Chapstick

nick shows off his spongebob chapstick belt-clip
Originally uploaded by sean dreilinger.

I got this twice in my email, so I thought it must be shared:

So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom.

Well, we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves Chapstick. LOVES IT. He kept asking to use my Chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my Chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood.

We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my Chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth.

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your Chapstick on the cat's butt.

Hmmmm

Yesterday Beth wanted to go to the girls softball game at the park across from the school. To the school and back, round trip, it's 14.1 miles, or so Yahoo Maps says.

I put gas in the van yesterday morning, so I reset the trip odometer to 0. At most when I got home there would have been 5 miles on it. So, if 5 plus 14.1 equals 19.1, why does my trip odometer have almost 65 miles on it?

Something tells me she went somewhere besides the softball game. She just recently got ungrounded for going somewhere she wasn't supposed to go and telling us she was somewhere else. I guess the girl just doesn't learn - or we're not taking the right things away or for long enough.

Driver's Ed. This Summer

driving I
Originally uploaded by Toni_V

We found out yesterday that Driver's Ed. and Advanced Language Arts 10 are both going to be at the same time next year. That means that if Cory wants to take Driver's Ed. (the classroom portion), he will have to take it this summer during summer school. Either that or we will need to sign him up for a private driving school. Since summer school isn't going to cost us anything, except probably transportation back and forth to school for six weeks, summer school seems to be the best choice. He could have bus transportation to school for the first four weeks, but he would have to choose another summer school class, and he isn't interested in any of them. We thought maybe he could help the band teacher out, but her classes are all going to be held in Eagle at the Elementary school. So that won't work. Either way we would have to provide transportation the last 2 weeks of class.

This basically takes his whole summer. Summer school starts about a week after school lets out and goes through the end of July. Yes, it isn't all day every day, but he will still have to get up and get going in the mornings. I guess it's good that he won't be able to sleep his summer away. I'm not really looking forward to going back and forth to Palmyra a couple of times every day, but Beth should be able to help with that since she can drive now. With the cost of gas, it will end up costing at least a couple dollars every day, but that really is cheap compared to the cost of a driving school. Hopefully next summer when he takes the driving portion of the class it will still be free - like it was for Beth last year. Driver's Ed. is seriously a good deal in this district. We really should be thankful for that.

Cory was figuring this would be his last summer to spend some time with his grandparents in Kentucky, but now he won't get to do that. We'll have to tell the grandparents. Perhaps they can come visit us for a while. Then we could all spend some time with them.

Blogging for Pay

I have recently found out that it is possible to get paid for blogging. While I started my blogs to keep track of my life, and, if some other people want to read along, that's great, I really like the idea of getting paid. A new website that connects bloggers and advertisers is now live, and they are looking for bloggers. If you are interested in being paid for blogging, head on over to Bloggerwave and sign up. There are some opportunities just waiting to be written about in your blog, like this one I have just written in mine. Look how easy it is.

This post sponsored by Bloggerwave

Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions

Author Unknown

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen. My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that. My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.
My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God loves the little children!

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

I wish you Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions!!!

How to Get a Teenager Up before Noon

on a weekend, too!

Cory was up early this morning. He jumped straight into the shower, and emerged a while later dressed and ready to go - wearing his jeans and his Spider-man t-shirt. Yes, the perfect way to get a teenage boy out of bed before noon on a weekend is to have tickets for the new Spider-man movie. It's a big movie month - big movies are coming out, and Spider-man 3 is the first of them. The new Marcus Majestic Theater opened Thursday night just in time for the midnight release of Spider-man 3. It's a good thing it did, too, because otherwise there would have been no UltraScreen to watch the movie on. That would have been a shame! That movie belongs on the UltraScreen - all that action just begs to be HUGE!

The new movie theater offers Reserved Seats - so we tried that. Usually, when we want to see a new movie on the UltraScreen, we have to show up an hour early and wait in line, just to be sure we get good seats. While I think that is part of the experience, it was also nice being able to walk right in and have seats waiting for us - prime seats, too. They were front-row in the balcony area - at the perfect level so we didn't have to look up or down, but had a perfect view of the screen and all the action. The Reserved Seats do cost a little extra, so I'm not so sure that is something we will always do, but it was nice to try. I suppose it will depend on the movie. You know when Pirates comes out, we'll want the best seats possible.

The movie was very enjoyable. It started immediately, with no previews. I really like the way the Spider-man movies bring you up to date on what has already happened in the opening credits. Lots of times when we are going to see a movie sequel, we watch the previous movies first just to reacquaint ourselves with the story, but we didn't do that this time. We just ran out of time. So it was good to have the quick review in the opening of the movie. Spider-man 3 has it all - heroes, villains, action, a love story, friendship, and forgiveness. There is plenty of excitement to keep you on the edge of your seat, and a good story to tie it all together. See it. You'll like it.

Teens and Money

We went to the bank this afternoon and set up a checking account and a savings account for Beth. Our bank offers what is called a High School account - no minimum balance required because the account is linked with the parents' account. I wasn't seriously thinking about setting up the accounts until the day Cory left for Boston. He was going away from home with a wallet full of cash, and it occurred to me that it would have been nice for him to have a debit card to use. Too late for that - and the minimum age for this High School checking account is 15, so he wouldn't have qualified anyway. Next trip...

