Tips to Make Moving Day Easier

Moving to a new home can be exciting. It cal also be a nightmare. According to some surveys, it’s right up there with divorce and the death of a loved one. But the good news is that you’ve got the power to make moving day far easier, and it’s all down to thinking things through ahead of time and having plans in place to deal with any issues that might come your way. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how you can make moving day easier on yourself and everyone around you and. It still might not be fun, but at least you can be less stressed out by it. Or feel guilty asking your friends to help. 

Start Early With A Plan

The key to a successful move is starting early, so as soon as you know you’re moving, it’s time to create a plan, even if you think you’ve got loads of time before moving day – time moves fast, and if you don’t start planning early, you’ll just be causing yourself all kinds of avoidable problems. 

Start by listing all the tasks you need to complete before, during, and after the move, which could include decluttering your home, gathering packing supplies, scheduling movers, and telling whoever needs to know (including utility companies) that you’ve got a new address. 

If you can break the move down into manageable steps, you’ll be much more organized and much less stressed, so although it might seem like hard work at first, ensuring you make a plan and perhaps a moving timeline so you’ve got deadlines to work towards is definitely the way to go. 

It is also a good idea to assign roles. When my wife and I moved into our house, she was pregnant with our first child, so I knew my role was going to all the lifting, carrying, assembling, and panting. Her job was organzing. Pro tip: don’t move when your wife is 7 months pregnant. But if you can’t plan around that, you should still plan as much as you can.

Declutter Before You Pack

You know that think that is tucked away in box somewhere that you haven’t used years and probalby forgot about? Spoiler alert, if you move it to your knew home it is going to stay tucked away in a box somewhere and you’ll forget about it. Moving is the ideal opportunity to declutter, and it’s a great idea to go through each room and decide what to keep, donate, sell, or recycle. In that way, you’ll only end up packing the things you actually want to take with you, which not only saves time, but it makes your new home much more pleasant when you’re unpacking too.

Of course, moving is an emotional time, no matter how excited you might be to live in your new place – you’re going to have memories in your current home, and that’s what can make leaving it harder than you expect in some cases, and that feeling is probably why a lot of people don’t declutter; adding more emotions on top of what you’re already feeling is a real challenge. However, you can see that the final results would be much better if you are able to declutter, so if it’s hard for you, why not get help? Friends and family will be much less attached to things and they’ll be able to help you see the more practical side of decluttering, which can help offset those pesky emotions. 

Gather Packing Supplies Ahead Of Time

Of all the things you have to do when you move, packing is the biggest job and the one that you can’t delay. No one wants to have things that still need to be packed when the time to move arrives or when you have to hand over your key to the new owners or tenants. So, to avoid those awful last-minute scrambles, you need to gather all your packing supplies well in advance, and that includes sturdy boxes in various sizes, packing tape, bubble wrap or newspapers, and markers for labeling the boxes. 

You can buy these things online – just search for packing supplies and you’ll come across plenty of options – but you can also save some money by picking up boxes from your local grocery store or asking in the local area if anyone has any moving boxes they need to get rid of. You’ll often find people are more than happy for you to come and collect the boxes they don’t need anymore because otherwise they’ve got to get rid of them themselves, so it saves a job. 

Something that could actually solve all these issues and decisions is to hire a packing service company to do the job for you. This is ideal if the thought of packing is causing you to feel stressed and overwhelmed or you’re short on time, for example, and since professional packers are efficient and experienced, they’ll be able to pack up your stuff far quicker than you can, and, if they’re also your moving company, they can put it straight into the van and take it where you need it to go. 

Label Your Boxes Clearly

When you’re in the midst of the chaos of moving, it’s easy to lose track of what’s in each box, which means you’ll lose things or have trouble at the other end when you want to find something – and in general, it just makes life harder because you won’t know where to put the boxes and you won’t know which ones to start unpacking first. 

So, to make things easier for everyone, including future you who’s unpacking in the new house, label each box clearly using a marker pen so it doesn’t rub off. And make sure you’re specific; rather than just writing the name of the room the box needs to go in, give a description of what’s in it. That’s going to save a lot of time when it comes to unpacking as you’ll know exactly what to expect when you open a box and you’ll know where it all has to go. 

Pack An Essentials Box

Most of the boxes you pack can be left until a day or even several after you move in because after all that stress and physical activity, the idea of unpacking immediately can be a pretty awful one. However, there are some things you’re going to need on that first day and night in your new place, so it’s a good idea to have an essentials box with all that stuff in it so you can be comfortable until you unpack everything else. 
Your essentials box should include a change of clothes, your toothbrush and toothpaste as well as any other toiletries you might need, medication, important documents, snacks, phone chargers, basic kitchen items, and probably some beer. And remember to keep this box with you during the move so you’ve got easy access to it – if it goes in with all the other boxes you’ll have to spend time searching for it and that defeats the object of having it in the first place!

Above all, try not to stress and try not to rush. You know what you’re in for, so you might as well try to enjoy it. And really, even if your moving day (or days) is stressful, it will soon be dwafed by the joy of being in your new home.

Stoic Saturday: How to Act (Part 6)

In the final installment of breaking down Marcus Aurelius’s thoughts on the proper way to act, we come to my personal favorite line from Meditations – and in any of the Stoic writings I’ve seen so far.

