Herculodge

"Parents Need to Step It Up"

One of my students works at a nice restaurant in Hermosa Beach. She says there will be kids, mostly toddlers, running around and ruining the other patrons' meals while their parents ignore them because they're too busy having a good time. At one point, my student told the class, "These parents need to step it up."

I've heard kids in other countries don't act like rude little narcissists. Are American parents uniquely narcissistic and thereby creating the only brats in the world?

And what should restaurants do who want these narcissists' business?

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Negotiations with My Daughter Julia

This morning Julia, my four-year-old daughter, ran into the guest bathroom where I was showering and screamed in admonishment, "Dad, your clothes are in my room!"

"I know."

"But, Dad, you can't get dressed in there. That's my room!"

"But the window is open in my room and I don't want the neighbors to see me naked. So can I get dressed in your room?"

"No, Dad!"

"What if I say please?"

"Okay."

That was a close one.

Time Presents the Number One Conflict Between My Twins and Me

It hit me as Julia was staring with wonder at the water bottles on the garage shelves and I was telling her we needed to get into the house so I could do my kettlebell workout before picking up Natalie from preschool (Julia is staying home to nurse a cold):

The number one conflict between my children and me is our diameretically opposed notion of time. For them time doesn't exist. For me time is in scarce supply.

Youth is a drug that pushes death away from the imagination. Middle age is a sobriety clinic that has mortality breathing its bated breath in your face every second.

 

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Julia and Natalie Have Absorbed the Princess Myth Through Cultural Osmosis

Can the Terrible Twos Start at 18 Months?

The twins Julia and Natalie are very sweet and happy around 6:30 AM when this photo was taken, but as the day goes on they can become some rather tumultuous ripsnorters. At 18 months, can they already be in the Terrible Two Stage?

Why You Should be a Shamed Parent #1: You're Using Wonder Pets As a Verb

When my twin toddlers Natalie and Julia get fussy, so loud I can't hear anything else, the default solution is to turn on Wonder Pets. I have 20 episodes recorded on DVR. It's gotten to the point that I'm using Wonder Pets as a verb and will say to my wife, Carrie, "Hey, should I WP the babies?" like I"m getting out a can of Fuss be Gone. 

Surely, I have overused WP to soothe the fuss levels and this is evidence that I am going to Parents Hell for the shamed. 

Day 3 of Natalie's Croup Renders Her Sleepless and Melancholy

Natalie's twin sister Julia had croup about 12 days ago.

Now Natalie has joined the party. Her dry coughs frighten and pain her. What is a croup cough like? Imagine slamming the brakes of a Mack truck with no brake pads.

Between 9PM and 12:30 A.M. it's a major fuss fest and she does not wake refreshed to say the least.

The good news: She didn't need to go the ER like her sister. The bad news. When will this end?

Twin Daughters Equals Twin Cases of Croup

 

Julia (above) had croup about 11 days ago. She had to go to the ER and is fine now. Yesterday her sister Natalie (below) showed symptoms for it. So far Natalie's case isn't as extreme and she hasn't had to go to the hospital.

Here's a question: Can Natalie re-infect Julia with croup?

 

Julia Released from the Hospital After a Bad Case of Croup

Natalie has been anxious all day wondering what happened to her twin sister, Julia (above right). I just got the call from the hospital. Julia got released after almost 24 hours.

The doctor says we should have a cold air humidifier in case this happens again. Hot steam makes the condition worse. 

Croup Sends My Daughter Julia to the Emergency Room

Last night my 15-month-old daughter Julia woke up around 9 P.M. crying and coughing like a rasping seal. She was hunched over in her crib fighting for breath. Our pediatrician, on the emergency phone line, instructed us to put Julia next to a hot shower. If her condition didn't improve, send her to the nearest emergency room.

Ten minutes later as her breathing worsened, my wife Carrie took Julia to Little Company of Mary while I stayed with Julia's twin sister Natalie.

Carrie called me this morning, around 5 A.M., to tell me Julia is fine but will need treatment for 48 hours because in part she may have asthma. 

I never knew what croup was before. Now I do. 

Must Get the Girls Started on Power Yoga Sooner Than Later

Natalie has shown an athletic proclivity since about 4 months. Ten months later, she may be ready for power yoga.