Routine? What Routine?

It's been crazy in our house the last week or so. Swimming lessons are over, day camp has wrapped up and the woman down the street who looks after our two youngest from time to time is taking a three week, kids free vacation.

It wasn't too long ago when we had all three kids at home all day and we managed for the most part. Then, last year, my oldest daugher Neva started school full-time and the prospect of uninterrupted time to do what it is we do, seemed to be much closer.

With three long weeks of summer vacation still ahead of us, reality has set in. We have joined that league of parents who wait with great anticipation for that first day of school.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Gotta Hand it to Him ...

I learned a good discipline motto from a close friend of mine when my oldest daughter was a toddler. Whenever her little one would hit, she'd tell him, "Hands are for helping."

I've been using this gem for 6 years now and all my kids have heard it. In fact I use it daily. I've even added extras ("...and holding and hugging") and listed the exclusions ("...not hitting or hurting," and, most recently, "... or pinching or scratching...").

Until recently, this rule has gone unquestioned, uncontested. The other day, I was scolding my 4-year-old son Milo (who’s had his fair share of these warnings!) for scratching his sister in retribution for some minor transgression.

Milo, you know hands are for helping. Not hurting or hitting or pinching or scratching."

He looked at his hands and clearly saw they had done nothing wrong. "What are fingers for?" he asked. "Poking?"

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com

The Piano ...

On the other side of my office wall stands our piano. Over the years the cost of maintaining it has gone to diapers and new shoes, but it still sounds clear and bright albeit slightly out of tune. Over those same years as my kids grew older the songs played on that piano went from classical masterpieces to a more and more discordant mishmash of notes played randomly by little fingers and fists.

So when I heard a beautiful melody the other day as I was working in my office, I sat back listening, thinking my wife Kathleen was playing. I thought it was a variation on Beethoven's Fur Elise as most of the notes of the melody seemed to be there.

Slowly I went to my door and peaked around the corner and to my surprise saw it was my 4-year-old son Milo doing the playing. "Good job, Milo!" I exclaimed when he stopped. To which he responded by pounding relentlessly on all the keys at once while singing in his now famous screeching voice.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Multi-Lingual ...

Where we live, we have the benefit of receiving both Canadian and US children's television programming. So our kids are exposed to French and Spanish words on many of the pre-school shows.

One day my daughter Neva and her little friend were discussing how many languages they speak. When you're almost 7 years old, being able to count to 10 in both French and Spanish counts as two languages, so they were up to three, including English.

Then Neva excitedly asked, "Mommy! How does Daddy talk to Oma's sister?"

"In German," I answered.

"I know four languages," she exclaimed, "'cuz I almost speak German!"

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com

Still Singing ...

On Tuesday I wrote how my children love to sing, especially my 4-year-old son Milo, whose singing talent is the envy of the neighbors. Recently, Milo has come to have his first public "commercial" performance.

It came about the other day as my wife Kathleen was grocery shopping with Milo at our local supermarket. Always the energetic type, Milo was running from one aisle to the next. It was in the paper products section that Milo suddenly stopped. Pointing to the toilet paper on the shelf, he burst into song, loudly singing the "Charmin Ultra" toilet paper jingle he's heard on television.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

I've Got the Music in Me ...

My wife studied music for the better part of her life and it led her to a degree in Music Theory and Composition. And coming from a very musical family that stretches back generations it's not surprising that Kathleen has those musical genes.

So it stands to reason that my children should likely have similar talents. And for the most part they do. All three of them love to sing, love music and especially love to perform. Both my 6 1/2 year-old daughter Neva and 2 1/2 year-old Willa are not bad. Willa often sings melodies in tune.

It is my 4 year-old son Milo however, who really stands out. He sings with such bravado and power that you can hear him halfway down the block. Whether it’s a children's classic or the latest pop song he's hooked on, Milo screeches and shrieks his butchered melody and made up lyrics with abandon, convinced he’s a Rock Star. Which goes to prove that even with good genes, talent doesn't always come naturally.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Since I Saw You Last ...

