Ants update

Yay, the ants are tunneling.
The only problem is that my son has been so sick this week that he didn't even know we had ants (we did tell him).
We also got 5 new golfish to replace the 2 that died last weekend. You see, our 1 fish that resided in the tank beat up the 2 small fish we picked up last week. We ended up getting 5 fairly big goldfish, hoping that he would leave them alone.
We ended up removing the bully because he systematically went after all 5 fish minutes after putting them in the tank. So much for that idea.
Now we have 19 ants, 5 happy goldfish, one miserable loner fish, & 2 cats.

ANTS

So, I got my ants yesterday!
They're not a very lively bunch, are they?
I can see that this is gonna be another job for me.
Actually, the job is gonna be keeping my daughter from opening the ant farm lid!

Ah. February vacation. Yes, my kids are home for a week. I keep wanting to write to the school board & do away with this particular vacation. Face it, the weather stinks in february. My kids can't really play outside a lot. So basically, they spend a whole week fighting.

Then I talk to the teachers and they all express their gratitude for winter vacation. It seems that the whole school is infected with colds, flus, and viruses and the school appreciates this time to air out.

I'll buy that.
Now, April vacation, that's another thing.

Valentines day

So, it's Valentine's day. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!
My husband is at the store right now with my kids buying me something.
Go figure!
What makes it worse, is that my daughter is running a fever. Great time to drag her to the store & expect her to behave!!
On the upside, I have at least an hour alone!
What am I waiting for - I'm off to take a long, quiet, shower in peace!!!!

Ants, farms & frogs

My kids got an ant farm for Christmas. I think Santa has a little bit of a sense of humor. Anything that involves live bugs inside the house must be fun, right?

I sent out my order form for the ants. Yes, they come through the mail!
I'm reading the instructions and it says to put the ants in the fridge when you get them to slow them down. Why, you ask? Well, because they bite, of course!

Ok, so now I not only have to bring bugs in the house, I have to bring in bugs that bite!!

I hope it's worth it! My kids can't wait. They keep asking me if the ants came yet.

It turns out that you not only can get ants, you can get ladybugs, butterflies & praying mantis' for crying out loud!!!! Oh, let's not forget the grow-your-own-frog kit. I must be a glutten for punishment, I actually had to look that one up!! We won't be getting that one, though, interesting as it may sound. You see, the frog can live more than 10 years!! Yeah, I can see me still taking care of a frog after my kids have moved out!!

On religiousness

I'm a "live & let live" sort of person.
That's how I go about my life, most of the time.
When it comes to religion, I'm all for whatever you want to believe in. After all, it's been proven that prayer & belief in something are good for your health - mental as well as physical. Religion offers hope. People can always use a little hope.

What I don'tike are religions that encourage intrusion into other people's lives. Ones that try to "convert" you to their cause. Recently, one such group came to my door. I tried very graciously to tell them I wasn't interested, I took their pamphlet & sent them on their merry way. To my horror, they returned! Fortunately for me, my husband answered the door. Being not quite as gracious as me, he told them we were athiests. They have yet to return.

My town has many churches with signs outside of them that say "all are welcome".
There's not one on my lawn!!

Birth stories

Every mom has one.
When men get together, they have their war stories, their sports injuries.
We have our birth stories.

Growing up, I mostly had to hear my sister's & my birth stories. When my mother first saw my sister, she threw up. She claims it was from the spinal. Needless to say, I tormented my sister about that one for years! When my mother first saw me, she said "she looks like the other one" and went back to sleep. Again, she blames the drugs.

When I had my son, I had one of those perfect pregnancies. I was euphoric, elated, happy to be pregnant. I bonded with my son before he was born. All things considered, my labor was blessedly short. He was born 13 days late because the hospital was always full and my son was completely happy where he was. I fell in love with that little guy the minute I saw him.

The second time around was another story. My labor and delivery were exactly the same. They were both planned because I couldn't seem to go into labor by myself and needed a little help. They were even born at almost the exact same time of day. My pregnancy was miserable this time. I felt grouchy and uncomfortable for nine months. It was a torture that seemed never-ending. She ended up only being 6 days late because I suspect the Dr. knew how big she was and wanted her out as badly as I did. She ended up being 8lb, 14.5oz and was 22 1/2 in. long!

