Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Parenting Tidbits: READ BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
Here are a bunch of random parenting tips I thought I'd share.
Tip #1: Sometimes, your kids will pick poisonous, hallucinogenic mushrooms from your garden and bring them to you. This is why you have the discussion about not putting random things in one's mouth AHEAD of time. This message brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood dad, and Emergency Room doctor.
Tip #2A: First, your daughter will just want to SIT on the Seadoo.
Tip#2B: Next, she'll want to sit on the Seadoo with Karlee, the babysitter.
Tip #2C: She will then summon up the courage to do a turtle-speed trip around the dock on the Seadoo.
...and of course...
Tip#2D: Eventually, she will want to do it all over again, her dad will get on the Seadoo and the thing will get off balance and roll even before the motor is started. Fionna, dad and Karlee will end up in the water, Karlee will rev the motor JUST before letting go but will have failed to attach the dead-man's switch to her lifejacket, and the Seadoo will take off riderless and thump into mom and dad's newly renovated shoreline.
[photo omitted for brevity]
Tip#3: If you allow your child to have favorite stuffie, FOR GOD SAKE, BUY TWO OF THEM! We did, and it allows for laundry of the stinky one, a backup in case one gets temporarily misplaced, etc. Sheryl originally poo-poo'd James' notion that we should be swapping them in and out frequently, but it turns out, that's the right tactic, as they then get "aged" at more or less the same rate. Fionna refers to her stuffie as "Bo" which may refer to his bowtie, may mean that he's her "beau", or may be a word-play on Bo-Peep. We think he may be a lamb, especially in the ears and face, but his paws are decidedly ursine...not like hooves at all. So the adults started referring to him as "Lamby-Bear". The one presently living on the shelf in the laundry room in a baggie is referred to as "Lamby-Spare".
We took great pains to avoid having Fionna see both of them at the same time, perhaps in order to avoid any kind of psychological scarring or to reduce the chance that we invoke some unforseen Lamby-Bear time paradox. It was all for naught though, as Fionna recently found both of them one day after Spare had been brought out to replace a missing Prime. (Prime was hiding in the library). In typical fashion, she then announced to us that Lamby-Bear had "a brother visiting".
All this to say that kids are adaptable. It's the parents that stress out.
Tip#4: Speaking of stress-outs...Abby sometimes has tantrums. They're not horrible - there's no blood and minimal tears, actually - but she sometimes needs to shut out the world for a bit. If you see us stepping over top of her roadblock, asking her if she's okay and then walking off...honestly, she just needs a moment.
Tip#5: Kids seem to eat better for their grandparents. It's partly, but not totally attributable to the anticipation of treat-food.
Tip#6: Play-Doh is cheap. Let them mix the colours, even though everything in your adult brain says, "NOOOOOO!"
But put down a plastic mat.
And finally,
Tip#6: How to wean your kid off a soother the "gentle" way.
It's almost become a household legend between James and his parents about how totally addicted to his soother James was. Apparently, he went through so many of them (and in that day, they were made of friable natural rubber rather than silicone) that the leftover "rings" had been made into a chain to hold the most recent one. Eventually, mom and dad decided that enough was enough, and somewhere around the time of James' 2nd birthday, they simply told him that his soother was old and dirty, and that it needed to be thrown out. Being the obedient kid, he wandered over to the kitchen garbage can and did just that, whereupon his parents dashed up, gathered up the trash bags and summarily dumped them into the apartment building's garbage chute.
We ended up in a similar position with Fionna. Total soother addict. Mind you, don't ever get near Abigail with one; she hated the things. But Fionna loved them and, to be honest, needed one for a long time. After a point, though, we had decided that it was finally starting to get in the way of conversations, so we figured out a plan. We don't have a garbage chute, and Fionna's personality is not exactly like James'. Therefore, with the help of friends and the internet, we concocted the "Soother Fairy". The plan was that we were going to prep her in advance, and then choose a time when th Fairy would come on night, magic away all her soothers and leave a suitable gift-in-kind. We even had a general date chosen.
...and then, Amanda came along. Her daughter Emily is about the same age as Fionna, was also a bit of a soother junkie, and Amanda was planning on using the same method as we were. One evening, however, they were over for dinner and Amanda goes and announces TO THE WHOLE TABLE that tonight is the night that the soother fairy is coming for Emily, and Oh-Fionna-won't-it-be-fun-to-compare-Soother-Fairy-presents-tomorrow?
