Sick Day

You poor thing, you feel so hot. Mama’s here though. I will take good care of you. Tell me what feels bad. It is your tummy, your throat, or your head?

Let’s take your temperature, hold real still. 102.5, my oh my! It’s back to bed with you. There will be no school today. I’ll call the doctor and see what he has to say.

While we wait here is a cool compress for your head. I’ll sing to you while you go back to bed. Sleep now sweet child, you will feel better soon. The doctor can fit you in this afternoon.

When you wake I’ll make you some nice warm broth and a cup of tea to comfort you, mmm, good nourishing food.

It is time to go see the doctor now. Don’t be scared he is here to help you. No shots today, just a look and a test or two to see. I’ll hold you tight while we wait for the results. Time goes so slow when you don’t feel well.

The doctor comes back in a while with the results we have been waiting for. He writes a prescription and off we go to get the medicine that will make you well.

Now it’s home to rest a little more. Mama’s here my love. I will get you what you need to make you comfortable while you recover.

We will stay home one more day, but already you are looking better. You will still have medicine for a few more days, but your sickness will soon go away.

During the night your fever breaks and in the morning when you awake, your color is back and your smile. You are full of energy once more. It’s off to school with you today, time to see all of your friends and play.

Sick

Well I missed my Friday deadline...by a long shot! It was a week filled with sickness so I decided to cut my self some slack. It is not like I have any actual readers anyway. Ha! Just my husband and he knows whats up. Well I will be back on track this week and to make it up I will just add a week on the end I think. I thought I would try to do two this week, but I am so behind on everything, that I don't want to push my luck.

One, Two, Three...Look for me.
I am hiding in a tree.
Four, Five, Six...Watch my tricks.
I can balance on these sticks
Seven, Eight, Nine...I feel fine.
I love swinging on on this vine.
Ten, Ten, Ten...Lets play again!
Over and over and over. The End.

The Best Valentine’s Day Party Ever!

Valentine’s Day was just a week away and Emmaline was very excited. She was going to have a big party at school on Friday. Each day she and her classmates worked to prepare the classroom. On Monday they cut out paper hearts and hung them all around the room. On Tuesday they made cards for each of their friends. On Wednesday they decorated boxes to collect their valentine cards in. On Thursday they planned the party and made sweet Valentine cookies to serve. When Emmaline went home Thursday she was so excited. The classroom was perfect and she could not wait until the party. The whole way home all she could think about was the party. At dinner that night the party was all she wanted to talk about. When she went to bed, she lay awake thinking about all of the fun Valentine activities planned for tomorrow. Emmaline had not been asleep long when she suddenly awoke. She had a terrible pain in her stomach. As the night went on the pain grew worse until finally her mother had to take her to the doctor. Poor Emmaline had appendicitis and was rushed into surgery to have her appendix removed. When she awoke hours later she was in a hospital room, Emmaline was crushed because she knew that she had missed her party. All of her friends were having fun exchanging valentines cards and eating the beautiful cookies they had made and she was missing out. She felt so alone. Valentine’s Day had come and gone without her. A week later Emmaline was well enough to return to school. That morning her mother was running a little late, and when she got to school all of her friends were already there. When she opened the front door to the school they all yelled “Surprise!” Emmaline looked around, and she could not believe her eyes. The classroom was still decorated. All of the Valentine boxes were still out in a row; all of the special activities were still out, even the beautiful Valentine cookies that they had made were there on the table! Emmaline had not missed the party after all. Her entire class had voted to wait for her to come back because they knew how important the party was to her. Her Valentine box was filled with pictures and letters from all of her friends, wishing her to get better and telling her how much she was missed. Emmaline was overjoyed. She felt so loved. It was the best Valentine’s Day party ever!

Oops!

Tantrum was actually last weeks story but it must not have posted. This weeks story I will post tomorrow.

Tantrum

There once was a little girl, who wanted everything in the world. There was nothing that she saw that she did not want at all. She wanted the moon and the stars and the sun. She wanted the buildings each and every one. She wanted to sing and dance and play even when it was time to stay. When she did not get everything her way, she would scream and cry and say, “I am the princess, I am the one! You must do as I say. I won’t quit until I’ve won!” Finally the day came around when her mother put her foot down. “I can’t take anymore! You may scream and kick on the floor. I no longer will give in to your each and every whim!” The little girl cried, the little girl screamed. She threw such an awful fit, but she finally gave up and quit, and do you know the funniest part? She could not even remember the start. What was it that she did not get? What could possibly have made her fret? It must not have been important at all since she could not recall, so she jumped up with a bound. Enough rolling on the ground! She then went on her way and began again to play as if nothing had happened at all. Her mother watched for a while and then she silently smiled. She had learned her lesson too, soon the tantrum is through. A princess does not always have to get her way to be happy in her play. She might tantrum for a bit but soon she will quit, and everything will be ok!