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To stand up straight – not straightened.

I love this. To me this is much of what Stoicism is about in one simple sentence. What is our motivation on how to act? What is it that compels us to live a virtuous life? What keeps us on the right path? Is it some external factor, some pressure being applies to us that keeps us acting in a straightforward manner – even if it is against our will? Or is it our own inherent sense of virtue? Our own determination to live the kind of life and be the kind of person that we truly desire to be? If we are acting as we should, we should be keeping ourselves straight regardless of what pressures are applied on us from our circumstances.

This speaks to a central aspect of Stoicism – that we can’t control what happens, but we can control how we respond. The world is imperfect. Our environment, our circumstances, the people around us, all of these can (and probably will) try to bend you to their will. To stand straight, you can’t rely on help from the day to day world you live in. You must fortify yourself from the inside out.

As a parents, we all want to be good examples for our kids. We want to be strong heads of our families, to be people our kids look up to, to be able to instill in them the right way to act. Not just by what we tell them, but how we act. To stand straight is the opposite the “do as I say, not as I do” attitude that it can be easy to slip into. I would be willing to bet that most parents want to raise their kids to be better people than they are. Even if not everybody is completely self-aware enough to recognize their shortcomings, or the areas where they are not standing straight, I think there is almost an instinctual drive in parents to try to make their kids better – 2.0 versions of themselves if you will.

But how can we expect our kids to stand straight when we’ve allowed the world to bend us out of shape? We can’t.

The good news is, that if we can bend to vice, we can bend back to virtue. But we need to be intentional about it. Practice the Stoic virtues of courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom, even in small steps, and over time you will straighten yourself. Be intentional with the information and media you take in. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see too much content on living a better life through philosophy come my way on its own. I need to go find it, read it, absorb it, and use to block out the noise that will try to bend me.

I say practice the virtues, because it absolutely does take practice. I first started reading about Stoicism about five years ago, and I think I have made some improvements in myself, but the virtues are still far from second nature. I need to try to keep them top of mind. I need to be aware and catch myself when I need to be straightened. But if I can get a little better every day, stand a little straighter on my own, then the practice is paying off.

The world probably isn’t going to help you on its own, you need to help yourself. Your kids aren’t going to stand straight on their own, you need to show them how. Show your kids what inner strength looks like. What trying to live a virtuous life looks like. What doing the right thing just because it’s the right thing looks like. And do it from the strength you’ve developed within yourself, not because somebody or something has bent you in or out of shape. Stand straight – not straightened.

Tips to Plan a Road Trip

Road trips can be great for multiple reasons. They let you bond with friends and family, see more of the country, and much more. To actually see those, though, you’ll need to know how to plan a road trip and make sure it’s as amazing as possible.

If it’s your first time, this can seem a little tricky, but it doesn’t need to be. Taking the time to use a few tips helps you make sure it goes smoothly. It’ll even help your road trip be as amazing as possible, with three of these tips standing out.

Plan a Road Trip: 3 Great Tips

1. Be Open to Side Trips

When you’re trying to plan a road trip, you’ll naturally focus on the main route you’ll take. You could be trying to see somewhere specific, so you’ll focus on getting there and back. While there’s a lot of logic to that, it doesn’t mean you should be rigid with it. Being a little flexible helps more than you’d think.

You could come across more than a few potential side trips while you’re on the road, like the world’s largest cup of yogurt or part of a mountain that looks like an old man’s face. Many of these wouldn’t even take a lot of time, and you can enjoy them more than you’d think. They’re worth being open to.

2. Invest in Your Car

Your car will naturally get a lot of use when you’re on a road trip. Make sure you take care of it, which means putting some time and effort into it before the trip. Repairs and some proactive maintenance are the main focus of this, but they’re not the only areas to consider.

It’s also worth looking into Vauxhall car accessories, or any accessories for the type of car you have. These can make the road trip a lot more comfortable, and some of them can even provide a bit of entertainment while you’re on the road.

3. Pack an Emergency Kit

Even after making sure your car is in great condition, there’s still a chance it could break down. The longer the road trip is, the more likely it is this will happen. Make sure you’re prepared for it if it does. Having a roadside emergency kit is a great idea for being prepared for whatever happens. Also, make sure your emergency kit includes snacks. The only thing worse than being stranded somewhere is being stranded and hungry.

Include a few specific things in this when you’re putting it together. A flashlight, portable phone charger, jumper cables, and a first aid kit are some of the more notable. They’ll help you prepare for anything that could come up on the trip.

Plan a Road Trip: Wrapping Up

When you’re trying to plan a road trip for the first time, it’s natural to feel a little overwhelmed. You’re still trying to figure it all out, but that doesn’t mean it has to be complicated. Take advantage of a few tips to make sure the planning goes smoothly.

At the same time, the right tips make sure you and everyone else have an amazing time during the trip. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be a great and memorable experience.

Protect Your Babies From the Sun

Call it global warming or call it climate change, weather is getting crazy. As I write this it is a cool and breezy 65 degrees. Last week was 90, and it will be 90 again next next week. In September. Taking kids too and from school means sometimes leaving one of the kids in the car “real quick” while I run to grab another one from the pickup line. We’ve all dealt with the irritation of feeling the sun beating on you through the car window. It feels ten times hotter for some reason and you’ll do everything to avoid it. If you have a baby traveling in a car seat, then the sun becomes an even bigger problem. 