Goof.
Fionna had NOT yet been prepared in advance for this, and put on a good face, but basically panicked. In the end, we had to defer things by one night, but then, as (sort-of) scheduled, the Soother Fairy came and metamorphosed her soothers...
...into something nice...
It's a butterfly hand puppet. I think we also stuffed it with some candy, as an extra bribe. Things worked out great for her in the end - a minimum of angst or fighting, and no drawn-out period of weaning or restrictions.
If you've been following the blog at all, you'll realize that the soothers disappeared from photos quite awhile ago. (scroll back and figure out when...). I had meant to post this sooner (as I've also had more than a few patients ask for strategies concerning this issue) but to be honest, I was always too scared to get the decommissioned soothers out out my closet to take a photo, lest Fionna catch me in the act. But today, all three women are having a simultaneous nap (Sheryl's on night shift in the ER) and I've had some time to blog on my own here. Now...to get these soothers into the trash...
Tip #1: Sometimes, your kids will pick poisonous, hallucinogenic mushrooms from your garden and bring them to you. This is why you have the discussion about not putting random things in one's mouth AHEAD of time. This message brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood dad, and Emergency Room doctor.
Tip #2A: First, your daughter will just want to SIT on the Seadoo.
Tip#2B: Next, she'll want to sit on the Seadoo with Karlee, the babysitter.
Tip #2C: She will then summon up the courage to do a turtle-speed trip around the dock on the Seadoo....and of course...
Tip#2D: Eventually, she will want to do it all over again, her dad will get on the Seadoo and the thing will get off balance and roll even before the motor is started. Fionna, dad and Karlee will end up in the water, Karlee will rev the motor JUST before letting go but will have failed to attach the dead-man's switch to her lifejacket, and the Seadoo will take off riderless and thump into mom and dad's newly renovated shoreline.
[photo omitted for brevity]
Tip#3: If you allow your child to have favorite stuffie, FOR GOD SAKE, BUY TWO OF THEM! We did, and it allows for laundry of the stinky one, a backup in case one gets temporarily misplaced, etc. Sheryl originally poo-poo'd James' notion that we should be swapping them in and out frequently, but it turns out, that's the right tactic, as they then get "aged" at more or less the same rate. Fionna refers to her stuffie as "Bo" which may refer to his bowtie, may mean that he's her "beau", or may be a word-play on Bo-Peep. We think he may be a lamb, especially in the ears and face, but his paws are decidedly ursine...not like hooves at all. So the adults started referring to him as "Lamby-Bear". The one presently living on the shelf in the laundry room in a baggie is referred to as "Lamby-Spare".We took great pains to avoid having Fionna see both of them at the same time, perhaps in order to avoid any kind of psychological scarring or to reduce the chance that we invoke some unforseen Lamby-Bear time paradox. It was all for naught though, as Fionna recently found both of them one day after Spare had been brought out to replace a missing Prime. (Prime was hiding in the library). In typical fashion, she then announced to us that Lamby-Bear had "a brother visiting".
All this to say that kids are adaptable. It's the parents that stress out.
Tip#4: Speaking of stress-outs...Abby sometimes has tantrums. They're not horrible - there's no blood and minimal tears, actually - but she sometimes needs to shut out the world for a bit. If you see us stepping over top of her roadblock, asking her if she's okay and then walking off...honestly, she just needs a moment.
Tip#5: Kids seem to eat better for their grandparents. It's partly, but not totally attributable to the anticipation of treat-food.
Tip#6: Play-Doh is cheap. Let them mix the colours, even though everything in your adult brain says, "NOOOOOO!"But put down a plastic mat.
And finally,
Tip#6: How to wean your kid off a soother the "gentle" way.
It's almost become a household legend between James and his parents about how totally addicted to his soother James was. Apparently, he went through so many of them (and in that day, they were made of friable natural rubber rather than silicone) that the leftover "rings" had been made into a chain to hold the most recent one. Eventually, mom and dad decided that enough was enough, and somewhere around the time of James' 2nd birthday, they simply told him that his soother was old and dirty, and that it needed to be thrown out. Being the obedient kid, he wandered over to the kitchen garbage can and did just that, whereupon his parents dashed up, gathered up the trash bags and summarily dumped them into the apartment building's garbage chute.
