SOCKS & SHOES

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. This morning started off so promising then it derailed.

I got both kiddos to school on time.  HOLLER!! I did the verbal mommy double-check before we left.  You know the one, when you are upstairs frantically trying to get your underwear on the right way while yelling downstairs to confirm that all items are packed in their bags and SOCKS & SHOES are on their feet.  I had received confirmation from both children that they had all the necessary items in their school bags and their SOCKS and SHOES were indeed on their feet.  So I threw on my clothes, grabbed the baby, a food bar of some type (my diet has been consumed with fiber bars, protein bars, anything in bar form really, ever since school started) and my keys and we headed out the door.  Once at school I parked the car grabbed the kiddos walked my little kindergartner to her class where she had a surprising meltdown but we got threw it.  I checked the time, hauled ass back to the car which was park strategically at the end of a dead-end street so that I can turn back down the same street avoiding crazy traffic (K-8 grade school and all parents drop off their kids, you can image the traffic).  So, I buckle the baby back into her seat, Max, my preschooler, buckles up and we are off. We have ten minutes to get five miles. This may seem feasible but rush hour occurs thanks to the entire school needing to be dropped off before their parents head to work.  The baby cries the entire way there, my inquisitive preschooler has questions just rolling off his tongue, and I am desperately trying not to hit the brake happy elderly individual in front of me. Brake! Accelerate. Mommy why don’t we have two noses? Brake! Mommy why do we have five toes? Accelerate. Mommy all the food in my stomach goes to my brain?  Brake!  Finally, we did it! I unbuckle the baby take Max’s hand walk into school take off his jacket, quickly write his name in his jacket (changing of seasons always catches me off guard- 75 degrees one day and 45 the next, come on! ), and drop him off in his room.

Upon arriving at home after dropping Max off I opened the door to a quiet house and an excited feeling poured over me.  I was finally going to get my moment to catch up on some much needed house work and perhaps even have half a moment to spare just for myself.  So I put on the nap music and put the baby down for a nap.  As I walked back downstairs I felt like a child on Christmas morning.  It was peaceful, (minus the cat and dog squabbling because the dog is forever sniffing the cats butt, but that was small compared to the grand scheme of things).  Ah, I allowed myself to finally exhale.  After two crazy weeks I was finally going to have a little time to myself.   Then, it happened, the phone rang.  My heart sank a little as I answered the phone. I looked on the caller ID and it was my son’s preschool, I answered it.   The program director asked me if I knew why she was calling.  I wanted to say, because you knew I was so close to having a moment to myself and you wanted to congratulate me? But I knew better, so I simply replied a quick, no.  She then informed me that my son was wearing flip-flops, which goes against the rule.  I needed to bring his SOCKS & SHOES so he could participate in the rest of the school day activities.

So I kissed my moment to catch up on chores and a half a moment to myself goodbye. I woke the baby up from her nap; she was now very upset, grabbed his SOCKS & SHOES, and headed back to preschool.  Once there I handed off the shoes and made my apologies.  To which she replied, “What’s going on with his eye?”  What?  His eye has a problem now? Nothing I exclaimed.  He had an eyelash in it earlier but it seemed fine after it was removed I shared.  So I got back in the car and headed down the same route I had already taken three times today, make that three times in the last hour.  Once home I attempted to put the baby back down for a nap, attempted mind you, this was not successful.  I started to get a few things done around the house and then it was time to go pick him up from preschool.  So I grabbed the now extremely upset, cranky, and tired baby and somehow managed to stop her from arching her back just long enough to buckle her in the car seat. As I started down our road I realized I could not go my usual way because they were painting the lines on the road.  Go figure, what are the chances?  So I took a detour, was a few minutes late but I got there, yet again.  I unbuckled the baby and rushed up the stairs into the school to get him from his classroom.  First thing I noticed his eye.  What’s going on with his eye? It was at that moment I realized I had two choices, do I laugh or do I cry?

Are we living Idiocracy?

Ok, so while browsing through Parents magazine I came across this tad bit of information under your child’s health:

Stick-On-Safety

Keep more than an eye on your kids with SafetyTat QR temporary tattoo.  The bar code is scannable with a Smartphone and provides additional emergency info to authorities.

What? I thought it was outlandish and a sign of lazy parenting when they invented those stupid kid leashes.  Now they have tattoos! Whatever happened to parents actually watching their children?  Is it exhausting chasing after a two year old?  Darn straight, but you are the parent; your child should be your number one priority.  Your needs, as the parent, do not come first, your child’s do.  So, if you plan on taking your child out in public plan accordingly, talk to your child about stranger danger and staying near you at all times. Teach your children why they need to say with you don’t just put on a tattoo or a leash and hope for the best.

