As a grown up I realize that through the course of life I have learned many valuable lessons. some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through experience. Many of them I learned from my aunts. Now, I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently finished her first semester of kindergarten. I know that they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe that there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned by living. So here it is, a year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all the nieces and nephews out there, or really for anyone who will listen. You may not agree with all of them and they may not work for everybody, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.
# 53 Feed birds in the winter...
I know that you might think this is silly. Especially those of you living in big cities like me. Birds tend to be a nuisance. They hover as you eat your hot dog from a vendor or at picnics in the park. They fly overhead and you are always afraid they will drop something on you. Sometimes they are even downright creepy the way they stare at you with those glass eyes and long pointed beaks. However, birds are a necessary part of our ecosystem. After the final snow of winter has melted, the birds will begin eating mosquitoes and spiders and fly-baggies. To be honest I am not exactly sure what kind of bug a "fly-baggie" is, but that is what we called them growing up.
Every fall my mom and I would go out and collect a basket full of pine cones. Some of these we would cover with glue and glitter and turn into homemade tree ornaments. The rest we would put aside and wait for the first snow to fall. When the first snow fell we would get the reserve of pine cones out from their spot. We would spread peanut butter on them and roll them in birdseed. Then we would tie string to the top and daddy would get his ladder out and we would find the perfect spots for our homemade bird feeders. Mama also saved all of the bread "butts" during the winter and every time it snowed we would sprinkle them in the backyard.
It might seem simple or maybe even silly, but these are some of my favorite winter memories.
Showing posts with label mothers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mothers. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Monday, December 20, 2010
When shopping...
As a grown up I realize that through the years I have learned many valuable lessons. Some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some I learned in school and through experience. many of them I learned from my aunts. Now, I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know that they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe that there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned by living. So, here it is. A year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all the nieces and nephews out there, or really for anyone who will listen. You may not agree with all of them and they may not work for everybody, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.
# 51 Leave your purse at home
This may sound a bit silly, but hear me out. When you first begin working you may have a part time job and only really make enough to have a little fun here and there. Even as you get older you will have bills, though hopefully no credit card bills, and rent and need to spend money on things you need. Money may always be a bit tight. So, you are off to the store with your mom, grandma, or aunt. You accidentally leave your purse at home. Oops. You end up at the store where you see the perfect shirt.
"I'm just going to try it on... just to see what it looks like," you say.
You come out in it and your mom, grandma, or aunt says "oh it is perfect on you. You should get it."
"I can't," you reply, "I left my purse at home."
"Well, we can't leave it here. Give it to me. I'll get it."
"Thank you," you say as you try not to smile, "but really, I can just come back for it."
"Don't be silly," she says, "I'll get it. Its just a shirt. It'll be our little secret."
BAM. Done and done. It works almost every time. However, Now I am an aunt so don't think this trick is going to work on me. This is a time honored secret of nieces, daughters and granddaughters, so really it works for every woman in the world.
Good luck. There is definitely an art to being able to gracefully leave your purse at home and still manage to come back with new things. Pick your strategy and go for it. I wish you the best.
I have gotten some of my favorite things this way. When I was a kid I got a McDonald's play set with my grandma. When I got a little older I got a cute plaid skirt and sweater with my aunt. Most recently I got a black and white party dress with my mom.
Recommended book for children:
# 51 Leave your purse at home
This may sound a bit silly, but hear me out. When you first begin working you may have a part time job and only really make enough to have a little fun here and there. Even as you get older you will have bills, though hopefully no credit card bills, and rent and need to spend money on things you need. Money may always be a bit tight. So, you are off to the store with your mom, grandma, or aunt. You accidentally leave your purse at home. Oops. You end up at the store where you see the perfect shirt.
"I'm just going to try it on... just to see what it looks like," you say.
You come out in it and your mom, grandma, or aunt says "oh it is perfect on you. You should get it."
"I can't," you reply, "I left my purse at home."
"Well, we can't leave it here. Give it to me. I'll get it."
"Thank you," you say as you try not to smile, "but really, I can just come back for it."
"Don't be silly," she says, "I'll get it. Its just a shirt. It'll be our little secret."
BAM. Done and done. It works almost every time. However, Now I am an aunt so don't think this trick is going to work on me. This is a time honored secret of nieces, daughters and granddaughters, so really it works for every woman in the world.
Good luck. There is definitely an art to being able to gracefully leave your purse at home and still manage to come back with new things. Pick your strategy and go for it. I wish you the best.
