Hello Everyone.
You might think that by the amount of boxes in our house that Christmas spending in the ContestHound.com household was at an all-time high. Instead those boxes are what is left from our latest adventure.
Seems that we packed up absolutely everything we own and carried it across the lawn to the house next door. And with each trip, we kept seeing our neighbor doing exactly the same thing in the opposite direction. You see, we swapped apartments with the folks next door.
Which explains why the newsletter has been absent for the past couple of weeks. Speaking of absent, anyone know where I packed ...
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Say Cheese ...
Hello Everyone.
It's that time of year when many families go to get 350 wallet sized family photos that they send with their holiday greeting cards to their closet friends, many of whom they haven't spoken to in years.
My 2 1/2-year old son Milo sat patiently for 23 seconds. We got some great shots of 5 year-old Neva making faces and a couple of baby Willa crawling out of range of the camera.
The photographer had me lying on my side with Milo sitting on my legs. My wife Kathleen and Neva where in behind resting their arms on me and Willa was held in the arm that I wasn't using to support myself. Too bad we didn't get a picture of everyone tumbling around after I collpased under the weight.
And suddenly our session was over. Of the dozen or so pictures, we found one single photo that had all of us in the frame, looking at the camera and smiling.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
It's that time of year when many families go to get 350 wallet sized family photos that they send with their holiday greeting cards to their closet friends, many of whom they haven't spoken to in years.
My 2 1/2-year old son Milo sat patiently for 23 seconds. We got some great shots of 5 year-old Neva making faces and a couple of baby Willa crawling out of range of the camera.
The photographer had me lying on my side with Milo sitting on my legs. My wife Kathleen and Neva where in behind resting their arms on me and Willa was held in the arm that I wasn't using to support myself. Too bad we didn't get a picture of everyone tumbling around after I collpased under the weight.
And suddenly our session was over. Of the dozen or so pictures, we found one single photo that had all of us in the frame, looking at the camera and smiling.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, November 18, 2004
SHHHHH ...
Hello Everyone.
Recently I have been pondering the animal kingdom. Do their offspring make anywhere near as much noise as my 9-month-old daughter Willa? I would think that yelling at the top of their lungs would attract all sorts of unwanted attention. Willa fortunately only attracts the odd annoyed glances from passers-by.
The thing is, she's not distressed, it's more like she's talking loudly. Very loudly. At first I thought she was just trying to keep up with her older siblings, but then I remembered that my oldest, Neva, did the same thing when she was an infant. Now, Neva watches TV with the sound turned way up.
I have been trying to figure out ways to curtail the yelling. It may not be the best solution but, when her mouth's wide open, I can easily get a Cheerio in Willa's mouth silencing her temporarily while she chews it.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Recently I have been pondering the animal kingdom. Do their offspring make anywhere near as much noise as my 9-month-old daughter Willa? I would think that yelling at the top of their lungs would attract all sorts of unwanted attention. Willa fortunately only attracts the odd annoyed glances from passers-by.
The thing is, she's not distressed, it's more like she's talking loudly. Very loudly. At first I thought she was just trying to keep up with her older siblings, but then I remembered that my oldest, Neva, did the same thing when she was an infant. Now, Neva watches TV with the sound turned way up.
I have been trying to figure out ways to curtail the yelling. It may not be the best solution but, when her mouth's wide open, I can easily get a Cheerio in Willa's mouth silencing her temporarily while she chews it.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Food for Thought ...
Hello Everyone.
When my two oldest, Neva and Milo, were babies, I followed the book on infant feeding. I started with all the traditional and "accepted" baby foods and progressed methodically from pureed grains and veggies to lumps and chunks, carefully watching for sensitivities and allergies. New tastes and textures were not introduced until after the prescribed time period had elapsed, safely and uneventfully, since the last new food. Nothing passed my baby's lips unless I approved it first.
Then along came Willa. I was in no hurry to introduce solid food. Quite frankly, I didn’t have the time. So when I did give her her first food it was more out of convenience. I was eating a banana. So Willa had some. And since that "unconventional" start, nothing’s been the same. She refused a spoon for the first month or two, accepting only food by hand. I have managed to get through some of the standard fare, however, she just keeps eating more and more things that aren’t on the menu. She has eaten plenty of scraps from Neva and Milo’s plates: muffins, grilled cheese, pork chops. But more troublesome than that are the rather unorthodox items. Take, for instance, the gravel in the bottom of the plant in the bathroom. Or the red play-dough she was munching on this afternoon. (Boy was that a treat to clean up!)
