Keeping It Real | Mommy Points

August 20, 2009

Makes Me Think

Filed under: Children, Humor Keeps Me Sane, Keeping It Real — Chris @ 6:56 am

I have laryngitis. Horribly, awful, laryngitis. The sort where even whispering is difficult. This has led to a couple of hilarious things happening around my house.

First, I have noticed that since I can’t talk above a whisper, everyone gets really close to talk to me and they whisper right back. They are way more attentive to what I am saying. It makes me think I should just incorporate talking softly into my life. Though who am I kidding, I am a loud mouth at heart.

Second, because I sound horrible my kids think that I must feel really, really sick. So they keep saying things to each other like, “Don’t make Mom talk, can’t you see how sick she is!” And they have volunteered themselves to do all sorts of things around the house for me. It makes me think that all the talks of being kind, helpful, and teaching them how to do chores has paid off. Even thought there have been times over the years that I have been tempted to throw in the proverbial towel and allow them all to go feral.

Third, somewhat related. One of my young sons asked me if I was sick because I “have puberty.” Not sure where he heard the word but it was hysterical. I told him I was fairly certain I was long over puberty. Of course this led to more questions about what puberty is. And I got to whisper all about it while they sat right in my face. And whispered back. In the end we all concluded that their teenage brothers are the ones who are “sick with puberty.”

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May 1, 2009

The Neighbor Kids, Again

Filed under: Children, Humor Keeps Me Sane, Just For Fun, Keeping It Real — Chris @ 8:16 am

So somehow our house has become playground central. Which really is fine most of the time. I like having all the kids over here. I like hearing what they are up to, what games they are playing, just getting to know them all. And you know what? I really like kids. They are all good kids. There are a couple that might be a bit rougher around the edges than I like, but I see this as an opportunity to model the sort of kind, compassionate behavior that would better serve them in life.

In an effort not to go broke handing snacks out the entire neighborhood I bought those ice pops that come in the plastic sleeve. You know that ones that I mean? I am sure that they have a name, but we just refer to them as ice pops. They had them on sale at the grocery store a box of 100 for under $3. That is a small price to pay to keep all the neighborhood kids happy. None of the other neighbors hand out snacks, why should they I guess since I always am!

Our neighborhood is really big on sharing. All the kids play with each others toys. At the end of the day if there are toys in my driveway that don’t belong to us I just stick them in my garage. I know that the next day the owner will come over and find it.

Everyone gently reprimands the kids should they need it. I have no qualms with someone telling one of my children to stop whatever it is they might be doing, nor do I have any hesitation about doing the same to one of the other children. it really is a fabulous community and we are blessed to have found it.

Now if I could just convince all of the kids that doing yard work is REALLY REALLY a fun game and they should all do it. Weeding… it is the new jump rope.

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March 31, 2009

Family Meetings

Filed under: Children, Ideas, Keeping It Real, Making It Work, parenting, schedules — Chris @ 9:35 am

I have a huge desk top calendar hanging inside my pantry door. On it I write the schedule for everyone – doctor appointments, sports practices, games — you name it. As well as our weekly menu. I call the calendar my brain.

But as my children have gotten older, I have felt the need to add weekly family meetings to the mix. Now we don’t do anything hugely formal like some families, more like a Meet and Greet. A way for us to all look at each other and say, “Wow, you still live here?”

We all get together on Sunday night, usually very late, and discuss what is coming up in the next week. I’ll take dinner ideas from the kids before I plan the menu and grocery shop for the week. The kids will have the opportunity to tell me about any sort of party invitations that have come in and are lingering around in their pockets or bedrooms. We will discuss plans and expectations for the upcoming week. Talk about the past week, both the good and the bad, and how we can improve.

I don’t remember any of my friends having family meetings when we were all kids growing up. I have to wonder if it is because as families we have all gotten so much more busy. Family mealtimes, once an American staple, have fallen by the wayside as more and more of us have children involved in after school activities that last well into the evening.

This week alone I have three days when at least some of us will be gone from 4:30pm until 10:00pm. There is no way for all of us to sit down together and have a family meal. Also, this is why I love my crockpot. And sandwiches.

So what about your family? Have you found the weekly family meeting as indispensable as I?

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March 22, 2009

Splurging During a Bad Economy

Filed under: Just For Fun, Keeping It Real, On The Web — Chris @ 9:29 am

I read this article in the New York Times this morning and it made me laugh. Every single time I go to the grocery store lately I buy myself a candy treat. Most recently, I have been buying a little bag of Jelly Bellies. (I found that if I buy the larger, more economical bag, that I can not stop myself from eating the entire bag. Just ask me about the 3lb bag of gummy bears I ate in record time, one sneaky visit to the pantry at a time.)

