Olympic Parenting

One of our countless responsibilities as parents is to teach our children history and love of country.  The Olympics is an amazing vessel to use for these teachable moments, while getting to enjoy some fantastic sporting events.

To watch the Weasels cheer on Team USA, fills my heart with joy.  I take this time to teach them about the rules of hockey the sports that we are watching and throw in a history lesson in the form of explaining why it's always fun to watch the Russians get beat and how it's a shame that we won't be meeting up with them on the ice about the Cold War and how the only good thing that came out of it was some really exciting sporting rivalry and the fall of the Iron Curtain.

I continue the history lesson by showing them video clips of Team USA taking home the Gold in 1980 and how amazing it was to watch and tell them how we are going to repeat that performance this time around.

This is a great opportunity to teach them how to trash talk properly and that screaming instructions at the TV screen really is productive even though Eldest Weasel keeps reminding me that the players can't hear me and that screaming out loud with pure joy and excitement with every goal Team USA scores is the equivalent of saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

They get to see my eyes fill with pride and emotion every time Old Glory is raised and The Star Spangled Banner is played.

I am using the opportunity to brush up on their math skills n the form of explaining odds and wagering on the events.

All in all, the Olympics is a great learning experience.  Covering history, patriotism, math, and sports in one, two week learning experience.

To entertain yourself further *click here* to see with your own eyes what my Canadian used to be friend, Big Bad Daddy has done with Flat WeaselMomma after reading about the wager that friend and fellow blogger, Huckdoll have riding on the Men's Hockey Gold Medal.  Also, don't forget to head on over to check out Dad-Blogs FatherHood Friday.

I Went Out Last Night.....

Or at least that is what I feel like I have been saying all week.  Most of the regular readers around here know that my regular routine involves getting up early (4am) and going to bed early (8pm).  This week has been very busy and thus I am becoming very sleep deprived, so I am going to to offer you some tidbits that help sum up my week.

• Sunday Night I stayed up past my bedtime watching an AMAZING hockey game between the USA and Canada.  It was worth the lack of sleep to witness the USA's 5-3 win.
• Monday evening Mr. Weasel and I had an incredible meal with a dear friend who was in town briefly.  The company was terrific, the food delicious and the night memorable.  Due to travel times and train schedules, I didn't get home until about midnight.
• Harry Reid showed his propensity for sticking his foot in his mouth by stating the out of work men are becoming violent and beating their wives.  My Weasel stated to me that if he ever starting beating me, it would have nothing to do with his work status*.  I think that NukeDad would agree.
• Tuesday night Mr. Weasel and I went to a comedy club to watch a friend perform.  The show was great and afterward we all came back to Weaselville.  During a brief skype call with my dear friend, Dear Mr. Man, it was revealed that Mr. Man is friends and colleagues with our friends father.  It's a small world full of serendipity.  I didn't get to be until around 1am.
• Yesterday brought Olympic Hockey to dominate the day in Weaselville.  Team USA beat the Swiss in one of the oddest games I have ever watched.  I fell asleep around 10pm,  after watching Team Canada beat the Russians (7-3, I think was the final- I was drifting off by the end) in a game that the Russians didn't seem to realize they were supposed to be competing in.
• Yesterday also brought with it twitter trash talk between my Canadian tweep Huckdoll and myself about who would bring home the Gold in Men's Hockey.  A small friendly wager has come about.  When Team USA wins the Gold, Huckdoll will sing the Star Spangled Banner on video and post it.  *IF* Team Canada pulls of a miraculous win against the red, white and blue, Huckdoll will send me a Team Canada Jersey to don while I humiliate myself on video stating that Huckdoll was right and I was wrong.  Stay tuned for the fun.  The Gold Medal game is to be held on Sunday afternoon.

That should have you all caught up on the goings on Weaselville.  Come back soon to find out what happens next.

*Mr. Weasel, nor NukeDad would never lay a hand on a lady or even me for that matter, but anyone who knows me realizes that they have extreme powers of self control.  Domestic Violence is no laughing matter.

Go Wash Your Face!

Anyone who has ever stood downwind of a 7th grade boy knows that personal hygiene isn't at the top of their priority list.  Until someone comes up with a video game that can be played in the shower, I don't see that changing anytime soon.

So the other day, Boy Weasel came into the kitchen to grab some breakfast before school (food being the #2 priority behind video games).  I took one look at him and said "Boy (because that's what I call him), go wash your face before you stuff anything in it".  He trudged off to the bathroom and returned 2 minutes later to continue his quest for food, with dirty face completely intact.

Boy Weasel is easily distracted by anything shiny, so this didn't surprise me.  "Boy, I told you to go wash your face".  "I just did.", was his defensive response.  I sent him off to go do it again, "Use soap this time".

