Satan's Spawn: Destroying Humankind

I wrote this for my English class and had so much fine. I'm really happy with how it turned out, so I thought I'd share it here. :) Enjoy!

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     You’re sleeping peacefully having a dream about, say, a tropical paradise. The beach is sandy and warm, the water is crystal clear and the bluest blue, and the view is heavenly. Just as you’re about to take your fruity drink to relax in your oversized hammock, some psycho jumps on your foot and starts stabbing it. You flail and flap wildly trying to remove said psycho but to no avail. Eventually you startle awake in a terrified panic, only to realize your blasted kitten is “playing” with (more like murdering) your foot. All your peace and rest is gone. The beach has left the building.

     Kittens are evil. There’s no way around it and there’s no denying it. These little devils come in cute packages so that some poor saps will bring them home, but the truth is that their sole purpose in life is to wreak havoc in human’s lives. They are literally Satan’s minions. Evidence? Let’s just start with their weapons: razor sharp machetes claws. They are toting around at least four of these bad boys on each paw. And those teeth! Now that’s a whole mouth of razor blades there. At any given moment, they are capable of shanking you in your feet, heels, calves, or shins without any notice. They’ll stalk you from behind the sofa and pounce just as you sit down with your dinner, causing you to throw food everywhere. What kind of demon spawn travels around looking adorable but packing some serious artillery? Kittens, that’s who.

     Now for the aforementioned night waking -- who doesn’t just love waking and being attacked by knives? Kittens have no regard for your sleep; they only care about themselves. If they want to play and it’s 3:30 a.m., they’ll make you play. They want food, they’ll make you get it. Their water is tepid, you must fix it. They suddenly don’t like your brand of cat food, you must go now to the 24 hour Walmart and purchase a new brand. Whatever their need, you must supply it. It’s a fact that Satan uses sleep interruption to further his evil plans, and kittens do his bidding.

     Speaking of sleep, kittens never stop moving. Ever. They will run and play like the Energizer Bunny on meth, Red Bull, and 18 cups of coffee all. day. long. Allegedly they sleep (no one can prove that), but mostly they just keep going and going and going and going. Only people on drugs and Lucifer himself can keep going like that. Clearly they have some seriously demonic powers.

     And finally, there’s the indelicate part of the matter…their bathroom habits. It’s bad enough that you must have a litter box for full grown cats, but kittens don’t even use it! No, they’ll urinate on your laundry, clean bed, carpet, lap…anywhere. You come home from a long day of work to find your house wreaking of cat pee and there’s that adorable little heathen staring at you like they are so sweet and innocent. Don’t believe it. That little monster has used your house as a bathroom all day and they aren’t sorry. No, they tell all their little devil kitten buddies about what a chump you are. “You all should see my new servant! I give a little meow and this idiot comes to my beck and call. I pee on his bed and he cleans it up! Hahahaha! This is the life!” The question is, who actually owns whom? And if your kitten is your master, and Satan is the kitten’s master, whom do you serve?

     So what about adult cats? Well, at some point kittens grow into cats and they become too strong willed for even the Prince of Darkness. At that point, the cats just own the humans they live with but they are no longer instruments of destruction. Beelzebub himself can’t tame a full grown cat.

     There is only one conclusion to draw: kittens are from Hell itself. Satan spawned them in some animal factory to drive humans crazy. He made them adorably fluffy and cute so that we would take them in, but the reality is that they’re demons. Real, living, breathing demons that we seek out, pay for, and bring home. It’s a smart move for The Devil, for one he can keep tabs on us, but never forget the master thing. For at least a year of that kitten’s life, he owns you. Also it’s an excellent way to bring us down and drive us nuts. Insanity is a tool he frequents and kittens are well known for insanity. If you own a kitten, you should probably be more wary…show that kitten who’s the real boss. Just don’t blame me if the fluffy little demon kills you in your sleep.

14 months later...