Before the Jelly Bellies it was Skittles. And before Skittles it was Hot Tamales.

I feel like I deserve a reward for making it through the grocery store, and let’s be honest just making it through my day sometimes.

Apparently, I am not alone. According to the New York Times:

The recession seems to have a sweet tooth. As unemployment has risen and 401(k)’s have shrunk, Americans, particularly adults, have been consuming growing volumes of candy, from Mary Janes and Tootsie Rolls to Gummy Bears and cheap chocolates, say candy makers, store owners and industry experts.

Theories vary on exactly why. For many, sugar lifts spirits dragged low by the languishing economy. For others, candy also provides a nostalgic reminder of better times. And not insignificantly, it is relatively cheap.

I think perhaps it is the inexpensive nature of candy that is driving the candy sales up. People don’t have the extra disposable income to indulge in things like expensive dinners in restaurants or $200 shoes, but almost everyone can afford to add 75 cents to their grocery budget for a candy bar.

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December 22, 2008

Finding the Joy

Filed under: Children, Keeping It Real, parenting — Chris @ 8:57 pm

This year it was hard for me to get into the spirit of Christmas. Probably because we were so busy for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And we traveled to Florida for a week. I am sorry all you people who live in warm climates, but it just does not seem like Christmas when it is hot, sunny, and I am wearing flip-flops.

The snowman decorations seemed incongruous with the heat.

We ended up using a fake tree this year. The first time ever. And not even a really nice fake tree either. I bought it on 90% off clearance at the end of last season with the intention of putting it up as a second tree in our family room. I have always wanted a second tree to be in the room we spend most of our time. I feel like we don’t get to fully ENJOY the tree since we always put it in the front formal area of our house.

But I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a fake tree.

Anyway, this is all a long-winded way of explaining why we ended up with just a sad skinny fake tree when two ice/snow storms hit and buried all the tree farms in more snow and ice than I wanted to dig out. And I will admit that I was disappointed. I love my big fat real tree that is always too big. Always too fat. And always dies because I forget to water it.

We set it up and I felt disappointed in myself and all the little ways I feel that I fail.

But as my children went through the ornaments and danced and sang the Christmas songs that I have been working so hard at avoiding this year in my grinch-like state, I realized that none of it mattered to them. They were filled with the holiday spirit and I discovered that it was contagious. They had enough to share with me.

My daughter pulling a bell ornament out of the box and saying, “I STILL BELIEVE!”

Yup, I found my joy. And here’s hoping that you found yours also.

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October 27, 2008

One of Those Parents

Filed under: Children, Keeping It Real — Chris @ 7:48 am

Every year I promise myself that I will get my act together for Halloween well in advance. And then every year I don’t do it. I’m not sure if it is because it is not a “real” holiday. I mean, I am all prepared for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. Sure I might be up until sunrise Christmas Eve wrapping presents, but at least I have bought them. Or is it because I just don’t feel like lugging home a bunch of pumpkins and candy?

Halloween is different though. I never want to buy the pumpkins too far in advance because then they might get ruined. I don’t want to buy the candy too far in advance because then I will eat it all. I don’t get the costumes too far in advance because my children are notorious for changing their minds at the very last minute. Two weeks ago we were in target and there were hardly any costumes. I thought it meant that they hadn’t come in yet. Turns out all the “good” parents had bought the costumes all up.

What next? Are we going to be shopping for Halloween costumes in July? Because right now in the stores all the Christmas stuff is out. Just where the Thanksgiving stuff went I have no idea, perhaps that was in the store Labor Day weekend.

I tell you all of this as a way of explaining why it is that three days before Halloween I find myself with not one Halloween item.

My plans for this week include: forcing children to decide on costumes. Hopefully costumes we already own. Buy pumpkins. Carve pumpkins. Buy candy. Find flashlights. Find batteries for said flashlights. Find trick-or-treat bags. It doesn’t sound like much. I still have a few days, right?

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October 23, 2008

Breakfast of Champions

Filed under: Children, Ideas, Keeping It Real — Chris @ 7:38 am

We have all heard our entire lives that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

I find that it is challenging to find the time to get a truly healthy, hot meal into my children so early in the morning, particularly if we need to hurry up and get out of the house in the morning.

Right now our old stand-bys are oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bagels and cream cheese. And of course we default to cold cereal way more than I would like. Everything else seems to take too long to prepare.

So I am asking all of you, what do your kids have for breakfast? Any fabulous ideas I have not yet considered?

