It's Adorable that my 3yr old daughter Shayla calls R Beloved Spiritual Uncle Jerry 'Grandpadaddy'. Aww :-)@jerrydaniels@mjmara@lovecreatescmc
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Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Well, it finally happened. i'm 99% certain that I hrd "Oh shit" fly out of the mouth of R 3yr, 2mo old baby girl ...
Well, it finally happened. i'm 99% certain that I hrd "Oh shit" fly out of the mouth of R 3yr, 2mo old baby girl ths morn. I asked. She said that she cld not cnfrm nor deny tht she said it. Maturation?:-/
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Monday, April 26, 2010
Which is Better: Buying Apple Products, or Buying Apple Stock?: How this simple bit of wisdom evades the common A...
Which is Better: Buying Apple Products, or Buying Apple Stock?: How this simple bit of wisdom evades the common Apple fan/consumer (Including myself!) is beyond me. I am now taking the point under Serious advisement! :-) http://bit.ly/bUouaG
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Saturday, April 24, 2010
Watched abt 1/2 of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' last nite. Cute flick. That guy needs a Spidey suit--alwys lookn 4 ...
Watched abt 1/2 of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' last nite. Cute flick. That guy needs a Spidey suit--alwys lookn 4 clothes. :)www.imdb.com/title/tt0452694/
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Friday, April 23, 2010
'Into The Arms of Strangers: Stories of The Kindertransport' was a beautiful, if disturbing documentary of the gr...
'Into The Arms of Strangers: Stories of The Kindertransport' was a beautiful, if disturbing documentary of the graceful relocation of more than 10,000 Jewish children at the dawn of WWII. Intense, but good to have been seen. www.imdb.com/title/tt0248912/
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
Ice Cream Love at Flipnotics
I posted this photo yesterday, but then applied some special effects to it, so I thought it fitting to post again.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Shayla Makes Rock Collections Wherever She Goes
@simplytweet it's doing it again 2day. Looks like it might be a location oriented thing b/c I'm actually near 'Zilker Park'
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How can I loose track of a full cup of coffee in the short distance from the front door of our duplex to my bdrm ...
How can I loose track of a full cup of coffee in the short distance from the front door of our duplex to my bdrm door? I must b gettn oldr!
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Shayla and Shyness?? Negative!
My relationship with my 3y,2mo. old daughter has finally reached the public maturation point of "Who the hell are you again? My dad? ...No, I don't think so. I'm here with 'my people' " kind-of- spot. We went to Ruta Maya (a local coffee shop) yesterday afternoon and I turned out to be the Last person that she wanted to hang out with while we were there. Sure, it makes sense; she only hangs out with me litterally 'all the time'. However, it's still a bit awkward when you're trying to protect the general population from the over confident, over bearing, quite pushy nature of your 3 y.o. child. I mean, who 'wants' to say no to a kid who asks you, "Hey, can I sit here next to you and play with your smart phone"? Probably most people, but who wants to be put in a position to actually Say "No, I don't really want you to do that"? Again, No One, I'm sure.
In trying to stop this obvious (to me) public dilemma I wind up (again, to me) looking like the overbearing and insistent father figure of some kid's bad dream. I don't like playing this role, but there are still rules, even and especially, in public. "Shayla, you must ask those kind people if it's okay if you sit with them for a bit, not just walk up and plunk down like you've known them all your little life", I say to her and the table of the two twenty-something girls. "No, I'm going to stay here", she says while the girls simultaneously give their approving nods and smiles. Still, this doesn't give me the 'warm fuzzies'!! I don't like playing that role of Big Daddy Censor! Too late! One would say, "then you buddy, are in the wrong profession" I clearly hear in the back of my mind! Well, that doesn't mean that I have to like it, does it? Nah, of course not. I have to say that I will enjoy scaring the crap out of suitors in 12 or 13 years, but this stuff?? Let me tell you...this is not fun.
If that were not enough, she also managed to adopt an extra set of grandparents while we were there, even going so far as to call the old man 'paw paw'! My jaw was on the floor! It wasn't the first time and I know it sure as hell will not be the last!! Of course I allowed this little stage play as I didn't want to go from 'truancy officer' dad to 'state warden' dad all in the same day.
