Category — Family Toys

The other night was a school night and Mommy Bacchus was working late, which caused me to balance the kids, dinner and bath time on my own. Which is what most of us “Super” parents do every evening, but I paid attention to the lateness it took me to finally sit down and catch my breath. 10:45 pm was the time and I still had a couple of hours of things to do and should have been getting ready for bed during at that time. In those brief few minutes of solitude I reflected on how our lives changed when we had kids. So you know what that means…..I made a list.

Things that change when you have kids:

• You rate restaurants on the cleanliness of the bathrooms and availability of a decent changing station.
• You watch movies on Pay Per View or DVD
• You watch the Academy Awards show without seeing any of the top movie contenders
• You don’t mind going to work with spit up stains on your clothes
• Of course, say goodbye to sleeping in on the weekends, weekdays, vacation days, sick days…..
• You accept that your house is in a constant mess
• You shop at Sam’s/Costco/Walmart weekly
• You actually run out of bread and milk before it goes bad
• Lastly, after having a newborn, you learn to sleep during work conf calls and put the phone on mute so they don’t hear you snoring.

Feel free to add any of your own…..

Toilet Paper Lock: Parenting Ideas

Ever since BJ's toilet paper fiasco, I have been looking for ideas to help with this problem.  Parenting Ideas has a good post on a product worth consideration. Stop by and take a look.

There’s nothing like waiting until the last minute to go Easter clothes shopping. Saturday morning Mommy Bacchus (MB) had to run some errands and left Bacchus Jr. (BJ) and me to carryout our Easter Traditions. Since I knew BJ needed some spring clothes, our first stop was the local second-hand store. Sometimes I get lucky and find some really great items, but everything was picked over by the time we got there. We walked out with a few casual items he could wear to school or around the house.

Next on the agenda was the department store, but I wanted to avoid the mall since construction has made traffic a major headache. Since a number of co-workers shop at “Marshalls” for their children, I found one in a nearby strip-center. As I was parking the car, I noticed a “Famous Footwear” a couple of doors down and made a mental note to stop by on the way out. At “Marshalls” we found a great outfit with matching shorts, and at “Famous Footwear” we found 2 pairs of black and brown shoes. Finding shorts was a priority since the forecast for Easter was in the 90’s (we live in Texas).

After shopping we had just enough time to get across town in time for BJ’s swim lessons. BJ is becoming quite the fish lately, but he unfortunately pushed a classmate in the pool while she was not looking. (MY BAD—MY BAD) In the summer, I play a game called, “Throw Mommy in the pool,” and BJ mistook this cute, 4 year-old white girl as his mother (it could happen). I got to start acting like a responsible adult since my actions may cause BJ to be banned from public areas in the future. So I guess that would include “after dinner burps” and “coach potato farts” I blame on Mommy Bacchus.

After swim lessons we picked up the tulips pictured above for Mommy Bacchus. BJ surprised Mommy with them when we got back to the house and the smile on her face was worth a million bucks. Later that evening we played catch in the backyard and thanks to Yellow Dog Granny, I began teaching BJ how to spit-shine our shoes. BJ particularly enjoyed the spitting aspect of this chore, and we still need a little work on the shinning part. Overall, we had a great day, and hopefully we can continue these traditions and make them into unforgettable memories.

2006 Easter Traditions: Mission Accomplished

DadCafe - 10 Tips for Parents to Save Money

This site has a wonderful list of money saving ideas not only for Dads, but Moms too.

Mommy Bacchus and I have been watching this show each Saturday evening.  It is a wonderful look into the lives of a mixed family of both little and normal size.  I think this is a must see for all families and you should measure the size of a person’s heart and not their height. Check it out and let me know what you think.  

My wife traded in her SUV for a Mini-Van this weekend…….My co-workers tell me that since I now drive a “loser cruiser” my cool points = 0. 

I went to the dealer kicking and screaming, but soon changed my tune.  She had a Honda Pilot and wanted something more family friendly. I found that the Odyssey did have more room and is longer than the SUV.  It also has more storage compartments and plenty of cup holders.  So I give it two thumbs up…..Plus the sliding side doors are “Daddy Cool.” If I had any complaint, it would be that some of the cup holders are not deep enough, but I can live with that.

Well the week is over and I have had a number of people comment and wish to participate in the project. I will be sending out kindness coins this week and posting the serial #’s so that we can all track them. I also came to a decision to keep the project open indefinately. So if you missed the first week, it’s not too late to jump on board.

I am sending out kindness coins to anyone who comments on these postings and wishes to participate. The program works by registering a coin on the Kindness Project Website and I then mail them to any participants. When someone does something nice for you, you pass the coin on to them and ask that they enter the transaction on the website. I will post an update whenever a transaction for the coin is entered.

So leave a comment and I will contact you to receive a coin…

Help spread Kindness

This weekend the family and I visited a small mom & pop store for some items we needed and while being run up at the cash register, I saw a display of these “Kindness” coins. While waiting for my total, I read the display and was spell-bound. The way it works is that you purchase a coin and register it on the “Kindness Project” website. Each coin has its own unique serial #. Once someone does something kind for or to you, you pass the coin on to them and ask them to add a comment on the website and pass it on to another person.

The shop owner saw me contemplating whether or not I should purchase the coin, so he just gave it to me for free. His kind act is the first entry for this coin. I am looking for volunteers to accept the passing on of this coin and others. Please comment to this post and describe something kind that you recently did and I will send coins to anyone who wants to particpate. I will open the offer for one week and it will end Sunday evening March 12, 2006. Below is a summary from their website of the project:

The Kindness Project aims to prove that you can have an exponential effect on the spread of kindness around the world. It’s simple - when someone does or says something kind, no matter how small, you give them a token. Taking a few seconds to pass on the token empowers you to brighten someone’s day. The tokens are passed from person to person, again and again, turning the world into a kinder place. Can you imagine how you would feel if you received a token yourself?

The beauty of the Kindness Project is that not only do you get to make a difference in someone’s day by giving them a token, but everyone gets to track their token and read about all its adventures. Be a part of the Kindness Project by passing on your own tokens!

Remember, comment and describe your kindness and we will see where this takes us.

Update: Since some may be uncomfortable sending me their mailing address to receive a free coin, please purchase one from the site and leave us the serial# in this post so we can all track them.

African American Lives | PBS

This is the best thing I have seen on TV since Alex Haley’s ROOTS !!!!!

Last week I heard on the radio about a PBS documentary concerning African American history and tracing our past lineages and hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Since I have been a fan of Dr Gates for years, I thought I would check it out. I didn’t get home in time to set up my DVR (Digital Video Recorder) to record it from the beginning so I did a search and found that it also re-played last night. Wow, WOW, WWWWOOOOOOW. This is a must see for every African American in this country. Not only did they trace the family histories of several celebrities, Dr. Gates also had genetic tests to identify what percentage of their ancestors were European, African, Asian or Indian. To top it off, they also conducted a second series of tests to narrow done to specific tribes and countries your DNA most likely came from. You have got to see the expressions and results they found for Oprah, Quincy Jones, Whoopi Goldberg and Chris Tucker. You will be shocked and amazed at what this technology can identify.

I read about this genetic testing in Black Enterprise magazine and found that anyone can find out their own genetic results. Go to www.Africanancestry.com

Read More Here [Read more →]

Top Ten Creative Toys Christmas 2005
This is a UK website, but offers some good suggestions that you may be able to order in time for the holidays.