I Won't and I Will

This is the story of I won’t and I will.
I won’t was very contrary while I will was quite pleasant.
“I won’t share my toys!” I Won’t played alone.
“I will share my toys!” I Will has lots of friends.
“I won’t clean my room!” I Won’t can’t find a favorite toy.
“I will clean my room!” I Will knows just where to look.
“I won’t eat my dinner!” I Won’t is awful hungry.
“I will eat my dinner!” I Will is pleasantly full…and sometimes gets desert.
“I won’t brush my teeth!” Ouch! I Won’t has a cavity.
“I will brush my teeth!” I Will’s teeth are squeaky clean.
“I won’t go to bed!” I Won’t is tired and grumpy.
“I will go to bed!” I Will is alert and happy.
Poor I Won’t is sad and miserable while I Will is having fun.
Are you “I won’t” or “I will?”
Hmm… You decide!

General Observations

My oldest is really starting to get excited about the stories. Sometimes it is hard to tell if she is really interested in them or listening to them, but then she will suddenly remember some small detail that will let me know that she did in fact pay attention. For instance, she was looking at the blog page with me and asked me to go back over some of the stories, before I reread them I asked her what she remembered about them and she pointed to the "Ugly Princess," and said that she did not think it was nice of her to throw her shoe at the boy. What a funny part to remember!

She seems genuinely excited when I tell her that I have a new story for her, and she likes that they are written for her and her sister. The illustration for "Sisters" is a painting of two dolls I made for the girls at Christmas that represent them, and she recognised that immediately and was pretty excited that it was her an her sister. Here are some pictures of the dolls.

Sisters

Sisters, sisters two of a kind, they Love each other…most of the time.
Two peas in a pod, two cookies from one cutter, these two sisters are just like each other.
One likes to jump and the other does too. One wants to draw so her sister grabs the blue.
They play this way all of the time, until one day when…
While they were coloring Two says, “I’m done,” but One was still having fun. “I want to continue,” One says to Two. Two shook her head, “I am through, through, through.”
“Let’s play a new game,” Two said to One. “I want to go out and play in the sun!”
“No,” One said “I want to stay in”
“What shall we do?” One asked the other.
“Well I guess we just won’t play with each other.”
A funny thing happened when they both went their own way. They started to notice that they were not really the same.
One had blond hair, and Two had brown.
One liked blue while Two preferred green.
One was really messy and Two was quite clean.
“Perhaps we are too different after all,” Two said to One as she went out in the sun. Just as she said it a tear welled in her eye and she sat down outside and cried, cried , cried.
Inside the house, One also was sad. She hung her head low while she drew in her pad.
It just was not the same, drawing alone. Sitting there all on her own, so she grabbed her sketch pad and went out the door.
She called for Two and found her once more.
They smiled and hugged and realized at last that two sisters who loved each other could still have a blast.
Weather playing alone or playing together, these two sisters are best friends forever!

Weeping Willow

There once was a little girl who often wondered why. “Why does the weeping willow weep? Why do her branches cry? Perhaps I could cheer her up, it wouldn’t hurt to try.” So the little girl sang a song that always made her smile, but still that weeping willow wept all the while. Perhaps thought the little girl, I could dress her up in style! So she gathered lots pretty ribbons and tied her branches up in bows, then from each branch she hung a single perfect rose. Surely, thought the little girl, this will end her woes. Still, that weeping willow wept, her branches sagged and drooped. The little girl said, “It is time that we regrouped.” She thought and thought, what could be done to make her tree stand tall, but finally she decided that nothing need be done at all. Perhaps her tears were tears of joy for all things great and small. So the little girl sat down beneath her branches fair, and looked around taking in all the beauty present there. A single tear welled in her eye and then rolled down her cheek. She was so moved that there was no more need to speak. Together with her willow tree she sat and silently cried, tears of joy, tears of peace for her beautiful world so wide.

