Confessions from Householdsix » Small Talk Six

Small Talk Six – Children’s Books

Amanda — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:42:11 +0000

Today’s topic is “6 children’s books you love to read out loud.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . . .

1. The Poky Little Puppy

2. The Real Mother Goose Treasury

Some of these are books I enjoyed as a child, like The Poky Little Puppy. All are books my boys have asked me to read over and over and over and over again. I would say this list has selections for ages 2-6. Age 6 is about the time my oldest stopped asking to have these read to him. What are your favorite books to read aloud? If you’d like to participate in Small Talk Six, hop on over to MomDot and link up your list.

*Yes, the book links are all Amazon affiliate links. Provided for your convenience, just in case you’re in a shopping mood.

Small Talk Six – Don’t Say as I Say

Amanda — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:17:00 +0000

I have to admit I busted a gut when I saw what this week’s topic is. I don’t have the cleanest mouth East of the Mississippi. “6 things you say, but wouldn’t want your children to repeat.” I’m adding a disclaimer right here and now. I have never claimed to be politically correct.

1. “You can’t fix stupid.” – Ron White said it, and it’s just so true.

2. “Damn kids.” – The kids now in their late teens and 20′s are annoying (in general). These Millenials or Generation Y is all about them. What’s in it for me? And they can be rude with their texting and cell phone use when not appropriate. And no matter how cool the guys think they are with their little Hondas with the sub woofers and the spoilers on the back, you’re not. You want to impress a girl, get a real sports car. Go take that money you spent on that Honda and the upgrades and go get a Camaro, Trans Am, or even a Mustang.

3. “Damn woman drivers” – I know this is a stereotype, but I see it SO often. A woman in her minivan or SUV talking on her cell phone in la la land while driving and almost causes an accident or 3. Drives me insane. Or even take the phone out of the equation. I’ve just noticed that when I’m near a driver who isn’t paying attention to the road, it’s usually a woman for whatever reason.

4. “At least we pay attention to our kids.” – when we see very young children (think preschool and toddlers) running amok with no adult supervision outside in the neighborhood.

5. “Do you have sand in your vagina?” – Muttered under our breath or when said whiny child has left hearing vicinity. Will say it to a whiny adult’s face.

6. “Whose dick did they suck to get that?” – usually in reference to a person (male or female) we know who isn’t good at their job, but got a higher position in the Army.

*To view more Small Talk Six lists and participate yourself, head over to MomDot.

Small Talk Six – Lazy

Amanda — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:12:00 +0000

This week’s Small Talk Six topic is “6 things people do that you think are beyond lazy.”
I have to admit I think of my oldest son on this one. He’s always one to take the easy way out, or what he perceives to be the easy way out.

1. Shoving toys out of the way to get coloring books out when it’s just as easy to pick the cars up and throw them in the basket.

2. Parking in the areas that have the diagonal lines and aren’t really spaces because you’re too lazy to walk and/or go find a real space.

3. Expecting your 8yo child to watch your 1yo toddler outside while you’re in the house.

4. Not giving up your seat in a public place to an elderly or pregnant woman when you’re abled.

5. Leaving one store in a strip mall, getting into your car, and driving to park in front of the store next door. Park in the middle and walk.

6. Leaving food wrappers in the living room and then going to the kitchen to get a drink. Take the wrappers and throw them away!

*If you’d like to participate in Small Talk Six, head on over to MomDot for the linky and details.

Small Talk Six – Proud as Punch

Amanda — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:45:00 +0000

This week’s Small Talk Six brought to you by MomDot.com is “6 things about your children that you are proud of.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . .

Here are mine:
1. When my 7yo wants to help everyone. It’s great to see him be so giving.
2. When my 7yo improved all the behavioral parts of his report card this year in the 3d marking quarter. We’ve been working very hard on these things.
3. My 2yo is so independent. It’s nice to see one of the kids take initiative even if it makes a mess sometimes.
4. Both of my children regularly say “please” and “thank you” without being prompted by either parent. Basic manners just make the world a nicer place in general, and we try to do our part.
5. My 7yo has accepted that he just doesn’t like to play sports and is ok with not being like most of his friends. He’s ok with drawing and his other talents.
6. My 2yo is such a gentle and sensitive little person. Every morning when my husband is getting ready to leave for work, he makes sure everyone in the house stops what they are doing to give Daddy hugs goodbye.

Small Talk Six – So Wrong, but So Good

Amanda — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:58:00 +0000

Today’s Small Talk Six topic is “6 things that make you sick, but you eat them anyway.” There are a lot of foods that make me sick that just aren’t worth eating anymore, so I did totally eliminate them due to migraines. NOTHING is worth a migraine in my opinion. Not even a Smirnoff’s – damn sulfites. Doritos are no longer worth it either – damn MSG. But, these foods are worth the unpleasant side effects they cause that are not migraine related:

1. Fettucini Alfredo
2. Ice Cream
3. Kielbasa
4. Sausage
5. Cheesecake
6. Ice cream

Yes, I know I mentioned ice cream twice, but it’s oh so yummy. Especially frozen custard.