Did you know babies should be shielded from the sun as much as possible? Yes, all of us should stay shielded, but babies have much more delicate skin, making them more susceptible to damage from UV rays. They burn a lot easier and are more prone to suffering from serious problems. Not only that, babies can’t regulate their body heat very well so they’ll feel super hot and spend the whole car ride crying, and that isn’t a fun time for anybody. 

In other words, you need to implement a few baby-proofing ideas in your car to shield them from the sun. You’ll typically have two routes to go down; check them out below and decide which one is the best for you! 

Tint Your Back Windows

Tinting your windows will block a lot of sunlight from entering the back of your car. It’s beneficial as the tint is semi-permanent (it can be removed, but it will remain in place and functional for as long as you like) and you don’t have to remember to bring anything on your journeys. There’s also no need to adjust anything; the window stays as it is and the tint blocks out the sun’s rays. 

Some of the facts and stats surrounding car window tinting are excellent as well. Depending on where you get the tint installed and how dark it is, you can get up to 40% solar heat reduction and over 99% UV ray reduction in the car. It means your back seats are the perfect place to have a small baby in their car seat. They’ll be shaded the whole time and their skin remains protected. 

Buy A Car Window Shade

The alternative is to buy window shades for your car. They come in many designs and the idea is you stick a mesh material on the inside of your car windows and it blocks the sunlight. It won’t be as good at blocking the sun or reducing heat as tinted windows, but the best car sunshades are far cheaper than tinting your windows – and they’re not as permanent so you can get new ones whenever you want. 

Car window shades come in loads of styles so you can find some with your baby’s favorite TV shows on or in cool designs you like the look of. This is comfortably the most accessible and convenient way of shielding your baby from the sun, but shades do have a few downsides. Apart from being slightly less effective, window shades also need to be washed and might not fit the window perfectly. So, there’s a bit of added maintenance and it can be harder to find the perfect size. 

In reality, what you think of either option doesn’t matter – what matters is that you use at least one of them to keep your baby safe. Never drive the car with your baby in the back if you don’t have sun protection. They should be shaded at all times, especially on long road trips.

Teaching History to the Modern Child

I always liked history class. I still read a lot of biographies on historical figures, watch documentaires about histical events, and listen to history focused podcasts from time to time. My kids are still too young to have actual histry class in school, but my oldest did start learning about some local history in social studies. Next stop, Ken Burns’ Civil War. Well, maybe not, but history is more than a matter of the past. It teaches critical thinking, empathy, and perspective of the past that will shape our future. Unfortunately for children however, history lessons can sometimes feel boring and over their heads. By adapting the teaching approach according to each child’s developmental stage we can encourage an interest in history. Here’s a breakdown by age groups in order to identify strategies that will keep them engaged and curious.

Ages 5-7: The Storytellers

Make It Fun with Storytelling

Children love telling tales (real or imagined), making storytelling an effective medium for conveying history to them. Make historical events come alive through engaging narratives replete with adventures, heroes, and interesting characters. Picture books can be an engaging way of bringing historical figures and events more interesting for kids. Their illustrations make history more accessible while their tales make significant moments more captivating. You might also consider writing your own simple stories that highlight parts of history that are most interesting or relevant to you. By creating engaging narratives about history, this approach not only captures their attention but also helps them connect emotionally with it, increasing curiosity and encouraging learning. We can spark their passion for this important subject that will resonate in their imaginations.

Interactive Learning

Engaging children in historical topics through interactive activities is one way to increase their engagement. Engage students by holding dress-up days where they wear costumes of historical figures from their preferred period, giving them a way to connect to history while sparking dialogue about each of them. Bonus points if you put ask them rediculous questions and challenge them not to break character. Hands-on projects such as creating timelines or curating museum exhibits using drawings and crafts can enhance their understanding of historical events while keeping it fun for students. These activities make learning enjoyable while also encouraging collaboration and creativity, helping children establish personal ties to history that foster lasting appreciation of its subject matter. By mixing fun with education, we can create memorable learning experiences that nurture curiosity about history.

Use Multimedia

Remember when the teacher would roll the TV into the classroom? Times change but what gets kids excited about learning does’t. Utilizing videos, cartoons and animations to share historical events with children can make learning more relatable and engaging for them. Shows like Liberty’s Kids provide a compelling blend of entertainment and education introducing young audiences to significant events and figures from history through dynamic storytelling techniques that captivate children’s attention while piquing curiosity about when and where these events took place. Taking this multifaceted approach not only makes history more accessible but also promotes further inquiry about it, sparking deeper interest for further study.

Ages 8-10: The Explorers

Field Trips

Children ages 8-10 are eager for new experiences that spark their curiosity. Arranging trips to historical sites, museums or live reenactments gives them an immersive look into history. Participating in events such as colonial fairs or Civil War reenactments provides a unique way of engaging with historical narratives. Such experiences offer insights that traditional books cannot fully convey, and make or good people watching. It is a special breed of person who takes part in Civil War reenactments. Anyway, by placing themselves in the shoes of their ancestors, children gain a deeper appreciation for history while awakening their curiosity about learning and exploration. Engaging children in such trips through an engaging curriculum can transform history from mere facts into vivid tales that resonate with young minds.