The next question that begs to be asked is, when do you stop leashing and tattooing your child?  Will adults soon require tattoos as well?  Is the future filled with mindless adults who wander around scanning their tattoos with their phones then inputting it into their GPS? Are we living Idiocracy (I included a scene from the movie below for those who are not familiar with the film)?

Please, share your thoughts.

When it's yellow let it mellow, when it's brown flush it down, unless you are a guest?

Water conservation is something that has been on my mind since I was 13 years old.   We had taken a family trip, you know one of those trips where dad has to work some of the days but the rest of the family is on vacation.  So, long story short, we went to Arizona and I remember being so fascinated with the cacti as we drove to our hotel, we were definitely not in Northwest Ohio anymore.  We had arrived late at night and I was surprised the next morning when I looked out our hotel room and there was no desert.  In fact it was rather green, I was disappointed.  We had to get in our rental car and drive to the desert.  It was at that moment the questions started rolling off my tongue.  I remember asking my father why the grass in the desert is greener than the grass at home? Where does the water come from since it is supposed to be a desert? How does it get to the desert? Doesn't it evaporate really fast?  Does that cost a lot of money? .  After my many questions my father let out a slight chuckle and then he explained the entire irrigation process to me.  I thought is so silly to waste water on the desert and waste so much money trying to make plants and grass grow where they should not (and the indigenous landscape is so beautiful). It was at that moment that I knew water conservation was something I was going to practice and share.

Props to the family for such a clean toilet. Four people use
this toilet and
two of them are boys (way to aim boys!)

Dirty Anti-Green Machine
(but it is officially ours- no more payments!)

So, here I am almost twenty years later.  I am now married with three kiddos, a cat, dog, home, and lawn of my own that is only irrigated when Mother Nature sees fit.  I continue my water conservation quest by teaching my family how to only utilize the water that is necessary. In order to facilitate this lifestyle we have adopted certain routines. 

We turn off the faucet while we brush our teeth.  We rinse our dishes as soon as we are finished eating so that a substantial amount of water isn’t required to clean them later when hard substance has formed (Instead of water 2 tablespoons of vinegar helps with the really tough jobs). We load our dishwasher to capacity and run it as opposed to hand cleaning the dishes which does surprisingly save water in the end.  I also try my best to make sure I am on top of the laundry and remove clothes from the washer the same day I place them in the washer, so that they do not have to be washed again. I wash a substantial amount of clothing at once.  I do not wash my car, which is bad for the car, good for conserving water.  When bathing the kiddos I try my best to have one start off with a shower and let the tub fill while they shower.  The next two children can then take a bath in the water that filled (unless it was a rather dirty day, then a refill might be necessary). We have also adopted the technique of when it is yellow, let it mellow and when it is brown, flush it down (my son has also added a new slogan, if you go three it has to flee.  Going # 3 is of course when you go both #1 and #2).  We have an older toilet that has 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf) not the newer 1.5 or 1.6 gpf, so we really have incentive to conserve.  This of course is a hit, or miss, when it comes to 4 and 5 year olds.  My husband has grown a little perturbed at the fact that when it is his turn to use the facilities sometimes the previous user did not flush the brown down.  It’s a learning process; we will get there one day!

I am proud of my kiddos, they are learning a valuable lesson about abundance and how their actions affect others and the environment.  However, I was caught off guard the other day when my son asked why we do not flush at home when it is yellow (or #1) but we do at other people’s houses.  Well, I exclaimed slowly, stalling in hopes of trying to determine the best way to respond to his little inquisitive mind. I was at a loss.  I simply replied that is rude not to flush the toilet at other people’s homes, you need to follow their rules.  Thankfully he did not have a followup question but his question has had me pondering, what if we did follow the same rule at a friends house? Would our friends think less of us?

So what would you do? Would you think less of someone if they did not flush the toilet at your house? Would it matter more if it was #1 or #2?

If you aren’t already, follow me, and then post your thoughts below.

Clipping for a Cause

Clipping for a Cause
There are three activities that encompass this endeavor.  They can each be a lot of fun when done with friends.

1^st Chit Chat & Clip

So I am a huge fan of the Krazy Coupon Lady and thanks to their website and book I have managed to organize an efficient coupon binder and become a savvy shopper. On my last shopping adventure the total was $400.00 and I paid $260.  Granted, I still think there is room for improvement but it is a good starting point. 

Anyway, perhaps we could meet at a local coffee shop and chit chat and clip.

