Kids are awesome.
Yeah, ok, sometimes they are whiny and needy and stinky and sassy--you get the idea--but all that aside, kids are really cool. They can be sweet and cuddly and fun and silly, and they even have those moments where they can be insightful. And, of course, they sure are good at melting hearts.
Now, my kind of child is in the "4 and under" category. Ya know, the way they are when they still need you, and they can't really talk back quite yet. And they still let you make the rules when you play games ("No, kid, what if I don't want Barbie to say that?"). Hubs and I joke that when we have children, they will be mine from birth to 4, his from 5-15, and then when they get to be older teens...well, we'll deal with that when it comes.
I've worked with children (yes, sometimes even over the age of 4) for some time now in various settings. I'm often so in awe of how they learn and grow. How they react to certain situations. How they formulate thoughts, ideas, and even words. How my simple kiss can "heal" any boo-boo, and my repetitious singing can bring a smile to a sweet face. The excitement of writing his name for the first time; the dance she made up on her own to perform just for me. Children are just a storehouse of wonder and energy. And I love all their little moments. But ya know one of the things I love most about kids? Things they say.
My current nanny job has me at the park quite often. I have all the opportunity in the world to hear the musings of little children. Kids seriously do say the darndest things sometimes. While Lil' Man and I are swinging or sliding or drawing in the dirt with sticks, I always have one ear open to the words and phrases that fly around the playground, always hoping to catch something funny (and sometimes thought-provoking) to jot down in my mental journal. It's amazing what you can hear if ya just give a listen. Some things that make my mouth curl up in a smile or my eyebrows arch up in surprise, and every once in a while, some things that make me say, "Wow, I wish I'd thought of that!"
I hate to keep such hilarity and insightfulness to myself, so in a new segment of my blog, I present to you the first installment of "Wonderful Words of Wee Ones". And seriously, folks, I can't make this stuff up.
1. 3-year-old boy: "I'm full of hungry." (I feel ya. Been there, too, kid.)
2. 6-year-old girl (in the MOST deadpan voice I've ever heard): "Yesterday at Oz Park, I saw boys jump off the swing when they were really high. It was exciting."
3. 4-year-old girl, while playing "ice cream store": "You can have vanilla, chocolate, vanilla, sprinkle...or vanilla." (Apparently, someone got an extra shipment of vanilla this week.)
4. 6-year-old boy: "Why do I have to go to my work meeting every two hours?!" (I think someone has been hanging out with his workaholic parent.)
5. "I just farted! Do you smell it?!" (I'm not even gonna preface this one. We all know that was an 8-year-old boy.)
6. 2-year-old girl in reference to her infant sister: "Mama, can we try hanging Iris?" (Soooo relieved when I realized she was referring to giving the baby a go at the monkey bars; also relieved that the mom nixed both options.)
7. 5-year-old black boy to his white friend: "Come on, brother!" (Too cute!)
5-year-old's twin sister to her brother: "Go away! You aren't my brother anymore!" (Not so cute. Still funny. Jealous much?)
8. 5-year-old boy to a 4-year-old girl wearing oversized purple latex gloves (Seriously, like Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory): "Uh, what are those gloves for?"
Girl: "They are from the dentist."
Boy: (incredulously) "Why are you wearing them?"
Girl: "I just don't want to take them off. They're soft." (Duh.)
9. 6-year-old girl, while running away from her friends: "I don't want you to talk to me for the rest of my life!" (Girls can be so mean! At any age...)
10. And one of my all-time favorites, said by a 4-year-old girl indignantly to her friends: "Trust is listening and love. You aren't being listening or loving!" (Wise beyond her years? I think so!)
