Friday, March 16, 2007
That's It. Period.
Talk about reflecting on ages and stages and milestones in the kids' lives.
Taking Danielle to kindergarten round-up was apparently just the beginning. Starting with that (round-up) this week I've had to.....
*turn off a movie for inappropriate stuff. In the middle of the movie. a movie that one of the girls' friends brought over. I had to shut it off. When the show started, I had a feeling that I should probably stick around and make sure that it was gonna be okay. Good thing. I didn't want to have to. I didn't want to embarrass Marisa or her friend. I actually felt sick to my stomach about what I was pretty sure I should do. After two or three borderline scenes and comments....I shut the thing off. The good news is that Marisa (8 yrs old) totally understood. I think she could tell I felt bad and I know she knew enough to know that what she was watching was not appropriate. Claire, however, is 6 and she didn't quite get it and didn't quite get why I needed to turn it off. We did the whole "dog poop in the brownies" analogy in which everyone quickly got grossed out and the movie discussion was over. Marisa handled herself in a very mature way. I was proud. She's growing up.
*6 days later (today) claire was overheard explaining to Danielle (4 years old) that if something is sort of "inappropriate" then it makes the whole thing "dog poop". I think she is catching on. Or growing up.
*Marisa asks me what a "period" is. I said...."you mean that thing that goes at the end of a sentence, right?"
Wrong. She read in one of her "Lily" books that "Lily's friend" got her first period. So I asked her if she thought she knew what it meant and she said that at first she was thinking it was her "first class of the day".
We talked.
She was horrified.
I then reminded her that she can always come to me if she ever has any questions. Especially about sex and naughty words. "Because mommy knows it all" I said. "Your friends might think they know what they are talking about....but they really don't. Mommy knows all about sex and naughty words. I'm way smarter than your friends. On that stuff. So ask me."
Do I have to grow up this fast?
Wasn't it just yesterday that we were all watching Barney and Veggie Tales Movies? And making play dates with other kids...but mostly so the mommies could visit? And wasn't it just yesterday that I was struggling with breastfeeding and what kind of diapers to buy? And whether or not excessive diarrhea was linked to teething? It seems like it.
Now it seems like I am cutting my teeth in a new stage of my kids' lives.
But apparently I'm still talking about poop.
the 411 on "dog poop in the brownies" ....idea from the book "Let's Talk" by Danae Dobson and adapted to fit my family:
Once upon a time there were some kids who asked mom if they could watch a movie. It was a show that they knew mom might not approve of....but they made their case that it was an award winning film with great actors and a good plot. And besides....most of their friends went to see it and they sad it wasn't that bad.
The mom wanted to think about it.
The next day mom asked the kids to meet her in the living room. On the coffee table was a plate full of brownies. Mom said that they could go to the movie if they would eat a brownie. And just like the movie, the brownies had some pros and cons.
Mom let the kids know that the brownies had been made with the finest chocolate and freshest ingredients. The brownies had been created from an award-winning recipe. Best of all....they were made by mom.
The only bad part was that the brownies had a little bit of dog poop in them. But mom assured them that the dough had been mixed well and they would probably not be able to taste it. Besides that, they were cooked at 350 degrees...so any germs in the poop is probably destroyed. It won't taste that bad.
So mom said that yes...if they thought they would eat a brownie with a little bit of dog poop in it....then, yes...they could go see the award-winning movie containing "just a little bit" of smut.
Conclusion: a little bit of poop messes up the whole thing.
Taking Danielle to kindergarten round-up was apparently just the beginning. Starting with that (round-up) this week I've had to.....
*turn off a movie for inappropriate stuff. In the middle of the movie. a movie that one of the girls' friends brought over. I had to shut it off. When the show started, I had a feeling that I should probably stick around and make sure that it was gonna be okay. Good thing. I didn't want to have to. I didn't want to embarrass Marisa or her friend. I actually felt sick to my stomach about what I was pretty sure I should do. After two or three borderline scenes and comments....I shut the thing off. The good news is that Marisa (8 yrs old) totally understood. I think she could tell I felt bad and I know she knew enough to know that what she was watching was not appropriate. Claire, however, is 6 and she didn't quite get it and didn't quite get why I needed to turn it off. We did the whole "dog poop in the brownies" analogy in which everyone quickly got grossed out and the movie discussion was over. Marisa handled herself in a very mature way. I was proud. She's growing up.
*6 days later (today) claire was overheard explaining to Danielle (4 years old) that if something is sort of "inappropriate" then it makes the whole thing "dog poop". I think she is catching on. Or growing up.
*Marisa asks me what a "period" is. I said...."you mean that thing that goes at the end of a sentence, right?"
Wrong. She read in one of her "Lily" books that "Lily's friend" got her first period. So I asked her if she thought she knew what it meant and she said that at first she was thinking it was her "first class of the day".
We talked.
She was horrified.
I then reminded her that she can always come to me if she ever has any questions. Especially about sex and naughty words. "Because mommy knows it all" I said. "Your friends might think they know what they are talking about....but they really don't. Mommy knows all about sex and naughty words. I'm way smarter than your friends. On that stuff. So ask me."
Do I have to grow up this fast?
Wasn't it just yesterday that we were all watching Barney and Veggie Tales Movies? And making play dates with other kids...but mostly so the mommies could visit? And wasn't it just yesterday that I was struggling with breastfeeding and what kind of diapers to buy? And whether or not excessive diarrhea was linked to teething? It seems like it.
Now it seems like I am cutting my teeth in a new stage of my kids' lives.
But apparently I'm still talking about poop.
the 411 on "dog poop in the brownies" ....idea from the book "Let's Talk" by Danae Dobson and adapted to fit my family:
Once upon a time there were some kids who asked mom if they could watch a movie. It was a show that they knew mom might not approve of....but they made their case that it was an award winning film with great actors and a good plot. And besides....most of their friends went to see it and they sad it wasn't that bad.
The mom wanted to think about it.
The next day mom asked the kids to meet her in the living room. On the coffee table was a plate full of brownies. Mom said that they could go to the movie if they would eat a brownie. And just like the movie, the brownies had some pros and cons.
Mom let the kids know that the brownies had been made with the finest chocolate and freshest ingredients. The brownies had been created from an award-winning recipe. Best of all....they were made by mom.
The only bad part was that the brownies had a little bit of dog poop in them. But mom assured them that the dough had been mixed well and they would probably not be able to taste it. Besides that, they were cooked at 350 degrees...so any germs in the poop is probably destroyed. It won't taste that bad.
So mom said that yes...if they thought they would eat a brownie with a little bit of dog poop in it....then, yes...they could go see the award-winning movie containing "just a little bit" of smut.
Conclusion: a little bit of poop messes up the whole thing.
5 Comments:
I've never heard the dog poop in the brownies story before. It fits in probably more situations than we would like to think as our children grow up.
Yep...I agree.
after you mention this story once or twice, all you really have to do after that is say "do i need to whip up a batch of our famous brownies?" and the point is made.
by the way....have i told you, Carla, how much i appreciate and look forward to your input on this blog?????
Thanks! I look forward to seeing if you have had the time to write about some new adventure in your life. You brighten my day.:)
Robin,
You are doing a great job raising your kids, keep on serving them poop in those brownies. I had heard this before but after reading this I used it with one of the boys the other day. I don't know if it meant anything to him, he was kind of ignoring me at the time, I think I was talking to the wall. I do that a lot in my line of work. Keep up the good work. I thought I already commented on this when I read it the other day but I guess I didn't. I don't know where it went.
Wow Robin! That's a great analogy!!! I'm going to save that one for my kids.
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