Motherisms

So – what does a mother utter every day? I’ll bet that a good number of these chestnuts either spring to mind or are your mainstay arsenal… and where did they come from? Our mothers and theirs before them.
These were collected after listening in ( no I was NOT eavesdropping) at supermarkets, mothers groups and in cafes.
It takes effort and a conscious mind to pull yourself up from automatically using them, so if you recognize the over use of some – don’t beat yourself up – congratulate yourself that you recognize the pattern and then choose to change the words to something more upbeat, or positive or in a way that will assist , rather than inflame the situation.
Have a read and count up how many you would actually use on a daily basis – might be surprising. There are some cringe worthy ones here, though I will not pass judgment here – but please feel free to either blog your reaction or comment here.
Also – at the bottom of these delightful utterances - check out the U Tube performance – A Mothers Day in 3 mins. I have laughed and laughed watching this – make sure you forward it on to girlfriends.



Close the door you weren’t born in a field and I should know, I was there.

Close the door! You don't live in a barn.

If it had teeth, it would have bitten you.

If you stick your tongue out again it will fall off/ the wind will change and you’ll be stuck like that.

If you're too sick to go to school, you're too sick to play outside.

Shut the door! I'm not heating (air conditioning) the entire neighborhood!

Shut your mouth and eat.

How do you know you don't like it if you haven't tasted it?

You Don’t have to like it, you Do have to eat it.

Did you brush your teeth?

Do you think I'm made of money?

Do you think your socks are going to pick themselves up?

Don't eat that, you'll get worms!

Don't go out with a wet hair, you'll catch a cold.

A little "bird" told me!

Beds are NOT made for jumping on.

Don't make me come back there!

Don't pick that scab, it'll get infected/ go gangrenous/your limb will fall off.

Eat your vegetables, they're good for you.

Enough is enough!

Go play outside! It's a beautiful day!

I brought you into this world, and I can take you right back out!

I didn't ask who put it there, I said "Pick it up!"

I don't care what "everyone" is doing. I care what YOU are doing!

I hope someday you have children just like you.

If God had wanted you to have holes in your ears (eyebrows, tongue, etc.) He would have put them there!
So it's raining? You're not a sugar mouse. -- you won't melt.
Its all fun and games till someone loses and eye.

What if everyone jumped off a cliff? Would you do it, too?

What part of NO don't you understand?

When will you be back?

When you have your own house then you can make the rules!

You can't find it? Well, where did you leave it last?

Always wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident.

Bored! How can you be bored? I was never bored at your age.

Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been.

I don't care who started it, I said stop!

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

If you don't clean your plate, you won't get any dessert.

If you don't stop crying, I am going to give you something to cry about!

If you're too full to finish your dinner, you're too full for dessert.

I'll treat you like an adult when you start acting like one.

I'm going to give you until the count of three...

Leave your sister (brother) alone!

Hands and feet to yourself.

Now, say you're sorry...and MEAN it!

Think of those poor starving children in India... (or China, or Africa.)

When did your last slave die?

When I was your age...

You just ate ten mins ago!

If you're not hungry for an apple then you aren't hungry.

You'd forget your head if it wasn't screwed on.

You're the oldest. You should know better.

Click to go to the Utbue site - its classic!

Mothering in 3 mins

History of Christmas Candy Canes

For the first time this year I heard of the so called meaning of the candy canes associated by Christmas.

Our family went to a Christmas carols hosted by the combined churches in the area. (and although I am not a Christian, there is a certain wholesome and wondrous feeling when you are with hundreds of other people waving candles and lights around singing childhood songs. I am also not about to impress my beliefs into my kids and will allow them exposure to a variety of religious experiences and allow them to make their own minds up )

Santa appeared and handed out candy canes to all the children as the pastor narrated what they symbolized for all Christians. A student of history with a keen cynical streak, I could not help but wryly listen to the dogma being spewed out. I am very impressed - despite of myself, with the catholic church and the way they can twist and wind any sort of symbolism into whatever is around them to suit their own purposes. Symbolism is the most ancient and powerful forms of indoctrination and even the most unaware persons mind is open to accepting and integrating it into their lives.

Apparently, according to the pastor ( and other Christians I asked afterwards) they were designed as ‘J’s for Jesus, the three red stripes symbolizes the holy trinity. The red also symbolizes the sacrifice Jesus is about to make and the white for his purity. The hardness of the candy cane symbolizes the rock solidness of the church. I did hear something about the peppermint flavour of the candycanes too – but can’t recall it – I might do some internet search and see if its out there.

I can’t help but think the Catholics went a little overboard here – mixing up Easter messages and Christmas – intertwining the birth and death in one tiny sweet.

After a very quick search on the internet I found that candy canes originated in 1600s as a long lasting sweet to quieten the younger members of the choir as they sat waiting for their next hymn. The sweet was a white stick of harden rock. Until past the 1900s they remained in this form – many Christmas cards depicting them this way. The next few paragraphs are directly from several websites – they all say the same thing -

The traditional candy can was born over 350 years ago, when mothers used white sugar sticks as pacifiers for their babies. ( WHAT?????!!!) Around 1670, the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral in Colonge, Germany, bent the sticks into canes to represent a shepards staff. He then used these white candy canes to keep the attention of small childern durring the long Nativity service.

The use of candy canes during the Christmas service spread through out Europe. In northern Europe, sugar canes decorated with sugar roses were used to brighten the home at Christmas time.

In the mid 1800's, the candy cane arrived in the U.S. when a German-Swedish immigrant in Wooster,Ohio , decorated his spruce tree with paper ornaments and white sugar canes. The red stripe was added to the candy cane at the turn of the century, when peppermint and wintergreen were added and became the traditional flavors for the candy cane.

So all very interesting huh?

I found a reference to say that when mechanics popularized the sweet making industry, an inventor made a way to make the hook – symbolizing the Shepherd’s crook. It was by pure mistake that red became part of the cane as it was a left over colour from another item he had been making.

So just goes to show – you can take a nice little tradition and make it mean anything you like…. Bit like the original Christmas and Easter huh?