Incongruency

You can see what the front of the box is. This is kid's Mucinex. JM has had a very sore ear and I took him the the doctor yesterday. Since all the children's cold remedies are coming off the shelves these days, the doctor said Mucinex is actually okay and useful. It will help drain the fluid that is behind his ear right now. So I send the hubbie to the store to get some.

Here is what the back of the box reads, the bold letters appear as they do on the box:

Warnings: Ask a doctor if you have persistent or chronic cough such as occurs with smoking, asthma, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema.

If pregnant or breastfeeding, ask a health professional before use.

Yes, my child is a pregnant smoker with lung disease!

And we wonder why the rest of the world thinks Americans are dolts?

Concentration!

BH is concentrating really hard on the potty. No he isn't in pain, but I can see how you might think that.




























And here we are laughing about it.

This is worthy of a good laugh

I just received this little message from a family member who lives in the Washington DC area and has a very interesting perspective of our nation's politics up close. This just made me laugh pretty hard.

Agenda for the 2008 Democratic National Convention (Just Released) 7:00 pm Opening flag burning 7:15 pm Pledge of Allegiance to the U.N. in Spanish 7:20 pm Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 7:25 pm Nonreligious prayer and worship with Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton 7:45 pm Ceremonial tree hugging 7:55 pm Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 8:00 pm How I Invented the Internet - Al Gore 8:15 pm Gay Wedding - Barney Frank presiding 8:35 pm Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 8:40 pm Our Troops are War Criminals - John Kerry 9.00 pm Saddam Memorial Rally - Cindy Sheehan and Susan Sarandon 11.00 pm Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 11:05 pm Collection for the Osama Bin Laden kidney transplant fund - Barbara Streisand 11:15 pm Free the Freedom Fighters from Guantanamo Bay - Sean Penn 11:30 pm Oval Office Affairs - William Jefferson Clinton 11:45 pm Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 11:50 pm How George Bush Brought Down the World Trade Towers - Howard Dean & Rosie O'Donnell 12:15 am "Truth in Broadcasting Award" - Presented to Dan Rather by Michael Moore 12:25 am Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 12:30 am Satellite address by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 12:45 am Nomination of Hillary Rodham Clinton by Nancy Pelosi 12:50 am Speech and toast by Hugo Chavez to the departure of "the great satan", 'W' Bush 12:55 am Hillary proposes a toast to our 89 million new Democratic Mexican voters 1:00 am Ted Kennedy proposes a toast to the extinction of the Republican party. 1:05 am Coronation of Hillary Rodham Clinton 1:30 am Ted Kennedy proposes a toast 1:35 am Bill Clinton asks Ted Kennedy to drive Hillary home

If I Had a Nickel.....

One of these days (all kinds of sarcasm here) I really should reply to one of these emails. If I replied to one, I would be extremely rich. If I had a nickel for every one I get, I would comfortably pay my bills without ever working again. But I am just lazy, and choose not to reply. You would think with so many that I get, the world is just oozing with money to give away to people like me.

According to these things, I am supposed to keep my winnings a secret because there are unscrupulous people out there who might want to cheat and redeem their prize more than once. How dare they! I thought I would just break a little rule and share it with you. I hope that doesn't ruin my chances of winning. Again, I just don't feel the urgent need to reply at this moment, so it wouldn't matter if I shared this message with you right? We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Here is what I have won!

BRITISH LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS
CUSTOMER SERVICE
28 TANFIELD ROAD,
CROYDON, LONDON
REF NO: BTL/4910X1/04
BATCH NO: 12/25/0340
EMAIL:loboard@yahoo.co.uk

BRITISH LOTTERY WINNING NOTIFICATION

DEAR WINNER

We happily announce to you the draw of the BRITISH Sweepstake Lottery International programs held on the 5th January 2008 in London Your e-mail address is attached to ticket number: 564 75600545-188 with Serial number 5388/02 drew the lucky numbers: 31-6-26-13-35-7,which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category. You are therefore, been approved to claim a total sum of £950,000.00GBP (Nine hundred & Fifty thousand British Pounds Sterling) in cash credited to fileKPC/9080118308/02.This is from a total cash prize £47 Million Five hundred Thousand British Pounds sterling, shared amongst the first Fifty (50) lucky winners in this category.

Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in our play coupon. In view of this, your 950,000.00GBP (Nine hundred and Fifty Thousand British Pounds Sterling) would be released to you by our affiliate bank in London or South Africa. Our agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds to you as soon as you make contact with him. All participants were selected randomly from World Wide Web site through computer draw system and drawn from over 100,000 email addresses world wide web site.

This promotion takes place annually. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is a part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements.

Please be warned. To file for your claim, please contact our Claims agent with the below details for processing of your claims.

Overseas Claims Unit
United Kingdom Claims Agent
Contact Person: John Louis
Email: jhlouis@yahoo.co.uk

Tel: +44-703-187-2441
: +44-703-183-3201
: +44-703-183-3205

Sincerely,
Paul Fellows.
Co-ordinator(Overseas Unit)

When My Brokenness Shows Itself

For those of you who don't know my childhood ick, be glad. I had a post about it last summer, click here if you kind of want an update.

I hate being a broken person. It really steals my joy and shows up at the most inopportune times, like tonight.

I was at a candle party having a great time with the guests who came. Two women, about my age came, with their mother. I am sure my stalker (again, you really might want to read the link above) and this mother are related if only by the fact that they operate the exact same way. Shame.

This woman, let's call her Stalker 2, tapped me on the arm and pointed out a picture on the wall in the hostess's dining room that had crows on it. It was a nice picture. Stalker 2 proceeds to point out that her daughter (again, a grown woman my age) has a phobia of crows. She proceeds, "It happened when she was six years old....."

