wenjonggal asks:
Do you “do” any languages other than English? Do you have other languages in your heritage, or other languages you would like the children (or yourself) to learn? Why or why not?
NA: I wish. I would love to be multi-lingual. I was pretty good with Spanish, having taken it from middle school through to college. I’ve lost most of it from lack of use. I would love to learn Italian as I think it would be a beautiful language to speak. I’ve also wanted to learn American Sign Language. My family history is primarily English and German. The Detective is primarily English and Irish. My kids speak only American English and jibberish.
Renea B. asks:
What tv shows do you watch? What do you allow your children to watch?
NA: Ahh, TV. My sometimes guilty pleasure. I say sometimes, as usually I don’t feel guilty about my television consumption, but sometimes I do. I like British mysteries and dramas like Poirot and Downton Abbey, but I also like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper 360, Our America with Lisa Ling, and various other less heady shows like Survivor, psych, Law & Order whatever, Modern Family, True Blood, etc.
My kids watch a fair amount of TV, but not at the exclusion of reading, sports, school work, downtime, etc. Squirt and Boo can usually agree on Phineas and Ferb or Gumball. Also Spongebob. Peanut prefers to watch stuff with the Detective and me like Modern Family or psych.
Nils Gerhardt asks:
What do you think of all the christmas stuff happening way too early before Christmas?
And what do you thinks of all the hype for presents?
This year i’m pretty much through with christmas. As i saw the mass of presents last year, i decided not do participate in christmas as usual. I will donate the money i would spent on presents to a charity organisation and ask my family and friends to do the same with the money they would have spent on presents for me.
If someone is interested, the organisation is http://www.tokol.de/ , for children and teens with autism or aspergers. I’m from germany, so it’s all in german on the webpage.
So long an best wishes
Nils
Ps: Love your halloween pictures!
NA: I like one holiday at a time. I’d rather all the Christmas hoopla not start until after Thanksgiving here in America, but the almighty dollar overrides me. I don’t start decorating until December. I will admit I like gifts. I like receiving them, and I like picking out just the right one for those on my list. I like hanging out in jammies all day after opening gifts and watching everyone play with what they opened and then watching movies that we got. I tend to over do it when it comes to my kids, but we also give/donate money/gifts/food at Christmas and throughout the year. I try to involve the kids in picking out gifts to donate, so they can get an awareness of how lucky we are and that not everyone is.
And thanks about the Halloween pics. They were so much fun to take.
Lynn D in Dallas asks:
Very creative idea! and another day maybe you could have a Rant and Rave about pet peeves.
Here’s my off the wall question:
How can I get my 7 year old son to eat better? He has Sensory issues and just won’t eat a variety of foods. His Pediatrician has told me for years that 7 is the magic age when kids quit being picky eaters. So far, that ain’t happening!
And my son keeps reminding me that Thanksgiving is his least favorite holiday because he doesn’t like any of the food.
Jeez, if only I knew. My kids are all pretty good eaters. Of course they’d rather have candy, but will certainly eat fruit or veggies [as long as they have ranch to dip them in]. I do think that fighting over food can be a mistake. It just makes everyone more strong willed and grumpy to boot. We do have a sporadically enforced rule that if they don’t like what I’ve fixed, they can have cottage cheese. They get tired of that after a while and start eating what I’ve made. Really, just find a couple of things he likes and pile it on. And don’t tell anyone, but Thanksgiving isn’t a favorite of mine either. Sure, I like the meal, and I like a mostly lazy weekend to read and lounge, but I don’t like the Black Friday stuff and I try to be thankful more often than once a year.
Julia says:
what is your three kids relationships with each other like?
besides scooby-do what are some of their interests/hobbies/favorite play things?
NA: Ahh yes. Wait can you hear me over all that yelling in the background? They love and hate each other. They will bicker and drive me insane one minute, and the next be snuggled up reading to each other in bed the next. They are ok with screaming and yelling and beating each other, but will raise hell if someone else tries to do it to one of them. I suspect most siblings are like this. Or I like to pretend they are.
Wayne Minich, II says:
How will you celebrate Thanksgiving this year? What kind of foods are traditional for you and your family? Do you have traditional things that you do (Crafts, Games, etc)?
NA: I will eat WAY too much food that my mother-in-law prepares. It will consist of fried turkey [extra skin], fresh, extra cream mashed potatoes, stuffing, and some other stuff I may not use up stomach space for. Seriously, I eat until I’m sick. Then I get leftovers sent home to eat until I’m sick again later that night or for lunch the next day. We don’t really do anything else that day other than talk and catch up with family. The shorties recently gave my FIL Papa a puzzle that piqued everyone’s interest so perhaps we’ll bring another over. Or I have a ton of games and love to play, but never do. Maybe this year I will take some over. After the meal when we get home, we usually change into jammies [with elastic waists] and watch a movie, sometimes Christmas related, like Elf.
Ok, I think I answered everything. Let me know if you have anything else you could possibly want to know about me and my glamorous life.
Oh, and happy Thanksgiving! I hope you get to spend some time with those you love and cherish, and please, let them know that you do. And if you don’t happen to celebrate this one, I hope you have a glorious Thursday tomorrow.
