Motherhood Reflections Archives - Page 5 of 5

A Ribbon Dog Made By JDaniel

February 9, 2011 By Deirdre

Sometimes you start on a project and it becomes something totally different than you had planned. I pulled out some ribbon for JDaniel and I to thread through a blueberry container. I thought it would be great for holding cookies we were going to decorate and take to my mom for Valentine’s Day.

Making a Ribbon Dog

After I clipped off some of the ribbons off its spool so that we could weave it, a long strand of ribbon was left hanging off the spool. JDaniel picked up the spool of ribbon and announced that it was a dog. The long ribbon I had left hanging off the spool was his leash I was told.

Pretend Play

JDaniel started to help me weave the ribbon, but soon lost interest and started playing with his new dog Parker. He named his ribbon dog Parker after his friend Jake’s dog.
Parker needed to be walked around the house to get exercise. Then he was very hungry after his walk and needed to eat. JDaniel took the blueberry container off the table and announced it was Parker’s bowl. Ribbon dogs must be on a special diet. JDaniel had to prepare Parker’s meal using a variety of measuring spoons. He couldn’t just dump food into Parker’s bowl.

JDaniel cooking for Parker the ribbon dog

The ribbon dog eating

Pretend Play Continued

When JDaniel went down for his nap, I tucked Parker away with the wrapping paper in an upstairs closet. I didn’t realize JDaniel would want to continue to play with him.

After eating his “I took a good nap snack”, I was asked where his dog was. At first, I didn’t understand and tried giving him one of his stuffed dogs. I was informed the ribbon roll dog Parker was what he wanted. He was dismayed to find Parker had been moved to a closet.

Later in the day, JDaniel’s friend Nathan came over to play. I asked JDaniel to show him his dog, Parker. Nathan wanted to know where the dog was all he saw was some ribbon on cardboard. JDaniel took his comment in stride and informed him Parker was a pretend dog. Nathan shrugged and started pulling Parker around for a walk just as JDaniel had.

All he needed was a little help in seeing this ribbon roll like a dog.

This post is linked to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday. It is R week.

Queries and Questions for Hibernating Mama Quadrapeds

February 2, 2011 By Deirdre

I know there are many of you have sleep issues with your children. I have read your blog posts about them.

Lately I have been wondering if hibernating animal mothers have the same issues with their little ones that we do.

If I could talk with a groundhog, here are some of the questions I would ask:

Do you children call out “Is it spring yet?”

JDaniel asks if it is morning yet through the monitor at least once a week.

Do your little ones sleepwalk through your tunnel? If so, do you find them in odd places underground when spring comes?

I have a friend whose daughter walks up and downstairs at night.

Do they need to get up in the middle of the hibernation cycle to use the bathroom or to get water?

One of my sister’s children does this a lot.

Do they have trouble settling in at the beginning of hibernation?

There are many moms in my playgroup that have children hopping in and out of bed each night.

Do they complain that they aren’t tired yet or that other moms let their children stay out later than you do?

JDaniel has just started commenting he isn’t ready for bed yet. I have let him know while that may be true the bed is ready for him.

Do they need to gather fifty million loveys around them to go to sleep?

JDaniel only gets five loveys to sleep with. He would love every stuffed animal he owns in bed with him at night.

How does your husband get up to check his shadow without waking up your little ones?

If JDaniel is close to waking up and my husband turns on the microwave to make coffee in the morning, it totally wakes him up.

Finally I would want to know this:

Do you hope and pray your husband will see his shadow so you can sleep for six more weeks?

This post is linked to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday.

Winter is a Time for…..

January 29, 2011 By Deirdre

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. ~Edith Sitwell

Lately, it has been much colder here in South Carolina than it normally is. We have had more snow and ice. There have been many days it is too cold to go out and play so we stay warm inside.

We have been finding more ways to have fun in the house. There have been hours of playing with construction equipment, building train tracks, and playing in a fort beside JDaniel’s bed. We have played shape dominoes and worked with pattern blocks at the kitchen table. Each week we have devoured a new bag of library books under a throw snuggled together. We have danced to Laurie Berkner and Ross King so that we can move and get exercise.