Creativity-Driven Projects

Getting hands on with children in creating their own history projects enables them to delve into topics that pique their interest, such as notable inventions or cultural practices. Kids can demonstrate their findings and share new knowledge through presentations, written reports or even short videos. This approach allows children to take ownership over their learning while also helping them discover personal interests within history. Active research and presentation help children explore historical narratives more deeply. Through such projects, children make history tangible and accessible, opening up endless avenues for further discovery and investigation.

History Through Technology

At this age, it’s important that children experience history through technology in an engaging and captivating way. While my generation had the View-Master, kids today can use virtual reality experiences to bring history alive, taking them on thrilling virtual trips through ancient Rome or Egypt’s pyramids and offering real life experience of significant events or places from history first-hand. By mixing learning with play, children may develop genuine interest in discovering what has gone before them. Reinforcing that history isn’t just something boring they need to memorize, rather it offers them endless adventures.

Ages 11-13: The Critical Thinkers

Discuss Relevant Issues

As children reach 11-13, they begin to think critically and understand complex social issues, so it is important that conversations around relevant historical topics such as civil rights, social justice and global conflicts occur. Discussions between students can help them make connections between historical events and current issues, building empathy and awareness. Guided debates, group projects or writing assignments provide them a forum in which to express their thoughts and opinions freely. By exploring various perspectives and understanding what motivated historical events, children of this age group will not only develop stronger analytical skills, but also gain a more thorough knowledge of the world they inhabit, becoming informed citizens in future years.

Project-Based Learning

Engaging middle schoolers in research projects allows for deeper examination of key topics such as the impact of the Industrial Revolution on contemporary society. These projects promote important skills development such as research methodology, effective writing and presentation techniques. By exploring historical events and their long-term effects, students learn to synthesize information efficiently and articulate it clearly. Academic assignments that foster curiosity and critical thinking encourage academic growth while inspiring students to make connections between past and present events. Engaging in these research endeavors empowers them to become informed individuals who can contribute significantly to discussions about society and history.

Use Literature and Media

Suggesting historical novels and movies as educational material to middle schoolers can lead to lively conversations about important historical themes. Books such as The Book Thief and Blood on the River can provide readers with emotional connections to significant historical events, and movies like Forrest Gump and Hamilton, but a uniqe spin on how we can view history. These narratives offer engaging contexts for exploring wider themes like survival, bravery and war’s effects. Engaging with these stories encourages empathy and understanding while drawing parallels between past and present events. Through discussions and reflections about such works, students can develop an appreciation of history’s relevance in today’s society.

Ages 14-18: The Analysts

Get It Right from the First Day at School

High school students need to set the appropriate atmosphere from day one of school in order to create an ideal learning environment. Encourage them to establish good study habits and organizational capabilities early. This will be “do as I say, not as I do for me”, as I was never really one to study. But try creating a dedicated study space, utilizing planners for assignment management, and developing a routine that balances schoolwork with extracurricular activities. Didn’t work for me, but maybe it will work for your my kids or yours. Establishing a growth mindset enables students to see challenges as opportunities rather than barriers to learning, so introduce students early to this important concept using first day of school activities for high school US history. Help your child navigate their way towards independence and responsibility with ease so that you’re better positioned for navigating both education and career success.

Challenge with Complexity

Teenagers possess both an uncanny ability to be total weirdos, and to understand complex systems and appreciate subtleties. Therefore, it is vital that we introduce them to historiography (which examines how history is recorded and interpreted) early. Engage students in conversations that explore how different perspectives and time periods can lead to differing interpretations of historical events, strengthening both their critical thinking skills as well as encouraging them to critically analyze sources and narratives more closely. This exploration will not only increase critical thinking skills but will also hone scrutiny of sources and narratives more closely. By developing an understanding of historiography, students will gain a more informed and analytical approach to history, realizing narratives are often affected by context, bias and intention, providing them with invaluable tools for academic and personal growth.

Engaging Older Students in Current Events

Engaging older students in current issues is vital to deepening their understanding of history and current events. Doing this requires encouraging them to make connections between historical events and modern issues and drawing parallels between historical issues and contemporary issues, for bettering understanding. Discussions around social justice, human rights, and political systems can provide invaluable insight into how past events have had an effect on present-day challenges. By exploring these connections, students can better comprehend the complexity of today’s landscape and recognize history’s place in addressing contemporary societal concerns. Engaging students in history helps foster critical thinking while instilling a sense of responsibility towards addressing injustices and advocating for change within their communities. Furthermore, linking the past with the present equips students to become informed citizens who understand its influence on shaping the future.

Support Independent Research

Promoting independent research among high school students is key to increasing enthusiasm in history and developing deep understanding and engagement of the subject matter. By investigating topics that excite them, students can deepen their knowledge and engagement of each subject area they explore. There are ample opportunities for expression within schools: writing articles for school newspapers or contributing blogs, presenting findings at school events, or participating in history fairs to showcase research. History fairs also allow students to display their knowledge with their peers, providing invaluable opportunities to showcase research findings and share insights with each other. All these activities not only foster critical thinking skills but also empower them to take ownership over their learning, helping foster an enduring passion for historical study that extends far beyond classroom walls.