My two-year-old daughter and I were visiting our landlord the other day and it just so happened that her brother was in town at the same time. It's been close to a year since Greg visited his sister last and it was good seeing him again.

Though she had met Greg during his last visit, Willa being just one at that time, had no memory of their previous acquaintance. But he's such a character: young at heart, outgoing and boisterous. Little wonder Willa warmed up to him instantly.

We were seated in front of Greg, Willa on my lap, when he suddenly turned to her and said: "My Willa, you've grown three feet since I saw you last". Without missing a beat, Willa raised her legs in the air and pointing to her feet said: "No, I two feet... see ... one, two".

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Mosquito Bites

My 6 1/2 year-old daughter Neva has been complaining of itchy mosquito bites this last week, asking me to "Scratch my back, Mommy," and "A little to the left... Ooh, more... Ah! That's the spot!"

The other day, however, she decided they weren't mosquito bites at all.

"I know why I've been so itchy. I've been cold, so I must have alot of frost bites."

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com

Schools Out for Summer ...

It's been a week since my 6 1/2 year-old daughter Neva started summer vacation. No more waking her up in the morning or rushing through breakfast to get to school on time. No more frantic searches for overdue library books, missing shoes or lost homework. Morning's pace has slowed, at least until she starts summer art camp.

For the first few days Neva kept busy doing all sorts of things. She visited some of her schoolmates, dug holes in the garden looking for worms, watched TV, and went rollerblading.

But this morning it seemed that she might have run out of things to do. As I stood at the front door watching, Neva meandered around the yard with her butterfly net catching those plastic garden pots that store-bought transplants come in.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

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

Everyone has a Green Thumb ...

I love the spring. It's the time of year that I finally leave the house after cowering from the cold of winter. The snow has given way to green grass, the trees bud and flowers grow wildly. It’s when I make my way into my vegetable garden with children in tow.

Together we dig and rake and collect. A little compost here, a little straw there. Stones go in the big yellow bucket and weeds go in the wheelbarrow. And as I loosen the soil, all three of them follow behind me, walking or jumping, even rolling in the dirt that will soon be as compacted as it was before I began.

As I rake the beds flat, my son Milo makes it a point to demonstrate to his little sister Willa how not to walk through the garden beds, a lesson equally lost on both of them.

Soon my oldest daughter Neva is tirelessly digging for worms leaving holes everywhere. She collects them into a pail -- all 134 of them -- telling me about each one she finds. "Found another one!"

In another day or so, I'll be back out with my entourage planting seeds. Then I’ll just have to wait to see what grows where after my pint-sized crew finish rearranging things.

Happy Sweeping,

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Home + Work = Homework

In my daughter Neva's Grade One class, they are learning about compound nouns. On one of the worksheets she brought home, she had to combine the words of two pictures (a picture of a foot and of a ball to make the word "football"). Another worksheet had her doing math-like problems, adding two words to make a compound word (pig + pen = pigpen) or dividing a compound word into two separate words (raincoat = rain + coat).

On the last worksheet, she was given a sentence from which she had to put together the compound word. Here were her answers:

A room with a bed in it is a ... "bedroom".
A bird that is blue is a ... "bluebird".
A man made of snow is a ... "snowman".
A horse that can race is a ... "fast horse".

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther,
Editor, ContestHound.com

On the Road Again ...

We took advantage of the Easter holiday weekend to make a trip to see our family who we haven't seen since before the New Year. After packing an overnight bag, the five of us piled into our van and headed off on the 2 1/2 hour trip.

As soon as we get to the highway, the kids insist I put the "road trip" CD into the player. It's the Canadian cast recording of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" with Donny Osmond as Joseph.

Not a mile down the road, my 6-year old daughter Neva, 3 1/2-year old son Milo and 2-year old Willa are all singing along. For the next hour or so, they sing ... as loud as they can and totally out of tune. They make up the words and occasionally get one or two right. And all the while, I see them in my rear view mirror, convinced they are Broadway stars.

