"My Crazy Kids"

Cartoons are fun for all ages By Allan Olson When walking into a local business last week on my delivery route, I spotted a good old classic on the large television. There on the screen was none other than Bugs Bunny. Whether it was on because a kid had just left the room or because the staff needed some amusement was uncertain. One thing I am certain of is that Bugs Bunny is always good for a laugh. What it reminded me was that it was due time that I spent a day watching cartoons – the old classics that I enjoyed – with my kids. Opportunity knocked on Saturday. With nothing better to do with the pouring down rain that we had all day long, I decided that I might as well spend the morning watching cartoons with the kids (and possibly catching up on a few Z’s). We started the morning off watching cartoons. I searched for Bugs Bunny on the television in vain – and on the Wii.  With no luck, we settled down to watch another classic – the Smurfs. Those little blue cr...

Bunk beds and mowing By Allan Olson                 This weekend marked the annual migration of Minnesotans to the lake in recognition of the spring fishing opener. Like most years, I stayed away from the lake. Instead of venturing out on the cold, windy lake, I stayed at home most of the day and enjoyed listening to the complaints of children being forced to clean their trashed rooms.                 While it was duly time for the rooms to be cleaned again, the primary purpose of this torture treatment was to make room for their brand new bunk beds that my dad made for them.                 This weekend the girls moved out of a tiny toddler bed bunk bed in which Abigail’s feet hung over the end of the bed if she stretched out; it was still just about a perfect fit ...

And the Winner Is? By Allan Olson                 This is a two part story. The first is the battle against Mother Nature. I admit it – I’ve finally lost to Mother Nature! The two new rakes I bought will see little use this season. The grass is already green and getting too long to rake effectively.                 I’m not sure what I did to make her mad at me. All I asked for was a little warmer temperatures, and no more rain or dreadful snow this spring so I could do some basic yard clean-up. I wanted to rake up the dead leaves left over from last fall, although I’m not sure why, because raking hurts when you’re not in shape. And I’m not.                 I managed to get a couple hours of raking in one evening over a month ago, prior to a snowfall, and doing so I ...

A New Chapter By Allan Olson When I learned over five years ago in the ultrasound room that my wife and I were going to be proud parents of twins, you could have heard a pin drop. My mouth unhinged like they do in many cartoon shows. Never did I imagine that we would have twins. The technician must have been wrong in reading the ultrasound image. I mean, two heart beats, two separate images? Impossible, right? Well, it certainly wasn’t impossible. It was totally possible, and it did happen. In the hospital, I couldn’t believe that I had to take care of two babies at the same time. One was hard enough to handle, and now I had to multiply that by two (including the diaper duty). I couldn’t believe that I was capable of feeding and changing two tiny little infants. How do you feed two crying babies at the same time and still manage to eat and sleep yourself? I know today that somehow we managed to get through those most difficult few months. In the hospital, I felt t...