Saturday, February 28, 2009
A sign of flawed judgment
At the zoo the other day, Naomi said, "I'm scared of the cows! Can we go see the jaguar?"
Monday, February 23, 2009
In order to scare Naomi
This six weeks of homeschooling, I've got a unit on farming planned. Farming books, farming crafts, poems, art, etc. It's a good time of year for it, since there will be baby animals at some of the field trips that I've planned, we're planting our own garden, etc.
The only thing I forgot to take into account was Naomi. I was thinking, "Oh, fun, we'll go to these farm field trips and see the baby animals and the new growth and the tractors and the...whatever else we'll see." It was a good thought. Most kids would LOVE field trips like that.
Today we did a little mini-field-trip to kick off this new section. We went to the zoo, which has a family farm section. As soon as we headed in that direction, Naomi began to get upset. "I don't want to see the cows. I don't want to see the goats. I don't want to see the cows."
Of course, the cows were the first thing we encountered. They're not usually, but today they were in the petting area (closed for the season, but highly visible) while their pen was being cleaned.
"NOT THE COWS! NO, I DON'T WANT TO SEE THE COWS! NO, MAMA, NO, MAMA! I WANT TO GO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!!!" The poor kid is screaming and clinging to the stroller. Needless to say, Hannah went up to see the cows and Naomi didn't.
Then we moved on, relieved that the cow obstacle had been passed. But more was to come.
As we headed further into the family farm area, she started in low with, "I don't want to see the goats. Mama, I don't want to see the goats." Naturally, I wasn't going to force her to see the goats. But we had to go that direction to see the OTHER animals. I tried to explain this to her, but the terror of goats apparently is too much for explanations. "Not the GOATS, Mama, NO! Not the GOATS, Mama! MAMA, MAMA, NOT THE GOATS! NO I DON'T WANT TO SEE THE GOATS! NO!"
At which point I veered off into the chicken and rabbit area. We had a lovely few minutes with chickens and rabbits, then visited the fake cow that kids can pretend to milk -- this one is okay -- saw the barn owl, the donkeys, and the kiosk with videos.
Then, a zoo attendant came up and said the fateful words, "We're bringing the cows through here, so you may want to stay to the side." And the cows followed almost immediately. There was no time to race to cover. The cows -- 2 miniature panda cows -- were coming through.
Naomi began to panic again, although we had moved as far as possible in the short time allowed. And then one mooed. Immediately she covered her ears and began to cry, "No! I DON'T WANT THEM TO MOO! I DON'T WANT THEM TO SAY MOO! NO! NOT THE COWS! I DON'T WANT THEM TO SAY MOO!"
As soon as the cows were out of the way, we revisited the fake cows, chickens, and rabbits (in order to leave on a positive note), then hurried past the goats without looking, and then our field trip was at an end.
Leaving me wondering about other field trips that I'm hoping to go on. How much fun will it be for the rest of us to have Naomi crying, screaming, and panicking at each new animal? Mmmm. Not much fun.
And wondering what the other parents -- and zoo workers, for that matter -- thought about my cow-phobic child. She has in the past mentioned her belief that cows eat people, and we've tried to dissuade her of this idea -- I'm not sure we've been successful -- and we don't threaten her with cow-related retribution for bad behavior. But it sure looks like we do, doesn't it?
The only thing I forgot to take into account was Naomi. I was thinking, "Oh, fun, we'll go to these farm field trips and see the baby animals and the new growth and the tractors and the...whatever else we'll see." It was a good thought. Most kids would LOVE field trips like that.
Today we did a little mini-field-trip to kick off this new section. We went to the zoo, which has a family farm section. As soon as we headed in that direction, Naomi began to get upset. "I don't want to see the cows. I don't want to see the goats. I don't want to see the cows."
Of course, the cows were the first thing we encountered. They're not usually, but today they were in the petting area (closed for the season, but highly visible) while their pen was being cleaned.
"NOT THE COWS! NO, I DON'T WANT TO SEE THE COWS! NO, MAMA, NO, MAMA! I WANT TO GO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!!!" The poor kid is screaming and clinging to the stroller. Needless to say, Hannah went up to see the cows and Naomi didn't.
Then we moved on, relieved that the cow obstacle had been passed. But more was to come.
As we headed further into the family farm area, she started in low with, "I don't want to see the goats. Mama, I don't want to see the goats." Naturally, I wasn't going to force her to see the goats. But we had to go that direction to see the OTHER animals. I tried to explain this to her, but the terror of goats apparently is too much for explanations. "Not the GOATS, Mama, NO! Not the GOATS, Mama! MAMA, MAMA, NOT THE GOATS! NO I DON'T WANT TO SEE THE GOATS! NO!"
At which point I veered off into the chicken and rabbit area. We had a lovely few minutes with chickens and rabbits, then visited the fake cow that kids can pretend to milk -- this one is okay -- saw the barn owl, the donkeys, and the kiosk with videos.
Then, a zoo attendant came up and said the fateful words, "We're bringing the cows through here, so you may want to stay to the side." And the cows followed almost immediately. There was no time to race to cover. The cows -- 2 miniature panda cows -- were coming through.
Naomi began to panic again, although we had moved as far as possible in the short time allowed. And then one mooed. Immediately she covered her ears and began to cry, "No! I DON'T WANT THEM TO MOO! I DON'T WANT THEM TO SAY MOO! NO! NOT THE COWS! I DON'T WANT THEM TO SAY MOO!"
As soon as the cows were out of the way, we revisited the fake cows, chickens, and rabbits (in order to leave on a positive note), then hurried past the goats without looking, and then our field trip was at an end.
