Daniel went to a party last night while Thomas and I used our final Christmas gift card to eat a lovely dinner out.
What type of party is a two year old attending, you might ask. Well, it was a Pajama Party at church, and our son was pumped about going. He talked about going and how excited he was in a much cuter fashion before I took the little video, but it is still pretty precious. When we drive toward church and he sees the steeple, he will say, "Ohhh! There it is! I excited!"
Before we left, he was in a mood to smile and say cheese for a few photos for mommy. Once we got there and they wanted him to get his picture taken to put in his little commemorative farm frame, he wanted nothing to do with the camera, and he let that be known by screaming "NO CHEESE!!" at the poor photographer while simultaneously turning his back to her and crossing his arms in defiance. At some point they coaxed him back, for he came home with a nice photo in the adorable frame that now resides on the fridge.
It was nice to have a few hours out with the hubby sans Daniel, especially after such a busy week. To make matters even better, our dinner was free (due to the said gift card) and our son had a blast decorating cookies, coloring a bandanna, and playing with friends.
This is a first……and hopefully a last.
Daniel and I journeyed to the grocery store today, and
although I normally avoid them like the plague, I decided that we would use a
stupid cart that has a car attached. You know the ones I am talking about, for
they are almost completely useless. The cart is almost impossible to steer, the
basket portion is smaller, and there has to be even more germs on it than a
normal buggy. After today, I now have a new reason to hate them.
A feature of these bothersome carts is that they place your child closer to the ground and they make a child a little harder to observe. Even though Daniel was securely bucked into the car, his arms still had the ability to reach out and grab. For 95% of the shopping trip, I was unaware that this accessibility was even an issue. When I leaned down eye level to hear something he had to say, I noticed Daniel had procured a canned good, fried apples to be exact, at the start of our shopping experience. At this point, it was somewhat cute, and I laughed a little at the fact he chose fried apples as his product of choice. I gently told my son that we did not need those and he should not grab anything else.
Once the shopping was complete, we headed to checkout. It is
a well known fact that the checkout is surrounded by those “impulse buys,”
mainly candy, that the stores hope you will succumb to and buy. Daniel found
himself eye level and in easy access to some M&M candies. After a quick “Put
those back!” from me, Daniel listened and did as told. A few moments later, I
realized he had some Rolos in his tiny hand. I, of course, repeated the same
phrase, and all was well again.
I guided the hopeless car cart to our vehicle. After unhooking Daniel, I proceeded to place him into his car seat, only to notice he was still holding Rolos! Not only was he holding them, he had taken a bite out of the golden foil that covered the chocolate caramels. Completely frustrated, I placed him back into the car cart, and we, along with all our groceries, trekked back into the store. I took him, and the candy, to the self-check out station. Lifting him out, I held him on my hip and the Rolos in my hand. I made him tell the older gentleman working the self-check out what he had done. None of it was intelligible, but Daniel sputtered out a sequence of remarks. I then translated what had happened, and the man was surprised that I had returned to pay. I then told Daniel that we had to buy them because he had already tried to eat them. It was also noted that even though I was buying them, he was not going to get to eat them.
After purchasing, the man thanked me again for coming back into the store, and he made some sort of comment about how he was glad I was trying to teach him a lesson. What was I suppose to do? Just let the kid keep them and leave without paying? I would surely hope people do not do that.
I am not sure if Daniel really understood what he did that was wrong, I just know that he understood Mommy was not happy.
As for the unintentionally purchased Rolos…..I ate them. I am, after all, pregnant, and chocolate is always good to me.
Last week when I was sick with Bronchitis, I took Daniel
with me to the doctor. In all honesty, I was bit overwhelmed with the sickness,
and I did not keep Daniel and his exploratory toddler nature from touching
things in the doctor’s office that I knew he shouldn’t handle due to all the
germs. Two days later Daniel had some mucus begin to appear in his eye, along
with some redness. The pediatrician called in a script to clear it up and noted
that it was most likely just a cold that was manifesting in his eye. Turns out
that diagnosis was right, and Daniel began to run a HIGH fever, which also
presented itself with a cough. I was not certain if the trip to the doctor with me was the origination, but it was certainly a likely culprit.Upon taking Daniel to the doctor, we discovered
that he had an intense ear infection along with a red, scratchy throat. Again
meds were prescribed, and the little one appeared to quickly be on the mend,
minus some snot that has begun to pour from his nose. Today, Daniel is back up
and playing. While entertaining himself, Daniel found Thomas’s ipod earphones.
He kept bringing them to me and placing the ear bud on my arm or stomach.