I have gotten some of my favorite things this way. When I was a kid I got a McDonald's play set with my grandma. When I got a little older I got a cute plaid skirt and sweater with my aunt. Most recently I got a black and white party dress with my mom.
Recommended book for children:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Puddle Jumping
As a grown up, I realize that through the course of life I have learned many valuable lessons. Some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through experience. Many of them were taught to me by my aunts. Now, I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know taht they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned by living. So, here it is. A year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all of the nieces and nephews out there, or really for anyone who will listen. They may not work for everybody and you may not agree with all of them, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.
# 37 Jump barefoot in puddles
For the last three days in New York City it has been raining. All of the women on New York and even some men have adorned their rain boots, goulashes, and raincoats. Everyone is so concerned about getting their feet wet. On days like today, when the ground is covered with terrific puddles, and as I step in one I realize that my rain boot has a hole in it, I am taken back to the days of childhood.
When I was a little girl, my mom and I would always go walk around the neighborhood barefoot after a big storm. Don't worry, I am not encouraging all of NYC to start walking barefoot after a rain, but you should go somewhere once in your life where this kind of behavior is acceptable.
My mom and I would walk all over the neighborhood seeking out the best puddles. We would roll up our pants and go puddle jumping. We would splash and carry on like we were both children. We would laugh and squeal and every time we got to a really big one, we would take hands and count to three. ONE! TWO! THREE! JUMP! Sometimes we were having so much fun that some of the neighbors would come out and join us. I always looked forward to a rain, because that meant that mom and I could go jumping in the puddles.
No matter how old you are, child or child at heart, you can still do this. Go out after a rain on a warm day and jump barefoot in puddles until your little heart's content. I promise that it will, at least momentarily, make you forget all your worries. It has the power to make grown ups feel like children again, and to make children feel as if they never want to grow up.
Recommended reading: Jumping in Puddles by, Claire Allan
# 37 Jump barefoot in puddles
For the last three days in New York City it has been raining. All of the women on New York and even some men have adorned their rain boots, goulashes, and raincoats. Everyone is so concerned about getting their feet wet. On days like today, when the ground is covered with terrific puddles, and as I step in one I realize that my rain boot has a hole in it, I am taken back to the days of childhood.
When I was a little girl, my mom and I would always go walk around the neighborhood barefoot after a big storm. Don't worry, I am not encouraging all of NYC to start walking barefoot after a rain, but you should go somewhere once in your life where this kind of behavior is acceptable.
My mom and I would walk all over the neighborhood seeking out the best puddles. We would roll up our pants and go puddle jumping. We would splash and carry on like we were both children. We would laugh and squeal and every time we got to a really big one, we would take hands and count to three. ONE! TWO! THREE! JUMP! Sometimes we were having so much fun that some of the neighbors would come out and join us. I always looked forward to a rain, because that meant that mom and I could go jumping in the puddles.
No matter how old you are, child or child at heart, you can still do this. Go out after a rain on a warm day and jump barefoot in puddles until your little heart's content. I promise that it will, at least momentarily, make you forget all your worries. It has the power to make grown ups feel like children again, and to make children feel as if they never want to grow up.
Recommended reading: Jumping in Puddles by, Claire Allan
Monday, August 30, 2010
Spiders and what not...
As a grown up, I realize that through the course of life I have learned many valuable lessons. Some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through experience. Many of them were taught to me by my aunts. Now, I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know that they say, everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe that there are some things one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned by living. So, here it is. A year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all of the nieces and nephews out there, or really for anyone who will listen. They may not work for everybody and you may not agree with all of them, but each one is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.
# 14 Catch Spiders in a Jar
I would like to begin by saying that this is one that I am still working on. I am almost there, but I don't quite have it yet.
My mother would never kill spiders. "Don't kill it," she would say, "they kill mosquitos." She would stop whatever she was doing, whether it be drying her hair, laundry, cooking, and would always catch spiders in a jar.
Now, there is actually an art to it. You can't just put a jar down and hope that the spider jumps in. In order to catch a spider properly in a jar you need: a small glass jar, slightly larger than a baby food jar. Then you need exactly half of a paper plate. It has to be one of those cheap, flimsy paper plates with the ridges on the rim. Then you very gracefully, and quickly, place the jar down around the spider, before he knows what hit him. Then you slide the jar, and its contents, onto the half of a paper plate. Once this is accomplished, you pick up both the plate and the jar and take him outside and release him.