Right now my kids are still little and are still soaking up information like a sponge. While it is probably too early to teach them about the terror of slavery or the horrors of war, there is still plenty of other non-blood soaked history to lessons to start them off with. Of course, to them the years of my childhood seems like history, so if nothing else I can show them my old baby pictures as anchient artifacts from a far off time period of the 1980s.

Learning From a Trip to Urgent Care

When I think of classic father and son bonding moments, a few typical ones spring to mind. Playing catch in the yard, going camping, watching football, going to urgent care to get a foreign object removed from somebody’s ear. Oh, did you not have medically extracting an object from your son’s head on your male bonding bingo card?

A trip to urgent care or the emergency room is inevitable when you have kids. Something is going to happen. It just will. While this was not our family’s first experience taking a kid to urgent care, it was mine. When my oldest daughter was younger she fell off a chair and hit her head on the corner of coffee table. I was good enough in the moment to stop the bleeding, but she asked for mom to take to the doctor. I suppose it was my turn, so getting whatever was in my son’s ear out was all me.

I don’t know how long it was in there. Maybe an hour or so, or maybe all day. It was brought to our attention when his older sister, properly filing her role as middle child, tattled on him right before bedtime that he said he put something in his year. Every so often the tattling child really does come in handy. While I couldn’t care less who took what Lego from who, it really is helpful to have somebody on the inside when one of the three kids is plotting to do something stupid or have caused bodily harm.

My first instinct was to take a DIY approach. Every parent has their strengths and weaknesses, and removing things from my children has definitely been a strength of mine over the years. But who would have thought the tick in my daughter’s head would be much more difficult than whatever it was that my son shoved in his ear. At this point, it was unidentified. According to him, it was a “white ball.” While my son may have a pretty sizable noggin, I was pretty sure he didn’t shove a golf ball or a baseball in there – the only things in the house that I could think of that would be a white ball. I took a look to see what was in there and did see a white obstruction.

While I got the tweezers, my wife started looking up how to get things out of a kid’s ear. The object was right there to be grabbed, not shoved completely far back in his ear, so surely I could tweeze it on out of there. However, no luck. A few tries and I think all I did was push it back a little further. Right as I was giving up, my wife announced that the first step in object removal was to not try to get it out with tweezers. Well, shit.

Father and son waiting at urgent care
Waiting at urgent care. He was more interested in why the building had a cafeteria than he was about why he had something in his ear.

To urgent care we went. In pretty good spirits I must say. The little guy wasn’t scared or in pain, more curious about what was going to happen. Luckily there was nobody else there so the wait was short and we were back in the exam room quickly. Upon telling them that my son shoved something in his left ear and we weren’t sure what, I simultaneously felt that this was probably something they hear all the time, and that they also judge my parenting ability. Kids shove stuff in themselves, it happens. But I think it was the not knowing what it was that bothered me. Clearly I wasn’t paying any attention to him when it happened. A kid shoves a pea up their nose at dinner, that’s kids being kids. An unsupervised four year-old shoves some random object he found on the floor in his ear, that’s half-ass parenting. Poor vacuuming to say the least.

Armed with no more detail than unidentified white object in his left year, the medical experts sprung into action and examined his right ear. At first I thought maybe they were looking at both just to be thorough.

“I don’t see anything in there,” the assistant said.

“Left ear,” I reminded her. Our less than stellar start didn’t get much better.

They tried fancier tweezers than I had at home, but with the same results. They tried a tiny little pressure washer attachment for a squirt bottle, which moved it around but not out. They tried the less than highly scientific approach of a dollop of glue on the end of a little slick. I forgot to ask my wife where glue on a stick ranked on the list of things to do or not do at home to get something out an ear. Probably not high.

After about half hour of the doctor trying to get it out while my son stared daggers through her, they gave up. I have to say, my son did great. He sat still, he didn’t flinch or cry or tell them to get the glue on a stick away from him. This created a weird sense of pride in me. He behaved exactly the way I’d want him to. If this was a normal trip to the doctors, we would absolutely stop at the bakery on the way home for a doughnut. However, the little dingus did this to himself. No bonus points for behaving well in the annoying situation you put yourself in. His only reward was an appointment with an ear, nose, and throat specialist the next day. I let him know I was proud of how he behaved and that he was very brave, but also made sure he knew that he should never put anything in his ear again. I now realize that I didn’t mention anything about noses. I wonder if I can preemptively get on the ENT’s schedule?

We went home discouraged and a little confused. Is it safe for him to go to bed with something in his ear? What if he rolls around in his sleep and it sinks deeper in there? What if he itches something and pushes it farther in and it would just be in there forever? Someday he’ll be an old man telling tales of his trick ear that still has something in it. Like an old war vet with shrapnel in his leg, but way less honorable and way more doofusy.

My wife took him to his second appointment, but I heard it was pretty much the same. Multiple attempts and multiple tools, but they must have had better tools because this time they were successful. They removed a little broken of piece of styrofoam from his ear. A fragment from a larger piece my kids were drawing on and playing with a few weeks ago. Please excuse my while I go vacuum my basement.

This time his behavior was rewarded. One doctors appointment was enough to teach him about the repercussions of his decisions. Good behavior at a second appointment warranted a treat. He was brave through the whole thing, and didn’t seem too upset about having to spend the night with debris in his ear. Seems like a good balance of using bad choices as teachable moments and using positive reinforcement to encourage more good. The yin and the yang of parenting in one little ear. Hopefully it won’t immediately go out the other.