I won't apologize for not blogging because life has just happened and that's how it is. But I am back and I miss blogging as an outlet and as a place to share my life...even if no one is reading it. :) I have many posts planned that will go more in depth to the following general update, but that will be in the weeks to come. I have updated our info pages with a bunch of new stuff so you can feel free to read there (links in the bar above) to get an idea of where things stand with my family and then stay tuned to read more updates about the boys, homeschooling, my health, and even my pets!

So, from the top down (saving myself for last, though), here goes... Hubs is doing great. Better than great, amazing! He is still working his same job as before but at a higher position which suits him very well. He is happier than he's ever been in his life and he, too, is losing weight and getting fit and healthy. He's down 38 lbs. as of today and I couldn't be more proud of how hard he's worked. He loves going to the gym and has made huge progress on his exercises. He and I recently went on a Marriage Encounter weekend (if you haven't ever been, GO!) and I cannot tell you how much it has changed our marriage. We are stronger together and more in love than ever before and the impact it has made on us both is both profound and permanent. We could and would never go back to the way things were before we went and we are so happy now. God has restored our marriage and therefore our lives and family; He is so good.

Goober is finishing up 5th grade, his first full year doing school at home. About a month ago I did an assessment on him and discovered he's reading at a high school level, and in every other subjects he scored in mid-to-high sixth grade level. He is a smart boy! He began homeschooling the end of 4th grade and it is a decision neither of us has regretted. Homeschooling has been so good for him! He is a stronger, more confident kid because of it and he is so happy...happier than ever before. He still enjoys playing soccer and has a new passion for swimming as well. He loves reading and he does it for many hours a day, his favorites being youth fantasy books or Christian fiction novels for young adults. He has a very strong relationship with God that rivals many adult's relationship's with Him and I am constantly in awe of his wisdom and faith. He is truly a great kid who loves God, adores his family, and he's strong, confident, funny, smart and much, much more. He is going to be a great man of God who will do big things with his life and be an amazing husband and father someday.

Bub's progress is pretty remarkable too. He is almost finished with first grade, though in most subjects he's scoring in at least the second grade range, so he's also a brilliant little boy. He loves reading (same genre's of books as Goober but he also loves historical books and non-fictions about just about anything) but his real passion is art. He loves to sit for hours and be creative with whatever materials he can get his hands on. But, Bub's real progress is not academic. We have been working hard-core on teaching him to overcome some of his bigger Aspie difficulties and we (namely he) has been successful in that. Many of his little quirks and idiosyncrasies have been eliminated or at least managed and he is doing so great in almost every way. He is still very socially awkward, but we are working on that too. All in time. I have truly learned so many things about overcoming obstacles and difficulties from him because he handles so many things with maturity beyond his years and makes it look easy when I know that it is, in fact, very hard for him. He is an amazing kid and I am so very lucky to be his mama.

And finally there is me. I am so happy that I didn't know it was possible to be so at peace and absolutely joyous in my life. I didn't know I could love someone like I love Hubs nor did I know I could be loved so completely by someone. We see one another's faults and don't just love each other in spite of them but because of them. We strengthen and balance each other. I had no idea I could be so happy and fulfilled staying home with my kids and homeschooling them. I had no idea God could be so faithful and answer my prayers like He has and I didn't know He cared about me as much as I know now that He does. I didn't know life could be this good. I'm not saying it's all roses and sunshine because it's not. We have hard days: days I want to give up and run away but through it all we have each other and God's love and faithfulness.

I am also happily losing weight and getting in shape. I probably haven't been this "fit" in my life! Even when I was thin (pre-kids), I wasn't in shape and I hated exercise. I started losing weight about 7 months ago as a fluke and it's just gotten better and better since. It started just with managing my stress and trying not to binge eat and later it moved to portion control. Then, several months ago, I started exercising at the gym by doing either water aerobics or walking. Now, I love exercising! I love doing pilates or yoga in addition to the other stuff and as a result I have muscles, stamina, strength, and I've lost more than 45 lbs. to boot! Plus, my health problems have greatly diminished as a result of my weight loss and that is an answer to prayer in and of itself! I feel like a new person who enjoys things I never have before and it is amazing!!

