March 19, 2008 by Barbara.

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March 17, 2008 by Barbara.

Child psychologists analyse many things about the way kids behave since kids aren’t so good at telling what they’re thinking about. I’ve had 2 semesters of Psychology, including at least 2 weeks (that’d be a good 6 hours) dedicated to children. This qualifies me, I think, to analyse Reid’s behaviour. It’s good that I never took any electrical engineering courses, really !+)

Whenever I’ve seen pictures of Reid’s daycare classes going for a walk - kids on a rope, so to speak - Reid is at the end of the rope. It occurred to me just recently why this would be the case. It’s hard to believe that the teachers wouldn’t enforce some sort of turn taking among the kids who wanted to be at the front, and so Reid would have to be too apathetic to try for the front. That would be a good explanation if Reid weren’t willing to state (clearly,  believe you me) what she wants. I wasn’t worried about the reason, really, but then I thought about how Reid tends to be close to a teacher when there is a group shot. My theory is that Reid’s priority is to stay close to a teacher. Since there will be many children who want to be at the front, where one teacher is, Reid heads for the end of the rope where the other teacher stands. Reid is like the Coldstream Guards, a British Army unit, who march at the end of a military parade rather than being second another unit (since they are last)  in order to live out their motto “Second to none”. Reid’s motto is “Close to the teacher”, though.

I haven’t run my theory by the teachers at daycare to prevent any additional facts from distorting my tidy theory. It could be they always rotate positions and I see only the pics where Reid is at the end. She could be a wanderer and thus forced to be at the end of the rope (though I highly doubt this idea).

Ken, on the other hand, said he’d never wondered about where Reid stood in line when the kids were on the rope gang. He had this expression on his face when I told him my theory that suggested that I think too much about these sorts of things. Or it might just have been a slight variation on his usual look of loving adoration.

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March 15, 2008 by Barbara.

Thursday night, Reid bonked my nose with her head or maybe I bonked her head with my nose the trauma of the collision has made it hard for me to remember the exact circumstances. Let’s just say that there was some nose on forehead contact and I was the one in the most pain. Of all of the body parts I smack on a regular basis, and there are many thanks my innate grace or lack thereof, none hurts as much and as when my nose comes into it. On this particular occasion, my eyes watered and I concentrated on not saying any 4-letter words other than “Ouch, ouch, ouch.”

Reid seemed a bit scared or maybe worried and said, “Let’s kiss each other better.” I tried to convince her that it wasn’t required since I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if she touched my nose again. (I’m a bit dramatic, maybe.) Reid was determined to get and give her healing kisses and so I kissed her forehead and cautiously moved my hands away from my nose. Reid tenderly kissed my forehead and I didn’t tell her that it was my nose that was bonked. Reid’s kisses are powerful, though, and the healing went right where it was needed. I guess she was right about the need for us to kiss each other better.

Stay safe out there and if that doesn’t work out, I hope you have someone to kiss your ouchies better.

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March 14, 2008 by Barbara.

There are many, many international days for this or that, in addition to the commemorative weeks and months. I recently saw that March 14 is World Pi Day. If you remember from school, Pi is a Greek letter () and the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi is usually written as 3.14 although it is, in fact, an irrational fraction and so goes on and on - 3.1415926535…. Purists time the highlight of the celebration for 1:59 to get the extra three digits of Pi. I’ll be celebrating with pizza Pi(e) at work and Ken has threatened awful consequences if I blog about Pi and eat pizza Pi(e) without coming through with a pie for him and Reid after supper. I guess I’ll make the sacrifice and get a fruit Pi(e) - no time for baking, unfortunately.

I was tempted to send Reid to daycare with a Pi symbol on a paper for show and tell. It was fun to imagine what questions the teacher would ask at circle time (pun unintentional) but I like the teachers and so I restrained myself. Most of the activities on the Official Pi Day site were geared to older kids but there was a reference to Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi : a math adventure by Cindy Neuschwander and illustrated by Wayne Geehan. I peeked at the excerpt and it looks to be a picture book that Reid would understand and it’s one of a series featuring Sir Cumference. Older kids and adults might enjoy the Joy of Pi, the site has trivia as well as information about the book. Next year, I’ll have to get Reid an I love Pi t-shirt - the Junior Kindergarten teacher will want to mark Pi Day, don’t you think? Maybe s/he will play the Pi(ano) Song or the Pi Raps on YouTube.

