Water Cooler - 7

Try this:
system preferences► international preferences► select input menu► check off "character pallette"► at bottom check "show in menu bar".

Then you will have a flag in the menu bar, click on flag and choose "show character pallette"
And you will feel ☺!
(It comes in handy being married to a Mac person sometimes...♥)

™™™™™™☝☟✌✍
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!! I learned something new!! Thanks Amy! ☺

no problem!

❀✾✿ How Cool, Amy!

I do it through Microsoft Word in the dingbats or symbols. Or just copy and past once you find them here.

Sherrie, are you calling us dingbats? LOL!

Off topic.. Seding my two daughters to stay with my parents for the summer In FL. This will be the first time they have been away from me for this long (a month).
Anyway, growing up we (me and my siblings) were taught that you had to say Yes Sir/Maam when talking to your elders. Anytime you answered a question or were called by name you did it. It was driven into me and that was just how it was..
So flash forward many years later and raising my own 3 kids I have not raised them that way. When my parents come to visit they are always taken back by them not saying it but they dont question them for not doing it.. Funny thing is it took an effort for me to stop saying it after I moved away from home/the south. When I do slip up and say it here when I am out people give me a look like I am trying to be what do they call it here "Fresh" or sarcastic to them lol.

So I guess I am just curious to as how my kids will react to their cousins saying it when they go down there. And also if they may look at my kids like they are being disrespectful for not doing the same.. Any thoughts?

Melissa

I don't know how old your children are, but, kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Have you told your children how you were raised? If you have a respectful conversation with them and explain exactly what you have explained here, I don't see any problem. Do your parents ever correct your children - trying to impose their rules? If they do, then that also needs to be addressed, but with your parents, not with your children.
Your kids may laugh when they hear the "Yes, sir" "No, sir" thing going on around them, but it won't stop them from making friends or having a great time getting to know their grandparents. I'm sure you have taught your children to be polite, even without the 'strictness' of how adults are addressed.

Thanks Nance.. I am going to sit down and talk with my parents as soon as I get there. Being overprotective I guess and hoping they will be good for my parents so I dont have to intervene by phone lol.

Melissa

This message was edited Jul 3, 2008 1:47 PM

Oh Yeah! You'll probably be surprised at how easy it all goes! I hope so, anyway.

Melissa - I have the same culture shock when we are in Fla. My nieces and nephews do the "Yes Ma'am" thing, because, like you, that is how we were all raised down there. When they were kids and came up to visit us in Conn., my stepdaughters thought it was really odd that they did that. Different strokes for different folks in different parts of the country. I agree with Nance that addressing it as she suggests will help a lot. It is a good opportunity to educate them gently on geographical differences, just as things are different when you go to foreign countries. Some of the expressions we use are insults in Japan. C'est la vie. LOL And PS - I hope you don't have the "empty nest" doldrums! I did when my son went to soccer camp each summer.

Have we raised less respectful kids or (hopefully) less blind respect? I'd like to think my kids would be less susceptible to predatory or just mean adults because of how they were raised.

Interesting point, Dave.

Good question, Dave! I don't ever see it as less respectful when kids do not say "ma'am or sir", given that it is a geographical or cultural difference. My son was 10 when we moved to New England, and while he was more comfortable with the way things are up here, he was and is a person who respects others and shows it in his body language instead of saying "Yes, M'am" etc. Language, slang and regional customs are very interesting to me. I have spent a lot of time in the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains with mountain folks, and they have a very different way of showing respect that may be misunderstood by those who don't have the luxury of enough time to understand it. That is just one example.....I think many times people are too quick to make assumptions that aren't correct. You have to walk in someone's shoes awhile to know where they are coming from, so to speak.

This is sooo interesting . . . I get the attention of my students by refering the male students as "Good Sir" or the women as "Dear Lady"

No wonder the students call me "weird" on Ratemyprofessor!

Amy writes:

I went food shopping Sat morn, I almost died......the maple syrup I buy in the large jug went up to $25!!!!! It used to be $16.99.

Whoa....not just where you are Flowerjen.....I was buying Grade B maple syrup on Amazon last year for $13 or so (32 oz). Just checked and it is $26 and change.

Well, the 1st way is easy - on a PC. The 2nd way is how you have to do it on a Mac.

We did our grocery shopping this weekend, and we shocked to see that milk went up 15 cents a gallon! Our family drinks about 6 gallons a week, so that was a big jump for us.

But, we also have a membership at Sam's Club and, even though we drive for an hour and fifteen minutes to get there, it saves us beaucoup dollars in the long run. We can even get our gas there for about 4 cents a gallon cheaper than anywhere else.