I have also been letting God discover some things about myself I have needed to work on for a while, so I feel like a new person inside and out. It's not about me not being "good enough", it's about continuing to grow and mature and become the person I was destined to be...who He wants me to be. Sometimes His lessons are difficult, but His refinement is essential and lovely and I am doing my best to praise Him for his faith and love for me.

In summary, I am so happy with my life that I sometimes feel like I am glowing. It is an awesome and wonderful feeling to have. :) Blessings to all who read this and I look forward to expanding on some of the above topics later.

*Pardon any errors, I didn't proofread before I sent.*

Busy, Busy!

This past week has been busy, busy, busy, thus the reason there was no post on Sunday. We've been busy shopping for a car, finally deciding on and buying a car (2002 Ford Windstar...LOVE IT!), purchasing homeschooling equipment (more on that later), and Hubs has been temporarily moved to second shift beginning this past week, so things have been a bit chaotic. We've still be homeschooing, it's just been pretty informal and a lot has been "in the field" leaerning for the children. Watching us car shop was a great learning experience to them and I'm happy Goober got to take part in that experience because this was his first week schooling at home. In addition to our on-site learning, we also had a trip to the circus this week, which the children loved and, naturally, I hated. The circus is an evil place, I think. It turns even the best kids into "gimme" kids who want everything in sight. Ugh. They did get to see some pretty cool stuff and learn about self-control, I suppose.

So far, the Time4Learning curriculum is going very well, but I won't delve completely into that stuff just yet but will save it for my later review. I do, however, want to talk about the new "gear" we got. We decided to do our homeschooling "plugged in", meaning we plan on utilizing technology to the fullest. We are eco-friendly and hate to be wasteful, not to mention I don't need any more clutter in my house, and homeschooling brings in a lot of clutter, so we feel like using technology to the fullest is our best bet.  We started researching our technology options and narrowed it down to using laptops or iPads, with each kiddo having their own device to use. In the end, we decided to go with iPads. The main reasons were the versatility, total portability, and battery life of the iPad. The iPad is so much more than a computer, so they can use them for so many things. Laptops are small and portable, certainly, but iPads are smaller and more portable and their battery life is about 9 hours, which is spectacular! Their work can even be done in the car, which is an option not available with using a laptop. Plus, the iPad has options for homeschooling that laptops don't. Like textbooks from iTunes U, educational apps, and the ability to practice handwriting using a stylus and special apps for that. We really feel the possibilities are endless with the iPad.

With the help of the internet and helpful people at a local store, we have purchased four refurbished/used iPad 2's. Hubs will mainly use his for fun, I'll use mine for fun, homeschooling, and some other side jobs I have, and the kids' will be for school, educational fun, and mindless fun as well. Also, Goober will start fostering his love of math and technology by learning coding with the iPad and Bub is going to be using his for bringing out his creative side. So far I am thrilled with the iPads! I never dreamed of the possibilities we'd have when we bought them and I am so excited that we will be almost completely paper-free in our schooling. I've found out that I can scan and convert any worksheets I come across (mainly from borrowed books) to PDF's and they can be handwritten on their iPads and submitted back to me electronically. I've even found a journaling app, which we do a lot of, that the kids can make e-journals where they can hand write, type, draw, insert pictures, and more. They store all their journals on virtual bookshelves and can keep writing on and on. They can practice any subject on the iPad as well, via fun paid and free apps, to solidify what they're learning. I am so excited, and so are they! This will be so much fun!

Special thanks to my hard-working Hubs for making this possible for us. My income is meager now that I'm a homeschooling mama and without him, we couldn't have bought these.

What I Want

I wish broccoli tasted like pizza.

Or peas like white chocolate.

Or that pizza and white chocolate tasted like broccoli and peas.

I wish I loved exercising. Like, really loved it.

I wish marriage were easier.

And parenthood.

Heck, life in general.

But I'm also thankful in a weird way that it's not, because nothing worth having is ever easy.

I wish that things worth having were easier to get.

I wish I were thin.

