Beneath the Wraps

          At the end of last month, Jenna (mentioned in this post ) decided that she and I would each write a story.  This is the one I came up with:           Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a colony of umbas.  Now “what is an umba?” you may ask. An umba was a creature so small that he was overlooked for many years. The umbas lived in an enchanted forest filled with candy canes and gumdrops. The candy canes, to them, were the size of trees.  And the gumdrops could be sat upon, the way a human might sit on a large rock.           One day an elf entered the forest where the umbas lived.  The elf had been sent on a mission by Santa Clause himself.  He had been given the field assignment of finding a treat that could be left in the stockings of good boys and girls. The umbas hid from the elf because he was so m...

         Roland and I took mom to the movies after our Saturday Thanksgiving dinner.  We chose “Brave” because it was the shortest wait.  Mom enjoyed it which in itself made it worth it.   I felt intrigued by the parallels that seemed unfold – for me anyway.           Merida is typical of many teens – many who have gone beyond teen hood but still place more faith in self than  a higher being.           Merida’s mother attempts to prepare Merida for the role of princess and what expectations are included and what the future holds – none of which fit into Merida’s own plans of “freedom” of expressing herself, of taking on adventures without the hassles of trying to please everyone by fulfilling a role that is clearly NOT the fate she would choose for herself.           The story incorpor...

          Phillip Chipping had a great idea of creating a magazine that would include one story for each day of the month.  Children would be encouraged to read and create. Then in September 2009 this wonderful magazine was featured in libraries across the nation.  Free to the public – for three months – and then it disappeared.                     But as with so many other businesses and personal lives, the economy robbed us of the funding that were needed to keep the magazine going.  And then in September of 2011 knowonder seemed to be reborn on the Internet.  A second chance.  Perhaps better access?  Seemed to take another rest from its regular routine after December – oh, the stories continued – ones that we’re familiar with, ones that we grew up on – given in parts.  There used to be something to read...

          Roland and his boss purchased some property years ago – the idea was to flip the house, make money – but the location of it all became a great nightmare for all of us.  I referred to the project as “The Nightmare on Oak Street”           At the time I referred to Roland as the Big Red Hen because of his attempts to involve our three boys in his house fixing project.  Meanwhile, I was attempting to get them to help me around the house that we actually lived in.  I was not as aggressive as Roland and had a toddler who wore me out.           Though the sharing this story with the boys did not produce the results we were hoping for, Jenna is totally amused with hearing it today – and thought I should share it on my blog.  So here goes: The story of the Big Red Hen and the Tired Blue Cat “Who will ...

all written by my daughter Jenna Shilo The sun was shining and Shilo was exploring.   We wanted to go on a picnic.   We had everything we needed but we couldn’t find Shilo. But Shilo was at the pond.   But they didn’t see him.   He was chasing the duck and swimming. He had a great time and had lots of fun.   Shilo came back and we had the picnic.   The end The Magic Chocolate Box Once there was a chocolate box. But it wasn’t any chocolate box.   It was a magic box.   Each time a person took a chocolate one appeared in its place.   And always fresh.   It was a heart shaped box.   Kids fight over it a lot.   [There was] Milk chocolate. There was semi-sweet and major mint and lots of others.   There were always 20 chocolates.   A wise wizard carved the box and gave it away to a kind family [with] two kids and [and the] one to take care of them.   Their father had died when they were three. ...

Jenna does like to fold laundry, do dishes, sweep, mop.   She even likes to clean the bathtub and scrub the toilet.   But it is ever so painful to get her to clean up after herself – usually when her stuff is scattered all over the living room or her own bedroom.   That is the worst.   I just don’t know what incentive to use to get her motivated.   I’ve tried everything – rewards when she does it, removing items when she doesn’t. We honestly have more of her belongings out in the shed than we do in her room. Getting her to practice her handwriting has been a big chore as well.   She’ll draw, read, study, tell stories and play learning games.   But getting her to write anything (or print in her case) is on ongoing battle. She is competitive.   When the school was invited to participate in a handwriting contest, she came home all excited – and I thought “great – incentive” I’m afraid it didn’t last.   It was still a huge st...