Some Tiny Talk Soundbytes

 Earlier this month with one of my four year~old Pre~Ks

Three year~old Cheerleader half runs, half waddles down the playground sidewalk.

"Cheerleader, is your ankle okay?  You're limping a little bit."

"Yeah, I was just....*gets distracted*...umm, what was I talking about?"

"You were telling me what happened to your ankle."

"Yeah, I just hurt it at home when I fell off the jumpoline." 

::  ::  ::  ::  ::  ::

While enjoying free play in the pretend kitchen area of the classroom, two year~old Santa's Helper puts a tiny pretend piece of bread on the floor & exclaims, "Look!!  It's MANNA!!"

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

I give my two year~old cousin a Melissa & Doug Cupcake Set so that she can pretend to bake & decorate cupcakes.  We play this together at the kitchen table.
After Elizabeth finishes decorating a cupcake, she says, "Here, let me put its pants on," as she slips a paper liner on the cupcake's bottom.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::





Tiny Talk to share?  Head over to Not Before 7!

The ABC's of Thanks

:a:  all of us; humans & all creation~ shalom
:b:  break~through moments
:c:  chocolate
:d:  dreams
:e:  education
:f:  field experiences in the early learning center & elementary schools
:g:  gatherings of family & friends
:h:  hearts ♥ ♥
:i:  intentionally serving
:j:  Jesus
:k:  kisses  xxx
:l:  little ones; namely, MY little ones {you knew that one was coming}
:m:  mocha java cooler crunch coffees {you also knew THAT one was coming}
:n:  new beginnings
:o:  open minds, eyes, ears. . .doors
:p:  Philadelphia
:q:  quaint coffeeshops
:r:  resiliency
:s:  Stacy, a friend like none other
:t:  teaching
:u:  urban culture & urban education
:v:  violin; though I haven't played recently, the ability to play & know music has been a gift
:w:  words & The Word who was & is God
:y:  youth {my K sisters & my "ia" triplets}
:z:  zzzzzzzzzz's ...aka, rest

The Girl on the Piano Bench

♫ I have been taken before.

You're not the first to rob me of my peace & sanity.

You run over my heart, 

and then ask for it back.

But you're not even human.

You're just the lovely idea

of one who I accidentally loved

and gave everything~

to become the girl on the piano bench,

singing all of her tears away.♫

Lyrics excerpts from "Not Even Human" by Angel Taylor

Allow Me to Be Petty For Just A Moment. . .

. . .
while I take a break
from the not~so~petty pre~Thanksgiving
crunch time that has left me up to my ears
in practicum observation reports
& online quizzes
& lesson plans
& pointillism for two year~olds
&. . .


Some of my blogging pet peeves:


:: using word stubs like "delish", "presh", "maybs" & "hubs"...I've maybe done this in a comment or two before, but the problem is that my brain repeats what it hears & sees.  I annoy myself.  It's true.


:: syrupy sweetness.  Now, if this is the blogger's true style, the posts can be really quite homey & cute!  However, I have a very sensitive BS detector with an alarm that goes off if it senses...well...BS.


:: pre~packaged comments like, "Thanks for sharing!"  You may as well have said, "I'm just popping my head in here to invite you to click over to my blog, comment, & follow." 


:: when people get mad at their followers for not contributing enough $ to whatever cause they are currently championing.  I LOVE when bloggers use their blog as a platform for supporting altruistic organizations, but when it doesn't turn out as the host blogger had envisioned, reading a huge guilt trip rant does no one any good.


::  punctuating! the! end! of! every! sentence! with! an! exclamation! point!  Is! it! really! that! exciting!???  Well! then! carry! on!!!!!


:: excessive complaining in general {this post might qualify, huh? ;-)}.  But seriously, can you tell  that it makes me want to pull my hair out when people don't realize that there's life outside of blogging & people that exist outside of themselves?


/pettiness.  Back to the daily grind. : )

When I'm a Mommy. . .

How will I guide my children in the way they should go,

when I am still myself figuring all this out?

How will I teach them to value & respect their bodies,

while avoiding the obsessive modesty standards that seems to say, "I am what I wear."?

How will I teach them that certain behaviors are unacceptable,

while encouraging kind & nonjudgmental hearts towards those who make different choices?

How can I justify primping in the mirror every morning,

while insisting that character trumps outward appearance?

How will I protect them from the dangers "out there" in the world,

while allowing them to hurt as God hurts when He sees suffering & injustice?

How will I teach them HOW to think,

 without attempting to teach them WHAT to think? 

How will I teach them the importance of being grounded & stable,

while encouraging them to live the questions, be inquisitive, always ready to learn something new?

How will I tell them that I am their support & advocate, that I'll always have their back,

when I know that I will fail them?

How will I teach them what I believe & pour my heart into forming them into adults,

yet gracefully accept when they come to believe differently than Mommy believes?

How will I give them roots

. . . and wings?
 

Miscellany Monday

{1}  recent coffeeshop digs.

It's no secret that I love coffeeshops & that I frequent Organic Grounds, a local coffeehouse.  However,  recently I've begun stopping by our on~campus coffeeshop.  Here are a few pictures {excuse the quality;  taken from my phone}:

Now, this may not look like much, but this space is very sleek & suave for our small, Christian liberal arts university.  I love the contemporary Manhattan loft feel of the space!

Below is another camera phone shot, this one taken at Barnes & Noble:

That's a Mocha Toffee Frappuccino.  Note the tiny plastic Starbucks shot glasses provided for water. 
Too cute!
Or maybe I'm just strange.

{2}  fear forest.

This is where I toured last Saturday night.  I've never been to a haunted house {or forest, as it were}, so this was certainly a new experience.  To be honest, it wasn't that bad!  The goblins that jumped out mostly targeted the squealy girls {you know the ones}, so I was careful to keep my cool. 
I wasn't scared at all!~  BUT... I must admit, the claw marks in poor Cory's hand and arm tell a different story.  ;-)

{3} home is where I'm with you.

I've substituted at the daycare center 3 afternoons in the past week.  I was so happy to see the kids again because I've been sadly MIA since my school year has begun.

Clearly, they love this spinner. 

Would you believe me if I told you that I wedge myself down

into that seat & spin with them, which promptly sends hoards of more children

over to us squealing & laughing & demanding room be made for them, too?

That would never happen.  I am far too dignified.

{5}  how can I.. 

..change the color of my Feed-jit?  I can't figure out how to  customize the color without having to download this & sign up for that.  Please help me if you have any ideas!  Additionally, I want to design a new header for Musings Aloud, so if you have any pointers on that, I would be so thankful!

Link up your miscellany with Carissa at lowercase letters!