All the above is very humorous to me in a 'dry' sort of way, if a little embarrassing.
In trying to stop this obvious (to me) public dilemma I wind up (again, to me) looking like the overbearing and insistent father figure of some kid's bad dream. I don't like playing this role, but there are still rules, even and especially, in public. "Shayla, you must ask those kind people if it's okay if you sit with them for a bit, not just walk up and plunk down like you've known them all your little life", I say to her and the table of the two twenty-something girls. "No, I'm going to stay here", she says while the girls simultaneously give their approving nods and smiles. Still, this doesn't give me the 'warm fuzzies'!! I don't like playing that role of Big Daddy Censor! Too late! One would say, "then you buddy, are in the wrong profession" I clearly hear in the back of my mind! Well, that doesn't mean that I have to like it, does it? Nah, of course not. I have to say that I will enjoy scaring the crap out of suitors in 12 or 13 years, but this stuff?? Let me tell you...this is not fun.
If that were not enough, she also managed to adopt an extra set of grandparents while we were there, even going so far as to call the old man 'paw paw'! My jaw was on the floor! It wasn't the first time and I know it sure as hell will not be the last!! Of course I allowed this little stage play as I didn't want to go from 'truancy officer' dad to 'state warden' dad all in the same day.
All the above is very humorous to me in a 'dry' sort of way, if a little embarrassing.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
@simplytweet no, not the case here. Hmm. & since it wasn't mirrored on Twitter (whn I lookd)..software bug perhap...
@simplytweet no, not the case here. Hmm. & since it wasn't mirrored on Twitter (whn I lookd)..software bug perhaps. Hasn't been numerous 4 me tho. Only 1 other time 4 moi.
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@simplytweet I had just went frm my mentions screen to my acct screen. That's it. I was lookin' to see the page o...
@simplytweet I had just went frm my mentions screen to my acct screen. That's it. I was lookin' to see the page of someone I just choose 2 fllw.
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Monday, April 19, 2010
Shayla at Nana and Risa's
It is amazing how fast they grow!! I can hardly believe it and I'm with her everyday!
The Works
Today's calamity is minimized by the accidental good fortune of getting up on the good side of the bed.
How did I do that?
I don't know, but perhaps it is repeatable.
My life, not being my own, feel akin to a piece of rentable equipment from your local home depot.
Not really, but sort of.
It's not bad.
The sphere I live within is huge with many working parts.
I just try to stay out of the way so as not to get pinched, and thereby to keep smiling remaining fluid within the works.
And if I look up, I see the stars.
How did I do that?
I don't know, but perhaps it is repeatable.
My life, not being my own, feel akin to a piece of rentable equipment from your local home depot.
Not really, but sort of.
It's not bad.
The sphere I live within is huge with many working parts.
I just try to stay out of the way so as not to get pinched, and thereby to keep smiling remaining fluid within the works.
And if I look up, I see the stars.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Choice
The secular sits next to the sacred.
The hats change as the wind blows. The cards are shuffled.
Peace is a choice despite the movements of change. The tap root is deep and in the same place, yet not; however the coordinates are always made manifest for those of willing heart and mind in their time. It is there for the nourishing, should you wish it. Always there. It has no judgement, no recompense should you wait 'till later, but you must dig; this is no softdrink vending machine.
Temporal nature and man's search for meaning: There are days where this seems like someone's idea of a cruel joke, but it isn't. I still find myself laughing though at the inside out nature of it, at times. Humor always returns, but there are those days where the heart is hit hard and the freshness of the pain rises to the surface to be skimmed and cleaned off as the slow cathartic healing of the wounds of the deep undergo their steady, warm, mending transformations that are atomically changing and altering bit by bit by precious bit the Love of One, as the tick-tock of human evolution moves it's way through the Heart of a life.
The secular sits next to the sacred.
The hats change as the wind blows.
The cards are shuffled and re-shuffled and
Peace and Love are choices we can make despite the movements of change.
The hats change as the wind blows. The cards are shuffled.
Peace is a choice despite the movements of change. The tap root is deep and in the same place, yet not; however the coordinates are always made manifest for those of willing heart and mind in their time. It is there for the nourishing, should you wish it. Always there. It has no judgement, no recompense should you wait 'till later, but you must dig; this is no softdrink vending machine.
