Our daffodils have bloomed. And they are being loved. To death.
It is so hard to squash the exuberant, enthusiastic sniffing of the flowers, even though it means the flower heads end up on the ground.
April 30, 2008
April 29, 2008
Spring Cleaning
I really like to clean. For the record there are plenty of other things that I don’t like to do. Like fold laundry and put it away. Pull weeds in my garden. Unload the dishwasher.
This past weekend I did a deep cleaning of our family room. I wasn’t expecting it to take quite as long as it did. Mostly because we clean in there every single day. Vacuum every night. Dust every couple days. But when I pulled the couch away from the wall, I was shocked by the amount of dust that was back there. Also small toys seems to have been back there procreating and plotting to take over our home.
What I did do was involve the kids in the cleaning this time. I had them help go through the bookcase and take out some books that we never use and can donate. They went through the small toy baskets and got rid of the broken matchbox cars, put toys back in their proper homes, and decided that some of the baby toys can also go to other homes.
I let them help wash the windows and dust all the bookcases. They replaced the CDs and DVDs into their proper cases and we got rid of the scratched ones that no longer work. They used the Magic Eraser to wash spots off the walls and baseboards. They removed the covers from the throw pillows for washing and vacuumed out the windowsills. They used the crevice tool to vacuum in between the couch cushions.
In short they saw all that was involved to really deep clean a room, something I thought happened magically until I had a house of my own.
And you know what? Having them help made the job easier and more fun, for me anyway. Over the past week I have noticed that they seem to have a vested interest in the upkeep too.
April 28, 2008
Little Pitchers Have Big Ears
According to a recent survey, Briton’s feel that the manners in their society have gone downhill. Nearly 90% of the people responding to the survey blame parents who are not teaching their children manners and celebrities behaving badly that have glamorized it.
And 75% of them thought that manners should be taught in schools.
Don’t teachers have enough to do in school? Sure, they should require the basic polite behaviors of please, thank-you and speaking respectfully to other people. But I have to wonder, if people are so upset about the lack of manners, why aren’t they teaching them to their children themselves.
Modeling good behavior is always better than just telling children what to do. Children see everything. If you are telling them to be polite and kind to others, and yet do not act that way yourself, they will see the contradiction. Likewise if children see you act respectfully to others, they won’t even question that it is the way to behave. No matter what they see celebrities doing on the television.
Like my grandmother used to say, “Little pitchers have big ears.” You should make sure that they are overhearing the right things.
April 27, 2008
Following Up On the Story
Remember when I wrote about Lenore Skenazy, the mother who allowed her nine year old son to ride the subway in NYC alone. She has started a new website, Free Range Kids
Do you ever let your kid ride a bike to the library? Walk alone to school? Take a bus, solo? Or are you thinking about it? If so, you are raising a Free Range Kid! At Free Range, we believe in safe kids. We believe in helmets, car seats and safety belts. We do NOT believe that every time school age children go outside, they need a security detail. Most of us grew up Free Range and lived to tell the tale. Our kids deserve no less. This site dedicated to sane parenting.
Lately, I have had conversations with parents about some of these things, people who do not feel comfortable leaving their 13 or 14 year old kids home alone, let alone allowing them to babysit like I was doing at that age. People who will not allow their children to play outside in the front yard, because a pedophile might just drive by and decide to kidnap him/her. And honestly much of the time I do not allow my kids to do something not because *I* don’t think they are capable, but because it isn’t socially acceptable, like allowing my nine year old to ride his bike one mile to town to get a book out of the library.
According to Stats.org, a non profit no-partisan organization– whose mission is to correct scientific misinformation in the media resulting from bad science, politics, or a simple lack of information or knowledge; and to act as a resource for journalists and policy makers on major scientific issues and controversies–
the reality of stranger abductions is much less than what we perceive:
According to the Justice Department, there are only about 115 such incidents each year.
And while that is 115 too many, it is much less than what the media would have you think.
I will be following Lenore Skenazy’s new website with interest.
April 25, 2008
Live Longer Without Really Trying
I love taking online quizzes. I am not sure why. I also love to go back and try and change my answers so that I can get a better score. Surely I am not alone in doing this, right?
I know that it is silly, but the overachiever in me can’t help it. Yes, even if it is a quiz that tells you how long you are expected to live. I am forced to go back and say that I eat fish twice a day every single day and run while I am eating it just so I can see my life expectancy go up to 125 years old.
