My kids are growing so fast. Kylie turns 9 on Friday and Parker is already 7 and a half. It’s nuts.

There’s so many ways I could be a better dad, and hopefully I’m getting better as it as I go.

I thought I’d share a couple of things I’ve tried to do do well at as a parent, in hopes that it might inspire one of you to mix things up a little and get better too. Maybe you can do the same for me in the comments too.

7 Little Ways I Try to Be a Better Dad

1. I Take Time To Explain Things – One of the things I always try to do with my kids is keep them in the loop. I try to let them know the reasoning behind the decisions I make, so it feels less like I’m an authoritative dictator and more like a reasonable dude.

Of course, everyone once in a while you need to pull a “because I said so”. It’s in the by-laws or something.

2. I Use My Imagination – The next time your kids are being goofy, jump right in. If they’re coming up with ridiculous ice cream flavors, tell them you want to eat a poop and broccoli sundae.

You won’t always want to, but try to be more imaginative than your kids and they’ll love you for it.

3. I Dance Like an Idiot – We had a dance party at our house a few weeks ago and I made sure I was out there cutting it up in front of my kids. I don’t want them to be afraid of what others think, so as much as I can, I show them that it’s okay to be yourself and look ridiculous sometimes.

4. I Make Out with my Wife – I know they’re watching, so I make sure they get that constant reminder of what romantic love looks like between a married couple. (Don’t worry, just pecks in front of the kids).

But more than the kissing, it’s talking to each other with respect, going out of our way to be kind, and making each other laugh. I want them to want that in a marriage someday.

5. I’m Unpredictable – A few years ago I showed up at my mother in law’s pool after playing golf. The kids were already swimming and I was hot and sweaty, so I took my phone and wallet out of my shorts and jumped into the pool fully clothed. Parker still talks about it to this day.

I want to be a consistent parent, but I don’t want to be boring and predictable. The next time you have a little margin to be creative, ask yourself “What cool thing can I do right now that would be the LAST thing my kids would expect?” And then do it.

6. I Say I’m Sorry – Even if I had a right as a parent to be upset, I still apologize to my kids when I get angry or do something I know I shouldn’t have. Offering apologies and forgiveness is an important life skill, so I want them to get used to it from both ends by seeing me do it.

7. I Act Weird – I act weird because I am weird. My kids know that the me they see out of the house is the same one they see in the house. Again, it’s the whole “be yourself” thing.

Kylie told me yesterday, “Dad, you’re a weird dad. And I like it.”

I’m still smiling thinking about that one.

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So my fellow parents out there, your kids might be older or younger than mine, but any small bits of wisdom you’ve been learning lately to pass on?

How about those of you with no kids yet, is there some little value or cool thing you always want to try to do with your kids someday?

let us know…

Here’s a Saturday remix post for you because there’s nothing like a lemonade stand to make you think of summer with all this snow we’ve had.

It was almost two years ago now that my kids got the idea to have a lemonade stand on a rather warm Saturday afternoon in April.

The convo went down like this…

Kylie: Parker, we should do a lemonade stand.

Parker: ok!

Kylie: We’ll need a table, lemonade, a sign, and a money cup.

Parker: Let’s make it free lemonade!

Kylie: Yeah!

Parker: And we’ll give people money!

Kylie: yeah!

The result was too cute for me not to grab a picture.

I emailed the story to marketing guru Seth Godin, knowing he’d get a kick out of it.

He responded, “great stuff Bryan…generosity at work”.

The kids got a few customers to stop for lemonade, and they all insisted on paying for it.

Erica and I got a memory that will always make us laugh.

“Free Lemonade and we’ll give you money!”

Have a great (and generous) weekend everyone!

Last week I brought up some issues I had with karate, and somehow I’ve managed to not be killed by a nun-chuck blow to the heart. (I’m hoping to stop wearing the kevlar vest by early next year.)