Temporal nature and man's search for meaning: There are days where this seems like someone's idea of a cruel joke, but it isn't. I still find myself laughing though at the inside out nature of it, at times. Humor always returns, but there are those days where the heart is hit hard and the freshness of the pain rises to the surface to be skimmed and cleaned off as the slow cathartic healing of the wounds of the deep undergo their steady, warm, mending transformations that are atomically changing and altering bit by bit by precious bit the Love of One, as the tick-tock of human evolution moves it's way through the Heart of a life.
The secular sits next to the sacred.
The hats change as the wind blows.
The cards are shuffled and re-shuffled and
Peace and Love are choices we can make despite the movements of change.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Bravery
It takes bravery to be oneself.
Ones self ungarded.
To be open like a vulnerable blade of grass, weed or flower between two pieces of sidewalk on a busy thoroughfare.
Open to the whim of the elements and the egos passing by
And choosing not to protect oneself from what may be. How many ceaseless hours are spent trying to protect the unprotectable from what may be?
Pain has taught us this and rightfully so. It has been etched on our souls by those we love, and through no fault of their own they have only passed on what they have learned, what they have been taught as it were by all those teachings that are silent, not having a tongue yet boom in the quiet of the tense house as a thunder that cannot be blocked out.
Bravery is not to fight. Fighting is the easiest thing and also the ugliest. Fighting is the doorway to the horrors of man. Protecting the castle and fighting to the teeth is second nature to man. There is no glory in that as glories go. Necessity maybe, glory no.
Bravery doesn't glimmer or shine in the reflection of those Hollywood eyes. Bravery is drab and plain, fresh out of pretense and camoflage, and doesn't mind being alone knowing there are much worse things.
Bravery is measured within the recesses of itself to it's own with a feel that is intimate and personal, known only to the one. Bravery that needs proving is not bravery.
Bravery just might be the end of war rather than the begining of it.
Ones self ungarded.
To be open like a vulnerable blade of grass, weed or flower between two pieces of sidewalk on a busy thoroughfare.
Open to the whim of the elements and the egos passing by
And choosing not to protect oneself from what may be. How many ceaseless hours are spent trying to protect the unprotectable from what may be?
Pain has taught us this and rightfully so. It has been etched on our souls by those we love, and through no fault of their own they have only passed on what they have learned, what they have been taught as it were by all those teachings that are silent, not having a tongue yet boom in the quiet of the tense house as a thunder that cannot be blocked out.
Bravery is not to fight. Fighting is the easiest thing and also the ugliest. Fighting is the doorway to the horrors of man. Protecting the castle and fighting to the teeth is second nature to man. There is no glory in that as glories go. Necessity maybe, glory no.
Bravery doesn't glimmer or shine in the reflection of those Hollywood eyes. Bravery is drab and plain, fresh out of pretense and camoflage, and doesn't mind being alone knowing there are much worse things.
Bravery is measured within the recesses of itself to it's own with a feel that is intimate and personal, known only to the one. Bravery that needs proving is not bravery.
Bravery just might be the end of war rather than the begining of it.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
@jackalopekid any more, I don't really do tht much on my PC whch has Flash. Most of my computng is done via iPhon...
@jackalopekid any more, I don't really do tht much on my PC whch has Flash. Most of my computng is done via iPhone. "Times, they're a Chngng"
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Your Dad Is No 'Short Order' Cook!
I think the sooner that Shayla really realizes that I'm not her personal 'short order' cook, the better. I haven't given her any other impression, aside from just wanting her to enjoy what she's eating and thereby being obviously flexible about available menu options. Some times I think that I've been too flexible with that.
Now, we go over available options prior to food prep. After that point, if the wants change...too bad. "This is what's for __________", I say. "Eat or starve, your choice", I add (Big Smile). She Eats.
Now, we go over available options prior to food prep. After that point, if the wants change...too bad. "This is what's for __________", I say. "Eat or starve, your choice", I add (Big Smile). She Eats.
Monday, April 12, 2010
dont Understand the Adobe/Apple Relationship or think U do? Check out ths little recounting of history & then wei...
dont Understand the Adobe/Apple Relationship or think U do? Check out ths little recounting of history & then weigh in again! http://is.gd/bpNyW
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@butchjax So she took that anti-b and Zyrtec D (Walgreen's brnd) last night & didn't sleep b/c it's got antihista...
