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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

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Individual Thankgiving Choices or Two for Thankgiving at Cracker Barrel

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If you walk into a restaurant on Thanksgiving and see two ladies in their seventies sitting together enjoying a thanksgiving feast, what do you think?

  • Do you think that their children must be spending Thanksgiving with their in-laws and will be with them for Christmas?
  • Do you think that their families live too far away?
  • Do you wonder if they have outlived their relatives?

If you walk into Cracker Barrel in Greenville, South Carolina on Thanksgiving Day, you will see two ladies in their seventies sitting together enjoying a thanksgiving feast together for two different reasons. One will be there because she didn’t have anyone to spend Thanksgiving with so she asked a friend to spend Thanksgiving with her. My mom will be the other lady. She was invited to spend Thanksgiving with one of my sisters in Georgia just as she has been for the last several years. She is sitting with her friend so her friend won’t be alone on Thanksgiving.

I bet that there are many people who end up spending Thanksgiving alone.

  • They may have to work on Thanksgiving Day and can’t travel to visit family.
  • They may be a college student who is going home for Christmas and can’t make the trip twice in two months.
  • They may not want to go down to dinner at the senior center and sit with others who haven’t anywhere else to go. It is just too depressing.
  • They may just want a quiet dinner for two.
  • They may not be able to afford the trip to see friends and relatives.

Whatever their reason for being alone, I hope that there is someone as special as my mom that will invite them to spend Thanksgiving with them.

 

Do you know someone that you need to invite to join you around the Thanksgiving table?

 

Hungry Ants Come Marching In!

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We have a little ant problem in the kitchen. We have sprayed and put out traps. The ants seem to disappear only to reappear a few weeks later. As I started sweeping them up after breakfast this morning, this song came into my head. I have changed some words to fit our situation. Please feel free to sing along.

The Ants Come Marching In

The ants go marching one by one. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching one by one. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching one by one, the little one stops to pick up a crumb,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ants go marching two by two. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching two by two. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching two by two, the little one stops to gnaw on a fruit chew,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch. Boom, Boom, Boom!

The ants go marching three by three. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching three by three. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching three by three, the little one stops for a scrap of turkey,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ants go marching four by four. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching four by four. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching four by four, the little one finds a Cheerio and looks for more,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ants go marching five by five. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching five by five. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching five by five, the little one looks for a morsel to survive,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ants go marching six by six. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching six by six. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching six by six, the little one eats a strand of  a celery stick,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ants go marching seven by seven. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching seven by seven. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching seven by seven, the little one searches for food not swept up by eleven,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ants go marching eight by eight. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching eight by eight. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching eight by eight, the little one snacks on tidbits that fell off a plate,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ants go marching nine by nine. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching nine by nine. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching nine by nine, the little one thinks small food scraps are fine,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ants go marching ten by ten. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching ten by ten. Hurrah, hurrah!

The ants go marching ten by ten, they don’t realize JDaniel’s Mom set a trap of them,

And they all march under the table to see if JDaniel left them any lunch, Boom! Boom! Boom!

Here’s hoping we stay ant free!

I am linking this to Serenity Now’s Weekend Bloggy Reading!

  

Exploring Nivens Farm

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Yesterday I posted pictures we took at a pumpkin stand in downtown Simpsonville, South Carolina where we purchased a large pumpkin for our front porch. Today I have more pumpkin related pictures to share. These pictures are from a field trip JDaniel and his playgroup went on to Nivens Farm. We got a small pumpkin and bag of apples as part of the farm visit package.  I am going to share so of the wonderful things we did and saw while exploring Nevins Farm.
We started with a hayride around the farm. JDaniel clung to me as the tractor took off and only relaxed half around the farm. When I asked him his favorite part of the trip later that day he said this was his favorite part.

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Then someone headed off to look for a pumpkin. JDaniel was supposed to select one of the small pumpkins that were already picked as part of our farm visit package. After being guided back to them, he spent fifteen minutes trying to select a pumpkin. I was so ready to select one for him.

 

Stay at Home Mom

After selecting one of the small pumpkins, he jumped on inner tubes.

There was a wood teepee set up. JDaniel waited patiently for his turn to explore the inside of the teepee.

 

It is hard to see him in the tube. If you squint carefully, you may see his shadow.  JDaniel crawled through the tubes many times. He also loved standing at one end of the tube and calling to me on the other end. The echoing effect really interested him.

