Marriage, kids, equality, and stuff.....

This is one of those posts where it's as much for me as for anyone else reading here, if not more! Just something I find interesting to think about. The original blog post is about a new study that showed that:

* So-called "egalitarian marriages" where wives work outside the home and husbands do their share of housework and childcare are more likely to last versus the marriages where wives don't work.
* These "egalitarian marriages" increased from 1980 to 2000 and are happier than traditional marriages.
* More equitable housework may help marital stability since wives initiate about two-thirds of U.S. divorces.
* In 1980 as well as 2000, childless couples were generally happier than those with children.

Those facts, the study, and people's comments were all very interesting to me. The comments delve into all different directions, I've been reading them off and on since this afternoon. I think it's fascinating to see people's views on what makes a marriage (or relationship) successful, how parenting has affected that, and how different people find different stages of relationships and parenting more or less difficult. I would like to point out that I think studies like this vastly oversimplify things though! Happiness is difficult to rate, and how you rate your overall happiness really changes depending on what you are going through at the time. Also there are so many factors that affect a marriage-I think a lot of unhappy people would be unhappy no matter their circumstances.

I like the person who points out that as a parent, your happiness comes in extremely intense bursts-they may be shorter, but they are sweeter. I also agree with this comment:

I can see why childless couples would rate happier. Dealing with parenting styles is a source of conflict for us that didn't exist before we had kids. Plus they can exacerbate money issues -- between the added costs of the kids, and then one partner possibly staying home or going part-time, adding kids to the equation could add money stress that wasn't there before, or exacerbate partners' disagreements. And then of course there's less time to do the stuff you enjoy -- my husband becomes a different person when he and I go away by ourselves. As much as he loves the kids, he gets worn down by the constant responsibility, going from taking care of job to taking care of kids to taking care of 100-yr-old house. When we were DINKs, we had more time and money to just go off by ourselves for a weekend, or do spontaneous things, to feel like we were "escaping" from the monotony and responsibility.
BUT. (you knew there was a "but" coming, didn't you?). I wouldn't trade my life with kids for my life before kids for anything in the world. It's a different kind of happiness. It's not the happiness of being lighthearted and free and being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want it. It's the deep satisfaction of knowing that I am doing what I was meant to do in this world. It's the joy in my heart that I am privileged to know and love these two most amazing little creatures, and am blessed with the responsibility to help guide them into happy, productive, whole people.
So if I had been writing into that survey, I probably would have said I was happier before kids, because on a day-to-day basis, I had less stress, less conflict, less flashes of fear and protectiveness. But my life is more meaningful now, and I am more content in my soul, because I have a purpose and am working toward that every day.
Note: not saying only people with kids can feel that purpose -- I have known people who you can tell were just meant to do X or Y or Z, and who get that same deep satisfaction by reaching for that goal. It doesn't have to be kids -- it's just doing what you were meant to do. For me, that meant accepting the tradeoffs that come with having kids, because my life would not have been complete without them.
Posted by: Laura May 25, 2007 11:50 AM

Pregnant Belly Painting

I thought it would have been neat to paint a giant easter egg on my belly.

No more drinking from garden hoses! Lead!!

Don't let the kids drink from them or fill the pool with them until you check the label! This is how I feel too:

Ok. So we've got baby bottles and toys leaching bisphenol A, crib mattresses filled with PVC, DEHP, and PDBEs, lead lined lunchboxes, toxic car booster seats, and now garden hoses. *sigh* Yet another one to add to the list. As a soon to be parent, the more I research, the more freaked out I become.
Posted at 8:28AM on May 30th 2007 by Dhalver Xeno

Gross stuff we do for our kids

I've marveled at this one before too-although I find it very curious that men get so very grossed out by the stuff that mothers deal with all the time. If they don't mind getting grease and oil and touching dead animals, etc. than why is it such a big deal when a kid throws up or has a messy diaper??

