So I am reading thru the posts for one of my online classes in Early Child Ed. The subject for the week was germs and handwashing. A couple of posters mentioned how they teach the kiddos to sing the Alphabet song at their preschool centers, so the children will wash their hands long enough. I had never tried that, and decided to start incorporating it into my routine.
Funny thing is, I tried it out on my 2nd grader first. We were in a restaurant, and I took him to the bathroom to wash up before we headed out. He starts the water and I say "hey dude, make sure you wash long enough to get the germs off." He rolls his 8 year old eye balls and goes "Mommmm, I know that already. I know how to wash my hands right!" I, of course, persist: "How can you be sure it's long enough? Let's sing a song." I proceed to sing the ABC's. To give him credit, he washed the whole time, but there was alot of eye-rolling and head shaking going on, like, "my mom is nuts, but I will play along".
As he is drying his hands, he informs me that ABC song is babyish, and basically dorky. OK, then. SO, me, in my wisdom rally forth to take the bait...I ask what song he would choose. After a 3 second deliberation, he says "Sweet dreams are made of these.....". For those of you too young to have rocked the eighties, that is an Eurythmics song. That's my boy!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Introduction
Hello! My name is Kitty Combs, and I am here for your blogging pleasure, LOL.
My journey to this point was long. Well,at least twisted and behind schedule. Although I have made many mistakes, and have the scars to show for it, I think life's trials ended up bringing me here as a happy, whole person willing to share my little nuggets of wisdom :)
I started off getting married and starting a family at a young age. I worked hard, started college a year early, and basically busted my arse to take care of my kids for the next couple of decades. I became a nurse, and somewhere along the way added a second degree which has been very useful as wall decor. My marriage was a wobbly bike that finally lost its wheels. So I jetted into single-parent-dom, while working 2 jobs, continuing my education and parenting my children.
Eventually, I got tired of doing it alone, and entered into a (blessedly) brief, and rather explosive 2nd marriage. Lucky for me, the marriage ended with all my limbs intact and with no signs of premature balding (hey sometimes pulling your hair out is not just a figure of speech!). That's when I figured out I was going about the whole love-and-how-to-choose-a-mate thing in TOTALLY the wrong way. Only took 20 years. So I am a slow learner, I figured it out eventually.
So I utilized the most practical, tried and true modern device for mate-finding...I posted my bio on Yahoo! Soon thereafter, I met my husband Steven, A.K.A. Mr. Star-Trek. Hey! Don't knock it. It works. I know doctors and lawyers who met their future spouses the same way.
Steven had 2 children from a prior marriage, I had 4. I think our kids fell in love with each other first. Since his kids pretty much lived with me, I figured he might as well, too. Not quite sure what was in the water, but we have added 3 children in four years to our family. Last count, we have a combined 9 children, ages 5 months, 2 years, 4 years, 8 years, 13 years, 16 years, 17 years, 18 years, and 21 years old. But I am getting old, and my math is getting hazy, along with my eyesight.
Several years ago, we sat down and talked about the most scariest thing we could think of : We were going to have 4 teenagers at the same time, with another close behind. EGADS! Plus, we had decided to add to our family. That's when I bailed out of healthcare, and threw myself into the only thing I was even better at...taking care of children. This decision made sure the teens got the supervision and adult contact they needed (notice I didn't say wanted ;) It also ensured I would be able to spend the time with my younger kiddos that I just couldn't do, as a single parent, with the older ones.
So here I am, pushing 40, and getting my second (or maybe third) wind. I am ready to do more. I feel like children have alot to teach us, and in the busy rat race of life, sometimes we cannot hear them. I am here, listening (in between diaper changes, refereeing, cooking, cleaning, and curriculum building) to what they have to show me. I see how children learn through play, I see how to guide without confining them within the limits of my own age withered imagination. I also see there is more for me to learn, so I am back in school, working towards a degree in early childhood education. And I am going back to my roots...my favorite part of nursing was the role of nurse educator, whenever I was training other nurses, counseling patients, or sharing knowledge with other healthcare providers, that time was the highlight of my day. So I am adding to my role as educator in the area I love the most: KIDS! I am a cloth diaper consultant, and am starting workshops for parents. Please join me on my journey, and thanks in advance for not laughing and pointing! Ok, laughing is great, just no finger pointing.
My journey to this point was long. Well,at least twisted and behind schedule. Although I have made many mistakes, and have the scars to show for it, I think life's trials ended up bringing me here as a happy, whole person willing to share my little nuggets of wisdom :)
I started off getting married and starting a family at a young age. I worked hard, started college a year early, and basically busted my arse to take care of my kids for the next couple of decades. I became a nurse, and somewhere along the way added a second degree which has been very useful as wall decor. My marriage was a wobbly bike that finally lost its wheels. So I jetted into single-parent-dom, while working 2 jobs, continuing my education and parenting my children.
Eventually, I got tired of doing it alone, and entered into a (blessedly) brief, and rather explosive 2nd marriage. Lucky for me, the marriage ended with all my limbs intact and with no signs of premature balding (hey sometimes pulling your hair out is not just a figure of speech!). That's when I figured out I was going about the whole love-and-how-to-choose-a-mate thing in TOTALLY the wrong way. Only took 20 years. So I am a slow learner, I figured it out eventually.
So I utilized the most practical, tried and true modern device for mate-finding...I posted my bio on Yahoo! Soon thereafter, I met my husband Steven, A.K.A. Mr. Star-Trek. Hey! Don't knock it. It works. I know doctors and lawyers who met their future spouses the same way.
Steven had 2 children from a prior marriage, I had 4. I think our kids fell in love with each other first. Since his kids pretty much lived with me, I figured he might as well, too. Not quite sure what was in the water, but we have added 3 children in four years to our family. Last count, we have a combined 9 children, ages 5 months, 2 years, 4 years, 8 years, 13 years, 16 years, 17 years, 18 years, and 21 years old. But I am getting old, and my math is getting hazy, along with my eyesight.
Several years ago, we sat down and talked about the most scariest thing we could think of : We were going to have 4 teenagers at the same time, with another close behind. EGADS! Plus, we had decided to add to our family. That's when I bailed out of healthcare, and threw myself into the only thing I was even better at...taking care of children. This decision made sure the teens got the supervision and adult contact they needed (notice I didn't say wanted ;) It also ensured I would be able to spend the time with my younger kiddos that I just couldn't do, as a single parent, with the older ones.
So here I am, pushing 40, and getting my second (or maybe third) wind. I am ready to do more. I feel like children have alot to teach us, and in the busy rat race of life, sometimes we cannot hear them. I am here, listening (in between diaper changes, refereeing, cooking, cleaning, and curriculum building) to what they have to show me. I see how children learn through play, I see how to guide without confining them within the limits of my own age withered imagination. I also see there is more for me to learn, so I am back in school, working towards a degree in early childhood education. And I am going back to my roots...my favorite part of nursing was the role of nurse educator, whenever I was training other nurses, counseling patients, or sharing knowledge with other healthcare providers, that time was the highlight of my day. So I am adding to my role as educator in the area I love the most: KIDS! I am a cloth diaper consultant, and am starting workshops for parents. Please join me on my journey, and thanks in advance for not laughing and pointing! Ok, laughing is great, just no finger pointing.
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