New & Improved Ways To Teach Children to be Grateful (or scare the hell out of them trying!)

It is hard to raise a grateful child these days as it seems they want for nothing. We are not rich by any means, but my son never goes hungry, nor do we have to save our money to buy a turkey that we bake and eat for days, then turn the leftover bits into soup that we then eat for more days (hi mom!). Hell, even the welfare mom down the street with 3 kids and a job managing a burger joint's kids don't go without. They have a trampoline! And electric scooters! And so much crap that it spills out of their house and onto their porch....and into their yard.

I have taken to new measures of teaching my son to be grateful. Some people may not agree with my tactics, but in a world where we go out of our way to cushion our children for anything "ugly", I am thinking that shock and awe is the answer.

If the child has a fit over what is for dinner, *SHOCK and AWE* show them a picture of this:




If the child doesn't want to help around the house, or complains about going to school *SHOCK and AWE* show them a picture of this:



For some reason when I googled "child labor" all of the images are of kids smiling! I can't scare my kid with other smiling kids.....The kids need to look miserable! Google, I beg you, more images of miserable children doing child labor!!

At the very least, I'm going to make my kid watch this Radiohead video.

ANYWAYS....

Ultimately, even I need to be reminded every now and again to be grateful that I have food to feed my family and that I'm not working 12 hours a day gluing shoes together to put that food on the table.

And yes, maybe I did compose this whole blog just so that I could post the new Radiohead video....what of it?

6 Minutes with Stanley Donwood

To me, Stanley Donwood is as much a member of Radiohead as Thom, Jonny, Colin, Phil or Ed. His art and writing give us a butally honest look at humanity that borders on the offensive, and I love it. Here is a rare and short glimpse of him doing his thing. Also visit "Small Thoughts" on my blog roll to read some of his writing.



*disclaimer* Mark, if you watch this, there are several instances where Thom Yorke's voice is playing in the background.

Things

I love things.
Shiny things.
Funky things.
Things that do nothing.

But as I have been preparing for the upcoming merge of two households into a very small space, I am looking at things in a much different light. Any new purchase of "things" requires them to be utilitarian as well as hold some sort of visual interest. Here are some examples of the types of things I would consider purchasing:

The Cycloc

We have 3 bikes. It would be great to be able to store them and have it look cool at the same time.


"Bento" Style Lunch Boxes
They are functional, as all three of us pack a lunch at least once during the week and they are attractive and can serve a decorative function when being stored on a shelf.

Vintage Tamac Pottery (I love the avocado series)



Thanks to Evany I have been obsessively looking at Tamac pottery online for the past week. I love the free form shape of the pieces and the prices are comparable if not less expensive then other modern dishes. Thus, they hold visual interest and yet can be used on a daily basis.

I will post more purchasable "things" as I find them. Things are part of the frivolité.

Parenting, MP3's & Tattoos

Click to make bigger

Whispered Apologies

Squidman

I'm married to the sea.....but don't tell him I called him that.

Inspired by: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=148

Alternate title: "Who said back injuries couldn't be fun?!"

Once upon a time

Gather around children and I will tell you a story.

Once there was a girl who fell in love with a boy... and the boy, in turn, fell in love with the girl.

It was all very convenient that way.

The boy was very thoughtful and ordered the girl a Valentine's present that he knew she would love. He ordered it early, giving it plenty of time to come via post... All.The.Way.From.Canada.

It came two days ago. They decided not to mail it until 2 days before Valentine's Day, but it was worth the wait.


How can you not love things like this?




Thanks DZA! xo

One of those days....

1. There was an earthquake near my home town this morning.
2. My father's home almost burned down last night.
3. I woke up with 2 zits.
4. It snowed.
5. My boss is being rushed out of state for a highly complicated surgery that will require him to be gone for 3+ weeks.
6. I have to figure what to do with 4 Grad students and an undergraduate course that is taught 3 days a week for the next 3+ weeks.
7. The senate did not approve funding for my contract, thus I am out of a job in August.

If anyone needs me, I'll be "cleaning" the oven.

Bones

Between the three of us, we used every tile in the box. By the end we were all dizzy.

Emo

When I dropped the boy off for school today, I walked to the front doors with him to check out the schedule for this week. We are walking up and two little kids go "Whoa! You are both wearing black!"

The boy and I look at each other...like duh...and I say, "I know. WE.ARE.SO.GOTH."

I check out the schedule, kiss the boy and run to my car. Just before I can get in, I hear this little voice behind me say, "You're emo!!" I laugh and yell back, "What does the mean??" He looks at his friend and then me and then his friend and says, "I......um.....I don't know."

I said, "Me neither, but I don't think it is good."

A Mystery

I'm not sure what was more uncomfortable for him,

1) the fact that I was pulling out a yogurt that promises to help regulate my digestive system...

or

2) the condoms and packets of lube that flew out of my purse at the same time....