Oh my word! You do not tap a complete stranger on the arm and immediately proceed to tell me family things from thirty years ago. I gently interrupted her and said, "Lots of people have a thing against birds. I am sure she had a bad experience. Right?"

It is obvious this woman purposely positioned herself so her back was to this picture and she is not turning at all to look at it. Crows bother her. I never saw her once look at it. Plus she never went into the kitchen to get some munchies, I am sure, because she would have to pass the crows. It is an obvious phobia.

The daughter looks up and kindly smiles at me, I hope sensing that I am trying to diffuse. She says yes, then turns to her mother. She responded to Stalker 2 just as I used to speak to my stalker. She said in a very low and angry voice, "Mother, can we please have a pleasant evening without you bringing this up? Shutup!" I snuck away to join whatever else conversation I could find.

This was the first incident that happened. A few more happened as well. At one point, she was telling me how to arrange my paperwork. I said in a joking manner, "I got it! I have been doing this eight years, I got it covered!" By the end of the evening, the daughters were hustling her out of there, and I am sure they took a sedative before they went to bed tonight.

And I cried all the way home. That is what my stalker did to me pretty regularly throughout my childhood and into my early 20's before the big break was made. Purposely embarrass me in front of anyone who would listen. I cried for this daughter I met and that she has had to deal with her mother all of her adult life. She can't enjoy a candle party without her mother finding something to shame her with. Who would have thought a picture of crows could be used for shame?

This daughter is a better person than I. I wasn't willing to sacrifice my future to my stalker. I wasn't willing to sacrifice every social event I attended with the stalker sitting on needles waiting for a shameful shoe to drop. I wasn't willing to sacrifice a lot. I am usually not that conflicted about this, but this daughter was a trooper tonight! I have to give her credit. She deserves praise for putting up with this for so long.

I cried because several memories of my stalker doing that exact scenario to me. It reminds me that my brokenness is right under the surface when I think it is further away than that.

It makes me want to pray for awhile. It makes me want to hug my kids a little longer and harder before bedtime. It makes me sad.

Is your computer screen dusty?

Click here for help.

Life Updates

Thank you Tracy! I love the playlist idea! Just click down my left column. I love Celtic music, and I have some trace ancestry to the high country from like two hundred years ago. Just scroll through the list and press play, it is relaxing. If you see the name Maire (pronounced 'Moya'), that is Enya's sister. She does a lot of Christian Celtic music. I am enjoying Celtic Sunrise as I type this. Plus, St. Patrick's Day is coming, and no we don't drink icky beer. We celebrate that Scotland would still be full of heathens had St. Patrick not sacrificed his entire life to sharing the gospel with a bunch of unruly klansmen.

Speaking of Scotland. Update on the Shepherd's Pie. Good news/Bad news. It took forever to cook! I had two red flags doing this. 1) Too much raw meat to cook. 2) Most crock pots don't do well when filled to the brim. Good news, what did get done tasted really good. I know, the picture doesn't look so good, but we stirred it an awful lot to get the raw meat cooked.

What I will do next time. Precook the meat, big time! I will also use precooked potatoes. Truly, Shepherd's Pie needs mashed potatoes on the top. I might do that next week when I have some time to prepare those things ahead of time. Also, I think I will cut the recipe in half. Then, I think it will be a big hearty meal, done in an timely manner, in the crock pot that isn't spitting liquid out because it's so full. Also, the precooking will prevent the amazing amount of beef grease that this had. I was siphoning off grease quite a bit from the top. But again, tasted great! F, be sure to add bacon. Your husband only eats things with bacon!

Next update, the Sports Mom. Interesting thing happened this morning. We walk into the gym and a full game of dodge ball is going. Sports Mom and another dad are spear heading it. My thoughts, "This ought to be interesting." JM joins right in. Sure enough, a kid gets it in the head. Sports Mom immediately says, "It doesn't count when it hits someone in the head. Shoot lower!"

Then her kid is trying to get her specifically. If I were playing, JM would be going for my jugular. Nothing better than completely obliterating your parent. Well, her kid is aiming for her face. She grabs the ball and says firmly to him, "You need to aim lower!" Interesting, don't you think? I also must say, the tension seems to be gone from a few weeks ago.

I talked to the husband tonight about it. Honestly, I don't care that kids are rough and tumble! I just care that we all have the same rules and expectations. I think she and I are on the same page now, per the school principal.

Crock Pot Cooking Experiment

If you haven't read my profile, you may not know this. I am a crock pot queen. I love cooking with my crock pot mainly because I can make a dinner early in the day, the family gets a good dinner at dinner time when I am rushing out the door to go to work.

I found this recipe online yesterday for crock pot Shepherd's Pie. I can tell the author of it just kind of throws it together. Her details on the recipe were lacking at best. But here is my attempt. I'll walk you through it.

Here is my empty eight quart crock pot. Use nothing less. This recipe is huge.


Here is three pounds of ground beef and three pounds of "vegetables of my choice, fresh or frozen, doesn't matter". My greatest concern with this recipe is the author does not clarify if it needs to be precooked meat. I am assuming the eight hours in the crock pot will take care of that. But you can see, it's full with those things already.

Next, pour two cans of creamed corn over all of that.

Next, pull out your trusty Salad Shooter. I have had this contraption since the first year I was married, and I use it often. I don't know if they make them anymore, but I love mine! Break it out for this recipe. You need six cups of shredded potatoes.

You can see, I just shredded the potato right onto the pile. The author makes a very clear distinction here, make sure the potato touches all the edges. Kind of hard not too! My crock pot is bursting at the seams!

Cook on high for eight hours. Then cover with "cheese of your choice" and let melt.

In about eight hours, it will be time to post again. I'll give you the final picture then. More importantly, I'll tell you what the family thinks.

