So WT is learning about community helpers in school, and because of this he can dress as his favorite Community Helper on Friday. He has a set of Fireman turnout gear with his name on the back, and a policeman uniform. He can’t decide if he wants to be a policeman or a fireman when he grows up but his mom and I are betting he goes to school as a policeman.
Because of this I had to get him some new handcuffs for his uniform. While at the store I also saw a wallet badge and thought he would like it.
Since I just reviewed a wireless doorbell that had a police siren on it I thought I would try to incorporate the two and surprise WT with it while giving him his police gear.
As expected he was more excited about the siren than he was about the badge and cuffs. But WT did enjoy his handcuffs and his wallet. He made me play restaurant where I give him the toy money and he makes me food “for pretend”
While I would be proud of my boy if he became a cop or a fireman, I think I would be just as happy if WT became a restaurant owner or as he sometimes wants to be a backhoe loader driver.
We have made a Kale Chips Post before, kinda like the multiple brandied strawberry posts. However the first time I showed this William was a baby, and when Genny went to make this on Sunday William wanted to participate.
With WT wanting to cook with mommy, and Genny needing content for her Healthy Life group on facebook (its secret so you have to ask her to join) we decided to just go and tape him messing in the kitchen.
William is much more fun to watch than I am, even if he doesn’t really follow direction well.
We used the same recipe as out original post, because this is the one she always uses, but because the salad spinner go broken in an “experiment” Genny got creative and used a hair drier to fry her kale.
You don’t need to dry the kale, but the drier it is the crispier the result and soggy greens are not “chips”
To make kale chips:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Pull Kale leaves from the stem and put in a pot.
Ensure the kale bits are rather large.
Add olive oil one teaspoon at a time and toss to cover. You want to cover the leaves but with the smallest amount of oil possible. Otherwise instead of crispy the leaves will be gooey.
Mix in black pepper or other desired seasonings
Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet
Spread oiled kale in a single level on the cookie sheet
There really is not anything to this post, I was digging a stump and William wanted to sit with me. Genny had to take a video and WT wanted it shared.
So if you want a see a fat man and a little boy sit on a backhoe and move dirt then have at watching.
Really though this is more for the memories as hopefully William and I can look back at these videos when he is grown and can remember all the things we did together.
I have a really good kid, he is sweet and kind and funny – of course is also strong willed and imaginative so I spend a lot of time disciplining him – but I don’t want all of his memories of his childhood to be of me telling him no. (I thought my name was No Stop That until I went to school and asked why do you keep calling me David)
I hate to get rid of this backhoe, but I want a smaller subcompact that I can safely (a little less dangerously) operate on the hillside so I can terrace it for crops and to reduce the runoff. But with a big bucket it can more some dirt, much better than the 8 inch on the tractor I want.
l don’t imagine anyone else is interested in my Don’t say Bawk Bawk Bawk video, but this is one of my favorite videos I have ever made. My son wanted to sit on a riding lawn mover I have just bought that was sitting in the back of my truck.
When the chickens started clucking and crowing he decided he needed to be the boos of something and told them “Don’t say Bawk Bawk Bawk”
I keep this hear because I like to watch it and because when I am working at the computer trying to keep up with this website and my son feels left out he will climb all over me and showing him this video makes him laugh. Of course it also means I have to listen to a 4 year old say “Don’t say Bawk Bawk Bawk” about a hundred times and ask me questions about chickens and goats, and that he wants a dog, and when can he go to the land and hunt dinosaurs with a “real gun”.
Fun times, and I would not miss it for the world. But it is also why I am sitting here at 145 am working on updating this website so I can get a little work done.
I could probably change the name of this post to something more catchy, but bawk bawk is an easy to search for term that I don’t forget and the computer does not get confused.
Little W.T. can easily ask to see the bawk bawk video and I know exactly what he wants.
I do worry, slightly, about him becoming vain from how much he likes watching himself on camera, but I am told it is a normal reaction of him wanting to be like me. Personally I hope he turns out a lot better than me. I know I stay busy trying to teach him all the stuff I wish I was taught as a kid.
Two years ago today, I was full of excitement and more than a little scared as I waited on the birth of my son William Tell.
In the past two years, my perspective has changed, I have matured, and how I feel about the role of parents in society is no longer theoretical.
Without a doubt in my mind, my son has made me a better person – I am not as selfish, I think before I act (more often).
All children are gifts, and each one has some unique talent or special gift, and as a parent I feel that it is my sacred duty to prepare my child to use his gifts in a way that not only make the world a better place, but also to train him to become a better person for the world.
The world my son will navigate is unrecognizable from the world I grew up in. The concepts of personal responsibility, self-reliance, and rugged individualism are dying.
The products of our schools are more confident, yet less competent that at any time in our Nation’s history.
I am deeply concerned about the future of our Republic, and am concerned that there may not be any strong leaders in the wings to step up and defend our inalienable rights.
There has never been a time in our country that a parent teaching their child the ideals that our country was founded on was more at odds with the society and systems in place in this country.
Soon, it may be considered abuse for a parent to raise a child to believe in conservative, Christian values.
I struggle with how to teach my child how to survive in the socialist system that is being created in this country with the help of a well-intentioned, but naïve and selfish citizenry.
How do I, as a father – teach my child how to navigate that system, and yet stay true to my firmly held beliefs in God and the Republic?
How do I teach him how to respect the law, any yet deal with a system where laws are used as tools to subjugate the lawful and protect the lawless?
Where education is considered worthless and common sense is dead, but the common man cannot figure out how to do anything for themselves.
I don’t know the answer, but I do know that I cannot fail at this.
My son is too precious, too valuable, and too special to allow him to grow into the type of adult that decayed civilization produces.
By doing the research that allows me to post the information I do, by practicing all the varied and seemingly unconnected skills I try to acquire, and by networking with the types of people that read posts like this, I am doing my best to become the kind of person that has a solution for these problems.
I know that today, on the start of my son’s second year of life, – as well as every other day of his life I am doing something toward that goal.No matter what happens, I will always love my son, and work to both model the right behaviors, provide the right guidance, and teach the right knowledge, skills, and attitudes, so that he can grow up to become a Man someday.
Happy Birthday William Tell…. (and remember to thank your momma – she loves you too!)