Although I knew he did not need to be playing with Daddy’s headphones, my curiosity
let him keep them a bit longer. Once Daniel moved on to his stuffed animal, “Moosie,”
it finally connected with me what he was doing. Moosie and I were being checked
by Daniel, just like the doctor had done to him (and me for that matter) a few
days prior with the stethoscope. Fortunately, he kept playing Dr. long enough for me to go and grab the camera. You’ve got to give the kiddo credit, for the
way he is using the headphones truly does resemble the doctor’s tool.
At the start of fall semesters, when students are having
their first experience with college, I teach some simple e-mail etiquette.
A few weeks into my first semester of teaching at the collegiate level, I began
to realize that they had absolutely no clue how to send proper e-mails, so the
lesson was fully warranted. I also discovered, through discussing with
other colleagues, this was a pervasive issue that was not just limited to me.
Tenure, non-tenure, young, old, male, female….everyone had the problem on some
level. To be fair, I also noted many students have never e-mailed a teacher
before, since that is not common in high school. With this currently
being the spring semester, I skipped that mini-lesson, for most students were
on semester #2, or more. Sadly, I began
to receive many atrocious e-mails to my faculty account that were so far off
base from anything that I would have ever imagined sending when I was in their
shoes. Becoming frustrated with the situation, I decided to send them an e-mail
with some guidelines. I typed away within the college’s e-mail
server, composing a great document. I satisfactorily clicked send……and the
session had timed out; all my ranting was lost. Frustrated, but not too
dismayed, I composed a second e-mail, not as well thought out and perfect as
the first, but it met my needs. When class next convened, I had a quick verbal
discussion about this topic. Many of my students thought the e-mail was great,
and they were very surprised that anyone would send an e-mail that did not do
the requested things. Most of the ones that were guilty of said “bad e-mails”
spoke with me after class and apologized. A few had not seen theirs yet, but
they were certain to read it very soon. Being that my class seemed to appreciate
the commentary, I thought I would share it with you, for your reading
pleasure.
Dear Students:
I am beginning to notice a sad trend in some recent student e-mails. You have
graduated high school, and you are now in college. It is time to become the
professional student that you have signed yourself up to be. One would think
that these requests would go without saying, but evidently they do not, since I
have been receiving e-mails on the opposite end of the spectrum. So, in the
future, if you plan on e-mailing me, or any of your other college instructors
for that matter, you should be certain to meet the following guidelines:
1-You have a clear subject title that lets me, the receiver of the e-mail, know what it is I am about to open and read.
2-You have an academic and formal greeting at the start. My name is NOT "Hey" and I will not answer any type of e-mail that introduces me as such. I do not even send e-mails to my closest friends with that silly sort of greeting; I call them by their names. Please be respectful.
3-You capitalize words that start a sentence, as well as other mandatory letters. "I" is always in upper case. I am confused as to why you would now, as a college Freshman, begin to think that "i" is appropriate. My name is a proper noun, as well as your own, so they too should begin with "big letters," as they teach us in kindergarten.
4-You clearly explain what it is you are attaching and/or asking me about. I get many e-mails, personal and work related, at various e-mail addresses, and it is only logical that you describe what you are sending.
5- You should proofread. E-mail services are built in with a feature called spell check. Using this is pretty simple: you click a button. Applying this feature shows that you have composed a well thought out, clear e-mail that should be taken seriously by the reader. Although some errors may still remain, for no one is perfect, the egregious errors that take away from your validity will be caught.
6- You indicate who you are and for which class you are enrolled. I teach more than just your class, and I teach more than just you. It is imperative that you recognize this fact. I know that you take more than one class, and I let you know to what class I am referring when I send e-mails, so it is pretty standard that you do the same. I am not a mind reader, and I should not have to decipher an e-mail address to figure out who has sent me an e-mail. If you tire of typing your first and last name, you can create a signature that will automatically be included in any e-mails you send. I have done this for myself, and you will find that signature at the bottom of my correspondences.
E-mails that do not follow these guidelines will not be responded to by me, nor will I pay attention to the material within. You are not messaging me on Facebook; you are sending a formal, academic, collegiate communication. This is also a standard practice in the working world, so begin to put good practices into place now.
Thank you for reading. I am looking forward to future e-mails that put these guidelines into action.
As parents we sometimes use words or phrases we know our children will not be able to understand or comprehend, but we use them anyway, for they are just a part of our vocabulary and typical explanation of an event or situation. For example, I was recently in a store when I overheard a mother talking with her son, who was obviously preparing to buy a toy with some money he had saved/earned. As the child considered his options, he was torn between a few items, as most kids would be. She began to tell him that he only had enough money to buy the newly observed item “instead of” rather than “in addition to” his previous selection. Those two phrases were not really connecting with the kid, but they were typical phrases that an adult would use without cause for concern. It made me chuckle as I heard the mother and son try and resolve the toy dilemma, for I had only a day or two before done something very similar with Daniel.
