Thingamajigs and Ready-Set-Go

I wish I had been as brilliant when Nanni-K was little as I seemed to of become when my adventure with the Family began. Either that, or God knew I was going to need alot of help rekindling that 'stay one step ahead of the kids' thing.

All kids do it. Nanni-K did it and if truth be told, I probably did it too. You know what I'm taking about, you just never gave it a name- that weird way kids sit in the chair at the dinner table. One leg and half their body is on the chair and the other half is hanging off the side of the chair, the leg bent like a sprinter at the starting line. Their body language literally screams "3 bites and I'm outta here!" I call this lapse in posture as sitting all "Ready-Set-Go" and frankly, it's just not acceptable. Thankfully, Baby Boy hadn't reached this stage of development yet. At 8 months old we could still imprison him in the highchair where his little legs went only one way. If he had, it wouldn't of mattered.

Baby Girl, creative genius extraordinaire, kept the highchair in such a festive state 24/7 that I'm sorry to say any unusual leg motion by Baby Boy would have probably gone unnoticed.

Sister Dears long legs were usually folded neatly under the table with only an occasional escape.A nod or pretending to trip over the escapee usually got the point across. "Oops", she'd reply with a grin.

At dinner time,Baby Girl, age 4, who was always in the middle of a creative breakthrough with tape and a paper towel roll, suffered severely from "You shouldn't bother me, I've got stuff to do, so make this quick" attitude that resulted in the ill-fated posture, but I stood firm. After all, creative genius's need to be reminded of good table manners too.

Tucking both her little legs under the table, placing her napkin in her lap and sliding in the chair, I asked,"You don't want to be a Thingamajig, now do you?" Judging by the blank stares I knew Baby Girl and Sister Dear didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Nanni-K on the other hand was all grins. "I'll be right back!" she said jumping up from the table and heading out the front door.

The Thingamajig Book of Manners by Irene Keller was a favorite book of Nanni-K's when she was Baby Girl's age. It's about little troll-like characters that didn't brush their hair, ate with their fingers and picked their teeth and were generally just not the sort of folks you wanted to hang out with.

I held court with all my girls that night and we read the Thingamajig book. Since then it's been read and reread and referred back to when the need arose. When Cutie Pie, age 3, became a part of the Family, she too fell prey to the dreaded "Ready-Set-Go' affliction. Baby Girl, taking the lead as older sister, told Cutey-Pie, in her best tattletale voice, "Ms. Mothercraft doesn't like Thingamajigs" and out came the book. Since then we've had lots of giggles and fun with the whole Thingamajig thing and I think it helped them to remember about manners.

Baby Boy, on the other hand was given a reprieve from the sacred first reading. By the time he was 3, he had all the Thingamajig stuff practically committed to memory. Of course it hasn't kept him from suffering occasionally from the "Ready-Set-Go" affliction, but I know he knows. All it takes is a little nod from his Kaka and he plants himself firmly on the chair and the dangley leg finds its place next to the other one, right under the table.

Thanks, Irene.