Rachael's latest story - Fun at the Park

Rachael asked me to pick a title for her to write a story, so I said, "Fun at the park," and here it is.

I'm curious if there will be a Chapter Two.

She drew several interesting little stick figure drawings to illustrate the different scenes as well.
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FRIENDS AND FUN TIMES
by Rachael

Chapter One - FUN AT THE PARK

Around the corner of my house there is a new playground. It seems like every day people are swarmed over it, having so much fun.

One day I went there. There was a big slide, two swings, and a rocking horse, and around the corner from the big slide, two baby swings. I went down the slide. I was new to this park.

I went up to a person. The person was a girl. She said her name was Clara. We shook hands and we were friends.

Then Clara said, "Let's go on the swing." She hopped on the big kid swing. I hopped on the big kid swing, and we swung for an hour.

After an hour, I got tired. I said, "Let's go down the slide." Only once, because my mother was packing up to leave.

After we went down the slide, I was sad. I knew I would have to leave Clara. I said bye to Clara and went to my mother, and we went home.

My mother asked, "Do you want to bake some cookies for Clara? I know where her house is."

"Sure," I said. So I washed my hands and I made the cookies with my mother. They were snickerdoodles.

Then when they were ready, my mom let me eat one. I knew I had a playdate today. I went to my mother and said, "Time to go." My mother said, "Buckle up," and we drove off.

When we got there, I rang the doorbell. Clara answered it. "How nice to see you," said Clara.

Then I said, "Where's your room? Does it have toys?"

"Yes, it does. I'll show you where it is."

So me and Clara went upstairs and into her room. There were toys all over, toys on the shelf, toys in the cabinet, toys even scattered around the floor.

"Can you help me clean up?" said Clara.

I said yes. So we sang, "Clean up, clean up" while we cleared her room.

Finally, the last toy was picked up. "Cookie time!" said my mother. And we ran downstairs and took a cookie.

Then Clara said, "Do you want to go to the park again?" "Sure," I said. So my mother drove us there.

When we got there, I went down the slide. Then my mother said, "Time to leave."

"Why so soon?" I said.

"Because rain clouds," said Clara.

I looked up. There were some dark clouds. So we got in and drove home.

By the time we got home, it was my bedtime, 8:00. Clara said, "Hurray, I get to play some more!" Because it wasn't 12:00 yet.

I said, "Bye, Clara!"

On the way home, I made up a bedtime song. It goes something like this:

It's 8:00, time for bed,
That's my bedtime, so I'm ready [repeat]

When we got home, it was 12:00. I was yawning a lot. I said, with a big yawn, "Maybe Clara will come over tomorrow." while I got tucked in for bed.

Then I said to my sister, Rebecca, "I have a new friend. Her name is Clara." And then before you know it, I was asleep.

The Twelve Questions of Christmas

I saw this at Zenmomma's blog and thought it'd be fun:





The Twelve Questions of Christmas

1. Christmas is a lot of fun, especially now that I have kids. A lot of people complain about all the stuff in the stores, and the music, and the hassle. I love all that stuff.

2. In memories, what was the best part of your Christmases past? I don't particularly remember my family doing much for Christmas. I do remember being about five and waking up Christmas morning and finding one of those Big Barbie Heads where you do her hair and makup, and thinking that was pretty cool. I remember making some cookies with my mom when I was about ten. Oh yeah, and one year we made a popcorn tree with gumdrops as decorations. That was fun.

3. Was Santa ever good to you? I'm not sure I understand this question.

4. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or both? I like the idea of opening one gift each on Christmas Eve, and the rest on Christmas Day.

5. Is there something you make each and every year? [craft or recipe] I usually make my Favorite Cookies in the World, Babe Ruth Bar Cookies. I make them intended for gifts, but I usually end up eating half of them myself. They are soooo good!

6. What are your favorite five[5] Christmas songs/hymns?

Do You Hear What I Hear?

The Little Drummer Boy

Everything from Charlie Brown Christmas

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Father Christmas -- by The Kinks!

7. Is there a new tradition for Christmas since your childhood days? We always play the soundtrack from Charlie Brown Christmas when we put up the tree.