I wish everyone could truly know who they are.

I wish I had more money so that I could bless people who need help.

I wish I were more motivated.

I wish people listened and paid attention more.

I wish people were more empathetic to the needs of others.

I wish every person in the world knew that someone out there loves them.

I wish everyone in the world could be happy. Truly happy.

I wish peacefulness in one's self was a given. The world would be a better place if everyone had true happiness and peace.

I wish everyone understood the impact they have on others and the environment.

I wish more people would be others' cheerleaders and encouragers instead of their obstacles and sense of self loathing.

I wish people would just leave each other alone to live their lives as they see fit, so long as they are doing no harm.

I wish people were honest.

And respectful.

I wish everyone had self-confidence that no one ever could tear down.

I wish I were brave.

I wish I were everything I want to be.

A BIG Announcement

The past few weeks, Goober has started having some difficulty at school. First, it was a "friend" of his (he's such a sweet kid, everyone's his friend even if they don't deserve that title) who is teasing him in a non-friendly way. Then it was his grades, which are suffering because he is so bored and has just lost interest in waiting for everyone else to catch up to him. He is very bright and masters things pretty quickly, something a lot of people just don't do. The final straw was the sudden sadness and envy in wishing he could be home learning with Bub and I. He was actually making himself physically ill because of his regret of not getting to homeschool. Now, that final reason alone was not enough for me to decide he should homeschool, but combining that with all the other things, I decided it was time to have a discussion.


Goober and I talked very heavily over the upsides and downs of staying at home. In the end, he said he wants to try because he wants to see what learning at his own pace would be like. He's a math whiz, so he is really looking forward to the-sky's-the-limit math problems.After weighing pros and cons (both his and mine), thinking, prayerful consideration, and many, many discussions, we've decided to give it a go. There are only 2 1/2 months left of 4th grade, so we figure now's a great time to try. If it isn't working out, we'll spend from now until August making sure he's ready for 5th grade and he'll start back in the fall. If it is working, then we'll stick it out for 5th grade and beyond.

Goob is a very social child, so socialization will be heavy on the agenda for him. We will attend many field trips, group trips, and small group "play dates" so he gets lots of interaction with children and adults of all ages. He will miss his friends, but knows that he will make new ones and with children who are like him in many ways, not just in age. His close friend at church is a homeschoolers, so he is looking forward to spending lots of time with him. The only reservation Hubs and I have is this issue, so I will make sure it's got resolution. I would never do anything to make my children's lives more difficult, so part of doing what's right here is making sure he gets to see lots of people. As for the rest of it, that will be a breeze with my little smarty.


We are fully aware that this will not be without strife and is a huge sacrifice for each of us to make, but we know that the right decision for now is to give it a whirl. We are not looking for anyone to back us up, we know we've made the right choice, but we would hope that you will keep any negative opinions about this to yourself. I am more than willing to answer questions, but not willing to argue or to be convinced to change my mind. We will be using a fantastic curriculum and I have no doubt that Goob will blossom educationally from this choice. We are both thrilled and excited to get started.

Beginning in one week, I will be homeschooling mama of two. I am excited, scared, thrilled, nervous, and oh-so thankful we are getting this opportunity. I can't wait to get started!

Week in Review: February 27

It was a week dedicated to the fabulous Dr. Seuss! We had a blast this week with tons of crafts and hands-on learning experiences. Plus, we bought this:

So next week we'll start lessons for the ukulele! We're very excited.

Language Arts: This week Bub learned -ip and -im sounds with Hooked On Phonics. I am so proud because he has almost reached the halfway point in his HOP kindergarten level. Essentially, he's done half of kindergarten language in about 6 weeks. He's such a smarty! We also read tons and tons of Dr. Seuss this week. He loved reading The Cat In The Hat, Fox in Socks, Green Eggs and Ham, and The Sneetches most, but didn't dislike any of the stories. Dr. Seuss has that effect on kids.We also continued our reading of Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby series by completing both Ramona the Brave and Ramona And Her Father. We did library storytime this week on Monday as well and that was a snow-themed storytime where they read Jingle, Jingle, Jingle and a couple others. Bub particularly enjoyed throwing paper snowballs there.

