The Big Super Hero Grasshopper
 We caught three grasshoppers on our way back from our trip to the lake yesterday afternoon. The 5 year old decided to keep one grasshopper ( the one in the photo) and put it in an old butter container. The 5 year old talked to the grasshopper, played with it, and rolled him around in the container one too many times during the course of the day. He even named it the "Big Super Hero Grasshopper". Can you guess what eventually happened to the grasshopper in the photo? Playing just got the best of him (or her?) I promise my son is not a serial killer in the making. *During the time when I thought (and I was right) the grasshopper was in the process of dying, my 5 year old said it's name was "keep breathing". After the the grasshopper died, he changed it's name to "dead bug". Where do kids come up with this stuff?
Choosing To Homeschool
I am almost 99% sure that I want to homeschool my children. However, there is a little part inside of me that says I may be making the wrong decision. I want to know for sure that I am doing the right thing and that I am making the right decision for my children. But how can any parent ever really know for sure that any decision they make for their children is the right one? It's kind of trial and error and see what works. Maybe my feelings are not really coming from inside of me but is being put there by the reactions from friends and family when I say I want to homeschool. I have received nothing but shock and mostly negative reactions. I have mentioned this before but I think the reactions are getting worse as our oldest is kindergarten age this year and could potentially start kindergarten in the fall since he will be five and a half year old. I have been thinking of this over and over for the past few months. The thoughts won't get out of my head and I can honestly say I have been losing sleep over it. When I even think of considering public school I get this weird sick feeling inside of me. I don't know if its me being kind of crazy and not wanting to let go of my children and trust them with other people and the government or if deep down I truly know public school is wrong for our family because of our beliefs and lifestyle. We have always been a close-knit, less-structured, few-rules sort of family. I'm not sure if that fits with the public school system. If my five year old son wants a drink of water during the day I want him to be able to get a drink whenever he needs it. I don't want him to have to wait until 2 hours later. If a person is thirsty and uncomfortable, how can they possibly learn? If my five year old needs to go to the bathroom, I want him to be able to go when he needs to go and not when the teacher's schedule says he can go. Again, if a child needs to go the bathroom and they are not allowed, how can they can concentrate and learn? This is an excerpt taken from an article at LeapingFromTheBox.com"A primary goal of kindergarten is to make good little soldiers/workers out of children. Their most important lessons include learning that they must ask permission before doing anything (including bathroom privileges). They are trained to follow the schedule at all costs. They learn to eat, play, learn, and even nap according to schedule with no consideration given to the individual child’s needs or requirements. They learn to follow directions, stand in line quietly, and get along with other children and the teacher without resorting to violence. And probably the most important lesson is to break the emotional bonds with home and family. This is one result of the institution of public school that I believe few parents realize until they remove their child from that system. Only then does one fully appreciate the extent to which authority and control of one’s children were given away". To read the entire article go here http://www.leapingfromthebox.com/art/kmg/kindergarten.html THAT SCARES ME. I don't like it at all! Is there anyone that can relate? Does anyone else homeschool?
Bed time Advice Gone Wrong...
Imagine going to bed at 12am and being woke up by your wide-awake-ready-to-play toddler at 3am. That is what happened to me last night when I put my toddler to bed EARLY. That was a bad idea. We played from 3am until 6am. I read the truck book about fifteen thousand times while begging my toddler to lay down on the couch with me to go back to sleep. He finally decided to go back to sleep at daylight. Around 8am, the 5 year old comes running into the living room and wakes us up with loud Spongebob cartoons. I feel disoriented...even after downing several cups of coffee. Stay tuned to see if I make it through the day. By the way, I won't be taking anymore bed time advice from anyone.
Should SAHMS dress up before their husbands get home?
