My Day Today...and Other Thoughts and Rantings...Like Cleaning & Gardening

Today, I will be in the hospital most of the day with my now 4-year-old Dylan...

As you can see, my boys like to run around without their shirts on...

So, from about 5:30 AM to probably late in the afternoon, I plan to be bored out of my mind without Internet and other forms of technology. I AM taking my laptop, regardless! (Maybe I can tap into the Internet at the hospital! It would be nice to know if I could anyways, because that's where I'm going to be delivering our precious new little man within the next couple of weeks! Oh, if I CAN get Internet at the hospital, I will be in Happy-Land, but I highly doubt it!) Okay, well, I take that back...I just asked my hubby and he said that most hospitals have complimentary Internet for the people there...wooohooo! Maybe I'll stay there an extra day after the baby is born! Vacation time! LOL (By the way, doc has me scheduled for an ultrasound on Sept 9th - I'll keep you posted!)

In addition to my laptop, I will be tagging along a few new books that I am reading to write reviews on...it is the perfect time to read through those...and I think I might line up some book reviews for when I have the baby, too!

Thoughts of Summer and Flowers...

So, summer is almost over, to my dismay...which means it's time to repot the last flowers for winter soon. I have been admiring my flowers for the past few weeks, since I bought them. I'm amazed at how happy they are and how much they have grown! It's un-be-lieve-able! I wish I had taken "before" pictures of when I first purchased them...

Anyways, guest blogger, Melissa Cameron, wrote a blog post that was recently published here on Mommy Rantings, titled, "Three Options for Mom-Friendly Hobbies". It made me think about my love for gardening and flowers. In the house that we previously lived in, I kept telling myself that once we moved, I would buy myself some flowers. (We knew that the house was up for sale, so we had it in our minds that we would have to move once it sold.)

With the thought of pretty flowers in the back of my mind, moving from that house didn't sound quite as bad. Truth be told, we had fallen in love with the house. It was settled across the street from a park with six - or seven? - playgrounds. You could literally walk out the front door, cross the street and be at the largest playground in the park.

We Love the Easy Cleaning

The one thing that we didn't like was the hardwood floors...the whole house was hardwood floors, which means cleaning twice - sweeping and mopping.  Two times the work as carpets! Now, we have only three rooms with floors that are not carpeted in the whole house. My bedroom and Nicholas and Wes' shared bedroom are hardwood floors, but because they are bedrooms, they are low maintenance and the kitchen is, of course, a tiled kitchen floor - and the tiles are easy to clean with my Mr. Clean Wet/Dry Microfiber Mop...if you haven't tried one of these, you will fall in love! And, the kids love it, too, because it's lightweight and easy to push around. In addition, the microfiber pad does a lot of the scrubbing for you. It gets into grooves and alongside walls with ease. (Ugh! Sounds like I'm writing a review! But, I definitely recommend it!)

Mr. Clean Wet/Dry Microfiber Mop

The only thing I have to worry about around here is spills and stains on the carpeting, but Woolite Heavy Traffic Carpet Cleaner has been a lifesaver - it even helped to remove Spaghetti-O's and their orange stain out of the carpet when nothing else could! I've also heard that Oxi-Clean or a white vinegar and water mixture will do the job, too. 

But, now I'm getting sidetracked...back to the flowers! So, when we moved to our new house that we are steadily falling in love with, I started looking for flowers for myself. Being the end of the season, the pickin's were slim.

My oldest son, Lucas, went flower shopping with me. Not that he had a choice. We were on our way home from his dreaded doctor's appointment where he received the mandatory DTP shot (for school).

We stopped at three different garden centers/nurseries before we finally found the ones that I fell in love with. We have a wonderful spot to hang some flower baskets, so I decided to get two hanging baskets. I chose four that I really liked and asked Lucas to pick his favorite two out of the four. I also ended up getting two each of African Violets and Kalanchoe. And two purple mums (for fall, of course!).

Within two weeks, I have had to repot the African Violets and Kalanchoe - and the mums are in need of repotting, too. The mums had no blooms when I bought them, but you will see that they have bloomed fiercely!

Without further ado, I introduce my precious flowers:

The gazebo-like entrance area to our house, where the flowers "live" right now.