@butchjax So she took that anti-b and Zyrtec D (Walgreen's brnd) last night & didn't sleep b/c it's got antihistamine(enuf 2 kp hr awake). :(
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Saturday, April 10, 2010
William's 25th Birthday Party at Pappadeaux's
@butchjax yeah, we do. We have a singing practice that'll literally go from early morn till abt 5. There's poss'l...
@butchjax yeah, we do. We have a singing practice that'll literally go from early morn till abt 5. There's poss'lty after tht. Let's stay n tch.
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The Joy of Relations
I must say that I never valued 'Family' the way that I have come to since having a child of my own. It is something magical and of a new dimension altogether that children bring to the table of family and life.
I used to feel, in a way disconnected from my relatives. It was not bad per se, it was just different. Looking back I can see that it was a lack of context, a lack of 'the threads' of relationship and connected meaning. That 'connected meaning' IS CHILDREN!! Closeness is naturally born, drawn in and weaved through the families that birth new lives. It is as natural as breathing, as drinking water, as putting on new, fresh clothes for a brand new day.
There is a Joy that is in me that has been waiting to get out. My daughter has given me the vehicle whereby that can happen: HER. Children are the instigators for the miraculous from within their parents by their very nature of being because of what they call forth out of the catacombs of the humans that are their parents. They come to help the families to which they are born and also to have the oportunity to live themselves on this beautiful green and blue Orb that we call Planet Earth.
Family gatherings are now a joy with a well defined meaning and purpose: the children. These gatherings were almost always events that I looked forward to, but now I look forward to them with great excitement for I have some special people to share with them: my partner Christina and my sweet child Shayla. Happiness.
I used to feel, in a way disconnected from my relatives. It was not bad per se, it was just different. Looking back I can see that it was a lack of context, a lack of 'the threads' of relationship and connected meaning. That 'connected meaning' IS CHILDREN!! Closeness is naturally born, drawn in and weaved through the families that birth new lives. It is as natural as breathing, as drinking water, as putting on new, fresh clothes for a brand new day.
There is a Joy that is in me that has been waiting to get out. My daughter has given me the vehicle whereby that can happen: HER. Children are the instigators for the miraculous from within their parents by their very nature of being because of what they call forth out of the catacombs of the humans that are their parents. They come to help the families to which they are born and also to have the oportunity to live themselves on this beautiful green and blue Orb that we call Planet Earth.
Family gatherings are now a joy with a well defined meaning and purpose: the children. These gatherings were almost always events that I looked forward to, but now I look forward to them with great excitement for I have some special people to share with them: my partner Christina and my sweet child Shayla. Happiness.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The Miracles of Small Misses
Today while at the park with Shayla I was reminded of just how non-causal their (meaning a three year old's) thinking is. Actually, I get reminded of this everyday, however there are these lulls wherein you think it's safe to let your guard down and be a little lax and then you sometimes get shocked.
Today, was one of those days as we were at the park having a good old time with all these kids. I guess there were about 25 kids of varying ages there. Shayla is very interactive and so she starts running around with them, following certain ones and quickly becomes a part of the group mind. In situations like this one she gets very excited and does quick, spontaneous acrobatical moves that she would not otherwise take the risk to enact.
Excitement for a three year old can push other well ingrained (at home) common sense practices and rationale right out of their little head. It's not that they have a lot to work with at this age to start with, but even that gets jepordized in a field of adrenaline and excitement. There were a few times while we there that I had to instruct her on how to play with others (which she already knows, but gets lost in the frolick): take turns, ask first, at no time do you push or use force, etcetera. It's interesting how the excitement about something can override all these rules of engagement. That's not all it overrides either. There was an incident where she was going after a ball that another kid had thrown to her and being overshot she turned around and ran through a swing set on a diagonal line that was full of wildly swinging kids!! I couldn't believe that she did this! I don't think I had a right to be surprised, but I was. My heart lept up into the back of my throat, and fortunate for Shayla and for me one of the mothers that was pushing their kids caught what was happening and stopped her child in his swing just in time to avoid Shayla being slammed in the front of her head! That scared the pee diddle out of me, and Shayla, of course didn't even know what had been averted. I sighed in relief and appologized first, then thanked the mom. I then vowed...to do...what? I already keep an Eagle eye on her. I just can't help but think that these are the small miracles that keep us going day by day.
