Last night, Katie fell asleep in her chair again...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Zzzzzzzzz...
On Saturday, Timmy fell asleep on the stage at the church while we were watching Jonathon's basketball game.
Last night, Katie fell asleep in her chair again...
Last night, Katie fell asleep in her chair again...
A Clean Bedroom
At the beginning of February, I told the kids that if they kept their bedrooms clean until St. Patrick's Day (roughly six weeks), I would give them each a Webkinz. All of their rooms were clean, so they were starting with a "clean slate".Over the past six weeks, Jonathon and Christian have, for the most part, kept their room clean. Eliza and Katie's room and Nathaniel and Timmy's room are a different story. They have had a messy room since mid-February. It was mostly clothes and some toys. It's not hard to keep clean if they would just put their clothes in the hamper!
Anyway, last night after family home evening, everyone went to bed. I came down into the family room to play with Katie and have a little "down time". I thought I heard a "mouse" upstairs, but since it wasn't very loud and there was no talking, I didn't worry about it. I found out this morning what it was when I went to wake up Nathaniel. I wished him a "Happy St. Patrick's Day" and he asked me what I thought, gesturing to his room. It was very clean! I guess he had hoped if he cleaned his room at the 11th hour (almost literally), he would still get his Webkinz.
Anyway, his six week effort starts today and hopefully he will keep his room clean the whole time. He never ceases to amaze me. There are times that he is the most helpful and determined child!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Snow Day
I grew up in Arizona where there is no such thing as a snow day. The only time we had an emergency closing was when it rained so hard that the schools were worried about flooding. They had a good reason. On the bus ride home, we went over a bridge that was usually about 20 feet above a small creek only about a foot deep. That day, the river was only about a foot below the bridge! I have seen it when it actually went over the bridge...crazy!
But here in New Jersey, the township builds three extra days in the school year to "plan" for the days that it snows over three inches. That's when they close the school... They've also started a new program that we get an automated phone call for emergency closings. We got a call last night at 11 p.m. They don't seem to mind calling at weird hours since it's automated. But I was grateful that they didn't disturb my sleep at 5 a.m. again and that I knew that I could turn off my alarm BEFORE I went to bed.
Having a snow day is like getting a surprise vacation day. I got to sleep in until 8:15 and made a nice breakfast for the kids. Then they went outside to play in the snow. By the time I was ready to go outside, Christian was already back inside (that was nice, then he could watch Katie for me). I grabbed a shovel and shoveled snow for an hour and a half. I guess that's what happens if you have a wide driveway, you get almost no help ( Jonathon cleaned half of the car before he froze), and there's four inches of snow on the ground...
Michael came home from work at 2:30, dropped Jonathon off at his dentist appointment and took Christian and Eliza to the high school to go sledding. I picked Jonathon up and met him there so that Nathaniel and Jonathon could go too. After about half an hour, we headed to Wawa and grabbed hot chocolate and donuts.
All I can say is, "Hooray for Snow Days!" - especially if Michael is around to enjoy them with us!
But here in New Jersey, the township builds three extra days in the school year to "plan" for the days that it snows over three inches. That's when they close the school... They've also started a new program that we get an automated phone call for emergency closings. We got a call last night at 11 p.m. They don't seem to mind calling at weird hours since it's automated. But I was grateful that they didn't disturb my sleep at 5 a.m. again and that I knew that I could turn off my alarm BEFORE I went to bed.
Having a snow day is like getting a surprise vacation day. I got to sleep in until 8:15 and made a nice breakfast for the kids. Then they went outside to play in the snow. By the time I was ready to go outside, Christian was already back inside (that was nice, then he could watch Katie for me). I grabbed a shovel and shoveled snow for an hour and a half. I guess that's what happens if you have a wide driveway, you get almost no help ( Jonathon cleaned half of the car before he froze), and there's four inches of snow on the ground...
Michael came home from work at 2:30, dropped Jonathon off at his dentist appointment and took Christian and Eliza to the high school to go sledding. I picked Jonathon up and met him there so that Nathaniel and Jonathon could go too. After about half an hour, we headed to Wawa and grabbed hot chocolate and donuts.
All I can say is, "Hooray for Snow Days!" - especially if Michael is around to enjoy them with us!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Places to Crash
Sometimes I am amazed at the places Timmy has fallen asleep. The last few days, I've put him in his bed for a nap and he's gotten up and fallen asleep somewhere else.