One of my hanging baskets - there were only purple and white striped blooms and a few white blooms when I bought them. The pink are all new blooms.

The other hanging basket. It was only half as tall as it is now when I bought it!

My pink Kalanchoe and one of my African Violets

My red Kalanchoe and my other African Voilet

My beautiful purple mums and my "pumpkin" in the middle. :)

While I was snapping the pictures, Kodi-bear was following me, trying his best to get some attention...he finally got it. I laughed when I actually saw the pic, because it looks like he has a big bald spot, but in reality, that's the sunlight casting strange sun patterns.

Off To My Day....

On a woeful note, I will miss sending my four oldest children off for their first day of school, as I have to be at the hospital to check in at 6:00 AM with Dylan. On a good note, the children have a wonderful woman who has walked into our lives named Jean to help them get ready for school and (hopefully) take pictures. My search for Mary Poppins - or at least a someone VERY close to her - stopped quick when I met her during my recruitment process for a mother's helper. I'm hoping that she stays with us for a while. :) 

So, now that I've been able to get out my rantings and ravings today, I wish you a happy day and hope everything goes as planned today. :) Try to remind yourself that there are parents out there fighting for their children's lives (I'm not referring to me - our son is having an elective surgery) in the hospital and that, no matter what goes wrong today, there are people worse off than we are.

Enjoy your day, make the most of it and hugs your kids! I will post updates on first day of school, how surgery day went and how the pregnancy is coming along in the very near future!

Is It Normal Practice to Play Ding Dong Ditch With Your Kids?

Okay, so maybe I'm off in some faraway world where things make sense to other parents that do not make sense to me. Am I that out of touch?

Maybe it's because I'm a bit overprotective of my children when it comes to leaving them with people who I don't really know...

And, maybe I'm just weird...and I am blowing things out of proportion.

Today, an incident happened that completely blew my mind. I'm still sitting here, utterly perplexed, as I type this.

So, here goes...

My oldest son, Lucas, came inside the house with the neighbor's little boy. (I think he's about 4 years old.) Well, actually, it's the neighbor's son's child. But, that has nothing to do with the point here. Lucas tells me that "the lady" (now, I believe "that lady" is the aunt of the child) came halfway down the sidewalk toward our house and then sent him to our door, where Lucas was. She didn't ask if it was a good time, if it was okay for him to come over and play...nothing. And, then turned and went back to the house. Talk about ding-dong ditch!

My children were running around, inside and outside of the house, in the backyard playing in and out of  the kiddie pool, and otherwise just having a good time while I was getting some work done on the computer. They were all keeping each other busy, and, basically, everyone was getting along fine. There was no need for me to be on my toes, supervising what was going on, because things were happy happy and hunky-dory.


Then along comes another...

We're talking about a very active, normally rough and tough 4 year old little boy here. Not to say that my boys are sissies, but the truth is, we don't tolerate hitting and roughness between our boys. We expect them to play nicely, not throw things and keep the splashing down in the little pool, because the little guys are playing with them, too. Well, that went out the window when the neighbor's child came over. He was ready to get down and dirty. And, he's a little boy, so I guess that's to be expected. You can't really blame children for the behaviors that their parents allow them to get away with.

But, here are my problems:

1) With even a small, kiddie pool in the backyard (as opposed to a large pool), I'm not completely comfortable with having children who are not mine playing in the backyard unsupervised. Ultimately, if something happened, wouldn't I be the responsible party?

2) Isn't it normal common courtesy to politely ask someone when you want to drop your child off on them? (This is not the first time in my motherhood where parents have simply dumped their children at my house, without saying much at all. Maybe they think that I won't notice another kid running around? Or maybe they think that I'm the perfect candidate for a free babysitter, because I have nothing better to do than watch kids?)

3) If it was me, I wouldn't feel comfortable dropping any of my children off at a neighbor's house (or anyone else's house, for that matter) that I barely knew, especially if that neighbor was pregnant and had six children already unless she had invited my child over.

What Did I Do?

What else? After letting off some steam to my husband (who didn't seem to be phased by the situation), I marched right next door and let the neighbor (or auntie) know that my children were playing in the yard unsupervised because I had work to do on the computer and my husband was going to be running out for a while. I had to walk past the father, because he was involved in a cell phone conversation that was apparently more important than his son.