Thank goodness for those that watch over us.
Today, was one of those days as we were at the park having a good old time with all these kids. I guess there were about 25 kids of varying ages there. Shayla is very interactive and so she starts running around with them, following certain ones and quickly becomes a part of the group mind. In situations like this one she gets very excited and does quick, spontaneous acrobatical moves that she would not otherwise take the risk to enact.
Excitement for a three year old can push other well ingrained (at home) common sense practices and rationale right out of their little head. It's not that they have a lot to work with at this age to start with, but even that gets jepordized in a field of adrenaline and excitement. There were a few times while we there that I had to instruct her on how to play with others (which she already knows, but gets lost in the frolick): take turns, ask first, at no time do you push or use force, etcetera. It's interesting how the excitement about something can override all these rules of engagement. That's not all it overrides either. There was an incident where she was going after a ball that another kid had thrown to her and being overshot she turned around and ran through a swing set on a diagonal line that was full of wildly swinging kids!! I couldn't believe that she did this! I don't think I had a right to be surprised, but I was. My heart lept up into the back of my throat, and fortunate for Shayla and for me one of the mothers that was pushing their kids caught what was happening and stopped her child in his swing just in time to avoid Shayla being slammed in the front of her head! That scared the pee diddle out of me, and Shayla, of course didn't even know what had been averted. I sighed in relief and appologized first, then thanked the mom. I then vowed...to do...what? I already keep an Eagle eye on her. I just can't help but think that these are the small miracles that keep us going day by day.
Thank goodness for those that watch over us.
Spazz Spazz Razamatazz
It was a comforting thing yesterday to again witness that I am not the only parent that has a 3 yr. old child that is a spazzl. I say this with love in my heart and a smile on my face, but where oh where do these creatures get this Energy?!! I sincerely hope that the attention span is destined to lengthen because 15 seconds is just not enough time to get much done! How, exactly one gets distracted in the bathroom Between the releasing and the wiping is just simply beyond me. Is it possible to stay on task for a full 3 minute stretch because otherwise I'm not sure where we go from here?
It's amazing that we all make it to adulthood like we do. Was I really like this at this age?? I imagine human beings growing up 'in the wild' in this day and age as I look at my little one that I still, at 3 yrs. old, have to remind how to walk, lest she hurt herself, and I cringe thinking there'd be no way that we as a species would make it. How far off the line have we gone with our rubber-soled shoes, drive through Starbucks and electronic devices? So far we have come from the actual hunting and gathering that I sometimes wonder what would happen to us minus the skyscrapers, cars, and concrete? It's a funny mental vignette when I think about baby mammals in the wild--Hey, that's what we homo sapiens are!--and the fact that my daughter has yet to get down pat drying the moisture off her skin with a piece of toilet paper,..and she's been alive for three years already! Funny stuff. :-)
So often I feel like a broken record with my daughter: do this, don't do that, do that, don't do this. A happy, tireless broken record, but a broken record nonetheless. Why don't we pop out of the womb with more of a solid state living manual embedded in our psyche? I mean some basic things could be really helpful like 'wiping your own butt: 101', 'Sanitary Procedures for Survival: Overt and Sublime', 'How to Stay Alive in a Physical World where Gravity and Mass are King', 'Cleaning Up After Yourself Pts. I, II, and III', or even something like 'How to Safely Walk a Straight Line from Point A to Point B Without Injuring Yourself or Others'. Why not?...... Surely, most assuredly, God is Laughing. It is funny I must say, and even when it's not to me I certainly hope someone, somewhere is getting a kick out of it.
Parenting is an interesting and awesome job that both requires a lot and gives a lot. It empties you and then fills you up on an almost clock-work type basis. All I'll say at this point is Thank God for the Filling Up.
