raisegoodkids

I decided that it was time to go through the boys’ clothes.

I packed away winter stuff and clothing items that were getting too small. I moved some of Sam’s too small stuff into Max’s closet and put some other stuff away in storage. I went through Max’s clothes and packed away everything that he’s outgrown. It’s amazing that he’s only 9 months old and most of his 12 month stuff is fitting quite snug. I took an inventory of what summer items were needed: Sam needs nice summer shirts for church and muscle shirts for those hot summer play days, he could use some more shorts, too, as I’m anticipating that he will outgrow some of the smaller pairs by mid-summer. Sorry, Max, but you don’t really need anything, thanks to having an older brother!

I’m thinking of trying to get a yard sale together this summer. We’re collecting quite a bit of “extras” that we just need to get rid of, so we can finally get organized. We will no longer be needing our infant carrier, swing, bouncy seat, baby clothes, maternity clothes. You get the picture. The project of getting things together is the part I’m dreading. I hate going through things and, even though I hate clutter, I also hate organizing. Just another one of those weird aspects of my life.

On a side note, Max is starting to pull-up all by himself! Yeah, Max! Visit my other blog at www.mommomsharmony.blogspot.com for a full story and pictures.

I was so excited to receive this award, for the second time! Actually, a little astonished and excited. I would like to thank jayewalking over at DelayedToddler (www.delayedtoddler.today.com) for honoring me with this award. It’s nice to have this little virtual community with virtual friends and virtual support. As parents, every little bit helps and we can always use help - no matter the way, shape, or form!! Thanks again, jayewalking!!

The criteria for the award:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to those bloggers who must may choose at least 5 more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

Now, I would like to reveal the blogs I feel should be honored with this award. And the envelope please….

cheekysuze at Cheekysuze (www.cheekysuze.today.com) - She always brings the drama and humor into everyday life when you share it with kids.

msanchezmasi at MamaSaysMine (www.mamasaysmine.today.com) - This site is always full of good information and ideas, shopping and reviews. Very helpful!

shannonf at BusyWorkingMom (www.busyworkingmom.today.com) - She vividly brings the life of a busy mom out in her writing. A busy mom who always finds time to leave comments and encouragement, too.

dubster at SAHMRandomThoughts (www.sahmrandomthoughts.today.com) - SAHM at the best, always willing to share the little moments with us.

lindsaym at SillyMomThoughts (www.sillymomthoughts.today.com) - Humor in life and parenting, need I say more!

Please congratulate these winners and don’t forget to visit their blogs. They all are very positive and humorous writers. They bring the life of everyday parents to the blogging world. Now, get busy spreading the love!!

First of all, sorry that I’ve been away for a little bit. I’ve been focusing most of my writing attention on a short story contest and submitting other paid articles. Money is tight these days and I’m trying to contribute as much as possible.

 FYI - The dinosaurs are still roaming the area. We went fishing this past weekend and guess what we caught, that’s right, Dinosaur Fish!! Again, I had no idea that these things even existed anymore. The toys are still active in their daily revolt against order and cleanliness. No improvement on that front. Darn, I was really hoping that my sticker reward chart would work with Spiderman and The Guy!

 Now, back to my title: Why Do We Have To Judge?

Most of the blogs that I read have to do with family and parenting, but I also read some current events blogs and some celebrity and religion blogs. The authors of most of the family and parenting blogs are women - mothers. I cannot understand why some of these role models continue to write such judgemental and sometimes ridiculous articles. I have a hard time reading them with a straight face and without rolling my eyes at some of the comments made.

Instead of constantly judging other parents and telling them that what they are doing is wrong, maybe we should use this outlet as a support network. I have met several very friendly fellow bloggers that share some of the same hardships that I do. We share ideas and stories, it is fun. However, some other bloggers use this outlet to proclaim what fantastic parents they are. They proclaim that their way is the only right way to do things. They proclaim that if you dare to do something out of the ordinary it will have detrimental effects on your children. They will knock anyone down that they do not believe is doing the “right thing”. Well, the “right thing” for one person isn’t always the “right thing” for others. The only thing that should matter is, in the situations they are faced with, are they doing the “right thing” for their children? I have read and heard stories from mothers on both sides of the working mom vs. stay at home mom debate, on breast feeding vs. bottle feeding, on cloth diapers vs. disposable diapers, organic vs. non-organic. Can’t we all just get along? Stop judging and start just being there for the people we share a huge common ground with - Motherhood.

