Reid and I went to the library last Saturday morning, to the branch that is housed in a building that has an indoor fountain. We chose our books and went out to the fountain. As we were “playing the piano” in the water and making other very little splashes, an older man walked up and gave us 2 pennies and a big smile. Reid was surprised and confused. Who was that man and why did he give us the “monies”? I explained that people toss pennies into fountains and make wishes. At the word “wish”, Reid closed her eyes, pursed her lips and blew. I grinned. It’s surprises me, still, when I notice this sort of cultural tradition – big and small – that are new to Reid and that I barely consider. I wished aloud that the banana bread we were planning to bake wouldn’t burn and then tossed my penny in. Reid wished that the cookies she wanted to bake wouldn’t burn either and then tossed her penny in. She might have done better to wish that we would actually bake the cookies. It’s a good thing we’re going to spend next week with Grandma Joyce so that there is a good chance she’ll get to make cookies.
Archive for November, 2007
Pennies for the fountain
Friday, November 30th, 2007What’s the magic word?
Thursday, November 29th, 2007Imagine Reid, Ken and me sitting at our table…
Reid: I want the beans. (Maybe not beans but there’s a really good chance there were beans on *our* table.)
Ken: What is the magic word?
Reid: [pauses] Abracadabra?
Ken: You need to say, “please.” (Now why didn’t he say that straight out ;+)
I was surprised that Reid didn’t answer, “A la peanut butter sandwiches,” like the Amazing Mumford does in Amazing Mumford Forgets the Magic Word. That’s the only book that I can think of that references a magic world and it isn’t the sort of thing that we discuss otherwise.
Speaking of Sesame Street, Postcards from the Mothership wrote last week about a Sesame Street highlights video being labelled as unsuitable for preschool children. That’s just crazy! Such a position makes me want to obtain them all the more – but then I have a long history of seeking out banned books simply because they were banned. I sure hope that wasn’t the intent of the label.
Christmas gifts for the full year – Works for me Wednesday
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007It’s time to think of what gifts will suit the special people in our lives. If you’re like me, you’re thinking about all of the stuff that you already have in your house and wondering how to keep the Christmas spirit without adding to your burden. Here is what I’ve come up with so far for children:
* As a general magazine, with stories, activities and jokes, the Owl series – Chirp – ages 3 to 6, Chickadee – ages 6 to 9, and Owl – ages 9 to 13 are a good choice according to the age of your child;
* For those with an interest in science, or if you want to encourage one, look to Know – ages 6 to 9 and Yes – ages 9 to 14
* If history would be more appropriate, try Kayak – ages 7 to 11;
* I haven’t seen an issue but I’m trusting in the National Geographic brand to recommend National Geographic Kids – ages 6 to 14 or National Geographic Little Kids – ages 3 to 6;
* For the 8 to 12 year old girl in your life, New Moon kept coming up when I was looking for a book for an 8 year old girl;
* Based on my memories of grade school, I’ve also signed up for Highlights – ages 6 and up and there is new magazine called Highlights High Five – ages 2 to 6; and
* If I lived in the United States, I would seriously consider Babybug – ages 6 months to 3, Ladybug – ages 3 to 6 and Spider – ages 6 to 9 but given the subscription costs, we borrow these ones from the library.
If you know of other magazines that should be on my list, please leave a comment.
For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer.
First snow – Wordless Wednesday
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
It’s a girl thing – tales from the potty
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007Reid farted at supper one night last week and a funny, at least in retrospect, standoff ensued.
Daddy: You need to say, “Excuse me.”
Reid: [nothing]
Daddy: You need to say, “Excuse me,” when you toot.
Reid: I didn’t toot.
Daddy: Yes, you did. Now say, “Excuse me.”
Reid: I didn’t toot. [There was something in her voice that gave me pause.]
Mama: You have to say, “Excuse me,” when you fart.
Reid: ‘scuse me [with the smallest wisp of teenage sullen] and then, to Ken, “Girls fart.” [Oh yeah, that was a flash of teenage attitude yet to come.]
To make this exchange even more blog-worthy, it occurred during the week of World Toilet Day (November 19th, if you missed it). The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. The World Toilet Organization has many scary/interesting facts, including that 2.6 billion people do not have access to “improved sanitation” and the excreta of approximately 5.7 billion people is discharged directly into the environment on the land and to the receiving water bodies. And my greatest preoccupation is what to recommend my mother-in-law get Reid for Christmas.
The Best Gifts – Breastfeeding Carnival
Monday, November 26th, 2007Welcome, Carnival of Breastfeeding readers.
