April 24, 2010

  • A New, Fun Way To Irritate The Princess


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I love to find ways to irritate the Princess.  She doesn't really get irritated but I DO like to *tweak* her once in a while.  The other day, when Chewlee and I were at Walmart, we went past a bunch of t-shirts that were out in preparation for Mother's Day.  Yes, that's coming up sooner than you think.  Anyway, I spotted one right at the front of the rack that I KNEW had to be a sign!  It said:  Grandma....like a mom but with no rules. 

    More than once, the Princess has said something almost like that because Chewlee loves to be here with me.  I guess I make HER the *bad guy* because I am so *liberal* in her words.  Laid back is another word she's used when she's not upset.  In truth, I am more patient and have a different way of getting Chewlee to do things or to NOT do things.  They do NOT all involve bribery but.....it IS a kind of training tool we use with animals like dogs, if you think about it.  That thought occurred to me today while driving to pick her up from pre-school.

    Speaking of pre-school, I am a total advocate of that for all children from the age of two, especially.  It's incredible how much that helps a child who has a curious mind that wants to know things.  Chewlee will start kindergarten (when she's 5) and will know her numbers from 1-20 and her alphabet.  They will start her on printing and some other crucial small muscle coordination skills.  For those of us that don't have the skills to teach our children those things at home (or the time in most cases), getting your child into that kind of a structured pre-school environment is the best thing you can do for them to help them out once they get into a regular school.  With all the social problems that can develop, at least they should have that boost on the academic.

    Chewlee was in one of her rare moods today.  She wanted to do this and that but, first, she would lean on my lap and, with a serious face, explain to me WHY we should.  If I started to protest, she would shush me and say, *Come on!  Let's go!* and then would grab my hand to guide me.  When she finally settled down and was ready to watch *Dinosaurs* (Jurassic Park to the unwashed), she REALLY settled down.  She wanted to sit in my lap but didn't want me to hold her.....until the bad (carnivore) dinosaurs showed up. 

    During one trip to get her some juice, she didn't shut the door into here behind her so Baron came in.  She tried making him leave by pointing towards the door (like I do) and telling him, *Go!* *Out!*.  He just looked at her.  I finally gave him the *out* command and he left.  That annoyed her no end so she turned to me and said, *Doggie was not being good.  He didn't listen to me so he needs a time out.*  She then headed out the door and, just before shutting it, she popped her head in and said, *I'll be right back.*

    She came back a few minutes later and sat down in her Dora chair to watch the movie and nothing more was said.  About five minutes later, the Beast came in and said to me, *Did you lock Baron in the guest room?*  When I said no, Chewlee turned, casually, and said two words.  *Time out*  I laughed until I cried and told the Beast the story.  He said Baron was in there and he heard him crying so he got up to check on him and found him in there with the light on.  We keep it off usually but Chewlee always turns it on when she puts one of her baby dolls in *time out*.  For a minute, the Beast thought Baron might have accidentally closed the door on himself.  Kids are wonderful and can make you laugh when you least expect it.  The idea that she put the dog into a time out because he didn't listen to her just tickled me to no end.

    We had a special treat tonight for our dinner....steaks.  Nice big T-bones and they were wonderful.  I shared mine with Chewlee since I don't usually eat a whole one.  We also had a baked potato, nice crispy yeast dinner rolls and some asparagus.  Chewlee ate about 90% of the steak, all her asparagus and a roll.  She isn't a fan of baked or mashed potatoes, apparently but I gave her a mixed fruit cup to round out her meal.  She didn't eat as much as I would have liked but her mom brought a children's meal from Chik-fil-a.  She LOVES their waffle fries and she also loves to dip her chicken bites into ranch dressing I found out.

    I kind of suspected she liked ranch dressing because she would suck the dressing off lettuce she ate from my salads.  I finally gave her one of her own that day and put a little extra on it.  That worked and she ate it all up.  Since I will have her on Sunday, I already know what I will make us for our brunch.  Chicken fingers with ranch dressing on the side and a nice salad.  If she eats good, she will take a nice, long nap.

    I'm going to have to make a trip to Walmart (again) and pick up a few things for the lunch I will pack for the ATV adventurers on Sunday.  They will need to have something along with them since there's nothing closer than 20 minutes.  They plan on exploring all the *bunny trails* as the Beast has nicknamed them.  I'll add some peeled tangarines to the mix since those always seemed great to me on some of our previous adventures.

    Time to get this posted for your perusal later on.  Love you all.  Have a wonderful day and relax.....enjoy it.  It's SATURDAY!!!! 

    PS: JUST A LITTLE INFO BECAUSE I JUST GOT THE NEWS....HERCULES IS GOING TO STATE NOW FOR TRACK AND FIELD.  HE MADE 9 FEET ON THE BROAD JUMP (ALMOST MADE 9'6") BUT WE ARE SO PROUD!