Well, that's all for today, friends! But don't worry, I've got more of these gems stored up for future use. In the meantime, take a listen, see what "wonderful words of wee ones" you hear. Ya know never know what you might learn...or what just might brighten your day. :)
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The Bunny Chronicles: Part One
"The humid July 4th afternoon in mid-Florida surrounded her as she made her way up the driveway. She entered the house, anxious to see the newest member of her family for the first time, face-to-face. Her father-in-law led her to a dimly lit room and flipped on the light. There, within a quaint wire enclosure, sat a brown rabbit, long ears standing to attention.
'Oh...my...goodness,' she thought, 'that rabbit is HUGE! Where on earth are we gonna put her?!' *gulp*
But its cuteness and sweetness overshadowed the fact that the rabbit was waaaay bigger than she'd imagined. She smiled and assumed her 'bunny voice'--as all good rabbit owners do--and reached in to gently pat her little (or big, rather) fur baby. In that moment, she realized she knew absolutely nothing at all about rabbits. But in the next days to follow, she would learn, by golly, she would learn.
The Bunny Master (aka: her mother-in-law) would teach her everything she needed to know about these small, adorable, shy creatures. Like the Karate Kid, she would sit at Mr. Miyagi's feet and glean as much bunny knowledge as her mind could contain. Minus the waxing on and off and the crane move and the injuries and the roundhouse kicks to the side...
In the course of 5 short days, she learned rabbit eating habits, activities, and grooming techniques. They can't eat iceberg lettuce...they love bananas...they hate being picked up...they have fragile skeletal systems...they need their scent glands cleaned out (*throw up face*)...they have a special kind of fecal matter that they EAT (**double throw up face**)...her rabbit actually was skinny and needed to gain more weight (what?!). Bunny info danced through her brain like fireflies in an empty field. Bunny overload. Good thing bunnies are also cute. And sweet.
When it came time to make the trip back to the Windy City with Miss Daisy the Rabbit, she was a storehouse of knowledge...but she was not quite prepared for what lay ahead at the airport. In the long security line, she stood with her husband while holding a very frightened rabbit in an animal carrier. She tried to act natural (but secretly smiled) as other airport patrons occasionally did double takes into the carrier when they realized that there was a live animal inside. Little children would shyly inch closer and stand on their tiptoes to peer into the bag (she always discreetly lowered the carrier so they could get a better view). All seemed well and good until they approached the x-ray machines. Before she could stop herself from the nonsense that poured out her mouth, she heard herself saying to the TSA agent, 'I have a rabbit in here. She doesn't have to go through the x-ray machine, right?'
'Why, why on earth would they make you put your LIVE animal through an x-ray machine?' she thought to herself.
She was relieved, of course, when she was told no...she could just take the rabbit out and walk through the metal detector with it. Whew. But wait...
She had never picked up a rabbit before! Oh. My. Goodness. Eyes wide, she gazed off into the distance, envisioning what chaos would ensue if the pick up were to go horribly wrong. All she could see was a slow-motion version of Daisy leaping from her arms, accidently scratching her on the way down...her yelling, 'Nooo!!!' (in slow-motion, of course)...TSA agents tackling her to the floor as the rabbit goes charging off, running in between people's legs, tripping children, clawing feet...
'Unless you think she'll run away...' the TSA agent's voice broke her stunned reverie.
'Oh-h,' she stammered, 'Uh, yeah, I think she's too nervous to be taken out right now.'
'Ok, we'll just take you into a screening room instead," he said nicely, as he called out some information on his radio.
She walked with husband and rabbit through the metal detector and waited patiently until someone could take her back to a screening room. It was like waiting to get into Fort Knox. Different agents came over...then went to look for other people...then asked what the gender of the bunny was (why did that matter?)...asked who was the actual owner of the rabbit (she or her husband)...asked the rabbit's blood type (not really, but they might as well have). A male and a female agent finally took her and her scared bunny into a private screening room...and the latex-gloved man reached into the carrier and patted down the rabbit!!! Who pats down a bunny? What possible threat to the airport could she have even thought about hiding in or near a LIVE animal?! Poor, poor bunny.
