For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Painting a Rainbow on Black Friday
Simply put, Black Friday makes me sick. I don't understand glorifying a day that showcases the worst qualities in human beings: greed, greed, greed, more greed, every man for himself, aggression, inconsideration, and have I mentioned greed?
One year before work when I still lived in Pennsylvania, I needed laundry detergent. Absolutely clueless, I stopped at Walmart on Black Friday that morning. I waited a half hour in line to buy Tide. I don't care if I have not a crumb to eat and no toilet paper, I will never, ever go out again on Black Friday. This year I'm working, and I'm fine with that.
I love giving gifts. I love that much more than receiving really. I also like getting a good deal, as I, like most, am on a tight budget. The evolution of online shopping has been a godsend. I like the luxury of sitting at home in the evenings, carefully picking things and having a ton of variety right at my fingertips. Better yet, many of the Black Friday deals have translated into web deals as well. So that works fairly well for me.
More importantly, Black Friday and all that goes with it just cheapens the spirit of what the holiday is about. I'm not speaking religiously here either. No matter what your particular belief (even if it means no belief), Christmas to me represents a time when human beings worldwide come together to be charitable, kind, and giving. Black Friday is like an ugly, open sore on that concept.
So this year, I'm going to paint a rainbow over the "Black." I'm going to commit to a season of love and giving. I'm going to celebrate the spirit of the season and teach my child what Christmas should really be about.
Happy Holidays, one and all.
One year before work when I still lived in Pennsylvania, I needed laundry detergent. Absolutely clueless, I stopped at Walmart on Black Friday that morning. I waited a half hour in line to buy Tide. I don't care if I have not a crumb to eat and no toilet paper, I will never, ever go out again on Black Friday. This year I'm working, and I'm fine with that.
I love giving gifts. I love that much more than receiving really. I also like getting a good deal, as I, like most, am on a tight budget. The evolution of online shopping has been a godsend. I like the luxury of sitting at home in the evenings, carefully picking things and having a ton of variety right at my fingertips. Better yet, many of the Black Friday deals have translated into web deals as well. So that works fairly well for me.
More importantly, Black Friday and all that goes with it just cheapens the spirit of what the holiday is about. I'm not speaking religiously here either. No matter what your particular belief (even if it means no belief), Christmas to me represents a time when human beings worldwide come together to be charitable, kind, and giving. Black Friday is like an ugly, open sore on that concept.
So this year, I'm going to paint a rainbow over the "Black." I'm going to commit to a season of love and giving. I'm going to celebrate the spirit of the season and teach my child what Christmas should really be about.
Happy Holidays, one and all.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!
Ahhhh, and we are quickly coming upon my favorite time of the year!! Yes, I loooooove the Christmas season!! I love the time leading up to Christmas much more than Christmas Day to be honest. And this year, I finally get to share it with my daughter.
Claire hasn't understood Christmas much up until now. I still don't think she completely "gets" it, but we've been talking more about it. She has been talking about Santa Claus and learned "Jingle Bells" in her music class at school. I am really looking forward to getting the Christmas tree this year. I have been without one for the last few years, but this year it's coming back. I can't wait to smell it, have Claire see it, have us decorate it together, even though I'm sure that will be quite an event with a 3-year-old.
I've been watching holiday movies for the last two weeks on the Hallmark Channel. Claire has favored Christmas episodes of Dora. I've put in the Sesame Street Christmas DVDs, and she's made it through a bit but she just wants Dora, Dora, Dora. I'd like to have a CD of children's Christmas music for her to listen to. I've been teaching her "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and she loves singing that line over and over.
My Christmas cards are bought and ready to write. I'm ready to adorn my mantle in greens and candles. Claire's Christmas portraits are back and ready to send.
May the upcoming days be merry and bright!!!
Claire hasn't understood Christmas much up until now. I still don't think she completely "gets" it, but we've been talking more about it. She has been talking about Santa Claus and learned "Jingle Bells" in her music class at school. I am really looking forward to getting the Christmas tree this year. I have been without one for the last few years, but this year it's coming back. I can't wait to smell it, have Claire see it, have us decorate it together, even though I'm sure that will be quite an event with a 3-year-old.
I've been watching holiday movies for the last two weeks on the Hallmark Channel. Claire has favored Christmas episodes of Dora. I've put in the Sesame Street Christmas DVDs, and she's made it through a bit but she just wants Dora, Dora, Dora. I'd like to have a CD of children's Christmas music for her to listen to. I've been teaching her "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and she loves singing that line over and over.
My Christmas cards are bought and ready to write. I'm ready to adorn my mantle in greens and candles. Claire's Christmas portraits are back and ready to send.
May the upcoming days be merry and bright!!!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Princess and the Potty
I just read In-Sung's blog where she talked about all the awesome books she is reading to Minhae. Claire is a big book fan as well. She has a book called The Princess and the Potty that she loves. The plot, as described by Publishers Weekly, states
Sigh. Welcome to my world. I have someone at my residence who just turned 3 who is completely uninterested in using her potty. She still wears pull-ups to school, and I think the teachers are becoming a little tired of that. Thankfully others in her class wear them too but not the majority. I have a big pile of big girl panties...princesses and Dora. When we get home from work/school, we take off the pull-up and put on big girl panties! Then I give the speech. "Now, Claire, you can't pee in the big girl panties! You have to go on the potty and keep them dry!" Then comes the timer. Every 30 minutes, it dings and off to the bathroom we go; most of the time that involves me dragging her to it screaming. She will usually go. Then sometime during one of the intervals, I'll notice she's soaked. She pees in between the timed breaks. She drinks a lot and it shows! Limiting her drinking is hard because of her allergies. It's a vicious cycle.
The worst part is that the wet or even dirty panties don't bother her a bit, so she'll walk around like that until I figure it out. So that doesn't seem to be working to encourage her to use the potty. I guess the next move will be to go completely naked, but I imagine she'll just pee all over herself and get on with it like nothing ever happened.
I'm not good at this!! I guess I'll read more books, find more incentives, pray to the potty fairy...anything! Until then, I'm accepting donations to the diaper fund of Baltimore County.
"Brown's comic ink-and-watercolor pictures depict a medieval princess who looks to be well past the potty-training stage--and who trots out an engaging range of facial expressions that indicate her stubbornness. It seems she has no interest in trading in the "royal diaper" for a potty--even when tempted with models that are polka-dotted, musical or glow-in-the-dark.".
Sigh. Welcome to my world. I have someone at my residence who just turned 3 who is completely uninterested in using her potty. She still wears pull-ups to school, and I think the teachers are becoming a little tired of that. Thankfully others in her class wear them too but not the majority. I have a big pile of big girl panties...princesses and Dora. When we get home from work/school, we take off the pull-up and put on big girl panties! Then I give the speech. "Now, Claire, you can't pee in the big girl panties! You have to go on the potty and keep them dry!" Then comes the timer. Every 30 minutes, it dings and off to the bathroom we go; most of the time that involves me dragging her to it screaming. She will usually go. Then sometime during one of the intervals, I'll notice she's soaked. She pees in between the timed breaks. She drinks a lot and it shows! Limiting her drinking is hard because of her allergies. It's a vicious cycle.
The worst part is that the wet or even dirty panties don't bother her a bit, so she'll walk around like that until I figure it out. So that doesn't seem to be working to encourage her to use the potty. I guess the next move will be to go completely naked, but I imagine she'll just pee all over herself and get on with it like nothing ever happened.
I'm not good at this!! I guess I'll read more books, find more incentives, pray to the potty fairy...anything! Until then, I'm accepting donations to the diaper fund of Baltimore County.
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