Tuesday, July 27, 2010

thump thump thump

I couldn't make it to my Grandma's funeral due to a few bumps in the very beginning with this little thump. Today, those in the know say that all seems well. Version 3.0 expected in Feb 2011.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Grandma

My Grandma passed away this weekend and I am not able to go home to her funeral. Permit me to celebrate her here.


Of Peonies and People
by Jennifer Philpott

My grandmother passed away today
and my mother was there and I was not.
My children and I were outside to play;
stomping puddles and muddy garden plots.

I tell my son we will plant peonies
when we find our home and by that I mean
the boozey flowers that sagged under trees
and sun on my grandmother's farm and dreamt
of waking from the next winter, too. Tough
ants crawled on the waxy blossom heads
coaxing them open, their scent thick enough
to betray my fort making in the flower beds,

Grandma scolded, “Stay out! You let them grow!”
My girl asks, “Peonies? How do you grow?”
I tell them what Grandma knew of peonies and people too:
You stand back. You let them grow. Don't let anyone mess with you.



Friday, July 2, 2010

disclipline part 2

I also find it hard to discipline because G refuses either a) to dress or b) remain dressed in the same outfit or c) remain dressed at all. This evening I said, "Gg! In our family, we help each other out. Your brother needs help setting the table. Please help your brother." Go ahead, say this outloud. In the time it takes to say that, she stripped naked and said, "Okay mum," and proceeded to stomp out of the kitchen, naked, with silverware in hand as if nothing had happened. What? Oh that's right, I didn't specify. I didn't say, "...we help each other out whilst wearing standard garments."

Thursday, July 1, 2010

long time, no post

Okay, so when I don't post because of (among many other things) moving to our 5th house in 18 months, 3/4 family birthdays happening within 4 weeks and big M traveling like mad again, I get a little stuck. I get a little gun shy. What to post? What would be interesting to know? I decided to just post what I like and not fret about the picture this time.

I find disciplining my children difficult. Certainly for the standard reasons of the modern mum. No one likes to say no. It always takes a lot of time and energy to do it right and often disciplining needs to happen when you don't have time and energy. Blah. Blah. Blah. But I also have difficulties disciplining my children because I often I can't figure out with whom I'm exactly dealing. For example, the other night G gets in and out of bed, stuffs the the toilet full of toilet paper, picks an owie so it bleeds and she HAS to get out of bed to get a bandaid, the list is so long I've forgotten all that she was doing when she should have been sleeping. Finally, I summoned the time and energy to discipline her, "Big girls go to bed. They don't run around and pick owies and wake brothers up and say hi to the elderly neighbors dangling from the window. Big girls know when to go to sleep. Big girls go to bed and have a nice breakfast with their mummies in the morning. Big girls stay in bed!" To which, she flops away from me and says, "I am not a big girl. I am a panda!" uhm? What to say to that? I said, "Pandas go to sleep too." She said, "I am now a killer whale!" She then blew air from her spout and fell asleep as all good killer whales do.