 

Decisions about Halloween and Pumpkins

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There are so many decisions families make about Halloween.

Here are a few we have talked about at my house:

Will we trick or treat?

Some families don’t trick or treat. They have legitimate reasons and have decided not to participate. My husband and I both trick or treated when we were little and decided that it would be all right for JDaniel to dress up and visit houses in our neighborhood.

Will you put out a pumpkin?

Yes. We both had pumpkins on our porches when we were little and don’t see this as a problem for us.

Will the pumpkin have a face carved into it?

Yes. We decided that we could have a happy face carved into a pumpkin. I am totally aware of the history of carved pumpkins. A parent wrote me a three-page letter on the horrors of Halloween when I first started teaching twenty years ago. He detailed as much of the ancient history and meaning of Halloween objects he felt I needed to know followed by a declaration that his child wasn’t to participate in any Halloween related activities in the classroom. I think he had a right to share his thoughts about Halloween with me. His feelings on the subject were respected and I let his daughter abstain from activities that would have been objectionable to him.

Will we decorate the outside of the house with skeletons and ghosts?

No. JDaniel recently noticed some Halloween decorations at a friend’s house and was scared of them. They weren’t going to be a part of our Halloween décor anyway. We certainly wouldn’t be doing them even if we had planned to do them with JDaniel’s fear of them.

Will we read Halloween related books?

Yes. I am reviewing one this week in Read. Explore.Learn. I am not pointing out witches or ghosts out and discussing them. If he asks about what they are, I will tell him what they are called. At two he probably won’t want an in-depth discussion anyway.

 

 
 

Angel Hair Attracts Ageless Ladies

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Two weeks ago we went to spend the weekend with my mother-in-law in her new apartment. JDaniel was thrilled. He fell in love with the idea of apartment living when we first toured her apartment before she moved in.
Now that she is living in the “Big House” (The apartments in her senior living community are in a place they call the “Big House”.) she eats one meal a day in the community’s dining room. It is a great place for her to meet friends and spend time around other people for a wonderful meal. She knows almost everyone there. We went with her to dinner during our visit. There were people stopping by to chat with her every few minutes.
Were they stopping to ask how she was doing? No, they were stopping to check out her youngest grandson JDaniel. They admired his hearty appetite. They commented on how well he was behaving. They wanted to clutch his angel-like curls. Lady after lady stroked his curls or squished a handful of them in their palms. “What amazing curls!” they each would say. Did JDaniel notice all this attention to his hair? No way! He was more interested in whether his Nana had more fried okra on her plate and whether mom had any salmon croquettes left on hers. He didn’t even seem to notice he was being fawned over.
Some day he will love the attention of the right lady. She may even be a little older than he is.

 

The Purple Flash Taught Latin Class

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When my sisters and I were in high school, we all took Latin from Mrs. Sleeper. She was in her early seventies at the time but acted like the youth she taught. She seemed to sprint around the room rejoicing in a language she loved to teach. She must have been exhausted by the end of the day. During class this slight woman with a bun wound around the back of her head would share conjugations of verbs and Latin phrases like they were a part of her. I not sure she really taught Latin. I think she must have lived it. Mrs. Sleeper wore only purple clothes. She said, “Purple is the color of royalty.” She drove a huge red boat-like car named Vesuvius. She took students around the world to visit ancient ruins every year. Mrs. Sleeper filled her students with the knowledge and love of the living dead language she loved.
Many of you will have started school by now. (When I taught in Virginia, we started right after Labor Day. ) I really hope that your children will have teachers this year like Mrs. Sleeper. I remember so much about her and the subject she taught because she was so joyful about what she taught. She was fun and innovative. Mrs. Sleeper kicked her trashcan every time we talked about an irregular verb. She had us make movies and write plays about characters from Roman times. She gave deep smiles to you when you answered a question correctly or she passed out a test you had done well on.
Whether your child’s teacher wears purple, red, yellow or green, I hope she or he has a great joy for what they teach.
Did you have a Mrs. Sleeper in your life or your child’s? Please tell me about them in your comment.

Two Red Ys

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We were exploring downtown Greenville and came across this red sculpture. It is titled Untitled. When JDaniel and I stopped to look at it, I asked him what he thought it was. He replied “Ys”. It really does look like two ys stacked together.