It's amazing that we all make it to adulthood like we do. Was I really like this at this age?? I imagine human beings growing up 'in the wild' in this day and age as I look at my little one that I still, at 3 yrs. old, have to remind how to walk, lest she hurt herself, and I cringe thinking there'd be no way that we as a species would make it. How far off the line have we gone with our rubber-soled shoes, drive through Starbucks and electronic devices? So far we have come from the actual hunting and gathering that I sometimes wonder what would happen to us minus the skyscrapers, cars, and concrete? It's a funny mental vignette when I think about baby mammals in the wild--Hey, that's what we homo sapiens are!--and the fact that my daughter has yet to get down pat drying the moisture off her skin with a piece of toilet paper,..and she's been alive for three years already! Funny stuff. :-)
So often I feel like a broken record with my daughter: do this, don't do that, do that, don't do this. A happy, tireless broken record, but a broken record nonetheless. Why don't we pop out of the womb with more of a solid state living manual embedded in our psyche? I mean some basic things could be really helpful like 'wiping your own butt: 101', 'Sanitary Procedures for Survival: Overt and Sublime', 'How to Stay Alive in a Physical World where Gravity and Mass are King', 'Cleaning Up After Yourself Pts. I, II, and III', or even something like 'How to Safely Walk a Straight Line from Point A to Point B Without Injuring Yourself or Others'. Why not?...... Surely, most assuredly, God is Laughing. It is funny I must say, and even when it's not to me I certainly hope someone, somewhere is getting a kick out of it.
Parenting is an interesting and awesome job that both requires a lot and gives a lot. It empties you and then fills you up on an almost clock-work type basis. All I'll say at this point is Thank God for the Filling Up.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Cute One, I must say! I'm a SAHD. I post abt my 3 Yr Old daughter & our exprnces. I too am in Austin. Nice to run...
Cute One, I must say! I'm a SAHD. I post abt my 3 Yr Old daughter & our exprnces. I too am in Austin. Nice to run in 2 U thru@thehrgoddess ! http://twitter.com/WellVersedMom/status/11749822276
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The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook. ~William James (via @thehrgoddess) This is really gd relations...
The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook. ~William James (via @thehrgoddess) This is really gd relationship advice. So many things not worth the fuss!
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@docmurdock btw, I think that Stitcher giveaway for the iPad is over now, but several others prob r still going o...
@docmurdock btw, I think that Stitcher giveaway for the iPad is over now, but several others prob r still going or begin today. If u come across plz share. Thx. :)
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@docmurdock Yes, and if you know of more please do share. Particularly ones that are 'free' from the outset. 'iDr...
@docmurdock Yes, and if you know of more please do share. Particularly ones that are 'free' from the outset. 'iDrive' is gd, but I don't need that service. :)
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Tuesday, April 6, 2010
I sure do love late night to early morning; what a blessed time!! Do all parents of toddlers say that? It's a ti...
I sure do love late night to early morning; what a blessed time!! Do all parents of toddlers say that? It's a time when you actually can hear yourself think and it occurs once every 24 hrs! Hallelujah!
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Send Her to The Potty Alone at Your Own Risk Pt. II
Yes, our 3 year old daughter Shayla is, for all practical purposes 'potty trained' at this point, however it's still a mixed bag to send her to the potty alone 100% of the time. She averages about 7 out of 10 to be successful, non-catastrophic type experiences. The other 3 are, well, up in the air as for how they will turn out.
Today, we had one of those '3 out of 10' type experiences. It wasn't a total mess, but bless her heart, it was headed in that direction. It's a common practice that if she goes to the john solo and we don't hear or see from her for more than about 6-7 minutes then we send in a search party and truthfully, you never really know what you're going to find. Today, after giving her a just amount of time on her solo adventure, I walk up to the bathroom door, gently knock, and peer in just in time to see her flushing and watching with scientific curiosity a total bowl full of wadded up white paper towels. She was using white paper towels because that morning we had run out of proper toilet paper and we had not yet gone to the store to get more. This was a first for her. She didn't know that you're not supposed to flush paper towels, but rather toss them in the waste baskett when finished. Daddy had not informed her of the bathroom protocol in reference to paper towels. She didn't know to fold them over and to tear them in half and then to use one of those halves to wipe with. So, in lieu of this missing piece of intelligence she used one paper towel per wipe, and wiped what looked to be about 10 to 12 times in the name of thoroughness. Luckily, as she was watching the water travel out of the bowl the current didn't really catch hold of the rather stiff mass, which was fortunate for me as paper towels do not rapidly degrade when they come into contact with water and this paper sludge would've solidly clogged the toilet. I then filled her in on paper napkin and paper towel use in the bathroom and she said "Okay", but I don't really know if that was "okay, I understand you", or "okay, I get that you're trying to explain something to me". This kind of stuff is really funny because there really isn't any sure-fire way (that I can see) to tell if a child gets what you're explaining, until of course, the same situation arises again and you can see first hand what they do the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etcetera--times around. Sometimes it takes a little while for it to sink into the cognitive processes of that little head, or for you to say it in just the right way---whichever comes first.