My Kids Will Know a World of AI

I have to say, I am incredibly sceptical of the real-world impact AI will have. I’m sure there will be big advancements for tech companies, but not sure how it will actually apply for the average person’s everyday life. Until Alexa can understand me when I tell her to never play any Taylor Swifts songs ever again no matter how many times a little girl’s voice asks, I’m not impressed. But perhaps this is how the older generation felt about the internet. So regardless of how I feel about it or much (or maybe more accurately how little) I’ll use it, my kids will live in a world where AI is more present than future.

Personalization in Content Consumption

Gone are the days of being at the mercy of the TV or the radio for what you want to consume. My kids can’t comprehend the idea that you can’t always watch whatever episode of whatever show you want. We’ve not had cable since before they were born, so streaming is all thye know. AI-powered algorithms now deliver personalized recommendations based on users’ viewing habits and preferences. Every streaming service uses sophisticated machine learning algorithms to track user behavior, making suggestions that appear almost telepathic in nature. They say it helps to increase viewer satisfaction, but the main strategy behind this is to keep audiences engaged for longer. When viewers feel like content platforms understand their tastes more, binge watching becomes much more likely. These platforms’ algorithms continue to adapt accordingly, providing feedback loops which constantly refine user experiences while constantly evolving their algorithms make users more and more likely to keep watching. I have to say that my kid’s decisions to keep watching “just one more” Bluey is only partially because it is the best kids show out there. The other part is that Disney+ keeps feeding them another one.

AI in Music Production

I have a dad’s taste in music– which is to say music that existed 25 or more years before AI existed. While it might not be my cup of tea, the musical times they are a changin’. Musicians are using AI-powered software to compose, analyze trends and even produce tracks. AI can scour through thousands of songs to identify successful patterns in melody, rhythm and harmony and serve as a source of inspiration for artists. Traditionalists (like me) may scoff at this concept, but consider this: AI tools such as AIVA (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist) have produced works which are nearly indistinguishable from human-crafted works. In addition, AI can assist with mastering tracks, making production more efficient and accessible, especially to up-and-coming musicians. Again, I’m sceptical here until AI can prove it can make something better than “Free Bird.”

Gaming and Immersive Experiences

I am of a generation that had their young minds blown by the original Super Mario Bros. The fact that Mario 3 is the best video game ever made is a hill I’ll die on. However, technology has advanced, and Non-player characters (NPCs) now respond more intelligently, with scripted AI interactions for dynamic interactions that enhance realism and make gameplay more captivating than ever. Furthermore, AI is even capable of creating entire environments and levels within games, giving developers time to focus on refining gameplay mechanics and storytelling. As a result of all this innovation, gamers enjoy rich, elaborate worlds that evolve over time while testing their skills against complex environments that continue to challenge them and draw them back for more.

AI in Sports and Betting

Watching game tape on a VCR and rewinding and rewatching your plays over and over again to try to pick up some little advantage seems so antiquated now. Coaches and athletes now utilize AI analytics to analyze performance data, fine-tune strategies and enhance training regimens through analysis. Artificial Intelligence-powered predictive analytics can analyze player statistics, team dynamics, and even weather conditions in order to more accurately anticipate outcomes. Not only has this led to a whole bunch of new stats that don’t fit neatly on the back of a baseball card (WAR is made up and stupid in my opinion), but has also led to an explosion of sophisticated sports betting platforms utilizing machine learning algorithms and providing real-time odds and insights. As betters have become more knowledgeable, the betting landscape has transformed into an AI sports picks market where enthusiasts can make informed decisions using data-driven AI analysis rather than simple intuition. While this has yet to help me hit a college football parlay, it is a big jump from getting a hot tip from your bookie.

Future of AI in Parenthood

As much as I hope it doesn’t happen, I know I’ll end up looking like Abe Simpson on this one – just an old man yelling at a cloud and telling young folks all about how it was back when I was young and how that it was so much better back then. Every generation goes through it, but as all technology – not just AI – advances faster and faster, that old man feeling comes sooner and sooner. I’m not yet 40 and there are things from my not so distant younger years that are literally in museums. So as my kids grow up in this world, at what point will the technology they use on their own be past my comprehension? High school? Middle school? Next semester? It isn’t very likely that I won’t be able to help my kids with their homework because I don’t know the answers. It is extremely likely that I won’t be able to help them with homework because I won’t know how to use the technology they are doing it on.

Grounding My Kids for the First Time

When I first started thinking about what kind of parent I thought I’d be, there were a couple things I never thought I would do. Send my kids to a “time out,” ground them, or reply with, “Hi Thirsty, I’m Dad,” when they told me they were thirsty. I had a pretty good run, but I’ve officially crossed one of those off the list. My kids were finally bad enough that I had to ground them. All three of them. At the same time.

Working from home, while providing an element of freedom, also brings its own set of challenges. Especially in the summer when the kids are home all day. I get that it is hard for them when I’m in a meeting, needing to be quiet and not being able to get any of my attention. But I also know that they really like it when I have longer meetings because they know I’ll let them just watch a movie. Well, a few weeks ago whatever they were watching while I was in a meeting wasn’t holding their attention, so they turned their attention to disrupting me.