Oddly enough, despite all my efforts to start Neva and Milo off right, they are rather picky eaters. Milo, now 2 ½, wouldn’t eat a vegetable to save his life. And Neva cries treason if there’s even so much as sauce fumes on her pizza or pasta.
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
When my two oldest, Neva and Milo, were babies, I followed the book on infant feeding. I started with all the traditional and "accepted" baby foods and progressed methodically from pureed grains and veggies to lumps and chunks, carefully watching for sensitivities and allergies. New tastes and textures were not introduced until after the prescribed time period had elapsed, safely and uneventfully, since the last new food. Nothing passed my baby's lips unless I approved it first.
Then along came Willa. I was in no hurry to introduce solid food. Quite frankly, I didn’t have the time. So when I did give her her first food it was more out of convenience. I was eating a banana. So Willa had some. And since that "unconventional" start, nothing’s been the same. She refused a spoon for the first month or two, accepting only food by hand. I have managed to get through some of the standard fare, however, she just keeps eating more and more things that aren’t on the menu. She has eaten plenty of scraps from Neva and Milo’s plates: muffins, grilled cheese, pork chops. But more troublesome than that are the rather unorthodox items. Take, for instance, the gravel in the bottom of the plant in the bathroom. Or the red play-dough she was munching on this afternoon. (Boy was that a treat to clean up!)
Oddly enough, despite all my efforts to start Neva and Milo off right, they are rather picky eaters. Milo, now 2 ½, wouldn’t eat a vegetable to save his life. And Neva cries treason if there’s even so much as sauce fumes on her pizza or pasta.
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Another Day of Fatherhood ...
Hello Everyone.
There was snow on the ground when we woke up this morning. When my 5-year-old daughter Neva discovered it, she announced enthusiastically that school was cancelled, which it was not of course. Neva and I managed to scrape together a few snowballs and mercilessly throw them at one another before she went off to school.
My son Milo spent most of the afternoon singing an eclectic medley of the "Bob the Builder" theme song and the old club standard "YMCA". This led me to wonder if all 2 1/2 year-olds are tone deaf.
Baby Willa followed me around on and off for the better part of the day. When she is happy, she has a habit of scrunching up her nose and making sniffing noises. I guess now I know what it must be like to be a dog.
In other words, nothing out of the ordinary.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
There was snow on the ground when we woke up this morning. When my 5-year-old daughter Neva discovered it, she announced enthusiastically that school was cancelled, which it was not of course. Neva and I managed to scrape together a few snowballs and mercilessly throw them at one another before she went off to school.
My son Milo spent most of the afternoon singing an eclectic medley of the "Bob the Builder" theme song and the old club standard "YMCA". This led me to wonder if all 2 1/2 year-olds are tone deaf.
Baby Willa followed me around on and off for the better part of the day. When she is happy, she has a habit of scrunching up her nose and making sniffing noises. I guess now I know what it must be like to be a dog.
In other words, nothing out of the ordinary.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Something About Nothing ...
Hello Everyone.
Sometimes when I sit down to write the stories about my kids I end up going completely blank. Today is one of those days. It's not that I don't have anything to say, that's never, ever happened to me, but what I do have to talk about doesn't seem to be very interesting.
I had already had 4 or 5 false starts and now once again the page in front of me was blank. I made 17 trips to the kitchen, 4 to the bathroom, checked the mail, raided the kids' Halloween treats twice, tripped over a dozen toys and still the page waited for me to type something... anything.
I decided to go outside to sit on the top of the stairs to think. Just then the whole family returned home from grocery shopping. As my wife Kathleen carried the groceries in, Neva and Milo played outside. I was fascinated by how wonderfully they played together, like best friends, totally unaware that I was watching them.
They'll be fine when they grow up, I thought to myself.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Sometimes when I sit down to write the stories about my kids I end up going completely blank. Today is one of those days. It's not that I don't have anything to say, that's never, ever happened to me, but what I do have to talk about doesn't seem to be very interesting.
I had already had 4 or 5 false starts and now once again the page in front of me was blank. I made 17 trips to the kitchen, 4 to the bathroom, checked the mail, raided the kids' Halloween treats twice, tripped over a dozen toys and still the page waited for me to type something... anything.