By the way, the vegetables I used were one 1 lb pound of frozen peas, frozen mixed vegetables, and frozen beans.



I want to break down how much it costs to make this recipe, mainly because life is a budget. If this is as good as I hope it is, I will have fed an army for very cheap.

The bags of vegetables were 87 cents a bag..
The meat was about $10.00.
The cans of cream corn were 92 cents a can.
The potatoes were a small portion of a bag of potatoes that was $1.98 for a ten pound bag.

If this turns out good, I will have made a yummy dinner with great leftovers for less than $15.00. We ordered pizza last night and spent $20.00 and had no leftovers. With Shepherd's Pie, I covered some pretty good food groups with vegetables and protein. We'll find out this evening.


*This recipe can be found at www.cdkitchen.com.*

Very sad state of affairs

When I pulled up my homepage this afternoon, I gasped. I don't do that often. The sudden passing of actor Heath Ledger.

Now, the investigation is ongoing, I realize, but I am sure there will be findings of one of two things 1) He had a misdiagnosed condition and he died of cardiac failure or a brain aneurysm 2) He overdosed, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Let's add him to a long list of Hollywood youngsters that are on the brink or fallen over the brink in the last year:

Brad Renfro
Paris Hilton
Whitney Houston
Britney Spears
Jamie Spears
Amy Winehouse
Lindsay Lohan
Anna Nicole Smith and her son
Keifer Sutherland
Nicole Ritchie
Owen Wilson
Shia LeBeouf

I also add, from my own hunch, Matthew McConaughey. Every time I see an interview with him, he's so high. It is a matter of time that he gets caught with a substance or a DUI or something. I'll bet a Starbucks run on it.

All of these people have had scary run ins with the authorities involving some kind of substance abuse in recent months! Not just years! Several have lost their lives already, and only in the last year. Granted several are getting cleaned up and salvaging their futures. I give them credit for that.

I am also frightened that these people are who the media and/or Hollywood tout as worthy of fame and our admiration. Acting is starting to feel like professtional sports to me. It's all about the talent of the person and not the character, so let's continue to pay them a lot of money.

It is sad. As much as I love pop culture, it also scares me to death on days like today.

Stop Doglessness

This is Maverick. Someone out there, in the Pacific Northwest, I am sure is feeling the lonely effects of doglessness. It's that feeling you get when your feet are cold at night, when you haven't taken a walk in awhile, and you have given up your teddy bear. It's doglessness. Having a pet dog can cure that easily.

Here is the scoop my friend has told me about this great dog:

This is Maverick, he is my Marley's brother. He will be 7 months old on January 25th. He has had all of his shots, but needs to be neutered (if desired). He is a beagle, boxer, lab mix. He is a wonderful dog, with the same personality as Marley. His Mom can't afford to keep him anymore - she is 19 and just moved out on her own. He knows how to: sit, drop, roll over, dance, stay, walk without a leash and probably more!

I talked with her last night, and this is about as big as he is going to get. No more than around 30 lbs. So he is that small dog that we all like, but without that small dog yappy thing going on. He is a mix of beagle, boxer and lab. So he has the beagle bark, not yap. Plus he is well trained. Just post to me if you would like a nice dog.

Sign of Life

Our eery street right now. We have had freezing fog the last few mornings. The weather man says it will get worse this week, with only reaching high temperatures in the thirties! We'll be burning candles this week!









Here is one of my cherished rose bushes with a bit of frost on it while poking out new leaves.







Here are the real treasures I look for this time of year. I am about sick of the weather in January, and these little guys let me know spring is right around the corner. These are the tippy tips of my daffodils. Some of these were my grandmother's from her garden in Illinois. They mean a lot to me. Hopefully they will be okay as the weather gets frigid this week.

This is what I am talkin' about!

Check out this article! I did a post way back like last summer talking about if all women took some basic self defense course then what a different world this would be in terms of personal crime statistics.

Click here. I love her line of "Run all you want, I have been running for 40 years." Bummer when you decide to burglarize a marathon runner who had a nice warm up coming home from tennis practice!

Here is some text from my post dated August 3, 2007:

Imagine this. Granted this is a perfect world, but I am imagining this. President Bush, during his state of the union address states, "We are also proud to announce that as of this morning, all women in the United States have now completed and are certified in basic self defense." Applause applause applause.

He goes on to talk about how that was implemented, giving credit to those who put it in motion, what kind of tax breaks employers receive when they pay for such a class for their employees, etc.

President Bush continues, "We have programs in place so that all children in our public schools are taught basic self defense as well. The plan is to have them certified by the end of the school year 2008." Applause applause applause.

It's a little dream but you have to admit, it's kind of fun to think about.

Never Been Told That Before

Potty training is in full swing. Except for at night, we're pretty much done. Just keeping awareness high, and focusing on "no accidents". The following story may be a bit TMI, but it cracks me up still, so I must share.

Whenever we have to use a "big boy" toilet, I hold onto BH. He is such a tiny peanut, he could very easily fall into a toilet, and well, that is just icky. So I hold him by his waist and usually lean on my knees so we are face to face.

So the other day, I am having a moment in the bathroom to myself. If you have small kids, you know that is a joke. Privacy?? Anyway, he comes up to me and grabs my arms and says, "I hold you Momma!" Like it's a risk my round hiney is going to fall into the toilet.

Then he says, "Point your penis down!"

Okie dokie!

It's What for Breakfast

This morning, school is a delayed start because it's icy out there. JM is playing on the computer, and BH and I are snuggling on the couch. He is a very cuddly kid.

As I am kissing his neck and tickling him, he suddenly says,

"Stop it! I not for breakfast!"

Sports Mom Update

Here is what I can see has been the solution to this silliness. Remember, I have been warned that if other kids in my son's class complain that my son is too rough, it is an "or else" situation. He could be expelled. Also remember he is not a bully. Honestly, he roughs houses around too hard.

