the judges decide did a better job moving on face the next kid).
Whacko got third in his form. The lasting lesson we’ve learned now is “don’t send the 5-year-old out onto the floor with a full water bottle.” He spent nearly half an hour sitting in his group, and we could see from the stands that he was drinking every few minutes. He got through his form admirably, and then had to sit (and drink) while they went over the sparring rules, and then sit (and drink) while getting his pads on. This was all too much, however, and we think that by the time he actually faced an opponent, he was thinking more about a potty break than he was about getting a strike in. Thus, sadly, he was dispatched in short order in his first round of sparring. He almost immediately talked to the lead judge, and had to be accompanied off the floor to the restrooms.
That aside, though, we had plenty to be proud of. They both did a great job, and they both had some hardware to show off to the grandparents. Our biggest worry going into this was that one would do well and one wouldn’t. We didn’t want it to become yet another thing for them to fight about. As I noted to Yakko in hopes that he wouldn’t gloat, Whacko’s green belt means more is expected of him, he’s younger, and actual sparring is obviously more difficult than trading one-steps. Both kids were good sports about it, though, and there wasn’t too much rivalry.
The second half of our trip wasn’t quite as smooth.
We were on pace for a completely successful trip, headed back from Lincoln and passing north of Omaha, when we suddenly lost power steering in the van. We managed to pull off into a gas station parking lot, but it was apparent as soon as I got out that we weren’t going any farther. So after a few phone calls made it apparent that no help was coming on a saturday afternoon, we got Grandma and Grandpa to come get us. Grandpa and I came back monday and got the thing towed to a nearby service shop. Here’s where something–luck, or providence, or synchronicity, or whatever you want to call it–kicked in.
It just happened that the nearest place (nearest who answered their phone at 9 AM) was a transmission shop. It just happened that they looked at the transmission as well as the water pump that had gone out. He showed us the problem spot while it was on the rack, and it left little doubt: If the water pump hadn’t made us stop, there were some serious problems with the transmission casing (and a differential, which might mean more to you than it does to me) that would have essentially wrecked our poor van completely during the long, desolate run from Omaha to Sioux City.
So here’s the endorsement: if you need to give your custom to gas station or service station on the northern end of Omaha, I’d heartily recommend the helpful folks at the Cubby’s on Mormon Bridge Road or the AAMCO transmission shop on 72nd.
June 26th, 2007 - Posted in Homelife, Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
The Trip
We spent Thursday in the sprawling metropolis of Pierre, SD, our state capital. The State Heritage Museum and the Capital Building were the main itinerary. Click below for images:
February 24th, 2007 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
The hat trick
1) No doubt inspired by Yakko’s obsession with poker, Dot told me that she won a trophy playing “that pokin’ game.”
2) Whacko was in the middle of getting scolded for not watching what he was doing and mashing my finger under his knee. He gives me a classic look and says, “Dad, let go of your anger.” Wisdom from the mouths of babes, even if he did learn it from Yoda or Aang.
3) Just now, I was explaining to N that I thought Dot–exactly like Yakko at the same age, and exactly unlike Whacko–was an empiricist, since she really didn’t enjoy puns or wordplay or anything hypothetical. “Metaphor,” I said, “really isn’t Dot’s cup of tea.”
Dot interjected, with 3-year-old earnestness, “But I don’t like tea.”
I rest my case.
January 20th, 2007 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
Hotdogs
Yesterday Dot wanted a hotdog. Grandma said they were in the meat drawer. Dot asked why they were in the meat drawer. I said they’re meat. Dot replied “they’re not meat. They’re hotdogs.”
January 6th, 2007 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
foot-phobia
Watching a movie with us the other night, Dot asked about the “black stuff” on the tv (meaning the letterboxing at the top and bottom of the screen). I tried to explain as simply as I could about how to fit movies on a tv screen.
She ruminated on my answer for a minute or so, and then concluded, “Maybe they don’t want us to see their feet.”
December 19th, 2006 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
Kids and circuits
Currently re-reading RAW’s Prometheus Rising and thinking again about the 8-circuit model of consciousness. That sounds all intellectual and stuff, but actually I’m just finding an excuse to babble about my kids, so think twice before you click the link.
November 10th, 2006 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
Yakko: killer instinct
Last year, it took Yakko the entire season. He recorded his only tackle of the year in the final game they played. This year, he matched his career high for tackles in a season in week 2. He’ll be the golden boy of the 5th and 6th grade draft next year, despite being slightly undersized.
All kidding aside, he did a very nice job on every down he played, staying on his man on offense, and (as I said) coming off his block to get the tackle in the 3rd quarter. They didn’t win, but they played tough. I loved the look in his eyes when he got done and said “Did you see that?!”
September 13th, 2006 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
This weeks most irresponsible parent award goes to…….
ME!!!!! I admit I screwed up. It’s Monday morning and I slept in (which I needed due to a stomach bug). Wacko and Dot have been great, playing together, eating all their breakfast, and just leaving me alone with my stomach. Then I talk to Poppa who asks why Wacko wasn’t in school. Oh my God, It’s monday morning and Wacko has school. We quickly threw the shoes on and flew out of the house. He still has one good hour of school. At least it’s only preschool, I wont have to deal with a principal. Of course he’s wearing his batman pj’s, but then he wore his spiderman ones for pictures lastyear. He did put them on this morning so he could play batman and Cyber girl with Dot. Now there’s only one thing to do….find a way to remember next week so this doesn’t happen again.
September 11th, 2006 - Posted in Parentgeekness | | 1 Comments
