Ribh's D'Coopage

[CrazyChookChookLady]

Oops. I should have clarified. Wrold's *friend* is just her reflection in the large mirror ~ but they do rather look like a porcelain feature.

Hahaha!!

You got me good!

 

[RoyalChick]

Oops. I should have clarified. Wrold's *friend* is just her reflection in the large mirror ~ but they do rather look like a porcelain feature.

Oh you totally got me there!

 

[Ribh]

Hmmm would they appreciate an experience like a tree tops climb or a dolphin cruise?

They're 2 & 4 so a bit young for that ~ & the thought of having either of them in a hot air balloon gives me conniptions! YD & I did consider taking the lad to one of the zoos for his birthday. We figured it was going to take both of us to hog tie him but either zoo is over an hour away & there was the question of car seats so it never happened.

I spent a disheartening hour or so going through the toy department of both Kmart & Target. I like either crafty/science experimenty things or things that have multiple uses ~ like paint ~ but the absolute JUNK is an insult to any right thinking child! In the end I opted for a kick board for the lad because apparently I will be babysitting him regularly over the summer & his father thinks swimming lessons are a good idea & his sister got a beach set. Plus I got each of the grands an egg cup. I was hoping to find a kiddies cook book for the lad. He likes to cook & I had a number of really good ones when my kiddies were little but nope. And the ones I had got trashed they were used so much.

I did find a nice wooden picture memory game I can play with the lad but his concentration is that of a gnat; short. Very short.
And people shop for fun! They must be mad.

 

[Ribh]

Totally fooled me. I'm such such a rube!

Hahaha!!

You got me good!

Oh you totally got me there!

Sorry people. I thought it was obvious there was a mirror there. Apparently not.

 

[Ribh]

I love to give books for everything!! I love to read, so I think everyone else should as well. DD's children definitely have all the toys they need and I haven't seen them in two years, except for the couple days they were here last year. That was really less that a full day all told, so I don't truly count it.

Yep. We always had loads of books for the kids but DIL doesn't read aloud much so even the good books are almost untouched & neither kiddie is much interested. As a drama minor I loved doing the story telling ~ & I used to do it when I worked as a children's librarian as well. We'd do sleepovers & the kids couldn't wait for bedtime because they knew I'd read to them. It sometimes went for hours. I think I'm the only person ever to draw a crowd @ the story corner when the island school did the under 8's day. I always chose the books & I always chose ones the kids could join in on & make funny noises or do actions. You do have to not mind looking a right idiot though.

 

[Ribh]

The temperature is currently standing @ 25C ~ which is lovely & moderate but the wind is @ 33knts & the Littlies seem to have spent most of their day in the coop.
@BY Bob, you will be pleased to note Reagan is roosting ~ so was Portia until I opened the door. The little frizzles are making the best use of everybody else's body heat & are in the middle of the huddle on the floor.

Olivia did pop out to say hello & @ least my appearance didn't have everyone immediately heading out the door into the cold & rain.

 

[Kris5902]

They're 2 & 4 so a bit young for that ~ & the thought of having either of them in a hot air balloon gives me conniptions! YD & I did consider taking the lad to one of the zoos for his birthday. We figured it was going to take both of us to hog tie him but either zoo is over an hour away & there was the question of car seats so it never happened.

I spent a disheartening hour or so going through the toy department of both Kmart & Target. I like either crafty/science experimenty things or things that have multiple uses ~ like paint ~ but the absolute JUNK is an insult to any right thinking child! In the end I opted for a kick board for the lad because apparently I will be babysitting him regularly over the summer & his father thinks swimming lessons are a good idea & his sister got a beach set. Plus I got each of the grands an egg cup. I was hoping to find a kiddies cook book for the lad. He likes to cook & I had a number of really good ones when my kiddies were little but nope. And the ones I had got trashed they were used so much.

I did find a nice wooden picture memory game I can play with the lad but his concentration is that of a gnat; short. Very short.
And people shop for fun! They must be mad.

As I sit here playing with my phone... hopefully you can engage him and improve the attention span with the game. I really blame technology and interactive screen time for this. The attention span of a ferret on crack, an inability to print or write legibly, and do not get me started on what has happened to mathematics (my weakest and least favorite subject but really the new math is illogi). Spelling and grammar that would have had me held back in primary school (and it was considered to be slipping in quality even back then) would be an improvement! Book store gift cards and ones for their favorite Minecraft game thing have been my go-to gift for the past 5 years or so. Craft store would be good too, if any of my nieces were into that sort of thing. Geology books and mineral collections are good too. Get them started early and they will never develop a drug problem (not enough cash left for one once they are done buying shiny rocks!)

I do like the kickboard and swimming lesson idea, mostly because I would have liked to learn how to swim. I still toy with the idea of lessons, if just to worry the lifeguards less at the pool where I used to go with my niece... every now and then I would stand up in the slightly higher than waist deep water when they would look orderly concerned at my ‘swimming’ attempts. Children under ten must always be within farms reach of an adult (so they can be used as a flotation device in the event of an emergency, like forgetting the water is only 4’ deep?)

Truly the best gift is spending time with them, and the memories they will keep, but there is still that physical unwrapping joy... I try to fill that with art supplies, body wash products in their favorite brands (all girls 8-16, so that is not too hard), and even the odd little “junk” gift can provide that feeling of plenty. Edit to add... I also keep threatening to give them chickens... so as far as the parents are concerned any gift that doesn’t bawk is a good one!