Ive written about The Best Gifts
Like many mothers, I am careful to choose books that depict people of different races and family situations, those in rural and urban neighbourhoods, kids with disabilities and those that live far away or near to us. What I was unable to find in the first two years of my daughters life was a book that depicted our nursing relationship. And then one day, I discovered The Best Gifts
The Best Gifts
The illustrator of The Best Gifts
A list of resources is provided at the end of the book, providing contact information for Canadian and international organizations that support breastfeeding.
Mothers-to-be and those in the midst of nursing a child need access to books that will answer their questions about the mechanics of nursing and provide solutions to the challenges that some will face. The Best Gifts
Children should have access to this and other books that depict breastfeeding relationships as part of childhood to instill a sense of the normalcy of nursing. The baby bottle has been the symbol of infancy for too long. Our children should not automatically reach for a bottle when they play with their dollies, they should reach for the hem of their shirts. And in the future books such as this one will be on the shelves with all of the other picture books and not segregated to the parenting section.
Does anyone have other stories for children that depict breastfeeding?
Check out the other participants’ reviews in the November Carnival of Breastfeeding. I’ll be updating this list throughout Monday and Tuesday as the entries are posted.
- Mama Knows Breast reviews bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls
- Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog reviews The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers
- The International Breastfeeding Symbol reviews The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two
- Hobomama reviews Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent
- On School Street reviews Blindsided by a Diaper: Over 30 Men and Women Reveal How Parenthood Changes a Relationship;
- Breastfeeding Mum reviews A Child is Born
, Mama Knows Breast
- James and the Giant Moose reviews Having Faith
- The True Face of Birth reviews Mama Knows Breast
- Breastfeeding 1-2-3 reviews Baby Matters, Revised 2nd Edition: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Caring for Your Baby
- Crunchy Domestic Goddess reviews What Babies Want: An exploration of the consciousness of infants.
Seating arrangements
Monday, November 26th, 2007Like most families, we have established a “Daddy’s spot”, “Reid’s spot” and “Mama’s spot” at the table. Ever since Ken rearranged us because, he said, Reid and I picked at each other when we sat on the same side, Reid has sat at the end and Ken and I sit opposite her. When guests come over, Reid always has a vision of who should be sitting where. I suspect that she read etiquette books at daycare. When Aunty Amanda come to visit, she sits at the end of the table opposite Reid. That chair is the obvious guest chair. It is when we have more than 4 people at the table that things get rather odd. Grandma Joyce always get the guest chair if she is present but the other person gets placed according to Reid’s whim with the problematic condition: Reid likes to assign the fifth person to sit next to Ken. Reid sees some merit in having the 6’2″ guy sharing the side of a table with someone that escapes Ken and me.
Reid has been reassigning our places at the table lately. I’m not sure why she has decided to switch things up since she is generally pretty insistent on each of us being in our regular spots. We indulge her in this because for much of her daily life, Reid doesn’t have control over what happens to her and it just doesn’t matter where we sit as long as there are chairs and food. The main problem with the situation is that Reid can be so sl-o-o-o-w to come to the table to make her decisions. Add this to her concerns about who gets which pasta bowl, not to mention a generalize before-meal hunger, it can be kind of stressful.
For some reason, since I started drafting this, Reid asked me who would sit in the chair at the opposite end from hers when she is a grownup. We considered the matter, wondering whether Reid had an expectation for my answer, and proposed that when Reid is a grown up, she might get married and then her husband could sit there. You’ll remember that Reid sometimes doesn’t like to imagine being grown up and so I waited for her reaction. There pretty much wasn’t one. She nodded and then moved on to some other brain teaser that is de rigeur in life with a child.
You should come to Ottawa, Reid will choose a good spot at our table for you.
I sure hope taping is a skill they mark you on
Sunday, November 25th, 2007I wrote about how the daycare teachers said that cutting was an important skill once the kids got to school and Reid likes to cut things well enough. She brings little pieces of paper home most nights as proof of her practicing. Reid will cut yarn, too, and we have more than a few left over balls ;+). Sometimes she even glues the yarn and bits of things to paper.
Taping, though, is Reid’s passion. With a container full of brightly-coloured feathers with which to decorate a Mardi Gras mask at the Children’s Museum, Reid carefully pulled off piece after piece of tape and applied them to the mask blank. Just before we left, Reid chose 2 feathers and taped them over top of some of the tape.
Do you suppose that the teachers in kindergarten will assess her taping skills? If they don’t, I’m going to have to get her working on math or reading.
The view from the front door of daycare
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
Edited: Oops this isn’t Wednesday and so I think that I’d best add some words to this post. Reid’s daycare is in a heritage building in the midst of a farm and when you walk out the front door of the preschool building, you see a barn and silo. When you look out the windows on the second floor, you can see the Gatineau Hills. I try to make a point of looking as the scenes are often beautiful.
If you’re hungry for other images and can’t wait for Wednesday, the meme now runs all week from the Wordless Wednesday HQ or look at my previous Wordless Wednesday entries.