It's funny, I had a great pregnancy with my son and bonded with him right away. He has a very quiet, very sensitive nature. Everyone said that he was special.
I didn't bond with my daughter right away. I felt really bad when she was born and I didn't have that instant bond. I loved her, I just wasn't bonded to her. It was a few weeks before I was able to look at her and realize that I would do ANYTHING for her. Anything!! That's when I knew we had bonded.
Her personality is the total opposite of my son's. She's loud and obnoxious. She has to be the center of attention! I always tell her she should grow up to be a comedian. She played a little trick on me right before she was born. She had been in position for months. A week before she was due, she turned herself completely right-side up. My Dr. told me that I had one week to get her to turn back or he would have to try an external inversion. As the name suggests, it wasn't gonna be pretty!! The night before my Dr.'s appointment, my belly started to do flip-flops. I knew, just knew it was my daughter turning herself around!! I went in to my Dr.'s the next day and said "she did it!" Before she was born, she was already a handfull. She's a fiery red-head through and through!!

So I've told you mine, now tell me yours!!

To arm, or not to arm?

When it comes to toy guns, I've always had an open mind.

Let me tell you a little story. When one of my nephews was born, my sister used to tell me at Christmas and birthdays that guns & war toys were absolutely forbidden. I never gave it much thought, I just respected her wishes. One day, when my nephew was 9, I was watching him play with the neighborhood kids. I had to call my sister over to the window. There was her son, chasing the other kids, holding a stick like a gun & making shooting noises. Need I say more? When my son was born, I didn't even make it an issue.

My nephew is 19 & guess what? He has never given in to his obvious urge to shoot at his friends!

All kidding aside, I understand why people get freaked out about the whole gun thing. It's just that toy guns have been around for so long, they are a part of our culture. Back in the 50's when boys were playing cowboys & indians & watching westerns on t.v., statistically, how many of them grew up to shoot anyone?

The point I'm trying to make is that most kids will not grow up to shoot someone based on whether they had toy guns or not. I believe that some people grow up to have violent tendencies due to extenuating circumstances.

Let's use an example of a kid who goes into a high school & shoots his peers. Most of these kids have underlying emotional problems & have never been able to fit in.

Or we could use an example of a kid who has grown up in a bad neighborhood & joined a gang. Some of these children have been exposed to violence & lifestyles that I hope my children never see, even as grown-ups.

I am not trying to make light of these situations. If you are anti-gun & want to instill that message in your children, I have the utmost respect for your opinion. I'm just saying that if you are honest with your children, teach them right from wrong & to respect others, then whether or not to arm or not to arm should remain a personal matter. I think people have more important things to argue about -- like the stay-at-home moms vs. the working moms debate.

But that's an argument for another day!!

Ass Burger, WHAT?

So, I have this nephew that's been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. In case you are unfamiliar with it, it's a form of autism. It's more of a social thing. For some very helpful information go to kidshealth.org I found their site to be useful. When I told people that he had Asperger Syndrome, they would say what are ass burgers? How did he get them? Think I'm kidding?

Anyhow, we always thought our nephew was so funny, he was like a little toolman, plumber's crack & all. At about the age of 2-4, he was obsessed with Bob the Builder. He had all the tools - hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches & even toolboxes, plastic of course. He would go around all day & "fix" things. As he got older, he wanted anything he could build. Spare boards could be made into anything if you nail them together!! He then progressed to Lego's & war toys. That's pretty much it for him. If he can't build it, he might as well blow it up. (in his mind only, of course!)

While my kids wanted to play with something different all the time, heaven forbid they might get bored!! My nephew was & still is content to build for hours.

What we really noticed as he got older was his complete lack of understanding that some of his behaviors might be wrong. As a toddler, he would get mad & lash out if things didn't go his way. Hurting someone by hitting them or throwing things was his response to anything that he deemed unfair to him. The problem was, the situation wasn't always unfair for him. He didn't "get" sarcasm or joking. Things got really bad as he got older & had no problem throwing bigger & heavier objects at people, sometimes without warning. I once made the mistake of jokingly calling him underwear boy because he had taken his pants off to change & ducked just in time before he would have landed a slap across my cheek. His mother nicknamed him literal boy.

Unfortunately, with autism, there are so many different types. My nephew is lucky. He is in mainstream classes now. He has a good future ahead of him. Those around him are in for a long haul. Hats off to his mom!! The treatment for his form is constant reminding & enforcing of good behavior. I mean constant. It's a lot of work, I feel for anyone who is going through the same thing & welcome your comments or stories here.

Is she crazy????!!!!!!!!!???

