Fall kinda came and went, but mostly we had only a handful of fall-like days. We may get a couple more this weekend and it looks like I will do my best to get the Christmas lights up. Once November arrives, I wait for that one last fairly warm day and up go the lights. If I waited until after Thanksgiving, I could be out in the snow on my ladder and that is no good.
The other day, the greeter at the grocery store advised the kids and I to "take our time so mommy could sleep in". Being an At-Home-Dad, I have come to expect that, especially in West Michigan which is ultra conservative. However, it kinda irks the father in me, and this is the fault of men everywhere. The assumption is that fathers are secondary. Like we are doing a great favor to our wives to do something with our kids even if it is grocery shopping. Men are becoming more involved but not to the extent they should. I still hear of dads who have never changed a diaper, or put there kids to bed. To be fair, I know of moms who wont let dads do some of those things and that is as much of a problem as dads who wont. Anyway, the disjointed point is that its time to move forward and throw out the 50's era parenting attitudes and embrace the fact that dads need to get more hands on and moms need to let that happen too.
Another minor irritation is this: The GR At home dads group was at the mall the other day for playgroup. Some moms who were there we obviously surprised to see so many men at the play area. (granted, the moms are normally a little nervous when we show up in force to a playground. They look like the pedophile convention just came to town.) Anyway, one mom said to the other "wow I've never seen so may guys here before" to which the other said "yeah, my husband is getting laid off too". More assumptions. See above.
Speaking of kids, mine are crazy. They fight all the time. My patience is gone.
Ephram is liking preschool. I was hoping for a little more challenge for him. We thought that there would be more one on one time which was our understanding when we asked what they would do with a kid who knows his colors and letters and reads already. They go over one letter a week and one color. He has fun and is happy that they get lots of snacks that he doesn't get at home like goldfish crackers and fake cheese and crackers and all that other crap that proves that food companies and tobacco companies have the same corporate vision.
Speaking of things that are good for your body and not good for your body. The swine flu craziness is driving me crazy. The news leads every day with more stuff and the internet is full of misinformation. Parents dont know what the hell to do. I am taking our pediatricians advice and will have them vaccinated if we can. There are a lot of parents that are not because the read on some discussion board that the vaccine has antifreeze in it.( coincidentally, the same chemical that these folks are worried about, not really antifreeze, is in your store bought cookie dough. Thanks mom.....or dad!) I saw one recommendation that said," see my page for some good information on why not to get your child vaccinated". When I went there it was a discussion board. Note to parents: discussion boards are full of liars. People say things like "i work in the medical field" That person may be the janitor or worse. point being, don't get your medical info from discussion board people. Thy probably just came from another discussion board after giving some other completely unreliable advice. I'm just saying get the info from a reliable source and make an informed decision.
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