If you leave your Small Talk Six link in the comments I’ll do my best to make the rounds and visit your posting too in the next couple days.

*Small Talk Six is hosted on Saturdays by MomDot. Mr. Linky has been on the fritz lately, so there may or may not be a post listing at their site today.

Small Talk Six – Under the Sea

Amanda — Sat, 23 May 2009 11:19:00 +0000

This weeks’ Small Talk Six topic is “6 things you love or hate about the ocean.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . . .

I’ve only been to the ocean twice in my life. Once during a ill fated trip to the Outer Banks with my mom and stepdad when I was about 8 years old, and then again for my honeymoon. I did however grow up on Lake Erie. I spent almost every day at the beaches there as a kid thanks to my sun worshipping mother. But this list is about the ocean, so here it goes:

1. Jellyfish. I won’t go in the water at the ocean because I’m afraid I’ll get stung by a jellyfish. I’ve gotten a tattoo, had my tonsils out as an adult, and given birth to 2 children, and yet I’m afraid of a jellyfish. My husband finds this wildly hilarious.

2. I love the sand. I still love to build sandcastles, and I don’t care who knows it.

3. I love the smells of the beach. The water, sunscreen, sand, all of it. There’s just something in the air that relaxes me.

4. I hate that the sand creeps into ALL bodily crevices. HOW does that happen? I can do nothing more than lay on a towel all day and still get a butt crack full of sand. It’s one of the world’s great mysteries.

5. I’m not a fan of all the gear you need to take to the beach with kids. Beach going was so much simpler without them. Just a towel, a cooler, a radio, and some sunscreen was all I needed.

6. The boardwalk. One thing I really liked about Ocean City on our honeymoon was the boardwalk. It was fun to go grab lunch on an outdoor patio and people watch.

* If you’d like to participate in Small Talk Six Saturdays, you can find today’s topic here, and the topic list for 2009 here. *

What a Couple of Days

Amanda — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:26:00 +0000

Man, I’ve been busy! I even did offline stuff too! Can you imagine? We now sort of have a guest room. There are still things that needs moved into storage spaces, but we’re not exactly sure where that is yet. This house is packed pretty tight. I need to go through several boxes and purge a lot of our stuff too. We can say goodbye to much of the baby stuff now that our youngest is 2. Oh that’s a good feeling. I was so excited to see that the curtains I chose for the room match the area rug we already have. What I failed to realize was that the tops of the curtains have large grommets and I got the standard $2 plain curtain rods. If I had realized about the grommets, I would have splurged and gotten nicer curtain rods.

While I was in Lowe’s, I also got a couple things for the front of our house. Everyone does up their yards here since we don’t have to mow and edge. They spend all their time and energies in the flower beds. This sucks for a person like me who just killed a $1 set of seeds from Target. I think we’re finally over having frosts at night and I can really get some plants in the ground. We had temperatures in the 70′s last week, but we had a good frost one morning. Gotta love 30-40 degree temperature changes.

*Side note, while I’m singing Lowe’s praises, if you have a military ID, don’t forget to ask for your discount. That’s one of the reasons I shop there. The curtains were priced the same as everyone else’s, same quality, but I got the military discount. It makes a difference.

With getting the guest room ready we had a bit of a saga with finding a sleeper sofa. We decided on an air mattress on a platform. It’s more comfy that a regular air mattress, and since we hardly have guests, it makes more sense for us. Plus it gives up more sofa options since we can just get a regular sofa now if we choose. We also hardly have couples stay. Our nephew is the one who comes to stay overnight the most, and he’s more likely to say “I’ll just take the couch.” We realized we need to do what fits into our lifestyle the majority of the time since we rarely have guests.

Since we didn’t get the sofa I wanted, we’re going to get a new dining set and a cabinet for storage. Our dining set was a 1st anniversary gift, and it’s been through 3 moves and now 2 kids. We found out recently it was used when we got it. It’s reached its life expectancy and it’s time to get chairs that we aren’t afraid will collapse when someone sits in them.

That’s it from me today. See everyone back here tomorrow for Small Talk Six on Saturdays with MomDot.

*picture from the Lane furniture website

Small Talk Six – Get a Clue

Amanda — Sat, 16 May 2009 09:36:00 +0000

I think Karen said it best with her intro this week. I’m not going to mess with perfection. From the hosting blog, MomDot:

Today’s topic is “6 pieces of advice that you think are obvious, but some people just need to hear.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . . .

It’s going to be tough to answer this week’s question without sounding judgemental, condescending, and sarcastic. Please be respectful when visiting and commenting on the other participant’s posts. Remember that everyone has the right to express their own opinions on their own blog.

1. Kids need rules and boundaries. If you’re a very young parent, you’re not there to be their friend. If you’re an older parent, you need to suck it up and discipline your out of control child. If you’re too tired or too immature, then maybe you shouldn’t have kids. I’ve seen way too much of both lately.