We ended up in a similar position with Fionna. Total soother addict. Mind you, don't ever get near Abigail with one; she hated the things. But Fionna loved them and, to be honest, needed one for a long time. After a point, though, we had decided that it was finally starting to get in the way of conversations, so we figured out a plan. We don't have a garbage chute, and Fionna's personality is not exactly like James'. Therefore, with the help of friends and the internet, we concocted the "Soother Fairy". The plan was that we were going to prep her in advance, and then choose a time when th Fairy would come on night, magic away all her soothers and leave a suitable gift-in-kind. We even had a general date chosen.
...and then, Amanda came along. Her daughter Emily is about the same age as Fionna, was also a bit of a soother junkie, and Amanda was planning on using the same method as we were. One evening, however, they were over for dinner and Amanda goes and announces TO THE WHOLE TABLE that tonight is the night that the soother fairy is coming for Emily, and Oh-Fionna-won't-it-be-fun-to-compare-Soother-Fairy-presents-tomorrow?
Goof.
Fionna had NOT yet been prepared in advance for this, and put on a good face, but basically panicked. In the end, we had to defer things by one night, but then, as (sort-of) scheduled, the Soother Fairy came and metamorphosed her soothers...
...into something nice...
It's a butterfly hand puppet. I think we also stuffed it with some candy, as an extra bribe. Things worked out great for her in the end - a minimum of angst or fighting, and no drawn-out period of weaning or restrictions.If you've been following the blog at all, you'll realize that the soothers disappeared from photos quite awhile ago. (scroll back and figure out when...). I had meant to post this sooner (as I've also had more than a few patients ask for strategies concerning this issue) but to be honest, I was always too scared to get the decommissioned soothers out out my closet to take a photo, lest Fionna catch me in the act. But today, all three women are having a simultaneous nap (Sheryl's on night shift in the ER) and I've had some time to blog on my own here. Now...to get these soothers into the trash...
The Ark
We appear to be collecting lots of photos of the kids with animals. Fionna commented ruefully the other day that she "don't have a kittie...". It's still being a bit tough explaining that one to her, considering that:
A) She's allergic
B) Mom's allergic
C) Mom had a kittie
D) Mom and dad LIKE kitties
E) Her friend Emmy has two dogs, horses, kitties, chickens, turkeys and a farm. And a fish.
Our solution is to dose her up with antihistamines and expose her to lots of animals, and then hose her down afterwards.
We started off safe, with stuffie animals. Here's her Little Bo Peep costume.
Next, we moved on to reptiles. No allergies to reptiles. This turtle was wandering across the road near our mailbox.
Fionna named him Tuck, as expected.
The turtle didn't provoke any allergies, but it did pee on the floor mat of dad's car on its way back to the swamp, so we went back to fully artificial animals. Here we are at the Toronto Zoo, where a bronze orangutan experiences what it's like to have a Fionna on his back.
Peacocks. Beautiful, cocky, surprisingly noisy, and not so much loving the rocket popsicles.
We woke up one morning to find a banded pigeon on our deck. He hung around for way too long, presumably because of all the free food from the toddlers and the birdfeeders. Eventually, we tried to trap it in a box to no avail; buddy seemed pretty tame but also pretty savvy about boxes. What finally worked was leaving the screen door open by mistake (hurray, Daddy!) and having buddy wander inside. We eventually caught him using the curtains in the master bedroom. Turns out, he's a racing pigeon from down south. We kept him for a couple of days while James figured out which website to contact about his numbers. Eventually, since nobody emailed back, dad had the bright idea to take him to the hospital and release him there, a few kilometers away from our house.
As it turns out, racing pigeons can home in to more than just their original roost. James did his rounds at the hospital and then got a cell phone call from Sheryl that the pigeon was safe and sound...back on our deck.
He didn't leave until after we went on vacation.
Abby at the Cunningham farm, trying to terrorize the poultry.
Fionna at the Cunningham farm, successfully terrorizing the poultry.
The difference between the Toronto Zoo and Marineland is that in Marineland, there are fewer animals but more chances to touch them. Which is a pretty important difference, if you ask a three-year old. I have weird retro memories of the deer stockade; our family has photos that look pretty much exactly like these, but they were taken in the early 80s. And printed on jigsaw puzzles, which was a big deal back then.