Also, I'm amused by the string of comments on poop being smeared on the walls-People are just so quick to judge others!

Roundup of Memorial Day

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Memorial Day celebration: with your presence, your time, your food, your cleaning skills, your funny faces, and your physical comedy. What a day!

We got to meet Patches the dog, someone besides me argued with Tom, the kids got wet, Claire got wet, we talked about Harry Potter and "Your face!", we saw the lovely pink cast, there were dueling cameras, there were new shoes and toy balls, Laura made 30 deviled eggs and they were gone in the blink of an eye, we grilled corn-on-the-cob that someone was going to eat, dag nabbit!!, a newborn rabbit took a fall, there were hugs and kisses, and we had music and crashing benches!

Memorial Day pictures

After the J. side left Justin decided to get naked, and Claire still had problems.

Memorial Day pictures

After Nanny Sue and Pop-Pop and Uncle Billy and Cindy left Aunt Claire actually played with her neice and nephews and then Tom squirted her.

Memorial Day pictures

Silliness from Claire and eating Mimi's fruit salad (Yummy Yummy!)

Memorial Day pictures

The dog, the cast, and the belly

Memorial Day pictures

Memorial Day pictures

Claire's chalk graffiti

Memorial Day pictures

Memorial Day pictures

Again!!

On Saturday we accidentally discovered at least 7 newborn rabbits. I know they were born that day because Tom periodically comes home and checks for babies, and he had just checked the night before. So this picture is from the day it was born. This time the babies were all scattered all over the covered portion of the cage, not huddled together like the other two times. They're about the size of my pointer finger.

Timothy's first haircut

He was a little scared, he shoved his hand in his mouth and kept it there almost the whole time. But they put Thomas the Train on tv and then he had to take the fist out to yell, "Car!"

Haircut

A bit late for most of you, but here's Justin......

Splurges

Last week we went to the grocery store and I splurged on swiffer fluid and pads. I can't afford to buy them all the time because they go so quickly in my house. I have to spend the money on food before something like that. But I figured with memorial day coming I'll have people in and out of the kitchen constantly and it's so much easier to mop quick like that as the spills come (rather than getting down on hands and knees to hand wash the floor). So as silly as it sounds, that's a splurge for me. I was thinking how everyone must have things like that-something you don't normally buy, maybe because the price is higher than you're willing to pay for it or because no one but you uses it or whatever.......what do you splurge on?

Blood pressure

When getting ready for visiting the midwives I told Justin he'd get to see them check my blood pressure. I tried to explain......well, they try to see how your blood is flowing through your body.......and Justin said, " and then they close you up?" I wonder what he was picturing in his head-perhaps someone cutting me open to see my blood?

Mayfair

After the midwives we went across the street to Mayfair. I figured since we were right there, the first night is free, and Tom wasn't going to be home until late, we might as well. I only got to skim the booths with crafts and products to sell. Leanna was hungry so we figured exactly how many tickets we'd need to get something small right away. We sat at the sand area to eat and then the kids got out and played there. Then I had to go to the bathroom-that was fun. I parked the stroller on the side and squeezed in my pregnant self and all three kids inside a portapotty! Try to keep everyone from touching anything in that small space, while peeing! Justin's loudly asking why that thing is on the wall (the urinal) and he TOUCHED a puddle of pee someone so kindly left next to the potty! At least they had hand sanitizer in there, though I was really wishing for a sink. I had wipes with me too.
Then we went and listened to a Jamaican band playing mostly popular songs. I know Leanna really likes dancing so I pointed out a lady dancing(she looked like she'd come from a Phish or Grateful dead concert, complete with dreads and long skirt). Leanna said she wanted to dance but people were looking at her. So I told her that yeah, I don't like to dance because of that either, but look at how much fun the people dancing look like they're having! She agreed and eventually started dancing. I hope she can keep that confidence, and be able to dance in public and such. I'm not at all brave like that, but I hope to inspire it in her. Then we found these giant letters (alpahbet) that they had and the kids climbed them a little bit before we started the walk home. I'm still recovering from that walk home today. It's uphill and a long walk. I have pretty strong legs, but I could really feel it in my calves. I came home and laid down and stayed on the couch til I went to bed! Early!