Math/Science: We used our new math game site, IXL.com quite a bit and we did a lot of dice addition with these cute little dice-in-dice this week. They are so cute and fun and Bub loved adding and subtracting with the dice. We also did lots of great activities with our new Super Sorting Pie including introducing simple fractions. Math is not Bub's favorite, but he does a great job at it for a kindergartener.

Social Studies/Life Skills: We continued working out of our Visual Perceptual Skill Building and Tuned In To Learning for social skills. We also had a home visit this week with a local home educator support group who helped engage Bub in one-on-one conversations, which he did great it. We also did conversational practice at the library storytime. He's getting so much better with his eye contact! I rarely have to remind him anymore. Yay for progress!

Bible Study: We continued reading in our devotional Bible as well as our regularly attended church services. We also talked a lot about being judgmental and trying not to judge others. I feel that, as a Christian, it's very important to teach my children that true Christianity is not judgmental of others, but accepts and loves everyone. I want them to know that it's not their place to judge.  On Saturday we went to our local Christian book store and bought a new devotional, Veggie Tales 365 Day Starter Devos For Boys. Veggie Tales rocks!


PE: In OT this week, Bub did lots of arm strengthening activities and got to play in shaving cream, which he loved. We had gorgeous weather this week, so at home, we did lots of playing outside and building big obstacle course to get those muscles working. He really loves pulling himself around using his arms on a skateboard. That, and his tunnel.


Foreign Language: We're still working on mastering the alphabet. It's slow going, but it uses so many fine motor muscles and takes so much self-awareness that it's difficult for him. He's about halfway through learning them though, so he's getting there.


The Arts: Finally, it's time for our crafts for the week! I have tons of pictures to illustrate our fun for the week, so enjoy!

Pardon the fuzzy pics (iPhone photos), my messy background and hideous wall paper. Feel free to share my pictures on Facebook or Pinterest, but do not claim them as your own or crop them. Thanks!

First we made The Cat's hat and later Bub decided it needed a "real Cat in the Hat" attached to it. He did all the work to the cat himself, with a little helps from me with the bow and hands. I was pretty proud of his handiwork.

The Lorax moustache. Every time he holds it up he uses a "man" voice and says, "I'm the Lorax!" It's cute!

Our very, very one-of-a-kind pipe cleaner Cat in the Hat. We didn't have any black pipe cleaners or pompoms, so we improvised. He's unorthodox but oh so cute!

Thing One & Thing Two handprint art. Adorable!

This one and the next one are our (also unorthodox) felt Thing One & Thing Two. We filled them with plastic Easter grass, so they're "crunchy" and we used hot glue to close them up. They turned out so cute!

The other side.

We definitely had a craft-heavy week! He also played with chalk outside lots, painted, and made loop-weaved potholders. Bub really, really loves being artsy!

Saturday we had a fun day with a Veggie Tales movie premier, Robin Good, which was super fun and FREE! We love Veggie Tales! We also pet puppies and kitties at the pet store and visited a music store to buy an instrument. We decided on the ukulele because it will be an easy starter and can segway into the guitar, violin, or other strings later if they choose. Plus, it's the perfect size so either child can play it and it was super cheap. We also got each kid a recorder so they can start practicing winds as well. I played the clarinet and saxophone and can also play the flute, so I think between the recorder and ukulele, they'll have a good foundation for playing anything they want later. We also went to church on Sunday, which is always a pleasure.

I leave you with one more picture of our Dr. Seuss' birthday breakfast for Goober, Bub, and my nephew (6). Green Eggs (and bacon). None of them would eat ham, so I improvised.They loved it and weren't at all freaked out. Well, my nephew didn't eat it, but he's very picky.

We had a great week celebrating Dr. Seuss, who I think is a genius. Next week is a transportation-themed week with Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel as our FIAR book.

"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than you!" ~Dr. Seuss

In Honor of Dr. Seuss

The man was truly a genius.