After the terse exchange I had last Friday with another mom, I complained. See my post called "Another Reason Why I am Homeschooling Next Year" from a few days ago. Silly little detail that seems to be important now that I left out. The principal said on Friday, during my rant, "Well the balls we provide in the gym are typically soft and really wouldn't hurt anyone." Honest to God, folks that is so not the point! I pointed out that Sports Mom and her kid bring their own footballs, and in this incident, JM got clobbered with one of their hard footballs.

Here is what happened this morning, I walked through the door of the gym right as Sports Mom was pushing the doors out to exit the gym. Dirty look from her to me, and she almost knocked BH over as she rushed by me. Hmmmm...something is up.

So, kids are playing with balls in the gym. All is well. I notice that Sports Mom and her kid didn't bring their football today, and honestly, didn't think anything of it. But then, principal comes in with a little sports bag with about five super squishy footballs I have seen at the dollar tree and announces that if you want to play football, we'll use these from now on. Please return them to her office when gym time is over.

Seriously, this seems to be the answer. Sports Mom and her kid can't bring hard balls and we're using sponge footballs instead. I don't know if I'll find out if her son got the "or else" threat like we did quite explicitly.

Now, remember, if my son rough houses too hard with one of those balls, he could be expelled. (As you read that last sentence and a handful of the next several--use a sarcastic voice in your head a few times, it helps me get the point across.)

Does there seem to be some imbalance here, or am I just that neurotic? Sports Mom giving me dirty looks because she can't bring a football to school with her son?

Honestly, she and I are mad at the same issue from different corners. We're both mad our sons are being made into pansies. Hers just got caught a different way than mine did, and she is blaming me.

There are starving children on this planet right now. Several have died since I have written this absolutely stupid explanation of this stupidity. We are at war, and our young men and women soldiers live in a constant state of danger and fear. Our nation is facing one of the most important elections because of this war. I have a friend who just got his sixth diagnosis of skin cancer.

And here we are solving what I think is a fairly serious problem (threatening our son with expulsion seems serious to me) with sponge footballs. Really? (Sarcasm) Seriously?

Someone post a comment and wake me up. Enlighten me. I feel like I am in a bad dream with this whole thing.

Taking a Look Outside of My Box

Every few weeks or so, I get an email newsletter from John McHoul, who is the director of Maranatha Ministries (see the sidebar). It's a blanket email he sends to everyone. What I enjoy about John, he puts it out there. His newsletters aren't edited, cleansed, professional letters. They are his diary of his struggles of living almost his entire adult life in Haiti and trying to serve people in sometimes lethal conditions.

Just because I need to stop thinking about my here and now life for a moment, I thought I would post the message I got from him two days ago.

GREETINGS FROM THE ISLAND NATION OF HAITI

I am sitting in a corner of a room off of the room where people eat in our house. It is nice to have city electricity this morning because we have not had much of it for the past two days. I am sitting alone, I often find myself alone even when in a crowd, and I am listening to those in the other room.

We have two visitors from New Mexico, a friend from Illinois and a lady from Switzerland who are staying with us. This is in addition to the Lynch family of four as they too are with us until they can move into the house that was to be ready on October 1, 2008.

Beth just entered the room and listed many of the things that we have to do today and wondered how we will get it all done. She also mentioned that we have a visitor coming in this morning and that someone has to get him at the airport.

There is much to do today. We have activities at the children's homes, stuff to repair at all the houses, adoption work, and we are still working on the house that the Lynches will move into. And tonight I have things to do at church. I as usual, perhaps too much so, wonder if much of what I do matters or really counts and as a sit here and consider the people talking in the other room I even think that more so.

Jothum and Rochelle the young couple from New Mexico are here in part hoping to adopt a little girl. Looking at them last night as they held her, I clearly, could see that they have a love for her that perhaps they themselves do not understand. They are hoping for a bright future for this little girl in their home and lives.

The Lynch family has been visiting Haiti for several years, but now they call Haiti home as they have left the States and moved here to Haiti. Wow, is it ever an exciting, roller coaster time in their lives as they have left the comfort and familiarity of their lives in the States and have begun new lives here in Haiti.

The others two with us are in the autumn of their lives. They both have given to Haiti many years and now are leaving the country that they have given so much to. Both are ill and perhaps a tad burned out from the challenges of living in Haiti. I with some sadness went through the boxes of tools that the man is giving to me. I especially felt sad when he looked at the tools and said, "These tools have served me well." People at different places in life. Some young and just beginning, others not so young but just beginning and others who are near the end of their journey.

Beth and I are no longer young and have been in Haiti since 1989. We are not so old that we are near the end but old enough that the end is closer than the beginning.

The Lynches, the new missionaries here in Haiti, have a family motto that I believe sums up what we all hope for. It is LIVING THE LIFE THAT GOD HAS FOR US.

At the end of the day or week or month or year or life I believe that if our lives can reflect the words in found in the Old Testament book of Micah, that we have journeyed well.

"6. With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7. Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8. He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

John McHoul

Another reason why I am homeschooling next year...

I am so steaming mad right now, posting on the blog will be a good outlet for me.

Before school everyday, JM, has the opportunity to go in the school's gym and play with other kids. The school usually provides a few balls, and it's nice to visit with other parents. It is also something to do if you get to school early. We have done it quite a bit this year, last year we didn't.

It has been nothing but politics this year. The problem is boys will be boys. They play rough, they tackle, run, bump into things, skid into walls, etc. That is fine, but the school has to watch out for liability.