2^nd Cart to Car

We would then meet up at the grocery store, place the items we clipped the coupons for in the cart, pay for the items, and then place them in the car. Again, this could be a lot of fun with friends (preferably no children for this trip- we need sharp mommy brains to stay focused).

3^rd Car to food pantry (darn, I was trying to come up with word that begins with c)

A designated group could then drive the donations to the food pantry and if they wish possibly stay and help sort and organize the donated products.

What do you say? Who is with me?

Time frame: this does not all have to occur in a specific time frame.  Step one could occur over the course of a month or so but the 2^nd and 3^rd are more time sensitive.

Over-sexed society, I blame the Jersey Shore?

When did dating become synonymous with promiscuity? In the past it was not unusual for a teenage girl to have a date to a football game with a young man on a Friday evening and a movie date with a different young man on a Saturday evening.  However by today’s standards she would be considered promiscuous because for some reason sex is presumed to occur.

Sex has been taken so lightly these days, as if two individuals are meeting up for an afternoon jog. Our society is leaving nothing up to the imagination.  From a very young age children are exposed to adult content and situations. The clothing that is in the little girls department is appalling; I fear that it is a come hither call to sexual predators. Little girls should not be dressing in trampy adult women clothing.  Short skirts, shorts, bikinis with padding in the tops, exotic prints, high heels for toddles (PLEASE!) etc. this type of wardrobe is grooming a child for a life where sex appeal gets you attention and not their intellect.

Since society is so cavalier with provocative attire, exposing children to sexually explicit games, and television shows at such a young age it is no wonder why teens are exploring their sexuality.  They probably see it as a right of passages, this is what the adults do, and they are being groomed into young adults, right?  The excitement, the scandal, the attention that the promiscuous parties receive in television shows is appealing to young minds. Reality television only magnifies this idea.  There are two shows that instantly come to mind when it comes to sex and promiscuity, Jersey Shore and Teen Mom.  These two shows are on MTV, granted not the most elite programming but chances are, even if you do not have cable or allow your child to view such programming, they have somewhere or somehow, or they have at least heard other children discuss it.  These two shows glamorize sex appeal, premarital sex, and promiscuity.  Teen Mom is a sequel to the original show titled, Sixteen and Pregnant.  Sixteen and Pregnant followed around girls who, you guessed it, were pregnant at sixteen.  MTV has exclaimed that the purpose of the show is to illustrate the hardships these women go through in hopes that other teens will not follow in their footsteps.  However, while viewing the show quite the contrary is being illustrated, the teen girls all have their own places, cars, adorable babies, oh, and they are on MTV, they are famous, talk about the life.  That playing house thing doesn’t look to difficult on Teen Mom, why wouldn’t a teen contemplate the same road, you could be famous?  Next stop Jersey Shore.

Wow, what isn’t wrong with this show? The show originally aired on the Jersey Shore but they have most recently made a mockery of Americans in Italy. The show has eight or nine characters; I mean reality television stars that live together for a few weeks.  Now, for the most part all I can gather, with regard to a purpose of the show is to watch as people destroy their lives?  Or maybe they are trying to be examples of what you should not do with your lives?  They all drink heavily, sleep in, are late for work which is the equivalent of a first time job for a teenager (they work at a pizzeria), sleep with each other, sleep with strangers, and fight.  I believe that about sums up the program, oh, I forgot, they also eat sometimes. So, once again this show is glamorizing behaviors we do not want our children to partake in, it illustrates nothing but rude, promiscuous, intoxicating behavior. 

Society is definitely steering our future generations in the wrong direction, perhaps it is hopeless?  Oh, but wait, is society responsible for our children or are we, the parents responsible for our children? Last time I checked, my five year old doesn’t have a license or a job to purchase clothes, so who is buying the clothes?  And those same children live with adults, what type of behavior is being modeled in their homes? Is Jersey Shore and Teen Mom behavior be modeled?  

Parents take a stand, be the positive role model in your child’s life. On that note I will step down from my soap box and we are off to church.

Day 2 and Day 3 of my screen-free challenge, Day 3 is a doozy

Day 2

Wow, did I sleep great.  I had no trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.  But I had a dose of the good stuff and like a drug I wanted more. However, the kiddos were up earlier than usual, bright-eyed at 6:30am and we actually had nowhere to go this morning.  I tried to get them to sleep in, I expressed that soon school would be starting and we would have to wake up early. I exclaimed that this is why we should treasure these few mornings left that we do not have to go anywhere, sleep in, SLEEP IN.  Then an idea stuck me, television, how great would it be to just have them preoccupied by a television show for an hour and mommy could continue this euphoric slumber. Then I remembered the 3 day screen-free challenge-NOOOOO I yelled in my mind as I slowly got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

We played instruments and listened to music

After everyone had eaten up all the eggs the day took off like a whirlwind.  We read all the Eric Carle books, we listened to music, played the instruments, danced, did our activity books, and colored, wow that was exhausting. 