We've been doing this for the past three months and figure that we have saved a couple hundred dollars.

Re kids & respect.
I want my kids to be respectful but not afraid with adults. When I was raised (in CT) we almost felt we had to jump when an adult spoke. Every once in a while I still feel a conflict when they don't jump when, for example, their grandmother says something.
In reality, I think they are more respectful than we were. Their respect has less to do with appearances and less about not getting caught.

Sounds good, Candyce! Also, the Price Chopper in Keene gives ten cents off a gallon of gas for every $50 you spend on groceries, up to 20 gallons per fill up. The price of groceries is not inflated, so it also helps out! Also, the gas station it partners with does not have an inflated price either. We try to consolidate a lot of our errands in Keene and do it all in one trip. We had sixty cents off per gallon this week, because we let it roll over from last week. Prices of everything are getting out of hand. I'm appreciative that my garden veggies are starting to come in. We're having a lot of broccoli for supper tonight with radishes on the side. LOL

I hear you!
Radishes have become a suppertime staple. Next it will be green peppers, I think. Little Taelar's veggie garden is doing so well. She was so proud to present her Uncle Kyle with her own home-grown radishes yesterday!

The last of my pixielilies™ to bloom, "Black Eye".
This is the one that was (i thought) totally dug up and missing months ago - i guess there must have been some of it left after all!

Beautiful Amy!

Thanks - i didn't do much - just watched it grow...
Celeste sends good stuff!

This message was edited Jul 6, 2008 7:42 PM

Thank you Amy but you are under estimating yourself! They wouldn't of bloomed if they didn't like it there. Great job!!

Very pretty, Amy and Celeste. I'm very excited because several of my Pixielilies are starting to bloom for the first time in their new home. I made the mistake of separating a couple fans last fall when I planted them, and I thought I'd remember which ones I planted where. Oh well, the original fan has its Pixie Tag on it, so I've just given myself a fun little game of identifying the blooms by comparison with the tagged ones. When you are retired, I guess you have to make up these little games to keep life interesting! LOL They've grown a good bit since this photo was taken, but you can see them in their new home bordering my veggie garden on both sides of the fence - some inside and some outside the fence. I love them there!

Nice fence Louise!

Pretty daylily Amy/Celeste

Thank you, Dave. My son gave it to me for Mother's Day. It replaced a pretty shabby mess! LOL

PLease join us on a new thread..this one is taking a long time to load.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/874203/

Just got back from dropping the girls off at my parents last night. Really appreciate everyones advice/comments. Definitley points to ponder!!
I like the comment above about how showing respect is not so much as saying sir and m'aam but also in body language. I have seen young kids here approach adults and talk down to them. It definitley sets me back every time since that is not how I was raised... Anyhow times do change!

As for Dave's comment on blind respect it really made me think. We were expected to come running too when an adult called us.. I remember as a child riding my bike out in the middle of nowhere and having an adult pull up next to me in their car asking me for directions.. Me a child of 9 or 10 for directions? I don't remeber what I said but thinking back about me gives me the chills. In todays times maybe it is a good thing that my kids my kids aren't raised the way I was.

Oops moving this over to new thread!!

Hope you're having a good week with the kids away, Melissa!

Louise

Thanks Louise it hasn't been easy having them away. It has only been a week and I miss them big time. I didn't realize how controlling I am when it comes to my kids and their daily routines until this week. They didn't eat supper at my parents last night until 8 (I feed them no later than 6) and I was worrying about them lol. And they are staying up really late on CST which means I am getting phone calls until about 11:30. Doesn't work well when I have to get up at 5:30 am. My 6yr old son did stay home with me so he is getting a lot of attention. I took yesterday off of work and spent the whole day doing stuff with him.

Grandparents's job is to allow for lapses in dicipline.
We spoil 'em.
They know they couldn't survive on a constant diet of late suppers and late nights,they'll be glad to get back to a routine.
They are loving a bit of freedom, and I'm sure this routine isn't every night.

Think of all the great memories they are making, Melissa. Your 6 yr old must be loving the one on one with mommy - how special is THAT!

Melissa - Jo Anne and Nance are right on the money in my humble opinion. Everyone needs a little break from the routine once in awhile. No harm done and great memories are made for the kids, who will really appreciate your letting them have this experience. How wonderful to have this special time with your 6 yr old too! Enjoy! The next week will fly by and they'll be back! Make the most of the change in routine yourself!!

Grandparents = the people that spoil your kids even though they used to complain when their parents did it to their kids!