Three Peas in a Pod...
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
ONLY THE TEACHER CAN...
The church we recently joined is putting on a Christmas play with a cast of about 30 or so children. Doug and Rayna have non-speaking roles...sort of live stage props! Darcy originally agreed, albeit relunctantly, to play one of the main characters (Grace). She is a natural at acting. She had most of her lines already memorized and delivered them beautifully...so believeable as the sweet, timid Grace. However, having mastered Grace's role, Darcy decided that maybe playing the bully would have been more suited to her tastes! The older girl cast in the bully role, had such a sweet, gentle nature that she found it rather difficult to be mean, even though only acting. So, Darcy worked a deal behind the scenes and swapped roles with her at last night's practice. The director didn't mind, so, in the second hour of rehearsal, Darcy transformed into Imogene. Darcy makes a very convincing bully/brat! (Darcy's reason for wanting to move into the Imogene role was two-fold....Imogene has four times as many lines as Grace and, as one of the 'Herdman children', Imogene falls into the category of the only children allowed to JUMP off of the stage rather than walking politely down the steps to leave the stage.) It was amusing to see Darcy go from such a sweet, gentle, timid child one moment to a fist shaking, ill-mannered, over-bearing bully the next moment. Acting fits her well!
They are having a number of rehearsals for the play over the next few weeks (six or so) that are each two hours in length... The director (the pastor's wife) is a very energetic, optimistic soul. She also has very good lungs and a voice that can make the windows vibrate! She also went to great lengths to explain to the children, by way of demonstration on each of the older children (those with a speaking roles) how to 'push' someone down when you are acting (ie, barely touch them but the child throws himself to the floor as though from the force of the push). Rayna, after finishing her part in play rehearsal, climbed up into my lap and as she shook her head somberly, she informed me in slow, dramatic tones, "WE DON'T YELL....WE DON'T SCREAM...WE DON'T PUSH OTHER PEOPLE DOWN! .......only the teacher can do that!"
The 'teacher' might have died if she had been within earshot of that solemn observation from the heart of my three year old! ¶ 11/29/2005 12:03:00 PM 0 comments
They are having a number of rehearsals for the play over the next few weeks (six or so) that are each two hours in length... The director (the pastor's wife) is a very energetic, optimistic soul. She also has very good lungs and a voice that can make the windows vibrate! She also went to great lengths to explain to the children, by way of demonstration on each of the older children (those with a speaking roles) how to 'push' someone down when you are acting (ie, barely touch them but the child throws himself to the floor as though from the force of the push). Rayna, after finishing her part in play rehearsal, climbed up into my lap and as she shook her head somberly, she informed me in slow, dramatic tones, "WE DON'T YELL....WE DON'T SCREAM...WE DON'T PUSH OTHER PEOPLE DOWN! .......only the teacher can do that!"
The 'teacher' might have died if she had been within earshot of that solemn observation from the heart of my three year old! ¶ 11/29/2005 12:03:00 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Two Snot Boys...
And What To Do With Unruly Boots... Sunday afternoon, while I was at work, Rayna climbed up in her daddy's lap and proceeded to point to various features and count them off. She pointed to his eyes and informed him he had two eyes. Pointed to his hands and told him he had two hands. Pointed to one hand and told him he had five fingers. Pointed to his ears and told him he had two ears. Pointed to his mouth and told him he had one mouth. Pointed to his nose and told him he had one nose. Pointed to the holes in his nose and proclaimed proudly that he had two snot boys! (Translation: NOSTRILS!) At least her daddy was carbonated!
Last Friday, Doug got off the school van and headed straight down to the corral where we were working with the horses. I paused long enough to check his back-pack for any school notes. As I was reading a note, Rayna began scuffing her boots through a particularly deep ash pile. I yelled over at her to get out of those ashes. She was a little slow of hearing. It took a second scolding to move her from the fun she was having kicking up those ashes and making a real mess of her boots. Meanwhile, I read in the note that Doug had been really good at school, EXCEPT he had insisted on kissing his cowboy boots several times during the day. I looked up from the note and informed Doug that his boots were going straight into "time out" and that he wouldn't be able to wear them for a day since he had been disruptive in school and kept kissing them. Doug hung his head dejectedly. Rayan, overhearing my sentencing, ran over and declared, "My boots need to go in 'time out' too, because they wouldn't stay out of the ashes!" So, as soon as we got back home I took away Doug's boots (to his utter sadness) and Rayna's boots (to her utter delight). I felt kind of odd 'disciplining' her by taking away her boots as she was happily bubbling, "Thank you so much, mommy!" Somehow that just didn't seem right! Ever feel like your kids have your figured out and you suspect they have just outsmarted you, but you aren't sure exactly HOW?
