Washing the Car

Oh yeah!  The girls washed my car today. Kaitlyn was rather bored as Ella was at a neighbor's house so she decided it was warm enough to wash the car.  She didn't do too bad a job either.  I just backed the car out, filled up the bucket with soap and water and let her and Sophie go (Sophie cleaned the car with a water gun).

Well when Ella came back and found out she was rather upset that she didn't get to do it.  So I told her to go out and help because they were not done.  But that wasn't good enough because she wanted to do it from the start.  Dad should have known!  Where was my head on this one? So she cried and mom was on the phone so I told her to cry in some other room and eventually she realized crying was useless and she went out to help and all was right in the world once again. 

All three of them helped and like I said, they didn't do too bad of a job. It does sparkle a little more but the windows were a little streaky.

Just don't let them climb on the car to do it.  I still have some footprints on the trunk!

The "Blue Velvet" getting a wash

It's important to allow your kids to do some of these things they like to do.  Especially when it helps you in the end.  Don't be afraid that they may actually mess things up a little worse.  The first time they tried to wash my car the windows were filthy but I think they did a better job this time.  I did thank all three of them separately for doing it and of course I got the obligatory "you're welcome Dad!" from them.  Now if I can just get them to vacuum, Oh my God it sucks to go in the inside now!

Dear Pioneer Woman, we made a mushroom chicken for supper with asparagus and strawberries.  Eat your heart out!

Daughters in Sports

Saturdays are normally spent doing some other extra curricular activity for the girls.  Most of year it involves dance, but now that I am done being a dance dad it is time for me to be the sports dad.  Something I enjoy doing but the competitiveness in me comes out and wants to see them do their best. 

Today Ella (our 6 year old) had T-ball this morning.  She does rather well compared to most of the rest of the kids there but she is at the top of the age group that is out on the field at the time so it figures she would do a little better.  She does OK batting but she needs a better stance and needs to remember to keep that back elbow up. It's always pointing at the ground.  This week she did better hitting than in the past.  It seemed her form was better.  Where I am most impressed is her fielding.  She is still a little afraid of the ball when she tries to catch it out of the air but when it is a ground ball she knows to get down in front of if and get rid of it as quick as she can.  When she is in too big of a hurry she will not throw it as far but when she slows down just a bit shes got a good arm on her.  I was surprised.  She also runs well but just a little lazy.  It's funny but I can see a better running form from Ella than I do from our flat-footed 9 year old, Kaitlyn.  I wonder if Ella could beat Kaitlyn in a foot race?

Kaitlyn had volleyball afterwards.  Again, we always thought she might not be quite the sporty one but more the dramatic one.  She did OK in volleyball but she flailed around a little bit trying to go after the ball.  There is definitely a disconnect from her and the other players who seem to have a little more athletice ability to them.  One girl unfortunately kept running all over the place and jumping in front of Kaitlyn.  She comes from a family of know-it-alls that we have to deal with in dance already.  I wasn't positive of it at first if it was this lady's child but then sure enough after volleyball was done, in she went into the same vehicle and I'm thinking, go frickin figure.  Have some courtesy or teach your kids some cause I know the mom doesn't have any.  But I digress, I am getting off topic.  Kaitlyn does need to have more rigid arms when she plays volleyball.  It seems the ball dominates her hand instead of the other way around.  Afterwards practice she shot a basketball and made it....Hmmmmmm, dad is thinking.  I just wonder.....

In the end I know it is not all about how good they are, as long as they enjoy the game.  So I encourage them the best I can. Give them tips after the game/practice is over on what to do differently.  Above it all I tell them good job no matter what they did out there because a little girls psychy is fragile.  I don't agree on everyone getting a ribbon or that everyone is a winner.  In my book there will be winners and there will be losers but I will always praise my kids for trying, especially if I know they tried their hardest.  For that, you win the mental game.  You win the self esteem game and when you have daughters, that is the most important game to win in the end.  You want a daughter who is sure of herself and knows that sometimes you will fail in things and other times you won't and that through it all, remain gracious, humble and remain confident and hopefully satisfied that they did something they enjoy doing. 
Oh, Pioneer Woman, last night I made frozen pizza and this afternoon it was ham sandwiches.  Beat that!  Sign me up for my own show!

Pilot Post

May 11, 2012

          

Been listening to podcasts quite a bit lately and all they keep telling me is do what you are passionate about and/or what you know something about.  There are many interests I have, one of which is traveling so I wanted to do a blog on traveling and since I have lived in the Northern Plains/Upper Midwest all my life I thought I could do a blog on traveling up here in the north.  Problem is I feel as though the blog would be more beneficial if I included pictures of these places I visited through my life.  Which I have none other than older pictures and I want more updated pictures of places to see.  Then I thought about what my life was like when I grew up on the farm.  Which is kind of cool and nostalgic and maybe I’ll keep that one going but wondered if that will really go anywhere.  I have one about foolish things employers and employees do to which I have a lot of examples but there is two things wrong there. For one, I don’t want to burn any bridges by writing about screwball things and two, I really don’t have the passion there (at least at the moment). 

So what is my life about?  I like to golf and storm chase but I don’t do either one of those on a regular basis.  I have many different interests but a master of none.  I don’t have the time go out and pursue my interests at the moment because I am so busy raising my three girls which is a full-time gig of itself.  AH HA!!!  Light bulbs went off because my three girls consume a great deal of my time.  I have traded in my life interest of weather and traded it in for a 9-5 job as an accountant strictly for them.  I put things I like to do because I want them to be able to do different activities and projects.  Most of my life now revolves around them.  I am sort of the opposite of the Pioneer Woman.  I am a man who grew up in the country and has now moved into the “city” (if you can call Grand Forks, ND a city).  I can’t imagine getting my own show like she did.  I am not sure what they would show, me making tacos from a taco kit?  Or perhaps slinging PB&J’s around for lunch? I don’t make the great looking for she does.  But alas these three precious girls do consume my life and hopefully, from a dad with children that are all girls (ages 9, 6, and 4), I can spread some thoughts, advice, and humor to other parents with daughters, specifically dads or would be dads.  My final reason to do this is to hopefully leave some sort of history book for my girls when they grow up.  Something they can look back on when they get older and remember their lives gone past.

So here’s hoping I can keep this up.  If not for myself and others reading it, but for my daughters.  I am not the best father or always do what they want me to, but I hope they can read this later in life and realize how much I love them.  Oh, and to you guys out there (young and old perverts), don’t even think of touching my kids, there is nothing a dad won’t do to protect his daughters.  They already know, no being with boys until you are at least 27.  Here’s to being a father of daughters.