This sculpture is sort of symbolic of conversations I have with JDaniel some days. They seem to be filled with a least two whys.

Here are a couple of examples:

Conversation One

JDaniel:“Why did we have to stop car?”
Me: “There is a red sign that says stop on it in front of the car”
JDaniel: “Why sign?”
Me: “There are a lot of cars on the road and if we didn’t stop we could hit one.”
JDaniel: “Mom, no cars here.”
Me: “The law says I have to stop anyway”

Conversation Two
Me: “What color is that car in the picture?”
JDaniel: “Orange car”
Me: “Close. What color is that red car in the picture?”
JDaniel: “Orange car”
Me: “Honey, that car is not orange. It is a red car.”
JDaniel: “Why?”
Me: “They decided to make it that color in the book.”
JDaniel: “Why?”


Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Soup- Revisiting K

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Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe today is called Alphabet Soup. She is having everyone in the meme point out a post that we loved. I really enjoyed writing about my sister Kate and her one special Easter egg in a post called just that Kate and One Special Egg.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

Reflecting on My Freshman Year of Blogging

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I have just come to the end of my freshman year of blogging. Much like my freshman year in I learned a lot. There were ups, downs, missteps, and glorious moments. I would like to share with you some of the things I learned this year. They may be things you learned, don’t care about, or are learning along with me.
  1. I started out with a routine of the types of posts I would write each day of the week. That hasn’t changed much. I like the structure of my blog.
  2. Hosting giveaways is a ton of fun and a lot of work. I started them to draw attention to my blog. Posting them many places each week takes at a lot of time. I didn’t intend and still don’t intend to be a giveaway blog per se. I totally admire the blogs that can do it. The number of giveaways and reviews is going to go down a bit. My plan is to add one or two a week.
  3. Finding a niche of friends to visit, comment on, and get to know is really important. I have joined several blogging groups (Mom Blogger’s Club and Secret to Success is Support) and participate in Mom Loop on BlogFrog as one of five moderators.
  4. Memes can be a great way to find new blogs to read, meet friends, and share with others that have similar interests. I am a part of several memes ( Muffin Tin Monday, Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe, Wordless Wednesday, and stART) I don’t do all these memes every week. In the future, I think I will be cutting back to Muffin Tin Monday and Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe. Not just because they comment back and they do with a vengeance. All the memes have people that comment back. I have just found a niche in these two memes.
  5. I have read a million times that it is not about the number of followers, subscribers, or comments. It should be about writing great posts and building friendships. The truth is I can get a thrill out of the numbers. I can also be touched by one comment or e-mail about a post that can be just as thrilling. I am going to continue to comment on tons and be better about enjoying the blogging experience.
  6. You don’t have to have exact goals or fit into a certain blogging mold. Some blogs do and have great success. I have an eclectic mommy blog that is growing and changing as I grow and change. I guess I am like a rising sophomore without a major.

 

Yammering and Yowling for Mommy to Yield

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When I was little I talked my mom’s ear off. She was forever letting me know she was busy with something. I don’t know if I talked to get her attention or because I just liked to hear my own voice. Maybe I never learned to process thoughts internally. I remember her saying some of what I was saying wasn’t really important or something she needed to know. There weren’t many quiet moments for her when I was around. I seemed to be yammering about something thought or idea all the time.

JDaniel received his mother’s gift of gab. We are constantly chatting about what he notices in the world. There are many “What’s that” statements said every day. He wakes up talking to himself in his bed. Then we chat about what to thank God for in our morning prayers and what he would like for breakfast. This pattern of chats and questions continues for the rest of the day. Unless he gets busy with “work” or reading. Work is done while chatting to himself and reading in done silently most of the time.

Those times of conversation and language sharing are great! I love them. The ones that drive me nuts are the yammering or whining conversations. They are filled with “I want” and “I need”. Sometimes they are accompanied by a foot stump or two.

Yelping or yammering is also done. I think he does it in an attempt to wear mommy down. If he goes on and on about it in a demanding voice, he thinks he will get what he wants it he sticks with the yelping or yammering long enough. It doesn’t seem to work well for him yet he doesn’t seem interested in giving it up. I try to gently remind him that there are other ways to ask. I try removing myself from the area of the house that contains the object of his desire.

I am starting to understand what my mom lived through. Do you think she prayed I would have a child just like me?



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