Successful parenting...

is NOT losing your freakin' mind on your child when she goes #2 on the floor on purpose for the second day in a row.









This is all I can manage right now.

Parenting help

Yesterday, K and J and I were playing on the floor and K said, "I'm going to give you a big kiss, Mommy!" And she did. Then she went over to J and gave him a big kiss. Then she talked about giving practically everyone we've ever met a big kiss. So I took the opportunity to tell her that it is always okay to give Mommy, Daddy and J a big kiss, but for everyone else, she has to ask them first. THEN, if they say she can, she can give them a SMALL LITTLE kiss ON THE CHEEK OR HAND. She seemed confused by the whole thing. With good reason I suppose.

While shopping at our local discount center today, several people stopped to chat with K, who has graduated to being able to "keep her hand on the cart" instead of riding inside. (Except when she isn't a good listener, then, it's back into cart-prison.) While we were in the travel size stuff aisle, a sweet older lady stopped to coo at J and said hello to K. Kbegan babbling on about the stickers she was holding to this lady, who had no idea what she was talking about.

Later, K took a few minutes to play in the little life-size dollhouse they had in the middle of the toy section while I waited impatiently. An older man saw her in there and peeked at her through the window to make her laugh. She was so enthralled in her discovery, she didn't even see him. Then, I stopped a WW (Walmart worker) to ask where I could find some felt as it wasn't where I thought it would be. While explaining to me where to find it (just one aisle over of course) K practically hugged her legs and started saying something to her about her "new big girl bed".

(Yeah, I am gonna keep going...) THEN while checking out, the same man who tried to say hello to her at the playhouse, walked by and stopped again and asked her if she had fun in the playhouse. She said "yes" and then he kept talking to us. He left after about 30 seconds to have a seat at the waiting area (???) As he walked away I said to the cashier, "So how are you suppose to balance teaching your kids not to trust strangers, but to still be polite?" She just shook her head knowingly and said, "If you figure it out, come back and let me know."

So what the heck? How do you teach a soon-to-be three year old these kinds of boundaries. I don't want to make her scared of people (she is still traumatized by the "spider incident of 2008" which I will write about later), but also am not comfortable with her just talking to anyone and everyone. Also, how do you balance all that when people approach your children every time we go anywhere????

I know several of you must be dealing with the same thing...so clue me in here!!!!

Wandering Indiana

I am currently in a nursing home evaluating a client in a small town north of my home. I am reviewing the client's medical chart and I kid you not, this is the goal I just read in her care plan:

"Resident will play Wii tennis 1x weekly during the next 90 days" :)

The goal is addressing the problem of "resident has limited physical exercise". Apparently, this facility has a Sensory Wii Group each week. How about that?!?!?

I can't stop giggling about it....

(And they also apparently have WiFi b/c I am obviously distracted by the ability to get online!)

Songs of life

I was listening to my Ipod in my car on the way to work the other day. And here is the order of songs that came across: (It occurred to me how strange the mix would seem to someone other than me, or would it?)

Lullaby by Jack Johnson

You Can't Touch This by MC Hammer

Love on the Rocks by Neil Diamond

I've Been Workin' on the Railroad by Laurie Berkner (kids music for those of you without kids)

Crazy by Gnarles Barkley

Help by The Beatles

Ha! How about that for a mix? Other odds and ends found on my Ipod include: Norah Jones, Jim Gill (more kids music), John Mayer, Garth Brooks, Billie Holiday, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, 90's Dance Party Mix

Whatcha listenin' to these days????

Our third baby

This is M. She is our third baby. Actually, she is our FIRST as she turns seven this summer. She has been somewhat neglected since the arrival of "the kids", as she was in fact treated as our child for the first five years of her life. (She still is, but has fallen in the ranks a tad). Anyway, we adore our dog and try to give her a good life filled with walks, toys, belly rubs, and the occasional treat. She is a very friendly and sweet dog. She loves kids and attention. Her worst habit is jumping up on people when they come over b/c she is so excited. M is protective of us, (as all dogs are of their families). She does not like it when a man comes to the house and D is not here. She does not like it if a man is talking to me or the kids and D is not here, even if she knows the man. She gets especially upset if someone uses a loud, threatening voice towards us. She has never bitten anyone, she has never been aggressive. She does not do very well with dogs. She prefers people by far!

On Sunday, she was attacked by our neighbor's dog. Yep, the "friendly" neighbors next door - the one with the lovely music pouring out of their windows on occasion. The ones with the son who is home from college, but looks 40. I digress. Unfortunately, the man next door (in his sixties maybe?) brought his dog over to meet our dog on Sunday.

Did he knock at our door first? No

Has he personally met us or our dog before? No

Were we outside and waving him over? No

Did we even know he was out in our backyard? No

We were all inside. I was getting ready for a bridal shower, D was visiting with my father and the kids were playing.

The neighbor approached our dog (who was on a runner in our yard) with his dog. And his dog got loose. That dog attacked M and we all ran to the windows to find out what all the yelping was about. From D's view, he thought M was barking at the cat who was sitting in our yard (who often torments M). He didn't see the neighbor standing in our yard with his dog whom he had gotten under control.