Long hot day

We had a long day yesterday. First a trip to the midwives office-a long hot stroller trip. They were behind schedule(unusual for the midwife), but actually the kids were pretty good while waiting. They did good during my checkup too, as it was ending was when they started acting up. The baby was jumpy while getting his heartbeat checked, typical for him. This baby is not only active, he also pokes a lot! The midwife gave me another dental note, one that should cover EVERYTHING. She was amazed at the reaction I got at the dentist's office and said that was pretty rediculous, pretty much everything is considered safe during pregnancy. She said maybe they just didn't feel like dealing with medicaid(it takes longer to get paid). The dentist told me it was better to wait until the baby came out to do dental work-the midwife said the only reason to wait would be to avoid the pain until after. It doesn't harm the baby at all.
I told her about the contractions and she said were you doing anything strenuous beforehand? Apparently the advice to not do anything too strenuous isn't just them being extra cautious. She told me "No! You have a well practiced uterus, and recently too!" So I actually could kickstart labor too early by walking around too much. Good to know.

Popcorn

Leanna told me they'll be having popcorn at school tomorrow. I don't let the kids eat it because it's actually a choking hazard and I've read about kids choking to death on it as old as 7 or 8. By Leanna's age I figure she's ok eating it with us right there, but it would cause too many problems to have her eating it and not her brothers so it's easier to just completely ban it. Leanna informed me that Carizmah said to tell me that there is no such thing as choking on popcorn! LOL, the influence of friends has started!


(For the record, it's not a big deal to her though, Leanna doesn't care all that much about not eating popcorn).

The Perfect Day

Inspired by that book I'm reading, Love, Magic & Mudpies, I asked Leanna what she would do on the perfect day. She said she would draw and and color and paint and play with toys. And play outside with a soccer ball. When asked if she would play by herself or with her brothers she said by herself, and when asked if Mommy and Daddy would be would be there she said only Mommy.
Realistically speaking, I think Leanna likes time by herself and time with her brothers (she misses them when they're apart) and I think that right now she's just craving time with me. But I'm sure she would like her father to be around too.
She really really enjoys crafts off all kinds though. It's really neat to see her pictures become more detailed and interesting as she gets older. I like that her perfect day involves both physical and creative activity.

List of 10 worst names ever

I think my favorite is from the comments:
"Some of those’re pretty bad. At our school we have a Hinei Raish and an Aaron Ramsbottom. Don’t believe me? I’ll show you the directory."

Maybe it's because I'm still changing diapers and likely will be for a while, but it just cracks me up that someone actually named their kid Hinei Raish.

BMI and school in the 2000s

I got a letter in the mail today from the school district. It reports Leanna's height, weight, and BMI percentile. She's 43 inches, 39 pounds, which is a BMI percentile of 29. According to them 5-85 is a normal weight (Wow, that's a big range!). I was curious what percentile that puts her in and when I looked it up here: http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm
it said she's in the 18th percentile for her age and height.

I think it's a good thing that schools are making parents aware of where their child falls in the weight range, but it's kind of strange. So much has changed even just since I went school.

I wish this weren't so true

"If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves."

-C.G. Jung

A positive to sibling rivalry

From another library book I'm reading now, Love, Magic, & Mudpies: Raising Your Kids to Feel Loved, Be Kind, and Make a Difference, by Bernie Siegel, MD:

"Life is about competition and rivalry. What better place to be trained than the family where love is present? Children can act out and still be welcomed back into the house. The competition of sibling rivalry is not about making their brothers and sisters look bad it is about creating their individuality."