The kiddos even helped me clip coupons

Unfortunately it was only 10am.  So I let them raid the recycling box and the pantry and make creative creations.  Surprisingly that lasted for an hour then I declared it lunch time.  Once they completed lunch it was off to quiet time for them and my hubby came home and we had lunch together.  Instead of eating in the family room preoccupied with a television show we ate in the kitchen and had a true heart-to-heart, it was a delightful meal. 

After quiet time it was off to various stores in hopes of using store coupons in order to get a discount on my little princess's new school uniform wardrobe.  So we stopped at Kohl’s got the stroller out, kiddos out, in the store, purchased a shirts, got the kiddos back in the car, stroller in the car, baby buckled and drove two minutes across the street to JCPenny’s.  Once at JCPenny’s I got the stroller out, kiddos out, in the store, purchased a skirt, got the kiddos back in the car, stroller in the car, baby buckled and drove a minute around the store to ULTA. Once at ULTA I got the stroller out, kiddos out, in the store, purchased moisturizer, got the kiddos back in the car, stroller in the car, baby buckled and drove back across the street to Kohl’s since I realized I still had 10 dollars worth of Kohl’s bucks in my wallet. So, after all was said and done my arms got a great workout, I think I broke my back, the children asked for random items roughly 50 times, they learned a valuable lesson about being on a budget, and I was just about out of my mind.  I so desperately just wanted to go home and place all of them in front of the television so mommy could decompress. But there was no time, dinner needed to be prepared. 

After dinner we walked down to the park then came home had bath time, books, prayers, and bed. Once they were in bed I did the usually mommy stuff to prepare for the next day and sat down and finished my book.  Yes, that is correct; I said finished my book, in two days.  I have not finished a book in two days since honor literature summer reading list in high school (I was a procrastinator back then, kinda of cynical, you know the typical teenager ). Once again, I fell to sleep right after reading my book.  My mind was so focused on the book that my thoughts had no space or time to wander, it was beautiful.

Day 3

We needed to get up and going today since all three of my kiddos had doctors’ appointments.  My super hero needed his wellness check before preschool started. My princess only required one vaccine, chicken pox (I loved getting the chicken pox, such a bummer) before starting kindergarten, and my little baby grace needed her well check.  So the grand total for all three kiddos was nine vaccines.  Being the good and prepared mommy that I thought I was I packed snacks, drinks, activities to preoccupy them, and we discussed what was going to happen once we arrived at the doctor’s office. We discussed why they receive shots and ways to preoccupy their minds.  It seemed like they were prepared. 

So we walked in and there was no one in the waiting room.  I paid each of their co-pays and they said we could come on back.  Awesome, this was working out wonderfully; we had made it past the first wait, now on to the second.  We didn’t even have to wait for the nurse, she followed us, asked a few questions, and we were onto the weighing and measurement room. My little super hero breezed right through being weighed, measured, and blood pressure like a pro, on to the baby.  All of my children as babies cried during the weighing portion of the appointment, the buckets with the crunchy paper terrified them, but not my little baby grace.  She sat in the bucket got weighed, laid down got measured for height, and sat up to have her head circumference measured.  WOW, it was going so well, I was such a proud momma. All that was left was to talk to the doctor and then vaccines.  So we waited for the doctor for like a minute, she checked them out, and then we waited for the nurse to come back with the vaccines.  I decided that it would be best if the super hero went first, he is four, well prepared for what is going to occur, and he exuded so much confidence. 

So the nurse arrived with the vaccines in each tray, sat them down, and asked who was going first. My super hero jumped up on the bench and declared that he would be first.  So I started talking to him, I had him looking in the opposite direction as the shot, we were focusing our attention on a picture in the room, everything was going so smoothly, then it happened.  He looked at the shot, it started to penetrate his skin and he freaked out.  With a gusto he swiped is arm past the nurses, pulling the shot out of his skin in the process, leaving a bloody trail as it exited his body.  He simultaneously let out a huge yelp and began wailing.  Upon witnessing this horrific display my little princess and baby grace began crying as well.  Unfortunately this was only the first of nine shots to be given that day. So the nurse had me sit him on my lap, his legs between mine, and hold his arms, I felt horrible holding my child down like this but I knew he needed these vaccines, and deep down somewhere I was praying that he knew as well.  As I sat him down in the chair sobbing from the trauma and  I had to refocus my attention on my little princess. She only required one shot but boy was it going to be difficult to get her to clam down.