Remember back at the start of Covid when there were all those funny videos when a kid would wander through the background of some CEO’s conference call? Well, the “aww how cute” of that has really worn off. Working from home isn’t some kind of odd novelty that we are all making due and getting by with. It is business as normal now. And much like it wouldn’t be very normal if your kid walked into your office and threw a stuffed animal at you in the middle of a presentation to an important client, it is just as not normal for a kid to hurl whatever they could get their mitts on at you while on a Zoom call. So disrespectful story short, my kids were animals while I was in a meeting, and there were consequences and repercussions.

Inside Out Quote - The foot is down.

I thought it would be harder, but the decision to ground them came easy. No dessert or TV for the rest of week sprung to mind like it had been waiting there for years, tucked behind “get that out of your mouth” just waiting for its moment to shine. How quickly I abandoned the idea that I’d never be a parent who grounds my kids. I realized it in the moment that I was doing it, compromising the kind of parent I thought I wanted to be. But it didn’t upset me initially, it was what it was. What upset me more was that my kids were now the kids of kids who got grounded.

Unless I have completely repressed the memory, I’m pretty sure I never got grounded when I was kid. Sent to my room, sure. Not given ice cream as a one-off punishment, yeah. But never a sweeping multi-day grounding. Was I just that well-behaved of a child? Or did my parents look past behavior that other parents would have grounded me for? I’m going to go ahead and assume I was exceptionally well-behaved. Or at least slightly above averagely well-behaved. So how was I not able to instill that same kind of behavior in my kids? An almost knee-jerk reaction when my kids misbehave is to say something like “you know better” or “we taught you better than that.” But do they, and did we?

I’m pretty sure I’ve done a good job of teaching them how to behave. Or at least correcting them in teachable moments when they don’t. Well, if I didn’t before I sure did now. My younger two kids also learned an important lesson about not doing something just because your older sister said to.

Yeah, kids will be kids and do stupid stuff. Even if they truly do know better, some thought will pop into their brains and they just don’t have the impulse control or reasoning to stop themselves from acting on it. I assume this is how most Blippy gets watched. But when it is repeated, sustained bad behavior among all three kids simultaneously? More than impulse control, that is mob mentality. I know exactly what happened. My oldest daughter started acting out first, didn’t get the response she wanted, so she convinced her younger brother and sister to come down and try to bother me. Surely I couldn’t get mad and punish all of them, right? Fools.

In the moment I took no pity on them. As soon as my meeting mercifully came to an end I dispatched them to their rooms with great vengeance and furious anger. That temporary detention was not enough, and the decision was made to ground them. Then I did start to feel a bit of pity for my younger two kids. Evie, my six year-old daughter, clearly got it. She knew she was in trouble. She knew how she acted wasn’t right. She came right out and ratted on her older sister that she was the ring leader of it. The punishment was set, I couldn’t go back on it now, and I wasn’t going to let one of them slide. Much like the coach who makes the whole team run laps when one player does something stupid, I needed to handout the punishment across the board. Even if they weren’t all as actively involved, they were all complicit. Is it fair? Maybe not, but teaching your kids that life isn’t fair is important too.Though as the days went by and Evie clearly displayed her contrition, I did sneak her a cookie. I can’t stay mad at that little peanut.

However, as the week went on I found myself staying mad at myself. Well, maybe not mad, but disappointed. On one hand I need to deliver the message to my kids that how they behave toward other people (especially their father) matters. But on the other hand, did I send them a message that my ability to focus on work is more important than focusing on them? This has been someting that I’ve struggled with ever since I started working from home. I wonder what lesson will resonate with them more. That, no, you shouldn’t throw pieces of paper at your dad while he is on a conference call, or that no, dad doesn’t have time to pay attention to you?

Since the grounding, they have not come anywhere close to behaving that badly while I’m working. They have pretty much stayed away, and when I do tell them I have a meeting they get to another part of the house pretty quickly. I guess it worked. Now that they know what it is it, grounding is also a tangable threat to punish future bad behavior, so maybe once will be enough. We’ll have to check back when they are three teenagers.

Would I ground them again if I had to? Yes. But I would definitly make sure to take stock of what I know I’ve taught them before. Something that I’ve at least given one warning about. One thing I’ve learned is that I can’t expect behavior out of my kids because acting that way is common sense. They have no common sense. At all. Unfortunately, sense often comes from struggle. I guess at least the struggle this time was a grounding from a parent and not a harsher situation that the world out there can throw them. I suppose that is parenting in a nutshell, being a little bit of jerk to your kids so they can be prepared for the much, much larger jerk that is the world.

Simple Tips for Furgal Home Buying

Every time a house comes up for sale in my neighborhood, I can’t help but look it up to see what they are asking for. When I see how the housing market has changed from the time we bought our house to now, it is always very tempting to see what we could get for ours. As much as I’d like to turn a nice profit on my investment, I’d then be in the position of needing to find a new house. We are staying where we are for the foreseeable future, but it never hurts to have a plan. If you’re in the postion of buying a house but also want to save as much money on the whole process as you can, here are a few things you should definitely know.