Crazy Musings

I know that everyone has little things that amuse them (and possibly only them), myself included. I'm not talking about hobbies, I'm talking about other random things. Sometimes I think I must be nuts for some of the stuff that I find funny. 

For example, TV shows. Friends and How I Met Your Mother are my favorite shows that many people like. They wouldn't be so popular if not, right? Here's what's different about me: I can watch them over and over and over and over again. And still laugh like they're new ever time. It drives Hubs crazy. Will and Grace and Frasier have the same effect on me. Now I'll take it one step cheesier: I love, love, love Full House. Yes, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, John Stamos (ooh la la!), MK & Ashley Olsen...that Full House. I watch it nearly every day and dream of owning the big Tanner house-shaped boxed DVD set.

Yeah, I love it that much. (If you wanna buy it for me, I'll love you forever!I'll dedicate a whole post to how awesome you are. Anyone?) I also really like Cheers, but no where near as much as Full House.

Another thing that amuses me is giving non-verbal living things around me voices, such as animals and babies. For instance, Little Miss, in my head, has an English accent. This is particularly true when she's crying. She screams things at me like (get your British accents ready folks), "Change my nappie and knickers Auntie J! I made a stinky poo!" or, "You aren't my Mum, you bloody imposture!" or, "My dummy fell out you ninny!" (dummy = pacifier) or, "Isn't it tea time yet? I'm bloody starving!" You get the picture. It makes her crying seem must less stressing, and much more hilarious, when it's got a British accent behind it. I do this with my dogs too. Hungry Dog sounds like Eeyore, "Oh, why bother. I'll just have to get up and move again anyway." Footlong Dog sounds like Jennifer Tilly, kind of dumb yet sweet. And Rat Dog sounds like...well, you know the Doberman on Up when his collar is all messed up? Yeah, that. I haven't decided on voices for my cats. I know, for shame!

I'm coming out a little crazy, aren't I? Oh well.

Since I'm all in, here's my craziest little musing: I have created an alter-ego of myself. She's married to a wonderful man who almost never messes up. She has four perfect and healthy children whom she never gets terribly annoyed at and/or yells at. (What?! I never do that either.) She buys only natural/organic foods and never eats fast food. She has a wonderful extended family that supports all her choices. She is smart, beautiful, thin, confident, and secure. She has a beautiful clean house, happy marriage and children, and is in love with every aspect of her life. Sure, she's had strife, but she's made it through with dignity and class. She's perfect. I kind of hate her.  And envy her. Even her stupid name is perfect: Charlotte. Beautiful, feminine, chic...just like her. Sometimes when I'm feeling low, I imagine what she'd be doing with her imaginary family and it entertains me. I even write blog posts in my head that show how perfect she is. And how she's got everything figured out. Stupid Charlotte. And yet, I continue imagining her. What does that say about me?


Now that I've thoroughly proven what an idiot I am, how about you? What silly things do you like/think about/do that amuse you? I know I'm not the only, so fess up people!

Week in Review: February 20-26

We took a much more eclectic and "unschooling" approach to our week. I'm not really going to categorize what we did this week, but instead just give the rundown. We had many trips this week, and those made up most of our schooling. I'm getting really good at making every place a chance to learn, so even a trip to the grocery store can be a lesson (can we say math?)! We did do our Bible Study, Sign Language practice, and Hooked On Phonics (he learned -id and -ig sounds this week and added sight words she, this, & what). We also did our social lessons and the pragmatics stuff. That was really all the "formal" stuff we did. We continued our reading of Beverly Cleary books by reading all of Ribsy and then starting the Ramona Quimby books. We absolutely loved reading Ribsy! It was our favorite of them all. Even Hubs was interested in Ribsy's journey.