So now I have this mass of wet paper towels in the toilet that must be fished out as they certainly cannot be flushed. Also, little kids are like cats: they want to be right in the middle of whatever is going on, (and with kids especially) the messier the greater the attraction. So I am saying to Shayla all the while, "Now honey, you're going to have to step back. This area is nasty, nasty, nasty. Not that going to the bathroom is nasty because it's not, but the toilet is nasty, nasty, nasty". All the while I am sticking the toilet bowl cleaner wand in there and fishing out these paper towels and dumping them into the trash while holding her back from the rim with my other arm I am thinking, "now what is she learning from this? Even though I have explained why we have to do this I am not sure that it has registered and the LAST thing I want to see the next time I open the bathroom door to check on her after an extended potty stay is her fishing around in the toilet"! I have to laugh to myself, as the details of these experiences drive me nuts, but there's not a thing I can do about it, as the train has already left the station. I can only watch in my mind's eye and laugh hoping that her understanding is on the right track. I can't even at this point count the number of times that I have told her that we don't 'play in the potty' and she has to date been really good about not doing that, but here I am and what am I doing? .. Playing in the potty. :-) No honey, this is not a trend and I am no trend setter. ....Don't look at me like that. This is not fascinating, this is Yucky.
Catostrophe averted. Corrections made. Understanding clear and implemented.? I hope; we'll see. It's all parental fun, especially in hindsight.
Today, we had one of those '3 out of 10' type experiences. It wasn't a total mess, but bless her heart, it was headed in that direction. It's a common practice that if she goes to the john solo and we don't hear or see from her for more than about 6-7 minutes then we send in a search party and truthfully, you never really know what you're going to find. Today, after giving her a just amount of time on her solo adventure, I walk up to the bathroom door, gently knock, and peer in just in time to see her flushing and watching with scientific curiosity a total bowl full of wadded up white paper towels. She was using white paper towels because that morning we had run out of proper toilet paper and we had not yet gone to the store to get more. This was a first for her. She didn't know that you're not supposed to flush paper towels, but rather toss them in the waste baskett when finished. Daddy had not informed her of the bathroom protocol in reference to paper towels. She didn't know to fold them over and to tear them in half and then to use one of those halves to wipe with. So, in lieu of this missing piece of intelligence she used one paper towel per wipe, and wiped what looked to be about 10 to 12 times in the name of thoroughness. Luckily, as she was watching the water travel out of the bowl the current didn't really catch hold of the rather stiff mass, which was fortunate for me as paper towels do not rapidly degrade when they come into contact with water and this paper sludge would've solidly clogged the toilet. I then filled her in on paper napkin and paper towel use in the bathroom and she said "Okay", but I don't really know if that was "okay, I understand you", or "okay, I get that you're trying to explain something to me". This kind of stuff is really funny because there really isn't any sure-fire way (that I can see) to tell if a child gets what you're explaining, until of course, the same situation arises again and you can see first hand what they do the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etcetera--times around. Sometimes it takes a little while for it to sink into the cognitive processes of that little head, or for you to say it in just the right way---whichever comes first.
