thank you?

One of my kids gave me a snowman yesterday. No, we haven't had any snow. It was made of Fruity Pebbles (kind of a rice krispy treat formula, I'm sure). It had marshmallow eyes and fruit roll-up hair, clothes, and mouth, and a raisin nose. I'm not entirely sure it is safe for human consumption. But I thanked her profusely and put it with my things to take it home, because it was a sweet thing for her to do. And I took a picture of it at home before laying it to rest in the kitchen garbage can.

What I Love About My Job

Thirteen Things I Love About My Job 1. Zachary 2. Raine 3. Kaleb 4. Joshua 5. Alaina 6. Bailey 7. Frank 8. Eli 9. Austin 10. Elijah 11. Audrah 12. Stormie 13. Noah Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Chaotic Mom 2. Skyelarke

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big wheels keep on turnin'

Ah, the hula hoop. Such a simple little thing. But in the hands of a 4 year old, it can be so entertaining. One such 4 year old (who is fairly small for his age) came up to me today with one of our hula hoops and said "watch this!" He then proceeded to spin the hoop around his waist while he himself spun in circles. It was very much amusing. I found myself wishing I had a camera phone that could record video...only a short time longer before I can upgrade.

Oh, by the way - yay for my 50th post!

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice: What Are Little Girls REALLY Made Of?

You've seen them at church with their frilly little dresses and their ribbons in their hair. You've seen them in the stores looking so sweet you could just eat them up. You've seen them at home playing innocently with their little dolls.

Now let me show you what you don't see. Little girls at school. I recently read a blog that said that kindergarten is the new junior high. Sorry to contradict you, BBM, but I must. For, you see, PRESCHOOL is the true new junior high. And I blame Disney.

I've seen full-out slap-fests over whose boyfriend a certain little boy was (while the boy played obliviously in the blocks and cars with his little boy friends). I cannot count the number of times I've heard the infamous "I'm not your friend anymore" uttered over the most miniscule "offenses." And heaven forbid that there be an uneven number of girls in a class, because little Suzie can't possibly be friends with Janie and Beth at the same time.

Little girls are sneaky. And they will flat-out lie to your face, all the while with that sweeter than honey smile.

Kathy Bates phrased it best in The Waterboy. Little girls are the devil.

me hold you?

This so very much reminds me of the toddlers at work. They've gotten so used to hearing an adult ask "Do you want me to hold you?" whenever they are upset, that when they ask to be held they actually say "me hold you?"

What's In a Name?

Our good friend Billy - Shakespeare, not Idol - once wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." I tend to disagree, my dear William. And so I offer up the first installment of Poor Name Choices for Your Child.

Disclaimer: If your name happens to appear on this list, I apologize that no one informed your parents of the grave mistake they were making at the time.

* Stormie - you obviously are not expecting to have many peaceful moments in this child's life.

* Damien - naming a child anything that comes close to the word "demon" is just asking for trouble.

* Bambi - sorry, but this girl is gonna be a stripper or a porn star, no way around it.

* Destiny - that has "phone sex operator" written all over it.

* Candy - there's another stripper/porn star/phone sex operator in the making.

* Britney/Brittany - the world has met its quota on these for a generation or two.

* Apple, Cherry, or any other fruit - these are foods, not people.

Parenting, Part the Second

This will be much shorter than my previous rant on this subject (I think).

Again, I must start off with a disclaimer:

I do not have children. I am well aware that this makes all of my views and opinions on parenting null and void to those who do have children, despite my degree in Child and Family Studies and my experience as a preschool teacher. That said, this is my blog and I have a right to voice my opinion on any matter that I see fit. So here it is.

I'm back on movies. And here is my opinion today. I love children as much as the next preschool teacher, but your two year old does not belong in the movie theater. Especially not during the showing of a movie that is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, drug references and brief comic violence (I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby today). Find a baby sitter for the two or three hours on a Sunday afternoon, or wait until the movie comes out on video. Please. Children younger than 5 or 6 (and I think I'm pushing the limits going that young) do not have the attention span or the physical capacity to be still and quiet through an entire movie. And they have absolutely no business watching any movie with Will Ferrell in it, either.

I understand that parents are humans too, and as such do have the need on occassion to get out and enjoy a movie that isn't animated or incredibly hokey. But can you really enjoy the movie if you are constantly wrestling your child back into his seat?