Southern By the Grace of God

WOW! Ashton just said "Shucks!" when he didn't get what he wanted. LOL! Paul and I tried to keep moving along, like we didn't notice, but a few giggles did sneak out.
Also, as I type, he's helping Paul try out the new Waffle Iron we got him for his birthday. They are mix. Or, since Ashton just assured us in his best big boy voice ever while trotting over to the fridge to grab 2 eggs, "I'm the chef Daddy.". So, well, I guess Paul's assisting him. :)

Where Does the Carrot Go?

Last Thursday morning Kate and I were hanging out when she told me she wanted to go to the Library. I clairified by having her indicate her preference for the "Train Library" (Matthews) or the "Game Library" (Independence Regional). She gave an enthusiastic "Train!", so off to the Matthews library we went. While we were there we ran into one of Ashton's old classmates and her mom (A.). A. suggested we check out the only story hour Matthews offers which you don't have to book a month in advance, happening in 10 minutes. Kate seemed up to it so in we went!

I will say the storyteller must have meant well, but she came off as pretty rigid for a group of 2-4 year olds, always "shush-ing" them and the parents as well. We did have fun dancing and singing in between several stories, but the really interesting part came during the arts & crafts time.

Each child received a blank sheet of colored paper and a zip lock baggie full of the parts of a snowman, (hat, two arms, carrot nose and eyes.) with a glue stick. Kate seemed pretty comfortable holding the glue stick and I just handed her the parts, one by one. She seemed very intent on what she was doing and placed everything where she liked it. She had two arms on one side, the hat covered the face and the carrot looked more like a weird growth coming out of it's neck, but she loved it and showed it proudly to me. I was so amazed that she managed the glue stick all by herself and worked diligently on it, I didn't pay attention to much of anything else.

After a while, the story teller rounded up the empty plastic bags and glue sticks. We were then told there'd be one last song and we should hold our snowman's out in front of us as we danced. As the music played I glanced around the circle, ready to admire each child's work. Now, here's the kicker...every snowman was perfect. I'm not talking about 1 or 2, but every snowman except Kate's had the eyes where they should be, nose right in place and one arm on each side. All I could think about at first while the music played is "Kate and/or I messed up. Why is our snowman different?" But then my thoughts turned to astonishment at what I was seeing. There was no way that 15-20 two-four year olds would produce such perfect snow people on their own. No way.

So, what does this mean? That we, as mothers, have such an obsession with perfection that it rears its' ugly head even during a library art & craft session? Does it mean we are robbing our children of their independence and creative process as we buckle under conformity? What is wrong with imperfection and who's to say a snow person should have one arm per side? Or does it simply mean the other children have had more exposure to snow and what snow people generally look like than Kate's southern self? What does it mean...I don't know.

What would you have done? Directed your child and supervised, fixing it for them as the project went along? Or let them have a go at it, building their own version of a snow person?

I tell you what I do know, after the story time let out Kate was the only child I saw carrying her snow person with her, displaying it proudly to anyone who's attention she could catch. The vast majority of the others ended up very neatly piled on the top of the trash can. Next time I may suggest one arm per side, but only once and only if she looks puzzled.

Christmas-ville USA

We took the kids to McAddenville, NC http://www.mcadenville-christmastown.com/ Tuesday and they both loved it. We've taken them there before, but this was the 1st year they were both aware and in awe. In all the times I've gone to McAddenville, I've never gotten out of my car and walked the town. We did this time and discovered the following:

1. The church in town plays old instrumental Christmas songs from it's bell tower.
2. In front of the church is a nativity scene made of statues perched high on a hill of sand.
3. Judging from all the footprints in the sand, it's ok to walk up to it.
4. There is no baby Jesus in the nativity, (I guess he appears on Christmas day), but we did find the following note: "If you want to see Jesus again, give us $1,000,000 or he will die."
5. There is a path around the lake with all the lights, but it's behind the trees.
6. The light sculpture of the old north wind blowing snow flakes is perched on a flat bed trailer.
7. When you walk along, 1 out of 3 cars will have a passenger that calls out "Merry Christmas" to you. (You get used to it)
8. You can walk the majority of the town in 30 minutes or less.
9. There is one restaurant in town, "The Village Restaurant".
10. Walking around you get the added bonus of "smelling Christmas", most of the lit trees are some kind of pine (Frasier fir maybe?) and smell amazing.
11. The kids loved picking a small branch of one of the pine trees, so they could take Christmas home.

Loved doing it and looking forward to many more visits around this time of year! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Will Cowboys Be Kate's Weakness?

Here is Kate's new favorite song, I guess it shows I am raising a southerner! -

Cowboys Are My Weakness

by Trisha Yearwood

You'll never hear me knockin' an old pair of boots

A man who wears his Wranglers for Sunday suit

The kind that ain't afraid to get dirt on his hands

And bring you fresh daisies in a coffee can

I like a man to ride me ‘round pick-up style

Tip his hat and wink at me, shoot me a smile

Take me two-steppin' at the honky tonk

Yeah that kind of man ain't hard to want, cause

Cowboys are my weakness Gimme some down home, rugged sweetness

A little bit of outlaw, A little bit of Jesus Cowboys are my weakness

I love to hear my name inside a southern drawl

A man who takes his time, you know what I mean y'all

Gets a little rowdy, a little out of hand

But when he's around your mama he says “Yes ma'am”

A doer not a talker, he's tried and he's true

The salt of the earth, but if he's sweet on you

He'll treat you like you're the only woman alive

Yeah, high up in the saddle's hell of a ride, cause

Cowboys are my weakness Gimme some down home, rugged sweetness

A little bit of outlaw, A little bit of Jesus Cowboys are my weakness

I wanna be the lady, he loves with all his heart and soul

I wanna be the lady he keeps warm when the nights get cold

Yeah Cowboys are my weakness Gimme some down home, rugged sweetness

A little bit of outlaw, A little bit of Jesus Cowboys are my weakness

Lord help me Jesus Cowboys are my weakness, yeah, they're my weakness