A few nights before Christmas, we drive around in our pajamas looking at neighborhood lights, eating Christmas cookies, and listening to Christmas music.

We leave out cookies and milk for Santa, and reindeer food.

For a few years we would bring cookies to the local firemen on Christmas Day.

Since Rachael spent Christmas 2005 in ICU, last year we went to visit the nurses and brought lunch to the families who were currently in the ICU. I'd like to continue doing that as long as the kids are interested in doing so.

8. Describe one of your Christmas trips. Until I was nine, every year we drove to my cousin's house a Saturday or two before Christmas. They always had what seemed like a huge get-together and dinner, with other relatives and friends and neighbors, and that's when we'd exchange gifts with aunts and uncles and grandparents.

I remember when I was seven I got a bracelet from my aunt, and that week brought it to school for Show and Tell. "I got this bracelet for Christmas," I announced to the class. But ... it wasn't Christmas yet! The kids were mystified: How was this possible?? Several kids came up to me later and asked me if I was Jewish. I always thought that was pretty funny.

9. Do you have a special Christmas outfit to wear for the day? Um, no. Was I supposed to have one??

10. Have YOU or any of your family members sat on Santa's lap?

See the blog post about Breakfast with Santa ...

11. What is/or will be on your Christmas tree this year? Rebecca has made it clear that her job every year is to put the star on top. Mostly "the usual" -- some ornaments from past students, lights, garland, that kind of thing.

12. Do you/or have you decorated your yard for Christmas? When Rachael spent Christmas in the ICU, several ladies from our local chapter of MOMS Club brought her a tree and some decorations. We weren't allowed to keep a live plant in her room, but brought it home and planted it in our back yard. Last year we decorated it again and sat outside by it and read The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown. Hopefully we'll continue to do that.

Short Funny From my Childhood

Something today suddenly made me remember this:

When I was about ... nine, ten, eleven ... I showed my mother something I had done. A drawing or painting or something like that.

She said she thought it was great. Then she smiled and said, "But then of course, I'm prejudiced!"

I remember distinctly thinking to myself, mystified, "What does my picture being great have to do with not liking black people?"

A Deep Analysis of Cartoons, Past and Present

I came across a couple episodes of The Pink Panther and The Ant and the Aardvark today.

I remember both of them being among my Cartoons of Choice (although we didn't have much choice on Saturday mornings in 1975), but I remembered almost nothing about them. (I did remember "Instant Hole," but that wasn't the episode I had.)

I watched them with the girls (ages 4 and 6) today. They did not like either one.

The Pink Panther had a laugh track -- did it always? And The Ant and the Aardvark just seemed weird. It felt more like Jackie Mason making various quips than like a kids' show.

All of us had watched some Looney Toons together a couple months ago. Those I remembered more vividly and enjoyed more. (Although even as a kid, I had split feelings toward Looney Toons: I really liked Bugs Bunny, the roadrunner, and Daffy Duck. I did not care for Pepe LePew or Tweety Bird, and I despised the whole Sylvester and the Giant Mouse thing.)

The girls liked Bugs Bunny, particularly the one with the Bullfight and the one with Barber of Seville.

I couldn't help but notice some obvious differences in the basic genre, then and now:

1) Robert pointed this one out: The older cartoons weren't "about" anything. They didn't try to teach something. They didn't have a lesson or a moral or a goal -- or, really, even a plot. For example, in the Pink Panther episode today, he tries making breakfast and A Bunch of Stuff Happens - the toast burns, he drops the eggs, the pancake sticks to the ceiling. And that's it.

I never would have thought to compare The Pink Panther with Seinfeld before.

2) The cartoons I grew up with seem startling violent to me now. I don't mind the kids watching them or anything, but it makes me wince a little myself.

3) The humor is more slapstick and visual, and less wordy. The Pink Panther doesn't speak at all. Neither did the Road Runner. Quite different from, say, Caillou (who many adults wish would not speak at all).