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September 25, 2008

Twelve Years Ago

Filed under: Keeping It Real, On The Web, cooking — Chris @ 3:27 pm

1996 was a long time ago. It is the year my second son was born, but other than that I am at a loss for what I was doing.

One woman bought a McDonald’s hamburger.

And she still has it. Even more shocking, it looks exactly the same as the day she bought it. If that doesn’t make you rethink putting fast food into your body, I don’t know what will.

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September 22, 2008

September Is National Disaster Preparedness Month

Filed under: Humor Keeps Me Sane, Ideas, Keeping It Real — Chris @ 10:50 pm

Not all of us live in areas where we are going to be hit by tornadoes, tsunamis, or flash flooding. But most of us will at one time or another experience a situation where our comforts that we expect living in the 21st century, are stripped away.

Maybe just for a day or two, but our level of preparedness can make the difference between having an “adventure” or being a complete embarrassment to our pioneer ancestors. I’ll admit it right here, it is a good thing that I was born during the century that I was.

I am a wimp.

I live in an area where winter storms frequently knock out power for extended periods of time. I am furiously knocking on wood as I type this because it has been a few years since we have lost power for an extended number of days.

In the winter, the icy cold frigid winter, of 2003 we had a snow storm that knocked out power to our entire area for 6 days. Six long LONG days.

You have heard it said that what doesn’t kill you, teaches you something. Oh, let me share my wisdom:

When there is a widespread power outage, none of the gas pumps will be working. So if you only have a small bit of gas in your car, a usual occurrence here at my house, you will be stuck at home.

If you have a well, like our house at the time did, you will not have running water. You will, however, try to turn the water on several times a day as well as flush the toilet.

Your electric stove won’t work. (Duh.)

Your outdoor grill might be buried under a couple feet of frozen snow.

You will not be able to find matches. And going out to the car, starting it, pushing in the cigarette lighter so that you can light a rolled up piece of paper to light your camp stove, will NOT be fun. Especially when it burns down to your fingers and you have to drop it before ever lighting anything.

You will gladly trade one of your small children for a small percolator so you can make coffee in the morning on your camp stove.

You will need that coffee and wine more than ever before. Maybe simultaneously.

Have a corkscrew handy.

When there is a storm brewing, make sure that you have batteries for all of your flashlights. Lighters or matches, and candles are also very good.

What have we done to prepare?

1) We bought large kerosene heaters and make sure to always have plenty of kerosene on hand during the winter.

2) When there are storms coming in we make sure that our cars are filled up with gas.

3) Camp stove and camping gear (sleeping bags) are easily accessible. (And fuel for the cook stove so you aren’t eating dry raman noodles)

4) Fill up all tubs with water, for washing, flushing toilets

5) Make sure that we have food to eat that does not require cooking or refrigeration. Things like those individual cups of Raman are always good to have on hand since you only pour boiling water into the cup and it cook right there.

6) Get some disposable plates and silverware. Since you may not be able to wash anything, do you want to have it piling up? I don’t.

7) I JUST bought a crank battery operated weather radio last winter. So that when our power goes out and there is three feet of snow on the ground I can turn on my radio and find out that there is three feet of snow on the ground.

So those are my tips for small disasters, though that is probably too strong of a word to describe the times when my power is out and I can not access the internet or vacuum for 36 hours.

FEMA has a disaster supply list of things that every family should consider having on hand. Most of these things I already have in my first aid kits. But look over their website, it is chockfull of information that might be appropriate for you and your family.

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September 8, 2008

Fresh from the Garden

Filed under: Children, Keeping It Real — Chris @ 11:18 pm

Even though summer is coming to an end and the nights are growing colder, our garden continues to produce. Not much, mind you. A couple of tomatoes, a small sweet green pepper, a few hot peppers. My daughter tells me there is a yellow squash that is starting to grow. I only hope that it grows large enough to pick before the night time frost comes and kills it.

Our hot pepper crop was not exactly a winner, but the kids have been really excited about it. They have come up with all sorts of recipes for us to make using the hot peppers. I have had to gently remind them that our hot pepper supply is rather small.

But still they are excited. If anyone is wondering whether or not they should plant a garden next Spring I have to say that it has been a great experience for the kids. They have worked at taking care of the garden, watering the plants, picking the vegetables that have grown. They are also so much more excited to eat vegetables that they have grown themselves.

One tiny word of advice, if you are planting in the Spring before all of the leaves have bloomed on the trees, really consider the amount of shade that the area you want to put your garden in will get. Our tree grew enough over the past year that the garden was no longer in full sunlight this summer. This probably contributed to the poor growth of many of the vegetables.

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