Unlike my son who loves to run around the house sockless, I hate being cold! Even inside the house with the heat on I feel the cold. Each morning I pile on layers of clothes. I have sweaters of all weights and thicknesses along with turtlenecks and thick socks. As it warms up during the day I start to shed layers but keep them near to pile back on as the sun goes down.

New soups have been explored this winter. We normally stick to meals of meat and vegetables with a casserole thrown in every now and then. The cold winter weather has motivated me to make minestrone and vegetable soups. I am going to try homemade tomato soup next. We have also inhaled pots of creamy macaroni and cheese. I don’t know why it has always been a cold-weather comfort food for me. Both my husband and JDaniel love homemade macaroni and cheese as I do. It has been fun to try several different recipes for it.

Cold weather also leads to long talks in our living room huddled under fleece blankets. They are great opportunities to share not only our days but our dreams for tomorrow.

It is the cold of winter that reminds me that our house is a home.

What is your favorite part of winter?

My Husband is King of the Dishwasher

January 20, 2011 By Deirdre

Something unique you love about your significant other.

When my husband and I were dating, we cooked a lot at each other’s houses. During the clean up after a dinner at his house one night, I rinsed the dishes and started putting them into the dishwasher. He commented on how I wasn’t putting them in correctly. Considering the fact that I have been loading dishwashers since I was a pre-teen I didn’t think that I was doing it wrong, but I stopped what I was doing to have him tell me what I was doing wrong just to see what he would say.

He began by pointing out there were very particular rules about placing items in the dishwasher.

Rule One

The eating surfaces of plates and bowls should face into the dishwasher.

I hadn’t thought about that but it makes sense.

Rule Two

Double check while you are placing items into the dishwasher to make sure they are completely clean. The dishwasher is really just for sterilizing the dishes and not cleaning them.

I have always really tried to do this. There have been instances that bits and small pieces of food have gotten past me.

Rule Three

Knives have to be placed in the outer cutlery bins to prevent you from accidently being cut by them when you release the metal latch that holds the bins closed which is located in the center of the dishwasher door.

Again I hadn’t thought about this, but it too makes sense.

Rule Four

Never over pack the washer racks it can cause dishes to clang against each other and chip.

I had never had this problem despite over packing for decades, but I noted it was a good rule.

After listening to each rule and having him show me how to load a dishwasher, there was only one response I could give that made sense. “You will be the king of the dishwasher,” I replied. “It will be your domain for as long as we live.” I’m not sure that is what he expected me to say, but it was a great response.

My husband is still king of the dishwasher. I load the dishes JDaniel and I use during the day as we use them but, the dinner dishes and pans are loaded by my husband. He takes the time to readjust the items I have put in if necessary before starting the washer.

Do I care that he rearranges things? Not one bit. My husband is king of the dishwasher and his reign over that domain is supreme.

Oh! The part I love best is that he does the dishes. I also love that he is man of details. Details are not my strong suit. I am so glad that they are his in the dishwasher and beyond.

This post is based on Mama Kat’s Writing Prompt Number One.

Outraged at Objectionable Treatment of Books

January 19, 2011 By Deirdre

On Monday last week we received seven inches of snow and ice here in South Carolina. I remembered sometime on Monday afternoon that we had library books that were due. Since I would be unable to return them on time, I got on the library website and renewed them online.

On Wednesday afternoon JDaniel and I headed to the library after been iced and snowed in at home for a few days. The library website didn’t mention it still being closed so I assumed it would be open. JDaniel wanted new books and Might Machine videos. I wanted to get out of the house.

When we got to the library, it was closed. I looked over at the bag beside me bulging with books and Mighty Machines videos and thought I would try to place them in the book and video drops. We would just come back later to select new materials. I pulled the car up to the curb in front of the library and got out to drop the books off leaving JDaniel in the warmth of the car.