4) I'm not sure how best to word this, but the older cartoons used "real" music more.
The Henry Mancini music stands on its own; people would like it even if they had no idea what The pink Panther was. And it's not cute or silly or "kid music."
Everybody knows Bugs Bunny used opera music and Liszt and probably some other things I didn't realize. Nobody is singing about self-esteem or families or anything like that. For that matter, for the most part, nobody is singing, period.

For the record, I don't particularly think one is better than the other. I just think they're different.

Thanksgiving Photos - Part Two

Okay, now these pictures were taken on Friday and Saturday
during our trip to North Carolina:


The girls loved coming down this slide at the Fun Factory,
which was really neat because a few years ago they were afraid to go down it.



On the merry-go-round at the Fun Factory!
Cousin Will is in the red shirt, and the blurry boy is his brother Ben.



Here's Cousin Ben (not to be confused with our child, Baby Ben)
with his father, Todd, at a toy store in Highlands.

Todd is Baby Ben's Godfather.


Here's Baby Ben (and his daddy!) keeping warm at Jackson Hole,
a gem and mineral shop we went to.

Rachael told me yesterday that she wants us to do the same thing every year for Thanksgiving. I told her that would be easy for us -- we weren't the ones who had to drive 14 miles! :)

Thanksgiving Photos - Part One

If I counted correctly, we had 28 people at our Thanksgiving get-together in North Carolina last week.

I don't why, but I've tried and tried to post the photos and can't get Blogger to post more than four. So ... I'll make two posts. This first section is from Thanksgiving Day at Grandma Glo's house:


This is Cousin Camille, age 11, with Baby Ben



Sisters Anna and Diane holding their little cousins,
sisters Rachael and Rebecca



Cousins Megan, Garrett, Ben, Schuyler, and Rachael waiting their turn for the hayride



Cousin Steve taking the kids on a hayride!

Rachael actually fractured the tip of her finger Thanksgiving day when somehow a pool ball smashed it. A holiday with tons of relatives isn't complete without a trip to the Emergency Room, I guess! :)

Fortunately we went to the Orthopedic today and they said it should heal on its own in three weeks. They put it in a splint and wrapped it in a pink bandage, so Rachael was happy.

The latest Mean Parent sighting

The other day we were at McDonald's. Two women and their respective kids were at the next table.

I'm not sure what was going on, but at point one of the women said to her little girl, "Yes, you asked to eat it and he said yes and gave it to you, now either chew it right now or spit it out, or else you get a spanking!"

The poor girl (who looked to be about two and a half) looked very distraught.

I couldn't tell what the actual problem was supposed to be ... it looked like maybe she had a piece of a tomato from her brother's salad, and I guess the girl asked for it but then didn't like it ...? I have no idea. From all outside appearances the girl wasn't doing a thing wrong or weird or rude or even noticeable.

Anyway, the woman said this at least three times. The third time, she said, "Either chew it right now or spit it out, or else you will get a spanking and have to sit in the high chair for the rest of the time here!"

I guess the girl finally complied, because there was no spanking and no high chair.

Whenever I see something like that, I literally get a stomach ache.

Later the two women came left the PlayPlace for a moment and then came back in, each with a chocolate-covered ice cream cone. A few minutes later their kids came over to the table. One of the women said to the boy, "No, we're not getting you ice cream here, but you can have mine when I'm done with it, if you eat your apples."

Then I didn't even hear the kid say anything, but the other woman snapped at him, "Hey! Any of that, and you get nothing!"

Then a few minutes later both women handed their mostly-eaten ice cream cones to the two kids, who, admittedly, seemed to enjoy eating them.

Yeah, I know most of you reading are thinking, "So what? Is that the end of the world? They got to eat ice cream!" but it just seemed so Yucky:

Here, yum, let me and my friend eat these treats right in front of you, but you don't get one, but if you do what I say, you can eat my slurped-over leftovers and feel grateful for them.

It occured to me that maybe I should give these women the benefit of a doubt. Maybe they were having a rough day, or maybe they're still struggling with the best way to handle certain situations.

Possibly. But that didn't appear to be the case. It looked more like it was their usual MO to bully their kids around and think nothing of it.