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!!