Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Learning to Read and Write


It's truly amazing how quickly children learn. Their brains are like huge sponges, constantly absorbing and they don't turn off just because you aren't trying to teach them something at that moment. They learn constantly by listening and observing the people around them. Our 4yr old occasionally asks us random questions that we as adults never think about. What would you say when asked, "Why are there so many trees?". Of course after you answer that one you know what comes next... "Where did the trees come from?".
I've been helping our son learn to write small words like cat, dog, fish, etc. but in addition to those there's always the words he WANTS to learn how to write. You know, words like Spiderman, Trans Former, and Omnidroid (from the Incredibles movie). Simple words right? LOL It doesn't matter how long the word is, when it's something he's interested in he's determined to learn how to read it and write it. When you think about it, we adults are the same way. Admit it, you know it's true. I love animals and have researched numerous diseases and in-depth subjects way over my head just so I could learn more about the creatures I love so dearly.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Funny Things Children Say (Part 1)

From the mouth of a 3yr old (July – Dec. 2008)

Father to son: “Bye, you be a good boy.”
Son to father: “Bye Daddy, you be a good Daddy!”


Upon seeing his Daddy washing his hands after finishing in the bathroom:
“Wow Daddy, you went potty all by yourself! I’m so proud of you!”


After watching the movie Open Season:
Son to mother: “Mommy, can bears really talk?”
Mother to son: “No, bears can’t talk, only people can talk.”
Son: “I knew that, but this bear can talk. Silly bear!”


While splashing in wading pool the family cat J.J. is watching nearby.
Son to the cat: “J.J. come play in the water.”
Mother to son: “J.J. doesn’t want to come play, he doesn’t like water.”
Son to mother: “Why?”
Mother to son: “Cats don’t like water.”
Son to mother: “But J.J. likes to drink water, why won’t he come play with me?”
Mother to son: “I don’t know, why don’t you ask him?”
Son to cat: “J.J. why don’t you like water?”
Cat meows
Son to mother: “Mommy, J.J. can’t talk!”


While driving in the car Mother says to her son: “Look, there’s our church.”
(Son remains silent)
Mother to son: “Say ‘Hi’ Church”
Son in an annoyed voice: “Mommy, Church can’t talk!”


After saying bedtime prayers with her son Mother says:
“Do you know Daddy & Mommy love you?”
Son: “Yes”
Mother: “Do you know God loves you?”
Son: “Yes”
Mother: “Do you know Jesus loves you?”
Son: “No”
Mother: “Yes, Jesus loves you!”
Son: “I don’t like Jesus.”
Mother: “What? Why not?”
Son: “I just want to go to sleep. We’ve said our prayers now I have to go to sleep.”
(In other words… stop talking, say goodnight & leave me alone!) LOL

Son says: “There was another Daddy in my class at church.”
Mother: “Oh, really?”
Short pause then son says: “I have two Daddies. That’s okay, sometimes some people have two Daddies.”
(We had no response to this one at all, just looked at each other and tried to hold in the laughter.)


Mother: “Did you know Jesus lives in a place called Heaven?”
Son: “No he doesn’t, that’s silly! Jesus is at the bat church.”
(For the past six months or so everything has been related to Batman. We live at the bat cave, our cat JJ is now known as Bat Kitty, we drive a bat car, etc.) (Oh, and to top it all off, Daddy is “Superman”, Mommy is “Superwoman, our son is Batman (of course) and little sister is “Spidergirl”. Talk about a family full of superheros!)

Putting a Beloved Pet to Sleep

Eventually all pet owners are faced with the tough decision of having to decide to euthanize, or "put to sleep" a pet. Though it can be a very difficult time to think about these things, here are some basic questions you should ask yourself before making the decision one way or the other.

1) If there IS a cure, will the "cure" involve additional suffering?
2) Will the "cure" further traumatize the animal?
3) How great is the chance of infection or further injury?
4) What quality of life would the animal have if the "cure" is successful or only partially successful?
5) What other circumstances are there, like the age of the pet and previous existing health conditions?
6) What are the chances of it happening again?

Every situation is different and no one can tell you when is the right time, but you should listen to what your veterinarian says and take some time to make your decision. Never rush into things or you may end up regretting it later.

Books I'm currently reading

I'm currently reading 2 books. The first one is Problem Children written by a child behavior specialist who professes to be a christian. The author gives great examples of why children act the way they do and how we inadvertently reward their bad behavior. No, I don't think we have problem children, but it's always nice to read about what to do if a situation may arise.
The second book I'm reading is Be the Pack Leader by Cesar Millan (you have seen him on t.v. where he's better known as the "Dog Whisperer"). I just started this book, but I've always admired Cesar Millan's methods of dealing with dogs and feel that many of his concepts could transfer over to people relationships as well. For example, some people have "little dog syndrome" where they bark & snap to show they are bigger than what they are.
After these two I plan to go back to reading something fiction for fun. I'm not sure what book yet, but I'll post when I know.