I've been a tad busy this week. Oh I've got the usual mom stuff taking care of the house, making lunches, getting kids off to school. It's when you throw in two after school activities on top of trying to paint my living room all while trying to keep up with posts and hosting a couple of giveaways on my site that things start to go wrong.
Day one of painting on my home was wonderful. It felt so good that I actually painted a whole wall by myself. So the cutting in didn't blend in with the rolling but that's what second coats were for. This is something I did sans help and/or without someone standing over me telling me how to do it better. IE Father in law. Last time he intimidated me so much, I gave up trying and just let hubby do it. My FIL was a professional painter so to say he's picky is an understatement.
I digress. Day two was somewhat trickier. I had to take O downtown to preschool, meet up with a friend for tea, scope out a light shop and make it back in time to pick up O before heading home. I might mention here that our city is currently under siege.... to construction. It seems every major route in our town is getting upgrades and has been for months and it doesn't seem like it will ever end. Some days it's not so bad and other days if you go so much as one street too far.. you're well screwed.
I also desperately wanted to get another day of painting as my husband has informed me that if I paint every day there was no need to clean out my brush and roller. (so long as I wrap in plastic in between etc). What a prime example of my laziness right? Only E had jazz after school and so I needed to get home and get the wall done prior to picking the girls up from school at 2:30. This gave me two hours to do everything on top of feeding O lunch. No problem I thought. After all the paint job went so well the day before.
Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. It meant I was rushing and when you rush you make mistakes. First, I had a hard time cutting in without getting paint on the trim or ceiling and once when I was two vigorous with the roller I hit the ceiling and we've got that textured ceiling style that's so popular in Canada. If you wipe it the texture dissovles leaving a smeared discoloured blob. I just barely got the wall done when it was time to slip on my shoes and run out the door to get the girls when O put his hand right into the wet paint. Apparently you can't open the door without a little wall support too. Sigh. I refrained just barely from swearing and marched him over to wash his hands before leaving. His hand print is still there. I was bummed because I so much wanted my husband to come home and say WOW, what an awesome job. Not... it looks good dear but I'll do the cutting in for you next time. ;)
In the middle of all this my house is a disaster. I have taken to closing my blinds before leaving the house in case someone stops by and rings my doorbell and peeks through the window. The furniture is all askew, I've got paint cans and paint trays on my counter, screws, outlet covers, hammers all on my kitchen counter to keep little fingers from fiddling with. Despite this, I still found a screw sitting on my son's headboard.
I figured the mess would be worth living with just so my house can get painted and I thought I was doing well keeping up with the basics like laundry until O ran out of jammies and then underwear. Um borrow your sisters. Just pick out a nice non frou frou pattern. Fortunately, he's only three so he doesn't really care. So I madly rushed to throw his laundry in this morning before taking him to preschool. I get home to switch over his clothes only to find........ (dramatic drumroll please) an exploded pull up in the wash. That's right. In my haste, I had not noticed that he had tossed a pull up in his laundry basket. Most likely it was still in the legs of his pajama bottoms. I've been literally trying not to gag every time I accidently touch that mushy gel stuff. Would you believe it went through the entire wash cycle and it still looks yellow? Yup.
Add to all this a Meet the Teacher night, choir practice for E and getting good solid nutritious meals on the table every night.
Okay, so no real major disasters (apart from the exploded pullup) actually have happened. Just a lot of minor frustrations and mistakes that can easily be fixed. Still I know I piled too much on my plate this week when one of the moms approached me and asked me if I was okay. Apparently I had seemed "off" at E's dance class and they were concerned. Which when you're trying to make new friends and hopefully arrange playdates for your kids with these mom's kids... you don't exactly want to come off as a grump.
I do not know how you really active moms do it all. All I could think all week was how much I wanted to sit down and read on my Kobo. Do you find you take on too much in a week? How do you say no?
Any tips on getting my washing machine clean from the pull up disaster would sure help!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel
Sponsored by Tomoson.com
Some times it seems like I'm always the last one to get in on a new trend. A friend's daughter was over recently and she had sparkling accents in her hair which she received at a local hair salon. Of course, my girls loved it and wanted to have it accents too. So when I was asked to try out Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel, I was happy to oblige.
I received a package of the sparkling pink and sparkling gold to try out. My girls were very excited and I think the hardest part of putting it in was getting them to hold still. Still it was easy. The packaging includes step by step directions with photos to help you figure it out and you can even watch a video on their website.
Hair Tinsel simply ties into your hair. You can shampoo, blow dry and style your hair, even using a curling iron or flat iron up to 400F. You do need to take a little extra care when brushing though so as not to pull the strands out. The strands can last from 1 to 6 weeks depending on how experienced the person is who ties them in. The more you practice with it the easier it gets and the better you get at it. I think I botched the first tie as I didn't get it tied close enough to the hair line but even so it still lasted in my daughter's hair for around 4 days. When I went to do my oldest daughter, I found I had figured out the knack of tying it close to the scalp. The girls loved the effect. If you are wanting to do your own hair, it is easier if you have someone to help you. It's not impossible to do it on your own, but it may be awkward.
This is not just for kids though. Many women don't want to damage their hair with all the harsh chemicals that are in hair dyes but would still like to add some oomph to their style. Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel is a great alternative. Sublte enough to wear every day or also great for special occasions like proms, formal dances, girl's night out, weddings etc.
Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel retails around $12.00 a package. There is a lot of tinsel in the packaging and as you only use 5 for accent or 10 for a full hairstyle, the tinsel goes a long way.
Thank you to Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel for the opportunity to try this really fun product!
Leave a comment for each entry you complete.
*Note: I was not compensated in this review other than being provided with a sample of the product in order to conduct the review. Thank you.
I received a package of the sparkling pink and sparkling gold to try out. My girls were very excited and I think the hardest part of putting it in was getting them to hold still. Still it was easy. The packaging includes step by step directions with photos to help you figure it out and you can even watch a video on their website.
Hair Tinsel simply ties into your hair. You can shampoo, blow dry and style your hair, even using a curling iron or flat iron up to 400F. You do need to take a little extra care when brushing though so as not to pull the strands out. The strands can last from 1 to 6 weeks depending on how experienced the person is who ties them in. The more you practice with it the easier it gets and the better you get at it. I think I botched the first tie as I didn't get it tied close enough to the hair line but even so it still lasted in my daughter's hair for around 4 days. When I went to do my oldest daughter, I found I had figured out the knack of tying it close to the scalp. The girls loved the effect. If you are wanting to do your own hair, it is easier if you have someone to help you. It's not impossible to do it on your own, but it may be awkward.
This is not just for kids though. Many women don't want to damage their hair with all the harsh chemicals that are in hair dyes but would still like to add some oomph to their style. Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel is a great alternative. Sublte enough to wear every day or also great for special occasions like proms, formal dances, girl's night out, weddings etc.
Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel retails around $12.00 a package. There is a lot of tinsel in the packaging and as you only use 5 for accent or 10 for a full hairstyle, the tinsel goes a long way.
Thank you to Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel for the opportunity to try this really fun product!
GIVEAWAY
Best of all, I can offer TWO of my lucky readers an opportunity to try out Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel for themselves. Open to US/Canada Ends October 12th.
Leave a comment for each entry you complete.
Mandatory Entry:
* visit Hair Flairs - Pro Hair Tinsel and tell me what colour you would choose
Extra Entries
* Follow In the Mommy Trenches on Google Friend Connect
* Tweet this giveaway up to once a day (just use the retweet button)
*Note: I was not compensated in this review other than being provided with a sample of the product in order to conduct the review. Thank you.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Oh Where oh Where Has Zeemaid Gone
Those that know me as a particular chatter box may well be surprised to hear so little from me this week. As you know I celebrated a birthday this week. Thank you for all the good wishes I received on Monday. While I was very spoilt by my family pretty much all weekend as I had a birthday dinner with the inlaws on Saturday, a birthday barbecue with my side of the family on Sunday, then a lovely dinner out with friends I had to wait until my actual birthday on Monday before I received my last gift.
In the morning on my actual day, my daughters were surprised that daddy had told them we wouldn't be doing a whole celebration. He told them we had been doing that all weekend. Despite the fact that we had done celebrations, I was a trifle disappointed with his attitude. After all, he has never once had to be responsible for doing anything special for my birthday. Every year, it's been my mom who gets my cake as we usually have dinner and cake at her house, followed usually by a birthday dinner at his mother's. This year things were a little different as it wasn't until the last minute that we knew we were doing anything with my family. Even dinner out with friend's was planned at the last minute. I was determined I wasn't going to be the one doing the planning so I kept out of it and have to admit I was relieved when he pulled something together on such short notice.
Anyways, my daughters decided they would surprise me themselves and they did. As soon as they got home from school they headed up to their rooms where they planned a party for me. When the time was right, I was escorted upstairs to E's room where I got to sit in the place of honour and open my "presents". I was very pleased to receive a hand drawn card from E and just as pleased to discover the large Hello Kitty stuffy that had hastily been wrapped in tissue paper. Not to be outdone, O offered up his favourite stuffed kitty cat and liked it so well that he promptly ran off to find something else to stuff into the box to give me.
As I looked around at my kids, I recognized these moments as one of the benefits of being a mom. Never mind that they weren't real presents, it was more fun watching their excitement as they showed their love for me. They were so eager and so assured of themselves that what they had planned for me was special and it really was.
