In the Midnight Hour

I lay in bed, kindled from my slumber by what I do not know, but the room is still dark. I can feel my wife next to me, hear her breathe as she rests from the long day before and for the the long day ahead. I listen for some indication as to the cause of this mid-night moment of wakefulness. The dog lay panting in her bed, the baby quiet in his. I allow my eyes to close again, drifting back to the world of dreams and peace. There will be enough clamor in the morning, I need not go searching for it tonight. For with the sun comes the affairs of the day; breakfast and bus and carpool and diapers and questions and answers and not a minute to sit back and close my eyes. My eyes are too heavy anyway to even check the time. I don't want to know. Knowing brings responsibility and breaks the magic of the night, calling to mind the time I have left, or affirming how little sleep I've so far gathered.

So for now, I do that luxury which I will not be afforded in the morning. For now I close my eyes to the night. For now I embrace the peace and the darkness, for I know the night is short, and sleep my friend.

Window Drawing.

Can you draw? I don't know why I'd ask this question, as the answer is really quite irrelevant. The better question would be: Do you have windows in your house?

If you answered "No" (to the second question, remember the first one is moot), I'm sorry, there is nothing more I can do for you.

If you answered yes, good, we're off to a great start. Unlike your windowless loser counterparts, we can move on with this post. You see, it doesn't matter if you can draw to do this fun thing with your kids, you just need something to draw on.

Take a Look, Its in a Book

A tale of wizards and dragons. A quest. Brave adventurers in a strange land. No, I'm not talking about the latest Terry Goodkind novel, rather my 9-year-old's bookshelf.

I grew up on books like the Chronicles of Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time, and The Phantom Tollbooth, eventually graduating to works by Bradbury, Orwell, Burroughs, Tolkien, Eddings, Hobb, and McCaffrey, among others. The literary world is full of all kinds of stories; tales of love and romance, action and adventure, suspense and mystery. Each genre has it's foundations, each has it's addictive elements; the ability to draw a reader in and immerse them into the characters and setting and feelings of the story. That, after all, is the essence of storytelling.

The Sherman Identity: Why Sportsmanship Matters

As a father, it's my job to set an example for my kids on how to behave. I take that responsibility seriously. But I am not the only example they have. We watch TV in our home. We listen to music. And yes, we watch sports. I have already begun to indoctrinate my kids into liking my teams (no thanks to other family members who have brought the White Sox in though). When we watch games, be they baseball, football or the Olympics, I talk with them about the rules, and how the participants are observing them. Why it's important to play by the rules, and the sportsmanship involved in each game.

When Life Gives You Snow, Make Ice Cream

The Polar Vortex came through town last week and we had snow. Lots of snow (12 inches on top of the 10 on the ground already). We also had freezing temperatures (-16 and wind chills in the negative 40s!) Then we had extra days off school for it. As if we weren't going crazy from two weeks off of school for Christmas break already! So, I found myself with two kids with severe cabin fever and asking myself what do I do with them! Then a little piece of my childhood came back to me. How's the saying go: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"? Well, no lemons, but the spirit of that saying rang true with all this snow on the ground, we made snow ice cream.

Stuff My Kids Say IX

Godzilla: "Dad, I've been trying to be like you all year! And I finally did it!"

I should be proud that my boy wants to be like me, but this declaration was not over something to be proud of.

I let my childhood affect my parenting...

Oh the Horror! The Carnage! The Vomit!

Parenting begins and ends with vomit.




Let me start again:


This post is brought to you by Lysol Disinfectant Spray, and Clorox! (not really, I'm handing this one out pro bono, unless you have control of the checkbook at Lysol or Clorox, then feel free to contact me)




I love my children, and they love me. But I love them a whole lot more.

How do I know, you ask? Well, for starters, they have never let me puke on them. Not once!