I know it may sound simple, but trust me, the hardest part is the moment when you pick up both the plate and the spider. It took me a very long time to get it so the spider would not fall out in the split second that I stood up.
There are lots of reasons why you shouldn't spray spiders with your hairspray, or beat them with your shoe, or surrender your house to them and just move. Spiders eat mosquitos. That is a proven fact. I would also like to interject here with, I have no problem with you killing mosquitos. Spiders also, are more afraid of you than you are of them. I know you've heard that one before, but imagine being dropped down in a land where everyone was at least 10,000 times your size. I would certainly not want one of them to stomp on me with his shoe. Also, spiders have families that they need to provide for, just like we do. They do not come into your house to scare you. They get lost and loose their way, and need someone to rescue them.
The moral of the story is this: Save a spider, kill a mosquito.
# 14 Catch Spiders in a Jar
I would like to begin by saying that this is one that I am still working on. I am almost there, but I don't quite have it yet.
My mother would never kill spiders. "Don't kill it," she would say, "they kill mosquitos." She would stop whatever she was doing, whether it be drying her hair, laundry, cooking, and would always catch spiders in a jar.
Now, there is actually an art to it. You can't just put a jar down and hope that the spider jumps in. In order to catch a spider properly in a jar you need: a small glass jar, slightly larger than a baby food jar. Then you need exactly half of a paper plate. It has to be one of those cheap, flimsy paper plates with the ridges on the rim. Then you very gracefully, and quickly, place the jar down around the spider, before he knows what hit him. Then you slide the jar, and its contents, onto the half of a paper plate. Once this is accomplished, you pick up both the plate and the jar and take him outside and release him.
I know it may sound simple, but trust me, the hardest part is the moment when you pick up both the plate and the spider. It took me a very long time to get it so the spider would not fall out in the split second that I stood up.
There are lots of reasons why you shouldn't spray spiders with your hairspray, or beat them with your shoe, or surrender your house to them and just move. Spiders eat mosquitos. That is a proven fact. I would also like to interject here with, I have no problem with you killing mosquitos. Spiders also, are more afraid of you than you are of them. I know you've heard that one before, but imagine being dropped down in a land where everyone was at least 10,000 times your size. I would certainly not want one of them to stomp on me with his shoe. Also, spiders have families that they need to provide for, just like we do. They do not come into your house to scare you. They get lost and loose their way, and need someone to rescue them.
The moral of the story is this: Save a spider, kill a mosquito.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
If you have to go... go
As a grown up, I realize that I have learned many valuable lessons through the course of life. Some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through expereince. Many of them were taught to me by my Aunts. Now, I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know that they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe that there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned from living. So, here it is. A year's worth of advice for all of the nieces and nephews out there, or really for anyone who will listen. They may not work for everybody and you may not agree with all of them, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.
# 13 If you have to go to the bathroom, get up and go.
When I was in the third grade, I wet my pants at school. It was within the last 45 minutes of the day and I asked my teacher to let me go to the bathroom. She told me to hold it, that she knew I could wait just a few more minutes. A few minutes later, I asked her again and she told me again, more firmly that I needed to sit down and wait.
Let me just insert here that I HATED my third grade teacher. My mom HATED her too.
So, moving on. I still remember what I was wearing, though that doesn't matter now. I wet my pants and my horrible excuse for a teacher told me that I did it on purpose just to get attention, and would NOT let me leave the room until the bell rang.
One of my friends gave me her jacket to tie around my waste and walked me to my mom's car as I cried my eyes out.
My mom took one look at me, asked me what happened, and my friend told her. She grabbed my hand, marched me back into the school principal's office and demanded to speak to my teacher. My teacher finally waddled into the office and my mom said words that I know I was never supposed to hear. She told my teacher that from this moment on, If I had to go to the bathroom, I would not ask. I would get up in the middle of whatever was going on, and I would go. PERIOD!
For the rest of my school career and even into adulthood, I have carried this advice with me.
It is our God given right to be able to go to the bathroom. If anyone tells you that you can't, who cares. How dare anyone try to judge when someone else's bladder is full. You know when you need to pee... so just get up and go.
# 13 If you have to go to the bathroom, get up and go.
When I was in the third grade, I wet my pants at school. It was within the last 45 minutes of the day and I asked my teacher to let me go to the bathroom. She told me to hold it, that she knew I could wait just a few more minutes. A few minutes later, I asked her again and she told me again, more firmly that I needed to sit down and wait.