So now I have this mass of wet paper towels in the toilet that must be fished out as they certainly cannot be flushed. Also, little kids are like cats: they want to be right in the middle of whatever is going on, (and with kids especially) the messier the greater the attraction. So I am saying to Shayla all the while, "Now honey, you're going to have to step back. This area is nasty, nasty, nasty. Not that going to the bathroom is nasty because it's not, but the toilet is nasty, nasty, nasty". All the while I am sticking the toilet bowl cleaner wand in there and fishing out these paper towels and dumping them into the trash while holding her back from the rim with my other arm I am thinking, "now what is she learning from this? Even though I have explained why we have to do this I am not sure that it has registered and the LAST thing I want to see the next time I open the bathroom door to check on her after an extended potty stay is her fishing around in the toilet"! I have to laugh to myself, as the details of these experiences drive me nuts, but there's not a thing I can do about it, as the train has already left the station. I can only watch in my mind's eye and laugh hoping that her understanding is on the right track. I can't even at this point count the number of times that I have told her that we don't 'play in the potty' and she has to date been really good about not doing that, but here I am and what am I doing? .. Playing in the potty. :-) No honey, this is not a trend and I am no trend setter. ....Don't look at me like that. This is not fascinating, this is Yucky.
Catostrophe averted. Corrections made. Understanding clear and implemented.? I hope; we'll see. It's all parental fun, especially in hindsight.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Tried to Dupe Shayla with a Sorbet Instead of Ice Cream at Amy's
Shayla and I went for a short bike ride this evening, and wound up at an Amy's Ice Cream location because it was close to the house. She's had a little mucus congestion that had started yesterday, so I knew ice cream would not be the best thing for that. My solution was to get her a tiny sorbet and an ice cream for me. Since she's only 3 I thought I could pull that off. Nope didn't work. Although she didn't know exactly what I was ordering, I thought if I stayed quiet about which was what that she'd think it was All Ice Cream. Negative.
I had bought a raspberry sorbet for her and a white chocolate macadamia ice cream for me. The one was bright red (attractive, right?), and the other a plain white--the ice cream. The first thing out of her mouth after pulling her freshly dipped sorbeted finger out of her mouth and giving a look to my side of the table was,
"I want the white one".
"Of course you do", I relented. The rest of the visit was a mutual devouring of both; it was fun.
It's true that as a parent you can only control so much. :-)
I had bought a raspberry sorbet for her and a white chocolate macadamia ice cream for me. The one was bright red (attractive, right?), and the other a plain white--the ice cream. The first thing out of her mouth after pulling her freshly dipped sorbeted finger out of her mouth and giving a look to my side of the table was,
"I want the white one".
"Of course you do", I relented. The rest of the visit was a mutual devouring of both; it was fun.
It's true that as a parent you can only control so much. :-)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
My Daughter Is At That Lovely Age of Three
Shayla has lately been taken with a determined sense of self and is trying out the acceptable/unacceptable bounds of her position. Today, in front of family was no exception. It's really not that fun trying to show her that she is not going to be allowed to thwart or undermine our authority. Blatant disregard for your parental authority is really no fun at all. Why, child must you make me teach you this? I'm sure there's more in it for me than meets the eye, but that doesn't mean that I am going to enjoy the process. Oh well, it comes with the territory. It's part of the ebb and flow of life, I guess.
It was a joyful day with two different 'families' of ours and I am now stuffed to the gills and wish I had a second stomach like our bovine relatives to off load some of the abundance, but that is not to happen. So now, I take my happily stuffed self home with the other members of my family and put my energetic little three year old to bed and then fall on the couch to watch a movie with my beloved.
It's been a Happy and Plentiful Easter. I hope you and yours have had the same.
God Bless and Happy Easter from those of us at The Daddyville press. Good Night.
It was a joyful day with two different 'families' of ours and I am now stuffed to the gills and wish I had a second stomach like our bovine relatives to off load some of the abundance, but that is not to happen. So now, I take my happily stuffed self home with the other members of my family and put my energetic little three year old to bed and then fall on the couch to watch a movie with my beloved.
It's been a Happy and Plentiful Easter. I hope you and yours have had the same.
God Bless and Happy Easter from those of us at The Daddyville press. Good Night.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
We saw 'Shutter Island' last night. Pretty good, but not great. L. DeCaprio was not the best choice for the lead ...
We saw 'Shutter Island' last night. Pretty good, but not great. L. DeCaprio was not the best choice for the lead role in this 'Hitchcock Inspired' Martin Scorcese picture. I give it 5 stars out of 10.
via SimplyTweet
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Shayla Loves The Earth
Here's Shayla in her favorite place: down with the rocks, the dirt and bugs. If she doesn't have dirt under her finger nails at the end of the day it hasn't been a normally adventurous day. :-)
An Interesting Book Choice For a 3 Year Old
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