My soapbox

I need to vent!

As I was reading online today an article about how schools in Chicago are not allowing students to bring lunch from home, because the school's is better, this really set me off. What happened to our right to choose. So some kids packs their lunch and all it is is Cheetos M & M's and Mt Dew. Should a 7 yr old be eating this, not so much. But it is the parent and the kids responsibility to make sure things are taken care of. Are some parents not so with it. sure but lets not punish everyone else because a small amount of people won't take responsibility for their job (parenting). The more and more of our choices that are getting taken away is ridiculous. I'm now waiting from the government to require all children need to be in rear facing car seats until they are 2 ( a recent study suggested that this is much safer for the child). You know what. They are my kids. My responsibility! Let me choose what happens with them. Will comes home and tells us that sugar is bad for us. Is it yes, but there is nothing wrong with every once in a while having something with straight up sugar.

I fully understand that there is a lack of parenting going on in a lot of houses, but this does not mean that big brother needs to step in and tell us all what to do. Soon they will be telling us we can only buy GM cars because that is the best for the USA. You know what, maybe I might buy a Yukon XL but don't force me. Next you know they will be telling me Each family can only have 3 kids. Well which once do I choose to get rid of. In the past I never really saw a huge issue with the government adding laws. but as I get older (and a lot more stubborn) I say get out of my hair. Will my child eating cheetos for lunch be the end of the world. No, but let me decide!

Sorry I guess I'm a little frustrated with the involvement of the government in our every day lives. How many choices do you make because you don't want to get in trouble or get a ticket by the government. I've said my peace thanks for letting me rant.

So funny

Got this off a friends blog. sooo funny. Much funnier if your from Rochester. BUt it is Jon Stewart so be forwarded. no nothing political but you get my point. 

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-november-16-2009/windowless-news-van-for-kids---the-ball

also my new favorite Commercial Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0

Letting the offended choose the consequence

I've realized that most of these "moments" that I'm trying to remember happen after some bad choices made by someone in our house. I guess it's just Heavenly Father's way of showing me that things are really ok.

Last night Will and Annmarie were cleaning the boys room, Annmarie had finished cleaning her room, and She said to him your a bad cleaner upper. Will came out upset. I told him if he wasn't cleaning then at that moment he might be a bad cleaner. We he proceeded to return to his room and tell her she was a bad cleaner and  I'm sure there was s hug of some sort that used fists or straight arms. Needless to say now Annmarie was crying and she had her feelings hurt. I told her she did not need to help the boys anymore, but to remember how she felt when someone called her a not nice thing and to remind herself of this when she wanted to call someone something not nice.

Will had some other issues so I told him to get his pajamas on and get to bed. Once again crying in sued. I called Annmarie into me and said It is your choice if Will gets off his bed, because he was unkind to you, you get to choose his consequence. I told her to think about what Jesus would do. A little bit later they came in holding hands. Will told her she was sorry. I said give her a hug and a kiss. When he kissed her on the cheek, she wiped it off. Then because in our house when you wipe off a kiss you get a ton more, Will kept kissing her cheek, and her laughter erupted, as well as screams of delight and Will's laughter as well

I Love that my kids so easily forgive each other and hope this trait continues throughout their lives. I also love to see how good of friends my kids are to each other.

Wonderful sounds

As my kids were running about the house today playing. I was asking them not to jump on the couch and scream. As I sat doing the kids puzzles, they had dumped all 8 puzzles together and I was trying to separate them, I listened to them instead of stressing. I heard the best sounds. Annmarie laughing. It was a laugh that you don't hear very often, one of her truly having fun. She was being chased around the house by her brothers. I've decided that every house needs a circle to run around in. Without it I think its incomplete.

Chris was in AZ the last week and we missed him! I think this is the longest he has ever been away from us since we've had kids. I was so excited to see him yesterday. But thanks to Chicago weather he was 2 hours late. All in all I'm so thankful that he got to come home. I understand even more now who We are counseled to be married. I also understand why there need to be a mom and a dad in each family. So thankful that I'm married to my best friend and that he loves us and misses us when he's not with us.


side note. I haven't figured out how to get photos on this computer yet so that's why there are no photos. Plus I think I'm turning this more into an everyday small things that my kids do to make me smile. . . I need to focus on that a lot more than I do.

A moment I don't want to forget

After I had a blow up with Jeffrey and sent him to his bed (it was something stupid and he didn't deserve it). He went to his room then came out a few min's later with his little Book of Mormon in hand, and said he was sorry. the he came and sat next to me and said what does this say. We read about 2 verses, but I love how it totally brought the spirit back into our home. Thanks Jeffrey for making a better choice than your mom.

New video's ok the kids

Here are 2 video's of the kids

 One has them singing Zippidy do da.Will has been learning this in school

the other is I am a Child of God.

They were so excited to sing which blows me away considering . . . yeah anyone who knows me knows I turn pages I don't sing. 

We Emailed out Christmas cards yesterday. If you didn't get one and want one please let me know.  My new goal is to post to the blog every Sunday. I setting some new goals for myself and I'm optimistic that I'll accomplish it. Hope your all having a wonderful Christmas season.

One of the best things I've read in a while

 Totally stole this from a friends blog. It made me smile!


Why don't friends with kids have time?'

CAROLYN HAX: TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT
WASHINGTON POST
Thursday, May 24, 2007

Dear Carolyn: Best friend has child. Her: exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc.
Me (no kids): What'd you do today?
Her: Park, play group ...

OK. I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners ... I do all those things, too. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events); I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy, but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a contest ("my life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks have the same questions.
— Tacoma, Wash.

Dear Tacoma: Relax and enjoy. You're funny. Or, you're lying about having friends with kids. Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them. I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed. So, because it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, cleaned, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces checkout-line screaming. It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15. It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier. It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense. It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything — language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything. It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand, or keep your snit to yourself.

For Grandma Carmen's Birthday