Now, I’m all for expressing opinions. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can have some pretty strong opinions about things. Maybe when expressing our opinions, we could at least acknowledge that there could be some very good reasons for people to chose to do things a little bit different and that is really okay. Or rather than placing so much judgement in our writing, we could simply state that this is the way we do it and list some reasons why we chose to do it this way.

No one likes being judged, not by friends or family, not by strangers. Something to think about.

Have you ever just been really, really diappointed in someone?

Maybe it was due to something they said or didn’t say. Maybe it was because of something they did or didn’t do.

I am feeling a great deal of disappointment in a few people at this very moment. It is really nothing new, I have felt this disappointment in these same people time and again. It makes me sad that their actions, or rather lack of actions, affect others that I love very deeply. It makes me actually kind of angry that these people have been like this for what seems like forever and no matter what kinds of subtle hints are dropped, they never seem to get it. They will never understand, or know, how their actions affect others. Their loved ones.

Maybe I need to just brush it off, like others close to me have been doing for practically their entire life. I just can’t seem to let it go, though. And, even though other’s brush off their disappointment, it never really goes away. It just builds and builds and builds, until eventually disappointment turns into resentment. Resentment is never a good thing. It is not healthy to resent someone because of how they make you feel.

It would be nice if all of this could just get put out in the open, but that will never happen. Well, considering my state of mind right now, it wouldn’t take much provocation to get me to burst! That probably would not be the best way to air grievances, though.

Actually, one of the biggest problems has been addressed already. A few years ago, a loved one approached one of these people with his concerns. The outcome was not what was expected, though. Instead of understanding, this person was made to feel that all of these problems were his own fault. It was not the fault of other’s involved, but solely because of him. Looking back on this, it is not hard to see how things could have gotten turned around. This seems to be a pattern, everything always seems to be this one particular persons fault. The problem here, though, is that it is not his problem or his fault. He has just been too easy and let too much stuff go without causing a stink about it before. He has become an easy scape-goat to other’s problems. It really makes me sad and thus the disappointment grows more.

It’s very sad, also, to think that these actions and my feelings affect my children. I want to protect them from anything like this ever happening to them. I will not continue to expose them to these toxic people who don’t seem to be able to show any kind of real love or appreciation towards others. It has pretty much come down to this already. The more disappointment and resentment that I feel towards these people, just kind of makes me want to cut all ties with them. Too bad it’s easier said than done.

This really bothers me. I am a busy mom of two boys and I still find time to not only write thank you notes, but my oldest (2 years old) often creates his own thank you notes to send out. So, why is it that we never receive any thank you notes from anyone else? We have attended weddings and given nice and expensive gifts, but we never received a thank you. We have attended both bridal and baby showers and again given nice and expensive gifts, but never received a thank you. Honestly, I have to say that because of this I have quit wasting my money and my time and have chosen not to participate in some of these events. Mostly those in which I don’t really know the person very well and don’t see them very often. But why should I spend my time picking out a gift, my money buying a gift, and my time attending an event when the people are so inappreciative that they can’t even send a simple “Thanks” my way?

It sometimes makes me wonder, like at a wedding where they don’t open gifts until later, if they even received the gift. I mean if you received a nice luggage set for your wedding would you forget to send a thank you? Or if you received a DVD player would you not send a thank you? Or how about a baby bath tub complete with toys? These are just a few examples of gifts we have given, but never heard one little thank you from the recipients of these gifts. Strange, though, how I make sure that my toddler colors a picture and I find time to write a thank you for something as small as a tub of playdough or some matchbox cars.

The saying goes, “It’s the thought that counts”, well that can go the other way, too. It’s the thought that the person took to make sure that you know that they appreciated the gift and your attendance at an event.

 While I’m talking about thank you notes, here are some ideas for helping your children create their own thank you notes:

* Have your child paint on one side of a piece of paper, fold paper in half and their art becomes the outside of the card. Then, you (if your child is too young) can write a little note inside and have your child “sign” his name to it.

* My son’s 2nd birthday had a zoo theme, so I had him color & paint various zoo pictures. I cut them out and glued them onto construction paper and then I wrote the note on the back of the picture.

* Stickers make good decorations for cards.

* Take a picture of your child with the gift and simply write “Thanks” on the note.

* Or buy a package of thank you cards at the store and write the note.