2. Call when you’re running late. Stuff happens, but it’s the right thing to do.

3. Listen to what other people are saying, and don’t hear only what you want to push your own agenda. It’s highly annoying. The same goes for reading. Pay attention to the details. When I say I want a leather sleeper sofa, don’t try to sell me a daybed because you see commission dollar signs.

4. If you have an abundance, share with those who do not. This does not apply to that zucchini that went out of control in your garden or children.

5. Keep your word. Do what you say you’re going to do. People are counting on you, and trust is a hard thing to earn back once it’s lost.

6. Be responsible for your pets. This is to my neighbors who let their cats wander, and dogs poop all over and don’t clean it up. If I wanted to step in dog poop, I’d get one. If I wanted to have an allergic reaction when I sit on my patio furniture, I’d get my own cat and let it rub all over the cushions.

Sadly I could probably come up with about 10-20 things if you include all the fashion faux pas I see walking around now that the weather’s warm. I am going to add just one more though.

7. Pull up your pants! No one wants to see your thong, crack, boxers, any of it. You look ridiculous no matter what age you are. When I see a butt crack hanging out I have an overwhelming urge to spackle it.

*For more Small Talk Six fun visit MomDot.com*

Small Talk Six: My Mother I Am Not

Amanda — Sat, 09 May 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Today’s Small Talk Six is “6 ways you are like or unlike your mother.” Oh man this is a tough one. I’m not sure there are any ways I’m like my mother. Even the mere thought of my mother dredges up bad memories and some anxiety. Can you say Mommy Dearest, but in a different way that satin hangers?

I’ll start with ways I am NOT like my mother. Those are easiest.
1. I don’t flit from man to man to get someone to pay my bills for me.
2. I haven’t cheated on my husband.
3. I don’t do recreational drugs.
4. I’m responsible for my children.
5. I’m not a victim of spousal abuse
6. I wasn’t a teen mom

OK, so coming up with 6 ways I’m not like my mother was way easy. Maybe a little too easy. And just to clarify since print doesn’t convey tone, I have nothing against those of you who happen to be teen moms. The difference with my mom is she made no bones about telling me how she didn’t want to be pregnant and she didn’t want to have a baby the whole time I was growing up.

*For more Small Talk Six visit MomDot*

Small Talk Six – Teacher, Teacher

Amanda — Sat, 02 May 2009 09:49:00 +0000

This week’s Small Talk Six is “6 things you always wondered about any of your teachers or professors while you were in school.” You can find the complete list of Small Talk Six Saturday topics, and participate yourself at MomDot.

I’ve come across a few interesting teachers over the years. Some I had for class, and some I didn’t. The schools I attended for elementary through high school were very small. In high school we had a total of 500 kids in grades 9-12. Everyone knew everyone else and their families. I had teachers who had taught my dad and aunt and uncles – even some of my cousins before they moved away. Some teachers I really enjoyed their classes. Others I timed my pain pills to kick in for their class after I had my knee surgeries. There were a few things I always wanted to know though.

1. To my trig teacher: What was it like teaching trig to kids you knew were smarter than you are? I HATED having to write down every step right down to 2+2 on the board for you to see because I could do simple math in my head. I’ve never forgotten your speech about sequential and global thinkers. It only cemented in my mind that you’d taken one too many blows to the head in your years on the football field.

2. To my health teacher: Was it REALLY necessary to stretch the condom over your head to prove one size DOES fit all? That’s a mental image I STILL can’t erase from my brain. Does anyone make brain bleach?

3. To my civil war history prof: Where did you learn public speaking skills? I love Civil War history. I had ancestors on both sides of the war and one who survived Andersonville, but you totally ruined it with your uhs, ums, and inappropriate laughter while lecturing. I used to send my roommate in my place to class because she found you entertaining in a train wreck sort of way.

4. To my physics teacher: How did you know I could do it? Thank you for believing in me. Your class inspired me to learn for the first time in years since I’d been in that school district.

5. To my algebra teacher: Did you ever think you’d actually get through to a kid while teaching? You never seemed to have a whole lot of confidence in yourself during class, but I learned a lot. I’m so glad you won that teaching award after my class left.

6. To the yearbook teacher: How did you keep your patience with me and photography? I sucked with F stops, apertures, and developing film. Thank you for seeing my strengths and allowing me to explore the graphic side. It’s where I got my love for dabbling in graphic art.

(I know it’s only six, but I’ve had some interesting teachers and profs)
7. To one of my ROTC instructors: Were you REALLY that desperate you had to go trolling the cheesiest bar in town for freshmen and sophomores? I know they were legal and all, but you could do better.

8. To my poly sci prof: Did you ever get laid? Or did you always get laid? You either needed an outlet for all that energy or you were getting so much you were just on top of the world because NO ONE should be that excited about poly sci at 8am. I’m so thankful for lectures with 200-300 people so I could skip out now and then to avoid the sunshine and rainbows that early.