Chatting and Stepping! Stepping and Chatting! (and the odd rant!)

[carrotsandcelery]

Come inside for a and a and maybe even a if the mood takes you.

A thread for chatter and nonsense

carrots, I normally go to the loo when Toddler's brushing his teeth anyway. And I have a bag of roasted nuts up in my room to tide me over. MrScout won't be in until 9 at the earliest.

It is learned behaviour, I am sure of it. I have taught dcs with all sorts of extra challenges and the kids, even teenagers who are accused of all sorts, were never horrid. They would be interested but supportive and inclusive. It was the adults who had issues. If we don't teach the dcs these prejudices then hopefully they won't develop them.

I already see some homophobic "aquaintances" trying to brainwash their dcs with intolerance. We have close friends who are gay and relatives who are gay so hopefully my dcs won't develop any nasty intolerance there.

I do worry what beliefs I have that I don't realise I am visiting upon my dcs though. I am accused of brainwashing them about vegetarianism but feel those who eat meat are doing the same the other way around.

My SiL & her husband are this way and they call themselves Catholic. Drives me crazy.

Toddler's just had a snack and he looks so tired. Poor little boy. He's also just colored three more pictures for me, two of which are proudly hanging on the refrigerator. The third is one of the "color" pictures I have -- I have a book to help "teach"/reinforce colors and there's a section of animals that say things like "color the bird blue" or "color the frog green" and there's a poem about the blue bird or green frog, etc. I'm having him color the animal then I'll cut them out (the lines are very wide, the pictures simple) and he'll glue the animal onto a piece of construction paper and I'll write the poem onto the paper. Green Frog was the first is the first of the set we've done. When we do them all I'll hang them somewhere (either the kitchen door or maybe his bedroom door. I've run out of space on our kitchen cabinet doors and refrigerator and I rotate the pictures regularly! However, I'm a firm believer of displaying children's projects/art work so will continue to display Toddler's art.

MrScout's bringing home pizza so I don't have to think about cooking or washing up.

Yay for pizza!

We had a beautiful kitchen fitted when ds was 2, in our beautiful new extension, and the majority of the cupboard doors and the walls are covered in the dcs Art works. There are even 2 pictures that dh did

I take them down and we either file them or recycle them every now and again, or they go up in the dcs roooms, but the walls fill up again very quickly

A friend used to have a display door in her rented accommodation and certificates and pictures and photos were all put up on the door. They soon overlapped and then old pics got covered over etc. It was very emotional when she moved and layers of their history were peeled back carefully.

Thanks for mentioning pizza Scout as, having made the evening meal earlier, I had forgotten to switch the oven on when we got in to actually bake it!

Right now Toddler's art gets store in an A1 portfolio. I got a big one so that A2 paintings (done at various groups we go to) could be stored flat. Sometimes it gets cleared out and pictures given to grandparents & "adopted" grandparents.

Toddler loves having his pictures up and regularly refers to them.

Cats is AWOL!

I knew she was feeling horrid but hoped she might have popped up by now.

cats texted me needs new norton and hoping to be back tomorrpw

im considering buying some magnetic blackboard paint for a portion of kitchen wall and each dcs bedrooms

I have wondered about that before as well zoo for our kitchen. I was scared in the dcs bedrooms incase it encouraged them to draw on the walls.

I thought we could use it in here to write up what has run out as people have a habit of not telling me and even of putting the empty box back in the cupboard.

i know what you mean about adults opinions carrots

my ds friends dad wants a "boys" boy-fighting computer games etc
went berzerk he put on sisters play shoes
isnt allowed anything pink
i was shocked by his level homophobic attitudes

he is even a bit worried bout his ds play mine now knows in the privacy of home with his sisters he cvorts around in sparkles wearing pink and purple featherd play shoes and fairy wings!

im hoping that a wall with chalks will be ok

i dont allow pencils or felt tips of any type upstairs

biros are on a strictly use it and put it back immediately basis only

I have a "friend" like that too zoo The saddest part is that I am pretty sure one of their sons is gay and he is going to have a very hard time if they carry on like this. They lectured me before he came to play one time that he wasn't to wear any of dd's clothes or dressing up outfits. They really seemed to think that what they wear would have an influence on their sexuality

I also have a "friend" who was worried about letting her daughter play with a mutual friend of ours after he came out. She didn't seem to get it that her daughter was safe as houses with a gay man. She is very intelligent in other ways and well qualified which makes it even more shocking.

There is nowt as strange as folk!

I am sure I am just as bad but just don't spot my own prejudices!

Sheesh! Who ever thought that spinach would be so controversial !

Ds loves spinach (fresh from the packet) but clearly cooked in Canneloni it is too much to bear!

I would have let him leave it but he has kicked off so spectacularly I can't really.

I have separated out a small bit of it, with no spinach in it, and told him he can be excused when he has eaten it.

He is having a full scale meltdown about it.

I am putting my head in the sand until he does.

TODDLER'S ASLEEP! Only took 5-10 minutes. Several (too many too count) get-out-of-bed trips but never out of the room. I didn't strictly follow Super Nanny's "no talking" (as I knew he was just too overly tired for it and would soon go to sleep) but kept saying "Good night, Toddler, it's time for bed." Sometimes I just had to say it and he'd fling himself into bed without me having to go in. I also kept telling him that he was a big boy to sleep in a big bed, that tomorrow we're going to "City" to see his "Big Friends" and he can tell O that he's a big boy, too, sleeping all night in a big boy bed (O is 10 and Toddler idolizes him).

Oh well done Scout! I really hope you get a good night's sleep. Quick go to bed now!!!

Ds is still creating about the small dollop of food he has to eat. He has stamina, I will give him that.

I'm indulging in some "American Crime Drama" (Law & Order), then will clean up the toys then take a nap until the pizza comes home.

He has eaten it, gone outside for another play and is now in the bath.

I can remember my dbro and myself having similar standoffs: him over a green bean, me over something with meat in it. We eventually realised that I could eat his veg for him and he could eat my meat.

I don't generally make them eat stuff but I knew that if I took the spinach out there was nothing there he didn't like. I only wanted one forkful down.

He did it in the end. After his play I asked him what he had learned about tantrums and he answered, "they are not worth it" so hopefully my point was made.

He did then make a massive fuss about having to come in and go in the bath of course so maybe the lesson was short lived

Dh is home now and has decreed that the meal is delicious. At least someone appreciated it.

All we have to do now is to go and vote. I was thinking of taking dd with me to see what it is all about. Do all of you have elections today?

I've tided up the toys and am watching American Idol. I should go wash up today's dishes. Should also do some computer work but am just sitting here playing games.

Glad minicarrots had his forkful and a good play.

Oh oh! I have found one of my prejudices. There was a candidate with the surname "Farquar" and they lived in a certain area round here and I am ashamed to admit that I made an assumption

Farquar as in from the land of Far, Far Away in Shrek?