What's That Smell?

This morning, Caleb got up early and requested to get breakfast at McDonald's before catching the bus for school.  We had not done that in a while, so off we went.  We ate inside, and then hurried back to the car.  As we were both getting in the car, I smelled it.  Caleb suddenly asked, "What's that smell?"  Simultaneously I said, "Ewww.  Did you poot?"   He said, "Yea, I did.  But I didn't think it would be THAT bad!"

How We Occupy Wall Street

When my oldest son Seth turned 13 last month, I wanted to use the opportunity to teach him the best way to Occupy Wall Street, and that is to learn at a young age how to successfully invest in the stock market.  My dad got me started at age 14, and so I figured I'd give Seth a one year head-start.  So, yesterday I scheduled time with him after school and presented to him a Stock Market Basics tutorial, made up of material from the Internet, and some of my own advice based on my own successes and failures at investing.

I told him about how many large companies started out as small mom-and-pop's - like McDonald's, Apple, and Dell, and how these entrepreneurs raised money by going public and selling shares.  And when you own stock, you actually own a small piece of the companies in which you have invested.  We also talked about how investors share in the profits, losses, assets, liabilities, and even decisions of the company.  It was a great father-son discussion about the wonders and beauty of Capitalism. 

We then studied some charts and reports from Investors Business Daily, my favorite source of investment wisdom. He then settled on deciding the first 2 stocks he would buy with the savings I had set aside for him over the years - just as my father had done.  I bought Virginia Electric & Power Company (VEPCO) when I was a kid, and between the dividends and steady increases, I had doubled my investment within a few years.  Seth picked Apple (3 shares) and Dollar Tree (10).  We placed limit orders last night, which executed this morning.  So he's now a stockholder.

This afternoon, after school, he texted me...  "The stock market did horrible today."  I checked.  Dow was up 37.  But AAPL was down $3.31 (0.83%) and DLTR down $0.20 (0.25%).  Guess it's all about perspective...  He lost nearly $12 his first day in the market.  Let's hope the other days are better.

Funny Things the Kids Say: Seth at the Swim Meet

At the swim meet this week, I noticed that Seth (and many of the other kids, for that matter) spends a lot of time looking around at the competition while he's swimming a race. That evening, I gave him some advice. "You shouldn't look around while you're swimming. Just swim hard and don't worry about what everyone else is doing," I said.

Seth said laughingly, "Yeah. I was swimming, and I looked around and I didn't see anyone in front of me, so I thought I was in first place! But then when I got done I realized everyone had already left the pool!" He's such a good sport.

For the record, he was 5th place. Out of 6. He's got a good build for a swimmer. So he'll get better if he practices.

Funny Things... The Kiss

Last night at the dinner table, out of the blue, Luke proclaims, "I kissed Claire before." Claire is the adorable little 5 year old girl next door. They hang out, but we didn't know it was serious. An older woman. Go figure. Luke will be 5 next month. "When did that happen?" asked Mommy. "In 2006," replied Luke. So that would make you, uh, like 2? 3?

So then Caleb comes clean. "I've kissed someone too," he said. "Did you kiss Claire, too?" asked Mom. "Noooo," Caleb says with a grin, knowing Mom is one guess away from getting it right. "Anusha?" asks Mom. Bigger grinning Caleb says "Yes." Then after the laughter dies down... "We were watching Harry Potter..." More laughter. Caleb grinning even more. "at her house..." Pause. Grin. ".. under the blanket." Big laughter from everyone. Mommy and Daddy are wondering if their legs are being pulled.

So Mom asks, "Seth, have you kissed anyone?" "No," replies Seth, a little surprised he's such a ladies man but has been beat out by his younger brothers. Caleb gives him some fatherly advice, just as serious as can be... "Don't worry Seth... You will."

Funny Things My Kids Do

Last night about 45 minutes after the kids had gone to bed (around 11:30pm), I was sitting in the bed typing on the computer. I heard the cat (CoCo) under the bed... quietly making a sound... YACK YACK YACK... complete with some slight wheezing... sounded just like a hairball coming up. This was our new cat's first hairball, and I was trying to recall the cat medicine you give them to help with hairballs. So I jumped down and began to look under the bed. I wanted to see this. I looked under my side and didn't see her. Then I looked under the foot of the bed and didn't see her, but I could see some movement underneath Lori's side of the bed. I called to CoCo, hoping to coax her out, "Are you OK?" Caleb replied in a soft voice, "Yea. I'm OK." Apparently, he can be light on his feet when he wants, but can't hide that little cough he's had recently.

Funny Things My Kids Have Said #2

On the way to Danville yesterday, Luke kept asking "When are we going to be there?" I asked that he watch the clock (which said 11:20), and that when the 20 became a 55 then we would almost be there. I'm thinking he would watch the numbers increase, and learn to tell time through this exercise. Caleb then said to Luke in his usual animated, cut-to-the-chase way, "LUKE, look out your window. If you see a Wendy's and we're going up a big hill, we're almost there."

On the way home from Danville, which is mostly rural country roads, Luke asked, "Are we in the middle of somewhere?" That one was tough to answer. I think I said, "Yes, but not for long."

Today in Sunday School, Lori said they were naming animal sounds. What does a duck say? What does a dog say? Etc... When they were asked "What does a cow say?" Luke answered, "Eat mor chikin."

Today, Caleb had a "date" with a girl/friend in the neighborhood. I gave him the big lecture beforehand about being a gentleman, and using manners, etc. When Lori picked him up, the mother told her about how wonderful and nice Caleb was! Said he was much better than any other child who had visited before. As Lori was telling me this on the phone on the way home, Caleb heard the bragging about him, and promptly asked his mom, "Can I have a dollar?" (I guess he's considering an allowance again!)

Funny Things My Kids Have Said

This is one list I should have been documenting from the beginning. Here are some recent ones...
Caleb is my middle son, and is full of personality. He's the one in front in the beach picture. He's 6 and is not easily bribed. I have been offering him an allowance for over a year, but he never wants it. I have previously thought that he just didn't understand capitalism. Recently, we were at a store where Seth (behind Caleb at beach) was spending the allowance he had saved, and was buying things he wanted. Caleb wanted something too, but I told him that he didn't have any money. I asked him again if he wanted to receive an allowance like Seth. He agreed that time. So as we were driving home, he asked, "Dad, when do I start getting my allowance?" I said, "Well, the first thing you have to know is that in order to get your allowance every week, you are going to have to mind your mann-" Caleb interrupted, "That's OK," sensing the strings attached. In other words.... "Nevermind." To this day, he still doesn't receive an allowance. I have to give him some credit for not selling out to the man.

Tonight as I was putting Luke (photo of Luke eating taken by Caleb) to bed, he asked, "Did Jesus make everything?" "Yes," I said, and so I started to read the first few verses from Genesis 1 - as much as I could see from the ambiance of a night light and no reading glasses. A moment later he asked, "What does Jesus do when..." (and I'm thinking this is going to be a huge theological question) "... when I fall on the sidewalk?" "I figure he's probably sad when you fall and get hurt, but he knows you will get better," I answer. Then he says, "Does Jesus make costumes?" The key to answering this question is pointing out that people make costumes and God makes people, so for the purposes of this discussion, the answer is "yes." Then, "Does Jesus make... feet?" "Yes... Time for bed, Luke."