The Human Condition

The human condition encompasses the unique features of being human. It can be described as the irreducible part of humanity that is inherent and not dependent on factors such as gender, race or class. – Wikipedia It is an odd thing recently.  When I first became a parent I found it a little puzzling; this

Hawkeye

This is not a typical blog post from me.  It isn’t typical because it isn’t about my kids.  It probably isn’t even about your kids.  But it is related and important…so read it anyway. Full disclosure:  I sit on a board for the Hawkeye Campership Fund.  The HCF is an organization that supports Camp Hawkeye

Thanks For Giving

Thanks for giving me the balled up piece of toilet paper…right after you wiped. Thanks for giving me that booger fresh out of your nose. Thanks for giving me this cold that won’t go away. Thanks for giving me that mostly-chewed piece of chicken straight from your mouth. Thanks for giving me that fart blast

Friendraising

At what point in your life does the concept of “friend” really start to matter? At what point in your life do you start recognizing the difference between a “friend” who is a familiar face in your classroom or neighborhood and a “friend” who you understand has similar interests and compatible play-styles; a “friend” who

White or Brown

I know what you’re thinking:  Another post about Chinese Food Restaurants.  Nope. Julianna is absolutely in the “questioning everything” phase. Why? Because she wants to know how everything works and the reasons things happen. Why? Because she’s generally inquisitive and ultimately relentless.  Most if not all kids go through this phase I suspect. Because. Before

Hands Off

We joke frequently with our girls about boyfriends. We do this because its cute and funny and because both girls seem to talk about the boys they know more than the girls they know (bad sign #1).  Now, I know we probably shouldn’t focus on that sort of relationship with them.  As Julianna approaches 3

This Post Stinks

My mother isn’t going to like this post one bit. I’ve recently started wondering about when people “learn” to differentiate between good smells and bad ones.  I feel like I am pretty in touch with my sense of smell and I suspect you are too.  I can tell you who isn’t: my daughters.  I want

Pushing Buttons

I’m a pretty even-keeled, mild-mannered type of person.  It takes quite a lot to get me going.  In fact, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve lost my temper in my life and when I think back to those times, it gives me the feeling inside like the feeling you get when

Zero One Infinity

I’m a nerd by trade.  I’m proud of it. As a fun exercise, I put together a quick website at http://www.threeimportantnumbers.com.  This sort of came from a long running “conversation” with a former co-worker about the only 3 important numbers in software engineering.  Those 3 numbers are 0, 1, and infinity.  The reasoning in short