It's Like Pulling Teeth ...

For a 6 1/2 year-old, my oldest daughter is quite enterprising. As you may have noticed she has her own little online store that sells her artwork on t-shirts and cards and such. She hasn't really sold anything but after 6 months, she still tells everyone about it. (See Neva & Daddy deSIGN on the left menu of this blog - the cards are especially nice).

Then last month as I was readying my garden, Neva took the seeds from a green pepper and planted every one of them in seed flats she borrowed from me. Her plan is to sell the peppers in the fall to raise money for Heart and Stoke research. Last year, she set up a lemonade stand in front of our house and raised a lot of money for the same cause.

But it's her latest enterprise that has me a little concerned. She's at the age where losing her baby teeth still requires a visit from the Tooth Fairy. A baby tooth falls out, she puts it under her pillow and the next morning, the tooth is gone and in its place is a shiny coin or two.

Now that shouldn't be a problem, you say. And I'd have agreed with you until I caught her the other morning wiggling one baby tooth after the other, from the left side of her mouth to the right, across the top row then back along the bottom.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Blowin' in the Wind ...

The sky quickly turned dark grey as the storm clouds moved in and I knew we were in for our first major thunderstorm of the season. I was sitting on the front porch watching my 2-year-old daughter Willa play when, with the now rumbling sky, I beckoned here to join me.

Within moments, there were loud claps of thunder one after the other and lightning flashed across the sky illuminating everything around us. Willa was filled with excitement and trepidation. She's still too young to remember the thunderstorms of last summer, I thought to myself.

As the storm grew stronger Willa became agitated. The thunder and lightening must be scaring her, so I suggested we go inside. Strong gusts of wind were blowing and as we walked to the door, I realized that Willa was holding the top of her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Me no want my hair blow ‘way," she nervously answered.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Upon Reflection ...

We took a break for most of the month of May. We needed some time to collect ourselves. It's a busy household with three little kids and sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. We watched some movies and played together. Got the vegetable garden mostly planted and my wife Kathleen almost got the laundry piles down to a manageable size.

It was during this most recent "time with the family" break that I once again took time to sit back and reflect on what it means to be a father. Now long time readers might remember that in the past I have come up with a few Rules of Parenting when I was left to ponder and this time, I again have come up with yet another one to add to the list.

So for those of you not familiar with my Parenting Rules, here they are, listed in chronological order:

1. Accept the fact there is no way of escaping the inevitable ... that somewhere, sometime, you will be outwitted by your child. Again.

2. Understand that it is our duty as parents to give our children something to talk about in therapy.

3. Remember that the best a parent can do is to teach our children what little we remember of those things we seem to think actually worked out okay.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther

Webmaster, ContestHound.com