Wednesday, we went to the library for storytime and learned about tigers. Bub had a blast pretending with the other kids and learned a lot about how tigers stay healthy and grow to be so big. He also learned some silly nonsense about tigers sleeping, but he understood that was all in fun.During OT they focused on building arm strength and she helped me reinforce learning to write his numbers (he's really struggling with "2"). He got to ride around on a wheelie board and pull himself with his arms and pick up tiny toys around the room. He loved it, but it was quite a workout! We also had some errands to run in between bigger trips that day, so it was an opportunity for social interaction and helping him learn to deal with money.

Thursday we had our second edition of Mad Science at a local pizza/game place. This Mad Science was titled "Detective Science" and showed the kids how using their 5 senses can help them solve a mystery. While Bub did enjoy it, it wasn't the most age appropriate one for him. He did enjoy the fingerprinting though. Before the science presentation started, the teacher had asked Bub to put away his "toys" (a Tangle and Silly Putty) so he could concentrate and not be distracted. Because he has Asperger's, those things help keep him from being distracted, and I nicely told him that. He kind of tried to refute me, but quickly gave up when he realized that I wasn't going to back down and the other moms in the room totally had my back. I loved it that all the moms in the room immediately stood up for him and me and made sure he understood that all kids learn differently and he shouldn't be asked to put away his toys. It made me happy that they understood it without me having to defend our reasons. I love homeschooling! That trip was made especially good by that and just being able to talk to other homeschooling moms who understand why we homeschool. One even had a kid on the spectrum, so she completely understand how this has been so good for him. We actually ended up spending 4 hours at the place eating, chatting, playing games, and doing the science class. It was super fun for us both and Little Miss was a complete angel the whole time. I love having her around.

Friday evening was the trip we've been looking forward to since seeing Annie!; James and the Giant Peach. A local kids theater group put this one on and the whole family got to go this time. It wasn't the most fancy play ever, but the kids totally loved it and both want me to look into theater classes for them. I think Goober would be great at acting, his personality is so big and charismatic, and it would be a great lesson in interaction and overcoming anxiety (if he could) for Bub. I will be researching that option on Monday for them both. The next play is Charlotte's Web and I'd love to see them in it.

Our biggest (and best) field trip for the week was to our local kid-focused museum for Dr. Seuss day. It was a day of fun, learning-based activities, freebies in honor of Seuss, and tons of exercise! We even got to meet the Cat in the Hat, which Bub loved. Goob was way to old for that. LOL Hubs loved the momentum exhibit where he and Goober went spinning very quickly in circles. They almost vomited. I really loved all the Dr. Seuss themed events and that they kept engaging the children the whole 2.5 hours we were there. Goober's favorite part was running in the hamster wheel-type exhibit and Bub's was the same spinning thing that Hubs liked. He also liked making "Oobleck", aka slime.

Of course, we went to church today (and will go to the night service) and it was family Sunday so the kids stayed with us. It was Baptism day and 16 kids were baptized in water, which was awesome. It was the first time Bub remembers having seen baptisms and he was very interested. After church, Hubs took Bub (Goober was with his dad for the afternoon) on a walk and to a fishing expo at a sporting goods store and later to the park. Later Bub and I worked on parts of a sentences and did some math-based sorting activities. He spent the rest of the day learning about fishing and going over fishing stuff with his Daddy. I've been completely lazy and blogging, catching up on emails, Facebooking, and just general laziness. I've had a very busy week and my chronic pain has caught up to me. I'm just trying to relax it away. I did get a really fantastic email about a series of classes, geared for kids 7 and up. I had emailed about Bub saying that he is very smart and mature for his age (both true) and that I think he'd do well. He will have shortcoming with motor issues and the fact that he can't read, but I'll plan on staying with him to make up for those. I also assured her if it wasn't working out for any reason, we would withdraw without asking for refund so there would be no worries about him disrupting the class. I figured it was a long shot and probably wouldn't happen, but I'd never know unless I asked. I'ts a Lego-animation workshop and he would absolutely love to be involved and I would love to give him the chance. I was extremely thrilled when the person heading the class replied that she is a homeschooling mom of a special needs child, so she completely understands that things aren't always black and white with special needs kids. She said she would love to give him the chance, and let me sign both he and Goober up. They are both so excited about this workshop and I think they'll love it. I love it that the homeschooling community is so accepting and understanding about children and how much they know and how they learn. It warms my heart to know a group of people so willing to accept my quirky kiddo.