I decided to go outside to sit on the top of the stairs to think. Just then the whole family returned home from grocery shopping. As my wife Kathleen carried the groceries in, Neva and Milo played outside. I was fascinated by how wonderfully they played together, like best friends, totally unaware that I was watching them.
They'll be fine when they grow up, I thought to myself.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Customer Service ...
Hello Everyone.
Banks should know better than to put their brochures so low that a certain 2-year-old little boy named Milo can reach them. But then again, perhaps they foresaw the outcome.
It was late in the day and for whatever bizarre reason, my wife Kathleen and I piled all three of our kids into the truck and went to the bank. We weren't in there a minute when Neva and Milo were off running amuck. Baby Willa sat on my lap as I slumped in one of those wonderfully comfortable chairs all banks seem to have.
I was really quite relaxed and totally engrossed in Willa's babble when I noticed Milo. Seems that he had grabbed a bunch of those brochures I was talking about and was politely handing them out as he made his way through the line-up of customers.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Banks should know better than to put their brochures so low that a certain 2-year-old little boy named Milo can reach them. But then again, perhaps they foresaw the outcome.
It was late in the day and for whatever bizarre reason, my wife Kathleen and I piled all three of our kids into the truck and went to the bank. We weren't in there a minute when Neva and Milo were off running amuck. Baby Willa sat on my lap as I slumped in one of those wonderfully comfortable chairs all banks seem to have.
I was really quite relaxed and totally engrossed in Willa's babble when I noticed Milo. Seems that he had grabbed a bunch of those brochures I was talking about and was politely handing them out as he made his way through the line-up of customers.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Green Thumb ...
Hello Everyone.
I do like gardening, but I don't take as much an active part in it as my husband Bob does. He has his books and seed catalogs -- the arrival of which brightens up his otherwise bleak and dreary February like nobody's business. He marks the pages with sticky notes and highlights his choices in green. (The pink highlighter is reserved for our 5-year-old daughter Neva's selections.)
He has his garden plotted out shortly after and knows what crops should be rotated where. He starts the seedlings in March and has them in the cold frame before we've even doffed our winter coats. He turns the soil by hand -- how else? -- and surveys the bricked pathways to see how it faired through the cold weather.
It's much more than a hobby for him. It's a passion, if a bit obsessive. And it's hard not to get caught up in it. But I must say, even I was surprised when, while scolding Neva for tracking dirt all through the apartment when she brought me fresh carrots she just pulled from the garden, I couldn't help but think as I shook her pants out in the tub:
"Wow! That's really nice soil!"
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
I do like gardening, but I don't take as much an active part in it as my husband Bob does. He has his books and seed catalogs -- the arrival of which brightens up his otherwise bleak and dreary February like nobody's business. He marks the pages with sticky notes and highlights his choices in green. (The pink highlighter is reserved for our 5-year-old daughter Neva's selections.)
He has his garden plotted out shortly after and knows what crops should be rotated where. He starts the seedlings in March and has them in the cold frame before we've even doffed our winter coats. He turns the soil by hand -- how else? -- and surveys the bricked pathways to see how it faired through the cold weather.
It's much more than a hobby for him. It's a passion, if a bit obsessive. And it's hard not to get caught up in it. But I must say, even I was surprised when, while scolding Neva for tracking dirt all through the apartment when she brought me fresh carrots she just pulled from the garden, I couldn't help but think as I shook her pants out in the tub:
"Wow! That's really nice soil!"
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Clever?
Hello Everyone.
What kids can do is often really amazing. Take for instance my 5-year-old daughter Neva and some of her accomplishments. Just the other day, she found three one-foot long tree branches and colored them completely with chalk. It takes some kind of patience to fill every nook and cranny, but that's what she did.
Then, a short while later, she discovered that if nobody's looking she can climb to the top of our bedroom dresser and jump off of it, landing on our bed. Without hurting herself! Even more impressive is that she likely jumped a number of times before we even caught on.
It takes some creativity and imagination to come up and carry out such endeavors. And yet, even though she has been told a hundred times, I am baffled as to why Neva still can't seem to wash her hands with soap.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
What kids can do is often really amazing. Take for instance my 5-year-old daughter Neva and some of her accomplishments. Just the other day, she found three one-foot long tree branches and colored them completely with chalk. It takes some kind of patience to fill every nook and cranny, but that's what she did.
Then, a short while later, she discovered that if nobody's looking she can climb to the top of our bedroom dresser and jump off of it, landing on our bed. Without hurting herself! Even more impressive is that she likely jumped a number of times before we even caught on.