I was looking out the bathroom window upstairs and watched in horror, as his dog broke loose AGAIN and again backed M up against the iron fence around our waterfall/pond area. Molly cried, yelped, and barked again. And D ran outside to find out what in the heck was going on. I too, ran outside and M had managed to slip her head out of her collar and came limping towards me with her head and tail down.

The man apologized and stated he was hoping the dogs could be friends. D informed him that they would never be friends now, as his dog attacked M and M would always remember that. Clearly, despite being an educated dog owner, with presumably years of experience having a dog. This man has NO IDEA about dogs.

Who approaches a dog they don't know without their owner present? Who approaches a dog they don't know, in the dog's yard, without the owner present, WITH ANOTHER DOG?

The good news is that M is okay. I took her to the vet last night as she was limping. They think it is soft tissue bruising, but gave us some "meat flavored" anti-inflammatory meds. If her limping continues or gets worse, we'll have to x-ray her and see if there is a fracture.

Now, as a dog owner (or parent, for that matter), when your dog misbehaves towards others, you feel badly. In a situation like this, wouldn't you go OUT OF YOUR WAY to make sure the other person's dog is okay? Ask about her when you see the dog's owner outside the following morning? Offer to pay for a vet bill if an injury develops? If it had been reversed, I'd have homemade friggin' dog biscuits at their doorstep the next day. No word from our neighbors.

Oh yeah, and the man did tell us that the cat that hangs out in our yard all the time, tormenting our dog is his cat. Of course. (I personally think it also pees near the windows of our basement and is responsible for the cat pee smell that becomes more apparent when it rains)

I guess the saying is true: "Good fences make good neighbors".

(Sorry about the spacing, for some reason Blogger isn't acknowledging the paragraph breaks despite my numerous attempts)

Containment

So, after a moment of panic a few weeks ago at the library, I decided that I was in need of a double stroller. (The incident at the library included K running up the ramp towards the exit door while I had J at the check out desk in the stroller) I never thought I'd really need one as I assumed K would sit in the shopping cart as she still does when they both go with me into a store. And when we visit the zoo, etc. D and I are together and can push J in the big stroller and K in the umbrella stroller. Well, now, I am a complete panic freak so began my search for the ultimate child/children containment device with wheels.

Luckily, I found this great stroller on Craigslist for $100. Yep, $100. The lady I bought it from bought it to use with her daughter and one she babysits, then the one she babysits ended up moving out of state. She paid like $220 for it and barely ever used it! How about that? Good deal for me! Looks great- is a little complicated to figure out, but we are working on the bells and whistles of it.

And here are my noodles enjoying the ride/sit at their first political rally the very afternoon I bought it (in the parking lot of my local Sears)! They did great in it and managed to stay contained the entire time until Daddy came to pick them up!

Do you know about Craigslist? It's like ebay for locals! AWESOME! I'm going to put K's nursery bedding and basinet on there (unless any of you need it)!

Barack Obama

Finally! I got to hear Barack Obama speak last night. I stood in line for 2.5 hours waiting for the doors to open. I sat in the poorly designed, cramped, and uncomfortable seating that is a large auditorium for another 2 hours waiting to see him. And then, finally! There he was!

I have never been interested in politics. I have never enjoyed "a good political debate" with friends or family. But things are different now. He has inspired me. He seems to be a normal guy, one you could ask over for dinner, one you could say "Hey Barack!" to if you saw him walking down the street. And more importantly, he seems to actually want to represent the people of America. Not the lobbyists. Not big business. Not big drug companies. Not the oil industry. Just us.

He was a dynamic speaker, for sure. But I was more interested in the content of his speech. He answered my questions. He apologized for his campaign getting sucked into the negativity that we hate about politics in recent weeks. He reminded everyone that he won't engage in ugly tactics and didn't say anything bad about Hillary last night. Even when the students in the crowd "boo-ed" at the mention of her name. He explained why he doesn't support the suspension of the fedreal gas tax for the summer. (A savings that breaks down to 30 cents per day for us, or a whopping total of $28 over the entire summer). Instead, he feels like we she be focusing our time/energy/dollars and a REAL solution to the gas issue. Not a gimmick that gives the American people $28 in their pocket over a three month period of time. He is focusing on finding alternative ways to harvest/utilize energy that are environmentally friendly (can I get an "Amen!")

He talked about education and how he feels our current federal program "leaves too many kids behind". He wants to offer a $4000 tuition credit to every college student every semester in exchange for community service or public service of some kind. (You KNOW I love that one!) He talked about keeping our allies close and our enemies closer; about how you can't just ignore the people who you dislike or dislike you in the world we live in today. He wants to focus on American jobs and putting people to work by rebuilding roads/bridges, developing alternative fuel/energy sources, investing in science and research and technology.

Don't worry, I won't recount his entire speech here, although I'd like to. I truly believe in this man. I think he wants it to be different here. I want it to be different too.

Whether you agree or disagree, Get out and vote. If you are a Hoosier- get out and vote NOW. The polls are open until Tuesday (election day). Find your polling place and vote. Make a difference in your home, neighborhood, community, and country. Get involved!