Please note that I am not a math geek, not at all. I want Reid to be one, though. I am someone who loves parties and am willing celebrate just about anything. Happy World Pi Day to one and all.

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March 13, 2008 by Barbara.

The other night at bedtime, Reid asked for her Care Bears. As I handed them to her, I said, “Here’s Thomas and CareB.” Reid told me that she had decided to call CareB something else. She actually told me the name but I’m afraid I’ve blocked it. I find it quite off-putting that she wants to change CareB’s name. I know it’s not rational but there it is. I’m okay with Thomas sometimes being a girl and at other times being a boy, though he is mostly a boy lately. Gender confusion is easier for me to accept, I guess. I’m even okay with Hair Baby and Bald Baby each sometimes being called “Daisy”. But CareB has a special place in my heart.

All this to say that I told Reid that she couldn’t just change CareB’s name willy-nilly like that. And - this is the part I should have kept to myself - I said, “How would you like it if I called you ‘Molly’?” We had considered “Molly” when I was pregnant but ultimately didn’t choose it (obviously ;+). Reid told me that it wasn’t her name and so I restated my position about CareB’s name. Yes, I was arguing with a 3 year old. Then, it got worse. Reid said that she was calling her <insert name here> and I said, “Good night, Molly.” At which point Reid started crying. Remember it was bedtime and that’s a tough enough time when you’re 3 without your mother tormenting you. I tried soothing her, having remembered that I’m the mama, but Reid asked for Ken and so I got him. He gave her some hugs and kisses and she settled down. She didn’t rat me out but when I spoke with Ken after Reid was asleep, I came clean. Ken is more interested in Reid getting a good night’s sleep and having a good morning than in defending CareB’s right to her name. He almost always remembers to be the grown-up.

I havn’t called Reid “Molly” since that night. She hasn’t called CareB by any other name either, mind you, but I’ll resist the urge if she does.

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March 13, 2008 by Barbara.

I’m writing this list to help remember that there are more museums in Ottawa than the 2 or 3 we go to most often. And, of course, to help anyone who is looking for a museum to visit in Ottawa and since it’s day 4 of spring break, there may be more people than usual looking for a diversion. I have written about many of these museums previously.

1. Canadian Children’s Museum - this museum is part of the Museum of Civilization but it is specifically designed for children and their families, as the name indicates
2. Canada Aviation Museum - Ken and Reid like this museum, I am not so keen on it but they look at me like I’m crazy when I say I’d rather stay home
3. Science and Technology Museum - Reid calls this the “train museum” for the locomotive room but there is so much more to see and do
4. Canada Agricultural Museum - spring is a great time to visit “the Farm”, as Reid calls it, to see the baby animals
5. National Gallery of Canada - this is another museum that we haven’t been to since Reid was tiny but it deserves a visit
6. Canadian Museum of Nature - Reid likes the dinosaur room and the area where the kids pretend to be in the bird sanctuary
7. Canadian Museum of Civilization - I’d thought Reid was too young at 3.5 to go into the main part of the Museum of Civilization but we went in January with an older cousin and she hadenjoyed a number of the displays
8. Canadian War Museum - Kids seem to be interested in the military vehicles and uniforms and the museum has activities especially for kids
9. Canada Postal Museum - this museum is also lodged at the Museum of Civilization. I’m always pleasantly surprised by the special activities they have, like the dog sled during Winterlude
10. Bytown Museum – season starts April 5^th - we haven’t been to the Bytown since Reid was born. It is on my list for this summer.
11. Cumberland Heritage Village – season starts May 20^th - there is usually a special theme for each Sunday during the summer. Our favourite last year was the Firefighter and Protective Services Day in July.
12. Pinhey’s Point Historic Site – season starts May 20^th - we’ve never been to Pinhey’s Point but I noticed it had interesting special events last summer and will try to get there this summer
13. Billingsbridge National Historic Site – season starts May 11^th - it’s been far too long since I was last at the Billingsbridge Estate. I hope that they’ll still be offering the “tea and tours” this summer. I think Reid will be able to handle both this year.