Happy Sweeping,

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Dave the Landlord ...

Last night, in the middle of making dinner, the drain under the kitchen sink burst ... again. And despite my husband Bob's valiant attempts to stare and scowl at it, it just didn't fix itself. So we called our landlord, who said he'd be over in the morning to fix it.

As the sun rose the next day, the promise of having his good friend Dave the landlord come to fix our sink, my 3 1/2-year-old son Milo excitedly got himself dressed entirely in his "Bob the Builder" clothes. He put on the "Bob the Builder" underwear and pants, the sweatshirt and socks and finally his construction hat. And off he went, our own little "Bob the Builder" billboard, to help Dave the landlord.

(For those of you who don't know Bob the Builder, he is one of today's most popular animated pre-school programs on television starring Bob, a likeable fella who owns a construction company).

Happy Sweeping,

Kathleen Gunther

Editor, ContestHound.com

The Self-Portait ...

Quite often over the past 5 years, I've bragged about my oldest daughter Neva's artistic abilities. You can even see a few of her works in our online store (see Neva's deSIGNS at top right of this newsletter). As it happens, the other day I was stunned by my youngest daughter's creative endeavors.

You'll be as surprised as I was that at the tender age of 2, my daughter Willa painted herself. She painted her legs and then her tummy and finally her face. And I tell you one could really see that it looked like her.

Even more amazing was that she did so by hand. No brushes. No help. In fact, no paper either. Not even paint. No, just a ripe avocado squished up in her hands and smeared all over herself, head to toe.

Happy Sweeping,

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Boo-Boo Blues

After careful study, using my 2-year-old daughter Willa as the subject, I have come up with the following guidelines on how and when to use bandages.

For "boo-boo" that have made your child cry:

1. Use a new, brightly colored bandage.
2. If crying continues, try using a bigger bandage with a different picture.
3. If the cut is barely noticeable, repeat Step 1 every couple of hours for the next few days.

For a "boo-boo" that has you convinced you need new glasses:

1. Simply hand the child the entire box of bandages.
2. Add bandages to the shopping list.

When all else fails:

Threaten to take the child to the emergency room doctor now that it's 11:30 at night and the kid has complained unrelentingly about it for the past 4 hours, as what little patience you had a while ago has been completely drained away and you've decided there and then never to have more children and you struggle not to run out in the street in your underwear screaming wildly just so the police will lock you up for a night of peace and quiet ...

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Do You See What I See?

I turned off the lights and crawled into bed with my 6 year-old daughter Neva and 3 year-old son Milo. As I tried to get them to settle down for sleep, I quietly asked, "What do you see when you close your eyes?"

"Oh, I know!" Neva jumped in excitedly. "I see a truck holding up some wood. And it's wrapped in a big orange wrapper. And they're taking the wood out, two at a time. Some are wrapped in blue -- it must be extra special wood."

Gee. All I see is spots!

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com

Running Truths ...

As children, we were told to always tell the truth yet as adults we edit the truth as we see fit. "Does this dress make me look fat?" You know what my answer is going to be don't you.

So now my 3 1/2-year old son Milo has of late been misappropriating the truth. I suppose all children start to experiment with the facts at some time or another, bending them to their needs or wishes. So, he's begun lying. Not very well mind you, but nevertheless, the truth has lately become a commodity.

It might be his eyes that give him away as they dart back and forth, every once in a while meeting mine as if to see if I'm buying into his story. Maybe it's the faint smile where the corners of his mouth curl up while he tries explaining himself. But most likely, it's the fact that once he finishes spinning his web of deceit, he simply runs away.

The world was flat until somebody reasoned that it wasn't. The glass is half full, no it's half empty. Our Governments would never mislead us and every sale saves you money. All of which leads me to wonder about the truth. Is it that lying is bad or is being a bad liar just not good? No wonder Milo runs away.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com