 

[Ribh]

As I sit here playing with my phone... hopefully you can engage him and improve the attention span with the game. I really blame technology and interactive screen time for this. The attention span of a ferret on crack, an inability to print or write legibly, and do not get me started on what has happened to mathematics (my weakest and least favorite subject but really the new math is illogi). Spelling and grammar that would have had me held back in primary school (and it was considered to be slipping in quality even back then) would be an improvement! Book store gift cards and ones for their favorite Minecraft game thing have been my go-to gift for the past 5 years or so. Craft store would be good too, if any of my nieces were into that sort of thing. Geology books and mineral collections are good too. Get them started early and they will never develop a drug problem (not enough cash left for one once they are done buying shiny rocks!)

I do like the kickboard and swimming lesson idea, mostly because I would have liked to learn how to swim. I still toy with the idea of lessons, if just to worry the lifeguards less at the pool where I used to go with my niece... every now and then I would stand up in the slightly higher than waist deep water when they would look orderly concerned at my ‘swimming’ attempts. Children under ten must always be within farms reach of an adult (so they can be used as a flotation device in the event of an emergency, like forgetting the water is only 4’ deep?)

Truly the best gift is spending time with them, and the memories they will keep, but there is still that physical unwrapping joy... I try to fill that with art supplies, body wash products in their favorite brands (all girls 8-16, so that is not too hard), and even the odd little “junk” gift can provide that feeling of plenty. Edit to add... I also keep threatening to give them chickens... so as far as the parents are concerned any gift that doesn’t bawk is a good one!

Yeah. Love all these ideas for just that little bit older. There are some great chemistry things around but they are labelled 8+. What I need is the National Geographic shop.

 

[Kris5902]

Yep. We always had loads of books for the kids but DIL doesn't read aloud much so even the good books are almost untouched & neither kiddie is much interested. As a drama minor I loved doing the story telling ~ & I used to do it when I worked as a children's librarian as well. We'd do sleepovers & the kids couldn't wait for bedtime because they knew I'd read to them. It sometimes went for hours. I think I'm the only person ever to draw a crowd @ the story corner when the island school did the under 8's day. I always chose the books & I always chose ones the kids could join in on & make funny noises or do actions. You do have to not mind looking a right idiot though.

I think this is a blessing, and just as much from a teacher or librarian, a grandparent or a parent. You can spark their interest, you just need to keep going until you find the right subject that grabs them. I am almost 40, and I can still hear my Papa’s voice reciting the highwayman and the wreck of the Hesperus, and a lot of Kipling, Goldilocks and the three bears, E.A. Poe, Shakespeare, the rime of the ancient mariner, and stories he told of growing up, of the horses in the kitchen, rowing out to get water and molasses, a one room school house, and catching seagulls for dinner (not recommended, and yes I’ve eaten one too, squirrel and pigeon, even rat, is far superior) So many little smidges of poetry that hover in the grey areas of my memories... if there is one gift you can give to your grandchildren, that may just be it. My Papa passed twelve years ago, and I was “too old” for bedtime stories twenty five years ago; but that is something I will always have, and I hope that younger generations can also have something like it. Don’t underrate or diminish the ability to bring life to a story, even a silly one, if it engages the audience then it is magical, and irreplaceable.
*Kristen tucks both the soapbox and the box of precious memories away* but thank you for reminding me of them. And storytelling (Even just reading aloud with feeling) is a dying art that needs preserved, so if anyone has that gift, please share it as often as you can!

 

[Ribh]

As I sit here playing with my phone... hopefully you can engage him and improve the attention span with the game. I really blame technology and interactive screen time for this. The attention span of a ferret on crack, an inability to print or write legibly, and do not get me started on what has happened to mathematics (my weakest and least favorite subject but really the new math is illogi). Spelling and grammar that would have had me held back in primary school (and it was considered to be slipping in quality even back then) would be an improvement! Book store gift cards and ones for their favorite Minecraft game thing have been my go-to gift for the past 5 years or so. Craft store would be good too, if any of my nieces were into that sort of thing. Geology books and mineral collections are good too. Get them started early and they will never develop a drug problem (not enough cash left for one once they are done buying shiny rocks!)

I do like the kickboard and swimming lesson idea, mostly because I would have liked to learn how to swim. I still toy with the idea of lessons, if just to worry the lifeguards less at the pool where I used to go with my niece... every now and then I would stand up in the slightly higher than waist deep water when they would look orderly concerned at my ‘swimming’ attempts. Children under ten must always be within farms reach of an adult (so they can be used as a flotation device in the event of an emergency, like forgetting the water is only 4’ deep?)

Truly the best gift is spending time with them, and the memories they will keep, but there is still that physical unwrapping joy... I try to fill that with art supplies, body wash products in their favorite brands (all girls 8-16, so that is not too hard), and even the odd little “junk” gift can provide that feeling of plenty. Edit to add... I also keep threatening to give them chickens... so as far as the parents are concerned any gift that doesn’t bawk is a good one!

Time I can & do give. I'm not much into things ~ especially things that the kids are over in a minute or 2. I am battling technology though & the lad can't see why he needs to learn to swim. I just told him if he ever wants to go out in a boat on his own [& he will if he's his father's son! ] he has to be able to swim@ least 25 yards fully clothed! That put a squib in his little red pipe.