I got a call from JM's teacher in October that there were two complaints directed to JM. He is too rough with other kids. He has hurt them. Problem is, JM is about a head taller than his peers and quite strong. He doesn't just brush by other kids. His size makes it so that if he does brush by, he bumps their heads into walls. I took those complaints seriously, and have worked hard with JM about really keeping his hands to himself and watching out for others. It seems to have worked.

Other kid in JM's class, D. D has gone to school with JM since they were three year olds. His mom is the ultimate sports mom. She plays football with the boys, organizes teams, wears sport gear, etc. When JM was three her oldest daughter was in first grade. During gym time, her daughter would chase the three year olds and nail them over the head with her back pack. Sports Mom said nothing, and was in her own world chatting with other moms. I should have complained. Instead, I told JM to stay away from her. I regret so much not saying anything and this story is why. It would have made my credibility with what happened today much stronger. But that is the specific reason why we didn't do gym time when he was in kindergarten.

Today in gym time. Three kids are playing--JM, D and another boy, H. They are throwing two footballs around. I am playing with BH, and out of the corner of my eye, I see D or H get a football in the face. Remember, I have been warned my kid can be expelled if there are more incidents. I do a friendly call out, "Guys, just watch out for faces, K?" Sports Mom is deep in conversation with another mom, surprise.

Not even two minutes later, JM gets nailed in the face, and is rubbing his face saying "it stings!" I call out again, "Guys, that is twice in a couple of minutes. Let's be careful, K?" D says under his breath to me, "It didn't hurt him." I have no tolerance for kids who talk back. None. I say friendly, but a little more firmly, "No, but we still need to be careful. No faces, K?" I am absolutely mindful this is another person's child, and I don't need to be in their face. But I am also mindful, that I need to be absolutely consistent in being an example of being careful.

Sports Mom speaks. She says to me very directly and unhappy, "That wasn't necessary. He didn't do it on purpose."

Me: "No, I didn't say that. I said to be careful to all of them."
Sports Mom: "It still wasn't necessary. It's not like he did it on purpose."
Me: "I didn't say he did it on purpose. I said to be careful. Plus, D told me it didn't hurt. Obviously it did if JM is rubbing his face."

Sports Mom missed about half of my last sentence because she interrupted and just talked over me with "It wasn't necessary." That is one reason why she and I haven't been friends for the last four years, she just talks right over you. Even in a friendly conversation, forget saying anything, she keeps right on talking, and once she runs out of her topic, she starts repeating things. This time she is mad and is purposely talking over me. I ignore her, and thank goodness that school was starting and we had to head to the classroom.

Why am I mad? I stewed for it on the way home. The double standard. My kid has been told to be so careful. I have worked hard with him and he is getting the whole personal boundaries thing. This Sports Mom doesn't have the same rule, doesn't live by them, and obviously hasn't had the complaints I have had with my kid. She also thought it appropriate to not watch her kid, let her kid talk back to me, and embarrass me in front of others. I am done!

I call the school and I relay all of this to the principal. I am mad! I told her if I have to work with my kid on these kinds of complaints, then consider this an official complaint against her kid. I want her talked to just like I have been talked to about this very issue. The principal agreed, we all have the same rules. She wasn't too specific in what she was going to do right then and there. I am sure she needs to think about how to deal with Sports Mom. But I believe her when she says she will address it and look into it.

I have had to de-boy-ify my kid. He is rough and tumble and a lot of other kids aren't. I am sick of doing that to him. I am walking the fine line of not turning him into a pansy. I feel like I am fighting a huge system here. It's not just these people. I want my kid to be able to play football, take it in the face, and everyone be cool if he accidentally hits someone in the face. And vice versa. It's not that way. I am tired of feeling like a freak with my kid at this school. I want this school year to be over now.

Potty Update

The good news! We are about 90% potty trained now. BH has consistently initiated going by himself, tells you when he needs to go, can handle pants going up and down, etc. We have had a few minor accidents, but those are always to be expected.

Today the battle of the wills was if he was going to take a nap. I also noticed this is the first time he used "I need to go potty" as a way to get out of bed. He had an accident anyway. He knew it would get him out of bed. Little stinker!

He wears regular underwear about 80% of the time. Unless he is sleeping, or we are going in the car for a distance, he is in the big boy stuff.

This is the one thing I hate about potty training. I have taken a friend's advice and have a potty in the car. But for some reason, at this point in this whole process, suddenly I realize I have working knowledge of where every clean, public restroom is in my vicinity. Starbucks, grocery store, McDonalds, Petco (used that one today), a friend's house, church, etc.

We are almost done!

On the way to school today...

We are listening to Radio Disney. They have these little sound bites where kids say what makes their family special. One kid says today that what makes her family so special is that her parents adopted her when she was seven, and that is very cool to her.

I knew it. JM pipes up, "That is cool! I know what I would say if I could be on the radio."

Me: What would you say?

JM: I would say my little brother was born in XYZ state and I was born in ABC state.

Me: You could also say what that girl said, and that you are adopted, and that is pretty cool.

JM: I could! That's right. Who else is adopted? Is anyone in my class adopted?

Me: No, you're the only one (when he was in 4 year old preschool, no joking, half the class was adopted). That makes you special.

JM: Maybe I should tell them I am adopted. (Think about that for a second)

Me: I think they already know buddy.

JM: How do you know?

Me: I have told your teacher, she knows, and I know I have talked to a few other moms about it.

JM: That is pretty cool.

Kids don't see race like adults do! I think this is so amazing! Now, JM knows that he is African American (AA) and so is his little brother. He knows my hubbie and I are Caucasian. What is hasn't gotten yet is that kids usually look more like their parents than in our family. He hasn't caught that yet. He told me that he will have some adoption questions for me after school today. I'll let you know how that goes.

Is it just me?