Leaving me wondering about other field trips that I'm hoping to go on. How much fun will it be for the rest of us to have Naomi crying, screaming, and panicking at each new animal? Mmmm. Not much fun.
And wondering what the other parents -- and zoo workers, for that matter -- thought about my cow-phobic child. She has in the past mentioned her belief that cows eat people, and we've tried to dissuade her of this idea -- I'm not sure we've been successful -- and we don't threaten her with cow-related retribution for bad behavior. But it sure looks like we do, doesn't it?
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Who am I again?
This morning, Hannah was pretending that we're All of a Kind Family.
H: You're Mama, Dada's Papa, Simeon's Charlie, and I'm Charlotte. Naomi will be whoever she wants to be. [Spoken like a true sister who tried to get Naomi to be something last time with no luck whatsoever.]
M: Well, Dada's not here, can Sim be Papa?
H: No, he's too small. Besides, Papa has a job that he goes to every day. It's at a junk shop, so that's appropriate. [Hello, Microsoft? Here's what Hannah thinks of you!]
M: Okay.
H: My nickname will be Hannah, so that if you call me Hannah by accident you'll just be calling me by my nickname. [Hmmmm...she knows me well.]
A few minutes later Naomi came downstairs with two of her teddy bears.
N: These are my babies, I'm a mama bear.
M: Oh, they're lovely.
N: You're my mama bear.
M: Okay.
N: And Sim is your baby bear.
H: [Just coming in the room.] Hi, Naomi, I'm being Charlotte. Do you want to be Gertie?
N: No, I'm a mama bear. Mama's a mama bear.
H: No, Mama's being Mama.
N: No, she's being a mama bear. And you're a sister bear.
H: No, I'm Charlotte.
N: No, you're a sister bear.
H: Maybe I'll be Charlotte pretending to be a sister bear.
N: No, you're a sister bear.
H: No, I'm Charlotte, pretending to be a sister bear.
M: Umm, Hannah, would you please go get something for me? [See, I called poor Charlotte (or a sister bear, depending on which camp you support) by her nickname, just as predicted!]
H: You're Mama, Dada's Papa, Simeon's Charlie, and I'm Charlotte. Naomi will be whoever she wants to be. [Spoken like a true sister who tried to get Naomi to be something last time with no luck whatsoever.]
M: Well, Dada's not here, can Sim be Papa?
H: No, he's too small. Besides, Papa has a job that he goes to every day. It's at a junk shop, so that's appropriate. [Hello, Microsoft? Here's what Hannah thinks of you!]
M: Okay.
H: My nickname will be Hannah, so that if you call me Hannah by accident you'll just be calling me by my nickname. [Hmmmm...she knows me well.]
A few minutes later Naomi came downstairs with two of her teddy bears.
N: These are my babies, I'm a mama bear.
M: Oh, they're lovely.
N: You're my mama bear.
M: Okay.
N: And Sim is your baby bear.
H: [Just coming in the room.] Hi, Naomi, I'm being Charlotte. Do you want to be Gertie?
N: No, I'm a mama bear. Mama's a mama bear.
H: No, Mama's being Mama.
N: No, she's being a mama bear. And you're a sister bear.
H: No, I'm Charlotte.
N: No, you're a sister bear.
H: Maybe I'll be Charlotte pretending to be a sister bear.
N: No, you're a sister bear.
H: No, I'm Charlotte, pretending to be a sister bear.
M: Umm, Hannah, would you please go get something for me? [See, I called poor Charlotte (or a sister bear, depending on which camp you support) by her nickname, just as predicted!]
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy St. Valentine's Day!
Last night, we put out our Valentine's shoes. This is a new idea invented by Hannah, whose imagination was captured by St. Nicholas Day and the shoes. She used her own money to buy conversation hearts to put in everyone's shoes, and she cut out hearts for that purpose, too. Both girls tried to get up at 5:15 in order to check their shoes. Those who know Naomi know that this is a disaster waiting to happen. Luckily, Michael talked them down -- or in this case, back up -- and they slept a bit more. Hannah was still up at 6, but Naomi slept until almost 8.
The day has been full of kitchen activity. Michael's been baking up a storm, and the latest project is another vegan cupcake -- cookies and creme this time.
Michael loves it when I take candid cooking pictures of him.
See?
Naomi's not about to miss any of the chocolate-sweet-making action.
And she's brought her friends to enjoy the fun, too. They're sitting on the produce, where they can get a good view of the goings-on.
Hannah is in charge of ingredients.
And some more Michael cooking shots, which are so dear to him:
The day has been full of kitchen activity. Michael's been baking up a storm, and the latest project is another vegan cupcake -- cookies and creme this time.
Michael loves it when I take candid cooking pictures of him.
See?
Naomi's not about to miss any of the chocolate-sweet-making action.
And she's brought her friends to enjoy the fun, too. They're sitting on the produce, where they can get a good view of the goings-on.
Hannah is in charge of ingredients.
And some more Michael cooking shots, which are so dear to him:
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tummy time
tends to be a baby's least favorite time, at least in our experience. So once they learn to turn over, you better get tummy time pictures fast, since after that, you'll only get rolling over pictures. Sim had his first roll on Saturday, so I took some pictures. Of course, he hasn't rolled over since then, but these are cute anyway!
Have you perused this yet?
You should check out the LOLCats website, which usually has at least one or two new pictures daily that make me laugh. Okay, so I don't check it every day. Or every week. Or even once a month. But when I DO check it, I laugh. And sometimes you need to laugh. This one is one I laugh at every time. It's too ridiculous. I don't know why.
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