We've taken a step back from buying a goat. As I said in the final line of my last post, I was feeling like this
goat was taking over my life, and I wasn't liking that feeling. We were talking to a goat farmer who mentioned that we should register any goat we bought in my daughter's name, because she would be showing it in 4H. Later my daughter took me aside and asked quietly if having her name on the goat meant that she had to take care of it. It gave me pause. She clearly does not understand the meaning of showing animals through 4H and everything that entails, because, yes, she would need to care for the goat.
I realized that my daughter wants to be the goat's "auntie", not "mommy". She wants to play with it, brush it, shave it and trim nails (if she feels inclined that day) and then leave it with someone else to clean the barn, nurse it when it is sick, and to do the drudge work of feeding and watering it every day. If we boarded it most of that would be taken care of, but the farmer did note that most people end up taking the goat home, because they get tired of driving back and forth all of the time. I knew that I would end up the primary caretaker, even if my daughter did do much of the physical care, it was going to be up to me to provide the necessary nagging to insure that it actually happened. Goats can live 14 years, my daughter will probably be home for seven more and then be sent off to college. In order for goats to give milk they have to have babies pretty regularly, I could see the future, the passionate pleas to keep the cute little babies, and me left with a full herd to care for.
I spoke with the farmer and let her know that I needed more time to think about it and that I didn't think that we were ready to make the jump. She suggested that we lease a goat instead, we can legally drink milk from a goat we are leasing. I haven't seen any paperwork yet, but it sounds interesting.
As I said before, all this for pudding!
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Waiting to See What Surfaces--The Natural History Museum
Yesterday, we ventured to the Natural History Museum. In the car to the Metro station her friend and I discussed why we were making this trip. I suggested that young children, even first graders, can grasp concepts like evolution and she fully agreed that her little sister, a first grader, could understand the basic evolution concepts.
My daughter was getting a bit of pre-adolescent attitude about my insistence that she understand evolution. She was ready to whine and fuss, when her friend started playing with the exhibit interactives and suddenly she realized that it was okay to have fun. They watched the video clips, had their faces transformed into Neanderthal features, examined skeletons, tried to match up hand prints on the cave walls with their own. What really caught my daughter's attention (as she told me in the car on the way home) was the full skull of a Homo Sapien, that fell into two pieces when she touched it(she shrieked thinking that she had broken it). It exposed the brain underneath, so that the folds of the brain could be seen. Once she realized that it was supposed to open up, she relaxed and studied for a bit.
Her friend's favorite part was in the mammal section, the lion attacking a large ungulate, I don't remember which species. They both agreed that the massive crystals in the Rocks and Minerals exhibit were really cool.
Lunch was a bit of a challenge, I'm allergic to milk, cheese, most bread products (because they contain milk) and try to avoid simple carbs...guess what are the only things her friend eats...cheese and simple carbs. Pizza was out for me, burgers and any other meat and all veggies were out for her. Sigh. We walked up and down and around several blocks until we found a spot that could feed us both.
What I usually find the most interesting of these trips is that a few weeks after the trip something will come up in conversation that usually shows that my daughter was paying closer attention to details than I had originally believed. I'll have to be patient to see what surfaces.
My daughter was getting a bit of pre-adolescent attitude about my insistence that she understand evolution. She was ready to whine and fuss, when her friend started playing with the exhibit interactives and suddenly she realized that it was okay to have fun. They watched the video clips, had their faces transformed into Neanderthal features, examined skeletons, tried to match up hand prints on the cave walls with their own. What really caught my daughter's attention (as she told me in the car on the way home) was the full skull of a Homo Sapien, that fell into two pieces when she touched it(she shrieked thinking that she had broken it). It exposed the brain underneath, so that the folds of the brain could be seen. Once she realized that it was supposed to open up, she relaxed and studied for a bit.
Her friend's favorite part was in the mammal section, the lion attacking a large ungulate, I don't remember which species. They both agreed that the massive crystals in the Rocks and Minerals exhibit were really cool.
Lunch was a bit of a challenge, I'm allergic to milk, cheese, most bread products (because they contain milk) and try to avoid simple carbs...guess what are the only things her friend eats...cheese and simple carbs. Pizza was out for me, burgers and any other meat and all veggies were out for her. Sigh. We walked up and down and around several blocks until we found a spot that could feed us both.
What I usually find the most interesting of these trips is that a few weeks after the trip something will come up in conversation that usually shows that my daughter was paying closer attention to details than I had originally believed. I'll have to be patient to see what surfaces.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Chickens, Evolution, Ice Cream and Jackson Pollock
The chickens are starting to look like mini chickens, not dinosaurs with proto-feathers.
