There are some things that children do that fill a parent with pride, like learning to cover their mouth when they sneeze. Yet, there is always something to balance the equation, like wiping their hand on your pant leg afterwards.
I have been working with Mason for some time now to cover his mouth when coughing and sneezing with mixed results. Mason was sneezing and coughing on anything and everything that may have been in his hands or directly in front of him. Occasionally when he sits on my lap, he will turn his head to look at me with that look he gets just before he sneezes…you know the one I’m talking about, mouth slightly open, eyes squinted with one smaller than the other and nose all scrunched up. I know that is my cue to close my mouth tightly as he is about to blow. A lesson to add to the “what not to do” list. That was a lesson I only had to experience once. Anyway, after a short pause, the sneeze gets released leaving me sitting there with…well you know…all over my face and glasses. Time for him to start learning to cover his mouth.
I set out on a mission to teach him to cover his mouth whenever he coughs or sneezes. I decided to start with the sneezing considering the types of projectiles that can be released through a sneeze. Not pleasant when they are headed in my direction. I started out simply telling him to cover his mouth after each sneeze. To my shegrin, that is exactly what he did, covered his mouth AFTER each sneeze. Sigh. Okay, so we at least have the concept, time to focus on the execution.
It was kind of entertaining watching the progression that Mason went through. After some more work and instruction, he would sneeze then cover his mouth and do two or three fake sneezes. Yeah, you read right, fake sneezes. I am still not really sure what the point was of him going ‘aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhccccccchhhhhoooooooo’ so dramatically into his hand, but I wasn’t going to risk correcting him on it. At this point I get the impression that he understands what he is supposed to but just doesn’t remember in time for the actual sneeze. Fortunately, the lead time on one of his sneezes, where he makes that weird face, is usually long enough for me to remind him. Finally, progress.
As time passed, Mason started covering his mouth before each sneeze. This was a great development in my eyes. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, there is always something to balance the equation. While Mason was covering his mouth, he was now pushing the palm of his hand very hard over his mouth. You may be thinking, so what, who cares. Being an engineer, I tend to over analyze things to my wife’s dismay and terrible frustration at times. Of course I have analyzed the process of sneezing and have come to certain conclusions on the proper sneezing technique. Try to bear with me for a minute. Basically, the purpose of covering your mouth during a sneeze is not to stop the sneeze, but redirect it. Obviously, when someone sneezes, there is a lot of force behind it that projects…um, stuff…into the air. Without covering the mouth the…stuff…gets spread out in to the room. By covering the mouth, the…stuff…gets directed into the hand and reduces the airborne particles.
Back to Mason covering his mouth too tightly with his hand during a sneeze. This causes his sneeze to blow up in his face, literally. Uggg, how disgusting! Luckily, I taught Mason a neat trick to clean his face after such an event, to Laura’s disapproving glares mind you. I told Mason that he has two shirt sleeves which are an excellent substitution for a Kleenex. Now when he sneezes with his hand too tight over his mouth, he smears his forearm across his face to clean up. That is all fine and good as long as he has on long sleeves. While Laura glares at me every time she sees Mason do the arm wipe and sniffle technique, she did get a good laugh the day he had on short sleeves. I was sitting in my easy chair, heard Mason sneeze in the other room and do his wipe and sniffle technique. Of course, Laura shot me a disapproving look from the couch. I heard him say, eeewww. I chuckled to myself knowing that he had on short sleeves that day. However, my laughter quickly ended, and Laura started uncontrollably laughing when he walked up to me and wiped his arm on my leg. Huh, that kinda backfired. The worst part was Laura’s laughter at the whole situation. I am not sure that the pointing was necessary either.
Okay, so you can’t really get a pick-up to fly, but if you are a two year old kid, that won’t stop you from trying. Mason has ever expanding ideas on how to destroy his toys.
Laura is working to get her photography business up and going. She started a few years ago and has been using the time to get familiar with her Nikon D60 camera, get the equipment like lenses that she needs, and get her portfolio started……and taking care of Mason full time. She has done several photo shoots mainly on friends and family and has started a 365 project, which simply means that she will take a picture everyday for a year. She started a website if you are interested in seeing her work: http://www.picturemyeveryday.
Me, being my cantankerous self, hate having my picture taken. Unfortunately, being the husband of a photographer, I have little choice in the matter. It’s not all bad though because I have developed a knack for making inappropriate gestures just before she snaps a picture. Funny for me, enraging for Laura. I say that I am just preparing her for the more difficult clients but Laura says that I am “just being a pain in the @$$”. I guess it just depends on your perspective.
Laura was able to talk me into posing for her to help build her portfolio. Not really sure why I agreed to it other than the fact it is easier to live with a happy wife rather than an angry wife. I figured there will be a time when I can cash in my ‘good deed’…like when I want to buy a new motorcycle, hint, hint (I know Laura is rolling her eyes while reading this). Anyway, it is just starting to warm up outside and is an excellent time to do the shoot. I get all gussied up along with Mason who apparently will not go outside without his black pickup truck.