Maybe it's just me.
I can't be the only one that thinks Nadya Suleman has completely lost her mind. If you don't know by now, she's the one who recently gave birth to octuplets. Why do I care? Is it my business? YES! I'll tell you why it's everyone's business.
Everyone should be concerned that there are doctors out there that would do a potentially dangerous procedure on one of their patients. I've watched all the birth shows!! Most doctors will not implant that many embryos because the higher number of embryos, the higher the risk. Do people realize how fortunate it is that these babies not only survived, but are doing ok. That's not always the case. I can't believe that a woman that supposedly loves children would risk the lives of eight!!

Now , she's lining up the book & movie deals so that she can afford all of these children. Great!! Can anybody say "new trend"? How long before someone tries for nine? Hey, why not? Maybe they can sell their movie rights, too.

So S.A.D.

I swear that I have S.A.D. Winter seems like it never ends!! If I have to clean snow & ice off the driveway one more time, I'll just go nuts!!
It starts out so great, the 1st snow of the year. We sled, build forts & snowmen. Slowly, the days seem monotonous. It's the same thing everyday. I end up sitting in the house when I'm not cleaning snow. I get sick of sledding, I dread building snowmen! Maybe I'm just complaining because this year seems so much worse than others. My Christmas decorations are still up outside, for crying out loud!!!! They froze to the ground!!!!

What can I do? I guess I'll go salt the driveway!!

My daughter

Along came my daughter, our lives would never be the same. Certainly we will never have peace again!! My daughter came into this world with a high-pitched screech, it's how she lives her life. The minute she started talking, she never stopped. It's such a constant noise in the background, that I had to learn to block it out or I would go insane!! My husband sometimes just snaps! I keep telling him to learn to block to save his sanity.
Between the ages of 18 months & 2 years, my daughter learned the word hate. The 1st time she used it was while slamming the door to her room in my face during a time-out. I've had to learn creative ways of dealing with her. My response to "I hate you!" is to say, very calmly, very seriously, "Well, I don't hate you". After yelling & stomping in her room for a while, she usually comes out, flings herself in my arms & says " I don't hate you mom, I love you!!" It's how I get through those tantrums.
After my daughter was old enough to speak, friends were no longer telling me how easy I had it, how lucky I was. Now, there comments were more like " just think, she still has to go through puberty!"
My daughter used to give herself time-outs. She would be in one of her teary-eyed tantrums & say to me " I NEED TO GO TO MY ROOM UNTIL I CALM DOWN!!" To which I naturally reponded "please do!" The cool thing about time-outs is that she usually comes out of one & actually behaves for awhile, it's amazing!!
I must sound like I don't like my daughter very much! On the contrary, I think that she's one of the funniest people I know!
She does not hold back, tells everything like it is!!
Once, she had a urinary tract infection. For weeks after, everywhere we went, she would tell everyone that would listen how she had to pee in a cup. She thought this was the greatest event ever!! There we would be, standing in line somewhere & at the top of her lungs she would say "did you know I had to pee in a cup last week? Wasn't that funny mom?"

yeah, it was funny

Just the other day, she sat next to me & told me my legs were spiky & I needed to shave. What could I say, she was right!!

My son

When my son was born, my husband & I could barely contain our joy! We did everything with him. He was the most important thing in the world to us. Everybody said he was a great little guy, so well behaved. The only time he had a tantrum was when we took him shopping.

Parenting is easy, I thought!!

Every time I saw kids screaming & crying in the store, I would just think "they don't know what they're doing!". My son doesn't act like that! Being a parent is so great!! So fun!!
Family & friends would say "you don't know how lucky you are!" I would think "luck? It's just good parenting. He's just responding to our love & adoration"

Then my daughter came along....

About myself

I am a 37-year-old mother of an 11-year-old & a 5-year-old. Believe me when I say that I am not one of those mom's. You know the ones I'm talking about -- the one's that seem to be at every school function, no matter how small, cheering everyone on & taking pictures for the yearbook. The one's that have all these seemingly well-behaved kids no matter what. The ones that volunteer & bake for every community function, even if it's summer. Who bakes in the summer, I ask you, who? Those moms do.

I am not one of those moms.

Let me tell you what kind of mom I am.

I am the kind of mom who will usually go to school functions & spend the whole time trying to figure out where my kids went. I usually forget my camera at home or forgot to charge the battery on my video camera, either that, or I forgot to pick up film for them. I bake occasionally, in the winter. Most times, not from scratch. The boxed mixes can be quite good! My kids are usually the ones fighting amongst themselves or with me when we are out in public. Are you one of these moms? This site is for you.