May the odds be ever in your favor

I don't consider myself an overly lucky person, but the odds have certainly been in my favor the past few months.  Here's the story:

When I was about 13, my buddy and I somehow got into doing magic shows.  I think it was after watching some David Copperfield special or something.  We'd beg our parents to drive us to Salt Lake so that we could visit the only magic shop in Utah and blow all of our allowance money on new magic tricks.  It was tons of fun, but the hobby died out after a year or so.  But then, about 6 months ago, I ran across an economics article that was talking about the magic market, which is a "tricky" market (pun intended!) because you're selling secrets.  Once you've sold the secret to someone, what's to prevent them from giving it away free to everyone else?  Anyway, the article referenced a website called Theory11, which sold magic tricks.  I clicked through to the website, and was blown away with how cool some of the tricks on there were.  (Seriously, they have cool stuff on there--no magic wands or cheesy top hats!).  I soon found out that Theory11 held a Saturday Night Contest online each week where you could win free stuff.  The contests range from creating your own magic trick to simply naming a card that someone else is thinking of.  Now, me being a generally unlucky person, I wasn't all that inclined to enter the contests.  But some of them were really easy to enter (e.g. just name a card), so occasionally I would check in and throw my hat in the ring if it was a simple contest.

The end result:  I've entered 7 times, and won 3 of them!  I'm on an incredible run of luck here.  Now, you're probably thinking, "Well, there's probably like 8 people that visit this site, so he's bound to win fairly often."  That's actually not the case.  In the most recent contest, the goal was to guess how many cards were inside a box.  There's 54 cards in a deck (including jokers), so guesses could range between 0 and 54.  I was guess #109 that week, but no one before me had guessed that there were 50 cards in the box.  Actually, 50 was the only number left that hadn't been guessed yet (obviously, most of the numbers had been guessed multiple times, but 50 just seems like too round of a number so no one guessed it).   At least 100 more people entered the contest after me as well.  Guess what?  There were 50 in the box!  Winner winner, chicken dinner!

So far, I've won a free $20 magic trick, a "brick" of 12 decks of high-end playing cards, and a deck of collector's edition cards called "White Monarchs."  Here's a picture of my spoils:

The White Monarchs (in front) alone are selling for about $75 on eBay right now, and each deck of cards in the brick they gave me sells for about $6.  That's a total of like $160 of merchandise they've just given me!

Now, since I don't collect playing cards, the plan is to just resell most these on eBay, but I thought I'd better snap a picture to remember that, at least for a few months, the odds were in my favor.

M&M's to Independence

Once upon a time, there was a boy who wouldn't ask nicely.  No matter what.  He would rather throw a 45-minute tantrum than say "please."

And he needed his mom and dad to help him with almost everything.  He could use the toilet by himself, but he wanted Mom or Dad to walk with him to the bathroom and wait.  When he was finished, he would grunt and pout, waiting for Mom and Dad to interpret that he must need help with his snap and zipper.  If he dropped his fork on the floor during dinner, he would cry and fuss until someone else picked it up for him, insisting that there was no way he could do it on his own.

This little boy was at a challenging stage of life.  He had some bigger battles going on at the time, so Mom and Dad decided that it was not yet time to fight the "please" battle.

But then, the time finally came.

The "M&M's to Independence" jar showed up in their house.  Every time this boy or his brother did something FOR HIMSELF that he normally would need help with, he got an M&M in his jar.  Every time he did something helpful or did a service without being asked, he got an M&M in his jar.  The M&M's would accumulate until the boys were ready to eat them - they could choose them for their after-dinner-treat.  Every time a boy couldn't do something for himself that he normally SHOULD be able to do, Mom or Dad would gladly help, at the cost of one M&M that they would get to eat immediately.  

Over the next few months, the boys developed good habits.  The little pirate learned to ask nicely almost 80% of the time!  He learned to go potty by himself.  His brother learned to put away his backpack, coat, and shoes without being reminded.  Mom and Dad didn't have to nag as much, and everyone was happier.  They are still working on their first "pounder" bag of M&M's!

First of all, I must thank my friend Laura for the "M&M's to Independence idea."  She invented it for her similarly dependent girls . . . and it has worked brilliantly for us!  The great thing is that if Ellis is in a really bad mood and just desperately NEEDS someone to pick up his fork for him, I don't have to have an internal battle about it.  I just say, "Sure" with a smile.  Then I make sure to grab an M&M from his jar and munch on it while I'm picking up his fork.  I try really hard not to warn him that I'll have to steal one of his M&M's, because that just causes a battle.  If he asks for something in a grumpy voice, I can just say, "Ooh, I'll ask nicely for you . . ." and before I can do it (and steal an M&M), Ellis has already started rephrasing his question.