Of course, I was just as pleased when I got my "real" present from my husband and it's that present that's primarily been the reason for my lack of posting this week. As I've said before, I'm an avid reader and now he's just given me more reasons to keep on reading.
So far, I absolutely love itThe screen doesn't glare, so it doesn't irritate my eyes at all and it loads up and turns off easily. The battery seems to last a long time. Apparently I can sync it with my smart phone (don't know why I would want to) and it's light and easy to hold. It comes with a 100 free books right off the bat. Although a lot of these are classics and ones I had read already. (Of course)
The only hard part is that we really can't afford for me to be constantly buying new ebooks even though some books start as low as $0.89. Still it would be a charge on the credit card and there's no getting away from hubby's eagle eye on that. So I've had to scour the ebook section on my local library website to borrow. Unfortunately, a lot of people obviously read ebooks because so many are unavailable to read. I don't get this. It's a digital copy, why do they limit it to one reader at a time? When you consider how many people live on my island who have access to the ebooks, and there are apparently only 2500, you can imagine how long the wait list can be.
In the morning on my actual day, my daughters were surprised that daddy had told them we wouldn't be doing a whole celebration. He told them we had been doing that all weekend. Despite the fact that we had done celebrations, I was a trifle disappointed with his attitude. After all, he has never once had to be responsible for doing anything special for my birthday. Every year, it's been my mom who gets my cake as we usually have dinner and cake at her house, followed usually by a birthday dinner at his mother's. This year things were a little different as it wasn't until the last minute that we knew we were doing anything with my family. Even dinner out with friend's was planned at the last minute. I was determined I wasn't going to be the one doing the planning so I kept out of it and have to admit I was relieved when he pulled something together on such short notice.
Anyways, my daughters decided they would surprise me themselves and they did. As soon as they got home from school they headed up to their rooms where they planned a party for me. When the time was right, I was escorted upstairs to E's room where I got to sit in the place of honour and open my "presents". I was very pleased to receive a hand drawn card from E and just as pleased to discover the large Hello Kitty stuffy that had hastily been wrapped in tissue paper. Not to be outdone, O offered up his favourite stuffed kitty cat and liked it so well that he promptly ran off to find something else to stuff into the box to give me.
As I looked around at my kids, I recognized these moments as one of the benefits of being a mom. Never mind that they weren't real presents, it was more fun watching their excitement as they showed their love for me. They were so eager and so assured of themselves that what they had planned for me was special and it really was.
Of course, I was just as pleased when I got my "real" present from my husband and it's that present that's primarily been the reason for my lack of posting this week. As I've said before, I'm an avid reader and now he's just given me more reasons to keep on reading.
So far, I absolutely love itThe only hard part is that we really can't afford for me to be constantly buying new ebooks even though some books start as low as $0.89. Still it would be a charge on the credit card and there's no getting away from hubby's eagle eye on that. So I've had to scour the ebook section on my local library website to borrow. Unfortunately, a lot of people obviously read ebooks because so many are unavailable to read. I don't get this. It's a digital copy, why do they limit it to one reader at a time? When you consider how many people live on my island who have access to the ebooks, and there are apparently only 2500, you can imagine how long the wait list can be.
Having said that though I love it and I felt absolutely hip and cool when I sat in the coffee shop drinking my latte and reading it. Because while technology is out there and I see so many people with Iphones etc... I don't think I've seen one person out wandering around with an ebook reader.
I think I've read 6 books since I was given it on Monday night. Of course, 4 of those books were relatively small ones but you can understand why I haven't been posting much this week. My smart aleck 4 year old even said to me... "Boy you sure don't like daddy's present."
What do you think of Ebooks readers? What are you reading right now?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Crayola Products - Review and Giveaway
I have always enjoyed using Crayola products and one thing I have learned is that quality counts. I have tried products from the dollar store only to find the crayons that don't color, the glue doesn't glue and the felts are either already dried out or almost there.
As part of Crayola Canada’s Mom Advisory Panel, I was recently sent these three products:
Repositionable dry-erase decals that allow kids to decorate and create on almost any flat surface! Decals peel easily from sheets and stick to most walls, metals, windows, fabric, plastic, notebooks, mirrors and more (4+, $10.99)
My kids really had a blast with the peel and stick dry erase decals. They worked exactly as the packaging said. You stick them to a dry surface and let the kids colour away AND it does actually wipe off easily with a soft cloth. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was and how much fun my kids had with it. There were three in the package so it worked out perfectly for my three. They each got their own decal and they each created their own masterpiece. My only caution to parents would be to make sure you have paper or something down on the floor where you have the decals stuck because if your child is as enthusiastic as mine was for wiping away the crayon, you will end up with wax bits on your floor which then can get tracked around leaving marks. While I did end up with a bit of mess to clean up, it did clean up quickly and easily. I am informed by the care instructions on the packaging that
"The Crayola Dry-Erase Crayons are designed to wash from skin and most children's clothing. If you have difficulty removing the marks with a soft dry cloth, then use a soft cloth with mild soap and water. Do not use ammonia or other cleaning solutions, as they may cause the surface to become cloudy. Abrasive cleaners may scratch the surface. For best results: Remove crayon marks from walls as soon as possible with soap and water. Wash clothing in warm or hot water. Melted crayons may cause permanent heat-set stains. Check pockets for crayons before placing clothing in dryer. Stain Advisement: Keep away from wallpaper, painted walls, unfinished wood, carpeting and other materials that cannot be laundered. "
20 Broad line Pipsqueaks markers, 5 wacky tip markers, 2 themed sticker sheets and one sketch pad; portable set (3+, $10.99) With the Pipsqueaks, I always enjoy these because they are the exact right size for little hands. This particular package set was convenient in that it comes in it's own plastic carrying case, which holds the felts nicely in a tray but also holds a colouring book. Add to that some very nice colourful stickers and you are all set to take this kit on the road. My oldest daughter has dance class so I popped this package into my bag and it was all ready for her siblings to sit and colour while they waited for her. Even though I am sure the kids don't appreciate the organization as much as I do, I am sure they appreciate having all their colours laid out so they are easily visible to them. The colour book is made of nice thick paper so it stands up to my 3 year old's repetitive scribbling in one spot. 
A simple, one-step project and craft tool that eliminates the extra steps, mess, waste and frustration that typically comes with school poster projects. Five different assortments cover a broad range of poster and sign-making graphics, and special effects include peel-and-stick letters and numbers, pockets and stencils, all designed to peel off easily and stick on firmly, again and again. (8+, $5.99)I was particularly excited about the Re-Stickems and while my kids would have dived into them immediately I wanted to save them for a bit until we had a really good idea for them. Fortunately, it didn't take long for inspiration to strike. My kids love playing restaurant and are always making menus for us to "order" from so I decided we should make a Menu we could actually read. The Stickems worked really well on the poster board I had and true to their word, they lifted up easily when we needed to straighten out the lettering. With a variety of sizes, numbers and symbols there are a lot of options for this prodcut. I even stole one number from the set to adorn a birthday card we made for the neighbour. Not just for kids crafts though, the quality and ease of use make this a great accessory to any project!
As always you can visit Crayola.ca for tons of craft ideas and projects. Plus Crayola.ca has just launched the Story Studio, the updated version of Crayola's Lights Camera Color. It's an easy to use interactive online program that allows kids to upload their photos and transform them into colouring pages. Kids can even have a photo of themself changed into a charactization which they can then create their very own story starring themselves. Specially marked packages of Crayola products contain an activation code which allows you to print your projects.
THE GIVEAWAY
Crayola has graciously offered to provide one of my readers with a Repositionable Dry-Erase Decal to try out for themselves.
TO ENTER
Mandatory:
- Visit Crayola's website and come back and tell me one product on their site you would like to try out.
Extra Entries (leave a comment per entry):
- Follow In the Mommy Trenches via google friend connect
- Follow In the Mommy Trenches on Twitter @Zeemaid
- Tweet about this giveaway once per day and let me know.
Contest ENDS October 2, 2010 Open to Canada only.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Happy Birthday to Me
It's my (cough) birthday and now that I am (cough) years old I'd like to think I'm above all the fuss of making a big deal of it. Still, I couldn't let my day go bye without one birthday song at least.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Get My Gloves Girls... I'm Going In!
It's Day 3 of the SITS Girls get Back to Blogging Event. Today we are supposed to highlight post titles we are proud of. If you'd like to participate and earn opportunities to be entered, go here.
Originally Posted April 23, 2009
Not there... try by my desk I might just be under it clutching school newsletters to my chest crying silently while muttering "no more, no more, I don't want to volunteer, I can't bake 200 cupcakes for tomorrow, just no time, just no time."
On second thought... never mind. There's no way I want my house to be plastered all over the news from the search and rescue team. Just leave me there. Eventually my husband will find my body. Possibly when he's looking for a clean shirt. Hopefully, he'll mourn me and not just my super mom cleaning abilities and multitasking organizational skills. Hopefully, he'll be crying and saying..."my poor dear wife.. I should have cleaned the bathroom more." *sob*
A girl can dream, can't she?