It takes some creativity and imagination to come up and carry out such endeavors. And yet, even though she has been told a hundred times, I am baffled as to why Neva still can't seem to wash her hands with soap.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Age Old Story ...
Hello Everyone.
As soon they start to talk, we teach our kids say how old they are. This is what I heard after my husband Bob taught that lesson to our 2-year-old son.
Bob: "How old are you, Milo?"
Milo: "Two-free-four."
Bob: "No, how old are you?"
Milo: "Two!"
Bob: "How old is Mommy?"
Milo: "Two old."
Me: "Milo's two years old? Good boy!"
Milo: "No, Mommy too old!"
When eight-month-old Willa starts talking, remind me to teach her myself!
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
As soon they start to talk, we teach our kids say how old they are. This is what I heard after my husband Bob taught that lesson to our 2-year-old son.
Bob: "How old are you, Milo?"
Milo: "Two-free-four."
Bob: "No, how old are you?"
Milo: "Two!"
Bob: "How old is Mommy?"
Milo: "Two old."
Me: "Milo's two years old? Good boy!"
Milo: "No, Mommy too old!"
When eight-month-old Willa starts talking, remind me to teach her myself!
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Fall's Lament ...
Hello Everyone.
It's fall in our part of the world, the weather has turned rather cool and the wind, now coming from the east, sends a chill right through you. Leaves are falling from the branches that they have called home for an entire summer and the days are rapidly getting shorter. But the true calling of autumn is not found in the arms of mother nature, no, what really signals the coming of winter is the five runny noses that live in our home.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
It's fall in our part of the world, the weather has turned rather cool and the wind, now coming from the east, sends a chill right through you. Leaves are falling from the branches that they have called home for an entire summer and the days are rapidly getting shorter. But the true calling of autumn is not found in the arms of mother nature, no, what really signals the coming of winter is the five runny noses that live in our home.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Tiny Bubbles ...
Hello Everyone.
"Can I play in the sink?"
Six simple words and, one would think a relatively benign request. However, it's something I always hesitate to agree to. You see, my daughter Neva (whose new greeting to people is, "Hi! I'm five!") loves water and, like her father and brother, water likes her. It also likes the counter and the chair she stands on and the floor!
Reluctantly, I agreed. It's only water, Kathleen, I reassure myself. And sure enough water is everywhere and Neva is soaked when I return a little later. She is "washing" the dishes on the counter with hand soap and a sponge. The floor is a mess of wet bubbles.
"Please use this tea towel to wipe up when you're done," I ask, pointing to one that is ready for the laundry anyway.
"I already used that one," she says, pointing to the clean one I just put out before dinner. Sigh. It's only a tea towel, I reassure myself again. At least she has already thought to wipe the floor, although where I can't tell.
"Well, please wipe up and come get in the bath. It's time for bed," I add before I go.
Minutes pass and there is still no sign of Neva in the bathroom. I go back to the kitchen to remind her to wipe up and get moving. And there she is, drying all her "washed" dishes and putting them away. The oven drawer is open to put the pie plates away where they belong. They are still covered in bubbles. She is drying some Tupperware with the tea towel she used to wipe the floor. It, too, is still mostly covered in bubbles when it goes in the cupboard.
I stop myself from correcting her because Neva is beaming and couldn't be prouder of the great job she is doing.
And neither could I. Bubbles and all!
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
"Can I play in the sink?"
Six simple words and, one would think a relatively benign request. However, it's something I always hesitate to agree to. You see, my daughter Neva (whose new greeting to people is, "Hi! I'm five!") loves water and, like her father and brother, water likes her. It also likes the counter and the chair she stands on and the floor!
Reluctantly, I agreed. It's only water, Kathleen, I reassure myself. And sure enough water is everywhere and Neva is soaked when I return a little later. She is "washing" the dishes on the counter with hand soap and a sponge. The floor is a mess of wet bubbles.
"Please use this tea towel to wipe up when you're done," I ask, pointing to one that is ready for the laundry anyway.
"I already used that one," she says, pointing to the clean one I just put out before dinner. Sigh. It's only a tea towel, I reassure myself again. At least she has already thought to wipe the floor, although where I can't tell.
"Well, please wipe up and come get in the bath. It's time for bed," I add before I go.
