It's more than just vocabulary

We finally got a gym membership. I was most interested because the local YMCA has a pool and I'd like for the kids to learn to swim, but after we got the membership I thought I should probably use it more than just every once in a while to swim as a family. So, I've been learning more about exercise and fitness.
As friends and family tell me more about "working out," I've learned that there is a vocabulary for the whole thing. Things like "reps" and "sets" for weight lifting, "calories" and "lipoproteins" for health, and more brand names for fitness machines than I care to count.
But it's more than just vocabulary- did you know that there are (according to some) 5 principles of fitness (beware the pop-ups)? When's the last time you looked at the food pyramid? Anyone here know how many leafy, green veggies you're supposed to have in a week? And how about figuring out the difference between a restaurant serving and a "recommended serving"? It's enough to make your head spin.
Here's the point: Some of you, as you're reading this, are thinking in your heads "It's not that complicated, you just make sure you eat... and do... and take..." Maybe it's simple for you, but think for a minute about what it took to learn all you know about it- you've been learning as you go.

The programming world has a huge vocabulary. If anyone in my family (or ward family) interested in learning to program in C#, please let me know. I'd be happy to share. Here's one of my favorite Help Desk acronyms: PEBKAC (pronounced PEB-kack) - Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

In our church, we have vocabulary and we have a lifestyle. When people visit us for the first time, they probably feel like I do about fitness- happy and amazed, but also a little overwhelmed and worn out. I've been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (I almost wrote "I've been LDS for..." sheesh, I'm slow sometimes) for more than 20 years now, so our vocabulary and lifestyle are a natural part of me and require no thought. But I'm going to work harder to help others as much as I can in the transition.

Those are just three examples of the concept I'm trying to share. And speaking of sharing, I issue a formal invitation to all to help others learn vocabularies and practices- don't leave them in the dark just for the sake of being an exclusive "insider."

The Den

Sure enough, there was indeed a "before".

Here is the before:


And here's the after:

Slacker Dad things to do

I have noticed in the past few weeks that some of my parenting practices are... unorthodox? Sure, that works.

Example:
The babies splash in the tub. They also lack comprehension of the English language. So when I say "Stop splashing," or "No splashing. Not nice", all they seem to hear is "...splash..." and just end up splashing harder.
My solution:
I splash back. That's right- I take a cup of water and I dump it over their heads. Or I reach my hand down into the water and splash a nice handful on them. It gets their attention, doesn't hurt them, and usually gets them to stop (but not all the time). I'm trying to think of a new scheme- something that will work every time. Any ideas? ;-)

Another:
When Seth was younger he liked to sit in my lap while I was trying to do things that required me to get up and down repeatedly, like building a computer. Obviously, it was difficult to get up and down with him on my lap.
My solution:
I gave him some specialized computer socket wrenches and gave him an old shell of a computer to work on while I worked on mine. He still has those wrenches and he goes and gets them sometimes when I need to work on some project that requires tools. Tools as toys? Sure, it's a little edgy, but it works.

I'll post more if more occur to me.

I'm 'bout dead - part 1

Why am I nearing my demise, you ask? I didn't say that- what I said was "I'm 'bout dead." Around here that means I'm worn out, exhausted, dragging myself around, and usually pretty stinky to boot.

Last weekend I built a set of shelves (and a prototype), learned how to use a new tool (hence the prototype), backed up the computer (files and pictures), installed kitchen cabinet locks and generally worked on my honey-do list.
During the week we painted the shelves, rearranged our bedroom, and had various church meetings to occupy our time.
This weekend we built and painted another set of shelves, I cut the grass and weeded, we rearranged the kids' rooms, and I helped with other general yard work and honey-do list activities.

After all that mess, I'm ready to get back to work and sit on my butt for a few hours. Ha ha ha!

Another thing that amazes me is that no matter how hard I work on that blasted honey-do list, it just gets longer. If new tools help me to finish project more efficiently, Beth must have some new pen technology or something because she stays ahead of me with that list. Guys out there, does it ever end? Will I ever get ahead and be able to sit and watch a little Kung Fu or Star Wars on a Saturday afternoon? I doubt it.

I'm 'bout dead - part 2

First, let's rewind.
A while ago Beth came up with a simple design for some shelves- 4' wide by 4' tall and 16" deep with 3 shelves- about as vanilla as shelves can get. If you want a copy of the plans, just ask- prices are listed below.
Plywood is about $35 for a 1/2" thick 4'x8' sheet and we needed one sheet per set of shelves, so that's $70. 1/2" molding costs about $4 per 8' strip and we needed 48' for a total of $24. After tax, each set of shelves cost about $60. A little steep, but think about what you can get for $60 at your local *mart. It'll be made of fiberboard and laminate, or it'll be made of real wood but be tiny- either way, it'll have cheap hardware. Click here, here, and here for examples.

Armed with my nail gun, I made a mock-up of the shelves in about 3 minutes. I love air tools!


The first set took me about 6 hours- 3 to build, 3 to finish (sand, putty, paint, etc). The second set took about 4 hours.


And here they are- finished.
Seth's:


The girls':

I'm 'bout dead - part 3

Yellow room activity wall, before and after:


Yellow room bed corner, before and after:


Green room activity space, before and after


Green room bed space, before and after:

Seeing it coming a mile away

I was working on a blog post (soon to come) when I got up from the computer and came back. This is what I saw:



Now, in case you didn't notice, I'm a big guy. When I sit in that chair, the back of it just about reaches the arm of the couch.
So I stood there looking at it and then my eyes wandered to the rest of the room and I started thinking about how I could position the couch to avoid the situation pictured above.
Beth looked at me and saw the gears grinding and said "Rob, you'd better go get the camera and take a picture, because I'm sensing a 'before'." Ha!
True to the name of the blog, we have rearranged just about the entire house. Check for more posts soon. If we move the couch, you'll know it.

Update: I fixed Beth's quote. Thanks for letting me know, darling. I tend to make stuff up!