THIS BLOG DELAYED FOR CLEANING.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Romance and Passion - Repost
I had a hard time choosing what to repost. In the end I opted for something from my beginning days of blogging as few people read anything from that first six months or so. I haven't edited it, it's exactly as it was when I wrote it.
Originally posted November 14, 2008
Sometimes though, I feel that I should give up my reading. If I put as much time into my writing as I do my reading, I'd be published by now. I LOVE to read. I am passionate about reading and many days if it wasn't for reading, I don't think I'd make it through these mommy days sane. My husband is always teasing me about how much I read. Sometimes, I can finish a novel in two or three days. No, my kids are not neglected but sometimes my housework is. I just am creative in how I get my breaks. When we are having quiet time and my daughter picks a movie, I read. When I'm stirring soup in the pot, I read. When I'm going potty.... I read. *L*
I will be very sad the day that my two youngest stop napping because it will probably be the end of afternoon tea and a book. Occasionally, I do feel that this is a problem in my life yet when you are so ingrained in these kinds of habits, it's hard to imagine giving them up. I digress though.
The reason why I thought maybe I should stop reading was that sometimes you get caught up in other people's stories that it's hard to think of your own. Kind of like watching too much t.v. makes your imagination rusty. I may actually be curbing the creative flow in me. Do you think that could be true? I wonder.
The other thing about reading that is starting to bug me is the sex. Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful sex life with my husband (yes, honey you can gloat) and I'm definitely not disappointed in that area. It's just that sex in novels are so over the top. We're talking the average novels here, too like Nora Roberts etc. When I was younger I would read harlequins and dream of the day when a man would passionately pull me into his arms and devour me.
Now almost 10 years married, the passion is actually better than it ever was in the beginning, but there is no way my husband is ever going to throw me over his shoulder and stride off into the bedroom and ravish me. I'd feel silly and more likely to be concerned about his back. Neither is he going to let's say throw me over the "edge" with just one touch. (Sorry Honey).
If that happens in your relationship then I say WOW, you go girl! But from what I gather from most women I know, they don't experience that kind of romp in the hay. Many women lead very satisfied sex lives but do they really live it romance novel style? (If you do, let me know)
Do we really need these vivid sex scenes? Does it not make your life seem somewhat inadequate? (Who really does it 5 times a night?) Can your man really live up to the standards set in these novels? So why is it that we feel we need to read this stuff or have it written for us in this way. Is it just that the writer is using creative license in putting more colour and feeling into it? You tell me?
For me, I want the romance of it, the wining and dining, the two lovers meeting, overcoming the obstacles together and finally getting together. I really don't care if they wait till the last page to have sex. All I want is to witness their first kiss, that's romantic in my book. Save the rest of it for the bedroom, their bedroom. The one we're not usually invited in. I rather go live my own sex life thank you very much.
Cheers,
Zeemaid
In the Mommy Trenches
***BTW the picture I used in this post is from a book called "Claiming the Highlander" I couldn't figure out who the author of the novel is but I "borrowed" the picture from.. www aromancebook.us Thanks.
Monday, September 13, 2010
It's All About Me - Repost
The first prompt is to republish the first post you have ever written.
******
It's All About Me April 1, 2008Wow! I am finally joing the ranks of the bloggers. Why not, I say. I have plenty of opinions to share and many things to rant about.
For my first post I'd like to really expand on the About Me and maybe give a quick synopsis of my life so you will know where I am coming from.
Starting with my username, Zeemaid. I used to be addicted to SIMS and after I found all the little cheats and made my characters incredibly weathly I decided to create a maid character so she would clean up after the little slobs. She would have to be, of course, French because they do call it a French maid's uniform. So by now you're getting the drift (I hope). Just think about it. *L*
Three children later and I really feel like I am "Ze maid" some days so I adopted the username much to my husband's delight. HA!
Ideally this blog is will impart my wisdom and insights into parenting. But most likely it will be full of the ups and downs and frustrations of being a mom of three children under five.
I have three wonderful children. (mainly when they're sleeping) I experienced a brief period of infertility (2 years) before we conceived our first child (see my article on helium at http://www.helium.com/items/201917-relax-happen-youre-trying if you'd like more information on how we overcame infertility.)
Baby number two happened without too much difficulty and baby number three just couldn't wait it seemed. My daughter was eight months old when I became pregnant with our son. So my life has been a little crazy. Especially given that my son was born at a whopping 12 pounds, yes naturally, and he almost died in the process. He's hale and hearty now but it was a tense time.
Add to that that my husband was fired, without reason, from his job just 7 weeks before I was due with my son. The entire time he was off was spent panic stricken trying to find a new job or buy a business. Which he did, buy a business that is, in another town. So I had my baby, we put our house up for sale and I had to keep my house tidy, YIIII! Then my sister-in-law, who was also expecting came down with pneumonia and menigitis and went into a coma after delivering her baby pre-term by c-section. So we had to take our house off the market and help out family. The baby is great. She was in the hospital for 3 months and is now at home with limited mobility and sad to say, she may never recover fully. Her health issues now are many and complex.
So the last year has had it's challenges. I went through a bad phase emotionally before Christmas time and my husband finally decided to drag me off to a homeopathic outfit in Vancouver called Ubiquity Wellness Centre. Also to deal with my high blood pressure, an after result of the birth of my son. They basically told me what I already knew but it was nice to have someone else confirm it. I basically tired, that is my body is exhausted. They've given me some supplements to aid my stress and digestion and recommending a whole list of foods that I am sensitive too. I have had to eliminate dairy, wheat, flour, gluten, and sugar. It's been incredibly limiting because even people with celiac get to eat more than I do. But I've struggled throught it and the good news is that we've almost eliminated my headaches. I'm due to go back for a follow-up next week. That is if I can get someone to work for me.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I also work full time evening shifts. I own a video store with my sister-in-law and have for the past 4 years. I had in the past cut back my hours and before my third child was born, only worked two nights a week. However, we are struggling financially (my video store that is) and it has become necessary but me to come back to work full-time to save on employee wages. Hopefully this won't last long. I've been finding it a bit of a stretch to look after the kids all day and then work till 9 or 10 at night.
Although if I had to work this is the way to do it. I get the best part of the day with my kids and only miss 2 hours of their day before bed. That's better than a lot of working moms get.
I should also mention that I live with my in-laws or rather we share a home. At first they lived downstairs, we lived up but now because of her health problems we've moved down this last week. (Add that to a full time job) So we've squished a family of 5 into about 1100 square feet while they get about 1800. Am I bitter? Not really, it does irk me sometimes because I've a real lack of storage and moving the house in and around works and kids was more than a little stressful.
I just feel like we are finally getting our lives back to normal. However, there are several unresolved issues.
- my husband is suing his employer for wrongful dismissal. Trial is in June
- we still need to sell our home and move to the other town so my husband won't have to commute, especially with the price of gas.
- I need to figure out what to do with my video store with my sister-in-law and my future involvement with it, particularly if my family decides to move.
So stay tuned for my next instalment.
Zeemaid
All I can say is wow. I think I sounded really upbeat in the writing of all that but looking back I definitely know I was stressed and struggling with the whole situation. That was a really tough period in our lives.
The upside of all that is is that we've come through the other side. My SIL has regained her mobility and while she still has a lot of health issues is able to look after and care for her family and you would hardly know she has had anything wrong with her to look at her. We praise God for that.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Smart Food or Smart Marketing?
It's kind of like Nutella. They have this warm and fuzzy commercial that tells you not only is Nutella delicious but that it's a vital part of providing your child a healthy breakfast. Well, hold on now. A delicious cocoa, hazelnut spread that is not only good for
And I did. I went out and bought myself a jar of this manna like substance and all I can say is that anything and I do mean anything that tastes this good cannot possibly be that good for me. I probably ate the whole jar in
What the hell is this modified palm oil and why does it have to be in EVERYTHING and just how bad is it for me? Inquiring minds want to know... really!
I once knew a lady in a baby group that weaned her child straight to cows milk because formula contains modified palm oil and as a nurse there was no way she was feeding that to her 8 month old baby. I mean she's a nurse.. she should know, right?
I've googled it and one side will tell you it's a by-product that has no nutrional value at all but they have nothing better to do with it and so they toss it into our food. If that's true, I'm really, really scared. On the other hand apparent "research" says it's not harmful. Are these the same researchers that say BPH in baby bottles aren't harmful?
Let's take processed cheese. There is a darling little gal who instructs her daddy on how to make the proper melted cheese sandwich all the while assuring him how good it is for her because it has lots of calcium in it. Precious moments. Now my kids love Kraft Cheese singles and so I cling to the warm fuzzies of this commercial with all my being and tell myself that it's okay, they're getting lots of calcium and after all none of my kids have a weight issue, they are actually a little on the skinny side so what's the harm. And when my daughter comes home telling me that someone commented to her on how unhealthy that cheese was in her sandwich, I told her not to worry. Momma's looking after her and because she eats lots of fruit and other healthy things a little old processed cheese slice won't hurt it. Still... it's processed. How good for you can it really be?
What are our real options for feeding our kids these days in this world of hyper marketing? Yes, I can go back to basics and make everything from scratch and some days I do that. In the interest of saving some money and making healthier snacks I often talk myself out of buying things that I can make myself.