This question was posed on a message board that I belong to recently. Should stay at home moms dress up before their husbands get home? In all honesty, I personally think it is a ridiculous question to even be asking.(No offense, really) Who has time to do this? If you are a SAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom), at what point during your day would you have time to shower, get dressed up nice, style your hair and apply makeup? That one is beyond me. I can't do it. So, correct me if I am wrong. Is there time or need during the day to be doing this if you stay home to take care of the kids? I mean I don't look like a complete disaster or stink during the day but I don't have any extra time to do most of the stuff mentioned above either. I usually wear jogging pants, t-shirt, and flipflops with my hair pulled back in a ponytail and no makeup. If the roles were reversed, do you think your husband would get dressed up for you? Why do some of us feel the need to do this? Is it about self- confidence? Help me out here! ...Or maybe I'm just a simple girl in my own little world...
Toddler Nap time & Bed time Battles!
My 21 month old toddler stopped napping around 16 months old. I have tried setting a nap time but he totally refuses and would rather play along with his older brother who does not have naptime. Does anyone know how I could reintroduce a naptime for him? Or should I even try? The toddler gets up at around 8:30-9:30 every morning and doesn't go to bed until 9:30 or 10:30 every night. I think he needs more sleep than this because most days he has meltdowns in the early evenings. I have read that experts believe children will get the sleep they need no matter what but I am thinking mine needs more sleep because of his whiny and unruly behavior during most evenings. So, what's your toddler's bedtime and naptime routine? Is this normal?
6 Weird Facts MeMe
I have been tagged by SleepyNewMommy. Sorry I didn't get to this sooner. The rules are as follows: 1. Reveal 6 weird facts/things about yourself. 2. Leave a comment for the people you tag to let them know you're tagging them (just in case they hate you and never read your blog). 3. Leave me a comment to let me know when you have completed the meme. 1. I have a phobia of bathtubs. I take showers everyday but cannot bring myself to sit down in a bathtub. I have been that way since I have been about 14 years old. It feels cold and unclean even if I scrub thoroughly. Maybe it is something to do with all bodies of water because I won’t go in a lake or ocean. I won’t swim in a pool alone and I’m not the biggest fan of hot tubs either. I attempted to go snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia with my husband and almost lost it. I think I had a semi-anxiety attack so the boat picked me up and took me to the nearest sandbar…lol…while everyone else got to see all the cute sea life. 2. I am 4 foot 9 inches tall and weigh less than 90 pounds. Technically, I could probably be considered a dwarf at 4’9 except that I am perfectly proportionate. Most of my family is small. However, I got the bad end of the deal and ended up the smallest. 3. I eat ketchup on Spaghetti. I know several of you already know this since I have mentioned it before. I cannot eat spaghetti unless I squirt ketchup all over it first. My 5 year old son has recently started doing this too. 4. I don’t have a real best friend and I don’t think I ever have had one. I have acquaintances but not someone I can share everything with except for my husband. 5. I am a very understanding and empathetic person. The hubs says I talk like a counselor. I should have been one. After being accepted to 2 different Master’s programs in psychology and rehab counseling, I decided to go with business instead. For now, the business choice has suited me the best and has given me the chance to be at home with my children. 6. I feel like I don’t fit in ANYWHERE! This used to bother me but it doesn’t anymore. I am supposed to tag other people but most people I know in the blogosphere has already done this meme as I am quite late at doing it so I am not tagging anyone specifically. If you see this on my blog, feel free to join in and let me know if you decide to do it.
Morning Conversation With 5 Year Old...
As we were waking up this morning, the 21 month old on one side of me and the 5 year old on the other side of me, the 5 year old turns to me and says, "Mom, I just farted!". Then he said, "It was a puff fart". I laughed and said, "OK! Where did you hear that?" He says, "Daddy!" Then the 21 month old turned to me and said, "Puff Fart". (Except he pronounced it like puff foat -like boat!) And that folks, was the conversation that began our day...Wonderful! Being in a home full of boys, this is as good as it gets! What was your morning conversation?
Family Easter Photo '06
 This is me, the hubs, and our 2 boys! Our oldest was getting upset because he had already suffered through too many photos! :) Here is our Easter photo from last year.