In a related story, someone gave me a flier last week that had been dropped off at their workplace. It was from a Taekwondo studio (I think) and it was amazing (I know).

Here’s what the flier looked like, along with an obligatory breakdown…

7 Things That Must Be Pointed Out

1. There is no mention anywhere on the flier of the Taekwondo studio these rules originated from. Is this an advertisement or not? If it is, then get your name on there folks. If it isn’t, then what on earth are you doing passing out fliers?

2. Speaking of which, why is a Taekwondo studio passing out “Home Rules” for children? Here’s an idea, how about I set my own home rules for my own children since I bought the home and I made the children?

3. With regards to Rule #1, having your kids greet you upon entering and leaving the house is a nice thing I suppose. But I gotta be honest, if I really did make a list of house rules, this rule probably wouldn’t be at the top of the list. It would probably fall around Rule #117, right between

#116 – Do not try to talk to dad through the bathroom door when he is in the bathroom. He is in his fortress of solitude and is probably halfway through a great article”

and

“#118 – Do not eat daddy’s cheez-its without the expressed, written consent of major league baseball and daddy himself”.

5. I really don’t feel comfortable with Rule #6 without some type of emergency clause in there. 9 out of every 10 of my “Adult Conversations” are pointless anyway. Would hate for my kid to not interrupt me to to inform me of his dislocated shoulder because I was busy debating the Red Sox shortstop situation with my buddy Than.

6. All this time, I had no idea that there was a recipe for Straight A’s! No wonder I was a B-minus student in school. But wait, let’s look at the recipe, because it begs a lot of questions…

A) Is there a need to tell me to open the refrigerator? Am I supposed to just leave the fridge door open? Also, can I drink water or iced tea? What if I’m not thirsty?

B) I just spent 8 hours in school learning and you want me to go over it again BEFORE doing my homework? I’d rather eat a chinese star.

C) This should really be the only thing on this list. Actually the list should be “Do your homework and get A’s on all your tests”. There’s your recipe right there.

D) I have no idea what I’m going to study tomorrow, and I don’t care. According to this recipe I need to spend 12 hours a day on schoolwork. When am I going to have time to practice breaking plywood?

7. How about that note at the bottom? If you can’t read it, it says:

Children who do not obey their Parents CHEERFULLY may be reduced in Rank.

Parent: “Look, I told my kid to clean his room yesterday and he did it, but he wasn’t happy about it.”

Master: “Timmy, come here and give me that black belt you have spent years working towards in exchange for this purple one.”

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Any other thoughts on this?

Does it make you want to sign your kids up for martial arts?

(if you need me, I’ll be hiding from the ninjas)

Last night Erica and I were playing tennis at the park while the kids romped around on the playground.

Not once, but twice, did my wonderful son and his tiny bladder cause us to pause our tennis so I could take him to the bathroom, which was at least 100 yards away.

It was while he was peeing the second time that I came up with this.

If you’re a parent, I think it will resonate.

My buddy Jon mentioned me over at Stuff Christians Like today, so if you’re here for the first time because of his linkage, thanks for visiting. Here at Ramblings and Such I try to entertain, inform, inspire, and occasionally poke fun at the Amish community I live near (Yes, I really do live in Intercourse, PA), so if you’re into that sort of thing, subscribe to the feed and give it a taste test. Thanks for coming, and be sure to check out the video below…

Okay, so here’s the math behind the following video

my bad parenting + my crazy kids + a great cause = Soles in the Snow

check it out to see what I mean:

Soles in the Snow from Bryan Allain on Vimeo.

I wasn’t kidding about the donation. I made it on Monday. $20 isn’t much, but that’s 8 more pairs of shoes Wayne Elsey can give out through his organization. (oh, and I got a free keychain for my donation too…so that was nice of them)

Got 3 minutes and $5 you can spare?
Click here to go right to the donation page…it’s so fast, you’ll be done before you can change your mind.

(and if you want to share this video on your blog to get your readers involved, you can go here for the embed code.)