And she said that it was okay that he was unsupervised - "he can swim good" and she would send the father over to check in on him.

So, my husband, bless his heart, went outside and supervised for a while and then I took over for a tiny little while myself. Then, about an hour and a half later (it is really hot out there today), and only after a ton of, "No, please don't splash" and "We don't hit each other" and "No jumping off of the slide into the pool" and "Be careful" and a million other polite chastising remarks (all aimed at one particular child), our kids had had enough and were getting ready to come inside. The neighbor's child wanted to come in, too, completely dripping wet and asking for food.

Oh, did I mention that within the whole hour and a half, the father did not once come and check on his son?

Then, one of my kids told me, "He [name excluded] has chicken pox." I looked and noticed that his belly had red spots and the pants line also was covered with the same red spots.

I said, "What makes you think they are chicken pox?"

And, my child said, "Because he [name excluded again] said he has chicken pox."

Wow, just wow.

I quickly helped the little guy gather his shirt and shoes (I asked nicely to get them and he responded "I can't" LOL I'm so glad we have taught our children some personal independence) and walked him back next door. Nobody was there, except the father who was pacing in the driveway and talking on the cell phone (still). He saw us coming, but did not ask the person on the other end of the line to hold on, he just nodded and turned away. So, I walked up to him and said, "He said he was hungry." I wanted to ask if the child had chicken pox, but the father was far too busy on the phone to be worried about what the woman next door who had just babysat his son had to say.

Hmmmm....I wonder why?

So, I sit here, wondering...am I crazy? Is it really okay to start dropping my kids off at people's houses without asking? Because, I seriously would never feel comfortable doing this!

I have had long conversations with my children (listen, children are children - they don't completely understand the concept of common courtesy) about manners and how they cannot call someone's house and invite themselves or simply show up to other people's houses without both sets of parents having a conversation and me or dad meeting the parents and making arrangements ahead of time. It's just not polite, as far as I'm concerned.

This Isn't the First Time....

I had a similar incident occur when we lived in the Carolinas...only this mother would use "guilt trips" to get me to take her children (not child, children) for the weekend - often. She would call and tell me that her babysitter backed out and she had to work and that her three kids were missing my kids...badly. Her kids were driving her crazy asking if they could come over and play...Funny, I was pregnant back then, too. Again, this was a mother whom we had met at church, but she didn't even know us!

My husband (as usual) wasn't phased by the predicament -he's an angel with kids, but I got tired of it after the first weekend, especially when I couldn't get a hold of her by cellphone throughout the whole weekend. And, even more especially when my 2 year old found medications in the children's bags that I had not been told about. (They needed meds in the evening and morning - wouldn't you, as a mother, tell the person that you are leaving your children with that they needed their meds??? Let alone, warn the other mother that there are meds in their bags so that the other children do not get into them???) This quickly turned into an almost every weekend thing, and sometimes she would just show up with the kids...eventually, I had to tell her that it was just too much for me - and this was when I was 3 weeks away from delivering my 6th child!

Is it me??? Am I the crazy one? Is this a normal practice now?

I know that I can be overprotective of my children, but I find it pretty scary to drop them off with parents that I do not know.

Seriously, am I wayyy out of the loop and why I am the one being targeted? Can someone help me here?

Product Review Bloggers Beware!

Oh, yes, I am double posting today! It's a shame, because I loved the 12 Weird/Bizarre Baby Products post, however I simply could not let this one go under the carpet. Here's my rant for the day:

So, yes, "Mom Bloggers" are supposed to be a great target group for PR reps that are responsible for promoting their products to offer review opportunities to, right? Apparently, some of these PR reps think that they are either dealing with a group of dumb chicks who do not know their worth - or how much their time is worth, or else they think that we actually think it is a privilege to promote their products for them.

PR reps: let me clue you in! We are helping you do your job, which is - and correct me if I am wrong - promoting your products. We have spent time building our own loyal group of readers and we are spreading the word about your products, which takes time and energy. I'm not going to once again talk about how long it takes to write a decent review with links and images...let alone how long it takes to build our own loyal following.

Why am I saying all of this?

Well, I stumbled across a pitch today that royally hit a nerve...go ahead and read this and then come back and read the rest of this post.