These are some of the things the boys did to earn M&M's (they each had separate rules):

- Ask nicely the first time 

- Put shoes/coat/backpack away without reminders

- Help or do a service without being asked

- Go potty without help (E)

- Do a job nicely without complaining 

- Do morning chores without reminders (H)

The Crazy-Abouts

Were you wondering what Ellis is crazy about right now?

GAMES!  He can't get enough of them!  He wants to play games and more games and more games, almost always with a parent.  Occasionally, He'll settle for Henry as a partner, or he'll play by himself.  His favorites rotate a lot, but recently he has been enjoying Disney Rummikub, Guess Who?, Memory, and Snack Attack.  He also likes to use the game pieces to set up unique configurations.  In the picture above, you can see the Disney characters at a soccer stadium, with the Cheshire Cat and Fairy Godmother as the goals.  In the picture above, you can also see what happens to Ellis' hair when it goes a few weeks beyond needing a cut - CURL!

Were you wondering what Henry is crazy about right now?

THE ORIENTAL TRADING CATALOG!!!  Now that we've ordered online from Oriental Trading at least twice, they are sure to send us a catalog at least once every two weeks.  You never know when you might need 8 dozen rubber duckies (for only $8.99!) or 300 dinosaur erasers (only $6.00!).  This kind of information absolutely THRILLS Henry.  When a new catalog comes, he considers it to be the best part of his day!  He then pores over it and tells me about all the good deals.  I think he also has about 10 new ideas for his next birthday party.  

Were you wondering what Sam is crazy about right now?  

GHNKNG.  That's Sam language for "drink," which means his little cup of milk.  He didn't like it at first, but now he asks for it a hundred times a day.  I think part of it is the thrill of being able to ask for something and then actually get what he asked for.  But he's drinking a bunch, and I'm hopeful that we are reaching the last few weeks of nursing.

See?  So refreshing!

Were you wondering what I'm crazy about right now?

Cute boys in matching clothes!

Were you wondering what Ben is crazy about right now?

Let's just say that Ben's a little crazy in general.

Little Kickers

Ben got to volunteer for Henry's Little Kickers soccer this season.  I think it was fun for both of them.  But then, Ben would probably do just about anything for a free purple T-shirt.

This lady was the most lackadaisical coach I've ever seen in my life.  And I'm pretty sure she had never interacted with kids AT ALL before starting this job.  That is why the kids were lucky to have Ben doing his best to bring some life into the good old game of soccer.

"Goal!"

And now, for a small stack of after-soccer reading.

Last Day of Kindergarten

Monday was Henry's last day of Kindergarten!  This year has gone by so quickly, and Henry has learned so much!  I have loved watching him go to school and enjoy being part of his classroom and school communities.  He never complained of being bored in school - mostly I think because Kindergarten is so focused on the SOCIAL experience.  He has really loved his friends, teachers, and the structure of each day in school.

This is Henry with Ms. Brown.  She is an awesome Kindergarten teacher!  She has special songs and poems for just about everything.  Henry came home singing new songs all the time!  She also has special names for everything that just make the world seem more exciting (hand sanitizer is called "magic soap!").

We had to get a picture with Mary, our favorite crossing guard.  Sam and Ellis have enjoyed riding in the jogging stroller for Henry's drop off and pick up.  Ellis' favorite part is the crossing guards!  Every day, he notices if one of them is missing, if one has a sub, and if any of them are wearing different uniforms.  If Mary was wearing a special orange rain cap, or if she forgot her white gloves, it was the highlight of the day for Ellis.

These are two of Henry's best Kindergarten friends, Jules and Ethan.  They are perfect friends for Henry because they are on the same wavelength of boyish weirdness coolness.  At recess, they like to invent games that are like video-games-come-to-life (they try to defeat enemies, earn points, and have "lives"), or invent complex worlds like their original "army of penguins."    

I like this picture because it shows that Henry is not the only 6-year-old incapable of taking a "normal" picture.  See Ellis?  He looks great.  I guess he hasn't hit the awkward photo stage yet . . .

One of the things Henry made the most progress with this year was spelling and writing.  He started Kindergarten already being a great reader, but writing was something we hadn't really tackled yet.  All of my boys seem to be slower with fine motor skills!  Here are a few writing samples from Henry this year:

 

First Poem: a Haiku called "Spring."

I like butterflies

I like to look at flowers

Springtime is the best

Another great poem about apples!

Glad to hear he feels loved when Ben pays his allowance.  :)

I am so proud of this boy!

Two Videos

A few videos for those with a little too much time on their hands . . .

First of all, Sam's Words!  I absolutely can't get enough of this little guy's talking.  I wish we had captured more of them, but here's a sneak peak into his current vocabulary:

I have to mention that my favorite part is when he does the little hand wave when he says "I do!"  He normally does this with both hands at the same time, which just melts my heart.

