Hello Everyone.
"Can I play in the sink?"
Six simple words and, one would think a relatively benign request. However, it's something I always hesitate to agree to. You see, my daughter Neva (whose new greeting to people is, "Hi! I'm five!") loves water and, like her father and brother, water likes her. It also likes the counter and the chair she stands on and the floor!
Reluctantly, I agreed. It's only water, Kathleen, I reassure myself. And sure enough water is everywhere and Neva is soaked when I return a little later. She is "washing" the dishes on the counter with hand soap and a sponge. The floor is a mess of wet bubbles.
"Please use this tea towel to wipe up when you're done," I ask, pointing to one that is ready for the laundry anyway.
"I already used that one," she says, pointing to the clean one I just put out before dinner. Sigh. It's only a tea towel, I reassure myself again. At least she has already thought to wipe the floor, although where I can't tell.
"Well, please wipe up and come get in the bath. It's time for bed," I add before I go.
Minutes pass and there is still no sign of Neva in the bathroom. I go back to the kitchen to remind her to wipe up and get moving. And there she is, drying all her "washed" dishes and putting them away. The oven drawer is open to put the pie plates away where they belong. They are still covered in bubbles. She is drying some Tupperware with the tea towel she used to wipe the floor. It, too, is still mostly covered in bubbles when it goes in the cupboard.
I stop myself from correcting her because Neva is beaming and couldn't be prouder of the great job she is doing.
And neither could I. Bubbles and all!
Happy sweeping,
Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Toy Training ...
Hello Everyone.
My 2-year-old son's train collection is growing at a rapid pace. He has no less than three hand-made wooden trains, a growing set of Thomas the Tank Engine trains, cars and track and a few odd lots of locomotives and freight cars.
Rather than stuff his trains in the green box where they normally would be kept, the other night I decided that a new, bigger home would be in order. So there were Milo and I cleaning up. I would put a few pieces in the new box, he would take out just as many. Eventually I got the better of him and managed to get them all put away.
Since it was now empty, I put his toy cars into the green box rather than having them strewn around as was generally the custom. Feeling rather pleased with myself I went off to bed.
Early the next morning I awoke to the sounds of toy cars being thrown onto the hardwood floor in our living room. One after another went crashing down in rapid succession. Milo was furiously emptying the new box of cars. I knew he had come to an end when I heard him exclaim: "Oh oh, choo-choo gone!"
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
My 2-year-old son's train collection is growing at a rapid pace. He has no less than three hand-made wooden trains, a growing set of Thomas the Tank Engine trains, cars and track and a few odd lots of locomotives and freight cars.
Rather than stuff his trains in the green box where they normally would be kept, the other night I decided that a new, bigger home would be in order. So there were Milo and I cleaning up. I would put a few pieces in the new box, he would take out just as many. Eventually I got the better of him and managed to get them all put away.
Since it was now empty, I put his toy cars into the green box rather than having them strewn around as was generally the custom. Feeling rather pleased with myself I went off to bed.
Early the next morning I awoke to the sounds of toy cars being thrown onto the hardwood floor in our living room. One after another went crashing down in rapid succession. Milo was furiously emptying the new box of cars. I knew he had come to an end when I heard him exclaim: "Oh oh, choo-choo gone!"
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Beep, Beep ...
Hello Everyone.
Every time one of my kids does something strange I try to remind myself that it is only a healthy imagination at work. Most of the time I keep myself from tilting my head sideways, scrunching up my nose and staring at them. But there are times when I can only shake my head.
My 2-year-old son Milo stood in the kitchen earlier today spinning in circles four or five times. He'd then stop and go "beep, beep, beep". He did this a few times before we realized that he was doing an imitation ... of the microwave.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Every time one of my kids does something strange I try to remind myself that it is only a healthy imagination at work. Most of the time I keep myself from tilting my head sideways, scrunching up my nose and staring at them. But there are times when I can only shake my head.
My 2-year-old son Milo stood in the kitchen earlier today spinning in circles four or five times. He'd then stop and go "beep, beep, beep". He did this a few times before we realized that he was doing an imitation ... of the microwave.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Oh, My Achin' Head ...
Hello Everyone.
It must be September since school started and we all are in varying stages of the first cold of this educational season. We'll be back later this week with a new story. Sneeze-ya-then!
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
It must be September since school started and we all are in varying stages of the first cold of this educational season. We'll be back later this week with a new story. Sneeze-ya-then!
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Meltdown Mania ...
Hello Everyone.
They say five-year-olds are very emotional and my daughter Neva, almost 5, certainly has her share of meltdowns. And every time it happens, my wife Kathleen and I come up with the most far-fetched reasons for Neva's overly emotional behavior.
We have always known that if there were an Academy Award for a Melodramatic Performance in a Non-Movie Role, Neva would win hands down. She has a lot of emotion and is not afraid to express it, albeit in an immature fashion.
Yet, this doesn't relieve us of the relentless fear that we are doing something wrong. We question and analyze each episode convinced that we are the cause. For us at least it isn't difficult to ignore the facts and come up with some reason that proves we are damaging our kids psychologically.
But then, as we have said before, you need to give your kids something to talk about in therapy.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
They say five-year-olds are very emotional and my daughter Neva, almost 5, certainly has her share of meltdowns. And every time it happens, my wife Kathleen and I come up with the most far-fetched reasons for Neva's overly emotional behavior.
We have always known that if there were an Academy Award for a Melodramatic Performance in a Non-Movie Role, Neva would win hands down. She has a lot of emotion and is not afraid to express it, albeit in an immature fashion.
Yet, this doesn't relieve us of the relentless fear that we are doing something wrong. We question and analyze each episode convinced that we are the cause. For us at least it isn't difficult to ignore the facts and come up with some reason that proves we are damaging our kids psychologically.
But then, as we have said before, you need to give your kids something to talk about in therapy.
Happy sweeping,
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
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