Minutes pass and there is still no sign of Neva in the bathroom. I go back to the kitchen to remind her to wipe up and get moving. And there she is, drying all her "washed" dishes and putting them away. The oven drawer is open to put the pie plates away where they belong. They are still covered in bubbles. She is drying some Tupperware with the tea towel she used to wipe the floor. It, too, is still mostly covered in bubbles when it goes in the cupboard.
I stop myself from correcting her because Neva is beaming and couldn't be prouder of the great job she is doing.
And neither could I. Bubbles and all!
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Toy Training ...
Hello Everyone.
My 2-year-old son's train collection is growing at a rapid pace. He has no less than three hand-made wooden trains, a growing set of Thomas the Tank Engine trains, cars and track and a few odd lots of locomotives and freight cars.
Rather than stuff his trains in the green box where they normally would be kept, the other night I decided that a new, bigger home would be in order. So there were Milo and I cleaning up. I would put a few pieces in the new box, he would take out just as many. Eventually I got the better of him and managed to get them all put away.
Since it was now empty, I put his toy cars into the green box rather than having them strewn around as was generally the custom. Feeling rather pleased with myself I went off to bed.
Early the next morning I awoke to the sounds of toy cars being thrown onto the hardwood floor in our living room. One after another went crashing down in rapid succession. Milo was furiously emptying the new box of cars. I knew he had come to an end when I heard him exclaim: "Oh oh, choo-choo gone!"
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
My 2-year-old son's train collection is growing at a rapid pace. He has no less than three hand-made wooden trains, a growing set of Thomas the Tank Engine trains, cars and track and a few odd lots of locomotives and freight cars.
Rather than stuff his trains in the green box where they normally would be kept, the other night I decided that a new, bigger home would be in order. So there were Milo and I cleaning up. I would put a few pieces in the new box, he would take out just as many. Eventually I got the better of him and managed to get them all put away.
Since it was now empty, I put his toy cars into the green box rather than having them strewn around as was generally the custom. Feeling rather pleased with myself I went off to bed.
Early the next morning I awoke to the sounds of toy cars being thrown onto the hardwood floor in our living room. One after another went crashing down in rapid succession. Milo was furiously emptying the new box of cars. I knew he had come to an end when I heard him exclaim: "Oh oh, choo-choo gone!"
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Beep, Beep ...
Hello Everyone.
Every time one of my kids does something strange I try to remind myself that it is only a healthy imagination at work. Most of the time I keep myself from tilting my head sideways, scrunching up my nose and staring at them. But there are times when I can only shake my head.
My 2-year-old son Milo stood in the kitchen earlier today spinning in circles four or five times. He'd then stop and go "beep, beep, beep". He did this a few times before we realized that he was doing an imitation ... of the microwave.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Every time one of my kids does something strange I try to remind myself that it is only a healthy imagination at work. Most of the time I keep myself from tilting my head sideways, scrunching up my nose and staring at them. But there are times when I can only shake my head.
My 2-year-old son Milo stood in the kitchen earlier today spinning in circles four or five times. He'd then stop and go "beep, beep, beep". He did this a few times before we realized that he was doing an imitation ... of the microwave.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Oh, My Achin' Head ...
Hello Everyone.
It must be September since school started and we all are in varying stages of the first cold of this educational season. We'll be back later this week with a new story. Sneeze-ya-then!
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
It must be September since school started and we all are in varying stages of the first cold of this educational season. We'll be back later this week with a new story. Sneeze-ya-then!
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Meltdown Mania ...
Hello Everyone.
They say five-year-olds are very emotional and my daughter Neva, almost 5, certainly has her share of meltdowns. And every time it happens, my wife Kathleen and I come up with the most far-fetched reasons for Neva's overly emotional behavior.
We have always known that if there were an Academy Award for a Melodramatic Performance in a Non-Movie Role, Neva would win hands down. She has a lot of emotion and is not afraid to express it, albeit in an immature fashion.
Yet, this doesn't relieve us of the relentless fear that we are doing something wrong. We question and analyze each episode convinced that we are the cause. For us at least it isn't difficult to ignore the facts and come up with some reason that proves we are damaging our kids psychologically.
But then, as we have said before, you need to give your kids something to talk about in therapy.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
They say five-year-olds are very emotional and my daughter Neva, almost 5, certainly has her share of meltdowns. And every time it happens, my wife Kathleen and I come up with the most far-fetched reasons for Neva's overly emotional behavior.