1. Say Yes to Less

Before you dive headfirst into the property pool, it’s good to take a step back. And also maybe don’t get a house with an actual pool. Do you really need that four-bedroom palace for your cat and your succulent collection? Downsizing your space ambitions can drastically reduce your costs not just upfront but in ongoing maintenance and utilities, although it can be tricky if you have kids and/or work from home, so give it some thought. Smaller homes have their perks: less cleaning, less spending, and more money for taco Tuesdays.

2. Foreclosure Fortunes

You might also want to consider buying a foreclosure. Yes, it sounds a bit like scavenging, but with a strategy. Foreclosed homes can be a bargain bin of opportunities if you’re willing to put in some elbow grease. Just remember, it’s like adopting a pet from a shelter; they might need a bit more care and feeding to bring them back to glory. Hopefully less doodoo to clean up though.

3. Fixer-Upper Flair

If you’ve ever fantasized about wielding a hammer and shouting, “I can fix it!”, then you play into the sterotype that dad is handy. If you actually can fix it, a fixer-upper might be your budget-friendly ticket. Purchase a home that needs a little TLC, and invest in renovations as you go. It’s often cheaper than buying a move-in-ready mansion, and you get the added bragging rights of transforming a frog into a prince.

4. Real Estate Attorney vs. Agent

Now, here’s a novel idea: consider using a real estate attorney instead of an agent when you’re ready to do the deed—or deeds, as it were. While agents are great for finding you the right home and negotiating deals, an attorney can handle the closing processes and ensure everything is legal and tidy for often less dough. This way, you cut out commission costs and get straight to the legal nitty-gritty.

5. Government Grabs

Look into government incentives and loans, especially if you’re a first-time buyer. Programs like FHA loans can offer lower down payments and are friendlier to those of us whose credit scores aren’t brag-worthy. Plus, who doesn’t want to say they finagled a deal with the government to score a home?

6. Off-Season Shopping

Buy during the off-season. Winter, especially around the holidays, can be a goldmine. Sellers are fewer, buyers are preoccupied with decking halls, and you might just snag a deal from a seller desperate to close before the New Year. Bonus: moving in the cold means fewer sweat stains on your favorite moving shirt.

7. The Long Game

Consider the long-term. Choosing a home that holds value or is in a budding area can mean better resale value. Think of it as the slow cooker of investment strategies: set it, forget it, and let it simmer into a lucrative stew of future profits.

As you can see, even buying a home can be made more frugal if you really try!

When the Going Gets Tough, Get Together

When you are in a relationship and then add some kids to it, you are bound to experience a number of difficult experiences together. In a way, you should expect this to happen and be prepared to take them in stride, as these are the times that can bring people together more closely. But there is no doubt that you are going to need to learn how to manage those occasions, and that you will need to do it as a couple, so you can be sure that you are going to get closer and not farther apart as a result.

I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’ll take a look at some of the things you can do to improve this process of working through challenges, so you are more likely to get through the toughest experiences more easily. Let’s take a look at what you might want to bear in mind here.

Communicate More

Something pretty simple, yet often overlooked is making a point of communicating more with your partner. If you asked my wife she would probably roll her eyes at me saying this. I guess we can file this under doing as I say not as I do, which is always a pretty crappy way to give advice. So I’ll count this as a reminder to myself as well. If you are not communicating properly, then you can’t really expect to know what’s going on fully for the other person, and before you know it you are going to be in a difficult position of having to try and figure it out instead.

Just talking about how you are feeling, however, could make a world of difference. So you should make sure that you are both doing this, although it might require that you learn how to do it and it might take some practice. Nonetheless, it’s going to help a lot and you will find that it’s definitely worth thinking about.

Don’t be Afraid to Get Outside Help

There are many times when you are going to benefit from getting some outside help, and you should never be ashamed to ask for it when that becomes necessary. My wife and I have started taking our daughter to a therapist. I’d say the results thus far have been mixed, but we are giving it a shot. And that is worth something, right? Even beyond therapy, there are many kinds of help that you might benefit from as a couple. It is going to depend on the situation, but there will be times when you need professionals from a hospital or medical center, people you can give you anything from advice on healthy diets or maybe even abortion clinic information, and it’s going to be vital that you can get that help.

So you need to be comfortable, as a couple, with asking for help from people, and if you can do that, it’s going to make a world of difference. Not to paint with broad strokes, but it has been said that men have a hard time asking for help, so make sure you’re helping each other help each other.

Be Patient

Throughout all of it, the more patient you can be with one another (and your kids), the better that is going to be for you both and for the relationship itself. If you struggle with this and you lose your temper, that’s okay, it happens to everyone. There is also the flip side of sometimes being too patient. But if that is happening all the time, that can be a problem, and before you know it you might find that you are struggling to work together as well as you could.

So, be patient and see what you can do to work together more and more. Sometimes the situation is going to resolve itself in some way or another, and in some sense all you really need to do is wait it out. So bear that in mind and you may find it is a little easier to get through it together.

Spend Quality Time Together

Even when difficult things are going on, try to find the time together that you need in order to feel like a couple. Even if the best you can do is an our of semi-quit time between when the kids are in bed and you’re too tired to do anything. Once you have kids, you need to protect your own time or your kids will steal all of it before you even realize where it went. Don’t forget your life is still your live, and your role of partner is just as importnat as your role of parent.