Incidentally, I have no idea what black bears, deer, elk and bison have to do with MARINEland. Well, I suppose the bears were mostly sitting in a pond to cool off...
A) She's allergic
B) Mom's allergic
C) Mom had a kittie
D) Mom and dad LIKE kitties
E) Her friend Emmy has two dogs, horses, kitties, chickens, turkeys and a farm. And a fish.
Our solution is to dose her up with antihistamines and expose her to lots of animals, and then hose her down afterwards.
We started off safe, with stuffie animals. Here's her Little Bo Peep costume.
Next, we moved on to reptiles. No allergies to reptiles. This turtle was wandering across the road near our mailbox.
Fionna named him Tuck, as expected.
The turtle didn't provoke any allergies, but it did pee on the floor mat of dad's car on its way back to the swamp, so we went back to fully artificial animals. Here we are at the Toronto Zoo, where a bronze orangutan experiences what it's like to have a Fionna on his back.
Peacocks. Beautiful, cocky, surprisingly noisy, and not so much loving the rocket popsicles.
We woke up one morning to find a banded pigeon on our deck. He hung around for way too long, presumably because of all the free food from the toddlers and the birdfeeders. Eventually, we tried to trap it in a box to no avail; buddy seemed pretty tame but also pretty savvy about boxes. What finally worked was leaving the screen door open by mistake (hurray, Daddy!) and having buddy wander inside. We eventually caught him using the curtains in the master bedroom. Turns out, he's a racing pigeon from down south. We kept him for a couple of days while James figured out which website to contact about his numbers. Eventually, since nobody emailed back, dad had the bright idea to take him to the hospital and release him there, a few kilometers away from our house.As it turns out, racing pigeons can home in to more than just their original roost. James did his rounds at the hospital and then got a cell phone call from Sheryl that the pigeon was safe and sound...back on our deck.
He didn't leave until after we went on vacation.
Abby at the Cunningham farm, trying to terrorize the poultry.
Fionna at the Cunningham farm, successfully terrorizing the poultry.
The difference between the Toronto Zoo and Marineland is that in Marineland, there are fewer animals but more chances to touch them. Which is a pretty important difference, if you ask a three-year old. I have weird retro memories of the deer stockade; our family has photos that look pretty much exactly like these, but they were taken in the early 80s. And printed on jigsaw puzzles, which was a big deal back then.
Incidentally, I have no idea what black bears, deer, elk and bison have to do with MARINEland. Well, I suppose the bears were mostly sitting in a pond to cool off...Abby-Extravaganza!
Some things you need to know about Abby:
Abby loves blankets. Dolls, stuffies, soothers...all a passing fancy at best. Now BLANKETS...blankets are great. If you're ever with her and things are going off the rails, making her a nice blanket toga is normally a decent solution.
Abby is a show-off and very personable, even around new people. That may not bode well if she every visits Mardi-Gras, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Milk mustache!
Abby is finally old enough to handle the North Bay Carousel and enjoy it. She also appears to have inherited her mom's Concentration-Tongue-Face.
But sometimes, she concentrates too hard...
Abby loves blankets. Dolls, stuffies, soothers...all a passing fancy at best. Now BLANKETS...blankets are great. If you're ever with her and things are going off the rails, making her a nice blanket toga is normally a decent solution.
Abby is a show-off and very personable, even around new people. That may not bode well if she every visits Mardi-Gras, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Milk mustache!
Abby is finally old enough to handle the North Bay Carousel and enjoy it. She also appears to have inherited her mom's Concentration-Tongue-Face.
But sometimes, she concentrates too hard...Sunday, August 03, 2008
The Farm, Take 2
Springridge Farms is quite close to one set of grandparents. Nice place to spend the day. OOOOooooh look! Action Shot!
Happily, the strawberry harvest was still going, albeit at the tail end. Kids didn't mind that the remaining berries were a bit small.
And, of course, the now-yearly Fake Cow Milking Shots, this time, with an extra kid involved
Happily, the strawberry harvest was still going, albeit at the tail end. Kids didn't mind that the remaining berries were a bit small.
And, of course, the now-yearly Fake Cow Milking Shots, this time, with an extra kid involved