After a short tantrum, we were able to coax Mason out, with his truck mind you. We head out to the barn to start. Mason simply will not cooperate with Laura, so the ‘Mason and Dad’ photo shoot turned into a Dad only shoot. Oh well, just more cash in the bank to be spent later on whatever I can get away with.
Mason’s pickup does not negotiate grass very well taking too long to get from point A to point B. Realizing this, Mason decides on another method…throwing the truck. This is much more effective apparently. We were able to capture a couple of the throws on the camera. This kept him entertained the entire time we were outside. Who knew pickups could fly.
Below are some of the pictures that were taken that day.
Tags: Pick-Up
I am actually not the last one this time!! Usually, my process for adopting new technology is to let other people buy it and find the problems. By the time I am ready to take the plunge, the product has usually been available for a few years and had many of the ‘bugs’ discovered. This also allows the manufacturer time to fix those problems. Generally, there are lots of reviews available to help me make the decision to go ahead and buy what ever the product is.
For example, I refused to get a Blackberry for the longest time because I had not heard a lot of good things right after they came out. Well, finally, I was persuaded to get one through work and really liked it. By the time I started using one, there were many people around that knew how to use one and could answer any of my questions. Many of the software issues were patched and upgraded by RIM by that time as well. As a company cost savings measure, cell phones were taken away, which was the right choice for the company, but left me with serious ‘crackberry’ withdrawals. I had to go out and upgrade my personal phone to a Blackberry just to get my daily fix. I found that I could not live without it (or at least didn’t want to).
As my Blackberry began to age and take the abuse of my active lifestyle, it began to have more and more problems requiring the frequent removal of the battery. Of course, I’m sure that dropping it on concrete several times and having a two year old throw it down the stairs had nothing to do with it. Anyway, that was about the time that the Android (aka Droid) phone was being launched by Google. I was intrigued by the commercials and its supposed functionality. As the months passed, I kept hearing good things about the Droid and I finally came due for upgrade. Whoohoo!
I walked into the wireless store having already made up my mind that I was going to get the Droid but wasn’t sure which of the two brands I wanted. One was touch screen only and the other was touch screen with a built in keyboard. I chose the Motorola with the keyboard because I could hardly type on the screen keyboard. Conveniently, the screen slides over the keyboard making a fairly compact phone.
The Droid is my favorite cell phone that I have owned so far. I am able to talk on the phone and surf the web / check my email / play games, etc. all at the same time. There is a huge Droid Market similar to the AppStore that the iPhone uses where you can find tons of free applications and games. However, there are a fair number of paid applications to choose from as well that typically have more functionality than the free versions. One of my favorite applications is the one I downloaded to get free, that’s right, FREE ringtones. Want a 30 second clip from your favorite song as a ringtone? Just search and download. Super easy.
The Droid is a heavy phone in comparison to my Blackberry. However, the Droid’s case is made from metal so heavier is to be expected. I personally like the weight because it feels like a very durable phone…proved by accidentally skipping across the tile bathroom floor and bouncing off the bathtub with no ill effects (other than a slight nick in the outer case).
The Droid comes with a 16 gigabyte memory card which can hold a lot of pictures from the onboard 5 mega pixel camera. It can even take video. Pictures and video are really easy to share with friends and family. You can even upload directly to your Facebook account if you feel so inclined.
The internet browser can be a little cumbersome to use at times because of the touch screen. Webpages come up really small making it hard to not only read but also clicking on the links. Fortunately, zooming is easy to do but does get a little annoying zooming in and out depending on what you are surfing. However, the internet capabilities are almost like sitting at a desktop computer. The screen is very crisp and clear. However, any sections of a webpage that require flash cannot be displayed. Hopefully, they are developing a version of Flash for the Droid. This would make the browser even better. I just have to keep reminding myself that it is, by design, a phone and not a personal computer.
The Droid comes with a standard headphone jack. This is great because I had to buy a special pair with a small jack for my Blackberry. I use the jack to listen to Pandora Radio at work and not disturbing my neighbors. If a phone call comes in, the Droid automatically sends the audio through the headphones so you do not have to unplug just to answer the phone.
Another great feature of the Droid is software updates are pushed out to the phone meaning that you do not have to go looking for them. Occasionally, I will get a notification that an update is available. When I get a chance, I read what the update is and click download. I can still use the phone while the updates are downloaded and installed. However, all the updates I have gotten for the Android operating system (totaling two so far) have required the phone to reboot. Not a big deal since the phone boots faster than my old Blackberry.
There are some things about the Droid that I do not like as much as my Blackberry. For instance, some applications like password manager and a note pad do not come standard on the Droid. This was easily remedied by visiting the Droid Market and downloading (for free) those two applications, which turned out to have more functionality than the Blackberry standard apps. The Facebook application for the Droid is not nearly as good as the Blackberry application. However, I found a way around this by using the internet browser and going through Facebook Touch. I am waiting for the phone application to improve so I get all my notifications.