There are others with lists of 13 things you might find interesting as part of Thursday Thirteen.

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March 12, 2008 by Barbara.

I’m praying that the popular wisdom “big flakes, small snow” holds true today. The snow is falling again but to my eye, the flakes are pretty big, maybe not huge, or hugandous to use Reid’s word, but certainly they’re bigger than what fell Saturday. I’m sort of afraid to google the question for fear of confirming that there is no basis in fact and I’ve pinned my hopes on a myth. Me, the one who always checks the emails I get about missing kids, new illnesses, safety risks, etc. I’m a coward, eh? The US National Snow and Ice Data Centre probably has the answer but I’m not sure that I want it.

Do you know if there is any science to prove or disprove “big flakes, small snow”? I am going to send the question to Environment Canada (the site doesn’t have any information) and see if one of the meteorologists will answer. I’ll let you know if they do.

Edited to add: I wrote this on the way to work. By 10 o’clock the snow had stopped and the sun came out and helpfully melted the dusting of snow we had.

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March 12, 2008 by Barbara.

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March 12, 2008 by Barbara.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the daycare teachers called to tell me that Reid had drawn a duck that you could actually see was a duck. She said that it had been framed and was in the art room. When I got to daycare, I was impressed with the approach - they have a nice wooden frame hanging on the wall. The frame has no glass in it and so the teachers can put the artwork into the frame without much of a hassle. (See the frame and Reid’s masterpiece.) In a daycare, this approach allows for many kids to see their art “featured”. It will work at home, too, and we’ll get Reid in the habit of assessing which of her masterpieces are her favourites. This is similar to a suggestion in It’s All Too Much by Peter Walsh and I think that the book is chock full of wisdom.

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March 11, 2008 by Barbara.

The following was written in response to Sarcastic Mom’s (Breast)feeding Carnival post.

I’m writing about my experience breastfeeding a three-and-a-half year old. If you’re nursing a baby, especially a newborn, it can be mind boggling to think of 3 years of round-the-clock, 3 hour feeds. It doesn’t stay that way, though, Reid nurses only a couple of times a day unless she is sick or upset. If the very idea of a preschooler who nurses bothers you, you may want to read another post - I fond of the ones in the language skills category.

I’ve written before about the early days of nursing Reid and the troubles we had. I’ve written also about nursing her when she started daycare, when the teachers said I should stop nursing in the daytime on the weekend. I don’t think I’ve talked much about the adventures of nursing a toddler who could easily have been a circus acrobat but perhaps I’ll get to that one day.

When I think of our nursing relationship of late, I think of how much Reid loves my breasts, which she calls eee-eees. I know this because she tells them so directly. She has even composed a song in their honour inspired, I believe, by the book Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton. It went something like this:

Eee-eee, eee-eee
Milkies, milkies
I drink them when I’m firsty
Firsty, fir-irsty

Milkies, milkies
Mama milkies
Mama milkies
Eee-eee, eee-eee

Eee-eee, eee-eee
I love who you are
I love everything about you
Eee-eee, eee-eee

Reid will ask for a hug and give my breasts their own special squeeze. It’s not sexual - nothing about breastfeeding is - but it does give us an opportunity to talk about appropriate touching. No one should touch you on the parts that are covered by your bathing suit, that sort of thing. Reid is also fairly proprietary about my breasts, as I’ve mentioned.

Reid is interested in seeing other children nursing. She knows that some other children never nursed, some did but no longer do and that others who do are the same age as her, although the first and last situations are more theoretical than first-hand knowledge. I don’t imagine that she discusses nursing at daycare, though.

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