By this time all three of my children are crying, they have actually closed the door to the waiting room in hopes of not scaring off other patience.  Along with the wailing and screaming my little princess begins running around the office trying to get away from me. It should be noted that I have never experienced such a display from my children.  I felt like the worst mother ever, chasing down her child, holding them in place as they are punctured.  My mind quickly shifted to mommy mode, I was riffling through my memory box eagerly searching a resolutions to make this conundrum disappear.  What would Dr. Laura do?...Dr. Phil? What would my mom do?

I tried to rationalize the situation, and then I tried channeling their imaginations, when nothing seemed to work I had to contemplate bribery. I had no choice, I just wanted the entire thing to end.  The yelling, screaming, wailing, running, that they were illustrating and the emotional trauma to my psyche, it all felt surreal.  I felt like I was stuck in some sitcom, you know the ones, where it is funny from the audience’s perspective but at the expense of the actor.  Somebody yell cut I kept thinking, this cannot be real.

So finally the big yellow arches came to mind.  I declared that everyone could have a happy meal, with a toy, and French fries if we just got through the next two rounds of shots.  Suddenly the chaos seceded. My little princess received her vaccine, with her legs between mine and holding onto me for dear life.  Baby grace was a breeze, though crying the entire time, I could console her easily.  Upon leaving the doctors office I felt like I was leaving a battle zone.  I was physically and emotionally drained.

We headed to McDonald’s were everyone received their unhealthy, everything I do not stand for, happy meal. And they were happy.

Once home I finished cleaning up from the morning, prepared for the next day, organized a few things all the while so desperately wanting and deserving some mindless screen time.  I just went through what I would assume hell to be like and I just wanted to get lost in something.  So I started reading a new book. Within moments my mind was onto a new topic, in a way mindless television shows or computers social networks do not allow.  Granted I am not a doctor and I have not conducted any research but based upon my personal experience there is something psychological that must occur when we read from a book and not a screen.  I do not know how to fully express it in words but it is special. It is almost like our entire brain focuses so much more on the pages as opposed to a screen where it seems like so much more is occurring.

Coming soon…..conclusion to the challenge and studies that have been done to support my findings

Synopsis of the 3 Day Challenge

The 3 day screen free challenge was an enlightening experience. I found that for the most part being screen free brought about peacefulness inside of me. However there were a few moments when I would have given my left arm to have Barney and Big Bird on my side.

Bye Bye TV

The night before the challenge we read the book, It’s Not What You’ve Got to set the tone for the next three days.

Day 1

This screen free thing is pretty easy.  Granted we had a dentist appointment this morning. So there really wasn’t much time for television watching.  When we got home the children listened to music, played their instruments, and danced around the living room while I prepared lunch.  I so enjoyed lunch.

Normally I would work through lunch doing random chores around the house in hopes of being able to get online while the kiddos nap, or have quiet time. Knowing that I couldn’t get online during naptime or quiet time really slowed me down.  I sat down at the table with the children.  Usually my mind is wandering on the various to do lists, or activities, I hope to accomplish.  However, for the first time in a long time my mind was clear. I giggled, sang, and even made animal noises with the children, I felt like a kid again! It was at that moment that it became crystal clear to me that the effect that screen time has on your mind can be significant. How sad is it that “normally” during lunch my mind is a whirlwind, wondering if I received a certain email, if a particular coupon has become available, or if a friend commented on a recent post to facebook.  Wow, the screen-time-brain effect was making me miss out on enjoying time with the most important people in my life.

After quiet time we walked down to the park, had dinner, read books, then it was bedtime for the kiddos.  Meanwhile my hubby took off for a poker game and I was suddenly by myself with only the cat and the dog. I started to think about what I was supposed to do now? Chores were all completed.  Suddenly this challenge felt silly to me and I contemplated turning on a screen.  Television or computer I didn’t care.  I was all by myself, who would know if I turned on the TV?  I need distraction...or company…or something...I was perplexed by the emotion I was begining to feel.  I was seriously starting to become a little anxious, weird, who becomes anxious due to lack of distraction? In order to subside this feeling of anxiousness I ventured over to the bookshelf and grabbed a book from my been meaning to read pile, poured a cup of tea, lit a scented soy candle, and started reading. Suddenly a flood of calm set over me and I thought to myself, so this is what relaxing is all about.  I had forgotten how nice it was to get lost in a book.   I usually read ten minutes here, ten minutes there, often totaling a half hour or less a day. This time I had the luxury of reading, rand eading, and reading, till I fell asleep.

More to come tomorrow…….