Not what I'd planned..............

I want to share 314 out of focus, fuzzy photos from our day yesterday, but first I have to deal with some crazy stuff that is going on.

I just read an article that said all PE positions in our school system are up for elimination as well as 2 teaching jobs at our elementary. Over the past 5 years, I have learned to entrust my children to these individuals as part of 'the team'. They have been helping me to mold and grow these sweet little beings, and these teachers and staff have become like part of our family. And it saddens me that 3 of them, possibly more, will loose their jobs this year. Not because they suck at their jobs, not because what they teach is stupid, not because they are retiring- it's just to save money and that makes me sad.

But more than that- I am just plain mad. Mad at us as a society! How could our schools have gotten into so much trouble that now we are eliminating necessary staff just to save money and fit the budget. Trust me, I understand budgets, and I'm sure there is no other way- but it just seems so dag gone sad.

And just to throw it in- good thinking eliminating PE. After all, it's not as if childhood obesity is at its highest EVER or anything. Perhaps instead of wasting all that time learning physical activity, they can just hang out in the cafeteria and eat some more processed foods.

And then, last night at girl scouts we got a flier about a "Family Spring Fling" complete with face painting and an 'egg hung'. They apparently chose to eliminate the word Easter from the event this year so that they could promote it in the school and not offend anyone.

I personally see no reason to change something that is obviously something so that someone, somewhere, won't be offended. Here's the news world- brace yourself- I AM A CHRISTIAN. I celebrate Christmas because it is when Jesus was born, and I celebrate Easter because it is when He was crucified and then rose from the dead. I call them Christmas and Easter- and I don't really care if that offends anyone. It is what it is. I can not change that. If you don't choose to celebrate it, I get it. So don't. Don't come to the EASTER EGG HUNT because chances are it has to do with Jesus. And don't come to my CHRISTMAS PARTY because we will be whooping it up for our boy Jesus.

Hey girl scouts- don't mark us down for your Spring Egg Hunt. We won't be there. My son is allergic to eggs, so it 'offends' me to have to hunt them- in the Spring. And it 'offends' me to not call it an Easter Egg Hunt- because it is one no matter what you call it. I shop for easter eggs, easter dresses and I celebrate easter- at a church- a christian church. Go figure.

Here's the thing I really wonder. Are the groups that we jump through hoops to rename stuff for really happier that we are calling it something different? When you change the name from 'Christmas Party' to 'Holiday Party'- do these people really sigh a big breath of relief? Do they not mind a 'holiday tree'? Will folks really come to the 'Spring Egg Hunt' who wouldn't have come to the 'Easter Egg Hunt'? Is a 'friendship correspondence card' not as offensive as a 'valentine'?

I think not. People are smart- surely they see a 6 foot pine tree with garlands, lights and ornaments decorated for 'the holidays' and know that it is really a Christmas tree in disguise. And they probably know that there really isn't a 'spring bunny' either. Just a guess.

I'm a Christian. Sorry if that pisses you off.

O'busy O'day

(don't adjust your monitor- yes those eggs and pancakes are green. Finally- a chance to show off my culinary ability)

Big, long, wordy, overtalked, way too many photos post tomorrow. Consider that your warning.

Dear family,

This one is for you. All of you. No seriously Dan- go get the children- they need to hear this. I'll wait................

Got em? Good. Hello family. It has come to my attention that perhaps there are some housekeeping items that you need specific instruction on in order for them to actually be accomplished. I am a people pleaser, so here you go.

1. Lights on, lights off. Lights on, lights off. In the room, lights on. Out of the room, lights off. In On, Out Off. Make sense? No worry young grasshoppers- you will learn quickly.

2. Dan, darling. If you have items that are of a certain value to you, let's just say for the sake of this story it is a huge flashlight, and you do not want our children to touch it. Perhaps you should, oh let's think now, think think think, oh I know, put it away instead of leaving it lay around the house. I felt I handled your anger about 'letting' them 'play with your things' fairly well the first time, not so sure it will go so well the second. Just sayin.