I quickly made my way to the book drop and found the drop was overflowing with books. Not only was the book drop full to the point of having books sticking out of it, but there was a pile of books left under the drop.

I was shocked who would leave books out in 38-degree wintery weather. Granted they were piled under an extended overhang, but they were still left outside. I couldn’t believe it.

When I got back in the car with my bulging bag of books, JDaniel wanted to know why I hadn’t dropped them in the slot. I told him that the drop was full and we had to bring the books home and keep them warm.

I was outraged when I got home and wished I had taken a picture of this horrendous sight. I ended up talking to my husband when he got home about this outrageous sight. Later I talked with my friend Bridgette and my sister Michelle about it. No one could understand why people hadn’t just taken the books home with them and renewed them online if necessary.

The next morning we headed back to the library to drop off the books before meeting friends for a play date. I thought maybe someone would have stopped by the library and brought the books in and the slot would be empty. No, the library was still closed and the book pile under the drop had now become piles of books. It was amazing to see that other people had chosen to leave books outside.

This time I remembered to take a picture to show you.

Can you believe that people would do this?

Why do you think they didn’t bring them home?

The library opened later that day and the books were brought in! I didn’t go back and check later in the day. I found out from a librarian when we went back to the library at the end of the week. She couldn’t believe people had done it either.

Afterthought: What would have happened if someone took these books? Would the patrons have to pay from not returning them.

Growing up I was always thankful for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving meant gathering at my grandparents with my mom’s sisters and their families. There was always a long car ride, time playing with cousins, crafts, and a feast of wonderful food.

Over the River and Through the Woods

My Grandmere and Grandpere lived about six hours north of my family in New Jersey. It was always a long trip. My mom did all the driving and most of it was after nightfall. I am not sure if she started having us sing along with her near the end of the trip to keep her awake or to keep my two younger sisters from fussing in the backseat. We sang everything from Broadway show tunes to church songs. Once we got ready to cross from Pennsylvania into New Jersey via a bridge over the Delaware River, the song we always sang was Over the River and Through the Woods.

Have the Kids Decorate the Table So They Will Stay Out of the Kitchen

My mom and both of her sisters were teachers. Each year they would come up with something for my cousins Anne and Jeanne, my sisters, and I to create for the Thanksgiving table. I remember one year we made name tags with turkeys on them. Placemats were another year’s craft. None of us were very crafty so I am not sure the table looked beautifully adorned with our construction paper creations. They did however keep us out the kitchen so that the Thanksgiving feast could be prepared without five little girls “helping”.

Every year we were also tasked with creating slips of paper with Thanksgiving related words on them that each family member was supposed to act out in a round of charades after dinner. We had the best time deciding who would get the slip of paper that said turkey under their plate each year. The funny part about the slip creating activity is that I think we took longer create the slips and hide them under plates than we actually played charades each year. Usually, my aunts and uncles would act out what was on their slips. By the time it was my four male cousins’ turn they would protest this game was beneath them and ask if they had permission to go outside and play.

The Feast

The feast the ladies in my family prepared was wonderful. There was the turkey with gravy, assorted casseroles, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and Pillsbury crescent rolls. There were mounds of each of these foods piled high on platters and in bowls. The smell coming from the kitchen during the morning would get make your stomach start to growl, but it was nothing compared to the visual display of food placed down the center of the table. Everything always looked wonderful. I am not sure why the mashed potatoes and everything else they made always tasted better after it had been prepared in my Grandmere’s kitchen.

I don’t remember if we had dessert right after dinner or after running outside for awhile. I do remember that the feast was capped off with Grandmere’s apple pie and pumpkins pies. There also assorted cakes put out to enjoy too. It was Grandmere’s apple pie that always a hit. The crust just seemed to melt in your mouth.

Run and Play

My grandparents lived on a small farm with huge lawn to play on and a pond to canoe on. After our feast, there always something going on outside. There was a collection of bats, balls, and other outdoor toys kept the barn to keep us entertained for hours.

That is how I remember Thanksgiving growing up. What memories stand out to you?