Well, Monday, after we had brought the horses in from the pasture, Rayna went inside her gandparents' house to warm up while I continued working with the horses. After she had been running around in their house for a while, she suddenly peeled her boots off and declared they needed to go into "time-out"! She made quite a show of banishing her beloved boots into "time-out". Her puzzled grandparents asked her why she was making her boots go in to time out. She replied indignantly, "My boots walked IN the horse poop instead of AROUND it!" She had the manner well in hand, though...teaching her boots to behave themselves!
Sometimes I wonder what all is going through her mind...like just now...she walked out of here and up the stairs softly commenting to herself, "I guess I don't really like spiders, actually." We haven't seen any spiders today or spoken about them...why she would be commentating upon them to herself as she climbed the stairs, I have no idea! ¶ 11/15/2005 08:55:00 AM 0 comments
And What To Do With Unruly Boots... Sunday afternoon, while I was at work, Rayna climbed up in her daddy's lap and proceeded to point to various features and count them off. She pointed to his eyes and informed him he had two eyes. Pointed to his hands and told him he had two hands. Pointed to one hand and told him he had five fingers. Pointed to his ears and told him he had two ears. Pointed to his mouth and told him he had one mouth. Pointed to his nose and told him he had one nose. Pointed to the holes in his nose and proclaimed proudly that he had two snot boys! (Translation: NOSTRILS!) At least her daddy was carbonated!
Last Friday, Doug got off the school van and headed straight down to the corral where we were working with the horses. I paused long enough to check his back-pack for any school notes. As I was reading a note, Rayna began scuffing her boots through a particularly deep ash pile. I yelled over at her to get out of those ashes. She was a little slow of hearing. It took a second scolding to move her from the fun she was having kicking up those ashes and making a real mess of her boots. Meanwhile, I read in the note that Doug had been really good at school, EXCEPT he had insisted on kissing his cowboy boots several times during the day. I looked up from the note and informed Doug that his boots were going straight into "time out" and that he wouldn't be able to wear them for a day since he had been disruptive in school and kept kissing them. Doug hung his head dejectedly. Rayan, overhearing my sentencing, ran over and declared, "My boots need to go in 'time out' too, because they wouldn't stay out of the ashes!" So, as soon as we got back home I took away Doug's boots (to his utter sadness) and Rayna's boots (to her utter delight). I felt kind of odd 'disciplining' her by taking away her boots as she was happily bubbling, "Thank you so much, mommy!" Somehow that just didn't seem right! Ever feel like your kids have your figured out and you suspect they have just outsmarted you, but you aren't sure exactly HOW?
Well, Monday, after we had brought the horses in from the pasture, Rayna went inside her gandparents' house to warm up while I continued working with the horses. After she had been running around in their house for a while, she suddenly peeled her boots off and declared they needed to go into "time-out"! She made quite a show of banishing her beloved boots into "time-out". Her puzzled grandparents asked her why she was making her boots go in to time out. She replied indignantly, "My boots walked IN the horse poop instead of AROUND it!" She had the manner well in hand, though...teaching her boots to behave themselves!
Sometimes I wonder what all is going through her mind...like just now...she walked out of here and up the stairs softly commenting to herself, "I guess I don't really like spiders, actually." We haven't seen any spiders today or spoken about them...why she would be commentating upon them to herself as she climbed the stairs, I have no idea! ¶ 11/15/2005 08:55:00 AM 0 comments
Thursday, November 10, 2005
What to do if your horse is NOT carbonated...
(For those of you who missed yesterday's post, if a horse isn't COOPERATING with you, Rayna would say he isn't CARBONATED with you.)
Darcy figures if the horse isn't carbonated, you may as well make the best of it and just take a nap on him!
However, Rayna was just way too mad at her horse for not "carbonated" that she left the corral altogether and decided she would rather take her nap on a less aggravating pet!