Let's get real though. I am often too
Well I could go on and on about this topic and probably already have too long. What are your thoughts on all this? What unhealthy foods do you feed your children? Do you feel just a wee bit guilty or could you care less about it, your kids are healthy what more is there to worry about?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Lord, I'm Thankful
Lord, I'm thankful I have a roof over my head even though I really want to paint my house and can't afford to.
Lord, I'm thankful I have a loving husband who works hard for me and our family even though we might not always see eye to eye on everything.
Lord, I'm thankful I have three beautiful, healthy children even though they drive me crazy a lot of the time. I could have still been struggling with infertility and crying my heart out.
Lord, I'm thankful I have a wonderful MIL who loves her grandchildren with all her heart and willing to open her pocket book to help us to send our daughter to dance school.
Lord, I'm thankful that I have wonderful parents that blessed me and my family this past weekend at a local fair when we didn't really have the money to go. They went with us and we all had a grand time.
Lord, I'm thankful that E didn't make me get into that Hamster Ball at the fair. I don't think I could have made it to the post and back.
Lord, I'm thankful for fresh corn on the cob smothered in butter and salt. Enough said.
Lord, I'm thankful that O loves to sing the ABC's.
Lord, I'm thankful that this day is over. The kids were really awful today.
Lord, I'm thankful that E is a bright and energetic, passionate child and will be in school fulltime tomorrow, giving us all a little peace.
Lord, I'm thankful that J is a strong and independent child even though she drives me crazy when she tells me she won't listen to me.
Lord, I'm thankful that I have this blog to vent out my frustrations and feelings and that it has remained anonymous from 99 percent of my friends and family.
Lord, I'm thankful I have a loving husband who works hard for me and our family even though we might not always see eye to eye on everything.
Lord, I'm thankful I have three beautiful, healthy children even though they drive me crazy a lot of the time. I could have still been struggling with infertility and crying my heart out.
Lord, I'm thankful I have a wonderful MIL who loves her grandchildren with all her heart and willing to open her pocket book to help us to send our daughter to dance school.
Lord, I'm thankful that I have wonderful parents that blessed me and my family this past weekend at a local fair when we didn't really have the money to go. They went with us and we all had a grand time.
Lord, I'm thankful that E didn't make me get into that Hamster Ball at the fair. I don't think I could have made it to the post and back.
Lord, I'm thankful for fresh corn on the cob smothered in butter and salt. Enough said.
Lord, I'm thankful that O loves to sing the ABC's.
Lord, I'm thankful that this day is over. The kids were really awful today.
Lord, I'm thankful that E is a bright and energetic, passionate child and will be in school fulltime tomorrow, giving us all a little peace.
Lord, I'm thankful that J is a strong and independent child even though she drives me crazy when she tells me she won't listen to me.
Lord, I'm thankful that I have this blog to vent out my frustrations and feelings and that it has remained anonymous from 99 percent of my friends and family.
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Magnificent 12: The Call - Giveaway
As you all know by now, I am an avid reader and so when I get an opportunity to check out a new series, I jump at the chance. Add to that the opportunity to host a giveaway for a signed copy to one of my US readers, well I just can't refuse.
Harper Collins is excited to announce the release of THE MAGNIFICENT 12: THE CALL, the first book in a hilarious new fantasy adventure series by bestselling author Michael Grant.
SYNOPSIS:
Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life.
And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys’ bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, called the Magnifica in ancient times, whatever that means. An evil force is on its way, and it’s up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. He must travel across the world to battle the wicked Pale Queen’s dangerous daughter, Ereskigal—also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary, and Mack doesn’t want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?
-----------------------------------------
MICHAEL GRANT is nothing like Mack MacAvoy. He travels all over the globe, he has a bit of a sarcastic streak, and he secretly suffers from belonephobia, a fear of needles. Seriously: Do not invite him to a sewing bee. Or a tattoo parlor. Okay, fine, maybe he’s a little like Mack MacAvoy.
Michael is the New York Times bestselling author of the Gone series and has written a total of 150 books (yes, you read that right: one hundred and fifty). He wrote most of his books with his wife, Katherine Applegate (K.A.), but the action-packed thrillers in the Gone series are all his. As is his newest series, the Magnificent Twelve, in which he delves into his inner (or, some might say, not so inner) child to create Mack, the unlikeliest of heroes. When Michael isn’t busy writing, he likes to travel, stare blankly at the TV, waste hours clicking aimlessly around the internet, listen to rock music and sing along in a nasal voice, complain, and go out to eat.
------------------------------------------
CONTEST DETAILS:
Harper Collins is excited to announce the release of THE MAGNIFICENT 12: THE CALL, the first book in a hilarious new fantasy adventure series by bestselling author Michael Grant.
Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life.
And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys’ bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, called the Magnifica in ancient times, whatever that means. An evil force is on its way, and it’s up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. He must travel across the world to battle the wicked Pale Queen’s dangerous daughter, Ereskigal—also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary, and Mack doesn’t want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?
BOOK TRAILER
-----------------------------------------
Michael is the New York Times bestselling author of the Gone series and has written a total of 150 books (yes, you read that right: one hundred and fifty). He wrote most of his books with his wife, Katherine Applegate (K.A.), but the action-packed thrillers in the Gone series are all his. As is his newest series, the Magnificent Twelve, in which he delves into his inner (or, some might say, not so inner) child to create Mack, the unlikeliest of heroes. When Michael isn’t busy writing, he likes to travel, stare blankly at the TV, waste hours clicking aimlessly around the internet, listen to rock music and sing along in a nasal voice, complain, and go out to eat.
------------------------------------------
THE GIVEAWAY
CONTEST DETAILS:
(1) Official SIGNED HARDCOVER BOOK of THE MAGNIFICENT 12
-Winner must be in the US and have a non PO box shipping address
-Winner must respond to notification email within 3 days of it being sent or new winner will be chose.
TO ENTER:
** MANDATORY ** Visit the Official Website, come back here and tell me one thing you learned about this book series.
Extra Entries (leave one comment per entry):
* Follow In the Mommy Trenches on Google Friend Connect;
* Follow @Zeemaid on Twitter and tweet about this contest once per day, leave tweet details in comment;
* Subscribe to In the Mommy Trenches via email
* Follow Harper Collins Children on Twitter at @HarperChildrens leave your username
Contest Closes: September 13th midnight, PST
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Sign Language
I've been asked by Kathleen Thomas to share this article on Acquiring Sign Language. Once you have had a chance to read the article, I'd love to hear your own experiences with either using or teaching sign language to your young children.
Early Childhood Education – Acquiring Sign Language
One of the keys to surviving in a tilted economic system in which opportunities to achieve a decent standard of living will be limited is versatility – and the ability to communicate articulately in a variety of ways with the widest possible audience. This includes bilingual ability as well as the ability to communicate in non-verbal ways for the benefit of the disabled – primarily the deaf.
At the same time, a growing shortage of qualified interpreters fluent in American Sign Language has led to more career opportunities – and if current trends continue, it's likely that skilled ASL interpreters will have little problem securing lucrative employment in a society where such a commodity is destined to be in short supply.
Signing Before They Can Speak
A great deal of research has clearly demonstrated that the early years – ages 2 to five – are the best time to educate children in different modes of communication and language. This goes beyond the spoken word (though it is an optimal time for children to learn a second language); many young children have an aptitude for signing as well.
This is not as odd as you may think. As you know, many indigenous peoples around the world, including American Indian nations, have used sign language for centuries to facilitate communication with other tribes with whom they do not share a language. Some paleontologists and anthropologists theorize that Neanderthals – who apparently lacked the vocal mechanism to produce many spoken words – depended a great deal upon hand gestures to communicate.
In fact, recent research suggests that sign language is innate. An article published in the Boulder Daily Camera in 2003 presented strong evidence that babies as young as six months old communicate with their hands:
The Best Time To Start
Not only does early childhood education in signing give pre-verbal youngsters a way to communicate, it can also strengthen the parent-child bond – in addition to giving children a solid foundation for learning a skill that will serve them well in the future. The evidence suggests that the best time to start learning ASL is before a child can even walk – and the implications for facilitating the parent-child relationship are amazing.
Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas
Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the Zionsville educational child care facility, a member of the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Schools (located in 16 states throughout the U.S.) and part of the network of Indiana educational day care preschools delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum.
Early Childhood Education – Acquiring Sign Language
One of the keys to surviving in a tilted economic system in which opportunities to achieve a decent standard of living will be limited is versatility – and the ability to communicate articulately in a variety of ways with the widest possible audience. This includes bilingual ability as well as the ability to communicate in non-verbal ways for the benefit of the disabled – primarily the deaf.
At the same time, a growing shortage of qualified interpreters fluent in American Sign Language has led to more career opportunities – and if current trends continue, it's likely that skilled ASL interpreters will have little problem securing lucrative employment in a society where such a commodity is destined to be in short supply.
Signing Before They Can Speak
A great deal of research has clearly demonstrated that the early years – ages 2 to five – are the best time to educate children in different modes of communication and language. This goes beyond the spoken word (though it is an optimal time for children to learn a second language); many young children have an aptitude for signing as well.
This is not as odd as you may think. As you know, many indigenous peoples around the world, including American Indian nations, have used sign language for centuries to facilitate communication with other tribes with whom they do not share a language. Some paleontologists and anthropologists theorize that Neanderthals – who apparently lacked the vocal mechanism to produce many spoken words – depended a great deal upon hand gestures to communicate.
