Happy Thanksgiving!!

November 23, 2006 Savvy Spoonie 2 Comments

This year I am thankful for: (At least this is what immediately comes to mind)

My family
My friends
My pets (even when the dogs simply will not stop whining at the intoxicating turkey smells drifting through the house.)
My job
Disposable tupperware
Katamari Damacy (’cause who doesn’t like to roll stuff into a giant ball and send it into space?)
Garbage Disposals (even though I don’t have one anymore. Just knowing I am capable of someday having a garbage disposal.)
Patience and other useful virtues
Pecan pie

Thank you all for being in my life, I love you!!

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Fowards

November 21, 2006 Savvy Spoonie 2 Comments

Okay, I normally don’t like to post forwards here, but this one was really fun to read. Second Graders were asked some questions and these were some of their answers:

Answers given by 2nd grade school to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She’s the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He Just used bigger
parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice
in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use
string, I think.

Why did God give you Your mother & not some other mom?
1. We’re related
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don’t know because I wasn’t there, but my guess would be pretty
bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get
drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to
chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.

Who’s the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn’t want to be boss, but she has to because dad’s such a
goofball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the
bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What’s the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power ’cause
that’s who ask if you want to sleep over at your friend’s.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don’t do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

I thought these answers provided an interesting insight into the way kids view thier parents.

Monkey, parenting

Lessons…

November 19, 2006 Savvy Spoonie 2 Comments

Amazing childhood patience and lessons learned at the hands of our babies…

So, like many parents I have often complained about the hassles of being a parent. The difficulty of balancing a career with a child, the exhaustion of coming home from work just to clean, cook, and help with homework. The seemingly endless march of parental stuff one has to go through.

However, in the midst of all this kvetching I have often been given the opportunity to realize how well behaved and helpful my child is, and how lucky I am. This past week was an excellent example of just such an opportunity.

I usually drop Monkey off at school and go to work for five hours until it is time to pick her up. Sometimes she hangs out at the office for an hour or two after school while I finish something up. I have felt lucky that she likes the office enough that she will do that.

However, this past week she had half days wednesday through friday. I was worried that I would have to have her at the office too long, that I wouldn’t be able to get her to be well behaved long enough for me to get any extended work done. This was not the case.

This thursday she was at the office with me for seven and a half hours. She did not complain, she was not disruptive. She hung out, colored, played with paper airplanes, did her homework, and watched television while I worked on a deadline. She was an angel. She really, really likes it there.

As we were leaving, I thanked her for coming to the office with me and being so helpful. She responded with “You know how I use to come to law school with you? This is kind of like that. I missed it. I like to come to work with you.”

I gave her a huge hug and told her how very lucky I am to have her for a daughter. I thought it was amazing she could sit through an hour and a half long law class when she was three, I am blown away that she can hang out at my office for a full working day at five.

I will have to do my best to remember this when I am caught up in the daily labor of parenting. If she can be happy to be with me at the office, even though it can’t be as much fun as being home, I should be happier to come home after work and cook, clean, and help with homework. It is a pretty decent trade off for having such an amazing child.