Poor Darcy should have joined Rayna. Instead, she chose to ride Lightening bareback and bridle-less yesterday afternoon and he was WAY, WAY, TOO CARBONATED!!! He was so carbonated that she went flying right off his back as he took a sharp right turn at a quick bouncy trot. Poor girl ploughed through the leaves on her face. Knocked the wind out of her and scuffed her forehead up a bit and left her with a really sore knee (and this morning a stiff neck, too). The experience hasn't dampened her enthusiasm for riding in the least, though! (Though it has heightened her appreciation for sadles and bridles!) She got right back up on him and rode him quite a while longer yesterday after her tumble. On the way home, she told me that riding was the most fun activity there was, even if you fall once in a while. This morning, she was even declaring to any who would listen that, "falling is really quite fun!" Yeah...right!....I don't think so! ¶ 11/10/2005 07:02:00 AM 0 comments
(For those of you who missed yesterday's post, if a horse isn't COOPERATING with you, Rayna would say he isn't CARBONATED with you.)
Darcy figures if the horse isn't carbonated, you may as well make the best of it and just take a nap on him!
However, Rayna was just way too mad at her horse for not "carbonated" that she left the corral altogether and decided she would rather take her nap on a less aggravating pet!
Poor Darcy should have joined Rayna. Instead, she chose to ride Lightening bareback and bridle-less yesterday afternoon and he was WAY, WAY, TOO CARBONATED!!! He was so carbonated that she went flying right off his back as he took a sharp right turn at a quick bouncy trot. Poor girl ploughed through the leaves on her face. Knocked the wind out of her and scuffed her forehead up a bit and left her with a really sore knee (and this morning a stiff neck, too). The experience hasn't dampened her enthusiasm for riding in the least, though! (Though it has heightened her appreciation for sadles and bridles!) She got right back up on him and rode him quite a while longer yesterday after her tumble. On the way home, she told me that riding was the most fun activity there was, even if you fall once in a while. This morning, she was even declaring to any who would listen that, "falling is really quite fun!" Yeah...right!....I don't think so! ¶ 11/10/2005 07:02:00 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
MY HORSE IS NOT CARBONATED!!!!
Rayna was quite perturbed this afternoon as she yelled out to me from astride Begins, "MOM!!! MY HORSE IS NOT CARBONATED!!! Puzzled, I asked her to repeat herself. She repeated quite adamantly, "I said my horse is NOT CARBONATED!!!" When I said, "What???" a third time, she decided that her mother wasn't carbonated, either! That is so frustrating when your horse just will not carbonate with you! ¶ 11/09/2005 03:03:00 PM 0 comments
Rayna was quite perturbed this afternoon as she yelled out to me from astride Begins, "MOM!!! MY HORSE IS NOT CARBONATED!!! Puzzled, I asked her to repeat herself. She repeated quite adamantly, "I said my horse is NOT CARBONATED!!!" When I said, "What???" a third time, she decided that her mother wasn't carbonated, either! That is so frustrating when your horse just will not carbonate with you! ¶ 11/09/2005 03:03:00 PM 0 comments
Rayna-isms
Rayna uses much vocabulary that she clearly doesn't understand yet!...
A few days ago, she was being difficult while I was working with the horses, so I told her she had to leave the corral. Rather than waiting for me outside the corral fence, she stomped into her grandparents house and in reply to their quizzical expression, she announced, "I LOST MY ATTITUDE!"
After she had had time to chill out, her grandfather asked her if she had found her attitude yet. She smiled and replied that she had!
Usually she is quite sweet with her 'son-boy' (Doug), but, this morning he and she weren't getting along very well at the breakfast table. From the next room, I heard her announcing to Doug, "Usually I like my brother, but today he is being mean and I don't like him!" What a funny way to address him...as though she was talking of someone else! ¶ 11/09/2005 08:02:00 AM 1 comments
A few days ago, she was being difficult while I was working with the horses, so I told her she had to leave the corral. Rather than waiting for me outside the corral fence, she stomped into her grandparents house and in reply to their quizzical expression, she announced, "I LOST MY ATTITUDE!"
After she had had time to chill out, her grandfather asked her if she had found her attitude yet. She smiled and replied that she had!
Usually she is quite sweet with her 'son-boy' (Doug), but, this morning he and she weren't getting along very well at the breakfast table. From the next room, I heard her announcing to Doug, "Usually I like my brother, but today he is being mean and I don't like him!" What a funny way to address him...as though she was talking of someone else! ¶ 11/09/2005 08:02:00 AM 1 comments
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
