I hope everyone has a great Advent!!
Bill & Jennifer go to prom!
Our Poor Van after 10/10 wreck
Neleh & Rebekah, Halloween
Jill at Kings Island
16TH and 8TH cookie cake! (my first cookie cake ever!)
Neleh at Camp on her 6th Birthday
The family at the Bluegrass Fair
Marriage: The Amazing Race
3 months ago
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Consumer Christmas has begun
In response to my recent facebook status, a friend emailed me this comment:
"I am simply appalled by the junk being marketed to young children this Christmas season. I haven’t seen it this bad in years."
*sigh* Thankfully, my kids only watch TV on Saturday mornings...of course those hours are PACKED with toy commercials. But I'm sure that Nickelodeon, Disney, and whatever other annoying channels are out there put it in front of you all of the time. Nick and Disney are locked on my TV. ;-) Those shows bug the heck out of me (with the exception of SpongeBob, which we have on DVD.) Our kids aren't allowed to watch during the week anyway.
The only thing that Neleh has told anyone she wants for Christmas is an "Alive Cub." My mother-in-law went to ToysRUs to look for one and couldn't find it. I looked it up online. Those things are $50!! MIL said that she was probably going to get it for Neleh, despite the cost, if that's all she wants.
Becka hasn't told anybody anything that she really wants for her birthday (Thursday) or Christmas and it bugs people!! They've got to know what she WANTS. Hey, if she doesn't WANT anything, aren't we doing something right around here?
Bill's family is slowly phasing the gift-giving out of Christmas...adults don't exchange gifts anymore and the kids draw names.
Mom, my sisters and I still do exchange gifts. The "best" gifts are those that they figure out that I want/need without me telling them. It's fun for us that way. That's just what I think.
"I am simply appalled by the junk being marketed to young children this Christmas season. I haven’t seen it this bad in years."
*sigh* Thankfully, my kids only watch TV on Saturday mornings...of course those hours are PACKED with toy commercials. But I'm sure that Nickelodeon, Disney, and whatever other annoying channels are out there put it in front of you all of the time. Nick and Disney are locked on my TV. ;-) Those shows bug the heck out of me (with the exception of SpongeBob, which we have on DVD.) Our kids aren't allowed to watch during the week anyway.
The only thing that Neleh has told anyone she wants for Christmas is an "Alive Cub." My mother-in-law went to ToysRUs to look for one and couldn't find it. I looked it up online. Those things are $50!! MIL said that she was probably going to get it for Neleh, despite the cost, if that's all she wants.
Becka hasn't told anybody anything that she really wants for her birthday (Thursday) or Christmas and it bugs people!! They've got to know what she WANTS. Hey, if she doesn't WANT anything, aren't we doing something right around here?
Bill's family is slowly phasing the gift-giving out of Christmas...adults don't exchange gifts anymore and the kids draw names.
Mom, my sisters and I still do exchange gifts. The "best" gifts are those that they figure out that I want/need without me telling them. It's fun for us that way. That's just what I think.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Trick-Or-Treating
This year, I got to stay home and give out candy while Bill went out with the girls. I was somewhat excited about this opportunity. It is fun to see what the other kids are dressed as. I wore a long black dress with heavy eye makeup. A lot of the little girls thought I looked pretty. :-) One little girl asked me if it was a costume. I said, "Or, I might just dress like this everyday. You just don't know, do you?" I don't think she was satisfied with that answer, but I was. :-)
I'm one of those folks who won't give you any candy until you say, "Trick or Treat." I stare the kids right in the eye until they say it. One kid came up and said, "Give me Twix." Er...that's not exactly right!
I was disappointed in the traffic that my candy bowl got. I started off just giving our one or two pieces at a time. I ended up giving out 5 pieces at a time to empty out the bowl a little! I had a book outside with me and was actually able to read a bit. I also got bored. At one point, I went inside and made a cup of coffee to warm my hands. I didn't miss a single kid. *sigh* You know, I appreciate what the churches and other organizations do with their "Truck or Treat" events. I think they are very nice and you can sure get a lot of candy really quickly at those things! However, it takes away from the neighborhood. My mom once said that Trick-O-Treat was a "treat" to the folks who gave out candy to see the neighborhood kids all dressed up. It's a great way to get out of the house and say "hello" to your neighbor down the street that you may only see once a year.