Did you read it? Essentially, in case you did not read it, Melissa & Doug posted today in their "Bloggers: A Great Opportunity for You!" that they want us bloggers to get our fans and followers to send 200 Facebook "likes" to their page (I guess your people should say that they came from your blog) and once you hit 200 Facebook "likes"...(have fun, whoever is keeping track of this), you get one set of plastic beach things to give way on your blog. Although these toys are absolutely adorable, I don't think so!

Now you can see why I am irked. Melissa & Doug has some awesome awesome toys, arts & crafts, puzzles, classroom supplies, etc. - I am not knocking their products here, in the least! What I am knocking is their obviously ridiculous pitch to bloggers (Mom Bloggers, for the most part...duh, these are toy reviews!).

First of all...did it say something about recruiting 200 Facebook "likes" for you? Companies PAY BIG MONEY to social media companies to recruit that many Facebook likes...and you want us to do it for FREE? Do you have ANY idea how long it takes to get 5 new Facebook "likes"? And then, promote your product and conduct a giveaway, too? Again, I am not going to talk about how much time and energy it takes to do giveaways.


Here is my ultimate question, because this blog post on Melissa & Doug is a bit confusing

We are supposed to write a blog post about Melissa & Doug and send people to their Facebook page...and then we get a toy sent to us to review? Is that how this works? Or are we supposed to write a blog post and hope that we are chosen to review a product? Then, we get to do a giveaway if we manage to send 200 people to the Facebook page? Wow, that's a lot of work! Because, that's all prior to receiving and reviewing the product.

And...what if we have never bought an item from Melissa & Doug? This is surely not the case for me...like I said, I absolutely love their products, but a blogger is supposed to promote Melissa & Doug before they even try their product(s)? I think that defeats the purpose of true blogger marketing...and it also a bit deceiving, like putting the cart before the horse, wouldn't you say?

Dear PR rep at Melissa & Doug:

That's simply wayyy too much to ask of bloggers and I feel bad for the people who try to do this. You have awesome products, but to take advantage of bloggers by requesting such heavy terms is...well, you fill in the blank.

For Bloggers:

If you choose to take on this "opportunity", to each his own, but you are taking on a monster when there are thousands of companies who appreciate the hard work that bloggers put into reviewing products - so there are plenty of other opportunities out there for you. Good luck!

Annoying Emails

I'm not going to call anyone out on this post, but I just might in the future!

I have received a plethora of emails that annoy me in the past few months. Maybe this post will make a difference...maybe not. But, let's start with the annoying...

Press Release Blog Posts for Free

You know, the emails that contain (basically) press releases and then..."If you would share this info with your readers, we would really appreciate it." I bet you would! Of course, free exposure is the best!

So, what you want me to do is do your job for you, right? You want me to take all of your information, put it in a blog post to my readers and essentially spread the word about your service, products, events, etc. just because I'm a nice person with a blog? You are the PR agent, so you need to come up with a more unique way of coming to me. Let me make this clear: I am not going to spread the word about your cause unless:

1) It benefits me, or
2) It has some close connection to what I believe in...

And even if you hit #2, there's a very slight chance that your product, book, service, event will make it into one of my blog posts because your email annoyed me!

Rejection Emails

I had an email conversation with a blogger that I am friends with just the other day. We were discussing reviews and giveaways and how we email companies to discuss opportunities to promote their products for them for free work with them. She had received a nasty email from a company which she had emailed and was a bit upset. She's not the only poor blogger who has been treated this way. I have received one that I was pretty ticked about. That company is lucky that I didn't blog about it and I am still wondering if I should.

Look, you uppity companies (and this comes from a former business manager!):

1) We are offering you a FREE SERVICE. Be thankful! Advertising of any type costs $$$$$$ and we are offering to do it for free.

2) What we do for you is benefiting you more than it benefits us! How do I figure this? The equation is simple: you send a product worth X amount of dollars. So, add the cost of the product and the shipping. I write a review and post it on my blog, which takes about an hour. Then, I send it out to all of the social media thing-a-ma-bobs (which takes even more time) and you get exposure through Google, too! And, this is ongoing exposure! Once your product is gone (like lotions and candles and finger nail polish), I don't have any residual, but there is a residual effect when I post up something on my blog...it stays there forever and is easily searchable through Google. So, who is really getting the shorter end of the stick?

