Monthly Archives: June 2013

Where Did I Come From Mommie?

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Kids are curious. Lets start with that. They have questions. Lots and lots of questions. Sometimes those questions catch you off guard. Well before that time came (learning from friends that had gone before me) I prepared!

I bought a pop up children’s book that explains where children come from. I was going to be ready. No catching this mama off guard! I’m ready bring it on!

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Dr. Ruth was at my side. Who could explain it better right? I flipped thru the pop up book and it seemed pretty darn good.

As my children toddled on, there were a few times I thought the book was ready come out. But turned out they wanted to know more about where baby chickens came from…Dr. Ruth didn’t cover that.

Finally the day came. Sex Ed was about to take place. I get out the book and cuddle up on the sofa to read this amazing story of love and life and as I’m reading aloud I hear my words as if from a bubble. The words came out of my mouth so fast, too fast for me to stop them, but at the same moment the words came out in such slow motion I felt like I was in a time warp.

“The penis goes into the vagina”

Oh my holy moly mama me…..did that seriously just come out of my mouth, did my curious child pick up on it? What questions will come now? Do i need to make it clear that my daughter and son are NOT to give this a try? Do i mention some RULE like you need to be married first? oh my mind is racing with allllll the what ifs you can imagine and them some! As I stumble thru the rest of the book trying to pre-read before another one of those graphic details flies out of my mouth. I realize the worst is over, what more can Dr. Ruth have me say now. THE PENIS GOES INTO THE VAGINA….there is no more to tell. That was my brave motherhood moment and if I could do it over I’m not sure how I would have handled that one minor detail of just HOW DOES the sperm get to the egg mommie?

So I thank Dr. Ruth for leading me in this tricky path, but I have words of wisdom for those of you that haven’t approached this place in parenthood yet.

ALWAYS read the book you plan to teach with IN FULL, so there are no surprises.

Think of all the crazy questions your child might come up with once they are fueled with this new found info and be prepared to inform them that under no circumstances are they to attempt this with a sibling, friend, etc.

OH that brings me to parenting manual RULE #2

Make it very clear to your child their privates are PRIVATE! They should not be exploring them with siblings, friends and for sure never ever ever an adult! And make it clear, if anyone is interested in exploring their privates they MUST tell you! Keep your children safe. They can’t go running around this world in the dark, but once they have this info, they need to know the boundaries and they need to be VERY CLEAR boundaries!

So in the long run, I am very glad Dr. Ruth was there for me and in such a clear matter of fact way, but I wish I would have been prepared for that one sentence before I heard it coming out of my mouth in such graphic detail! I do recommend the book if you are at the this place with your children.

And I will say now that my children know it ALL, they don’t seem remotely interested in it. So it might be an easy way to just get it over with and no longer wonder when that awkward moment might come. Just read the story book and move on to their next question…in my house it was: “Mom, can I wire this old phone to these jumper cables and then wire them to this circuit board bit and put it in the plug jack and make my own cell phone?”

Is there a book on that? Dr. Ruth’s guide to child engineers that want to electrocute themselves at each turn?

Do You Think For Yourself?

Posted in Healthy Living by

I am realizing I’m far more opinionated than I thought, great lesson for me to learn about myself. Blogging is a fabulous platform to express ones opinions huh?

What plagues my thoughts often are how blind our society is towards all the subconscious messages bombarding our minds all day long. It’s everywhere we turn. Sports, Schools, Advertisements, Friends, Internet, etc…And how we just accept these messages without much thought, regardless if it’s in our best interest. Or the best interest of the next generation.

Example:
“Go Big or Go Hungry” (fast food catch phrase)

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In reality it should read:
“Go Big and Get Fat, possibly die of heart disease”

But that wouldn’t sell more burgers….so a threat of hunger is their motto.

I found it particularly interesting that the person wearing this fabulous marketing tool was not small, not medium, not even slightly over weight, but rather a prime example of my reason we need to start thinking for ourselves a bit more.

According to the CDC the average sized male has increased by 20 pounds and the average sized female has increased by nearly 30 pounds in the last few decades. (This is AVERAGE sized people)

Fast food has become a staple in the last few decades.

Eating in the car on the go has become the norm in the last few decades.

Obese defined by Webster dictionary: “having excessive body fat”

Obese defined by http://www.medterms.com: “if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight. That ideal weight must take into account the person’s height, age, sex, and build.”

Obese defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH): Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 and above.

I was as guilty as the next when it came to fast food. However, we as a family have started thinking for ourselves. Now when I see “Go Big or Go Hungry” it reads “Go Big and Get Big” to me…..loud n clear….anyone else see it that way?

Let’s start a revolution to think for ourselves. Block out alllll the crazy advertising we are suffocated with each day. Be your own person. If you want to “Go Big” go for it, but do it because YOU gave it thought and its the choice YOU want.

Look for the irony in life…

Quick thought on our stressful busy lives

Posted in Family, Healthy Living by

It’s our own fault.

Told you it was quick. Ha ha!

But seriously, Think about it….give it some really good long hard thinking!

WHO signs the kids up for all these activities?

WHO agrees to pick up this or drop off that here and there?

WHO commits, volunteers, over schedules, etc?

Take back your life.

CONSIDER what you are agreeing to before you agree.

(this is where I thought I was done….but get ready this is where it no longer is a quick thought, now I’m thinking out loud and eeks, blogging might be my mental thoughts in type…aka not so private diary!) ha ha!

