Cleaning Play-Doh

When cleaning Play-Doh, it is best to let it dry and harden up first. Two to three weeks will do.

(Another parenting tip from lazy bones like me.)

How about you? Do you have a parenting tip?

New Photo Blog for Seniors. No, not for the oldies. It's a blog to help high school seniors or would-be seniors when they have their senior photos taken—Seattle Senior Portraits. Comments welcome.

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How old are you?

You know you're getting old if the top three things you ask your wife to get from the grocery are—

• Dozens of Coke
• Bag-full of junk food
• A box of Icy Hot Medicated Patch

How about you? What's your top three things?

New Photo Blog for Seniors. No, not for the oldies. It's a blog to help high school seniors or would-be seniors when they have their senior photos taken—Seattle Senior Portraits. Please spread the word to other moms and dads.

Photo Ideas? Please visit my photo blog for 100 Portrait Ideas. Comments welcomed.

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Iron Chef America

Know about Iron Chef America, the cooking show where renowned chefs battle to cook dishes based on a secret ingredient?

Three "secret ingredients" I hope the show will do, based on what—I believe—stay-at-home parents like me actually cook:

• 5-minute ramen noodles
• Spam
• Ready-to-toast frozen waffles

How about you? What ingredient would you like renowned chefs to cook?

By the way, if Bobby Flay happens to be a big fan of my blog (I think the possibility of that ranges from zero to none), I hope he challenges me to a throwdown. The dish? Fried eggs.

My kids love how I cook fried eggs. They say it's crunchy.

Hmp.

Photo Blog. Please visit my photo blog for 100 Portrait Ideas. Also visit my photo site, www.mikeleonen.com. Comments welcomed.

Day 10: Writing A Book In 40 Days. Posting some illustrations I hope to use this Thursday. Would love to know what you think.

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Knowing your car

"Daddy, do you how I know what our car is in the parking lot?" my 4-year old asked while we were trying to look for our car in a busy public parking lot.

The thought of my 4-year old as a genius crossed my mind. He memorized our plate number, I told myself.

"How?" I asked.

"It's the dirtiest," he said.

Hmp.

Photo Blog. Please visit my photo blog for 100 Portrait Ideas. Also visit my photo site, www.mikeleonen.com. Comments welcomed.

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Too much TV?

You know your kids—who are 6 and 4 years old—are watching too much TV when you overhear them say: "Hey, Mommy. Did you know that Clorox gets the tough stains out? And it's available in all stores."

How about you? How do you know that your kids are watching too much TV?

PS. If any Clorox ad guys happen to read this, you owe me. Hmp.

Need photo ideas? Try 100 Portrait Ideas. Also, please visit my redesigned photo site, www.mikeleonen.com, and let me know what you think.

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Santa question

Dear Santa. ©2009 mike f leonen. All rights reserved. Available for purchase. $18 personal use.

Pop quiz: What do you do when your 6-year old—or however old your kid is today—starts wondering if Santa is really you?

1. In the spirit of Christmas, you lie.
2. In the spirit of Virginia O'Hanlon—Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus—you tell the truth and explain why you have been lying all these years.
3. In the spirit of good parenting, you kneel down, look your child in the eye and say, "I love snow." In other words, you change the topic.

Please explain your answer.

Update. I've redesigned my photo site, www.mikeleonen.com. Please visit and let me know what you think.

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Three things I learned (so far) about cough, colds and flu

Scared. ©2009 mike f leonen. All rights reserved. Available for purchase. $18 personal use.

Three things I learned (so far) about cough, colds and flu—

• No matter how you explain them, injections are scary to kids—and to adults, too.
• No matter how many times you remind them to cover when they cough or sneeze, kids forget.
• No matter how much Clorox you spray around, when someone gets the cough or colds, everyone at home will eventually get the cough and colds.

"Daddy," my 4-year old asked. "Do you know what happens when you are sick?'

I smiled. A great teaching opportunity, I told myself.

"Yes," I answered then proceeded to tell him my favorite story to explain sickness.

Good guys in your body, I told him, fight the bad guys that try to invade. They fight with guns, canons and bombs. That's why your body sometimes gets hot.

If the good guys are losing, reinforcements are needed. That's where medicine—like Tylenol—comes in. 

"Oh," my 4-year old said, with eyes wide open.

Silence. More silence.

"I thought," my 4-year old said. "I thought that if you are sick you can watch TV the whole day."

Oops.

Update. I've redesigned my photo site, www.mikeleonen.com. Please visit and let me know what you think.

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Illustrations

Finally, after weeks (or is it months?) of promising my wife to do so, my illustrations are online. It's still beta, a fancy computer term that means—

1. I'm not sure if you'd see my illustrations properly
2. I'm not sure if the site would crash
3. It's still incomplete

I'd appreciate a visit at Mike F Leonen Illustrations.

And do tell others about it. Please. 

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Daddy

For some reasons I've been spending the last few days remembering my father. I never knew him. He died when I was 11 months old.

I do know that the person in the aging black-and-white photo displayed back home is my father. He's bald. So am I.

One time, during my darkest moment, I decided to ... well, test God's omnipotence. It was way past midnight. Outside, it was a full moon and rain drizzled a little. Inside, the lights were turned off.

I knelt down and prayed.

"Dear Lord," I said. "I will close my eyes and count to ten. After ten, I will open my eyes, turn around and please, please dear Lord, let my father appear before me so I could ask for guidance."

So I closed my eyes and counted.

Then I turned around.

My father wasn't there.

That was 20 years ago.

Today, I remember that time. Good thing God decided against my prayer. If He did not, my hair would have jumped so high I wouldn't have what little hair remain in my head today.

And, yes. I believe an angel is watching over me. Can't talk to that angel but I hope she'll never give up on me.

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Smart mind

My 3-year old misbehaved one time while we were getting ready to pick up my 6-year old from kindergarten. He won't put on his socks. He won't put on his shoes.

So I did what any sane parent will do in similar situations. I threatened him.

"If you don't put on your socks and shoes right now I will leave without you," I said with a firm voice.

My 3-year old looked at me. I looked at him.

"But Daddy," my 3-year old said. "You can't leave without me."

"Why not?" I asked, almost in a scream.

My 3-year old pointed at me and said, "Because you need me to go to the HOV lane. Otherwise, you'll be stuck in traffic."

Smarty-pants.

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