There weren't really any exceptional costumes that came by my house. The Joker and Batman came together...hmm...
On our part of the block, we all "dress up" to give out candy. So, probably, the most creative costume I saw was our neighbor dressed as a Hershey's Kiss...not sure if that was the type of candy she was passing out or not, though. ;-)
Again, I appreciate what the Trunk-or-Treat folks are trying to do, but I think people should stop and consider visiting with their neighbors once a year, October 31.
I'm one of those folks who won't give you any candy until you say, "Trick or Treat." I stare the kids right in the eye until they say it. One kid came up and said, "Give me Twix." Er...that's not exactly right!
I was disappointed in the traffic that my candy bowl got. I started off just giving our one or two pieces at a time. I ended up giving out 5 pieces at a time to empty out the bowl a little! I had a book outside with me and was actually able to read a bit. I also got bored. At one point, I went inside and made a cup of coffee to warm my hands. I didn't miss a single kid. *sigh* You know, I appreciate what the churches and other organizations do with their "Truck or Treat" events. I think they are very nice and you can sure get a lot of candy really quickly at those things! However, it takes away from the neighborhood. My mom once said that Trick-O-Treat was a "treat" to the folks who gave out candy to see the neighborhood kids all dressed up. It's a great way to get out of the house and say "hello" to your neighbor down the street that you may only see once a year.
There weren't really any exceptional costumes that came by my house. The Joker and Batman came together...hmm...
On our part of the block, we all "dress up" to give out candy. So, probably, the most creative costume I saw was our neighbor dressed as a Hershey's Kiss...not sure if that was the type of candy she was passing out or not, though. ;-)
Again, I appreciate what the Trunk-or-Treat folks are trying to do, but I think people should stop and consider visiting with their neighbors once a year, October 31.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Swimming Lessons...ack
Neleh is taking swimming lessons again this fall. Last Wednesday, we went to swimming, dried off, ran by McDonalds for some chicken nuggets before heading to Mass at Mary Queen.
Neleh is 6 years old. Neleh has been taking swimming lessons for a few years now. When she was younger, she would NOT get in the pool with a "boy teacher." Now that she is 6, she should participate in swimming lessons no matter who the teacher is. No more of this song and dance about boy teachers. Or not.
We had a sub yesterday and the sub was a boy. When I saw him from across the pool I thought, "Oh no. Please let her go anyway." Nope.
She saw him and said "It's a boy teacher. I'm not swimming."
*sigh* "Yes, Neleh. You are a big 6-year old now. You can do it." Not happening.
So, Rebekah & I went to the other side of the pool, where the swimming class is. Neleh reluctantly follows. Rebekah & I have a seat on the bleacher to watch the class. Neleh sits too.
"Neleh, you need to get in the pool with your class." No.
"Neleh, you need to at least sit on the side of the pool with your class." No.
"Neleh, you can at least sit at the pool on the other side of the rope from your teacher, yet next to your class." (This was closer to the shallow end where family swim was taking place.) Nope.
"Well, I'm going to sit here and read my book while you decide to swim."
"Maybe I'll jump in at the end."
"Whatever. I'm going to sit here and read my book now." (I'm reading Playing for Pizza, by John Grisham. Good book!) Rebekah and I got out our books and read.
I have "suffered" through this trial time and time again with her! What do I do this time? She's a little bit older now and perhaps things should be handled differently than before. So, I prayed to the Blessed Mother Mary & the Saints to give me guidance! (I'm getting the hang of this Catholic stuff!)
We sat there for 30 minutes reading. Neleh sat there for 30 minutes not doing anything. The lesson is 45 minutes long. After the 30 minutes were up I gave her an offer, "Neleh, you either join your class or you pay for the lesson. That's $4. I'll give you one minute to make your choice." I watched the clock. She wasn't thrilled with either option. She didn't make a choice. As I always tell them, "No decision is a decision. You have chosen to pay for the lesson. You will owe me $4 when we get home. Let's go." So we packed up and head to the locker room.
