This or That

During scripture study tonight we talked about agency. I've read many books, both secular and scriptural that address this topic. It seems that most often, from a parenting point of view it is always presented as an important point to teach children choice and accountability. Obviously we want our children to know the difference between right and wrong and that each choice has a consequence. But how often do we teach our children that there is a difference between the right to choose, and choosing wisely. I forget sometimes that "unlimited choices" is not the point. Freedom does not come from lack of constraint but from the blessings of good choices.

Kung Fu Panda

Took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda this afternoon and had a great time. You will be hearing "skadoosh" around my house for a long time to come. We give it 4 out of 5 stars!

Sunscreen

It is the first day that we are projected to hit 80 degrees. I'm rather excited about this even though tomorrow's forecast is for showers. I am also in the quandary I find myself every year on a day like this, I need sunscreen but have not made the first purchase of the year. As I was researching sunblock, I wondered, how do they test sunscreen to know if they are effective? Well, Hannah Holmes had the answer. Apparently, they actually use people. And wouldn't you know, it's the folks from England who are the lucky guinea pigs. (I wonder if they have to send them to Hawaii or Puerto Rico to actually find sun.) What an interesting job, "sunscreen guinea pig". I guess somewhere in my mind I too think it's okay to risk Melanoma for a day at the beach. Either way, a big shout out to those of the fair skin who easily burn, your sacrifice does not go unappreciated.

Anyway, as you know there are a myriad of choices for sun protection and sometimes it's hard to narrow down the field to make the best selection for your family. Consumersearch.com has a list of tested products that work the best. And if you need information on preventing and treating sunburn, The Skin Cancer Foundation has a plethora of useful information for moms.

Well, I'm off to the store and then the backyard. Here's wishing you a burn-free summer!

The Mommy Mind

My friend and I were discussing the phenomenon of the "Mommy Mind" the other day. It's what happens to your brain when you have children. (This transformation happens irregardless of offspring being biological or adopted.) Here are some things that are signs you have a "Mommy Mind".

1: You know that house slippers can buy you four days between floor cleanings.
2: You know your child has a messy diaper before anyone else can smell it.
3: You consider "Goodnight Moon" good poetry and can recite from memory.
4: You know "why".
5: You figure if it's clean, it's in fashion.
6: You spend more on gas than on beauty products.
7: You know a band aid can work miracles and can unwrap and place with one movement
8: You can tell the difference between Pokemon and Digimon and know that Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus are the same person
9: You know the function of Psuedoephedrine, Acetamenophin and Ibuprofen
10: You can recite your pediatrician's phone number faster than your own

Fight Club

As a mother of three boys I knew this day would come. We have now navigated our way through our first fist fight. (For grandmas who are reading this, it was minor and no one was physically hurt. But pride on the other hand...)

Apparently my son (who shall remain unnamed) was mouthing off and got a little verbal argument going. I guess that was enough for him and he threw the first punch only to get it handed to him by the other kid. Our delinquent came home in tears and relayed his version of the story to his dad. Of course my husband listened to the story and did a little detective work on his own. According to one of our other sons, our instigator deserved what he got. My husband followed DEF CON 4 procedure by explaining the reasons we do not start fist fights and sent the twerp to bed.

I am really surprised that I am not more upset about this. First of all, my child likes to talk smack and I think that since he got his pride handed to him in a paper bag, this was a good lesson learned. Second, there is a part of me that wants to kick the other kid's butt myself. He's a punk and I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind. (Of course, there are laws against that and well, I don't want to go to jail.) I guess I can say that now I truly feel like I have been inducted into the "Mother of Boys" club!

My House

I had the thought today that at my house there are always dishes in the sink and crumbs on the floor. There is always laundry to be done and dust on the piano. And all too often, the toilet doesn't get flushed. At my house there is always noisy wrestling and an ongoing search for clean socks. There is homework and violin practice and soccer game weekends.
At my house there are Bar B Q's, birthday parties and late nights with friends. There are game nights and dinner groups and backyard get-togethers. And sometimes, when I notice the dust on the floor and piano because I haven't had time to clean or sigh with exasperation at having to flush the toilet for someone else I am grateful that my days are filled with the sounds of children, that I have good friends and that I am needed.