People Pleasing Person
Are you a people pleasing person? I used to be but not anymore. I used to worry about what everyone thought of me and what people would think depending on what I would do, wear, say,etc. You get the picture. I used to seek approval for everything that I did. Maybe I didn't come out and ask for approval but deep down I wanted it from certain people mainly my mom. I love my mom but I realized this was not healthy. It took me a long time to realize that this was unhealthy for me. I would do things to please other people and not for myself. Not anymore. I am now stress free and am no longer a people pleasing person. I'm a person that does what I want and what I think is best for me and my family. I no longer seek approval and I shouldn't considering I am 29 years old. Of course, I do occassionally care about what others think but don't we all? Having children of my own has been one of the biggest things that changed me. After becoming a mom, something just changed in me and made me realize so much. Ultimately I am only responsible for how I feel and my most important job now is to raise my two little boys. I can't do that to the best of my abilities if something is in the way. That is why I don't waste my time on being a people pleaser. I have much more significant things to do.
The No Make Up Mom
 I'm the kind of mom that rarely wears makeup. I'm usually in jogging pants and a t-shirt or shorts, t-shirt & flipflops. I'm a very low maintenance person and even more so now that I am a mom. I've changed my profile photo to reflect who I am on an almost daily basis. That's what I normally look like.. minimal to NO makeup, tank top and nothing much else. Well, of course, I do also have my shorts and flipflops on. Yeah, a much more boring me... oh well... So, what's your thing? minimal makeup & mininal style or full blown style?
Start Kindergarten at age 5 or age 6?
I have a dilemma. Ok, I have all kinds of stuff going on right now in my mind but one of the biggest things on my mind is whether to start my son in Kindergarten this year or wait until next year when he will be 6. The hubs wants him to start at 6 so that he will be bigger and more mature. Plus we would be in a more permanent settled location this time next year and we aren’t so sure about where we will be this year because of the hubs grad school. Our now 5 year old is small for his age. He is 90% shorter than other kids his age but he is smarter than many kids his age. So I think he is ready NOW but I also refuse to put him in a school system if we will be moving halfway through the year. I’m also not sure whether I am going to home school, send him to Montessori or public school. I’ve never wanted to send him to public school but if I could find a GOOD public school then I would consider it. I’d rather him be in Montessori but I don’t know if we will be able to afford Montessori this year since the hubs is still in grad school. All of these options will ALSO depend on where we relocate to in the next few months. Home school seems like the best option but I’d like for him to get a chance to make more friends and for me to be able to spend more time on my home Internet business. If he went to school during the day, then I would be able to spend a lot more time expanding my home Internet business. This makes me realize that my reasoning for wanting to send him to school this year at age 5 is kind of selfish of me. If I home school, then I will have absolutely no time to spend on my businesses and will have to settle for what I have now. Or if we could come up with a good plan and schedule, it is still possible that I could home school, expand my business and I wouldn't have to worry about pulling him out of a school half way through the year. At the same time, I’m starting to question my ability to home school successfully. I'm sure I can get over this part. So my questions to be answered are: When did you know it was time for your child to start school? How did you determine what kind of school they went to and what age they started? Would you start your child in school if you knew that they may have to change schools in the middle of the year? Was this decision as hard on you as it is on me?
No Thought-Provoking Post Here
Ok, so I am back from my somewhat-of-a-holiday+vacation. We had a good time. We spent the first few days with my family and the next few days with the in-laws. I'm ready to get back to my work but my computer isn't. I'm so very far behind. I'm just glad I work from home, otherwise I'd be fired! How was everyone's holiday weekend? Have you ever had so much work that you didn't know where to start? I could stay up for days and still be behind...hmmmm.... I have tons of photos to share and hopefully I will get to them soon. Also, if you know of any good Mother's Day contests or events please feel free to share them with me so I can post them here: Celebrate Mothers Free Mothers Day Contests & Sweepstakes
Mothers Come in All Shapes and Sizes
Yesterday while at my son's soccer game, a young girl came up to me and said, "Are you that baby's sister?" I said, "No, I am his mommy!". She said, "That's not possible!". I said, "I am his mommy". She said, "Well, mommies are supposed to be big!". Then I said, "Well I'm small. I'm special". She finally accepted it and moved on to playing with my 21 month old baby. So a lesson learned is that mothers come in all shapes and sizes. I am not like most mommies. I'm petite and most people say I look very young for my age. Most people think this is a good thing. Some days it's not so good but on other days its OK. Although I get stares and questions on an almost daily basis, I'll never really get used to it!