Beth is planning to get a job soon, so having a checking account will be good. Once she finds that job, she can sign up for Direct Deposit so she can get her paychecks put right into her account. That way she won't have to worry about picking up her checks or getting to the bank to cash them. Even if she doesn't do the Direct Deposit thing, she will at least be able to cash paychecks without needing one of us and our account. Besides that, it will make it easier to give her money if we don't happen to have cash on hand. That doesn't mean she just gets money any time she want some - whatever she may believe. It will be good for her to learn to keep track of the money in her account - something she needs to know how to do.

Also this week I got her a Discover card - this one for putting gas in the car only. I think she'll do ok with that. She is very adamant about not using credit cards - ever. Good for her. I hope she sticks to that. Getting into credit card debt is a very bad thing. The Discover card? Just convenience, so we don't have to be sure she has the cash with her, and we get a 5% cashback bonus on gas purchases. I always pay that off every month.

How Much Privacy?

Regarding reading her teen's online journals and posts, here's what one mom says:

This is definitely an issue that we deal with at our house! It reminds we that I am definitely in a different generation - dare I say "old fashioned". I think my husband and I don't understand the value of posting all kinds of personal information for strangers to read. Back in the day, we remember actually WRITING a note on a piece of a paper, and heaven forbid it was actually read by someone other than the intended recipient!

Our philosophy is that online information is public. It resides in the public domain and in fact, our daughter is putting it out there for the public. Consequently, she must be prepared for ALL of the public to read it - including her family members (we have internet savvy grandparents, too). Putting a privacy blocker doesn't make something "private" only available to certain eyes. Even these websites can be hacked into. Our rules are as follows, if it is posted online I will read it. If it is posted through our home computer, be prepared to share your password with me and understand their might be a key stroke log provided to me (which would
detail any and all instant message conversations, history of internet usage, etc.) I read and explore the site frequently. It is quite eye opening. I am shocked by not only things my daughter has posted, but her friends, too.
While I wouldn't dare post the kinds of things my daughter and her friends do, my reading these sites has lead us to many important discussions - what do people think of you when you post certain things? How can you communicate appropriately and effectively? Protecting her privacy and allowing her to self edit her postings making sure that nothing identifying (name, address,
school etc) is included has also helped her understand the importance of protecting herself.

I would recommend that you sit with your daughter, ask her to show you how to use myspace, set up your own (that's what I did) and use it as a learning experience. She might like that she is teaching you something. She'll be the expert. Understand her objectives and use the time to discuss your house rules about postings, instant messaging, etc. If your daughter is embarrassed or nervous for you to read her postings, perhaps she shouldn't be posting! Everyone has private thoughts and needs to get them out - on the phone, hanging with friends, at sleep overs, and even in a paper journal!
There are so many places that privacy can be enjoyed, but the internet is not one of them!

from Daughters Community Forum

Resources

Beth thinks she should have more freedom than she has. Mostly it sounds like she wants to be free to do whatever she wants to do, and she doesn't feel that we have the right to ask her where she's going to be and who she's going to be with. I went looking for some information on dealing with teenagers because I really don't know how much freedom she should have. So far she hasn't shown that she deserves more freedom. Every time she does get to do something, she has to push the issue and wants more. It seems nothing is ever good enough. Then if she doesn't agree with something we tell her, she'll go ahead and do it anyway - and then it's all our fault because we shouldn't have told her no in the first place. When she gets in trouble, she gets upset with us and doesn't seem to understand she did anything wrong. If there were no rules, then she wouldn't be able to break them, and then she'd never get in trouble. At least that seems to be her logic.

Some online resources on raising teenagers that I want to check out more:

• Raising Successful Teenagers
• When Your Teen Rejects Your Values
  

Grades

We got the kids' report cards last week. Beth is doing much better this year - only because she has to get a B average to keep her driving privileges. It's very important because her insurance costs are 1/3 cheaper when we get the good student discount. Other than the desire she has to drive, she has no motivation to get or maintain good grades. It's really sad because she was a very good student up until 8th grade. Then suddenly she stopped caring or trying. No matter what we say to her she just doesn't see any need to do well in school. She doesn't see how this will translate into real life and how what she does now will either open up or limit her possibilities in the future. I don't remember ever thinking about the future when I was in school. It didn't matter why I was learning this stuff or doing this work. The fact was that I was doing it now and I was going to do the best possible job while doing it. Her lack of caring just makes no sense to me.

Beth didn't quite make her B average for the quarter, but has to get there by the semester grade. The really puzzling part is that we got the results from the 10th grade standardized tests they took in November. She scored in the Advanced level in one subject area and in the Proficient level, but just a few points away from Advanced, in several other subjects. Obviously the girl is smart. When we asked her about the differences here, her explanation was that the questions on the test were really easy. *shaking my head*

I think we would be ok with her grades if we knew that was the best she could do - even at the expense of losing the good student discount for insurance. However, knowing that she can do better but chooses not to is really hard to deal with. All her teachers are the same way. They know she can do better and expect more from her than she is giving. If she honestly could not do better, that would be different.