Thursday, March 30, 2006

Do You See What I See?

I turned off the lights and crawled into bed with my 6 year-old daughter Neva and 3 year-old son Milo. As I tried to get them to settle down for sleep, I quietly asked, "What do you see when you close your eyes?"

"Oh, I know!" Neva jumped in excitedly. "I see a truck holding up some wood. And it's wrapped in a big orange wrapper. And they're taking the wood out, two at a time. Some are wrapped in blue -- it must be extra special wood."

Gee. All I see is spots!

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Running Truths ...

As children, we were told to always tell the truth yet as adults we edit the truth as we see fit. "Does this dress make me look fat?" You know what my answer is going to be don't you.

So now my 3 1/2-year old son Milo has of late been misappropriating the truth. I suppose all children start to experiment with the facts at some time or another, bending them to their needs or wishes. So, he's begun lying. Not very well mind you, but nevertheless, the truth has lately become a commodity.

It might be his eyes that give him away as they dart back and forth, every once in a while meeting mine as if to see if I'm buying into his story. Maybe it's the faint smile where the corners of his mouth curl up while he tries explaining himself. But most likely, it's the fact that once he finishes spinning his web of deceit, he simply runs away.

The world was flat until somebody reasoned that it wasn't. The glass is half full, no it's half empty. Our Governments would never mislead us and every sale saves you money. All of which leads me to wonder about the truth. Is it that lying is bad or is being a bad liar just not good? No wonder Milo runs away.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Writer in Residence ...

Hello everyone my name is Catherine and over the last few days I have been in town visiting my Aunt Kathleen, Uncle Bob, Neva, Milo and Willa. Aunt Kathleen, Milo and Willa came to pick me up from the train station. After saying hello to everyone Milo decided to take off his mitt. As I was putting it back on for him he told me that it goes on his left hand and he told me which hand was his left and which was his right. I was kind of surprised he knew left from right at his age. I don't even think I knew my left from my right till I was at least 6 or 7. As we were driving to their house Aunt Kathleen and I were talking and Milo says "Mommy...I want to talk to Ratherine. Ratherine?......." But that was pretty much all he wanted to say.

As I walked in through the door Neva ran to me with big arms and gave me a huge hug. We watched TV for a bit and Neva told me which shows she disliked on Treehouse TV, it was pretty much all the shows.

Later that night, as all 3 kids got out of the bath and into their pyjamas, Milo asked me to read him a story. He picked Chicka Chicka Boom Boom [by John Archembault and Bill Martin Jr.]. Aunt Kathleen told me that he could probably read it to me, and he did! He even sounded sad when the letters were sad.

The next day was busy, we went to the University and then came back to make smores before I left. It was a lot of fun coming out to see them all, I hadn’t seen them since Christmas. It was kinda funny being pulled in 3 different directions. It made me feel good to see how much each one wanted to play with me. Milo with his puzzles and trucks, Neva with her story writing and coloring and Willa wanting to play with her dolls.

Thanks so much for having me.

Catherine or as Milo likes to say "Ratherine",
Guest Writer, ContestHound.com

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

There is a Season ...

In our part of the world, now that it's the middle of March, school-aged children everywhere have an entire week off from higher learning. Many have found that their parents have also taken time off, packed too many of their belongings and stuffed themselves and their children into some form of transportation in hopes of finding better weather.

With the exception that we can still see a foot of snow on any given day, the weather came to us and we found ourselves basking in the warmth of an otherwise perfect spring day.

It wasn't the weather that gave away the pending arrival of spring. Nor was it the smell of the soil as it thawed or even the longer days. That there was no school for my 6 year-old daughter Neva wasn't even a consideration and if any of the early spring flowers had poked their heads out of the earth, it was lost on me.

No, what signaled that the turn of seasons was near came as I sat watching my three children and their little friends running around the yard barefoot and in T-shirts, covered in layers of mud and dirt.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Thursday, March 09, 2006

A Star is Born ...

The other day my husband Bob and I attended a school assembly in which our oldest daughter Neva's Grade One class performed a few songs and a number of short plays for the rest of the school. The week of the concert, Neva had very excitedly told us how they rehearsed with "real live" microphones -- "for real, Mom!" - for the plays. But knowing my daughter as I do, I had my suspicions about the need for one.

And so it was, Bob and I found ourselves at the back of the gymnasium with a few other parents there to witness the confusion that is inherent to a gathering of twenty or more 6- and 7-year-olds. It quickly became evident the need for the microphone as child after child shyly spoke their muffled lines to no one in particular. Those who weren’t so shy had their lips pressed so close against the waffled orb that we couldn’t understand them anyway. And then there was Neva.

Neva shouted her lines so clearly into the microphone, I’m sure you could hear her three streets over. And when it came time to sing -- their voices amplified only by natural enthusiasm -- Neva’s voice was the one that could be heard over and above the piano and the other voices in the choir. Clear to the back of the gym and, thankfully, more in tune with the choir than she is when singing solo at home. Her expression was glorious - cheeks rosy and eyes sparkling - her spirit raw, unfettered. She was in her element.

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com

Thursday, March 02, 2006

What Are the Odds?

My daughter Neva seems to have somewhat of a lucky streak. At the young age of 6, she has already won prizes in about half of the raffles held at her school -- various cakes, easter eggs, a backpack.

The other day we received some scratch-and-save coupons in the mail for a local restaurant. If you presented the coupon to your server, you could save anywhere from $5 to $50 off the bill for your meal. We see these types of scratch cards more and more these days. Department stores, fitness clubs and now, apparently, restaurants all try to lure you in with the promise of big savings that you ultimately never see. I don't care about a 5% savings off my $30 purchase. That barely buys me a coffee for my efforts. The mystery and temptation around them, not to mention the "forbidden fruit" of scratching the card before you make your purchase, just frustrates me and I tend to ignore them and let the kids play with them.

And so it was with the coupons that came the other day for the local restaurant. Neva grabbed a penny and began unmasking the mystery. It was pure delight for her and pure torture for me.

Both cards revealed a $50 coupon!

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com