We have always known that if there were an Academy Award for a Melodramatic Performance in a Non-Movie Role, Neva would win hands down. She has a lot of emotion and is not afraid to express it, albeit in an immature fashion.
Yet, this doesn't relieve us of the relentless fear that we are doing something wrong. We question and analyze each episode convinced that we are the cause. For us at least it isn't difficult to ignore the facts and come up with some reason that proves we are damaging our kids psychologically.
But then, as we have said before, you need to give your kids something to talk about in therapy.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Water Hazards ...
Hello Everyone.
We are back! After taking some extra time off this summer the newsletter is back, bigger and better then ever. Check out the Quotables Quiz in each issue (see below) and you could win a great book from the folks at HarperCollins.com. And of course, I'll be including more stories about my adventures as a father to three -- count 'em, three -- kids under the age of 5.
To get you caught up, my daughter Neva will soon turn 5, while my son Milo just turned 2. The newest edition, my second daughter, Willa, is already 6 1/2-months old!
It wasn't too long ago that my son Milo began taking an interest in using the potty. At first it was a family affair of sorts. Mommy would join Milo in our tiny bathroom, Willa in her arms, with Neva squeezing in shouting wild encouragement. I would take up a position at the door and excitedly join in on the melee.
Things have changed. Milo doesn't always announce his need to go any more. So it was no surprise when Kathleen found him alone in the bathroom this afternoon. However, she wasn't sure whether to congratulate him on going pee on the potty all by himself or to scold him for finding a straw in the garbage with which he was about to have a nice cool drink of water from, where else, but the toilet.
We are back! After taking some extra time off this summer the newsletter is back, bigger and better then ever. Check out the Quotables Quiz in each issue (see below) and you could win a great book from the folks at HarperCollins.com. And of course, I'll be including more stories about my adventures as a father to three -- count 'em, three -- kids under the age of 5.
To get you caught up, my daughter Neva will soon turn 5, while my son Milo just turned 2. The newest edition, my second daughter, Willa, is already 6 1/2-months old!
It wasn't too long ago that my son Milo began taking an interest in using the potty. At first it was a family affair of sorts. Mommy would join Milo in our tiny bathroom, Willa in her arms, with Neva squeezing in shouting wild encouragement. I would take up a position at the door and excitedly join in on the melee.
Things have changed. Milo doesn't always announce his need to go any more. So it was no surprise when Kathleen found him alone in the bathroom this afternoon. However, she wasn't sure whether to congratulate him on going pee on the potty all by himself or to scold him for finding a straw in the garbage with which he was about to have a nice cool drink of water from, where else, but the toilet.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Hey, look at that, it's a ContestHound.com Newsletter!
Hello Everyone.
I imagine you've all noticed the absence of the newsletter over the past few months so let me apologize. As many of you know, we had another baby back in February. Suddenly we found ourselves with three kids: our oldest daughter Neva who is 4 1/2, Milo, our 2-year-old son and Willa who is now 4 months.
I had once been told that the transition from having 2 kids to having 3 is usually not as challenging as having the first or even second child. Right. There was a time that we believed our apartment was really spacious too and that turned out not to be true either.
In our little world my wife Kathleen and I are outnumbered. Neva is as independent, outgoing and dramatic as ever and Milo has developed his own strong-willed personality. And Willa spends her day eating, pooping, burping, sleeping and she's started to roll over. Every space has two toys to fill it, every TV show has dissenting views on whether to watch it or not, every plate has something on it that someone won't eat.
On the floor in the hallway there's laundry in the basket that needs to be folded or washed, no one quite remembers, and there's a pail on the balcony that once was full of garden snails but most of them have escaped. Countless craft projects, drawings and paintings covering the dining-room table spill onto the floor below and packages of new diapers, in three sizes, are pilled on the couch in my office.
And before we know it, the day has escaped and the assembly-line routine of bedtime is behind us. It's just Kathleen and me and the quiet. All there is left to do is everything else.
Some Important Changes
1. For the foreseeable future the newsletter will be published on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
2. Starting next week, you can play the Quotables Quiz where you can win prizes with each issue of the ContestHound.com newsletter.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
I imagine you've all noticed the absence of the newsletter over the past few months so let me apologize. As many of you know, we had another baby back in February. Suddenly we found ourselves with three kids: our oldest daughter Neva who is 4 1/2, Milo, our 2-year-old son and Willa who is now 4 months.