The Droid requires that you have a Google email account. If you do not already have a gmail account, they will get one set up for you at the store to get you started. While this may seem like a strange requirement, if I were Google, I would do the same thing. However, there are advantages to using gmail. Being that the Android operating system is powered by Google, synchronizing with your email, contacts, calendar, etc. is very simple. You can also add additional email accounts as needed. You can easily add all your Facebook, Google and other account contacts to your phone’s contact list. It is really easy to keep in touch with people you know.
Ringtones and notifications are separate on the Droid. Some applications like email use a ‘notification’ which is generally a very short noise to alert you. Other applications, like the phone ringer, use a longer ‘ringtone’. Unfortunately, I have not found a way to assign ringtones to email and visa versa. This is mainly because you are not able to access the ringtone files from the phone itself. To make a ringtone a notification, the phone must be connected to a computer. A little inconvenient but tolerable since I do not have a need to do this everyday.
Overall, the Droid is the best cell phone I have owned up to this point. There is a lot of functionality designed into this phone and I would not go back to my Blackberry. The 3G network is fast compared to my previous service and I have not come across any locations that I do not have both data and phone coverage, which was all too common with my Blackberry. I am very happy with my new Droid and Laura is counting the days to when she is eligible for upgrade on her phone.
Check out a very detailed description of the Droid, key features and how to buy one at the link below.
It is absolutely amazing the energy that small children have; or the lack of energy parents have depending on your point of view. Generally, Mason spends his days terrorizing Laura and the dogs by dismantling the house and getting into every kind of trouble you can think of. Usually, by the time I get home from work, much of Mason’s energy has been used and his energy gage points to “crabby”.
Last time Laura sent me to the store to get supplies for supper, I ended up picking up some Hershey candy coated chocolate Easter eggs. One of my favorite seasonal candies, by the way. I got two bags thinking that I would have some help eating them with Mason being a chocolate addict. That night I opened one of the bags and set the other one behind the TV in the kitchen thinking that Mason would not be able to get to them. I shared some of my eggs with him only to discover that running out of chocolate eggs is a perfectly valid reason for a complete melt down in the middle of the living room.
As it turns out, I under estimated Mason’s taste for candy covered chocolate eggs. The next day, Mason grabbed his step stool (thanks Grandma) and was able to reach the new bag of candy behind the TV. He then snuck off to his secret hiding place and ate most of the bag. Now…had I eaten that much chocolate I would have been sick for days, but not Mason.
When I got home from work, Mason was almost literally bouncing off the walls. It reminded me of the movie, Over The Hedge
Fortunately for Laura and myself, everything that goes up must come down. Supper was rather peaceful after his sugar crash. Bedtime came early that night…for everyone.
Tags: Candy
I’m bored.
All my toys are scattered across the house, Curious George is over, and I need something to do. But what? I can’t play with the dogs because they won’t come near me anymore today after that incident with the leash. Wait! I see it…my favorite movie sitting on the top shelf of the entertainment center. I love Cars. There is no better movie in the world. But how can I get to it?
I need some toys to stack up and maybe I will be able to reach it. I’ll put my Tonka truck here…stack my John Deere riding toy in here…place a bunch of stuffed animals here for support. Yes, this tower will do nicely. Hmm, seems a little shaky. I had better toss on a wicker basket. Nope, still no good, it just falls over when I start climbing. I need something sturdier.
Ah, the coffee table will do nicely…just…have to…push it over…to…the…TV. Phew! That thing is heavy, I need a juice box.
“Mooooooommmmmmm”
“What honey?”
“Juice”
“What color would you like?”
“Bue”
“We don’t have blue”
“Awwwww”
“How ‘bout yellow?”
“Oh-hey”
How refreshing. Ok back to my little project. The table is pushed against the entertainment center and all I have to do is climb up and get it. Huh, now what? I know mom calls this black thing a DVD player and know that my movie has to go in, but I’m not really sure how to do that. What if I push this button? Nope. What about this one? Uh-oh, something is coming out, RUN!
Ok, so that was a little embarrassing, but thankfully no one saw. I suppose that my movie sets in that tray that is now sticking out. How do I get it to go back in? This button? Darn. This one? Nope. This button? Woo-hoo, I’m in the home stretch now. Just have to turn on the TV and I’m set.
I’ll just make myself comfortable in Dad’s chair and enjoy my movie and finish my juice box. Wait a second!? There is nothing on the TV. WHERE’S MY MOVIE?
“Moooooooommmmm”
“What are you doing in there Mason?”
“Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom…?
“What Mason?”
“Mom, mom, moooooommmmmmm”
“WHAAAAAT do you need? Wait, how did the TV and DVD player get turned on, and why is the coffee table pushed up against the entertainment center? Better yet, how did Cars movie get put into the DVD player? I know I didn’t put it in upside down. My, my, Mason, you have been busy in here.”
Laura and I learned an important lesson that day. Mason is able to not only reach the DVD player, but is capable of putting DVD’s in by himself. We both thought that getting it five feet off the floor was enough, but we were wrong. I’ve got a feeling that this is just the beginning of his ‘look what I can do’ phase.
Tags: Cars Movie, DVD
