yesterday i remarked on the new level of cunning my kids had achieved, naively thinking that was a plateau of sorts that they would test out for a while not realizing it was merely a one day stop in their diabolic progression.

today my son came home with a “caught being good” card from school. before i could figure out how he had earned the card, he asked if i could put some similarly colored paper in my printer and make lots of copies of the card.

with my earlier sense of pride waning, i asked why…

he ducked the question for a while before finally admitting he could turn them in to the principal for treats.

six years old and already masterminding a counterfeiting plot. that certainly trumps the mundane manipulation of a babysitter.

i will always mark my kids development this week through their realization that a new babysitter opens up the endless possibilities of redefining all the rules…

i obviously chose my profession wisely, because amongst my peers i come across as quite ordinary…

“who flushed up the toiled?!?”

given the tone and attitude with which logan asks this question, you’d be certain it was her responsibility to fix the problem.

but in the end its always my problem and the question remains unanswered…

i believe the girlscouts would be the most profitable organization on the planet if their cookies weren’t quite as good as they are.

the problem with being so good is that we all know to buy a limited supply lest we eat a full box, or two, a day.

natalie doesn’t claim to be one of the smartest people on the planet, although clearly she is, but what she is tops at is multiple-guess tests. she has a sixth sense for getting those answers right and successes throughout all levels of school to prove it.

over the past year we’ve been teaching ethan to read. now he will read new books to all of us. as he plows through these stories, logan will throw out words he struggles with as if she has read them, and logan is almost never wrong.

we’re pretty certain this is the early manifestation of the multiple-guess gene.

i don’t recall who recommended kerli to me but she has been at the top of my playlist for the past few months and today i found out she is featured on the upcoming alice in wonderland soundtrack so now i have two reasons to anticipate that movie (johnny depp being the other reason in case it isn’t obvious).

mind you, i heard her music before seeing this video, so if your coming at it the other way around you’ll have to let me know how that works for you…

i’m late to see this story of americans spend more on overdraft fees than they spend on fresh vegetables, but seriously how much evidence is necessary to prove that the financial sector needs stronger regulation?

i’m not a big fan of political correctness, but i had predominantly stopped using one of my all time favorite words out of sensitivity to those who may be offended by it.

so hats off to lewis black for the following quote and making sure we all know that sarah palin, the self-proclaimed decider on appropriate uses of the word retarded, has provided an exemption for satire.

“this word isn’t about mentally challenged people, you’d never call them retarded. you only use it with able minded adults who do something retarded.”

see the whole video here: lewis black, the daily show 8 february 2010, “the r-word”

also worth noting, when i asked my wife if the title and content of this post were too off color, her response was “you know, i don’t like the r-word”, and that sealed the deal…

when i was a kid i remember valentines day as a stressful holiday, not because i was awkward and had no girl friends, ok that too, but because we couldn’t afford the fancy valentines cards that other kids had, especially those with candies or toys in them.

this year both our kids classes are exchanging valentines and when we went to target to see what was available i was surprised to find a variety of star wars, disney, lenticular cards each with pencils, candies or other prizes all around $2.50 for sixteen cards.

so either i really was dirt poor as a kid or china has dramatically improved the affordability of passing off garbage as an expression of love…

who dat say done won the superbowl!

congratulations new orleans!

and in regard to the commercials:

the tebow ad shocking non-shocking, well played ginning up the conversation.

how did letterman pull off the leno, oprah ad?

and charles barkley needs to lay off those $5 taco bell boxes, it looks like he has already had a few too many…

there are a number of reasons i don’t like tim tebow and he seems intent to keep providing more.

as i’m sure you know, this sunday, during the superbowl tim and his mother will appear in a commercial sponsored by the hate group “focus on the family” discussing abortion. i’m don’t know what is in their ad, but i’m pretty certain it will be critical of a woman’s right to choose. tim defended this decision with the following:

“some people won’t agree with it, but i think they can at least respect that i stand up for what i believe.”

actually not timbow – standing up for what you believe means you won’t be getting an abortion.

airing this commercial during the superbowl constitutes preaching to the rest of us. you are certainly welcome to do it, and i am actually glad you are, but at least call it what it is.

and if the game were standing up for what you believe in, stand up and demand the opponent be allowed to take the field, or at least admit you are just being pimped for ratings by cbs…