It's Long Enough!

Finally, we got our first piggy tails in. I have opened up a whole new world of possibilities and I'm scared! Isn't she too cute!

Don't Run With That!!

I've had about a million ideas come a go for a blog post but I just have not had time to create anything of substance so instead, I'll fill your precious "free time" with senseless, disturbing kid photos.


Mommy and Daddy are NOT kidding when they say “NEVER run with sharp objects!”
See, this is what happens when you run with a fork!
I bet the kid switches to a spoon!!!

And the Oscar Goes to....

I watched part of the Oscars last night because I am a sucker for pretty dresses. My oldest son wanted to watch as well but due to the fact that he has an oral report due today, he had to put some practice time in so I said no. After his practicing was complete it was time for bed and as he headed down to the basement for the night I heard him ask; "Mom, if Zac Ephron wins an Oscar, wake me up."

FYI

I had the opportunity to spend the day at the state capitol with our local legislators yesterday and I feel like I learned quite a bit. One specific issue stuck out to me because it has been in the news lately. I'm talking about class size reduction and all the media attention it has recieved. The local news did a report on class size spending and the opinion that was given was that lots of money has been spent and class sizes have remained the same. Some legislators would have us believe that since so much money has been thrown at class size and nothing has happened we must be wasting money. Here are some of the omitted facts:

First, class size funding has been under or un-funded for the past seven years. The reason for this is (drum roll please) somehow, no one took into consideration the growth we would have over that time. So all funding numbers have been based on exisiting students, not potential students.

Second, the legislature assigned their own auditors to "follow the money trail". Adhering to this request, the auditors realized that during the last economic down turn (about seven years ago) the legislature removed the requirement that class room funds be accounted for. With the argument that tracking funds is expensive, the codes that required tracking were revised.
Luckily, 40% of administrators decided to track the money anyway so there were some numbers that could be used by the auditors.
The results of that audit were, as I stated before, that for a 7 year stretch, classes were under or un-funded and there was no foresight for exponential growth.

The result is HB 194. A 26 million dollar bill for class size reduction. This is a tiered bill, in that it comes in 5 million dollar increments based on benchmarks. Unfortunately, this year there is not enough money to do everything the public wants.

In addition to class room funding (or in competition with) is teacher pay. Currently there is 171 million in the education coffers. If we give each teacher a $2,500 raise then that only leaves 3 million for class room funding and of course, the numbers flip when the money is spent on class room funding and not teacher pay. (There are other numbers such as increasing the WPU to 7 or making it 3 which can tweek the numbers also and there is not the surplus that has been reported due to a slight slowing in the economy. That's a whole other entry.)

It seems this year we are stuck between two good decisions. I of course, am for better teacher pay but I am also for smaller class sizes. I am going to contact my legislator to see what his thoughts are and I encourage everyone to do the same. Let's make sure that the best action is taken for our kids.

You can find your legislator's information at www.le.state.ut.us

A Day in the Mind of a Ten Year Old Boy

It's time to get up and shower. (Shower running) I don't have to use soap today, I used soap yesterday.

Where's a towel? Here, I'll just use my pajamas.

Time for Breakfast. Mmm, cookies sound good. (Mom comes down stairs) Better hide the cookie and have cereal. (A few cereal pieces fall on the floor) Ah, mom will get those. Oops, stepped on one.

No mom, I don't have any homework. (mom asks to see book bag) Oh, yeah I forgot, I have a sheet of math.

(Mom says get shoes and socks on) Darn, no socks, that's ok I'll go without. (mom says to get socks) There aren't any socks in my drawer, I'll used dad's.

Six hours later.....

(mom picks up from school, asks how was your day) Fine. (mom asks what did you learn in class) I can't remember but we had a great time at recess.