I liked this particular quiz, the Vitality Compass, I had read about at the NY Times, because it plots each answer on a graph.
the quiz results [are] based on a complex, 106-page algorithm developed by Dr. Robert Kane, a physician and a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Also, the premise seems to be mostly common sense, the things that we should all be doing anyway. (And the sort of behaviors we should be modeling for our children, too.) Eating healthy, exercising, being social. I can definitely use improvement on that last one. Most social circle these days is mostly related to my children and their activities, and while that is perfectly acceptable, it would be nice to have some social activities that belonged just to me. Now to just find a way to add a few hours to my day. Oh wait, that is making me feel stressed…
I saw that I can raise my life expectancy by not getting stressed, or angry, or depressed. (uh, yeah.) By eating more servings of vegetables and fruit. By not salting my food. And by going to church. If I made those changes I could add a little over four years to my life expectancy, bringing me up to a life expectancy of 97 years old.
Also, I should be drinking at least a glass or two of wine nightly. That will not be a problem to incorporate. No, I am not an alcoholic in training, I am drinking for my health!
With all of these things in mind, I am well on my way to making improvements and living to be 97 years old, most of them healthy. You know, unless I get by a car tomorrow, which is always possible.
April 23, 2008
The Longest Season
Now that the weather has turned warm, we are in the full swing of Little League season, which, for those of you who are not initiated, is the longest season ever. My boys are out in the yard constantly playing catch, hitting balls, working on their pitching.
One of my favorite things is to watch my older boys work with their younger siblings, helping them to perfect their skills. It warms my heart that all the years, time and effort my husband and I have put into the older boys have paid off with more than just stellar baseball skills.
April 22, 2008
Earth Day!
How will you recognize it?
Today we are as a family trying to have a zero garbage day. Just a fun thing to do and hopefully make the kids realize the amount of garbage that we generate daily. I am curious to see if this little experiment causes them to rethink some of their choices are a continuing basis. Or if they will look at things differently when we are out in the grocery store together.
My friend Kathryn, Daring Young Mom , has a fabulous series of posts about living greener. They are honest, funny, and realistic. Because let’s face it, most of us do not want to weave our own clothing from hemp fibers or give up our cars and bike 40 miles to work. One of the things on her list for living a greener life is to “wean off of bleach by 2010″ That makes me love her a little bit more, because I have a not-so-secret love affair with bleach.
Now if we could just remember to bring the reusable grocery bags back to the store with us, we would be all set.
So tell me, what changes are you making, or thinking of making, this year to live a bit greener?
April 20, 2008
Can’t Decide On a Middle Name for Your Baby?
Oh my. Just when I think I can’t be shocked any longer I read about the contest that Vlassic is having. Yes, the Vlassic pickle people. It is open to anyone giving birth to a baby in the month of May and wishes to have their child named the official Vlassic Stork Baby.
To enter it is pretty straight forward, send a photo of your baby, along with the name, sex and age of the baby, and a statement of why your baby should be the winner. The winning entrant will get a years supply of pickles and a $20,000 savings bond. That part is fine. And if you are a family of pickle lovers you will really be happy.
To sweeten the pickle even more, they are offering the family an extra treat! If the parents want to show their love and dedication to Vlasic® Pickles by making his or her middle name, “Crunch,” the savings bond value will be increased to $25,000.
Saddled with the middle name of “Crunch” for $5000? I suppose in this day and age when people sell their forehead as a canvas for a permanent tattoo, I shouldn’t be surprised.
But honestly what company exec thought this was a good idea? And what parent is going to jump on it?
April 18, 2008
Time Changes Everything
A commenter, Scott, left a link in a previous post to this image.
It shows a map of an area in the UK. The overlays are four generations of a family and where they were allowed to roam freely at age eight. In 1919, the great grandfather was allowed to walk 6 miles away from home to go fishing, for example. My mother and step father talk all the time about how they walked all over the place as children. At eight years old, none of my children is allowed to go much beyond our own yard without supervision.
I also think back to my own childhood. I was allowed to ride my bike to a local beach and park and hang out there alone. When I was 13 I spent my summers at that beach alone. Packing a lunch, bringing my beach blanket, and riding my bike there. I can not even imagine allowing my 13 year old that level of freedom, especially in the days before cellphones.
But it still makes you wonder if the world has become more dangerous, or if it is just our perception that has changed.
April 17, 2008
Spring Clean Up
Every Spring I curse myself for not raking up all the leaves the previous fall. In the fall I convince myself that the leaves in the flower gardens will help insulate and keep the fragile plants alive through the frigid winter months. Which I suppose is true, sort of. I joked that I need my own Handipoints chart to encourage me. 
This past week was the perfect time for doing the raking. The temperatures soared into the 70’s. The sun was shining. Best of all, the dreaded black flies have not yet made their appearance.
Usually we are swatting at our heads and miserable while we are doing the work. So even though the work is not fun, we had less to complain about this year.
My oldest son and I did the entire side of the driveway in two days. And my arms are so sore they feel weak, like jello today.