We were on our way to run some errands, and Daniel, being the observant little guy that he currently is, realized that we were heading the direction of ourChick-Fil-A. This establishment happens to be one of his favorite places, and he can recognize it and request “fila….food.” Anytime we travel towards this restaurant, he begins to say “food,” “momma eat,” or something of the like, no matter if he has just eaten or not.
In all honesty, we will often eat there, thanks to the annual coupon calendar my mother-in-law gifts us with at Christmas, gift cards, and mailers via the company to our home, some of which contain coupons for completely free items, which you can never go wrong with.(.....pardon while I continue a shameless plug…..) I am all about eating for cheap, which is an easy feat there. Their food is cooked in peanut oil, which is healthier than other options. Also, the company in general is a wonderful establishment that is heads above any other fast-food type of store, full of clean tables and floors, as well as mannerly employees. With an indoor play place, it has also been a nice place to visit on cold or rainy days. I also know one of the managers personally, and when he is there, we get even more special treatment than what is typically offered. All that said, we love to “eat more chicken,” as their company slogan suggests.
So, as we travel down the road, Daniel beings “Eat, Momma.” I, not planning on purchasing anything that morning yet realizing that we might run long with our engagements, therefore food might fall into the agenda, respond with a “Maybe, Daniel. Maybe.” Daniel is silent for a few moments. Next, he quickly chimes in with another “Food, Momma. Eat food.” Again, I reply “Maybe.”
I do realize that he does not really understand this phrase, yet that was the appropriate reply, for I was uncertain if we would get anything. It was the only retort I could manage, albeit an inappropriate one for a toddler.
“Food, peas Momma.” At least now he was using his manners (peas=please). My response however, was the same “Maybe, Daniel” as before. Finally Daniel responds “No, Momma, no BABY. FOOD,” almost as if I was not getting his request. Chuckling from his response, I, again, reply “Maybe.” “Mom! No Baby! Eat food.”
Being that now I could not help myself from using the phrase and hearing him try and correct me on my listening abilities, I say “maybe” to him again. Exasperated from my comments, Daniel changes his request….”Snack?”……A phrase to which I cave. “Okay, Daniel, we will get some food.”
And to make me fall even more in love with him, Daniel, in a
high pitched voice proclaims, “Yeah! I excited!!! Food!’ as he clutches his hands into little fists near his smiling face.
Moments later, the boy held a .89 cent order of hash browns in his hands, and my heart began to become just as full with happiness as his tummy was becoming full with yummy food.
....well you know the rest......
I do feel like our house is about to be "blown down" about right now. We are having some extreme winds and severe weather warnings. I just brought an item from our yard into our garage, but it was not ours! I figured I would keep it from blowing any further away from its home, and I will go hunting for its original owner once the wind stops, perhaps sometime tomorrow or Friday. Our big grill is currently laying in the backyard on its backside, complete with open lid. I am not about to go out there and try to lift it up in my condition (sick and pregnant), so it will just have to stay that way until Thomas gets home. Not that placing it back up would matter much anyway, for I think that the strong winds would just push it back over almost immediately.
As I look outside, I can see the trees bending sideways like tiny twigs in the wind's force. The power lines are flopping around like thread tendrils. The sound of the wind whipping around our house is a little creepy as well. One moment it will gust loudly, sounding as if it is about to rip something off the outside structure of our home, only to transiently pause to gain more strength for its next attempt. This same commanding wind woke Daniel up from his nap, which was randomly early in the day, but it was his nap--my time to relax a little and get some things done--and it ended all too soon. Now he is operating in an annoyed mood, in which he gets frustrated easily. Example: he is looking at his alphabet flash card, calling out the letter or the items as he sees them, yet he will suddenly yell as one card does not do as he wishes, such as fit into its box.
Fortunate for us, we do not have to get out in these high winds anymore today. We were out earlier, but things were not as blustery at that point. I would not have ventured out at all, but I finally decided to go to the doctor to get my cough checked out by a professional. Turns out that I have bronchitis again! This time, however, I do not feel that death is knocking on my door, which is a great blessing. Don't get me wrong, I am not in a mood to frolic around anywhere, but at least I can do more than just pray for help from my couch, as was the case last time. So, antibiotics in hand, I am hoping for a quick and full recovery........as well as a fully standing house by the end of this windy weather!
Hope things are well with you, wherever you are, windy or not :o)
I have always been a person that enjoys warm weather and all