It really isn’t that hard and it really is not that time consuming. The lack of appreciation in our society is getting a little ridiculous. Come on people, isn’t it worth it to lift someone’s spirits a little with a simple “thank you”?

It is official, I dropped my entrecard today. So sad. On the bright side, though, my second blog is up and ready to go with entrecard. So keep the drops coming over there: www.mommomsharmony.blogspot.com

I am excited to announce that I have started a second blog. Please find it at www.mommomsharmony.blogspot.com

As most of you have probably already been made aware, Today.com has instructed us to remove our Entrecard widget. I will be doing so in the next week. However, to all of my frequent droppers, I will be adding your site to my blog roll. I would love it if you would do the same for me. I will continue to visit your sites (daily if possible), but I just will not be able to leave my card. Sorry for all of the inconvenience. Any of you bloggers out there that do not use Today.com, please let me know how you like your sites. I am considering setting up another blog not associated with Today.com and you can just bet that once that happens I will be signing up for Entrecard once again!

I don’t want this post to turn into a gossip column, but I wanted to see if any other “normal” parents with “normal” families were thinking the same things as I am about this family.

First of all, let me say that I enjoy watching this show. However, it is starting to lose it’s appeal. I became fascinated at how Kate was able to take care of the babies and stay organized and continue to be somewhat cheerful (at least to the cameras) throughout the day. This was early in the shows production. Recently, though, I’ve noticed a lot of changes in how some of the “cast” is portrayed and just in their general lifestyle. Here’s a list of a few things I’ve noticed and do not like:

1.) The kids seem to be doing little mini commercials throughout the show. One show they were playing with some flip cars and on another a bounce house. You could tell that the whole thing was staged and it left me wondering how much money they received for using these company’s products on the show.

2.) Kate’s attitude problem has definitely increased and appears to be a producers dream. I really hope that she is not as rude and downright hateful in real life.

3.) I think that Jon has completely lost all of his manhood. Kate has chipped away at it enough that whenever she speaks he seems to just want to curl up into a little ball. At first it was amusing, it seemed like he did things to annoy her on purpose and then he would roll his eyes and grin when she exploded. Now, though, does he ever pick his head up and show any kind of self-confidence?

4.) Why is Mady being portrayed as the evil sister so much? The cameras are always around whenever she has a meltdown. Sometimes I wonder if she isn’t told by producers and the film crew to step the tantrum up a notch.

5.) When the show first started, you often saw Kate with little-to-no makeup on and wearing sweats and t-shirts. This was a mother that I could relate to. Now, you never see her without her hair perfect, makeup on, designer clothes, high-heeled shoes, and her perfect tan. I thought she was so incredibly busy and had 8 children to take care of?

6.) Also, when the show first started, you always saw other people helping out and the family had friends around often. What happened to all of those people? Now, instead of friends being around they go on vacations all the time.

I really wish that Jon and Kate would go back to the simple little show they had before. The one’s where I actually learned a thing or two from them, like the one where they learned to recycle, save energy, and use “Green” products. I learned something from that show, the only thing I seem to be learning from them now is product placement and where to go on one of my many vacations!

My son will not be three years old until July, but I worry constantly about his speech development. I believe that most of this comes from my background as a former Early Childhood Special Education teacher. Deep down I know that he is still very young and he has many years to go before he needs to be completely and accurately articulate, but I can’t get these nagging thoughts out of my head. I fear that he won’t be accepted in groups or that he will be made fun of all because he may not be understood all of the time. Some of these new fears are the result of something that happened this past Sunday. He attended Sunday School at church for only the second time, the first time I attended with him. Each Sunday has new and different teacher volunteers and this Sunday’s teachers did not know his name. When they asked him what his name was, he did answer with “My name is Sam.” However, the teachers could not make out what he had said. After church, I sought out the teachers to make sure he was okay. He is the youngest to attend and this was only his second time attending. They said that he was perfect and participated in all the activities, but they couldn’t make out his name when he gave it to them. The fear sets in, again.

So, today, I am on a mission to make an alphabet and sounds book for him. I have cut out pictures of objects from magazines. I will glue them onto construction paper and make it into a book. Then, we can read the book, name the objects, and practice our sounds together. I also have the idea to make the book a fun book by rewarding him with stickers each time we practice our words.

I know that I may be over-reacting, but I feel that I need to do something to assist him in his speech development. Like I said, it’s the teacher coming out in me. I would do anything to keep him out of special education or just the public school in general.