3) If you know anything about Technorati and most of the other website-analysis tools that you use to see if blogger's blogs are up to your standards, you know that a lot of them are based on backlinks, not traffic. Understand what tools you are using to judge blogs before you reject bloggers.

4) If you haven't spent a moment of time reading someone's blog and checking out how many people respond to their blog posts (that means comments), you should never send a rejection letter that is mean. In addition, how can reject a blogger if you've never been to their site?

5) Did you know that bad exposure is 1000 times worse than a good review? One mean rejection letter could earn your company some bad exposure that never goes away. Be careful, polite, professional and remember that you are representing your company when you email bloggers!

6) Even if you think that a blogger does not have enough followers, the chances are that they have enough followers to spread the word about your mean email.

7) Bloggers are people with feelings. Duh! Be nice.

8) Back to the old saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." 'Nuff said.

My final word on this "rant" is: the company that sent me that mean email is very lucky they got away with it. The next mean and unprofessional email that I receive from a company will get posted on Mommy Rantings! Exposure is the key. :)

So, I have three questions: Which emails annoy you? Should I expose the company that sent me the mean email? Would you?

The Seven Wonders of My World

WHY IS IT:

1) When I have a laundry list of 101 things to do in a day, the two little guys (my buddies) who are at home with me during the day are more demanding than ever? (This does not include the million phone calls and emails per day).

2) When my world seems to be spinning around and turning upside down and I stand on my hand to straighten it all out...things just get more confusing?

3) When I really want to take a calm and relaxing bath, my children decide that they need baths right that moment, too?

4) No matter how early I start making dinner, I simply can't cook fast enough for the "troops"?

5) When I go to the bathroom...I can't ever go by myself and the arguments between to the kids start to erupt immediately?

6) Regardless of how much I do for my kids, I can always think of just one more thing that they need?

7) No matter how much they drive me crazy, I still love all six of these brats (LOL) more than anything else in the world?

Mothers Judging Mothers

 You know, it seems to me that once you become a mother, you immediately enter yourself into a whole new world of judgement. We're judged if we breastfeed, judged if we don't. Judged if we co-sleep with our new little ones, judged if we don't. We're judged by how well our children behave or because of the mistakes that they make. Judged if we spank, judged if we don't. We're judged if we go to church with our kids and we're judged if we decide against it. As mothers, we are under more scrutiny than most other people, regardless of the fact that we work harder and longer hours than most! And, I'm only just getting started...

When it comes down to it, the mothers (or anyone, for that matter) who have (has)appointed themselves as "judges of other mothers" sit around thinking about how everyone else parents incorrectly while they raise judgmental children. Yes, we're judged by OTHER MOTHERS who think that their strategies are far better than ours (or they are better altogether...they have more money, better clothing, more jewelry), and they are no better than any other mother on this Earth. Because no money, no strategy, and no "perfect mothering" outweighs real love for your children.

They don't LOVE their kids any more than any other mother...their kids may not even behave better...they just FEEL like they are better moms...

If You Appointed Yourself As A Judge...

If you are one of those mothers that stand around and judge other mothers (or parents, for that matter), who are you to pass judgement? Who made you so doggone perfect that no other mother can pass YOUR standards? You know, what? I have some "judgement" for you...

Yes, take that with a grain of salt. From what I heard, there is only ONE supreme being, and it's not you. Believe me, if you are pointing the finger at someone else's parenting strategies or judging ANYONE in any way, you're not perfect either.

I could come up with endless posts on this blog that announce that I know that I am not the perfect mother. So What? You're not either. And, here is another thought (please excuse the fact that it's a "copy"):

http://allmae.us/works/judgment.html

I will certainly put my opinions out there on this blog, but I'm not going to put myself in the shoes of perfection and pass judgement on another mother, her mothering strategies, or the way that she chooses to raise her children. The truth is: to each his own, and maybe your strategies work for Y-O-U, but that doesn't mean that they will work for other mothers...and just because another mother's strategies don't work for you doesn't mean they are wrong.