Okay, I love reality kinds of TV. I love "Forensic Files", "Dirty Jobs", "Ghost Hunters", "Lock Down", "Critical Situation", etc. All those kinds of documentary style shows, that don't follow a story line, but we're also not competing for who can dance better than Marie Osmond.

I just watched "Lock Down" on National Geographic last night. Here is my simple opinion of incarceration. I don't think it's difficult, but after watching shows like this time and time again, it seems to be confusing. For me prison is not for rehabilitation. It is justice. It is punishment to serve justice to those who have been victims of those who are incarcerated.

Let me give you some background of an inmate I thought was a friend years ago. Her name is MP. Middle aged woman alleges she accidentally killed her husband when she was trying to commit suicide by shooting herself in the head. He tried to intervene, and she accidentally shot him in the scuffle. She served eight years for a manslaughter/second degree murder type of a charge, and she has been released. From what little I can find of the trial, it seems that is the basic scenario.

I really enjoyed visiting with her until we had a major disagreement in the end where she was forcing me to believe a lie. That is a huge, icky story. Conclusion to that is this--she contacted me a few years ago after being released. I simply asked her for an explanation of the lie, she couldn't do it. She sent me pages and pages and pages of emails telling me about everything else about being incarcerated. She just couldn't fess up to the fact that she tried to get me to believe a huge lie, and to this day still hasn't accepted responsibility for that. It wasn't just a little white lie either folks. It was huge, psychotic, slanderous, and also revealed to me she had a very different inside than she was presenting to me in letters and visits.

Here are my bullets on my experience visiting her in the California maximum prison system:

1) I brushed elbows with Susan Atkins, one of Charles Manson's "girls". That was eerie! Click here to read about her. Yes, it was in the visiting area of the California Institute for Women (CIW) that I saw her. It is pictured above. As I would walk around with MP, so would Susan and her husband. Yes, at a maximum security prison, we visited in a room very much like a cafeteria sitting across from tables from each other. There was also a little yard where we would basically walk laps or sit at picnic tables. All tables were coffee table height so we couldn't pass things underneath, but for maximum security, I was amazed I wasn't talking through glass using a phone.

By the way, Susan will never ever be paroled. Her victim was an heir to the Folger's (as in coffee) fortune. That Folgers estate has a knack for adding wings, fences, etc. to the facilities at CIW. There are other Manson women housed at CIW but I never saw them.

2) If you are visiting an inmate, you are treated like one by the guards. I am not complaining, it was my choice to visit there. But there is definitely a feeling of being shamed by guards for even being there to visit people.

3) Inmates act completely differently on the inside than they do with their buddies who visit them. I found out that MP did that to me to an extent. Although others certainly deceived worse than MP (ie lesbian relationships, illegal activities, etc), she deceived me nonetheless. MP would point out inmates to me who were visiting with their kids and husbands, yet carrying on a secret lesbian relationship while not visiting with the family.

4) On more than one occasion I felt myself getting mad at listening to the "victim mentality". How hard it was to be an inmate, how badly they treat you, etc.

As I watch "Lock Down", I hear the same complaining. Here is where I get miffed.

Okay, so an inmate doesn't have great holidays, they are estranged from their children, they have their things rifled through constantly, they have lousy meals, the health care is so so, etc. I agree! It's lousy! It's prison folks! It's all the same complaints.

I am sure that MP's victim's family wished they could spend Christmas with their lost family member. I am sure his children from a previous marriage feel their loss a little more than MP does of her kids. I am sure that an inmate's loss is nothing compared to what the victim's feel. Putting murder aside, how about the convenience store clerk in our area that was shot and is now on a ventilator, and immobile. He isn't dead, but the losses his family is feeling seems a lot more important than having a bad meal.

I have a sense of justice for the victim's. If a crime is committed, there needs to be recompense/punishment for it. I am not for rehabilitation, or at the very least rehabilitation is very secondary. I get really angry when I hear of identity thieves who have shattered people's life savings and robbed for hundreds of thousands of dollars--getting less than a year in jail. It happens where I live. I get really angry when a convicted pedophile/child molester on death row in my state, gets freed on a technicality. Click here for that travesty. The old cliche definitely holds here--where is the justice?

If I ever intentionally inflict this kind of harm, I know I will have a hardened, criminalized heart. I will be defensive and selfish. But once that veneer is gone, I will also sit quietly in my cell and accept my punishment. I can say that because I am on this side of the bars, I know.

But I hear of it all the time. Did you completely read Susan Atkin's bio at the link above? She isn't fighting and appealing and raising a ruckus. She has become a Christian, accepted that she committed a horrifying crime, and knows her life on this earth will be in a prison cell. She has accepted her punishment. Hypothetically, if I am ever in that position (I am always mindful of the saying 'but by the grace of God go I'), I hope I am that accepting. I think true justice is when the perpetrator says "I deserve this, I will accept my punishment." Then goes about proving that statement by never filing an appeal as well as not committing crimes while incarcerated. That is the proof of true justice to me.

What is the adverse of that? Check out MP's website. Click here. Now, I am not unsympathetic. I know she had a very difficult childhood, adulthood, drug addiction and incarceration. But she also killed a man, and for that she should be punished, and was.

Yet, she is still complaining. She was beaten in prison once, and for that I am incredibly sympathetic. But her husband died. Prison is not supposed to be fun. Plus, if all inmates, in a perfect world, calmed down and accepted their punishment, maybe crime wouldn't continue to happen in prison. She thinks it's unfair that happened to her? Let's chat with her husband's family and see what their opinion of "fair" is.

I guess what my point to all of this is, I am more sympathetic to her husband. At least MP's family can see her, have holidays with her, etc. His family has nothing except knowing he died horribly. What about the freed child molester/killer? How does that child's parents feel? I would be so angry, for so long, I can't imagine. Keep in mind, he confessed to doing it! At least MP served her time. There was no justice for the molester/killer's victims.