In fact, recent research suggests that sign language is innate. An article published in the Boulder Daily Camera in 2003 presented strong evidence that babies as young as six months old communicate with their hands:
"...by 6 to 7 months, babies can remember a sign. At eight months, childrenThe author also cites study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development demonstrating that young children who are taught sign language at an early age actually develop better verbal skills as they get older. The ability to sign has also helped parents in communicating with autistic children; one parent reports that "using sign language allowed her to communicate with her [autistic] son and minimized his frustration...[he now] has an advanced vocabulary and excels in math, spelling and music" (Glarion, 2003).
can begin to imitate gestures and sign single words. By 24 months, children
can sign compound words and full sentences. They say sign language reduces
frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves
before they know how to talk." (Glarion, 2003)
The Best Time To Start
Not only does early childhood education in signing give pre-verbal youngsters a way to communicate, it can also strengthen the parent-child bond – in addition to giving children a solid foundation for learning a skill that will serve them well in the future. The evidence suggests that the best time to start learning ASL is before a child can even walk – and the implications for facilitating the parent-child relationship are amazing.
Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas
Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the Zionsville educational child care facility, a member of the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Schools (located in 16 states throughout the U.S.) and part of the network of Indiana educational day care preschools delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Controlling my Blood Pressure
It's pretty hard to control your blood pressure when you have three young children but that's exactly what I need to do. I went off my blood pressure medication several months ago mainly due to the fact that I never made an appointment to get a new prescription. I'm having a hard time finding the time to see a doctor never mind a new doctor that I haven't met before. I never really bonded with my last new doctor and so I have allowed my health issues to really spiral out of control.
The last time I've had "the test" was 4 years ago when I found I was pregnant with O. It's a good thing I've had three children or I probably wouldn't have submitted for "the test" in the last seven years. I struggled with mood swings, irrational bouts of anger and anxiety and yet.... I've done next to nothing about it. We pretty much figured it's the stress of having three kids under 5 (at the time) and hubby losing his job and us trying to sell our house and living with our inlaws for the past three years. Yeah... that would do it. So when my blood pressure elevated after I had O and never really came down again... we put it down to stress.
Now we're in our own home and while the move was stressfull, you'd think that the stress would be gradually wearing off. How do you cope then with the every day stress of life? Still, the hot weather has not helped and this past weekend my husband moved his video store to a new location, which meant that he's been hardly home for the last week.
So it should have come as no surprise when I felt a tightness in my chest as if I was losing my breath and a weird foggy, fainting sensation come over me while cleaning up after supper Monday night. What did amaze me was that nobody even noticed. Later when I went upstairs I took my blood pressure and found that it indeed was high 154/108.
I'm reluctant to go back on a prescription as one of the side effects is headaches. It's pretty hard to want to interact with your kids or even want to exercise when your head hurts. Plus, while the medication helped bring it down most of the time it still was a little too high. So K went to the health food stood and bought me a bunch of natural stuff to try and lower it.
So far it hasn't helped much but I realize that it will take some time. I have learned that lying down and taking deep breaths actually brings it down quite significantly. Of course, as soon as I start getting more active it creeps up again. Especially when I'm getting after the kids.
But really how can I keep my temper and my blood pressure down when it seems like I literally have to sit in front of them and stare at them to get them to behave? Last night I'm cleaning up after supper and hear a crash in the living room. I discover J had been doing acrobatics on the coffee table and completely up ended it and herself. I'm surprised she wasn't hurt. They've discovered a new trick of hanging over the edge of the pool and sticking their faces in the water, which no matter how many times I told them they weren't to do this, the minute my back was turned they were back doing it again. They see no harm in it whereas I can visualize them leaning too far and getting themselves stuck face down in the water. Before it was sufficient enough for the ladder to not be in the pool and they obeyed the rule that they weren't to step into the pool without one of us being in the back yard but now... like I said they don't think it's a big deal.
Then E decided to paint. That's fine, she's 7. I sit down on the couch try to relax only to find 15 minutes later that after she spent all the time putting the acrylic paints into the paint dish, she decided not to paint and left it for her brother and sister to paint... unsupervised, while she watched t.v. J is 5 and O is 3. The mess they created was neither little nor was it pretty. I go from cleaning orange and blue paint which has now stained my table protector to having to clean up gobs of paint in the sink to cleaning O's face because he always insists on sticking felts, crayons, pens, paints etc in the vicinity of his mouth. Yeah... momma was not happy.
And those are just some of the crazy things they do. I'm proud that they are active, creative little beings but man oh man parenting these active little beings can be tough. Still I shouldn't lose my temper so quick or so much and yelling never really does any good. It seems pretty stupid to yell at the kids to stop yelling.
All I can do right now is to try and keep calm, breath deeply and tell myself "this too shall pass". In another month or so I'm sure all this stress will be behind me.
The last time I've had "the test" was 4 years ago when I found I was pregnant with O. It's a good thing I've had three children or I probably wouldn't have submitted for "the test" in the last seven years. I struggled with mood swings, irrational bouts of anger and anxiety and yet.... I've done next to nothing about it. We pretty much figured it's the stress of having three kids under 5 (at the time) and hubby losing his job and us trying to sell our house and living with our inlaws for the past three years. Yeah... that would do it. So when my blood pressure elevated after I had O and never really came down again... we put it down to stress.
Now we're in our own home and while the move was stressfull, you'd think that the stress would be gradually wearing off. How do you cope then with the every day stress of life? Still, the hot weather has not helped and this past weekend my husband moved his video store to a new location, which meant that he's been hardly home for the last week.
So it should have come as no surprise when I felt a tightness in my chest as if I was losing my breath and a weird foggy, fainting sensation come over me while cleaning up after supper Monday night. What did amaze me was that nobody even noticed. Later when I went upstairs I took my blood pressure and found that it indeed was high 154/108.
I'm reluctant to go back on a prescription as one of the side effects is headaches. It's pretty hard to want to interact with your kids or even want to exercise when your head hurts. Plus, while the medication helped bring it down most of the time it still was a little too high. So K went to the health food stood and bought me a bunch of natural stuff to try and lower it.
So far it hasn't helped much but I realize that it will take some time. I have learned that lying down and taking deep breaths actually brings it down quite significantly. Of course, as soon as I start getting more active it creeps up again. Especially when I'm getting after the kids.
But really how can I keep my temper and my blood pressure down when it seems like I literally have to sit in front of them and stare at them to get them to behave? Last night I'm cleaning up after supper and hear a crash in the living room. I discover J had been doing acrobatics on the coffee table and completely up ended it and herself. I'm surprised she wasn't hurt. They've discovered a new trick of hanging over the edge of the pool and sticking their faces in the water, which no matter how many times I told them they weren't to do this, the minute my back was turned they were back doing it again. They see no harm in it whereas I can visualize them leaning too far and getting themselves stuck face down in the water. Before it was sufficient enough for the ladder to not be in the pool and they obeyed the rule that they weren't to step into the pool without one of us being in the back yard but now... like I said they don't think it's a big deal.
Then E decided to paint. That's fine, she's 7. I sit down on the couch try to relax only to find 15 minutes later that after she spent all the time putting the acrylic paints into the paint dish, she decided not to paint and left it for her brother and sister to paint... unsupervised, while she watched t.v. J is 5 and O is 3. The mess they created was neither little nor was it pretty. I go from cleaning orange and blue paint which has now stained my table protector to having to clean up gobs of paint in the sink to cleaning O's face because he always insists on sticking felts, crayons, pens, paints etc in the vicinity of his mouth. Yeah... momma was not happy.
And those are just some of the crazy things they do. I'm proud that they are active, creative little beings but man oh man parenting these active little beings can be tough. Still I shouldn't lose my temper so quick or so much and yelling never really does any good. It seems pretty stupid to yell at the kids to stop yelling.
All I can do right now is to try and keep calm, breath deeply and tell myself "this too shall pass". In another month or so I'm sure all this stress will be behind me.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
I'm Telling Mommy
Don't you just hate it when you hear that? I hate it even more when without even an attempt at working it out I hear the "MOM, blank won't give back my book or blank is touching me or blank is making a face at me".
It's amazing at times how powerless you can feel as a parent. Or even how clueless you feel. I really have no idea how to resolve the constant petty bickering.
We actually had a practice session this week of what to do when someone pulls your hair or hits you. You tell your sibling to stop and then YOU MOVE AWAY. Really, it's so simple. Someone pulls your hair, do you just sit there and let them? No, you move away. The victim doesn't realize that they have a choice too, they can choose not to let themselves get hurt. Obviously that doesn't negate what their sibling is doing to them, but by moving away they are communicating probably more effectively with their body language that the behaviour, in this case hair pulling, is hurting and needs to stop.
And by practice, I do mean practice. E sat on the couch while I gently tugged her hair asking her what she is supposed to do. It amazed me that even while I'm telling her that she needs to get up and walk away, it still took her a long time to do it. I then turned to J and patted her, again gently, while asking her what she needs to do. Again, it took her a while to actually get up and move away.
I think I have reached the point this summer when I'm actually looking forward to school starting again. We've had a great summer but you can always tell when you've hit that point and it's time to be doing something else.
I will only have O at home during school hours come September 7th and I can already imagine how quiet it's going to be.