It's just nice to know some good may come of the sibling rivalry I've been enduring here. There's a lot of frienship and alliances, but oh the fighting can drive you mad! I hadn't thought that something positive could come of their fighting! That's one thing I love about reading, messages you need to hear can come your way through books!

Brotherly affection

Oh yeah, Justin and Timothy have started to occasionally wrestle with each other. I was surprised that started so early. It is actually cute to watch. It's very playful. Now as long as they'll only do it when I'm around to make sure they don't really hurt each other!!

Danish Contraception Commercial

I watch this and it amuses me. But I picture say, my sister Claire, watching this and it being a very effective contraception commercial!

Hoping things look up soon

I had a really bad week last week, I'm really hoping things start getting better soon.

Mother's day could have been better. And my Uncle had to ask (after I left) if I was pregnant again. He couldn't tell! He thought I was just really fat! I had a dental appt. at a new place pregnancy insurance) but it didn't work out. To summ it up they told me they could use my note from the midwives only for the first visit. Then I could get their regular medical forms filled out in time for my next appt. Except after I walked there they told me my form was only good enough for them to look inside my mouth-they wouldn't even do an xray or anything. They kind of yelled at me and made me feel like it was somehow my fault. But the secretary had ok'd it with a dentist!! It was a total waste of time, a long walk, and very frustrating. I think I'll just try again with a different dentist.

Physically I'm at a difficult point in the pregnancy. It's hard to bend over and I still feel huge (Although the midwife says I'm measuring perfect for my due date). I get tired rather quickly and it can be difficult to get comfortable to sleep. That fun acid stuff has been starting to happen and I got a leg cramp(which sounds so mild, but man are those things evil!!) And I'm starting to get back pain and of course the lovely contractions that started this week. Between trips to the store, the dentist, and the doctor I was really really tired and didn't get much done around the house. There was the day Justin threw up on me and Timothy sneezed and spit food on me and ate ants. I had been hoping the library trip would go more smoothly so we could start going there more regularly but that didn't work out. And my knee started hurting this week-I have no idea why-and it was the worst on Friday(the day I had to pick Leanna up from school and then head right to the doctor's office and walk back again), the day I had the most walking to do. Things don't seem to be going well for anyone in my family. I went out with my Mom and sister and both my Mom and I were limping(My Mom fractured her foot). I felt really silly, it looked like I was immitating my Mom. I accidentally made my sister mad. Tom was busy Sat. and today so we don't see him. That always sucks because I miss him and the kids miss him. It also makes the weekend run right into the week-there's little to distinguish the weekend from the week when he's not home. I'm not taking Leanna to school on the weekends but we're still just at home. I miss going places as a family. And I miss just plain getting out of the house.

This week I don't have as many places I have to go. I only have a midwife visit. I go every two weeks now. It'll be a pain in the butt getting there and back, but the visits themselves are nice. I like the midwife and she actually cares about how I'm doing. It's always nice to have someone genuinely care if I'm getting sleep and have help and how I'm feeling. I love my husband but he just can't comprehend how being pregnant is any different. I still have to take the boys to get lead levels retested, but at least I can do that anytime. Justin's lead level jumped up a point so he still has to keep getting re-tested. So wish me luck for a less busy less stressful-contraction free week.

Timothy's dr visit

I took Timothy to the doctor yesterday-pointless visit basically. I would not at all be surprised to find that the doctor was on his first day or week doing it. It was the fastest and least thorough checkup any of my kids have ever had. Since I didn't have any concerns it wasn't a big deal though. Just a pain to once again explain that he does indeed have two testicles, but one of them retracts really far up when he's scared like when a stranger pokes at his naked body. Those doctors never listen to me. So once again, we had to wait for him to determine he couldn't find lefty and had to go get a supervisor doctor to come show him that yes, it's right here! The good news is that we don't have to go back until November!!!!

