Moving to WordPress

I am moving my blog to WordPress.  You can find the new posts here.

Mom's Favorite Sayings

The inspiration from this came from this picture on Pinterest.

Pinterest

Here is my list of most heard sayings.

1. What part of no don't you understand?  This is usually followed by:
2. I just told your sister no, what makes you think I'm going to tell you yes?
3. I don't care who started it.  I'm finishing it.
4. Who said life is far?
          These all stem from having 4 girls in the house who are very close in age (7, 8, 8, 9).  They usually all want the same thing and I am forever repeating myself.

5. I don't know is not an answer.
    This mostly pertains to one child.  Doing homework with her is not pleasant.  She likes to try to get me to tell her the answer.

6. Because I said so, that's why.  
    I try not to use this one, but sometimes, it's the best answer.

7. No whistling, opera, or running in the house.
    Between the 4 kids, 2 have ADHD and one has ADD.  They all love music.  While I'm glad that they do, having migraines makes it difficult to tolerate little girl voices when they decide to sing loud.  

All of these phrases, except #6, are heard almost daily in my house.  As a person who hates repeating herself, this can be frustrating.  But being a mom makes it all worth it.

Missing Pictures?

Someone stole my pictures!

Well, not really.  But that was my thought for a good 10 minutes before I figured out the problem.

I was adding a post to my blog and I noticed that all of the pictures have been removed. It took some work, but I figured out that when I erased them from Picasa, it erased them from my blog. Now I have to find them all again to add.

So I have done my best to replace all the missing pictures.  If there is one you remember seeing and it isn't there, it's because I couldn't remember what was supposed to be there.

I am double saving all of my pictures now.  I do NOT want to have to go through all of this again.

Puberty Woes

So I've been looking online for advice on having the puberty talk with my girls. Everything I have found so far says to be honest and open. Well, duh. I'm not going to lie about it and I won't hide anything about it either. I'm more looking for how to start the conversation. Add to that, how do I keep my overly emotional Fiona from freaking out about bleeding once a month? She doesn't like blood and has less pain tolerance that I do, which is saying a lot. I don't deal well with pain. I don't like it. When I hurt, anywhere, I shut down pretty quick. Fiona goes to the opposite extreme. She cries and screams. The whole world must know that she hurts.

Then there is Shannon. I'm not sure how she will react to the idea either, but I can almost guarantee that she will have a million questions. She is curious about everything and wants to know everything. She also doesn't like blood, but she deals with it better. As for pain, she's had her share of accidents and I think her pain tolerance is much better. She might still cry about it, but for that to happen, I know it really hurts. Not to say that Fiona doesn't really hurt; I just don't know how bad she hurts as she reacts the same whether it's a “I bumped into the wall” or “I fell off my scooter on the road and have asphalt lodged in the scratches on my knees and elbows”.

I'm also nervous about PMS. I've been lucky so far. Due to my choice of birth control, I haven't had to deal with a period for most of the time my children have been alive. This will all change in June when I get my tubes tied. Add to that, I also have 2 step daughters who are very close in age to my girls. I'm not looking forward to the possibility of all 5 of us being on our cycle at the same time. We just might blow the roof off of the house. I really feel bad for Ted and his dad (who we live with). I'm sure Ted will probably be ok, but I feel bad that he will have to deal with it. As for Wayne, he's a 70 year old who only has boys. I'm not sure how he will handle the lovely mood swings.

I know I need to have this talk soon. Hopefully, I can find the words and the time to do it right. Wish me luck!

Sticks and Stones

We've all heard the saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me".  It's usually something we say when someone has said something insulting or hurtful to us.  Think about this for a moment.  How often do physical wounds heal?  Pretty often, right?  Now think about the impact words can have.  A compliment or some other word of praise can really make your day wonderful, while something hurtful can completely ruin it.  Something truly harmful can stick with you for the rest of your life.

Physical injury from abuse usually heals.  It's the mental, emotional, and psychological pain that haunts someone for the rest of their lives.  "What did I do to deserve such punishment?"

• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.

Let that sink in.  How many of these could have been prevented had someone just not been cruel? 

I'm sure many of you have heard the story recently about Jonathan Martin.  Just in case you haven't, let me give you the basics.  Martin used to be an offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins.  He recently quit due to bullying and harassment from the hands of his fellow teammates.  And you thought bullying only happened to children?  How bad must it have been for a grown man to quit a job he loved so very much?  How much more hurtful would those kind of words been in the ears of a teenager or a child?

These cruel words, bullying and harassment, they are all said because we fear people who are "different" from us.  Different?  Tell me, who out there is exactly the same as you?  Anyone?  No?  Then this should never happen.  Everyone is different.

ColourLovers

Please excuse my recent influx on Pinterest.  I just realized this morning that I can add all of my ColourLovers patterns.  Oh, boy.  This is going to take forever.  

I also created boards for the patterns that the kids have colored.

Take a look! 

My ColourLovers

Fiona's ColourLovers

Shannon's ColourLovers

Leora's ColourLovers

Abby's ColourLovers

Online Adoration

The subject for today's musings is brought to you by The One-Minute Writer.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Today's Writing Prompt: Online Adoration

Have you ever made a friend or fallen in love with someone you met online?

Oh, this one is almost too easy. I am currently engaged to a wonderful man. We met online. I had been trying the online thing for awhile with no luck. I just couldn't click with anyone. I was sure it was going to be like that for awhile, if not forever.

Then, one day, he messaged me. We talked for awhile. We talked daily for quite awhile. It was almost constantly through out the day. We decided to meet in person. We chose the Spudnut shop in Richland. Our conversation was as wonderful as always. When we were done there, we wanted more time, so we walked the Parkade and visited some of the shops. I'm not even sure how much time we spent, but we enjoyed the time.

I have to admit, I wasn't sure. I was so comfortable. I was hoping for sparks, fireworks, or something else like it. I figured we would just stay friends. A coworker suggested I give it some more time.

So we continued talking. Then I invited him to my house for a day of cards, Yahtzee, and other games. We had a blast. My kids loved him. I was so happy. The warm glow was much better than any fireworks could ever be.

On May 2, 2011, he did the cutest thing ever. He asked me if he could tell his friends that I was his girlfriend. I knew then that I was in love.