3. Girls- this is a shoe rack. It hangs on the inside of your closet door. The shoes actually hang on the shoe rack. Freakin amazing, huh?

4. This little contraption actually holds a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom- sounds convenient eh? Sam- the little bar with the two screw on balls on the ends- see it there? LEAVE IT ALONE. I am tired of hunting down the dag gone bar and little balls because you are constantly playing with it. Cut it out. And- to you all- consider this your formal invitation to place a fresh roll of the stuff on said bar anytime that you actually finish the current roll. You might think that this is a job I covet and have wanted saved just for me, but I'm a giver so you too can share in the joy.
5. Moving right along-this next one is for the kids only (you Dan have in fact mastered the laundry recepticles and for that I am eternally gracious). I will start with descriptions...........
This Emily, this is your laundry basket.
And this, this is Allysons.
This is NOT yours Sam. You too have a basket in your closet for your dirty clothes.

When you remove your dirty clothing, you need to place it into your dirty clothing recepticle. No big deal right? Clean clothes on hangers, dirty clothes in baskets. No dirty clothes hidden under furniture in mommy's room- right Sammy? This new method of handling the clothing will in fact be replacing the previous method, which apparently included throwing your dirty clothing where ever you happen to be when you remove it.
You will now place those as well into your baskets. It will be difficult at first, but you'll get the hang of it. You're smart kids, I have faith in you.

6. Getting toys 'near' the toy baskets is not good enough. Nor does that work for your toy boxes, rooms or closets. Near is not good enough. Just please, for the love of all things good and holy, put your crap away.
7. This one is going to blow you away. Perhaps you have all noticed the black tray at the front door and you have wondered to yourselves what on earth it could be for. It is actually a 'Shoe Tray' (pronounced shew traaaaa). One of those new contemporary things but heck, let's give er a whirl, shall we. This is how it will work.........
You will actually no longer be leaving your shoes in the middle of the dining room floor.
Or haphazardly throw them in the general direction of the front door area.

Get ready folks, here it comes..............
You will put them ON the shoe tray. This will solve multiple issues. First of which is we are a family of five. That means that 10-20 shoes could potentially be scattered all over our home- can you say safety issue? Second- no longer will we have frantic last minute tears as we try and tear out the door in the morning because we can't find our shoes- they will be right there- on the tray. Amazing.

8. Dan, I get that you daily stop at the gas station to buy a bucket of mountain dew in a styrofoam cup. It has become part of the daily decor on our breakfast bar. I'm okay with that. But do you think that, when you are done with it, you could like pour out the ice and throw the cup away. I'm good with not having to do this for you, really.

9. This is a coat rack. A rack of coats. Coatage Rackage. Simple concept- coats hang on the hooks. It is located right by the front door, which is convenient, as it is where you come in from outside with your coat on. Keeping with the same concept, the actual coat closet is located directly next to the coat rack. Those tall sitty thingys at the bar- sooooo not a coat rack. That large leather thing in the living room- not a coat rack either. There has been some obvious confusion, I just wanted to clear that up for ya.

10. Let's put it in high gear, shall we? Wet towels go in the launrdy room or on the hooks in the bathroom, toothpaste should go on the toothbrush (how on earth do you splatter globs everywhere???), feel free to rinse out your dishes before you stack them for me to wash later, when you take the last of something- throw the box away, and last but certainly not least- my vehicle IS NOT your vehicle- take your crap with you when you go.

This will conclude today's lesson. There is more, but I don't want to overcomplicate things. Just check back later and we'll touch on some more issues.

Peace. Love. Happiness.

We are the champions..................

Well it's official- basketball season is over. And we made it. Two practices a week, two games a week, two uniforms to find, wash and find again a week, $7 at the snackbar a week, but it is finally done.

Behind every single giggly child learning a sport is a mom. The one who gets the troops up early on a weekend day to head out to games, who plans ahead to make dinner early on practice nights and has a snack planned out when they get home before bed, who drives all over town to jump through hoops because she missed the deadline to apply, who packs a bag of 'entertainment' for the siblings not in said sport. I am this teams mom- and I am tired.