Timothy's 32 1/2 inches tall, and weighs 21 lbs 4 oz.

Spiderman

Also, at the library they have a lifesized statue of Spiderman. I told Justin to tell my Mom that he saw Spiderman at the library and she (thinking it was a person in costume) asked him if Spiderman talked to him. Justin paused for a moment, then said, "No, he didn't have any batteries."

Library visit

We made a brief stop a the library the other day while Leanna was in school. We had to leave early though because the boys just can't handle being quiet and not running yet. We were the only ones making any noise on the entire floor! I figured I'd give it a shot though.

I picked up Jenny McCarthy's Baby Laughs:The Naked Truth About the First Year of Mommyhood (I read Belly Laughs, her pregnancy book while I was working at Barnes N Nobles). Jenny McCarthy had that popular MTV game show, Singled Out. She was really bubbly and obnoxious. Her books are a cute quick read though. I finished it that night. She really isn't afraid to talk about all the gross stuff that can happen to your body before and after pregnancy. And she makes it entertaining. I really like how non-judgemental she is when talking about all the controversial stuff-vaginal delivery or c-section, breastfeeding, circumcision, staying at home or working, etc. She's really very honest about the whole experience, it's a refreshing change from most celebrity stories you hear.

Other than that I can recommend the Dinosaur books, we borrowed two. Justin already has How Does a Dinosaur Clean His Room at home-we checked out How Does a Dinosaur Count to Ten and How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends. Those are really cute books too. Justin really likes them.

Grocery Adds

It's funny to hear Leanna looking at the grocery adds now and hear her little voice calling out, "Oooh! Water is 4.99!"

(She can read numbers so now she can read prices too)

Whoda thunk it?

Well ok, so I was wrong. Apparently math can have some impact on your life........read this short story on some guys who got free pizza cause they could do math!!!
But math class was still worthless for me!

Mother of 13 is US size 0

Wow. I had to post this one. In her case it's natural-she doesn't diet or excersize. And from reading the story it looks like she's genuinely enjoying her family. Good for her! I thought it was interesting to read the comments because they aren't from Americans. I totally agree with the comments on sizes getting larger though. That drives me crazy!! One man said women are thicker waisted today because they consume more alcohol and get tiny legs with muffin tops! Ummm......I think there's a bit more than alcohol to blame for the shift in people's weight!

Bento lunches

Anyone heard of Bento lunches? She's been talking about them over at the Lactivist and some of them look so pretty. As it won't be too long before I experience the joy of packing lunches, I'll be looking for ideas for what to pack. I'll have to read up on these more and see how difficult they are to manage.......any thoughts?

Sidenote: I'm checking out the vegan lunchbox blog which is supposed to have stuff for people who aren't vegan also. I saw one post about Mabel's labels which even makes allergy labels for kids.

I like this quote

This is how I feel. But I would modify the quote for me, changing the phrase "work at home" to say "stay at home."

"I chose to work at home because the trade-off of walking the fence of insanity is worth the closeness and time spent with my kids."
-Jennifer of the Lactivist blog

I truly do walk the fence of insanity, nice to know I'm not alone!

My kid ate ants!

Yeah. Timothy ran up to me, crying, "mouth! mouth!" And I saw what looked like dirt in his mouth and wiped at it, only to realize the dirt was moving. Ewwwwwwwwwwww........some of them were still alive and moving, others had died in there. Gross, gross, gross. I think he was eating something on the floor that ants had found also.

So much for resting to let the contractions go away! I'm getting up every five minutes to get someone food.....change a diaper......take Justin to the bathroom(I think he needs to stop drinking for the rest of the day!), clean a mess, wipe the yogurt that Timothy just spit onto my arm, or clean ants out of someone's mouth. Tom calls and I'm telling him about my fun day and all he has to say is, "What's for dinner?"