Beyond Strategies...To the Extreme

It makes me absolutely disgusted that people judge the parents who are struggling to keep a roof over their children's heads...the parents that work for long hours making next to nothing each hour that they are away from their family and then come home, make dinner (or they may even miss dinner because they work long hours and do not make it home until late) and rush through the ten million other things that need to be accomplished each night when you have kids.

How dare anyone complain that their house is not perfectly clean or that their dinnertime is not at exactly six o'clock each night? How dare another parent frown at them because their child showed up to school with a dirty shirt on because they didn't have $5 to do the laundry? What IF they have less money than you and cannot afford to purchase mittens and hats for their kids? If you have the time to waste judging that parent, wouldn't it be better spent at the thrift store buying new hats and mittens for those kids and DOING SOMETHING NICE FOR A CHANGE?

Change Will Come...

Look, it only takes one person to make major changes in the lives of others. Rather than judging someone else, you could be thinking about how you could positively affect their parenting style or help their children in a loving and kind way. Quit acting like someone appointed you a judge, get off your goodie-two-shoes behind and make a change.

Maybe the only change you need to make is to stop being so ridiculously judgemental. We're not in High School anymore...just because you have more friends, more money, more jewelry, drive "better cars" or think you have "better parenting strategies" doesn't mean that you love your children ANY MORE or raise your children ANY BETTER than anyone else...

Grow Up

What Music Are Your Kids Listening To?

I'm one of those mainstream moms who likes to listen to the newest jams on the radio. I remember when I was a teenager, trying to keep the "parental discretion" lyrics playing on my little personal radio in my bedroom at a lower level so my parents couldn't hear them. A couple of times, I got caught with cassette tapes (yes, cassette tapes, remember those?) that were a big no-no in my parent's house.

jukon.net

Guns and Roses, Too Live Crew, 2PAC, and hmmm...there were definitely some others that I wasn't supposed to have in my possession. Some were confiscated and others...well, let's just say that I hid them well.

Do you actually listen to the lyrics that your children are singing along to? The other day, I was driving in the (mommy) van, listening to some beats, when an unfamiliar song started playing. I didn't get too far into the song before I started thinking, "Are you serious?"

I heard:

"I could dream of ways to see you
I could close my eyes to dream
I could fantasize about you
Tell the world what I believe
But whenever I'm not with you
It's so hard for me to see
I need to see a picture of you
A special picture just for me, yeah

So take a dirty picture for me
Take a dirty picture
Just take a dirty picture for me
Take a dirty picture
Just send the dirty picture to me
Send the dirty picture
Just send the dirty picture to me
Send the dirty picture

Snap.
Uh.

Whenever you are gone, I just wanna be wit ya
Please don't get me wrong, I just wanna see a picture

Take a dirty picture for me
Take a dirty picture
Take a dirty picture for me
Take a dirty picture

Whenever you are gone, I just wanna be wit ya
Please don't get me wrong, I just wanna see your picture

Take a dirty picture for me
Take a dirty picture
Take a dirty picture for me
Take a dirty picture

The dream of ways to see you
I could close my eyes to dream
Fantasize about this with you
But the way is never seen"

The lyrics by Taio Cruz are repeated over and over...um, do they actually call that a song? This is playing on the same radio stations that my children - and your children - are listening to.

How about this one by Kesha:

"Maybe I need some rehab,
Or maybe just need some sleep
I've got a sick obsession,
I'm seeing it in my dreams

I'm looking down every alley,
I'm making those desperate calls
Im staying up all night hoping,
Hit my head against the walls

What you've got boy is hard to find
Think about it all about it all the time
I'm all strung up my heart is fried
I just cant get you off my mind

Because your love, your love, your love, is my drug
Your love your love your love
I said your love, your love, your love, is my drug
Your love your love your love

Won't listen to any advice, mamma's telling me to think twice
But left to my own devices i'm addicted its a crisis!

