Left Coast Mama » Blog Blast http://leftcoastmama.net Making Things Write on the Wrong Coast Tue, 22 May 2012 03:02:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 If You Like to Talk to Tomatoes http://leftcoastmama.net/2008/10/05/if-you-like-to-talk-to-tomatoes/ http://leftcoastmama.net/2008/10/05/if-you-like-to-talk-to-tomatoes/#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:15:46 +0000 Gwen http://leftcoastmama.net/?p=325 . . . → Read More: If You Like to Talk to Tomatoes]]> At our house there is almost always some sort of music on at least in the background.  We sing out loud and proud and Aidan is no different.  Luckily he seems to be (so far) taking after me in the vocal department and after his father in the rhythm department.

We play all kinds of music and Aidan loves to move and sing to it all.  You only have to hear him singing “Ruby” by the Kaiser Chiefs or “Somebody Told Me” by the Killers to know that he has exquisite taste.  He also knows all the words to the “7,8, 9″ song by the Bare Naked Ladies.  Just for his uncles he also knows most of the words to “Story of My Life” by Social Distortion, and he is our singer for Rock Band, especially “Blitzkrieg Bop” by the Ramones.

Just in case you think that this sounds like a very grown up set of songs we also love to sing “When Cats Go Wrong” by Norm Hacking and any of the Veggie Tales songs.  Gotta love singing the Veggie Tales theme while going down the grocery store aisle.  Sure you get a few looks but I fully expect to use it to calm the new babe as easily as it used to calm Aidan.

“If you like to talk to tomatoes,

if a squash can make you smile,

if you like to waltz with potatoes,

up and down the produce aisle;

Have we got a show for you.

Veggie Tales, Veggie Tales,

Veggie Tales, Veggie Tales,

Veggie Tales, Veggies Tales,

Veggie Tales.”

Come on and sing it with me now.  Don’t be afraid, let your inner vegetarian out and join the song. “You Rock!”

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as an entry for a contest sponsored by Bush’s Beans.  Join in the fun! You could win one of two $500 Best Buy gift cards. Can you say my husband’s and FIL’s Christmas taken care of? :)


© 2008 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: Aidan, Blog Blast, Parent Bloggers Network, Singing, VeggieTales.]]> http://leftcoastmama.net/2008/10/05/if-you-like-to-talk-to-tomatoes/feed/ 1 Bringing Back Science, Was it Lost? http://leftcoastmama.net/2008/02/22/bringing-back-science-was-it-lost/ http://leftcoastmama.net/2008/02/22/bringing-back-science-was-it-lost/#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:15:15 +0000 Gwen http://leftcoastmama.net/2008/02/22/bringing-back-science-was-it-lost/ . . . → Read More: Bringing Back Science, Was it Lost?]]> The Parent Bloggers Network and PBS’s Zula Intergalactic Warrior are sponsoring a blog blast on science education. They are wondering what parents are doing to make science more accessible to their children. It was an interesting question for me. I am a elementary teacher and my husband is an Aerospace and Materials engineer with a PhD. (Just in case there is someone reading my blog that doesn’t know me.)

My first response is when are we not providing our preschoolers with science exploration? We may not call it that, in fact a lot of the time we call it toddler time, or dawdler time. The fact that all babies, toddlers and preschools explore their world in minute detail is scientific exploration at its finest. Babies begin the journey with putting everything in their mouth. Toddlers explore everything, sometimes with their mouth, but always touching and really looking at things. They also try to describe their world and ask tons of questions. Who hasn’t spluttered a wild-assed answer to one of their many questions about the world. They are always looking, touching, exploring.

I think a lot of time we scare kids with science by showing them what we are scared of. How many kids are scared of bugs because their parents are? How many thing do we teach them to be afraid of? How do we keep science, well first we start by remembering what it is like to explore. How do I do this with my child? The answer is simple: geocaching. My husband and I along with our almost three year old spend almost every weekend going off with our GPS, some coordinates and then we explore somewhere we have never thought to look before. Aidan calls it treasure hunting, or caching. He now is almost always going on his own steam so we go slower, look at more things, and generally take more time to smell the flowers. Ok so not flowers, yet, but we get to play in the woods and use our senses to explore our world. What better way to raise a curious, scientific child? If you have an answer let me know. :)


© 2008 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 3 comments
Related: Aidan, Blog Blast, children, geocaching, Parent Bloggers Network.]]> http://leftcoastmama.net/2008/02/22/bringing-back-science-was-it-lost/feed/ 3 Picky Eater? Aidan? . . . Well Maybe http://leftcoastmama.net/2007/10/26/picky-eater-aidan-well-maybe/ http://leftcoastmama.net/2007/10/26/picky-eater-aidan-well-maybe/#comments Fri, 26 Oct 2007 22:07:28 +0000 Gwen http://leftcoastmama.net/2007/10/26/picky-eater-aidan-well-maybe/ . . . → Read More: Picky Eater? Aidan? . . . Well Maybe]]> I have heard a whole lot from the blogashpere about Jessica Seinfeld’s new cookbook Deceptively Delicious. It seems that she routinely purees vegetable matter and stuffs it into just about everything she can think of. I think that if Aidan were only really picky about eating vegetables I would get th book and try it out. But the problem is that the thing Aidan hates more than anything is meat. I can only get him to eat pepperoni and Salami, and that only sometimes. He has always eaten vegetables like cucumber, and baby corn, but balks at trying new meat or even new textures of other foods.