I had once been told that the transition from having 2 kids to having 3 is usually not as challenging as having the first or even second child. Right. There was a time that we believed our apartment was really spacious too and that turned out not to be true either.
In our little world my wife Kathleen and I are outnumbered. Neva is as independent, outgoing and dramatic as ever and Milo has developed his own strong-willed personality. And Willa spends her day eating, pooping, burping, sleeping and she's started to roll over. Every space has two toys to fill it, every TV show has dissenting views on whether to watch it or not, every plate has something on it that someone won't eat.
On the floor in the hallway there's laundry in the basket that needs to be folded or washed, no one quite remembers, and there's a pail on the balcony that once was full of garden snails but most of them have escaped. Countless craft projects, drawings and paintings covering the dining-room table spill onto the floor below and packages of new diapers, in three sizes, are pilled on the couch in my office.
And before we know it, the day has escaped and the assembly-line routine of bedtime is behind us. It's just Kathleen and me and the quiet. All there is left to do is everything else.
Some Important Changes
1. For the foreseeable future the newsletter will be published on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
2. Starting next week, you can play the Quotables Quiz where you can win prizes with each issue of the ContestHound.com newsletter.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
The Tooth, The Whole Tooth and Nothin' But the Tooth ...
Hello Everyone.
Well it was my wife Kathleen's turn to go to the dentist the other day and she took along our 4-year-old daughter Neva. Unlike last year, when Neva went with me, Kathleen did not have a kid crawling around the office floor barking like a dog.
She was so well behaved in fact, that the dentist gave Neva her very own flosser. This is a handheld thingy that looks like half of a wrench with some dental floss stretched across the opening.
For most of us I am sure that flossing our teeth does not rank very high on our excitement scale. But for Neva she couldn't wait to use it. Once home, she was literally jumping with excitement. Now, if only she had the same enthusiasm about brushing her teeth ...
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Well it was my wife Kathleen's turn to go to the dentist the other day and she took along our 4-year-old daughter Neva. Unlike last year, when Neva went with me, Kathleen did not have a kid crawling around the office floor barking like a dog.
She was so well behaved in fact, that the dentist gave Neva her very own flosser. This is a handheld thingy that looks like half of a wrench with some dental floss stretched across the opening.
For most of us I am sure that flossing our teeth does not rank very high on our excitement scale. But for Neva she couldn't wait to use it. Once home, she was literally jumping with excitement. Now, if only she had the same enthusiasm about brushing her teeth ...
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Monday, April 05, 2004
Grandpa ...
Editor's Note: We would like to apologize for the absence of the newsletter over the past 7 weeks. As you read this week's stories, I am sure you will understand that we needed to take some time to be with our families. --ed.
Hello Everyone.
There are times when life's journey can take dramatic twists and turns yet somehow we manage to plod on trying to cope. We had just celebrated the beginning of a new life with the birth of our third child, a daughter who we named Willa Kathleen.
Especially poignant, is that when Willa met my father-in-law he was lying in a hospital bed, clinging to life. Just 12 days earlier, Granny and Grandpa had been sitting at their kitchen table, toasting the birth of their 28th grandchild. Now, only months after having been diagnosed, the rapidly growing brain cancer could no longer be controlled. And in another 12 days Willa would bear witness to an entire life.
She was there with her Grandpa as his life peacefully came to a end. She was there when we celebrated Grandpa's life. She was there when his body was laid to rest. She was there.
B.Edmund Nelligan 1923 - 2004
We will walk with you,
holding your hand,
as you near the threshold
where the living may not pass;
until you are ready
to reach for the hand of God.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Hello Everyone.
There are times when life's journey can take dramatic twists and turns yet somehow we manage to plod on trying to cope. We had just celebrated the beginning of a new life with the birth of our third child, a daughter who we named Willa Kathleen.
Especially poignant, is that when Willa met my father-in-law he was lying in a hospital bed, clinging to life. Just 12 days earlier, Granny and Grandpa had been sitting at their kitchen table, toasting the birth of their 28th grandchild. Now, only months after having been diagnosed, the rapidly growing brain cancer could no longer be controlled. And in another 12 days Willa would bear witness to an entire life.
She was there with her Grandpa as his life peacefully came to a end. She was there when we celebrated Grandpa's life. She was there when his body was laid to rest. She was there.
B.Edmund Nelligan 1923 - 2004
We will walk with you,
holding your hand,
as you near the threshold
where the living may not pass;
until you are ready
to reach for the hand of God.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
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