My friends think I've gone crazy, my judgment is getting kinda hazy
My status is gonna be affected if I keep it up like a love sick crackhead"

And Katy Perry:


"You think I'm pretty
Without any make-up on
You think I'm funny
When I tell the puch line wrong
I know you get me
So I'll let my walls come down, down

Before you met me
I was a wreck
But things were kinda heavy
You brought me to life
Now every February
You'll be my valentine, valentine

Let's go all the way tonight
No regrets, just love
We can dance until we die
You and I
We'll be young forever

You make me
Feel like
I'm living a Teenage Dream
The way you turn me on
I can't sleep
Let's runaway
And don't ever look back
Don't ever look back

My heart stops
When you look at me
Just one touch
Now baby I believe
This is real
So take a chance
And don't ever look back
Don't ever look back

We drove to Cali
And got drunk on the beach
Got a motel and
Built a fort out of sheets
I finally found you
My missing puzzle piece
I'm complete

Let's go all the way tonight " (you probably know the rest - they play this song a million times an hour)

And, these are just the songs that are played over and over and over again on the radio. There's even worse.

Jeremiah sings a birthday ballod:

"It's your birthday so I know
you want to riiide out,
Even if we only go to myyy house
Sip mo- weezy as we sit upon myyy couch
Feels good, but I know you want to
cryyy out
You say you want passion
I think you found it
Get ready for action
Don't be astounded
We switchin' positions
You feel surrounded
Just tell me where you want
your gift, girl
 
{Chorus}

Girl you know I-I-I
Girl you know I-I-I
I've been feelin'
Wake up in the late night...dreamin' about your lovin'
Girl you know I-I-I
Girl you know I-I-I
Don't need candles or cake
just need your body to make

Birthday sex
Birthday sex"

Here's the problem...I will be driving along to some destination with the children and, of course, with six children, rides to anyplace are always hectic. All of a sudden, I will catch lyrics that my children are singing and wonder if I need to change the station. The problem is: they already know the lyrics, so how does changing the station fix anything? Of course, let me tell you, if that Taio Cruz song came on, I would definitely change the station. Not just because of the lyrics, but also because it doesn't even sound good sounds like crap.

Kids are hearing this music on the radio at friend's houses, the mall, rollerskating rinks, and anywhere else that plays music that is streamed on the radio. I remember, back when I was a teenager, you wouldn't hear anything like that on the radio. You have to buy the cassette tape to "be able" to hear the unedited version of the lyrics. Music stores sold two different copies of the album: The edited and the unedited or "uncut" (a.k.a. censored) versions and you had to be 18 to purchase the unedited version. Remember that?

There's no limit now, I guess. Are we supposed to ban our kids from listening to the radio? Even if the lyrics aren't explicit, there are underlying meanings that my children don't quite understand (yet), but it's just a matter of time before they do get the gist, and then what?

A Mother Held Hostage

Do you ever feel like you are being held hostage as a parent? I mean this in the most loving way possible - if there is such a thing.

Let's say, for instance, I need to go to the store for a quick trip. I get my shoes on, grab my purse and keys, and almost immediately, I have at least two little people tugging on my legs and fussing at me. "Can I go, too?"

In the morning, I wake up to my alarm clock...roust up four children for school and a husband for work while juggling a one year old and a three year old. Once five people are gone, it's only down to two, however the two of them are top-notch at holding me hostage. Breakfast starts the day and then on to playtime and snack time quickly follows that. There is some computer time and some television time (all kid's games and shows) and some car time and Lego time mixed in there, then lunch. The afternoon is more playing and, before I know it, there are 4 kids coming home with work from school, some of which I need to fill out. We have snack time, get the homework done. Dinner comes quickly once homework is done...

Pick out clothes for tomorrow, get ready for bed...the complete day is over, and it seems that Mom had no time for herself. Where do my days go?

Where do I squish in time for Mommy? Going to the grocery store is the exciting getaway of the week. After I tear the hands from my pant legs and wiggle out the door, children fussing at me (I've been told that they are absolutely fine once I leave, but they always pull the same "Don't leave me" routine) I get to go to the grocery store to pick out all of the food that everyone else is going to eat. (Sometimes, I give in to the pleas and take one or more children with me.) So much fun.

Oh, yes, the day will come when I miss these days...for, it seems that I'm the most popular person in the house, however, on a daily basis, it seems that the handcuffs are on and I'm being held hostage every moment of the day...no "bathroom breaks" are allowed, as there is always a little one that needs to accompany me to the bathroom. A walk to the mailbox includes fully dressing up two little people...just to get the mail?

Am I the only mother that is held hostage by her children?

Should Moms Blog About Their Children?