I'll get an after school snack. Mom, what snacks do we have? (mom says, apples, cheese sticks, cheese and crackers, cookies, burritos) Shoot, there's nothing to eat. Don't we have any candy?

(mom asks what do you want for dinner) I want 7 layer dip or Del Taco. I hate it when we have chicken, or salad or vegetables or soup or......

(it's time for reading, 20 minutes to go) I'll get my book but I'm just going to turn the TV on while I read. (mom says turn the TV off) Maybe I'll just play with these action figures for a while.

(time for bed, mom says brush your teeth) I can't find my toothbrush, oh well. (mom asks when did you lose your toothbrush?) I think I had it three days ago. I can't remember. I'll use my brother's.

(lights out, prayers said, time to sleep) Where's the flashlight? I'm going to read for a while.

Disney Fever

I'm so excited, my hubby surprised me with tickets to Disneyland in two weeks. We're only taking the two younger kids because the two older opted to go to the presidential inauguration next Jan. I'm really looking forward to getting to some warmer weather.

This day in History

As I planned to show what happened on this day in history I researched some websites for that information. You know, not very good things happened on this day throughout the years. My first reaction was sadness that my daughter shared her birthday with these events but I realized that with so many unfortunate things taking place on Jan. 30th I'm grateful for this one good thing. I'm glad God sent my little girl to add something good the world.

The fact that it's her birthday seems to be lost on her two year old mind. but of course, that didn't stop me from celebrating the day in my own special way. I'm arranging a play date with her little nursery friend and of course, we're having a small family party.

I went shopping and got the cute little girl gifts that I so enjoy buying but found that my husband enjoys buying them even more. Daddy went hog wild at Old Navy, buying up every new spring clothing item.

We are so grateful for our little princess. She's made such a difference in our home. Happy Birthday little girl!

My Preschool Field Trip

I have learned more on Pre-k field trips than I care to admit. Today for example, I learned how a mail carrier sorts and delivers mail. (I know that many of you just read that sentence and thought, "well duh, doesn't everybody know that?") Well, I didn't know that each carrier sorts and packs their own mail according to a delivery plan that they have memorized. There's a lot that each carrier has to do that I just had no idea about.

Other things I've learned on field trips:
Apples don't get sweet until the weather turns cold
Cheetahs actually squeak like a bird
Candy canes are made like taffy, they just go around an extra corner to get their crook

WHY GOD MADE MOMS
Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.


How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.


What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.


Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.


What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.


What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?


Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.


Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.


What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic; they make you feel better without medicine.


What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.


What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.


If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1 .. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Nothing Better

There is nothing better than the feel of my daughter's arms around my neck or the way my son runs out of the house as I'm pulling out of the garage and yells "hugs and kisses". There is nothing better than great family moments that catch me completely by surprise and make me realize that there's nothing better than the life I get to live.

From the Mouths of Babes

Here are some great vocabulary words from my four year old!

Eat-pies: Magpies
Stink-a-buff: Buffalo
Door waver: windshield wipers
Dumpo: hippopotamus
Air Goggles: binoculars

These are just the ones I could recall quickly. He's a sweet, funny little boy.

Copy Cat

My daughter likes to wear her brother's Sponge Bob underwear over her diaper while she carries her other brother's Harry Potter wand and says "fy,fy" (stupify spell). But that's only when she's not using the "force" by putting her hand up like a stop sign and pushing it towards you making a "shhh" sound. (Picture Obi Wan pushing someone away using the force). There will be no evil-doer she cannot vanquish.

Homework Sucks!

I had a friend of mine, a teacher, jokingly tell me that she believed more cases of abuse happened during homework time than any other. Now that I have a ten year old who is struggling in math I wonder if that could be a real statistic. The thing is, I don't think it's the children being abused. Seriously, I have never been told I'm wrong, rude or just not helping more times than I have been in the past few months. I have developed the skin of an alligator when it comes to insults and I have to say, I am developing the patience of Job. So, for all those children out there who hate homework and feel miserable doing it, you're not alone! Your parents feel your pain.

Check out my Slide Show!

Here's a recap of summer!