I recall a time long ago, a friend laughed at me because she noticed in my date book I had a chunk of time blocked off each day that said “RELAX” … I still schedule down time. It’s important! For your soul, your health, your mind, your body, your family, your friends, your kids, your dog, your cat, hamster, bag boy at the market! The world is a better place when you have a little down time!

Think about the kids, they say they are bored, but some of the greatest creations grow out of boredom. Give your kids (and yourself) the chance to do nothing!

That reminds me: I love these two books and HIGHLY suggest them if you have a busy life. And if you can’t slow down enough to read them, you can get one of them on audio which is very handy, a set of ear buds and you’re on your way!

I have actually read both of these several times and I read the children’s book to my kids all the time! They love it because it reminds them of all the things they can do when they have NOTHING TO DO!

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne
Nothing to Do by Douglas Wood Nothing to Do by Douglas Wood

I ran that ragged race and lost. Everyone who runs it ends up loosing, just depends how long you want to run.

Our lives are at a much slower pace now. (Thanks to HOMESCHOOLING, it’s the best thing we’ve ever done for our family!) And I’m in shock that people don’t think they can slow down. They think it’s not possible. They are WRONG. You can slow down as much as you’d like, it’s entirely up to you.

Our once go go go family, now carves out “quiet time” each day (at least 4 days of the week) where the kids spend an hour in their rooms reading or playing quietly by themselves. And get this….(drum roll please) the kids ASK FOR IT if it’s been a couple of days without it!

We also have two days of the week (sometimes 3 or 4) that we schedule NOTHING. It’s these days I casually get house chores accomplished (or not) kids play and create new games while complaining of boredom, we can stop in the middle of laundry and play a game, read a book together, bake, etc…whatever comes up. And it’s these days my kids love. They remember these days. These are the special times that are missed when you spend 24/7 running here and there and loosing that rat race. What will your kids remember about you? (the back of your head while driving in the car? Your frazzled expressions as you race here and there?)

It’s up to you to make the changes and slow down your world. (for you and for your kiddos)

Own it…it is YOUR fault. Change it…if you want to!

I challenge you to one 24 hour period of scheduling nothing! Doing nothing! And enjoying it!  I’d really like to challenge you to a week, but didn’t want to push it…ha ha!

Alternative Parenting haha!

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I planned to start this blog with some sort of brilliant post that exploded with finesse, grace and style, but instead I find myself laughing at my cockamamie ideas and must share on this funny morning.

Each morning I wake up early (I’m not a morning person, in fact I would be content to stay in my cozy bed alllllll day long) to meditate and have a little “me time” before the chaos of motherhood begins. We all need to carve out that “me time” so we can be givers to those in our world that need us.

Anyhow, my kids have been creeping their bedtime later and later, which is fine most of the time, but they are creeping to 11:00pm and this is getting too late because it affects their ability to wake up before noon!

So I have this brilliant idea, today I will blast music thru the house, I’ll start with clam meditation music and hopefully wake them gently. If that doesn’t work I’ll move to a bit louder but not too abrupt of music options. I am not a fan of waking up my children before their bodies are ready for it. Kids need their rest and waking up naturally is one of the many many benefits homeschooling brings our family.

Well I’ve been blasting music for 45 minutes without a stir. LOL. I opened all the curtains, sun shinning in, still nothing. I found an old skool country station and Dolly Parton is belting out some “Rocky Top” song, still nothing, not a single movement from my kiddos! Switched it up to Old Skool RAP! Still Nothing! I can’t stop laughing at all the mornings we’ve tippy toed around the house in fear we’d wake our light sleepers! Ha ha!

I’m wondering when did my precious angels go from waking at the squeak of a mouse to snoozing thru blasting honky-tonk & rap music? LOL I guess we all can change over time, even my ever so light sleepers. Sort of feeling bad about all the mornings I (less than patiently) schooled my husband in HOW TO OPEN A DOOR WITHOUT MAKING NOISE! (why is it men can’t do this?)

Here is the best part of this chaotic plan!  (actually not wise planning on mom’s part, but there’s never a better time then NOW…right? LOL) We have a lunch date with my father in law today. Did I mention proper manners are important to him? Did I mention my kids are normally CRABBY when they are woken up! Did I mention I am CRABBY when I have crabby kids. Who’s idea was this? You will find I ask myself this often. I have hope there is someone else at the root of our chaos! Yet, I also have faith our angels are watching over us and it’s going to all be AOK in the end.

So it is 7:00am my children are finally awake. I started this adventure at 6:00am. It took one hour of me blasting music (worried I might blow out our speakers!) opening all curtains to let the sun shine in and periodically rubbing their backs and saying sweet things like wake up honey, the day is waiting for you to play, I love you, wake up sweetie, sleepy head it’s time to get up, etc…NOTHING, not a stir, groan, protest, etc…NADA…had I not felt slight breathing I might of suspected the worst.

……oops, 7:05am and my daughter has crawled back into bed….

…7:25am kids are awake, one is dressed, one is not, both are eating breakfast…both are SO FAR in a good mood….

….only time will tell if this “alter the kid’s bedtime” plan was a good one…we must get thru this day (particularly lunch with my father in law) and at bedtime we will see if they hit the sack around 8:00pm. Fingers crossed!

Wishing you a peaceful day! (remember to breathe deep throughout your day)

UPDATE: lunch and day went well…kids were in bed by 8:25pm…not bad for day one of bedtime boot camp!