Okay, what gives? People write about their marital affairs, children of celebrities are plastered all over magazines, and then we have people like Octo-Mom and the whole Jon & Kate Plus 8 mess. And, I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg with these examples...

http://www.askrobinwalker.com/blog

Now, bloggers (mommy bloggers, for the most part) are getting slammed for blogging about their children? Okay, I understand that we have a responsibility to protect our children. We need to keep them safe from the dangers that prowl on the Internet, as well as out in the real world.

We do. There is no doubt about that.

I also understand that there are kids (mostly in the teenager age group) that have an issue with their parents posting embarrassing stories about them on the Internet. Yes, I can see that posing a problem. We were all teenagers once...let's step into their already difficult (and often troubled) lives and then think about how it would affect them if we posted embarrassing stories about them on the Internet for all of their friends (and foes) to make fun of them about.

Not cool.

How-eh-ver...the whole world posts their children's pictures up on Facebook, except maybe a small percentage of very out-of-the-loop people who are social media challenged. Every type of news story possible about children is spread like a virus on the Internet and throughout the media, many times with photos attached.

Who doesn't talk about their children? Look, I will be honest and tell you that I don't run every blog post by my children prior to posting it on Mommy Rantings, nor will I. On the upside, my children are honored when I write about them on my blog (the ones that understand that I'm even writing, anyway).

They constantly ask if I wrote about them today. They're proud of my blog and our family and the things that we do and they laugh about the stories that might-not-be-so-worthy-of-pride. They're proud of their mother and the fact that she has a pretty blog that is focused on being a mother which, ultimately, stems from the fact that they are my children. This all may change when they become teenagers, but I figure as long as I respect them, just like I expect them to respect me, Mommy Rantings will stay alive and kicking.

Opinions Are Like... (Fill in the rest yourself)

Melissa Clouthier, in her article Should Mom’s Blog About Their Kids? … No–UPDATED, says: "I just don’t know if it’s a good thing for children to read their mother’s psychological regurgitation about them. How does it help their children?" If you scroll down to the comment after the article, you will read someone's opinion which announces that posting your children's pictures and telling their stories online exposes their photos to the possibility of pedophiles...I'm not even stepping one foot further with that issue. 

I write about my kids. I tell stories about them. I post pictures of them on my blog (they are also on Facebook, mostly for family's sake). I post parts of their otherwise very private life right here on Mommy Rantings. I also post crafts and my opinions and reviews on products and a little bit of advice...

People may carry the perception that I degrade my children by posting their adorable pictures and telling their stories. If that's your opinion, go read someone else's blog. I'll blog about my children until they tell me that they no longer want me to. And, just judging from the amount of joy that they get out of Mommy Rantings, I highly doubt that they will feel that way for a long time...

In the meantime, for those people that think moms shouldn't blog about their kids, I have "a little bit of advice" for you...go find someone else to complain about.

My Children Think I'm MEAN

Last night, my 3 year old Dylan, with his new-found fascination with the gaming world was extremely mad at me. He has formed a habit of getting frustrated and screaming about the games or getting mad at whoever is playing with him for "beating him" or "pushing him" (or pushing his "guy").

He Says I'm Mean

By 8 p.m., I had had enough.

Me: Dylan, time to turn the games off.

Dylan: You're mean!

Me: If all you can do is scream and cry, apparently the game is not fun anymore. Time to turn it off.

Dylan: You're a big meanie, mom.

Me: Yep, I'm mean. Turn the game off.

Dylan: Youuuuuuuuuuuuuu MEAN! (now screaming) Meanie!

That wasn't the end of it. He pulled his little 3 year old screaming fit, reminding me over and over again how mean I really am.

Up walks little Dakoda, my youngest at 1 1/2 years old. He looks at me and says, "Mee-mee."

He Thinks I'm Mean, Too

Did he? He did. He says about 4 words, including Mom, Dad, peeeese (please), and now "Meanie".

Well, it's no secret that I'm a "Mean Mom". I'm mean because I expect my kids to behave, help clean the house and get along with each other. I'm mean because I have expectations, period. I'm mean because I don't say yes to everything...and I'm mean because I turn the games off.

I'm okay with being a Mean Mom. Am I the only Mean Mother in this world?