Comments on "The Ugly Princess"

Today was a snow day so we did not have school, so I decided to go ahead and tell the story during the day instead of at bedtime because the girls were bored. I think I should have waited though. Goldie, my oldest seemed very distracted. She was eager to see the picture I painted to go with the story, but was less interested in the actual story. She did listen, but it just did not hold her attention as I would have liked. After I told the story I asked her what she thought and she said that she did not like it, but then she started saying all sorts of unrelated things when I asked her why. Later she told me that she did like the story. I asked her what she liked and she told me that she liked that the Princess changed and became nice. I asked her what she didn't like and she said that the Princess threw her shoe at the boy and it is not nice to throw you shoe at someone. I showed her the blog with both stories and pictures up and I was surprised to find out that she remembered the first story and what it was about. I asked her which story she liked best and she said she liked both stories best. I don't know. It is so hard to tell if she is into this or not. I hope she likes it. I don't want to force it on her. I want it to be something that she looks forward to. I guess only time will tell.

The Ugly Princess

One wonderful day in an enchanted kingdom far away, a baby was born. She was not just any baby; she was the long awaited daughter of the King and Queen. The royal couple had tried for many years to have a baby with no success, until finally one day their wish had been granted by a powerful Sorceress who had taken pity on them. As you can imagine the King and the Queen were overjoyed and they celebrated with the entire kingdom their good fortune. People came from miles around to pay their respects and to offer gifts to the princess, as was their custom. She was truly a beautiful baby. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks were a soft rosy pink. She had a head full of soft downy curls that framed her chubby little face. She cooed and giggled peacefully in her crib as her admirers looked on. Everyone said how perfect she was and how she was going to grow up to be a stunning beauty.
As the years went by the princess did grow, and as everyone said she was extremely beautiful. Her looks were unparalleled. Admirers still came from all around to catch a glimpse of this enchanting child. They showered her with gifts to show their admiration. She was waited on hand and foot, and she was never told “No.” All of her demands were met quickly and perfectly each and every time. She grew so accustomed to this treatment that she came to expect it. She grew bossy and cross. She enjoyed ordering people around and watching them scurry to obey her.
Her parents were worried about her behavior, but they too did not want to upset their darling little daughter. They thought and thought about what could be done to teach her how to love and respect others. The finally decided that perhaps she was lonely. She did not have any brothers or sisters and all of the castle staff who attended her were older. They decided to bring in some children from the kingdom to play with her. The first day they brought in a little girl, but the child ran out crying within ten minutes because the princess had pulled her hair. The next day they brought in a little boy, but he too ran out crying because the princess had thrown her shoe at him when he did not play her game the way she had wanted him to. This went on for days and days. Each time a child brought they would leave in tears because the princess had been so mean to them. The King and Queen felt helpless. They could not understand how their beautiful little darling princess could have turned into such a monster.
Finally they turned to the sorceress for help. They asked her to make the princesses beauty match her disposition. The sorceress promised that it would be as they requested. The next morning as the sun was rising over the hills a shrill scream pierced the silent castle walls. The King and the Queen jumped up and ran to their daughters chambers only to find her crumpled in front of her mirror sobbing. Once they got closer they could see the reason behind her terror. Her face had been transformed to a hideous, grotesque, distortion of her former self. Her body was hunched and withered. Her beauty was gone.
They covered their daughter in robes and took her to the Sorceress. “What is the meaning of this?” they demanded. But the Sorceress only laughed and said that their request had been granted and that her outside now matched her inside. “Fix it at once,” they ordered. “Ahhh,” she said, “It is not I who has the power to fix her. It is only when she learns what true beauty is that her looks will return. Only she can transform herself.”
With that the King and the Queen and the Princess were forced to return to the castle. They Kept the Princess in hiding for many years, afraid to let her be seen by others. She spent her days confined to either her chamber or to a small private garden within the castle walls. She took no visitors and she saw no one for many years, until one day on her sixteenth birthday, she could take it no longer. She covered herself with a robe, and pulled the hood over her head so that no part of her could be seen, and then she snuck away in the night.
She ran all of that night until she could go no further, and so she stopped at a village inn. When she entered she demanded that they give her a room. “I am the princess,” she said. “You must give me your nicest room.” But when the inn keeper saw her, he refused. “You are not the princess, you are an ugly hag. Our princess is a great beauty. You must leave at once before I have you arrested.” She was forced to flee, and she spent that night under a bridge for shelter with the town beggars. She was miserable and hungry, but everywhere she went people shunned her. No one would give her even so much as a piece of bread. She was truly on her own. She began to feel sad and she missed the comforts of the castle, but she knew that she could never go back; she must find a way to survive on her own.
She soon discovered that she had a talent for locating flowers and making elegant arrangements, but when she went to the market to sell them no one would come close enough to buy one. She could hear the adults talking and see them pointing at her and laughing. Children would run screaming if she so much as looked at them, and she eventually had to leave. One day she came across a woman crying so pitifully that she could not help but feel moved. The woman must have a sorrow as deep as her own to cry as uncontrollably as she was. The Princess without thinking walked directly up to the woman and placed her hand on the woman’s shoulders to comfort her. The woman did not look up, but her crying eased a little. The Princess then laid a single flower next to the woman and turned to leave. As she walked away she could not help but feel a smile creep on to her lips.
She continued on her way and before long she came across a small boy begging for food in the street. Her heart ached for him for she knew what hunger felt like and it did not seem fair to her that this child, so young and innocent should have to feel such emptiness. As she walked by him she laid down the remainder of her flowers and said, “Take these to the market and sell them, then you can buy some food for your aching belly.” The boy scooped up the flowers and as he ran off toward the market he called out to her. “Bless you!” he said. With those words fresh in her ears she stood up taller than she had before, and with a straight back she continued on her way.
When she got back to the bridge where she had been staying she saw amongst the other beggars a young man whom she had never seen before. He was tall and handsome, but there was sadness in his eyes and loneliness that seemed to engulf him. Perhaps he was as lonely as her. She watched him for a while and finally decided to take the chance and go up to him. To her surprise he did not turn away from her. He did not laugh or cower in fear. Instead he looked at her and he held out his hand for her to come closer. She sat with him and she listened to him as he told her of his life. She cried with him in the sad parts and she laughed with him in the funny parts. They sat and talked all night, and in the morning he thanked her for listening and for being a true friend. To that she laughed said, “No it is I who must thank you. You have looked beyond my grotesqueness and allowed me to sit with you. It is you who has been a true friend.” The young man just smiled and he took her hand and he led her to a pond where he told her to look upon her reflection, and when she did it was not a distorted ugly face that looked back at her. It was instead the lovely face of a fair young woman that she saw. She turned to him and she threw her arms around his neck and she cried tears of joy. She had found not only herself but also someone to truly love, who could truly love her back.