Five Year Old Boy Says...
My 5 year old comes running to me screaming and saying "Mom! Mom! Emergency! Emergency! There's a pine cone broken! Look"! Yes, he said a broken pine cone was an EMERGENCY! My 5 year old boy is DRAMATIC! LOL He also brought this gift to me today! He's also sweet!  Anyone else with drama queens or drama kings?
The Baby Crayon King Drawing on Walls!
Dear Internet, My 21 month old child is obsessed with drawing. He will not stop drawing on our walls and various other items. I have tried removing all crayons out of his presence. I have started supervising him while he colors in his coloring book. However, the child is seriously obssessed and wants to color all hours of the day. When I put the crayons away, he screams to get them back down. Did I mention that he has superpowers too? He can smell a crayon from a mile away. He can find a crayon anywhere even when I thought I had gotten them all up and out of sight. What should I do? Help? By the way, do any of you know how to get large crayon marks off the walls without having to repaint the walls. The Mr. Clean Magic erasers only go so far and then they start to crumble :( Here is that precious child. How could he? LOL 
Here is some of the evidence: (Trust Me, it covers a large area!)
 
Little Man in Action Soccer Photo
 Here's my little man in action at his soccer game yesterday evening! He scored a goal making him 6 goals so far this spring soccer season! Yay for my angel!
I say Salmon like Kellie from American Idol
This is seriously something that baffles me and makes me laugh at the same time. I must admit that I pronounce the word salmon like Kellie Pickler from American Idol does. It’s just a part of my normal Southern accent. Personally, I don’t think there is anything wrong with my accent and I don’t think it makes me sound dumb or uneducated. However, I’m sure many people would disagree with that based on first impressions and stereotypes. Anyway, I love my accent and am very comfortable with it! What’s even more wonderful is that where I’m from all the guys sound like Matthew McConaughey. How cool is that? All in all the part that baffles me is why do people automatically assume you are an idiot or less than them based on your Southern accent?
Parenting Two Children Is Easier Said Than Done
In the last week, I have finally come to the realization that parenting two children is tough and challenging. It’s like we have to come up with new rules, solutions, and discipline as we go. I have been reading articles on various parenting sites, reading information from books, and just talking about parenting with the hubs. We really didn’t think it was going to be this hard and now we know that it is not easy. It is downright frustrating sometimes! I’m going to be honest and say my life as a mommy was much easier when I only had one child. Parenting two children is so much harder than one. I couldn’t even imagine having more than two! At present, the 5 year old is having trouble listening and going by our rules. He is constantly wanting to negotiate and the 21 month old is just very needy! We have two boys and they are 3 years apart. One is 5 years old and the other is 21 months. They are not on the same level obviously so it is difficult to divide time up and do things with them that they both like at the same time. The 21 month old commands a lot of attention from me and as of late the 5 year old has begun to be a little clingier as well. It seems like the boys are total opposites of each other but the 21 month old wants to hang around with his big brother at all times. However, big brother doesn’t want the baby around him when he is playing alone which creates a LOT of conflict as one would imagine. It seems as though there is a little bit of sibling rivalry going on. Don’t get me wrong, my two boys love each other and the oldest is very helpful to his brother but some days they just don’t get along. Does anyone have a solution or a parenting book that has helped them? I’m all for any book as long as it promotes positive parenting and no spanking! Or even just any advice to make it just a little bit less frustrating? I love my boys more than anything and I spend as much time with them as I possibly can. I am a stay at home mom but I am also a work at home mom so I'm sure part of the problem also lies in my finding ways to balance all of these roles and being able to give my boys all the attention they need. So in all there are many issues to consider..LOL...
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