When a crime is committed, there needs to be justice. I tune out the complaining quite a bit.

Crime and punishment. Not crime and rehabilitation.

More Brain Fuzz

Are you feeling it? The post holiday blah. I won't call it blues, because it isn't that. It's just blah. As a result, the random thoughts are kind of everywhere right now. Here are some of the latest:

* Who decides when holidays are? I know it's based on when the moon does this, the equinox does this, and somebody sneezes in Taiwan. But who actually sits down and looks at the year 2012 and decides that Thanksgiving will be on this day, and to let all the calendar printing people know? I think that is interesting.

* I love Santana's new song in collaboration with Chad Kroger, lead singer of Nickelback. Oh my word, I love that song. Great pick me up song. I hope they collaborate again soon. It's called "Into the Night". It's just now starting to get some decent air time.

* I have a treadmill! I have wanted one for a long time. Craigslist is my friend!

* Why does the UPS delivery person have to ring the doorbell and pound on the door? By the time I reach the door, they are gone. Why? Just leave it there. I'll find it when my mailman comes tip toeing up the porch.

* I predict that Britney Spears will be diagnosed bipolar within a few months. That is assuming someone can get her in front of a therapist long enough for a diagnosis. I am realizing how much her family is trying to save her from herself, but can't because she is not a minor. Dr. Phil posted on his site today that he has cancelled the show on her and how to address adult family members who are spiraling down. Very little resources for those family members, and I feel for them. Even I was frustrated that her seventy two hour hold was only twenty four hours.

* The three kinds of commercials I am sick of watching this time of year 1) Diet pills/programs and equipment. I am sick of Bowflex ads. 2) Year end car clearance. If I could afford a Lexus I still wouldn't buy one because cars are not assets. 3) Debt relief programs that really just want to help me. Oh please! They just want to transfer my debt to them so they can get my interest payment.

* At the end of this month daffodils will be pushing through the ground in my area of the planet. I need some hope that this icky winter won't continue. Peeking daffodils sound very nice right about now.

* My oldest kid is loving doing math flashcards! How cool is that?

* My youngest kid loves the oldest kid's Leapster game. It's basically a Gameboy but with very educational games, like math and reading. You have to solve a problem to get to a next level. That little kid is beating all of us!

* Potty training, just keep on keeping on. When I say blah, that may be where a lot of that is coming from. Have had some accidents. Lots of success. Even some interest in the "big boy potty". Even trying to join Dad and big brother in the bedtime final bathroom trip where only boys are allowed. Let's hope that curbs the accidents.

* Business is picking up. I need it to! Bills need to be paid! Wanna order some candles?

* I am out of batteries because of all the new toys the kids got for Christmas. It took me and a parent from my kid's school today to remember how to put new batteries in the Leapster. It isn't obvious.

* Note to the girlfriend network. Since this officer in Illinois has the heat on him for possibly killing his wife, who hasn't been found yet, I have noticed a disturbing trend. Couples with the last name of Peterson. First we had Scott Peterson. He sat in his home with the paparazzi surrounding him just hoping no one would find the body. Now we have this weirdo in Illinois on his third underage wife who is now mysteriously missing. Last name? Peterson. And the attitude of the husband's are so similar, smug, overly confident and weird. Plus the wives names are so similar, Laci and Stacey. Women that have a first name ending with the "ie" sound need to think twice before dating/marrying a Peterson. (Irony here!)

* My daily blah question to myself, what do I make for dinner tonight??

I Love the Discovery Channel

I think I am hooked on almost every show on that channel now! I just watched "It Takes A Thief" for the second time. I also almost had a heart attack. Click here if you want to see the website for the show. Check out the bios of the hosts. They are pros that have come to their senses.

The premise, two former professional burglars stake out a real house. One of them, Matt, approaches the home owner(s) to see if they are game to letting the other guy, Jon, actually burglarize their home. In exchange, they get a swanky security makeover--their house gets cleaned up and they get all of their stuff back. Then in a few weeks Matt and Jon come back unannounced to see if the homeowners have actually used the new security measures and are vigilant in locking doors, windows, and turning on the alarm. So far in the few episodes I have watched, I cringe at how absolutely lax and cavalier people are about the security of their home. Aside here, Jon looks a lot like the guy on "Man vs Wild"--one show I haven't watched and don't want to get hooked on. I don't need another show, what I need is a DVR.

Some more history here. We brought home our second child right after the 4th of July in 2005. On Friday, July 15th, like 10 days later, we were burglarized, badly. It was the bad version of the show. We had been at some friends house, and came home at about 10 pm with a sleepy boy and new baby. Open the front door, and the entire living had been ransacked, just like the show. The entry point was our kid's bedroom where a window was popped open. How callous are these people? They had to jump over a baby's changing table, jump on the bed, and go. There were huge footprints on both the bed and the table. Plus, they jumped so hard on the bed, it blew the castor wheels right off. But the ransacking was identical to the show. Things yanked out of cabinets and shelves recklessly and heartlessly. It was horrifying.

As a parent, it was a defining moment. As soon as we opened the door, and realized what happened, I dropped everything and called 911 right on our front porch. Then I realized I have a then four year old standing right next to me with saucers for eyes, and everything I said and did at that moment would shape his understanding of this event. I needed to tread lightly and maturely when what I really wanted to do was smash my cell phone on the cement and swear like a sailor. I will never forget that moment of forcing myself to be cheery, calm and nice, while completely mad, panicked and scared at the same time.

Our home is small. The thief spent most of his time in two rooms. Our living room and dining room. He emptied two book bags, just like in the show, and walked out of our home with $3,000.00 worth of stuff. All the easy to sell stuff. Laptop, digital camera, all the DVD's and CD's. That was it! I would post a picture of the aftermath, but can't. We didn't have a camera for quite some time after that.