They have been free-ranging for chunks of time over the past few days, they are still cute and curious.
The science education enrichment project is underway, we've watched, as a part of what we call "dinner theater"( an occasional evening when we will pop in a video to watch over dinner) Discovery School Evolution with Bill Nye. I've planted books in key spots around the house, so that she is likely to just browse through them. My favorite, we eat out on the screened porch all summer, I placed the book I was reading out there and underneath I placed two books that I wanted her to look at, making sure that they hung out a bit and were visible. As she came out to eat breakfast I went in to get some juice, by the time I returned she had opened one of the books and was leafing through it. We discussed science topics over breakfast. I went a little over the top and placed a couple in the bathroom, it was too obvious, especially since I won't permit her library books in the bathroom because they might get wet. She mounted her "do as I say not as I do" protest this morning and I 'fessed up that I wanted her to read them. I'll put a couple in the back of the car today, I guess I'm not all that subtle, but it works!! I have been planting books that I want her to read in her room for years, usually while she is a bit too young for them. They sit there for a year or two and eventually I will find her propped up on pillows on the couch reading them, they have been there so long that she doesn't realize that they are a plant. Oh, I usually find these books at thrift shops and yard sales for about twenty-five cents each, so the investment isn't very great.
Next week, we are headed to the Natural History Museum, with the thrilling Metro ride first (and last), of course! We're taking along a friend, whose parents have been given the heads up to the specific focus of the trip. We'll have lunch in a deli off the Mall and probably stroll the Mall eating ice cream (those of us who can eat it, at least), no need to make it a forced march. Maybe we'll step into the Hirshorn to see if they still have the Jackson Pollock up. My daughter has decided that she loves Jackson Pollock, which is great, as long as she doesn't follow him in his lifestyle. Maybe we'll use some of the leftover house paint I have in the garage and create something Pollock-esque, I know the painting will match the interior of the house that way! We can run through the sprinkler to clean up. I digress, but that is pretty much what the blog is about isn't it? My ramblings...
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| Ursula and Lucy |
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| Athena |
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| Even Paisley looks like a chicken now! |
The science education enrichment project is underway, we've watched, as a part of what we call "dinner theater"( an occasional evening when we will pop in a video to watch over dinner) Discovery School Evolution with Bill Nye. I've planted books in key spots around the house, so that she is likely to just browse through them. My favorite, we eat out on the screened porch all summer, I placed the book I was reading out there and underneath I placed two books that I wanted her to look at, making sure that they hung out a bit and were visible. As she came out to eat breakfast I went in to get some juice, by the time I returned she had opened one of the books and was leafing through it. We discussed science topics over breakfast. I went a little over the top and placed a couple in the bathroom, it was too obvious, especially since I won't permit her library books in the bathroom because they might get wet. She mounted her "do as I say not as I do" protest this morning and I 'fessed up that I wanted her to read them. I'll put a couple in the back of the car today, I guess I'm not all that subtle, but it works!! I have been planting books that I want her to read in her room for years, usually while she is a bit too young for them. They sit there for a year or two and eventually I will find her propped up on pillows on the couch reading them, they have been there so long that she doesn't realize that they are a plant. Oh, I usually find these books at thrift shops and yard sales for about twenty-five cents each, so the investment isn't very great.
Next week, we are headed to the Natural History Museum, with the thrilling Metro ride first (and last), of course! We're taking along a friend, whose parents have been given the heads up to the specific focus of the trip. We'll have lunch in a deli off the Mall and probably stroll the Mall eating ice cream (those of us who can eat it, at least), no need to make it a forced march. Maybe we'll step into the Hirshorn to see if they still have the Jackson Pollock up. My daughter has decided that she loves Jackson Pollock, which is great, as long as she doesn't follow him in his lifestyle. Maybe we'll use some of the leftover house paint I have in the garage and create something Pollock-esque, I know the painting will match the interior of the house that way! We can run through the sprinkler to clean up. I digress, but that is pretty much what the blog is about isn't it? My ramblings...
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Where is the Girl in TomBoy?
Another post on gender issues, it is that time for me in parenting...I've heard a word that I thought was long dead a few weeks ago: "TomBoy"..Suddenly, I've heard girls describe themselves and others using this word. Girly-Girl has been around and is used frequently, but tomboy, I thought. had seen its demise, I was wrong. I've heard it from three different children, in different settings I like neither of these words, because they are an attempt to put a developing person into a box, a category, before they are done exploring who they are. It limits them and changes people's expectations.