Preschoolers' view on ageing

This guy posted pictures of preschoolers' thoughts on getting old-I like the one about the grandfather with scribble scrabble on his hands. That's cute.

LOL-been there!

These girls posed for a picture and when it was put in the school newspaper they decided they looked too fat and they stole 1000 copies of the paper! LOL! That's too funny. I feel for them, really I do.

Kids and accidents

This post from parentdish (formerly blogging baby) fits in well with my post about legs.

Contractions

I'm having some mild contractions today. I think that's pretty normal for a 4th pregnancy though, and not something to worry about. I'll take it as a sign I need to rest for a little, since they started after walking Leanna to school, then to the store and back and then an hour later back to get Leanna from school again. That double stroller is heavy, especially going up the hill on the way home. And lifting it up the steps. Sometimes it feels like my belly is full of lead. It's good excersize for me though. And it's good for the blog, because I can update while I sit and wait for the contractions to pass.

Pretty girl

*********************************

***********************************

**I love this picture of Leanna. Her eyes are so pretty. ***

Any chocolate milk that didn't make it to Justin's legs are on his face here.

Legs-for Jamie

For Jamie, since she was posting about legs:

Leanna and Timothy are relatively blemish free right now (that'll change as we're outside more) but none of them are ever bruise-free.

That's a line of chocolate milk running down Justin's leg, LOL. The red lines on the side of his leg are a birthmark though. Everything else is dirt or a bruise!

When I first started going to the midwife, one of the things I loved so much about her was how good she was with Leanna. She took one look at her little legs and told Leanna, "I like a girl with bruises on her legs! It shows she knows how to live!" I agree. And Leanna certainly always has been full of life!

Marinated broccoli

My Mom makes this marinated broccoli and red onion thing. I like it and she brought me over a serving. It's not cooked, but the marination makes the broccoli not as crunchy. This is the third time Timothy's tried it and today he was actually eating it!! The other two times he chewed it a little and then spit it out. Yay!

Pigtails

I put Leanna's hair in pigtails today. She loves that. She always remembers that the first time she wore her hair like that was for her third birthday. Plus she was excited because she said she would look like another girl at school who always wears her hair in pigtails. So I took pictures because she just looked so cute and happy.

Did I mention that she likes to pose too?

the joys of young children....

So today we had to trek to the grocery store to do a WIC check. We're running out of all food, but you kind of have to do the WIC checks in a timely manner or you don't have enough room to store all the milk they give you. They go a little crazy with the milk-I wish they'd let you get things like yogurt or broccoli instead(those are good sources of calcium). Anyway, we took Leanna to school and then headed to Aharts. Since the bottom storage space on the double stroller broke I can't carry as much. I have to be very careful that I don't buy to many heavy or bulky items. Right before we went in the store Justin got very very cranky. He wanted to go home and started crying. Usually he's pretty good when we go out-sometimes he gets grabby(reaching for things on the shelf) but lately it's Timothy who's been the problem for me. I quieted him enough to go in and we were almost done when he started complaining that his tounge hurt. I asked him if he bit it and bent over to ask him to let me see it. He kept crying and saying it hurt and as I leaned over he threw up into my hair and all over his hands and the tray on his part of the stroller. Lovely. I was fortunate to have put wipes in the stroller this morning, and I had also just put a blanket in Justin's seat(for him to lay his head on, since it seemed he was tired). The blanket took a lot of the throw up-instead of his clothes or the stroller-so the timing was fortunate. I found a scrunchy in my purse to keep my now wet hair off me. That was the grossest part of it. An eldery lady got a little grouchy with me then because I was blocking her way. I had to clean up before I could move though so none of it would spill though. Oh well, I chose to ignore it and just moved out of her way. Carefully.

After that Justin was fine. He was his normal self again. He was perfectly willing to hold a bag on the way home for me and was quite cheerful, talking & flirting with strangers as usual.

Enjoying Smores

We had a mini cookout this weekend and made smores. Justin and Claire particularly enjoyed them. Yum!

