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| The word "Alligator" and an illustration of an alligator is on a blue piece of cardboard |
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been enjoying having my youngest granddaughter over several times each week for "Grandma Preschool." One of the things I have been teaching her is how to recognize the letter "A." I wasn't sure this particular skill was one that would hold much interest to a young 3-year-old, but I have been pleasantly surprised. I think the allure has come from the fact that I have been letting her use a flashlight to shine on all the A's she finds. In any case, she is pointing out A's left and right now. Although I have talked about the sound that the letter A makes, I think that is going to take some more time to sink in. As she was playing with some alphabet puzzle cards, I heard her say resolutely to herself, "A is for crocodile."
1. I'm thankful for the example of confidence she gives me. Given the information she knew and the information she could gather from the illustration, A should be for crocodile.
We have also been learning about apples this week, and one of the activities we did was add food coloring to applesauce. Some of the food coloring got on her chair, and subsequently on her socks. I told her I would wash her socks for her. She pulled them off, then squealed with delight and amazement, "Grandma, my toes are BLUE!!"
2. I'm thankful for the chance to see the world through a child's eyes. Spilled food coloring isn't a mess, it's a magical thing that can change not only the color of applesauce and socks, but the color of toes as well!
My little attempt at gardening here has come to a conclusion. The squirrel won. I had planted cilantro, basil, parsley, and one tomato plant in containers on my back patio. The cilantro was the first to go, then the parsley. The leaves and stems got eaten, but the basil was left alone. The tomato plant had two tomatoes on it that mysteriously disappeared. I suspected a squirrel was eating everything. I confirmed my suspicions when he developed a taste for basil:
My granddaughter wasn't at my house when I filmed the video, but she has asked to see the video every day since I showed it to her. After she watches it, she goes and looks out the sliding glass door and observes that "He ate it all gone!"
3. I'm thankful for the chance to observe wildlife, particularly this year when I'm not really invested in my garden. I would be upset if my entire garden in Utah were eaten by squirrels, but this year, the squirrels are entertaining.
One day this week, I decided on the spur of the moment to take my granddaughter on a quick field trip to the zoo. We visited koalas, gorillas, giraffes, and yes, even alligators. On the drive down I wished I had been a passenger rather than the driver in the car, because I really wanted to take a picture. Whenever John sees a vehicle hauling something, he will comment, "Oh, look! He's taking his (tree, refrigerator, etc.) out for a drive!" I saw a man in a convertible taking his Bob's Big Boy statue out for a drive! He was getting waves and thumbs-ups from drivers all over the freeway.
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| a (public domain) photo of a Bob's Big Boy statue: Bob wears red and white checked overalls and holds up a plate with a burger on it |
4. I'm thankful for whimsical moments and the ability to share them with John, even if I didn't get a photo.
Storytime has started up again at the library, so of course I built that into our preschool day. On our way to the library, my little granddaughter started mentioning various aspects of story time, like whether the bunny (puppet) was going to come out of the hat. I love the comforting, predictable routines that she is learning.
5. I'm thankful for Miss Deana, the children's librarian, and how she makes each child feel welcome and special.
Not something I mention often, but I've been more intentional about making healthy food choices and exercising regularly. I'm now 30 pounds down. It feels good, and I'm buying clothing in smaller sizes.
6. I'm thankful for progress.
Speaking of buying clothing, keeping up with fashion trends has never been my strength. I don't think John would mind me saying that we are two birds of a feather in that regard. As I've dropped sizes, I admit that I have impulse bought clothing items from Costco, as they have had sales. I also have picked up clothes for John. Well, the other day John told me that he has gotten several compliments from his co-workers on his shirts. One co-worker asked where he shopped, and he told her that I have been doing the buying, and he thought I mostly shopped at Costco. Then she asked him if I dressed in similar fashion, and asked where I shop for myself. That co-worker is a recent college grad. I never imagined that anyone, let alone someone younger than my own children, would be asking me for fashion advice!
7. I'm thankful for Costco, which apparently carries the latest fashions.
8. I'm also thankful to have found RipSkirts which, together with Costco finds, make up the majority of my wardrobe. (In disclosure, I think that link gives a discount to anyone who buys through it, as well as a credit for me, but if you are interested I would definitely recommend checking out their sale page or ebay for the best bargains.)
The other day my car seemed to have some sort of electrical glitch. As I was backing out of my driveway, the brake light and battery light flashed then the car died. When I started it up again, the tire pressure gauge light came on. Not wanting to ignore that, in case there was a problem, I drove to the gas station to check the air pressure in the tires. The air machine said it would be $2.50 in quarters. I don't know about you, but I don't usually carry lots of coins. Miraculously, I happened to have 7 quarters and one $1 bill, so I went in the gas station to ask the cashier for change. She said, "Oh, I'll turn the air on for you." I thanked her and went out to check the tire pressure. As I took the hose from the machine, I noticed the sign that said that the $2.50 was for charity and by CA law, the station had to provide air for free. Who knew? Anyway, the tires seemed to be uniformly fine--perhaps a little low--but the gauge didn't seem to move up much as I added air, so I didn't really trust the gauge. Since the tires were new this summer and nothing was obviously wrong, I just added a little air to each tire and called it good. A few miles down the road, the tire light went off.
9. I'm thankful that our vehicles get us from point A to point B, even if sometimes they have their moments. (Don't we all! 😆)
Last night, I returned to the zoo, this time with John for Zoo Friday Nights, a family-friendly evening event. The weather was pleasant, and we had a nice stroll and dinner from one of the food trucks there. The siamangs were vocalizing, the giraffes were galloping, and even the tiger was awake.
10. I'm thankful for John and all the adventures we have together!
What are you thankful for this week? Alligators, crocodiles, or something else that starts with the letter A? Leave a comment and feel free to link up your own blog post!
Crocagators!
ReplyDeleteScientists, wanting to find out what a squirrel's favorite food is, came to the conclusion that their favorite is whatever food is closest to them. Your garden is proof, it ate what appealed most, and when those ran out, it just ate what was left because it was there and easy to get. Amusing little tree rats.