My poor daughter just doesn’t understand the purpose of chewing gum. She was given some at a birthday party she attended last weekend, and I’ve given her some as a potty-training reward over the past few days. She has the idea, though, that the real joy in chewing gum comes from spitting it out. She doesn’t realize that she’s supposed to enjoy actually chewing it. When I first gave it to her, I stressed that we don’t swallow it; we spit it out when we’re done. Well, she’s taken that instruction to the extreme. As soon as she gets it, she says, “Can I spit it out?” I encourage her to chew it a little bit more, and then five seconds later she asks, “Can I spit it out?” I tell her she can spit it out whenever she wants to and she goes over to the trashcan, bends over, and gracefully spits out the gum. Maybe, instead of calling ours “chewing gum,” we should call it, “spitting gum.” Sounds like fun, huh? 🙂
Picnics
What better way can you spend these perfect 70-something-degree spring days than by having a picnic? The kids and I (and sometimes Dan) have been having picnics….everyday. And it’s great. You have no mess to clean up afterward–no messy floor to sweep and no dishes to load into the dishwasher. You just put some sandwiches, pretzels, and grapes into plastic baggies, put all the baggies into a Walmart plastic bag (or if you want to be really cute, you can use a picnic basket), grab a blanket, and you’re all set. You can go to a park, or your own yard works well too. We’re having a ball. Some people may say that being a stay-at-home mom is no picnic, but I’d have to disagree. 🙂
Ruminations on Faith and Family 