Showing off the bus award

She got a paper certificate, a sticker on her chest (hidden by her pose here) and a toy bus with the school's name on it. Even she had no idea why she was getting an award for good bus behavior when she walks to school. I guess it's just supposed to be for fairness?

For Laura

She wanted me to take a picture of him like this.
Similar outfits are pretty common around here, so I don't always think to take a picture.

Curious Leanna

Leanna has lots of questions lately that I have trouble answering. Yesterday we were talking about cousins. She kept asking me, "If Nanny Sue had Daddy and Uncle Billy now, would they be my cousins? Hmmmm............I started to explain that if Daddy was just born now she wouldn't be here, but it was a bit too confusing for her!

So I asked her, "If I was a carpender and you were a lady, would you marry me anyway, would you have my baby? (from the old song, I don't know what it's called) And without hesitation she said "Yes!" Then a moment later she added, "if you had a pretty dress."

How women Become mothers

A review of Ricki Lake's new movie, The Business of Birth.

More on large families as a crime against the earth

Another post on large families.......I read this and to me it only reinforces my view that 1. (most importantly) I need to work harder on reducing waste and teaching my children to care for the earth. and 2. most people who comment on websites are morons : )

People were meant to have kids. It's a basic biological function. And it's a rather recent thing for people to have smaller families. The enormous amount of pollution we've exposed the earth to is also relatively recent. Much much larger families used to be the norm with far far less waste & pollution. I think the answer is to have everyone-no matter the number of children you have or even if you have no children-to be less wasteful and to learn how to put less pollution out there. We do have to learn to take care of the earth-all of us.

I think many larger families do naturally learn to conserve. They buy in bulk, hand down clothes, shoes, and toys. They have to conserve for financial reasons if nothing else. I think many items are second-hand for large families. People assume that a family of three will always produce less waste than a family of four.....but that is so not true, it all depends on their actions. There's a degree of selfishness in having kids, but there's a degree of selfishness in not having kids also. I've seen people argue that having one child was their way of conserving and they put down people for having more kids. But if you don't have the desire to have more, it isn't a sacrifice to have only one. You did exactly as you pleased, which doesn't make you any better than those who wanted more. I think I'm coming accross as more bitter about this than I actually am. I have to agree with the person who commented (on the above link):
The solution is not to limit people. It's for people to limit their consumption. There is plenty to go around, if only people would exercise some self-control.

I freely admitt that I am still working on this-I am still learning ways to "be kind to mother earth" as my Mom puts it. We do have lots of waste. In fact, having kids is what made me aware of the problem in the first place-when you have kids you suddenly have to care about what you do to the plannet. You want it to be there for your children and grandchildren, etc. to enjoy. It makes me aware of things that I do that I shouldn't. It's made me more aware in general.

Vehicle troubles

I'm trying to remember what all I wanted to write on here. Let's see, about a month ago Tom filled the van completely. Guess how much to fill the van........$72.00! Ouch.
For anyone who doesn't know, Tom's truck was hit at 4 AM by a drunk driver about a month and a half ago. She pushed it up on the sidewalk, an impressive feat since it had heavy tools in the back. As we expected, the insurance company totaled it and will be giving us 1, 900 for it. The van is also dying, Tom plans to just run it into the ground. Hopefully we will get the insurance check for the truck before the van completely dies too. Tom's been looking on Craig's list every day, trying to find a vehicle. So far no luck. Wish us luck that we find something in the near future!

Bus award?

Leanna brought home a note yesterday saying she will be awarded the Bus Student of the month award at an assembly on Monday. It sounds pretty much the same as the Beary Best Bear Award-they get a small gift and have their picture taken. I called the school to make sure it wasn't a mistake, because we walk to school every day. But they said no, they give the award to the self transport students too. I wonder how they determine which non-bus students get the award then? It says the bus drivers choose the students to receive this award based on good behavior on the bus and following all bus rules.
Ah well, I'm proud of her, no matter how the award was chosen. A lot of kids walk or are driven by their parents, so it's still an honor.