It's amazing at times how powerless you can feel as a parent. Or even how clueless you feel. I really have no idea how to resolve the constant petty bickering.
We actually had a practice session this week of what to do when someone pulls your hair or hits you. You tell your sibling to stop and then YOU MOVE AWAY. Really, it's so simple. Someone pulls your hair, do you just sit there and let them? No, you move away. The victim doesn't realize that they have a choice too, they can choose not to let themselves get hurt. Obviously that doesn't negate what their sibling is doing to them, but by moving away they are communicating probably more effectively with their body language that the behaviour, in this case hair pulling, is hurting and needs to stop.
And by practice, I do mean practice. E sat on the couch while I gently tugged her hair asking her what she is supposed to do. It amazed me that even while I'm telling her that she needs to get up and walk away, it still took her a long time to do it. I then turned to J and patted her, again gently, while asking her what she needs to do. Again, it took her a while to actually get up and move away.
I think I have reached the point this summer when I'm actually looking forward to school starting again. We've had a great summer but you can always tell when you've hit that point and it's time to be doing something else.
I will only have O at home during school hours come September 7th and I can already imagine how quiet it's going to be.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wives Say the Weirdest Things
We've been cursed blessed with unbelievably warm summer weather this year and as a result my feet are suffering. I mean well and I really do try but somehow between showering, tweezing and getting dressed I run out of time for moisturizing and I usually end up with really rough and nasty looking feet. Which I hate.
So I've been trying my best to remember to moisturize even going so far as to buy new moisturizer that smells not only yummy (French Vanilla) but also has a convenient pump so I wont have to fumble with caps etc.
Well that night I decided that I was going to really lather up my feet and wear a pair of socks to bed and hopefully wake up with soft feet. So I lather my feet with cream, put on my socks and proceed to get ready for bed. Of course, hubby is finished and already in bed waiting for me to complete my bathroom routine.
As I shuffle by in my sock feet (I hate socks), I realize he was watching me and he had the look. Ladies, I am sure you know what I mean by this. I can't remember exactly what was said but somehow or other it was conveyed that he was feeling "frisky" to which I burst out with:
"But I've got my socks on!"
Well, that cracked us both up. I mean doesn't that just beat "I have a headache"? Of course, he wants to know what is the big deal about socks and I'm like, I don't think I've ever done it with socks on. I mean, gee, I'm not a guy if you know what I mean. Although I'm sure it happened in our pre kid days when life was a little more spontaneous.
Of course, you never know but I might like having my socks on. That could be our new catch phrase... "oh honnnnney... I've got my socks on!". I dare anyone to try and crack that code. (Anyone who hasn't read this blog, that is)
Like when we were first married we had this game where every time we said something at the same time one of us would try to say "Coke" before the other one. Whoever said it first was owed a coke or in our case.. sex. ;) Of course, I probably owed him 100,000 cokes because really who could keep up with that? Still it gave us a giggle every time we were around other people to know we were playing this silly game and no one was the wiser. Ah, we were so young once.
Still... I took my socks off.
So I've been trying my best to remember to moisturize even going so far as to buy new moisturizer that smells not only yummy (French Vanilla) but also has a convenient pump so I wont have to fumble with caps etc.
Well that night I decided that I was going to really lather up my feet and wear a pair of socks to bed and hopefully wake up with soft feet. So I lather my feet with cream, put on my socks and proceed to get ready for bed. Of course, hubby is finished and already in bed waiting for me to complete my bathroom routine.
As I shuffle by in my sock feet (I hate socks), I realize he was watching me and he had the look. Ladies, I am sure you know what I mean by this. I can't remember exactly what was said but somehow or other it was conveyed that he was feeling "frisky" to which I burst out with:
"But I've got my socks on!"
Well, that cracked us both up. I mean doesn't that just beat "I have a headache"? Of course, he wants to know what is the big deal about socks and I'm like, I don't think I've ever done it with socks on. I mean, gee, I'm not a guy if you know what I mean. Although I'm sure it happened in our pre kid days when life was a little more spontaneous.
Of course, you never know but I might like having my socks on. That could be our new catch phrase... "oh honnnnney... I've got my socks on!". I dare anyone to try and crack that code. (Anyone who hasn't read this blog, that is)
Like when we were first married we had this game where every time we said something at the same time one of us would try to say "Coke" before the other one. Whoever said it first was owed a coke or in our case.. sex. ;) Of course, I probably owed him 100,000 cokes because really who could keep up with that? Still it gave us a giggle every time we were around other people to know we were playing this silly game and no one was the wiser. Ah, we were so young once.
Still... I took my socks off.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
I'm Not Trying to Be A Perfect Mother
As you may know I have been reading a couple of parenting books by Alyson Schafer called "Breaking the Good Mom Myth" and "Honey, I've Wrecked the Kids". Both are very great books and definitely a helpful resource if you are having problems with getting your children to listen.
One of the things that I read in the first book was about how we are not responsible for the relationship between the siblings. In fact, if we are constantly interferring and refereeing their bickering and squabling we are actually damaging their relationships as well as setting up a winner and loser situation.
I thought that was what I was supposed to do, evaluate the argument and then determine who was in the right and who was in the wrong. Only how does that end up being fair when half the time you don't really see what happened? Doesn't the oldest one generally end up being the fall guy er kid since they're the oldest and should know better?
(I may not have that exactly verbatim from the book as I don't have the book in front of me but that is the gist as how I understood it.)
So I said to myself, I'm paraphrasing but you get the gist.
And that's what I did. What I wasn't expecting was the liberating feeling I got from backing off. When I heard the voices raised upstairs, I told myself to keep out of it, let them resolve it and I probably had the first peaceful day I had had in a long time. It was amazing. Not that everything went perfectly smoothly, after all the kids have to learn how to resolve their conflicts with one another and since my oldest has turned into a little lecturing (gee,where did she get that from) I do find it particularly difficult to listen to her harangue the younger two over some infraction they've committed against her.
And I have had to listen to E whine "work it out, work out" back at me and listen to her tell her siblings that "mommy doesn't care" because she sees my backing off as a lack of caring. Still, I can see that it will be worth it in the long run. After all, how many of us actually stop to consider that their learning to work together and resolve their problems now will benefit them when they are adults. How often have you heard the phrase "conflict resolution"? Well that's what these mini beings are learning from a very young age much like they are learning their ABCs. Only if we rob them of the opportunities to learn by solving every little problem that arises, we are not doing them any favours.
As for the rest of the book, I'm still working it out, trying to stumble my way through logical consequences, recognizing the attention seeker vs the power seeker and positive punishments but then I'm only half way through the second book. We can't afford to buy new books these days and Alyson's books appear to be very popular. I read part of her book and then had to surrender it back to the library for another anxious parent. I only just got it back again being fifth down the list.
My mom laughed at me when I started telling her about these books. I thought she'd be supportive after all the first book talks about stepping back from trying to be the perfect mother. But no, she said, "You will stress yourself out more reading all these books and trying to be the perfect parent."
My response: "I'm not trying to be a perfect parent, I'm just trying to find some peace."
One of the things that I read in the first book was about how we are not responsible for the relationship between the siblings. In fact, if we are constantly interferring and refereeing their bickering and squabling we are actually damaging their relationships as well as setting up a winner and loser situation.
I thought that was what I was supposed to do, evaluate the argument and then determine who was in the right and who was in the wrong. Only how does that end up being fair when half the time you don't really see what happened? Doesn't the oldest one generally end up being the fall guy er kid since they're the oldest and should know better?
(I may not have that exactly verbatim from the book as I don't have the book in front of me but that is the gist as how I understood it.)
So I said to myself, I'm paraphrasing but you get the gist.
"okay, I'm going to back off and let them fight it out, unless they get physical, and when they call to me to jump in and resolve for them I am going to be empathetic but tell them they need to work it out with each other."
And that's what I did. What I wasn't expecting was the liberating feeling I got from backing off. When I heard the voices raised upstairs, I told myself to keep out of it, let them resolve it and I probably had the first peaceful day I had had in a long time. It was amazing. Not that everything went perfectly smoothly, after all the kids have to learn how to resolve their conflicts with one another and since my oldest has turned into a little lecturing (gee,where did she get that from) I do find it particularly difficult to listen to her harangue the younger two over some infraction they've committed against her.
And I have had to listen to E whine "work it out, work out" back at me and listen to her tell her siblings that "mommy doesn't care" because she sees my backing off as a lack of caring. Still, I can see that it will be worth it in the long run. After all, how many of us actually stop to consider that their learning to work together and resolve their problems now will benefit them when they are adults. How often have you heard the phrase "conflict resolution"? Well that's what these mini beings are learning from a very young age much like they are learning their ABCs. Only if we rob them of the opportunities to learn by solving every little problem that arises, we are not doing them any favours.
As for the rest of the book, I'm still working it out, trying to stumble my way through logical consequences, recognizing the attention seeker vs the power seeker and positive punishments but then I'm only half way through the second book. We can't afford to buy new books these days and Alyson's books appear to be very popular. I read part of her book and then had to surrender it back to the library for another anxious parent. I only just got it back again being fifth down the list.
My mom laughed at me when I started telling her about these books. I thought she'd be supportive after all the first book talks about stepping back from trying to be the perfect mother. But no, she said, "You will stress yourself out more reading all these books and trying to be the perfect parent."