After the search and (non)seizure, she had her hands wiped down for suspicious materials and was allowed to proceed with her terrified rabbit toward her airport terminal. Once man, woman, and bunny made it safely onto their plane, she breathed a sigh of relief that the entire traveling ordeal was closer to being over. If Daisy could just make it through this one plane ride, one train ride, and one taxi ride (oh, is that all?), they'd be home free.
She sat back in her seat and smiled as she watched her husband carefully slide rabbit and carrier under the seat in front of her. And suddenly thought, 'We had to pay $125 to stick a rabbit under the seat like carry-on luggage?!'
Good thing rabbits are cute and sweet."
In the course of 5 short days, she learned rabbit eating habits, activities, and grooming techniques. They can't eat iceberg lettuce...they love bananas...they hate being picked up...they have fragile skeletal systems...they need their scent glands cleaned out (*throw up face*)...they have a special kind of fecal matter that they EAT (**double throw up face**)...her rabbit actually was skinny and needed to gain more weight (what?!). Bunny info danced through her brain like fireflies in an empty field. Bunny overload. Good thing bunnies are also cute. And sweet.
When it came time to make the trip back to the Windy City with Miss Daisy the Rabbit, she was a storehouse of knowledge...but she was not quite prepared for what lay ahead at the airport. In the long security line, she stood with her husband while holding a very frightened rabbit in an animal carrier. She tried to act natural (but secretly smiled) as other airport patrons occasionally did double takes into the carrier when they realized that there was a live animal inside. Little children would shyly inch closer and stand on their tiptoes to peer into the bag (she always discreetly lowered the carrier so they could get a better view). All seemed well and good until they approached the x-ray machines. Before she could stop herself from the nonsense that poured out her mouth, she heard herself saying to the TSA agent, 'I have a rabbit in here. She doesn't have to go through the x-ray machine, right?'
'Why, why on earth would they make you put your LIVE animal through an x-ray machine?' she thought to herself.
She was relieved, of course, when she was told no...she could just take the rabbit out and walk through the metal detector with it. Whew. But wait...
She had never picked up a rabbit before! Oh. My. Goodness. Eyes wide, she gazed off into the distance, envisioning what chaos would ensue if the pick up were to go horribly wrong. All she could see was a slow-motion version of Daisy leaping from her arms, accidently scratching her on the way down...her yelling, 'Nooo!!!' (in slow-motion, of course)...TSA agents tackling her to the floor as the rabbit goes charging off, running in between people's legs, tripping children, clawing feet...
'Unless you think she'll run away...' the TSA agent's voice broke her stunned reverie.
'Oh-h,' she stammered, 'Uh, yeah, I think she's too nervous to be taken out right now.'
'Ok, we'll just take you into a screening room instead," he said nicely, as he called out some information on his radio.
She walked with husband and rabbit through the metal detector and waited patiently until someone could take her back to a screening room. It was like waiting to get into Fort Knox. Different agents came over...then went to look for other people...then asked what the gender of the bunny was (why did that matter?)...asked who was the actual owner of the rabbit (she or her husband)...asked the rabbit's blood type (not really, but they might as well have). A male and a female agent finally took her and her scared bunny into a private screening room...and the latex-gloved man reached into the carrier and patted down the rabbit!!! Who pats down a bunny? What possible threat to the airport could she have even thought about hiding in or near a LIVE animal?! Poor, poor bunny.
After the search and (non)seizure, she had her hands wiped down for suspicious materials and was allowed to proceed with her terrified rabbit toward her airport terminal. Once man, woman, and bunny made it safely onto their plane, she breathed a sigh of relief that the entire traveling ordeal was closer to being over. If Daisy could just make it through this one plane ride, one train ride, and one taxi ride (oh, is that all?), they'd be home free.
She sat back in her seat and smiled as she watched her husband carefully slide rabbit and carrier under the seat in front of her. And suddenly thought, 'We had to pay $125 to stick a rabbit under the seat like carry-on luggage?!'