Socks!!

I absolutely hate matching socks. Finding socks for the kids to wear everyday is a huge huge pain for me. Pictured are Justin and Timothy's socks. There should only be two sizes. Yet somehow I always find 3 or 4 different sizes of socks in the laundry. I hold them together and still they don't match. And we only had two packages of these particular socks-one for each boy(they're one size apart). Leanna doesn't have socks like these. So how do I end up with all this sock variety??

Maybe my washing machine is in on the plans of all the other household appliances to drive me mad!

Messes

Yesterday Justin found a can of cleaning solution in a box Tom left on the porch (from cleaning out the van a little). I took it in the house and set it up high because Justin and Timothy were going after it every time we left the house or came home-which is at least 4 times a day. When I wasn't looking Justin climbed up and got the cleaner. To him, everything is lotion, so he spread it all over his legs and hands! I swear there is NOTHING my kids don't get into.

Timothy knocked over garlic powder and got the lid off and poured it on the kitchen floor. He was playing in it like it was sand. Justin saw him and quickly got in on the fun!

And the day before Leanna was playing with my little jars of paint. She pretends they are people and has lots of fun with them. Apparently Justin stole one jar though and snuck it into Leanna's room. It was all over his legs and hands and on the carpet and a few toys. That was a fun mess to clean!
There really is no way for me to ever get completely caught up and have a truly clean house.

Certainly describes my house

Excuse the House

Some Houses try to hide the fact
That children shelter there;
Ours boasts of it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the doors;
I should apologize, I guess,
For toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children
And we played and laughed and read;
And if the doorbell doesn't shine,
Their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times
I'm forced to choose
The one job or another;
I'd like to cook and clean and scrub,
But first I'll be a mother.

-Author unknown, for now!

Moms around the world

I thought this was pretty interesting, it's baby(and pregnancy and Mom) related rituals from around the world.

I am particularly impressed by this blurb about Canada: Working moms get a yearlong leave after they have a baby, and receive 55 percent of their salary during that year. This is a government benefit, and women are entitled to the same job or a comparable one when their leave is over. Many companies supplement this benefit with additional dollars during maternity leave. "Fathers are also entitled to 37 weeks of parental leave, but many still don't take advantage of this benefit," says BabyCenter associate editor Ann Elisabeth Samson.

I knew Sweden was great for families, but I hadn't heard about Canada. Good for them!!

I also like this idea: ChinaNew mothers receive a lot of care and attention, according to BabyCenter editor Joy Jia, and the pampering is a family affair. By tradition, new moms aren't supposed to leave their home for a month. Meanwhile, grandparents and other relatives take care of the household duties so Mom can recuperate and care for her baby. She's given high protein soups and other special foods during this time.

Eye on the Flu Shot

Veggies

I have thought of shredding carrots to put in speghetti sauce, but I know if Tom found even a tiny bit he would be SO ANGRY. I mean, really really angry. So that kind of stops me from trying. I can't even think of many things my kids eat that lend themselves to hiding vegetables, but I like the "permission" to try!

(the comments section makes me mad though, because I did start out giving my kids plenty of baby food vegetables, and still I struggle today with getting them to eat veggies......it's not always that simple!)

Fun with photos

Everyone got a little silly at my Dad's birthday party. Except maybe him. When Laura didn't want Tom to take pictures of her he decided if she wouldn't stop hiding her face he'd photograph various body parts.

So he took pictures of her knee caps and legs and foot. Claire started bragging about her wonderful thighs and about how happy she is with her bazookas. ( I actually asked Tom for help with the wording in that last sentence, lol) So I took a pictures of her thighs too. She did not mind. Then my camera ran out of space for pictures, so the fun ended.