I'm tired of running myself ragged for children who don't care, of hearing complaints over a meal I didn't feel like making anyway, of arguing with my husband, of defending my children because I love them, of feeling the warm tears streak down my cheeks, tired of scrubbing up globs of toothpaste and of hanging up jackets. I am just tired. Somehow there are women who are fulfilled in their daily lives because they know they are serving the Lord when they serve their families. I can't find it today. I just can't.

Oh- I almost forgot- I am tired of thinking that I can go all 'betty crocker' and instead just turn out with cookies the size of dinner plates that look NOTHING like a megaphone.

I know I go through this off and on- I get all weepy and over extended. Today is my day I suppose. Sorry. I really did enjoy watching the kids in their basketball season- I hope that they liked it. Emily informed me today that I never asked her if she wanted to be a cheerleader- and she didn't. Figures.

I'm off to pout. 4 days until me and the girls from church head out for an overnight away from our families- dinner (in a real restaurant- with real plates), play tickets, sleeping in, hot breakfast.............BRING IT ON! I'm so mad and hurt by my family right now that I might just not come back. Not that they'd notice or anything, at least not for a while, like until the food and clean underwear ran out. Just sayin.

It's time........or is it?

Twice a year I use this blog as my forum to vent about the total and complete confusion that this whole time change business creates in my world. What's that? You don't want to hear that same old song and dance again? Well suck it up, because I can't stop it.

I have been jipped. You have been jipped. We've all been jipped. Of the many many things that I think we all would ask for more of, time is certainly one of them. So how on earth could TAKING an hour away possibly make any sense to anyone?

I did prepare this time though. Remember in the Fall, when I forgot completely about the whole thing, set the alarm for church, got up plenty early to assemble the troops for worship- turned out I was up a whole hour before I needed to be. Or at least I thought. Maybe Dan changed all the clocks and really we're just on time? It was no way to start the day, let me just say that. So last night, at the snap of a finger it was 10pm and then it was 11. A whole hour- gone. Kids still awake. Now 11pm. This morning, the clock said 8:30- I thought in my head that meant 7:30- and we all slept in until 9:30. Even the kids. Because that was only like 8:30, or 10:30. Who knows. Long and the short is we missed Sunday school. But I think it was being moved to 10:30 due to the time change?

And now it is 9:30, feels like 8:30. I have no idea. I really depend totally on my cell phone to know what time it really is- it is the only thing I own that auto adjusts itself to the right time.

I will say that this time I have come out on top though. See- the dining room clock is a pain in the behind to change. And I didn't change it back in the Fall. So technically it's been ahead for like 6 months. Mentally I think this has helped me to prepare. I think. So ha! Take that!

At least I was kind of prepared for this chaos this time.

Daylight savings time. Ick. In my mind the time change thing is total robbery. Imagine if you will the government comes up with a solution for, oh I don't know, let's say poverty. They are going to give everyone $1000 once a year- and then you give it back. But here's the kicker, they launch this fabulous program by first TAKING your $1000. Then in the Fall, they think they are a hero and we are all singing their praises when they give us $1000. It was ours to start with people. It was ours. And, I think, that at the end of the year we still come up an hour short- but I'm not completely sure.

Robbery. We've all been robbed.

Won't you consider sponsoring a child?

Today's post is of a very serious nature. I apologize for being the instigator of lots of emotional pain on your behalf. Grab a kleenex, you are going to need it.

See, there are children in this world who are suffering. Unimaginable conditions, lack of proper food, none of the basic necessities for normal living- these all join together to make for a very devastating life for a young child.

I am getting all choked up just thinking about the life this child is forced to endure. Please prepare yourself for what you are about to read.
This is Allyson. She lives in a small village just outside of Indianapolis. She shares a single family home with the rest of her entire family- all 5 of them total- in a roughly 1800 square foot home. That is only 360 square feet per person- hardly enough room for a growing, hormonal child.