The first time I heard the word tomboy was from a girl describing herself. It made me pause. Previous to this, I had considered this child to be very bright, active, with a tendency to consider rules to be suggestions rather than mandates. I was taken aback to hear such an old fashioned term applied to someone whom I considered to be quite a modern girl. Another parent had described her as "a little wild", which pretty much fit, but I found that with a proper adult attitude the rules would be followed. (She doesn't come by as much these days...I wonder why?) After not seeing her for a bit, my family attended a school event where some of this girl's musical accomplishments were showcased. I thought it very interesting that the self-described tomboy was up on stage wearing a muli-tiered, bright, pink sparkle dress, about as girly-girl as you can get. I was glad to see that she didn't feel trapped in the tomboy box she had drawn for herself.
The next time I heard the term it was from the girl next door, who was plopped down in "the red chair" by the window, sitting as one should in the red chair, with her legs over one arm and her back leaning on the other. She used the word tomboy to describe another girl, and she, knowing me, back-pedaled and said, "I know you don't like the term." I don't recall telling her that, but she has heard my opinions on labeling people in other ways. I talked to her about it for a minute, about how often a girl could do something considered girly-girl one moment and do something that could be called tomboy behavior the next, and suggested that it all be considered normal girl behavior and let girls paint their toenails with little flowers and climb trees and not judge them (she paints her toenails and climbs trees).
The third time I heard the T word was from my own daughter describing another girl in her class. At this point I thought I had heard it enough. What is it about being on the outer edge of womanhood that makes people so judgmental? There is no girl in TOMBOY, it is a boy's name paired with the word "boy". It is about a girl's behavior, and noting that it is less feminine than some arbitrary standard. It is often used as a negative term, especially as a girl grows older. If we want women to progress and be accepted by society in all the roles that they can possibly play, it is time to stop judging them by a long out of date standard. If they want to collect bugs, dig in the dirt, play football at recess, or whatever other behaviors that were once considered masculine in the dark, old, repressive days of the mid- 20th century, let them and don't judge them. Ask to see their collection, the soil horizons, or which position they play, next week they may dye their hair three different colors and wear skirts everyday and the following week they may take their bikes over jumps and build a tree fort. It's okay, its all girl stuff.
The first time I heard the word tomboy was from a girl describing herself. It made me pause. Previous to this, I had considered this child to be very bright, active, with a tendency to consider rules to be suggestions rather than mandates. I was taken aback to hear such an old fashioned term applied to someone whom I considered to be quite a modern girl. Another parent had described her as "a little wild", which pretty much fit, but I found that with a proper adult attitude the rules would be followed. (She doesn't come by as much these days...I wonder why?) After not seeing her for a bit, my family attended a school event where some of this girl's musical accomplishments were showcased. I thought it very interesting that the self-described tomboy was up on stage wearing a muli-tiered, bright, pink sparkle dress, about as girly-girl as you can get. I was glad to see that she didn't feel trapped in the tomboy box she had drawn for herself.
The next time I heard the term it was from the girl next door, who was plopped down in "the red chair" by the window, sitting as one should in the red chair, with her legs over one arm and her back leaning on the other. She used the word tomboy to describe another girl, and she, knowing me, back-pedaled and said, "I know you don't like the term." I don't recall telling her that, but she has heard my opinions on labeling people in other ways. I talked to her about it for a minute, about how often a girl could do something considered girly-girl one moment and do something that could be called tomboy behavior the next, and suggested that it all be considered normal girl behavior and let girls paint their toenails with little flowers and climb trees and not judge them (she paints her toenails and climbs trees).
The third time I heard the T word was from my own daughter describing another girl in her class. At this point I thought I had heard it enough. What is it about being on the outer edge of womanhood that makes people so judgmental? There is no girl in TOMBOY, it is a boy's name paired with the word "boy". It is about a girl's behavior, and noting that it is less feminine than some arbitrary standard. It is often used as a negative term, especially as a girl grows older. If we want women to progress and be accepted by society in all the roles that they can possibly play, it is time to stop judging them by a long out of date standard. If they want to collect bugs, dig in the dirt, play football at recess, or whatever other behaviors that were once considered masculine in the dark, old, repressive days of the mid- 20th century, let them and don't judge them. Ask to see their collection, the soil horizons, or which position they play, next week they may dye their hair three different colors and wear skirts everyday and the following week they may take their bikes over jumps and build a tree fort. It's okay, its all girl stuff.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Love Summer, Dread Summer
Summer is coming. I'm looking forward to it and I'm somewhat dreading it.
