TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM
We got some good news today but it is going to take a little bit of luck in the morning so I am asking you to cross your fingers and say a little prayer. If the position is still open tomorrow, Chewlee will be attending a real preschool. Not a nursery school like the one she attends now, albeit they did more than most nursery schools and you can tell with Chewlee. Of course, teachers vary and Chewlee's old teacher was much more concerned about the kids actually learning things that would help them when they finally went to kindergarten. The one she has currently is more of a *babysitter* type, I gather. I don't know them as well as the Princess does but then, they are more her age.
Chewlee's original teacher was more like a head start teacher and was determined to give some of the minority kids and the bright ones a chance to learn things that were important. She did tell me one time that Chewlee was the only child in her class that had a burning desire to learn and knew all her numbers, the alphabet and her colors. She knew we all had to be working with her on those because of the things she already knew. It's true that we gave her toys that taught her, too. Shapes (a cookie jar that said the name of the shape when the correct one was inserted in the various shaped openings), the programs she watched on TV that always had a theme. Much of it was just little things but they made a difference. I think it also helped that she was around adults much of her younger years. And we never talked baby talk to her although she did come up with some of her own. Like her blanket that she calls her *tee-tee*. None of us know where the hell that came from but tee-tee it is to this day.
The preschool is in Boaz, which is great because it's actually fairly close to the Princess's apartment. It's also the town she works in and where her hair dresser is, I believe. She knows that area better than I do even though it's the first town south of us. It's focus will be on teaching her to write her own name, be able to print the alphabet and her numbers, too. I think she's more than ready for that because even her drawings have changed and she's shown an interest in seeing and recognizing her own name. She often has me print it out for her and she looks at it intently. I keep waiting for her to attempt to copy it.
Just before the Princess got here to pick up Chewlee after work, Chewlee decided she wanted a snack. She was looking through the pantry but couldn't find anything that appealed to her so I suggested some toast and butter. The Beast was wiping down the sink counter at the time and she said, *What a great idea! Go ahead, Grandma.....and don't forget my milk.*
Well, when she said, *What a great idea!* the Beast snickered. I knew he wanted to laugh but Chewlee will get aggravated and say, *What are you laughing at?* If we tell her we are laughing at her, she gets mad and tells us it's not nice to laugh at her (which only makes us smile these great big smiles in an effort NOT to laugh out loud). She says it so seriously!
Today she *told* the Beast he had to take some pictures of her and to bring a chair outside for her. He got his camera because she IS becoming more cooperative about taking pictures but.....you can't direct her. She has her own ideas of what she wants to do and the kind of pictures he should take of her. She will pose herself and I heard her tell him today to *come closer, Grandpa, so you can see my face.* I know she has a mind of her own and it will probably cause many problems later on. The Beast said he took the pictures because he wants her to see her poses and decide if they are what she imagined or not.
Well, today she really looked them over then handed them to me and told me she was leaving them here. When I was surprised and asked her why she didn't want to take them home with her, she told me it was because they *weren't real good*. I told that to the Beast and he had to make an attempt to get her to take them home but she told him that HE could keep the pictures. She had enough. I know that isn't true but it shows that she only wants the *good* ones. She gave me the one good one in the bunch. Well, it's not great but it's cute and there's something about it that I like. I told the Beast I might even send it to Bratfink if he makes me up another one. He did but he focused on the face and gave me just that part of the whole picture so now I have to send Bratfink both. That's because the one looks like a snapshot that caught a cute moment (Chewlee was feeling some of the greenery in the pot that holds our rose tree). It was a candid snapshot and I really like those, don't you?
My feet are progressing although the bottoms of them are still so damned sensitive I could scream. My ankle starts hurting me after I do a lot of walking but an ace bandage for a short time works great on relieving the discomfort. Thank you for asking....LOL. I'm looking forward to when I can get up and not even think about the fact that I HAVE feet. Can't happen too soon for me.
The heat is just awful, although Bratfink is suffering higher temps than we are. We, however, have higher humidity levels and it will be worse tomorrow because it poured here this evening. Chewlee was playing her balloon game and, when it started thundering, she told me to finish it while she clutched me tightly. I had no idea she was so afraid of thunder but she was with her mother and was caught in that tornado last year. It damaged the apartment building they were in and the Princess said they were all huddled together because of the windows breaking. I guess that was enough to traumatize her.
She stayed in my lap and I held her until the storm passed and she relaxed. I have to make up some *ghost spray* for her. It's an idea I got from Bratfink. Chewlee is convinced there is a ghost in the guest bedroom (or *her* room, as she calls it) and she is afraid to sleep in there by herself or with the door closed. I'll let her spray it around the room to chase the ghost out and keep it out of there. She will believe it will work. She believes in ghosts, right? She also believes I keep a monster in my computer room closet. But....she thinks I feel sorry for it and let it stay there because it keeps getting chased out of closets.
Anyway, the heat indexes both here and where Bratfink lives was in the triple digits today. Lots of areas were suffering and many had the misfortune of power failures because of the increased demand for power. We never lost power, not even a flicker, thank goodness. The Beast isn't looking forward to our next utility bill, as you might imagine. We haven't suffered from the heat unless we go out to the garden or for the mail. The Beast is the one making food runs to Walmart but we keep the car in the garage so it's not too uncomfortable for him until the car AC kicks in. He hasn't taken Baron on any of these runs and Baron doesn't understand why. He doesn't like the heat and doesn't realize that it would get too damn hot in the car while he had to wait for the Beast's return. So, he sulks and keeps making these sighing sounds like a spoiled kid (which he actually is). As soon as the Beast returns, he's up and at the garage door with his whole body wagging in delight. Sheesh. You know who HIS best friend is....LOL.
Love you all. Stay cool and drink a lot of water. Even indoors you dehydrate. It's just much worse if you have to go out in it. Take care, drive carefully and buckle up! It's the law.
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