Comments on "The Yearling"

Well we did our first story of the year tonight. I Sat them down and explained what New Years was, and we talked about resolutions and what that meant. Then I asked Goldie if she wanted to make any. She said that she wanted to be nice to her mommy and not fake cry. I told her those were good resolutions. I then told her about my resolution to make up a story a week for them, and I asked her if she wanted to hear the first one. She did. So I read it to her as she held the picture I painted to go with it. She listened very politely, and the said next time she would like one about a princess, like Cinderella! Haha. I told her I would see what I could come up with. She said she liked the story though, and we talked about it. She liked the part about the snow falling best. She is so funny! Bella on the other hand could have cared less, she mostly just crawled around on me and then started screaming when I would not nurse her. I guess she is still a bit young for it, but perhaps as the year progresses. All in all I think it has been a successful start!

The Yearling

In an enchanted garden, hidden beyond the scope of imagination, lives a single flower with a very special job. This flower is known as the yearling. It is her job to bring about the change of the seasons. She begins her life with the New Year as a fragile little bud poking out of a blanket of snow, the only sign of life for as far as the eye can see. As the days come and go she grows stronger and taller, and when finally when the last of the snows melt away, she unfolds her beautiful petals in proud salute to her friend the sun. Together they breathe fresh life into the thawing earth. All of the small creatures wake and the bird’s songs fill the air once again. The days continue on and the little flower begins to change. Her beautiful petals become soft and fuzzy. One day a soft breeze carries them away. The warm sun and the spring showers plant her seeds the whole world over. All around her are beautiful blooms and lush green foliage. She is all but hidden in the vast beauty of the world around her until one day the sun begins to sink in the sky and the nights grow crisp and cold. The colors change form bright purples and pinks to the oranges and reds of fall, but still she stands tall on her sturdy stem watching over her garden. As the nights grow colder and the leaves once bright and beautiful begin to dry and return to the earth, she too begins to bend. Her once strong stem weakens and she feels old and tired. The first snows begin to fall, and soon they will cover her completely, but she will still be there. She is always there. As the world around her celebrates the end of a year, the days grow short and the nights long and cold. The animals and the birds are no longer seen or heard, and a blanket of silvery snow covers her once beautiful garden. All is still and quiet, but in the morning when the first rays of sun peak out she awakens and pushes her way through the cold, cold snow until she can feel his warmth. She is new, and it is time to begin again.