My response: "I'm not trying to be a perfect parent, I'm just trying to find some peace."
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Follow Me, I'm Canadian Bloghop
For the first time I've actually remembered to participate on Wednesday over at Canadian Mom's Follow Me I'm Canadian Bloghop. I think it's an amazing opportunity to get out there and meet (read about) other Canadian bloggers. Who knows, maybe I'll discover someone who is local to me. So if you are from Canada and haven't heard about the Bloghop it happens every wednesday at Follow Me. I'm Canadian.
I haven't been posting a whole lot lately what with summer activities and moving my business and it's too bad my most recent post deals with me having a headache and being bummed out about my parenting abilities. Not exactly the best example of me but hey, it's real and that's what this is all about. You can always check out my About Me page and Some of My Favourite Posts page.
Thanks for stopping by!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Randomness and a Headache
Random notes from my back porch journalling: Friday, August 13, 2010 (yes, originally handwritten people... what a shocker!)
I have a headache to such a point that reading either on the computer or a book makes my eyes hurt. Being a mom though means I can't slouch back off to bed but take my notebook outside instead to supervise the children.
Why is it that whenever you really want to exercise or do it right, you have your tiredest day where all you can think of or your greatest desire is to catch a few ZZZzs? And you're not a nap person.
I have realized that my headaches make me eat more and considering I have been suffering with migraines for the past couple of years, this is not a good thing. It's like I am trying to eat away the pain. Tylenol doesn't work, Advil doesn't work, my subconscious brain thinks maybe it's a lack of food headache and that will help. It never does. I'm getting worried about my weight.
I am tried of people asking if I'm pregnant or when I'm due. When I was pregnant people just thought I was fat. Now that I'm just fat, people think I'm pregnant. At J's dance camp an older lady made a comment to me completely out of the blue how she "bet I couldn't get down on the floor." (some of the moms were sitting around on the floor inside the dance studio). It took me a few moments to figure out why she'd say that to me. AS it occurred to me, I dropped y hands and tried to suck in my gut silently7 praying she wouldn't make any more obvious pregnant remarks in front of this room full of moms. While my next thought was that if she did ask me when I was due, I was going to lie and tell her October.
Some days I can laugh about it. Some days I cry. This was just a cringe day.
I've been reading "Honey, I've wrecked the Kids" by Alyson Schafer. I first read breaking the Good Mom Myth. I found that book very liberating. This book... has made me realize or rather affirmed what an awful mother I am. I hate to say verbal abuse.. but that really is me and my husband. We both have to get the last word in. We are both so frustrated we tend to over lecture, over stress and even anticipate failure with snide little comments thrown in for good measure. My daughter freaked out one day in front of my mother and threw around a lot of big words like consequences, comprehension, responsibility etc... and my mom was like OMG she sounds just like her mother. I try so hard to be patient but by 4:00 pm I'm all tapped out, especially if they've been bickering lots. Add in there PMS, a few late nights and my patience and temper are unpredictable even to me. How can I start to change the patterns if I can't even keep it together a week at a time?
Why do people leave anonymous comments? I get it if you don't have a blogger account etc and you really want to contribute to the conversation. I even understand if you're trying to promote your own website and you really only pop in to leave a link. But really what satisfaction could you possibly get by leaving a vague and poorly written comment in bad English in which the word Viagra is thrown around a few times without even a link? I just don't get it.
I won the Underway contest 4 times. FOUR times. I can only claim one prize but still... you think someone out there really thinks I should lose weight? Yeah, me too.
Isn't it kind of like Murphy's law that you teach your kids to stay in bed and they obey you to the point where they call you repeatedly, you go upstairs to find out what they want, only to discover they need a drink so you have to go all the way back downstairs to grab them a cup and a drink, and then go back upstairs and get it for them. Whereas, if they weren't so busy obeying you, they would have just come halfway down the stairs at least to inform you what they needed so you only had to make the trip once.
Now my hands hurts too.
I have a headache to such a point that reading either on the computer or a book makes my eyes hurt. Being a mom though means I can't slouch back off to bed but take my notebook outside instead to supervise the children.
Why is it that whenever you really want to exercise or do it right, you have your tiredest day where all you can think of or your greatest desire is to catch a few ZZZzs? And you're not a nap person.
I have realized that my headaches make me eat more and considering I have been suffering with migraines for the past couple of years, this is not a good thing. It's like I am trying to eat away the pain. Tylenol doesn't work, Advil doesn't work, my subconscious brain thinks maybe it's a lack of food headache and that will help. It never does. I'm getting worried about my weight.
I am tried of people asking if I'm pregnant or when I'm due. When I was pregnant people just thought I was fat. Now that I'm just fat, people think I'm pregnant. At J's dance camp an older lady made a comment to me completely out of the blue how she "bet I couldn't get down on the floor." (some of the moms were sitting around on the floor inside the dance studio). It took me a few moments to figure out why she'd say that to me. AS it occurred to me, I dropped y hands and tried to suck in my gut silently7 praying she wouldn't make any more obvious pregnant remarks in front of this room full of moms. While my next thought was that if she did ask me when I was due, I was going to lie and tell her October.
Some days I can laugh about it. Some days I cry. This was just a cringe day.
I've been reading "Honey, I've wrecked the Kids" by Alyson Schafer. I first read breaking the Good Mom Myth. I found that book very liberating. This book... has made me realize or rather affirmed what an awful mother I am. I hate to say verbal abuse.. but that really is me and my husband. We both have to get the last word in. We are both so frustrated we tend to over lecture, over stress and even anticipate failure with snide little comments thrown in for good measure. My daughter freaked out one day in front of my mother and threw around a lot of big words like consequences, comprehension, responsibility etc... and my mom was like OMG she sounds just like her mother. I try so hard to be patient but by 4:00 pm I'm all tapped out, especially if they've been bickering lots. Add in there PMS, a few late nights and my patience and temper are unpredictable even to me. How can I start to change the patterns if I can't even keep it together a week at a time?
Why do people leave anonymous comments? I get it if you don't have a blogger account etc and you really want to contribute to the conversation. I even understand if you're trying to promote your own website and you really only pop in to leave a link. But really what satisfaction could you possibly get by leaving a vague and poorly written comment in bad English in which the word Viagra is thrown around a few times without even a link? I just don't get it.
I won the Underway contest 4 times. FOUR times. I can only claim one prize but still... you think someone out there really thinks I should lose weight? Yeah, me too.
Isn't it kind of like Murphy's law that you teach your kids to stay in bed and they obey you to the point where they call you repeatedly, you go upstairs to find out what they want, only to discover they need a drink so you have to go all the way back downstairs to grab them a cup and a drink, and then go back upstairs and get it for them. Whereas, if they weren't so busy obeying you, they would have just come halfway down the stairs at least to inform you what they needed so you only had to make the trip once.
Now my hands hurts too.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Remiss
I have been a little remiss in my posting lately. Mainly it's because I've been reading. I have since finished the Inkheart series and yes it did end rather bitter sweetly as I had suspected. We went away on the weekend to a resort on a little island not far from home to help celebrate a good friend's 40th. While browsing at a local bookstore on the way back on Sunday, I discovered a reprint of Stephen King's novel, The Stand.
I've always loved this book as well as the film that they made from it. The film stays pretty close to the novel and the changes they made are pretty obvious as to why they made them. Despite the fact that I have read this book at least 3 times, if not more, I completely got sucked into this story and could barely put it down. As long as the kids were playing quietly together, I was reading. I'd look around my house and would justify myself that I'd get the dishes down when I made lunch or after we picked E up from dance or a 100 different little excuses and ended up doing barely nothing but read for the past three days. I finally finished it yesterday and last night I popped in the movie because, of course, I own it.
Unfortunately I didn't get to watch much of it because my husband came home and was disappointed that I started watching it without out him. So good wifey that I was restarted the movie from the beginning. It's at least 4 hours long. Of course, as soon as we start watching it, he gets up starts making himself a snack etc and I'm continually having to pause it. It really ticked me off when he picked up the newspaper and I think he must have realized it because he sat it down saying there's nothing of interest in it. After all, we could have continued on from where I was but I thought he really wanted to watch it.
So we ended up calling it quits before we even got as far as I had been in the film originally.
Sigh.
I've always loved this book as well as the film that they made from it. The film stays pretty close to the novel and the changes they made are pretty obvious as to why they made them. Despite the fact that I have read this book at least 3 times, if not more, I completely got sucked into this story and could barely put it down. As long as the kids were playing quietly together, I was reading. I'd look around my house and would justify myself that I'd get the dishes down when I made lunch or after we picked E up from dance or a 100 different little excuses and ended up doing barely nothing but read for the past three days. I finally finished it yesterday and last night I popped in the movie because, of course, I own it.
Unfortunately I didn't get to watch much of it because my husband came home and was disappointed that I started watching it without out him. So good wifey that I was restarted the movie from the beginning. It's at least 4 hours long. Of course, as soon as we start watching it, he gets up starts making himself a snack etc and I'm continually having to pause it. It really ticked me off when he picked up the newspaper and I think he must have realized it because he sat it down saying there's nothing of interest in it. After all, we could have continued on from where I was but I thought he really wanted to watch it.
