Life on the Frontier

If you read the previous post, you know that our family is on vacation. We made a few pit stops along the way, but we finally arrived at my parents in NY as we had originally scheduled. It was a great time of visiting with family and friends many of whom (I don't know if this is the correct use of the word "whom") we only get to see about twice a year.

Everyday was pretty chill, but there were some memorable moments that I think are worthy of recording. I am curious to know how many parents allow their children to use the bathroom outside during the early stages of potty training. I know many who have, and we have also allowed it in our yard. Let me add that our yard has a privacy fence, and we have a designated pine tree that is to be used. (If you visit you probably don't want to spend a whole lot of time hanging out by the pine tree). I ask you the question stated previously because of a repetative experience we had over the course of our stay. As we (my wife and parents) are sitting outside shooting the breeze, we notice that over by the clothesline there is a boy with his pants down around his ankles just letting it go. "Quinn! What are you doing?!" "I am going pee," he said, with a huge grin on his face. I think he wanted a high five for his accomplishment, but I knew where his hands had just been. If reading this disgusts you, then you might not want to spend any more time reading this today. This I'm afraid is only the beginning. They didn't verbalize it, but I think my boys were trying to go to the bathroom in every area of the property that could be reached. In the creek, off the deck, on the tree, you name it they hit it. Pretty exciting stuff. It made us reflect on the "Free Spirit" outdoor potty training method. Next time we will have to include a few days worth of lessons dealing with "Social Acceptance," and what to do in the yards of others. I apologize to my wife right now for putting this out in the open. We will still have friends, I promise. and if our friends don't let our kids pee in their yard, then what kind of friends are they?

On one of the days we visited a hands-on museum for children. The kids absolutely loved this! They had an actual train,  a Sesame Street area, a shopping center, an airplane, etc, and all of it was interactive. For those of you who don't know my children, they are obsessed with trains. Quinn a little bit more than Caden. While we were there, Quinn located the wooden Thomas train set exhibit. This is where he wanted to stay for the majority of the time. This wouldn't have been so fascinating to me, except for the fact that they were the exact same trains and tracks that we had at home. Not to mention there were about 20 kids fighting for 15 trains. It is interesting when you become a parent and you watch your child interact with others that they don't know. Like the intance when a kid stole Quinn's train, and the other parent and I made eye-contact. There is a split second where I am thinking, "Gosh lady, your kid just snatched that from my son, is that what you model at home?" I'm sure she was thinking, "Did he just see that and expect me to do something? Give me a break, there are like a 100 kids here stealing each other's toys." That left me at a crossroad. Do I go over and correct the child (who stole Thomas and two milk cars) or do I just let it go and tell my son who was in the right, to share? Just as I am thinking this, Quinn looks at me for some sort of insight or wisdom. Hmmmm.... What words of wisdom could I impart to my son during this great learning opportunity? Before the words came pouring from my lips, Quinn noticed that some poor sucker left his Thomas and freight cars in a tunnel and Quinn went over and snatched them before the other kid knew what hit him. A perfect example of adapting to one's environment Nobody's feeling were hurt, so just relax. The child who left his train in the tunnel was at a different area. At any rate, my parents paid for the museum trip, so I didn't feel too bad about spending $11 for Quinn to play with a train set.

Before I end this post I want to jot down some knowledge I have gained during my stay here in NY.

• People from Naples NY talk about the Dollar General like it is a shopping mall. Sorry if you're from Naples, but it's true.
• Pools can go from 55 degrees to 85 degrees in a matter of hours, and then can drop in temperature again just as quickly.
• I will always need to live at least 15 minutes from a Walmart.
• When you set up a special "Kids Movie Night" your kids will sleep right through the movie. When you try to have a...um.. I don't know.. a night where the adults want to watch Iron Man, your kids will be totally awake and refuse to play with their toys thus causing you to miss the movie.
• Hot dogs and hamburgers are eaten by everyone 5 days a week during the summer.
• Pretzel M&M's are a delicious snack

Oh, I almost forgot. If you are a close friend or relative and you would like to here a story dealing with: A mall bathroom, Yelling, a janitor, a garbage plate, borders and Karma, then let me know.