Nicolas Cage is a good sport
February 19, 2007
August 19, 2006
Entertainment Book time!
Yes, it's that time of year again. Entertainment Book time.
In all seriousness, the coupons therein are really great this year; it looks like ours will pay for itself with just two of them. And this year you have two -- count them -- choices: buy one from Maggie, or buy one from Miranda. They can win prizes, and you're paying for school supplies.
Or buy from both.
June 24, 2005
Congratulations to Pat and Karen
... and healthy baby boy Daniel. The fun begins.
June 13, 2004
New photo gallery
The photo album is now running the Gallery package. Added "photo album software" to the list of "stuff that exists in such nice canned form I see no reason to go on maintaining my homebrewed version."
Better to put the time/effort into things like IE View, work, life... Maybe actually uploading some photos, for instance.
Anyway, login username is "guest", password is the same as it ever was.
July 13, 2003
An Open Letter to Restaurateurs
We've all heard the crime-prevention refrain that car thieves, for example, will go for the most convenient target. Alarms, wheel locks, etc. can't prevent a theft, but by making it more difficult, more time-consuming, you lead the thief to grab someone else's less-difficult ride.
By very clumsy analogy, the same thinking is applied by parents choosing a restaurant for dinner. Of course we want good food, courteous service, tolerable pricing, etc. But that almost always leaves a number of options. What to do?
Make it easier for us to eat at your place. You don't have to add clowns, rides, games, animatronics. Trust me, for most of us, Chuck E. Cheese's is the third circle of hell. Just eliminate some of the pain. A few examples:
- Functioning High Chairs
- Nothing fancy. Simple is good. The wooden ones with the strap are just fine. Except when the strap is missing. Or broken. Or missing one of the buckles. Or when the high chair feels rickety and about to collapse.
- Clean High Chairs
- Just wipe them down before you put them away. That's all we ask, really. Just so the next family doesn't have to see gobs of food left over from the last.
- Include the Kids' Menu in the Adult Menu
- The kids'-menu placemats (plus crayons, please include the crayons) are great. But they're in use, as a coloring book, a hat, a brooch, a pterodactyl. Please repeat the information on the big laminated menu in my hands. Thanks.
- Bendy Straws
- Like I said, it's the little things. Toddlers with long, straight straws will inevitably tip the cup about 80 degrees to get the thing in their mouth. Spills, messes and tears follow. Flexible straws can't cost that much more, and yes, Sysco has them.
- Serve Kid's Food Warm
- As opposed to mouth-searingly hot. Too-hot-to-touch plates are not the most kid-friendly move, either. This is easier than you think - the kids' portions are almost always ready first, anyway. Let 'em sit and cool off while the parents' dishes are in progress.
- Changing Stations.
- Clean ones. Make sure the straps work. Keep the disposable changing pad dispenser full.
- A Changing Station In The Men's Room.
- You have no idea how much the moms will appreciate this one.
- Seat Families in the Real Non-Smoking Section
- If you're in a state that still allows a smoking section, by all means go ahead, it's your business. But if I ask you to sit my family in the Non-Smoking Section, the tables right next to the (Smoking Allowed) bar, or directly adjacent to the smoking section, don't really cut it. So now we're six feet from the smoke instead of three? Gee, thanks.
- Let Us Decide About Dessert
- It's really nice of you to bring by the free cookies, ice cream, or whatever it is you offer the kids at the end of the meal. But if someone's having a picky-eater day, and has eaten a total of one kernel of corn in the last hour, the parents aren't going to be thrilled that you've turned them into the bad guy; now we have to take away a chocolate-chip cookie from a four-year-old. Which is not fun. Watch it sometime. Just, perhaps, ask first. Ask the parents, in case that's not abundantly clear by now.
You can certainly expand on this list. Ask your customers. See for yourself. If you don't have kids of your own, take some friend's kids for dinner at your restaurant. Deal with all the aspects of getting them seated, fed, cleaned up, happy. Try to involve a potty and/or diaper break. If nothing else, your friends will appreciate an hour or two to themselves.
Comments? Additions?
December 13, 2002
Maggie on morning breath
Maggie on morning breath: "Daddy, your voice is stinky."
Miranda has found her first common noun (there are recognizable names there already, and a couple of verbs and exclamations), and it's "hup-ho". Took a while to figure out that's "telephone", her favorite toy. Real ones only, of course. Luckily the cordless phones we like don't cost that much.
March 29, 2002
Further adventures in role-model-dom
We've been trying to watch our language a bit around Maggie, since as reported earlier, her capacity for verbatim repetition is scary. We're not doing that well since we, personally, don't have any particular hang-ups about "bad words" -- at least, the non-racist, etc. kind.
So, we've found ourselves using phrases we never would have, like "Oh my gosh". Really. But then we constantly slip up and speak like ourselves.
Today in the car, Maggie dropped something, probably the book she was reading. She wasn't pleased:
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
Christy almost drove off the road trying to stifle her laughter.
October 17, 2001
Proud parenting (or, what a good example am I)
- Maggie knocks over her cup of rice milk at the dinner table (no, no, no, we haven't gone vegan or anything, she just really loves it). She looks at it, frowns, and with perfect inflection spits out "Oh, cwap!" I give her a big hug.
- Discussing The Onion's 9/11/01 Special Edition (again at dinner), I try to mumble the issue's tagline very quickly, so as not to put bad, bad words into the mouth of our little angel. Of course, about 10 seconds later, she happily exclaims "Holy Fucking Shit!"
Luckily, we haven't yet been forced to explain how this kind of thing can be really funny at home, but extremely unpopular at preschool.
August 14, 2001
Miranda Allison Roub
Miranda Allison Roub, born August 12, 2001, 11:43am. 7lbs, 6oz, 19.5 inches. Everybody's doing great.
More to come.
Meanwhile, there's pictures.
March 21, 2001
So today was ultrasound day
So today was ultrasound day for Baby Number Two. We'd been going nuts trying to decide whether or not to learn the baby's gender; we didn't with Maggie, and it was really wonderful being surprised at the end. On the other hand, it would be nice to know how to paint the room, to be able to give Maggie a better idea of what to expect, etc.
So in the waiting room, we decide that we're going to find out. We're all excited, Maggie's on my lap watching the whole thing, and... can't tell. The baby's hanging out in a breech position, and the parts in question are just not accessible.
As Christy says, this child definitely has my sense of humor. Maybe next time.
February 5, 2001
So we took our first real family vacation
So we took our first real family vacation, to Disney World. Commercialism and overpriced food aside, what a blast to go there with a toddler. And what a heartbreaker, as we were packing to leave, to have Maggie putting on her shoes, grabbing my finger and tugging while asking for "Peter Pan" and "Mickey Mouse..." Pics to come.
April 26, 1999
Added Baby Photos
Added a Baby Photos page, mainly for friends and relatives. If you want to see the pics, let me know and I'll send you the password.