So we ended up calling it quits before we even got as far as I had been in the film originally.
Sigh.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Inkheart Series
Have you ever read a book that you were enjoying so much you didn't want to see it end? I have that with the Inkheart series. This is really such a complex and rich series that I find it hard to believe that it was written for youth.
I, of course, was intrigued by the movie and kept thinking to myself that perhaps I'd read the book one day. I came across the series, beautifully bound in a gift set in Scholastic Books. I learned that my niece had just started to read the series so what a perfect gift for her. I had to admit that I was tempted to buy a set for myself, they were that beautiful but I really couldn't justify the extra expense at Christmas. Still, I hoped to one day find them used at a second hand book store. Unfortunately, it's such a popular series that not only couldn't I find used copies but I had to go on a waiting list at the library for them.
Finally, my turn came up and I now have the final book in my possession. Yet, I find myself curiously reluctant to finish this book. I have even set it aside to read another book and have just picked it up again knowing that I only have another week or so before I have to return it.
For one, the story is so complex that you never really know what's going to happen next. You just think everything is going to start to work out for a change when the author throws in another twist and the good guys are struggling again. I even find myself putting it down when one of these new crisis arise just so I can shake my head over the turn of events and even ponder how they are going to get out of it. Never before I have it dragged a book out quite so much.
I think my reluctance stems from the fact that this is the last book of the series. Once I'm done that will be it, the story will have been told and I have a feeling I'm not going to completely like the ending. If the ending goes like any of the rest of the story it's going to end off on a bittersweet note and most likely involve the death of one of my favourite characters.
Have you read the Inkheart series? What did you think? Or have you ever read a book that you were reluctant to see end?
I, of course, was intrigued by the movie and kept thinking to myself that perhaps I'd read the book one day. I came across the series, beautifully bound in a gift set in Scholastic Books. I learned that my niece had just started to read the series so what a perfect gift for her. I had to admit that I was tempted to buy a set for myself, they were that beautiful but I really couldn't justify the extra expense at Christmas. Still, I hoped to one day find them used at a second hand book store. Unfortunately, it's such a popular series that not only couldn't I find used copies but I had to go on a waiting list at the library for them.
Finally, my turn came up and I now have the final book in my possession. Yet, I find myself curiously reluctant to finish this book. I have even set it aside to read another book and have just picked it up again knowing that I only have another week or so before I have to return it.
For one, the story is so complex that you never really know what's going to happen next. You just think everything is going to start to work out for a change when the author throws in another twist and the good guys are struggling again. I even find myself putting it down when one of these new crisis arise just so I can shake my head over the turn of events and even ponder how they are going to get out of it. Never before I have it dragged a book out quite so much.
I think my reluctance stems from the fact that this is the last book of the series. Once I'm done that will be it, the story will have been told and I have a feeling I'm not going to completely like the ending. If the ending goes like any of the rest of the story it's going to end off on a bittersweet note and most likely involve the death of one of my favourite characters.
Have you read the Inkheart series? What did you think? Or have you ever read a book that you were reluctant to see end?
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Play House Disney - Canada Blog Tour and Giveaway ENDED
Plus it's also not just empty t.v., each show teaches simple math problems and discusses how to solve many problems that we might find in life such as sharing, what to do when we're scared, etc. I love listening to the kids sing along with their catchy tunes and have found myself frequently dancing to one of the Imagination Mover's upbeat songs. I just love how I feel safe leaving the t.v. set on Playhouse Disney because I don't have to worry about something inappropriate showing up.
Playhouse Disney also has a great website with great games and activities that my children love to play... over and over again. Want to receive updates? Check out Playhouse Disney's Facebook page.
If you're not unsure whether or not your area receives the Disney Playhouse Channel check their list.
Best of all: One lucky reader will win a Playhouse Disney Prize Pack containing a Playhouse Disney DVD with five episodes, pencils, a magnetic pen, and colouring magnets! This giveaway is limited to Canadian residents only and will close at midnight PST on August 18, 2010.
Side note: There are multiple blogs running the same giveaway promo on behalf on Mom Central. You may feel free to enter to win on as many blogs as you like, however you will only be eligible to win once as part of the Playhouse Disney Canada blog tour contest.The winners will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond before I have to choose a new winner.
To Enter: Comment and let me know what your child's (or your's) favourite show is.
For Extra Optional Entries :
- Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect and leave a comment
- Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment. You may use the following:
Win a Playhouse Disney Prize Pack @Zeemaid (CAN Only) http://bit.ly/9qatgz #PlayhouseDisneyCanada
Disclosure: I am participating in the Playhouse Disney program by Mom Central. I received a Playhouse Disney prize pack and a thank you gift card to facilitate this post. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Looking for more Canadian friendly giveaways? Why not check out Mom Vs. The Boys where our lovely host provides a linky every thursday for giveaways guaranteed to be available to Canadians.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
I Marry You Morrow
O was going out with his dad.
Me: What, you're leaving me? I'm gonna miss you.
O: I be back mom, I marry you morrow.
Me: You're going to marry me tomorrow?
O: Yup, I marry you morrow.
Me: Well, okay make sure you buy me a present first though, okay?
O: Okay, Mom, I buy you present and I marry you.
Me: Okay sweetie, have fun.
That night as I tucked a sleepy boy in bed.
Me: Good night sweetie, I love you.
O: (gives hug and kiss) I marry morrow mom.
Me: Okay, good night.
Next day:
O: Give kiss mom, I marry you.
Me: (kiss) where's my present?
O: (blank look)
Daddy: HAH!
O: Here, (gives me rock) Okay we married now, (runs off outside).
Me: What, you're leaving me? I'm gonna miss you.
O: I be back mom, I marry you morrow.
Me: You're going to marry me tomorrow?
O: Yup, I marry you morrow.
Me: Well, okay make sure you buy me a present first though, okay?
O: Okay, Mom, I buy you present and I marry you.
Me: Okay sweetie, have fun.
That night as I tucked a sleepy boy in bed.
Me: Good night sweetie, I love you.
O: (gives hug and kiss) I marry morrow mom.
Me: Okay, good night.
Next day:
O: Give kiss mom, I marry you.
Me: (kiss) where's my present?
O: (blank look)
Daddy: HAH!
O: Here, (gives me rock) Okay we married now, (runs off outside).
Monday, August 2, 2010
To Save A Life - Movie Review
I thought I'd mention this movie this week since it's a smaller title and most likely will get lost what with films like Kick-Ass and Diary of A Wimpy Kid coming out this week.
It's about a teen who comes to terms with the suicide of his childhood friend, facing his own problems and discovering faith and a life worth living for. I was pretty hesitant about watching it because if you know me at all, I don't like sad things and at times it is quite sad. I also thought it might be a cheesy movie considering it is a small title and a faith based film as well. I'm sorry to offend but a lot of those types of films can come across as quite cheesy and not always well acted. I have seen some good ones and I have seen some very bad ones.
Still, I said to my husband if we don't like it we'll just shut it off. Well we got so sucked in we watched the whole thing despite the sad bits and the late hour. It was well acted and very well written. I think this movie would be great to watch with older teen children because it shows how every kid has struggles and often deal with feeling alone. Even the so called popular kids have their issues. It also dealt candidly with some flaws that we often see in church. For example, it comes out that the main character had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Of course this all happened prior to his starting to discover faith but the head pastor didn't want him around the other teens. Here this kid is trying to find God and do the right thing and they are afraid he will "contaminate" the other children. Coming from a church background I have seen this narrow minded thinking before. Of course, I'd understand their thinking if this kid had professed to be a Christian all along and then started having premarried sex etc.
Anyways, it was still nice to see the kids rallying around and supporting each other and "owning" their own behaviour towards the kid who killed himself and how they started to heal and and help other lonely kids. All in all it was an inspiring film despite the sad topic.
Definitely worth checking out. Not, of course, if your husband is only into action flicks. ;)
It's about a teen who comes to terms with the suicide of his childhood friend, facing his own problems and discovering faith and a life worth living for. I was pretty hesitant about watching it because if you know me at all, I don't like sad things and at times it is quite sad. I also thought it might be a cheesy movie considering it is a small title and a faith based film as well. I'm sorry to offend but a lot of those types of films can come across as quite cheesy and not always well acted. I have seen some good ones and I have seen some very bad ones.
Still, I said to my husband if we don't like it we'll just shut it off. Well we got so sucked in we watched the whole thing despite the sad bits and the late hour. It was well acted and very well written. I think this movie would be great to watch with older teen children because it shows how every kid has struggles and often deal with feeling alone. Even the so called popular kids have their issues. It also dealt candidly with some flaws that we often see in church. For example, it comes out that the main character had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Of course this all happened prior to his starting to discover faith but the head pastor didn't want him around the other teens. Here this kid is trying to find God and do the right thing and they are afraid he will "contaminate" the other children. Coming from a church background I have seen this narrow minded thinking before. Of course, I'd understand their thinking if this kid had professed to be a Christian all along and then started having premarried sex etc.
Anyways, it was still nice to see the kids rallying around and supporting each other and "owning" their own behaviour towards the kid who killed himself and how they started to heal and and help other lonely kids. All in all it was an inspiring film despite the sad topic.
Definitely worth checking out. Not, of course, if your husband is only into action flicks. ;)
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