I kept the kids at a family-friend party until 9:45 last night. Shockingly, we all got up late this morning. Fortunately, I have developed a can't-fail method to get everybody ready and out the door on time.
Get out-the-door-ready first.
What does that mean?
Get dressed - check.
Lunch(es) made - check.
Backpack packed - check.
After those things are done, my hierarchy goes:
breakfast
brush hair
brush teeth
potty.
The first things to get done are those that you can't leave without. Lunch and homework. That will screw up the kids' day a lot worse than being a little hungry. And, you'd better have some kind of granola bar, cookie, chips, (who cares?) in your cabinet for these OH, SHIT! moments. They can eat them on the way.
Potty in last? That's right - there are bathrooms at school.
And, please, tell me you haven't left the house without brushing your teeth once or twice, especially when you were a kid. One good way to combat that is giving the kids a piece of fruit for breakfast. It won't remove plaque, but it will get their breath going in the right (or less offensive) direction.
Brushing hair reduces the family's chances of being judged on lack of appearance.
Oh, and the other thing that gets this going: screaming. Wow, is that effective! JD is eating his whole wheat toast with neufchatel slowly? Scream! Bunny is taking her sweet time brushing her tiny white teeth and getting her little white sandals with the sparkly flowers on? Scream!
They will still love you. If the children of crackheads and abusive alcoholics still love their parents, yours will still love you after a good round of aggressive motivation.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Stop the Cookie
I just had to yell at the kids to stop singing the song, "who took the cookie from the cookie jar?" They could not agree on how to get the next person who stole the cookie from the cookie jar.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
What's New with DD
Yikes! No posts since May 17th.
House on the market. Yes, Downtown Dad's house is on the market. If we get a contract in time to close and buy a house and close on that before the new school year. That's like, 3 or 4 weeks. The good news, we've had at least 30 showings in 4 weeks. The bad? No offers. Price dropped slightly, so we'll see what happens.
If we do sell, we'll move to the suburbs. Not sure how that will affect my name. Can I still call myself, "Downtown Dad," if I'm not downtown? What a hypocrite.
If we don't sell, we'll do some remodeling for next time around.
Having the house on the market is one of the reasons I haven't been posting. It turns out that having a lot of showings is a lot of work. Keeping the house in show-condition is challenging, but worth it. Again, my challenge is time-management. Thirty to forty-five minutes in the morning. Regular picking up throughout the day. Fifteen to twenty minutes after dinner.
The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs being on and, specifically, the Blackhawks being in the Western Conference Finals certainly challenges my ability to stay on top of my domestic responsibilities. I mean, it's 3 hours that I'm virtually glued to the TV. And, I have to DVR so I can start watching after the kids go to bed so I don't get those built-in 15 minute gaps between periods to get some stuff done.
Excuses, excuses.
The house being on the market and the planning and stress that surrounds that circumstance has been weighing heavily. How much money could we end up with at the end of the sale? What will that buy in the next town? Where in that town do we want to be? Close to "downtown" or close to school? Unfortunately, in the suburbs, it's not both.
Where I live, there is a Jewel-Osco, post office, Walgreen's, and Whole Foods within three blocks. And at least 20 bars and restaurants. Oh, and the kids' school is within that radius.
Suburbia. Suburbia looks overweight. That's what I see, at least, when we go up there. And it's not that I care what people look like. Overweight is not a character assessment. But it is a lifestyle assessment. It is driving the car to get everywhere. People buy these houses with land, but how often do they get out there? Forget about public playgrounds - they should stop wasting money because nobody uses them.
Jeez, Downtown Dad, if you're so cynical about the suburbs, why the F are you moving there?
Because the transition from grade school to high school in CPS is not a smooth one. The chance of JD, specifically, going to high school with any of his city classmates is unlikely. He'll have enough social challenges, even as high-functioning on the Spectrum as he is.
And I don't hate the place. It's where I grew up. It's quiet. There are no gangs and very little crime, otherwise. The educational opportunities are outstanding.
Life could be a lot worse. We stand to make a small profit on our house, where many people have lost their asses. Wife may need to commute for a while, but the train ride is 45 minutes or less and her office is a block from Union Station. Two of my siblings and their families live there; my other sibling lives about thirty minutes and my Mom fifteen. Wife's parents would be closer, one sibling closer, one sibling further.
First things first. Sell the house. The whirlwind will take care of the rest.
One thing I know is that life moves forward, regardless of the path.
House on the market. Yes, Downtown Dad's house is on the market. If we get a contract in time to close and buy a house and close on that before the new school year. That's like, 3 or 4 weeks. The good news, we've had at least 30 showings in 4 weeks. The bad? No offers. Price dropped slightly, so we'll see what happens.
If we do sell, we'll move to the suburbs. Not sure how that will affect my name. Can I still call myself, "Downtown Dad," if I'm not downtown? What a hypocrite.
If we don't sell, we'll do some remodeling for next time around.
Having the house on the market is one of the reasons I haven't been posting. It turns out that having a lot of showings is a lot of work. Keeping the house in show-condition is challenging, but worth it. Again, my challenge is time-management. Thirty to forty-five minutes in the morning. Regular picking up throughout the day. Fifteen to twenty minutes after dinner.
The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs being on and, specifically, the Blackhawks being in the Western Conference Finals certainly challenges my ability to stay on top of my domestic responsibilities. I mean, it's 3 hours that I'm virtually glued to the TV. And, I have to DVR so I can start watching after the kids go to bed so I don't get those built-in 15 minute gaps between periods to get some stuff done.
Excuses, excuses.
The house being on the market and the planning and stress that surrounds that circumstance has been weighing heavily. How much money could we end up with at the end of the sale? What will that buy in the next town? Where in that town do we want to be? Close to "downtown" or close to school? Unfortunately, in the suburbs, it's not both.
Where I live, there is a Jewel-Osco, post office, Walgreen's, and Whole Foods within three blocks. And at least 20 bars and restaurants. Oh, and the kids' school is within that radius.
Suburbia. Suburbia looks overweight. That's what I see, at least, when we go up there. And it's not that I care what people look like. Overweight is not a character assessment. But it is a lifestyle assessment. It is driving the car to get everywhere. People buy these houses with land, but how often do they get out there? Forget about public playgrounds - they should stop wasting money because nobody uses them.
Jeez, Downtown Dad, if you're so cynical about the suburbs, why the F are you moving there?
Because the transition from grade school to high school in CPS is not a smooth one. The chance of JD, specifically, going to high school with any of his city classmates is unlikely. He'll have enough social challenges, even as high-functioning on the Spectrum as he is.
And I don't hate the place. It's where I grew up. It's quiet. There are no gangs and very little crime, otherwise. The educational opportunities are outstanding.
Life could be a lot worse. We stand to make a small profit on our house, where many people have lost their asses. Wife may need to commute for a while, but the train ride is 45 minutes or less and her office is a block from Union Station. Two of my siblings and their families live there; my other sibling lives about thirty minutes and my Mom fifteen. Wife's parents would be closer, one sibling closer, one sibling further.
First things first. Sell the house. The whirlwind will take care of the rest.
One thing I know is that life moves forward, regardless of the path.
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