Good thing rabbits are cute and sweet."
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Long Time, No See
Well, hello there! Remember me? Probably not. It's been 2 months since I last blogged. Yikes. I had hoped I'd be a little better at this blogging thing. I think Hubs was hoping I'd do better, too. Maybe I'll do better in this next 6 months...
Lots of things have happened in my little world in the past two months. And by lots of things, I actually just mean vacations and a pet to add to our household. Yep, a pet. A pet in our little studio apartment. Don't worry, it's not a Great Dane or anything. But I will tell you about our new pet adventures soon in a reoccurring sub-blog (is that a thing?) on here called "The Bunny Chronicles" (and you thought it was a Great Dane). More on that later!
For anyone interested (and I can clearly see how you are hanging on my every word), here is a breakdown of the past 8 weeks:
*Trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (yes, I actually finished packing in a reasonable amount of time for that trip...and even had time for a pedicure before we headed to the airport!)
*Hubs and I celebrated our first anniversary while we were on our trip! That year flew by! Looking forward to many more years!
*Nothing extremely significant happened for a couple weeks after that. Besides a friend of ours leaving us to move to Colorado. :( (I don't have a picture of her actually leaving. 'Cause that would be weird. And sad).
OH! On a semi-exciting note for myself: I just discovered I have an actual follower of my blog! I mean, I know many of you read what I post via Facebook (and trust me, I appreciate it more than you know!), but I have one, single legit follower of my actual blog! So thank you from the bottom of my heart, One Faithful Follower! You know who you are! :)
'Til next time!
Lots of things have happened in my little world in the past two months. And by lots of things, I actually just mean vacations and a pet to add to our household. Yep, a pet. A pet in our little studio apartment. Don't worry, it's not a Great Dane or anything. But I will tell you about our new pet adventures soon in a reoccurring sub-blog (is that a thing?) on here called "The Bunny Chronicles" (and you thought it was a Great Dane). More on that later!
For anyone interested (and I can clearly see how you are hanging on my every word), here is a breakdown of the past 8 weeks:
*Trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (yes, I actually finished packing in a reasonable amount of time for that trip...and even had time for a pedicure before we headed to the airport!)
*Hubs and I celebrated our first anniversary while we were on our trip! That year flew by! Looking forward to many more years!
**Special thanks to Kayla Dutton Photography for this gem**
*Nothing extremely significant happened for a couple weeks after that. Besides a friend of ours leaving us to move to Colorado. :( (I don't have a picture of her actually leaving. 'Cause that would be weird. And sad).
*Oh, and this happened:
**Special thanks to Hair by Megan for this 'do**
*Then, I got to spend a great week in Michigan! Hubs stayed for a few days, then let me hang out there for a whole week! (I missed him a lot, though!) That week could be summed up in one word: babies. I saw more babies (friends' babies, family babies, my babies from my former job) in that week than an OB doctor sees in a day (maybe that's a large slight exaggeration). But thankfully, I don't mind babies, so it was all good. :) Being with family and friends (and babies!) for a week was a relaxing, soothing breath of fresh air. Of course, I had to hurry home after that, though, 'cause I had to pack...again...to head to...
*FLORIDA! Spent some time with Hubs' family around the 4th of July (and Hubs' birthday...he's getting old...he's only THREE years behind me now...). I was able to experience a couple exciting things on that trip that I've never done before. Sit tight and stay tuned for a future blog about my experiences! ;)
I think that about sums things up! Sorry for a vain entry based solely on the previous 8 weeks of my life. I'll try to not bore you with such things in the future. Just kidding. ;)
OH! On a semi-exciting note for myself: I just discovered I have an actual follower of my blog! I mean, I know many of you read what I post via Facebook (and trust me, I appreciate it more than you know!), but I have one, single legit follower of my actual blog! So thank you from the bottom of my heart, One Faithful Follower! You know who you are! :)
'Til next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)