It is funny to think about how easy it was to feed Aidan in the beginning, he would try anything and even if it came back out he was willing to try again. There were a few exceptions that he still hates and they include any of the meat family and especially potatoes. Aidan hates, hates, hates potatoes. (Though the first time Aidan tried green beans and first made the “blah, blah” gagging sounds is legendary.) So the thought of trying to hide cauliflower in his mashed potatoes doesn’t make any sense at all. As for the chick peas in the chocolate chip cookies doesn’t really work either, for as much as he likes the idea of cookies, the actual cookies not so much.

I have found the real way to hide almost any kind of food including meat is with pasta. If you have pasta and sauce Aidan will scarf it down like there is no tomorrow. Maybe I need to get a pasta machine and try to make some more exotic sauces. :) Wish me luck.

*****

This post is part of the Parent Bloggers Network blog blast “Just Eat It” and I have a chance to win a 250 dollar gift card to Williams Sonoma. Wohoo! Can anyone say new blender or maybe a pasta maker or a bread maker? The possibilities are endless. :)


© 2007 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: Blog Blast, children, Cook Books, Cooking with toddlers, Healthy Eating, Parent Bloggers Network.]]> http://leftcoastmama.net/2007/10/26/picky-eater-aidan-well-maybe/feed/ 1 Sticks and Stones http://leftcoastmama.net/2007/10/05/sticks-and-stones/ http://leftcoastmama.net/2007/10/05/sticks-and-stones/#comments Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:05:27 +0000 Gwen http://leftcoastmama.net/2007/10/05/sticks-and-stones/ . . . → Read More: Sticks and Stones]]> I am always hearing about Hockey or Soccer or (insert some other sport/activity here) parent who feels that their son or daughter is not being treated fairly by their coach or referee. This is fine, and the parents who talk reasonably to the coach/referee about whatever issue they feel they have is great. I have no problem with that at all. It is the parents that feel that they need to go and rage at the coach/referee that make me crazy. The reason I bring this up? The Parent Bloggers Network asked “How far would you go for your kids?” Have your ethics changed since having a child? I think for the most part none of my ethics have changed. I don’t see myself yelling uncontrollably at a coach who isn’t playing my child enough. I don’t think I would ever come to blows with an umpire or referee. I really can’t see myself arguing with another parent and nearly or actually hitting them because I feel they are in the wrong.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my son and I would do almost anything for him. I will make sure that he is well adjusted and fairly treated. I will be a growly Mama if I have to, but I will (hope to god) keep my temper. Ok well maybe I will get angry, but I will never use violence to solve a problem. Hmm, well I guess I won’t say that entirely either. If I or my family was in danger I would do anything I had to to keep us alive and well. I am not talking about that in this instance though.

I am an elementary teacher by trade and I have come across a lot of parents who are great and do so much for their kids and actually have a good idea of what their children are capable of. They are the parents that actually take a look at what their kids are doing in school and how they interact with other kids and adults. I have also come across a number of parents who thought the sun shone right out of their child’s butt and nothing I said about their child’s behaviour or work made any sense to them even when confronted with the evidence.

When I was teaching a few years ago I had one such parent. Her son was a personable boy, but had a tendency to be a little lazy about the work he actually did. His philosophy was do as little as he possibly could of any work at all. His mother thought that he was a very smart and wonderful boy and though he hadn’t done most of the work he deserved to get all A’s. Even when confronted with all the evidence, the work he had done, samples of A and B students work for comparison, a list of all his marks, the percentages they were worth, a copy of all the notes sent home for her to supervise what he was supposed to be doing (which she had signed) she got very angry. Now I will say that at the best of times she was an intimidating woman, when she was angry she was a very intimidating woman. When she decided (even with everything I had shown her) that her boy deserved better marks she got very close and started yelling at me. She got closer and this ended with me saying very firmly that the parent-teacher interview was over and that she could talk to my principal if she felt the need. She didn’t back off and got even closer. This interview ended with me opening the door and walking very quickly out of my classroom calling out that that it was enough and she needed to stay away. I felt physically threatened.

I am sure that while I will want to make sure that my child is treated fairly, I will never make a teacher feel the way that parent made me feel. I will not be so physically intimidating that I make a teacher or another parent feel unsafe. That is way further than I would go. So I guess you have no need to worry about me bumping off the figure skater who took my darling child off the podium, or intimidating a teacher to give my son A’s. I will be a fierce Mama bear if I have to but I prefer you see my child’s potential on your own.

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Want to be part of the fun? The Parent Bloggers Network is having a blog blast today on ethics in parenting. You could win a visa check card with some beer and popcorn money. :)


© 2007 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 2 comments
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