One of "Those Parents"

A friend of mine was joking on her Facebook status about how boring her kids’ soccer practices are. I replied, “Do you really have to go to every practice these days?”

Someone replied, “Sadly, where we live, if you don’t stay you’re one of ‘those parents.’”

I’m THAT parent. I plan on dropping my kid off at soccer practice (not when he’s three, because I think three-year-old soccer is a bit much. But when he’s six, and I have to run an errand, I will.)

I love my son. If I didn’t love kids, I wouldn’t be having another one in November. And I care about his safety, but I also think you can’t keep your kids in a bubble.

My parents were in town today, and we went to Burger King. A dad there wouldn’t let his six-year-old boy play in the indoor playplace because he is a self-described “hypochondriac.”

I happily enjoyed watching my 2.5-year-old son, Colin, climb up as far as he could, and then almost get stuck, and then ask for help getting down. I didn’t sanitize his hands on the way out.

Finding My Voice

So, my boss thinks I should start “really blogging.” And by really blogging, I guess he means more than every two months or so. It really doesn’t make sense why I’m not already blogging. I love to communicate. I have a lot to say. I microblog all day long on social networking sites (except during work hours, naturally). And, I’ve always wanted to be Kathleen Parker when I grew up.

But where do I start? I decided that the first step was just to just type down my thoughts, and see where my streams of consciousness might lead me. Do I want to write about my daily life as a mom? Should I just ramble on about current events, and offer my political/ironic/petty/insightful take on the news of the day? Is there anyone who would be interested in both?

We’ll see where this goes, if anywhere. We’ll see if I can keep this up, even for a week. Day one, check.

Colin Cuddles with Thomas Magazine

Colin Cuddles with Thomas Magazine, originally uploaded by ilovefab4.

Colin loves everything Thomas, including his magazine subscription that Aunt Cathy got him for Christmas. He can only have magazines in his bed since he likes to rip books if he's in his crib.

The other night we found him like this, clutching to the magazine. (It was dark; this is flash.)

Colin Enjoys Some Light Reading

"Tribes" by Seth Godin. I haven't read it yet, but it's on my nightstand. Colin decided he'd like to read it and started it tonight. He grabbed it and said, "I read a book," proceeded to open it to a page with a header that had "C" for Colin, and he was sold.

Sunset

Sunset, originally uploaded by ilovefab4.

Our photos from the Nicaragua trip are up and on flickr. I'm probably still going to do a major digest version, but it might be a while. :)

Lago Colcibolca, Nicaragua 2009

Nicaragua 426, originally uploaded by ilovefab4.

We just returned from a two-week visit to Nicaragua. I'm in the process of editing the photos to a manageable number that folks might want to see. I'll post them when I have them.

We had another great trip, and Colin had a great time with his grandparents. Hasta pronto.

Christmas Morning--Train Mania!

The video speaks for itself.