http://www.childsplayx2.com Because having one just wasn't enough Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:13:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If I had homework in Kindergarten, I don't remember it. I don't remember bringing home copied packets of paper asking me to trace the letter P or color apples red. This is perhaps because I'm so old that photocopiers didn't exist in schools and we, instead, were sometimes ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/08/the-ups-and-downs-of-homework.html I sit in a corner of a cramped dentist evaluation room as TheMonk's little body sits in the chair in the center of the room.  The dentist looks at the x-rays and examines TheMonk's bloodied and bruised gums suffered from a nasty fall on the playground structure at school the ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/08/tooth-fairy-x2.html Today, you brought home a classroom assignment. It was a photocopy of a number five that your mother had fished out of your backpack and that you had traced a number of times - each with a different crayon. Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, Purple... Your mother shares it with ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/08/five.html She sobbed quietly as she tightly grasped her mother's hand in a cooler-than-usual late July morning. He grips my other hand with a soft, nonchalant grip as he eagerly walks, for the first time, to the bus stop. The first day of Kindergarten was very typical for both Swee'Pea and ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/07/everything-im-learning-im-learning-from-kindergarteners.html A little over a year ago, I got this idea (I'm sure after seeing something similar on the internet - I'm really not that creative).  The idea was to take a daily portrait of Swee'Pea and TheMonk starting on their 4th birthday and ending on their 5th birthday.  And so ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/07/a-year-in-pictures.html As great of a responsibility I have, as a parent, to teach my children the lessons they will need to grow up to be non-felons, it has become apparent that an unexpected bonus of this parenting gig is how much Swee'Pea and TheMonk have taught me. Those who know me will ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/07/stopping-to-smell-the-dandy-flowers.html A few weeks ago, back before a barrage of work, birthdays, and family visits knocked me out of my blogging mojo, the family was invited to attend the grand opening of SeaWorld San Diego's new dolphin show Blue Horizons. As you may recall, Swee'Pea, TheMonk and I got to ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/06/its-a-dolphins-world.html It's important to provide a mellow bedtime routine to help kids transition to sleep. The books tell you that. But it's equally important to boogie to Lady Gaga's Telephone while getting jammies on - creating laughter and memories. My heart tells me that. It's important to provide nutritious, balanced meals and ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/06/the-fine-line-of-parenting.html I don't do reviews. I get, on average, about 15 to 20 emails a day asking me to review some product or another. Some offering payment. Some not. I've rarely accepted these review opportunities because I wasn't familiar with the company and didn't use the product. But that ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/06/a-red-envelope-for-dads-day.html I arrive at 5:15 on a Friday afternoon. A three-day weekend looms and the preschool is decidedly empty compared to most afternoons. The remaining kids are out on the playground and I head out to greet Swee'Pea and TheMonk. Swee'Pea sees me first and races towards me. ... http://www.childsplayx2.com/2010/05/raising-a-woman-not-a-girl.html