Let me just insert here that I HATED my third grade teacher. My mom HATED her too.
So, moving on. I still remember what I was wearing, though that doesn't matter now. I wet my pants and my horrible excuse for a teacher told me that I did it on purpose just to get attention, and would NOT let me leave the room until the bell rang.
One of my friends gave me her jacket to tie around my waste and walked me to my mom's car as I cried my eyes out.
My mom took one look at me, asked me what happened, and my friend told her. She grabbed my hand, marched me back into the school principal's office and demanded to speak to my teacher. My teacher finally waddled into the office and my mom said words that I know I was never supposed to hear. She told my teacher that from this moment on, If I had to go to the bathroom, I would not ask. I would get up in the middle of whatever was going on, and I would go. PERIOD!
For the rest of my school career and even into adulthood, I have carried this advice with me.
It is our God given right to be able to go to the bathroom. If anyone tells you that you can't, who cares. How dare anyone try to judge when someone else's bladder is full. You know when you need to pee... so just get up and go.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
You are never too old to...
As a grown up, I realize that in the course of life I have learned many valuable lessons. Some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through expereince. Many of them I learned from my aunts. Now I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know that they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I believe, however, that there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are things that must be learned by living. So here it is. A year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all of the neices and nephews in the world, or really anyone who will listen. They might not work for everyone and you might not agree with all of them, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.
#5 You are never too old to play dress up.
When I was little, my mom had a bag full of her old clothes. Some were vintage, which meant nothing to me at the time, some no longer fit her, and some were given to her as hand me downs and she never wore them. I remember this long, red polyester dress. It was always my favorite. She would bring me into her room when it was raining, or we needed a new activity, and she would open her closet and bring out the coveted bag of dress up clothes. She and I would spend hours putting on her clothes and pretending we were rich and on some exotic adventure. There were days when I am certain my mother had more fun playing dress up than I did. As I got older, and started school, we didn't have nearly as much time for dress up, but occasionally she and I would go out to lunch and we would both wear something crazy like a big hat, or a gaudy broach, "just to be spirited", she would say.
About a month and a half ago, I went home on little visit, as I try to do every six months. I spent the night at my sister's house and I had the wonderful opportunity to play dress up with my two precious nieces. After they, 5 and 2, insisted that I adorn this delightful gold sequened mini shirt, and some other fabulous fashion treasures, everyone was rolling on the floor laughing. I had so much fun with those girls that day. We played church and school and post office and dance class, and for every adventure we went on that day, we put on another glorious outfit. Princess dresses, pj's, hats, purses, gloves, scarves, etc. I had so much fun that day being 10 people completely different from myself. We laughed, and I almost had to be cut out of a 5 year old's dress up shirt, but it was one of the best days I've had in a very long time. You are never too old to play dress up.
Recommended product: Disney Princess Dress Up Trunk
#5 You are never too old to play dress up.
When I was little, my mom had a bag full of her old clothes. Some were vintage, which meant nothing to me at the time, some no longer fit her, and some were given to her as hand me downs and she never wore them. I remember this long, red polyester dress. It was always my favorite. She would bring me into her room when it was raining, or we needed a new activity, and she would open her closet and bring out the coveted bag of dress up clothes. She and I would spend hours putting on her clothes and pretending we were rich and on some exotic adventure. There were days when I am certain my mother had more fun playing dress up than I did. As I got older, and started school, we didn't have nearly as much time for dress up, but occasionally she and I would go out to lunch and we would both wear something crazy like a big hat, or a gaudy broach, "just to be spirited", she would say.
About a month and a half ago, I went home on little visit, as I try to do every six months. I spent the night at my sister's house and I had the wonderful opportunity to play dress up with my two precious nieces. After they, 5 and 2, insisted that I adorn this delightful gold sequened mini shirt, and some other fabulous fashion treasures, everyone was rolling on the floor laughing. I had so much fun with those girls that day. We played church and school and post office and dance class, and for every adventure we went on that day, we put on another glorious outfit. Princess dresses, pj's, hats, purses, gloves, scarves, etc. I had so much fun that day being 10 people completely different from myself. We laughed, and I almost had to be cut out of a 5 year old's dress up shirt, but it was one of the best days I've had in a very long time. You are never too old to play dress up.
Recommended product: Disney Princess Dress Up Trunk
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