Now, how did we feel? The personal side is this--that digital camera still had all the photos on it from when we adopted BH just a few weeks before. Gone. All the DVD's were kid's DVD's (again, very calloused thief--they don't care!) Gone. They left all the VHS movies, though. All the CD's my husband and I have collected since before we were married, some are no longer in print. Gone. One of the bags stolen was monogrammed by my company for me. It meant a lot to me, and is irreplaceable. Plus, the absolutely eerie feeling that someone has been in your house and in your stuff. It was 10 pm, we had to go to bed, and that didn't happen that night. We were traumatized.

Instead of sleeping, while we waited for the cop to arrive, we sat on the porch and watched the stars and the moon with JM. It was my effort to make this a non-traumatic event. My neighbor from across the street came over and joined us.

The cop came, more about him later. He called the CSI guy to dust for fingerprints and he came at about 2 am. Let me tell you this--the guy the police send in the middle of the night to dust for prints does not look like Marg Helgenberger! There is a reason these folks work in the middle of the night! He found no prints at all, and said he truly thought the dude was probably wearing gloves because there were several good, glassy surfaces that he would have definitely touched (ie window sill) and no prints were there.

Blessings?? None of our personal information was gone, yet was quite readily accessible. No bills, checkbooks, ID's, statements, passports, birth certificates, etc. Thank the Lord!

We were lax in our security, but not as bad as the two shows I have seen on Discovery. I have to the thank the police officer who came who gave us some really cheap suggestions in how to secure our home. We called a friend the next day to replace locks, put lag bolts on windows so they only open 6 inches, security screen doors, and some extra dead bolt locks, which we already had. He also suggestive a dog. A bellowing barking dog is a great deterrent. Two weeks later we had our dog.

Since then, we have installed a security system. We got a blessing of a deal on that. Some door to door guy came to my door saying he was giving away systems as a promotion. I told him I didn't believe him. It was true, the whole system is free, we just have to pay the monthly fee. It also has a remote type of system. So if I accidentally set the system off, which I have, there is a speaker where an operator says out loud to me "Hello. I need your security code immediately." It's like OnStar in my house. I also have an alarm code. So if something is happening right now in my house that I need the police right now, no questions asked, I hit those numbers and the police are dispatched right away. The scenario for that would be, I am coming in my home, bad guy comes up behind me and pushes his way in, but the alarm is going off. Obviously he tells me to turn it off. I use that code, it turns it off, and the police are also called.

My husband also locks up his laptop in our house. It is attached to super heavy furniture, like our roll top desk, when he isn't using. it. You have to lock stuff up in your house. That show really shows this well.

Also, shred everything. The cop said, "I know all the experts say you need to keep a copy of your bills for like a year. Nonsense. You can always request a copy and most utilities have online copies. Shred them as soon as you see they are received. Envelopes and all."

I also like that the show talks about deterrents. Our barking dog is a deterrent. The alarm sticker on my windows are deterrents. My super prickly tree by the window by my computer is a deterrent. In fact, the show I just watched, they used the exact same stickery bush in the makeover. I like it, I hate pruning it. I am sure that bush is what made the crown of thorns on Jesus, I am not kidding!

Motion sensitive lights are a nice deterrent. Our bad guy got into our house basically because at night, our backyard is pitch black. It is easy to sneak around there undetected. A new socket and lightbulb now sets off a motion sensitive light both in our backyard and our garage area.

Until we can afford to do a full replacement of our rickety windows, we have definitely used the deterrents that were suggested to us. Honestly, someone could break into our home again, easily. But there are enough deterrents I think that they would be more inclined to go to the next house. I hate to do that to our neighbors, but most of them have the same deterrents now as well.

I recommend that show! You may not be able to afford all the goodies they do in the makeover, but you can certainly get some great ideas from the easy fixes. I certainly don't want what happened to us to happen to anyone else. In the show, they get their stuff back, we didn't. And the police can't do a thing for you except fill out the police report for your insurance.

Good Movie!

We dusted off our Netflix movies last night. The writer's strike has put a damper on evening television, have you noticed?

Anyway, we decided not to watch "Flicka" or "Scooby Doo". We'll watch "Flicka" tonight with the kids, and "Scooby Doo" is going back.

We watched "Capote". I can absolutely see why Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Academy for this. I still laugh my head off when I think of him in the scene in "Along Came Polly" where he describes "sharded". What a vastly different character that was!)

A few years ago, we read the book "In Cold Blood" in my book club, and I was a loser that month and didn't read it. Now I want to so bad! The movie is Truman Capote's journey to writing the book about a quadruple murder in Kansas. He can't finish the book until the case is finished, and the process pretty much finished him. He never wrote another book after that. You have to see the process of Truman's demise writing this incredibly difficult book about an incredibly difficult murder.

I also think Truman Capote didn't realize his book would start the whole genre of "True Crime" books. You know, those books that give kind of a biographical view of a crime, the players, the ending, etc. Ann Rule is a huge true crime novelist. You can also watch Court TV, now Tru TV, and see "Murder By the Book". Those are almost all true crime novelists. Thank you, Truman Capote.

One thing I appreciate as well--no explicit violence. Because this was a horrendous murder case, I just knew the opening scenes would be people being slaughtered. I just don't have the stomach for that. Slight, implied violence towards the end of the movie as the perpetrator is flashing back to the scene. The only thing about this movie, a few F bombs. I couldn't believe it! The subject matter is certainly not for kids by any stretch, but for an R rated movie I was pleasantly surprised at how I didn't have to cover my eyes and put aside my hate for constant, gratuitous swearing.

I recommend it! Plus, if you are a movie buff, like me, and haven't seen a movie in awhile, this is one to choose.