The pluses:
My alarm won't go off every morning to make sure that all household members (furry, feathered, and otherwise) have breakfast and are properly equipped for the day and that certain members of the household are out the door on time. Mornings have a slower pace, nice, because I've never been much of a morning person.
Organized activities are minimal, no soccer or basketball practice messing up dinner or chopping every Saturday and Sunday neatly in half, so that we get nothing done.
I am able to spend more time with my daughter, who is good company.
The farmer's market is open, and it is warm enough to enjoy it.
My garden is in full swing, collards, kale, scallions, cilantro and strawberries are ready now with other cool things to come.
Camping, got to have at least one venture to primitive living and escape the house. When I'm away from home I don't think about the trim painting that needs to happen, or have to look at the nasty white floor in the kitchen that looks like it needs to be washed despite the fact it was just washed. (Personal rant: Who are the sick people who install white floors in homes??? We garden, some of us ride horses and we have a large dog, the floor is never clean for more than fifteen minutes.) Cooking with wood for a week is fun and it sure makes me appreciate the microwave and the oven when I return.
The dreads:
The cats become my alarm, usually they come and sit either on my pillow, so that I breathe fur while they yowl at me or the sit on my chest and rub their noses and whiskers across my face. They know I don't "do" cats in my face.
Organized activities are minimal, so every day my daughter tries to see what she can come up with to entertain herself, usually involving friends who live several miles away or activities that are expensive and a minimum of a half hour's drive away. She isn't old enough to drive, so I become "chauffeur extraordinaire." and "the mom who says, "No!."" (sometimes I get the urge to say "nee." but she wouldn't get it--she is finally of the age when she can be introduced to Monty Python, she'll get it).
Though my daughter is good company, sometimes I just want to talk to adults or just plain old don't want to talk. That introvert thing gets in the way of parenting, that's why I have only one.
Camping, I hate the packing. Last year, I forgot the dog food (I remembered everything else!), but she didn't mind eating leftovers.
Sweat. Living in humid-land, life is hot and moist and a bit smelly.
______
Chick update: The girls are doing well, they are more active now and have little feathers growing in on the tips of their wings. Since it has been hot, they have been able to go outside briefly (they are supposed to be kept between 85-90 degrees at this point), they seem to enjoy it. They are perching on my daughter's hands, much to her delight.
The pluses:
My alarm won't go off every morning to make sure that all household members (furry, feathered, and otherwise) have breakfast and are properly equipped for the day and that certain members of the household are out the door on time. Mornings have a slower pace, nice, because I've never been much of a morning person.
Organized activities are minimal, no soccer or basketball practice messing up dinner or chopping every Saturday and Sunday neatly in half, so that we get nothing done.
I am able to spend more time with my daughter, who is good company.
The farmer's market is open, and it is warm enough to enjoy it.
My garden is in full swing, collards, kale, scallions, cilantro and strawberries are ready now with other cool things to come.
Camping, got to have at least one venture to primitive living and escape the house. When I'm away from home I don't think about the trim painting that needs to happen, or have to look at the nasty white floor in the kitchen that looks like it needs to be washed despite the fact it was just washed. (Personal rant: Who are the sick people who install white floors in homes??? We garden, some of us ride horses and we have a large dog, the floor is never clean for more than fifteen minutes.) Cooking with wood for a week is fun and it sure makes me appreciate the microwave and the oven when I return.
The dreads:
The cats become my alarm, usually they come and sit either on my pillow, so that I breathe fur while they yowl at me or the sit on my chest and rub their noses and whiskers across my face. They know I don't "do" cats in my face.
Organized activities are minimal, so every day my daughter tries to see what she can come up with to entertain herself, usually involving friends who live several miles away or activities that are expensive and a minimum of a half hour's drive away. She isn't old enough to drive, so I become "chauffeur extraordinaire." and "the mom who says, "No!."" (sometimes I get the urge to say "nee." but she wouldn't get it--she is finally of the age when she can be introduced to Monty Python, she'll get it).
Though my daughter is good company, sometimes I just want to talk to adults or just plain old don't want to talk. That introvert thing gets in the way of parenting, that's why I have only one.
Camping, I hate the packing. Last year, I forgot the dog food (I remembered everything else!), but she didn't mind eating leftovers.
Sweat. Living in humid-land, life is hot and moist and a bit smelly.
______
Chick update: The girls are doing well, they are more active now and have little feathers growing in on the tips of their wings. Since it has been hot, they have been able to go outside briefly (they are supposed to be kept between 85-90 degrees at this point), they seem to enjoy it. They are perching on my daughter's hands, much to her delight.
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