To make matters worse, she is forced to share a bedroom (just typing that brings tears to my eyes) with her sister. The horror. The walls are a pale lilac color, the quilts on the beds are of horrible girly girl colors, and there are even flowers (gasp!) on her window coverings. Conditions that are obviously unimaginable to many of us, and yet she is forced to sleep in these meager conditions every day. I've even heard tales of wild animals being in said room.......
Despite the obvious attic space that could (in theory) be converted into a fourth bedroom for this child- her family continues to spend their wealth on other things (heat, groceries, mortgage payments) rather than sink everything into a renovation. This poor poor child.

Most mornings, Allyson is forced to rise early enough to help her family tend their home. While many of us can not imagine having such grown up responsibilities at the young age of 10, this childs life is very different.

She is required to place all of her dirty laundry into one laundry hamper located also in her already overly crowded bedroom, pull her repulsive bed covers over her mattress, and every night after dinner, Allyson must slave away for minutes while loading the entire families dishes into a dish washing contraption. To say her day is full of hard work is a complete farce, um, I mean understatement.

Meals are only prepared and served to her three times a day. Any required snacks that she desires, she is required to prepare- for herself people. And when the meals are served, they are almost unedible. Lots of vegetables, fruits and meats- hardly ever the necessary tater tots and cheese that her young growing body craves. She is very limited on soda pop, and most days is forced to drink milk or fruit juice- or worse yet, WATER. Yes- you did read that right, her family sometimes forces her to drink water. It's impressive that her frail body has managed to sustain itself in these conditions for all this time.

All of this is in addition to the fact that she has no television in her bedroom, which forces her to make choices with her siblings on which cable television program they will watch together- in the family room of all places. There is only one computer in the home, forcing them to share it equally (can you imagine?), AND, to make matters even worse, she is continually denied her own private email account. Clearly these conditions are restricting this childs ability to thrive.

She does not even have a cell phone. No cell phone people. When she wants to communicate with others in her age group- she is forced to either use the house phone (I shake my head in disbelief) or write a note- like with an actual pencil and paper.

And just this week, Allyson was told that she would not receive more than $30 toward a replacement pair of foot protection. Any more that the shoes cost, she would have to actually pay for herself. Her parents claim that it is because they already provided a pair of overpriced foot protection less than 6 months ago, and she has worn them out. Instead of instantly running out and swiping their charge cards at whatever her heart desires- they actually suggested she wear her old pair of tennis shoes that still fit her. This is bordering on abuse.

Allyson's family lives with something called a 'budget'. For those of you who have endless disposable income, I will explain this concept. It means that they must review all of the options to spend their income on and make decisions on what they will actually buy and when. This clearly limits the endless supply of wants, I mean, needs this child has. The main need that this child is really struggling with is her obvious requirement to vacation in California (like all the movie stars) and her familys lack of desire, I mean ability, to provide her with it. It is a sad sad world for this young lady.
If the conditions in this child's home become any worse- they may actually be forced to move into a cardboard box in order to continue to pay for all of the after school activities that these children are forced to participate in. Even piano. The horror. This poor innocent child is weekly required to sit through a 30 minute piano lesson. Many of us as adults could not handle this kind of environment.

Won't you consider sponsoring this child? Without you- she may be forced to continue to live in a 'babyfied room' and continue communicating like a caveman. There is even talk by her parents of shutting off....prepare yourselves.... the cable TV again. Needless to say, her tears were immediate upon hearing this news (confirming what her mother knew all along- it is time for it to go!)

You will need to act fast.

I apologize for sending you on this emotional rollercoaster today. You were probably unaware that children were actually forced to live in these conditions, right here in our own country. That is why I found is so important to share her story with you today.

Yeah- I made that...........

I have some mad crocheting skilz.......... Check out this hat that I made.

I had this idea to stitch in little speakers so that it could be plugged into an ipod or mp3 player. What an ingenious idea, if I do say so myself.

And would you look at that beautiful patch that I hand embroidered to put on it.

Wow, this is actually nice enought to, well, I don't know, be a professionally made hat for one of the beer companies that they could give away to their customers and clients.

Can you believe I just completely wasted your time and mine spinning this tale about me and actual talent? Beats doing the mountain of laundry that I should be focused on, what can I say?

Let me know if want me to whip you something up.