Bogus Gold http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/ Conservative politics and eclectic miscelleny from the Minnesota 'burb lands. en-us 2008-08-29T07:08+00:00 Good Luck Charlie http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1219994322.shtml My (perhaps crazy) cousin-by-marriage, Charlie Wittmack, is attempting to swim the English Channel today. My cousin Cate, along with their itty-bitty boy James are going to be a wee bit tense... Doug Williams 2008-08-29T07:08+00:00
Here's the blog to follow along. ]]> Travelin' Haiku http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1150202914.shtml Our kids share our room... Doug Williams 2006-06-13T12:06+00:00 Great way to stretch a dollar!
Can I buy some sleep?]]> The Comeback Show http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1146234639.shtml Yesterday was an unexpected non-blogging day for me. Sorry to those of you I left hanging in the midst of what seemed like eighty-two individual arguments.... Doug Williams 2006-04-28T14:04+00:00
It was one of those days you walk into where things look busy but managable, and then as soon as one thing goes off plan the whole day caves into one big chaotic mess.

On the upside, the boy officially turned six yesterday (he had a party last weekend, but this was the actual birthday). Wow, is he growing up fast. Add to that his youngest sister turning two just a couple of weeks ago, and I realize we'll soon be living in a house without diapers. I don't even remember what that's like.

Anyway, I'll try to get back into the swing of things here as time allows. ]]> Our Weekend Within a Weekend http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1142192733.shtml Just got back from our first ever “overnight away from all three kids” getaway, in honor of our 14th wedding anniversary. As the wife explained to our oldest who wanted to... Doug Williams 2006-03-12T19:03+00:00
Everything turned out just fine. We were only gone about 18 hours, but it feels much longer. In the good sense of "feeling longer." The babysitter had some trouble with getting the kids to sleep, and they were up at the crack of dawn of course. But she gets to go back to her child-free apartment and nap this afternoon.

Oh, and the place we stayed and dined at, The Nicollet Island Inn, was every bit as good as we’d hoped. Highly recommended. I’ll have a restaurant review written up later, but I don’t want to ignore the excellent accommodations and service offered by the Inn itself. ]]> Our Anniversary Gift http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1141696728.shtml Funny how having kids changes your idea of a great gift.... Doug Williams 2006-03-07T01:03+00:00
Take our anniversary this year. The wife got an offer from our kids' former excellent babysitter who will be home from college over the weekend to watch them overnight, so we can plan a little one-night getaway.

We're going here.

We've eaten at the restaurant previously, and enjoyed it. It's within easy walking distance to a number of different Nordeast entertainment options. A romantic dinner; evening out without needing to make it home for the kids' tuck-in; a blissful night of uninterrupted slumber; brunch the next morning.

Happy 14th Anniversary (a wee bit early) to us both!]]> Helpful Parenting Observation http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1141186253.shtml Helpful parenting observation for those considering multiple children spaced relatively close together:... Doug Williams 2006-03-01T04:03+00:00
First child:

Child cries out in the night. Seemingly a nightmare. Inconsolable crying persists even with comforting.

Mom: There, there my precious little one! You're safe! I've got you! It's okay!

Child: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dad (who is mashed in along with mom and the child): Did you hear that? Mama's got you! And daddy's here too! You're okay! We're here!

(repeat for 5 - 90 minutes until child calms back into sleep)



First and Second Child now:

Child (either one) cries out in the night. Seemingly a nightmare. Inconsolable crying persists even with comforting.

Mom: It's okay! Mama's got you! Shhhhhhhhhh!!

Child: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dad (whispering): I'll go make sure the other one is okay.

Mom: Just be quiet about it! I'm trying to keep this one from waking the other!!



First, Second and Third Child now:

Child (any one - you really don't care anymore) cries out in the night. Seemingly a nightmare. Inconsolable crying persists even with comforting.

Mom: *sigh* I got it.

Child: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dad (wandering into room, speaking in normal tone of voice): Everything okay?

Mom (speaking in normal, if a tad bored tone of voice): Yeah. Nightmare. Say, I forgot to put away some of the groceries. There were some strawberries that need to go in the fridge.

Child: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dad (normal tone of voice, as if unable to even hear amazingly loud screams): Kay. Say, did you want to watch that movie we rented tonight?

Child: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom (equally normal tone of voice, similarly unable to hear amazingly loud screams): Mmmmm... I don't think so. I Tivo'd another show I wanted to watch tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

Child: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dad: Kay. I'll go put away the strawberries.


And that's pretty much the way that goes. I'll explain how putting them to bed changes with more kids in a future post.]]> It Lives http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1139368671.shtml Allow me to crawl back into my blogging seat after getting over the hump of Influenza type A. And may I say, after my first experience with Tamiflu, thank God for... Doug Williams 2006-02-08T03:02+00:00
I've decided my least favorite flu symptom is the all-over muscle aches. Fever isn't fun. Nausea and loss of appetite, I could certainly do without. The feeling that an NFL lineman is sitting on my chest won't earn any rave reviews. But those overall aches that just do not stop and cover every inch of my body making comfort, let alone sleep, impossible top them all in my opinion.

And the only thing worse than having the flu is having a houseful of flu. The boy came down with it first, and was already on the rebound when I started having symptoms. The wife was next, tested negative for flu, then went back two days later considerably worse and tested positive. It was the following evening that the two younger girls came down with symptoms, and only the morning of their doctor appointment that I did.