Next up, the darker side of Ellis.  One day he got in one of his wild, crazy moods, and he asked me to film him doing this insane/scary dance/song production.  It went on for six minutes, and he would have done more.  I tried to trim it down to a tolerable length.  Just watch for a bit so you get the hang of it . . . or watch the whole thing, because I actually think it's hilarious toward the end.

This is a side of Ellis that very few people are privileged to see!

Some call him The Great Destroyer

While the rest of our family tries to live a normal, ordered life, Sam speeds through our home, creating a massive wave of destruction.  

He still can't quite walk on his own, but he has been crawling at record speeds for many months.  He pulls himself up and pushes chairs around, using the chairs as his walker.  At any given moment in our house, the chairs probably look like this.  Who would tuck chairs neatly under the table?  I think they look much more creative this way.

He has no trouble climbing up onto chairs . . .

or the toilet, or any other similar platform.  This may not seem unusual to you, but it is BRAND NEW to Ben and me.  Neither Henry nor Ellis crawled before they walked, so they never learned to climb.  Sam is thrilled about the new heights he is able to reach!  Watch out, hand soap, lotion, and makeup bag!  You are about to be thrown across the bathroom at 35 miles per hour.

What could be more fun than unloading shelves?  It's so much fun to throw things on the floor!  Normally Sam goes around the house and does his daily chores: 

- Unload all toys from bins.

- Remove books from shelves.

- Remove all food from bottom three shelves of pantry.  Be sure to stomp on raisin boxes and remove all onions and potatoes from their bags.  Throw onions across the floor ("ball!") and watch those flaky skins fly!

- If you happen to catch the bathroom door open, unroll the toilet paper.  

- If you happen to find an unsupervised tissue box, empty the tissues -- and don't take your time about it!  If someone catches you, the fun is over!

When I grill on the deck, poor Sam doesn't get to play on the trampoline with his brothers.  I adore this picture of him, gated in, longing to be with the big boys.

"It's okay, Mom -- I got to unload the recycling bin!"

Andean Condor and more

Henry's class went to the zoo last week.  Before they went, they learned lots of fun Kindergarten songs about all the animals they would see (monkey, elephants, tigers, etc.).  Naturally, when he got in the car after school, I asked him about the animals he saw.  His response included, but was not limited to:

Andean condor
ring-tailed lemur
wildebeests
blue-tongued skink
black-tailed prairie dogs
lowland gorillas
red kangaroos
vultures
scarlet ibis
emus

Not quite what I was expecting to hear, given the preface of the cute little zoo songs.  But then, knowing Henry, I should have seen it coming.

My other favorite H-quote from our zoo conversation:
"I can ONLY think of three kinds of running birds: emu, ostrich, cassowary . . . oh wait -- and rhea.  I guess I can think of four."

My Life, displayed 30 different ways

When Jenn turned 30, she wrote up 30 things that she had learned about herself over her lifetime.  I can't compete with Jenn's writing skills (really, you should re-read her excellent post), but I wanted to do something to think about my life at 30 as well.  So, I decided to do it pure Ben-style: with graphs!  You are welcome to snicker at the nerdiness of graphing your life in 30 different ways, but I've actually had a great time doing it, and it's been an interesting to way to think carefully about where I've been, how I live my life now, and how I view the world.  Forcing myself to put actual numbers on some of these aspects of my life was actually eye-opening in some ways.  And, it was definitely entertaining.  Hopefully it will be for you too.

Some of you may be wondering whether I've been accumulating data for the past 30 years with this idea in mind.  No, I haven't.  Where possible, I actually went and found the actual numbers to create the graphs--I really did go into our Netflix account to look at what movies we watch, for example.  Some of the data comes from memory (e.g.: airlines miles), so it won't be perfectly accurate.  And, some of the data is just guesswork.

So, without further comment, here is my life, past and present, displayed in 30 different ways:

1. Weight

2. Church Callings

3. Gmail Account

4. Gender Balance

5. Places Lived

6. Musical Instruments

7. Ski Trips

8. Books

9. Relationship Status

10. School

11. Employment

12. Introversion

13. Average Day

Blue: Solitary work; Red: Interacting with others

Blue: Necessities; Green: Caring for kids; Orange: Personal Enjoyment

14. Conversation Topics

15. Diet

16. Careers

17. Websites

Note: Lower numbers mean they are more highly ranked

18. Research Topics

19. Similarity to immediate family members

20. Distance from Utah

21. Air Travel

22. Political Views

23. Phone Calls

24. Father Responsibilities

25. Harvard Classmates

26. To Bed & Wake Up Times

27. Daily Commute

28. Movies

29. Money

30. Speed