About halfway there, I mention that her decision has also forfeited the trip to McDonalds. I had not told them that we were going to McD's like last week, but I had already decided that we were going to. She was very upset with this. "You didn't tell me that! I'll swim!" Nope. Too late. She cried.
I was thankful that I received answers to my prayers! I hope a lesson was learned. She DID pay me for the time when we got home. Perhaps the lesson was "Time is money." Perhaps the lesson was "You should do your best because you never know when you will be rewarded or not." *shrug* I don't know. Time will only tell if this disciplinary action made a difference.
Today we had our Homeschool Co-op, Learning Zone. Neleh behaved very well, even though I was the teacher. Somehow she got it into her head that since she had behaved we should go to McDonalds. This is a very tempting thing to do since Thursdays are kinda crazy for us (LZ, drop of Jill, Soccer) and there really isn't any time to eat. But instead of going to McD or any other "eating place" we went to WalMart and bought some peanut butter crackers. They didn't really complain, but I figured a trip to a drive thru would send the wrong message.
Like I said, hard to say if any of this parenting will "work." Guess we'll see next time a boy teacher shows up at swimming lessons...
Neleh is 6 years old. Neleh has been taking swimming lessons for a few years now. When she was younger, she would NOT get in the pool with a "boy teacher." Now that she is 6, she should participate in swimming lessons no matter who the teacher is. No more of this song and dance about boy teachers. Or not.
We had a sub yesterday and the sub was a boy. When I saw him from across the pool I thought, "Oh no. Please let her go anyway." Nope.
She saw him and said "It's a boy teacher. I'm not swimming."
*sigh* "Yes, Neleh. You are a big 6-year old now. You can do it." Not happening.
So, Rebekah & I went to the other side of the pool, where the swimming class is. Neleh reluctantly follows. Rebekah & I have a seat on the bleacher to watch the class. Neleh sits too.
"Neleh, you need to get in the pool with your class." No.
"Neleh, you need to at least sit on the side of the pool with your class." No.
"Neleh, you can at least sit at the pool on the other side of the rope from your teacher, yet next to your class." (This was closer to the shallow end where family swim was taking place.) Nope.
"Well, I'm going to sit here and read my book while you decide to swim."
"Maybe I'll jump in at the end."
"Whatever. I'm going to sit here and read my book now." (I'm reading Playing for Pizza, by John Grisham. Good book!) Rebekah and I got out our books and read.
I have "suffered" through this trial time and time again with her! What do I do this time? She's a little bit older now and perhaps things should be handled differently than before. So, I prayed to the Blessed Mother Mary & the Saints to give me guidance! (I'm getting the hang of this Catholic stuff!)
We sat there for 30 minutes reading. Neleh sat there for 30 minutes not doing anything. The lesson is 45 minutes long. After the 30 minutes were up I gave her an offer, "Neleh, you either join your class or you pay for the lesson. That's $4. I'll give you one minute to make your choice." I watched the clock. She wasn't thrilled with either option. She didn't make a choice. As I always tell them, "No decision is a decision. You have chosen to pay for the lesson. You will owe me $4 when we get home. Let's go." So we packed up and head to the locker room.
About halfway there, I mention that her decision has also forfeited the trip to McDonalds. I had not told them that we were going to McD's like last week, but I had already decided that we were going to. She was very upset with this. "You didn't tell me that! I'll swim!" Nope. Too late. She cried.
I was thankful that I received answers to my prayers! I hope a lesson was learned. She DID pay me for the time when we got home. Perhaps the lesson was "Time is money." Perhaps the lesson was "You should do your best because you never know when you will be rewarded or not." *shrug* I don't know. Time will only tell if this disciplinary action made a difference.
Today we had our Homeschool Co-op, Learning Zone. Neleh behaved very well, even though I was the teacher. Somehow she got it into her head that since she had behaved we should go to McDonalds. This is a very tempting thing to do since Thursdays are kinda crazy for us (LZ, drop of Jill, Soccer) and there really isn't any time to eat. But instead of going to McD or any other "eating place" we went to WalMart and bought some peanut butter crackers. They didn't really complain, but I figured a trip to a drive thru would send the wrong message.
Like I said, hard to say if any of this parenting will "work." Guess we'll see next time a boy teacher shows up at swimming lessons...
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