Grumble, grumble, grumble as he shuffled back to the bathroom, only to return with his face still coated in a thin layer of grime.  "Dude, come on!  Bring the wash cloth to me".

I packed the sandwiches into the lunch bags, dampened the wash cloth and attempted to clean his face like I used to when he still sat in a high chair.  I held his face under the light and began to wipe away.  It wasn't coming clean.  I squinted and looked closer.  No good.  I put on my glasses and look closer still.

That's not dirt, it's facial hair!  When did that happen??????? Obviously this happened overnight.

"Ummm, sorry Boy.  I guess your face was clean.  Now grab some breakfast".

Maybe, I should adorn my glasses and take a better look at that shadowy area above my own lip.

What Would You Do With $500?

The wonderful, sweet, talented and generous Melisa with one S of The Suburban Scrawl and now The Suburban Scrawl Reviews is giving away a $500 Visa gift card!!!!!!
Seriously, how awesome is that?

Being that she and I are tight, I was hoping that she would just cut to the chase and just award the prize to me right off the bat, but alas, The Great 1 S is far to honest and clean cut for that kind of shenanigan.  I am in the pool with everybody else on this one.  Although kissing up certainly can't hurt me.

The only thing left for me to do is day dream about what I will do with the 500 smack-a-roos.  Decisions, decisions.......

There is always the responsible choice of putting it all toward the household expenses and alleviating the tightness of the budget.

I also would have the option of splurging on a fantabulous Brazilian Steakhouse dinner for the entire family with enough leftover for the mani/pedi of my dreams and some mad money to spare.

I could always put it toward the orthodontic needs of Monkey Weasel or Boy Weasel for that matter.

I could have an awesome day of playing Black Jack at the casino.

Then again, it could quite a long way toward new spring and summer clothing Weasels that are growing at ridiculous rates.

More than likely, it would be used to cover the Vet bills to prevent Matilda The Hun from ever going around singing Hey Big Spender to the neighborhood pooches.

I could always go on a wild book buying spree and pick up these bookshelf must haves.

The one thing that I will continue to day dream about but couldn't bring myself to spend the money on when there are too many other places that it's needed is this.

So whatever you do, don't go enter this contest because you will dilute my chances of winning !

My Poor Parents

*This morning at 10 EST/ 9 Central (7 Pacific) is the next Suburban Wow broadcast! Join Melisa and I for a fun filled hour of laughter and spontaneity*.
Here's a door prize, just for stopping by:

Just pick it up, pass it on and link it to the show! Sorry, that I couldn't have it autographed for you.

Now onto some FatherHood Friday! Brought to you by Dad-Blogs. Head on over there after the show for some post links on everything and anything Fatherhood/Parenthood related.

As for me, the older I get the more appreciation I have for my parents. As the Weasels get older the challenges of raising become more, well, challenging. Be it school work or social interactions, chores or scheduling, they put us through the wringer.

I think back to my teen and tween years and wonder how my parents managed to resist the urge to kill me where my parents found the patience to deal with me and persevere through those years. I now completely understand how their hair became so gray, so quickly.

They say that kids growing up now have it so much harder. They have so many more pressures and exposure than we did. They are more connected and savvy and thus grow-up faster than we did. I don't doubt that this generation of teens have tremendous pressures to deal with, but I really think that my parents had it harder.

When we left the house as teens, we were out on our own. We could be doing anything, anywhere and 'call when you get to so-n-so's house', was an easy hurdle to get around. My parents had to trust that we had good heads on our shoulders and would make good decisions. This often did not work out as well as they would have liked.

When this generation leaves the house, they are still connected to home. They carry cell phones, that we can chip with GPS and track their every move. We can speak to them on a moments notice and verify location through picture messages.

There are cars on the market that will limit how fast the car can go and how loud the radio volume to go when a teen is driving.

If they run into a problem of any type, Mom and Dad are just a phone call away. Thirty years ago, if you got a flat tire, you found yourself walking in search of a pay phone and hoped that you had a dime in your pocket. Now that phone is already in their pocket.

As parents, we can monitor everything that they do on the internet and even set up security blocks of unsavory websites. The same goes for the television.

Yes, I know that teens can still find plenty of ways to get into trouble and work around these roadblocks. The Weasels are Waaaayy better than I was some pretty good kids and yet I still find my hair getting grayer by the day. I can't imagine the heart palpitations my parents must have had every time I left the house, let alone if I wasn't home by curfew.

Sure, being a teen is still hard and so is raising one. I just feel like I have a much larger safety net to catch them in when they do fall and a much deeper admiration for my own parents.