The folks at the nearby clinic were pretty accomodating, allowing me and the two girls to all share a single appointment. But oy! We are definitely in the middle of flu season. The office was packed. The wait was long. And all three of us were rapidly getting worse the entire time.

Then came the medication follies. Our local pharmacy was out of the childrens' Tamiflu prescribed for the girls. So, after a looooong negotiation with a pharmacy worker who was obviously very new, I found out how to get the prescription transferred to another pharmacy. After driving across town again - still getting worse - I discovered the other pharmacy could only fill one of the two prescriptions. They were also out, other than the one bottle. Thankfully, the girls were prescribed the same amount of the same stuff, so we could make it work until the resupply arrived the next afternoon.

Yesterday was particularly sucky in that the wife was still really sick yesterday morning, and I was getting worse and worse all day. At some point, the pity-party moved from her to me, and she took over primary care of the kids while I assumed the crash position on the couch.

Anyway, none of us is quite back to normal yet. But we all seem to be over the worst of it and coming back to normal. Moral of the story: Tamiflu good. Aches and Pains bad. ]]> Christmas Whine http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1135438372.shtml So I threw my back out last night. I know what you're thinking: "Doug, what did you throw out a perfectly good back for?" And given an entire night of agony... Doug Williams 2005-12-24T15:12+00:00
See, Santa Claus comes tonight, and he normally expects the wife and I to give him a little hand setting up all eight-hundred eleventy-two loud, breakable, or multi-piece toys for the little ones Christmas morning. Plus, we have all the non-Santa gifts - the ones from relatives - to open Christmas Eve. Due to the super-inquisitive nature of our children we can’t put those presents under the tree until roughly five seconds before they’re allowed to open them. So there is some present hauling from secret storage to under the tree beforehand. That didn’t seem like a lot of work until last evening when I discovered the amazing amount of effort it took to walk and breathe at the same time.

I’m working on medication to make things a little more bearable. I’ve got these AsperCream patches on both sides of my back at the moment. Can’t tell if they’re doing anything positive, but they do make me smell like a giant walking Vicks, so I have that going for me.

If anyone would like to donate emergency rations of pain-killing extra-strength eggnog, let me know ASAP.]]> Family Matters http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1133202074.shtml I got to spend extra time with my kids over this holiday weekend. Which was important because the middle child is currently pushing just about every button the wife has. She's... Doug Williams 2005-11-28T18:11+00:00 really three these days. And will be lucky to make it to four if she doesn't develop a little restraint soon.

One of her latest obsessions is playing with the laundry detergent (and various other clothes cleaning products). She gets consistently punished every time she's caught, but it doesn't faze her. Oh, she howls like a banshee regardless how mild the form of punishment is. It just has no bearing on her future decision making.

She's also fearless and more agile than our other children, able to climb up to and/or get into things that are supposed to be child-proof. Thankfully, she's also by far our pickiest eater, so she doesn't usually put the various forbidden cleaners, shampoos, cosmetics, etc. into her mouth.

Another recent obsession of hers is to undress/dressup over and over all day. This means that if you have the child dressed for an outing and make the mistake of turning your back, she's already undressed again. Once again, punishment gets nothing through.

All the while the youngest one approaches her terrible-twos, with a big sister who's behavior she's already copying. Going to be a rough winter in my house. ]]> Do I Have To Pick Just One? http://bogusgold.powerblogs.com/posts/1132029450.shtml JB Doubtless, a blogger who is suddenly and welcomly posting a lot more than had been his habit for the prior several months wants to know:... Doug Williams 2005-11-15T04:11+00:00 wants to know:

The only people that should have their kids in public schools are leftists who actually believe in and agree with the secular humanist agenda. If you aren't one and don't, then you have to ask yourself one question:

Are you an ignoramus or a fool?

He lays out quite a persuasive argument leading up to this, carefully paraphrasing the word "doodyhead" in slightly gentler terms to bolster his own gravitas on more than one occasion.

Problem is, I get a distinct sensation JB is speaking from that incomprably knowledgable state of parenthood known as "currently doesn't have any kids." Unlike other critics, I don't point this out in an effort to undermine his credibility to opine on this topic. Opine away, one and all!

Heck, a lot of what JB says is fine, save for his tendency to generalize in an area he well may assume is far more uniform than it actually is. That's a problem when anyone decides to lecture others about a topic he doesn't know very well himself. It's easier to discern a broad pattern and speak to that as if it's representative of the whole than to speak to particulars. I've been guilty as well in the past.

But when it came to putting my own son into an actual school my wife and I did research. A LOT of research, because he has special educational needs that are neither standard, nor easy to find offered anywhere prior to fourth grade. It turned out "secular humanism," which is indeed a moral position with which I disagree and would not like my children indoctrinated into, comprises a surprisingly small amount of the Fridley Public School kindergarten agenda. What's more, parental involvement, transparency of curriculum, and opportunity for advanced educational programs in Fridley Schools was unequaled when we compared public, parochial, and private school alternatives.

Those who haven't had an actual child you've attempted to match up to actual educational alternatives are a lot more free to wildy generalize and opine. But at some point your rhetoric has to meet reality. You can't effectively speak to that sort of thing in generalizations, or pure theory, or mere anecdotes. You need to have answers that address the specific situation of specific people's specific children.

Anyway, if JB wants to know whether I'm an ignoramus or a fool, I'd have a hard time choosing only one. The experience of parenting alone has cemented both of those as some of my undeniable attributes in a way my childless days couldn't anticipate. But I'll take my insight over JB's on this topic in any case. ]]>