Tomorrow starts a whole week of Seuss. Yay for Dr. Seuss week! We'll also be seeing a Veggie Tales movie premier possibly doing Sensory Night at a bounce house place.

Why So Hateful?

This is something that has bothered me for years, so I'm dedicating a blog post (or two) to the subject. I will preface by saying that I have no interest for any hateful, demeaning, or rude comments on this post. I am open to questions, in fact I welcome them, but have no intention of leaving anything hateful up to be read by anyone. Please do your best to be respectful when replying to this. Don't waste your time or mine with your hostility. 

Why are human beings so hard on one another? This is especially true about mothers. I've seen it time and time again, especially on the Internet, that moms find pleasure (or something, there's got to be a reason) in tearing each other apart. Be it the breast/bottle feeding debate or any other, moms can be really rude and disrespectful of one another's parenting choices. Since we are all of one sisterhood, why aren't we more compassionate? Aren't we all trying our hardest at making the best decisions for our family?

As a side note, of course I am talking about parents who truly are doing their best. This category does not include the abusive and neglectful parents of the world, who are not giving their child the best and what they deserve. Make no mistake about who I am speaking of.

I am one of "those women" who have made parenting and lifestyle decisions that haven't fit society's view of "normal". I have come to these conclusions and made my choices based on research from reliable sources, prayer, discussions, asking questions, getting input from my husband, and good old-fashioned instincts. Every serious decision has been made painstakingly with many, many hours devoted and sometimes with many tears and sleepless nights as well. Make no mistake, I have not taken these lightly. I have had terrible, unspeakable things said to me both in real life and online for these choices. From extended breastfeeding to co-sleeping to homeschooling and many things in between, everyone has an opinion and they have no problem telling me theirs; sometimes in the most arrogant, judgmental, and contemptuous way they can. Why so much hatred? Just because my research led me to a different decision than you, why does that make me wrong? I don't think it makes you wrong that you're doing what you think is right, so why am I not afforded the same courtesy?

I pride myself on being informed and not being ignorant to anything that matters to me. It's one of my best qualities and part of what makes me, me. I stand by my decisions. I always say to make a choice and own it, and that I do. I am confident in the choices I've made and know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that they were what's best for my family. This is all I want for others. If you have made educated and informed decisions for your family, and your conclusions were not the same as mine, then good for you. Being informed is always right. Being secure in what you know and in your life and your family is essential to being happy, and if you are secure and confident in what you've chosen, then why the need to tear others down?

Now, I always welcome respectful opposition. In my opinion, opposition threatens ignorance. If I've made a decision and someone brings up a point I hadn't thought of or never came across, it's always good to re-evaluate with new evidence or opinions. Ignorance isn't, actually, bliss and adversity helps teach me and helps me evolve. I know that most people in the world, heck most people I know, don't agree with me and I welcome respectful discussions. I always enjoy a spirited, courteous debate.

This standpoint rolls over into my views about Christianity. I'm not a religion-pusher so I'm not going into that here, but if you're interested, you can see that post here.

No two people are the same, and that's the beauty of life. If we were all walking around looking, acting, feeling and believing the same things, the world would be so boring. This is what's brilliant about humanity and society, we are constantly growing and changing. I doubt anyone is the same now as they were 10 years ago, unless you are just not trying or don't care. Or, I suppose, you could already know everything, and then kudos to you (note the sarcasm). I welcome change and am constantly working to improve myself and I appreciate others who are doing the same. 

In closing, I just truly wish that others would use their resources, talents, and voice to do something worthwhile with their lives. Instead of pushing your beliefs on someone who disagrees, why don't you help by respectfully sharing information with someone who is struggling? Instead of advocating so hard against a person or group of people, why not advocate for someone or a group of people who need it? Wouldn't it make people happier to not spread such hate? Maybe then the world would be a better place.

Basically, what it all boils down to is...