Today it was in the living room next to Katie and the stuff I brought in from the car:
Yesterday, he slept in my bed because he didn't want to sleep in his. Two days ago it was under one of the kitchen chairs (unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture before I put him in his bed).
These are some from the past couple of years:
In his booster seat
5/14/2007On our bay window
6/16/2008
In the shopping cart
7/18/2008
Under Katie's swing
9/3/2008
In Eliza's closet
9/16/2008
In the car
9/20/2008
At the kitchen table
10/6/2008
At Katie's doctor's appointment
At Katie's doctor's appointment
10/29/2008
While watching TV
11/4/2008
I didn't realize how often he fell asleep in so many different places!
...and it looks like Katie is following in his footsteps:
In her swing
11/4/2008
In her stationary walker
1/12/2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
No More Peas, Please!
Katie is eating pureed peas and barley. I think she liked the pureed chicken soup that Michael fed her last night better.
American Families in 2008
No commentary from me on this, just some statistics that I find interesting, which I saw today in an article in the USA Today. The author was Jack Gillum:
-The percentage of American households with children under 18 living at home last year hit the lowest point — 46% — in half a century, which represents about 35.7 million families
-This is down from 52% in 1950. The percentage peaked in 1963, when about 57% of families had children under 18 at home.
-About 67 million opposite-sex couples lived together in 2008; roughly one in 10 (6.8 million) were not married.
-There are about 5.3 million "stay-at-home" mothers and 140,000 such fathers.
-The median age at first marriage was 27.4 years for men and 25.6 for women.
-The percentage of children with two parents at home varies: 85% of Asian children have two parents at home vs. 78% of white, 70% of Hispanic and 38% of black children.
The article questions whether these changing demographics may have an impact on local politics, such as childless couples being less willing to fund schools, for example, than other public needs.
The data come from the Census' most recent Current Population Survey. It was conducted early last year (2008) with responses from about 100,000 American addresses.
-The percentage of American households with children under 18 living at home last year hit the lowest point — 46% — in half a century, which represents about 35.7 million families
-This is down from 52% in 1950. The percentage peaked in 1963, when about 57% of families had children under 18 at home.
-About 67 million opposite-sex couples lived together in 2008; roughly one in 10 (6.8 million) were not married.
-There are about 5.3 million "stay-at-home" mothers and 140,000 such fathers.
-The median age at first marriage was 27.4 years for men and 25.6 for women.
-The percentage of children with two parents at home varies: 85% of Asian children have two parents at home vs. 78% of white, 70% of Hispanic and 38% of black children.
The article questions whether these changing demographics may have an impact on local politics, such as childless couples being less willing to fund schools, for example, than other public needs.
The data come from the Census' most recent Current Population Survey. It was conducted early last year (2008) with responses from about 100,000 American addresses.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The 'Roid (Not) Taken
So even if you don't follow major league baseball, and unless you've been hiding under a rock the last couple of weeks, most of you will know that Alex Rodriguez, arguably the most gifted ball player on the planet, admitted to taking illegal steroids, or performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), from 2001-2003. Rodriguez, or A-Rod for short (now A-'Roid?) has been under an intense amount of criticism for this revelation into his past. It's such a big deal, because he has always maintained that he never did anything like that, and the hope was that he was the "clean" superstar ballplayer that would save baseball from all of the negative publicity it's received over the last decade from high-profile players caught taking steroids. He is currently on pace to become the all-time home run king, and everybody was hoping that the positive press that baseball would get from that would put to rest all of the steroid scandals. However, all A-Rod has done is exacerbate it to an even greater level.
I have to admit that I'm conflicted about the whole situation. I have a problem with his taking the steroids for a couple of reasons:
-Taking prescription drugs without a prescription is against the law
-In some cases, it sounds like either he, or someone he knew, illegally transported these drugs into the U.S. from another country
-It's cheating
You'll hear ballplayers defend themselves with things like "A lot of players did it" to which I would say "Didn't your mother ever tell you the analogy about following the crowd if they were jumping off a bridge?".
Other players will say "It wasn't specifically against the rules of major league baseball", which is true, but stealing and murder aren't specifically against major baseball rules either, but that, as well as taking prescription drugs without a prescription, are against the LAW.
Now on the other hand, and contrary to the "holier than thou" reporters and fans making comments left and right about A-Rod's character, I really don't feel the need to hear all of the specific details about his steroid use. I don't feel I have the right to hear a full confessional, as many people feel. He admitted to taking them, that's all I need to hear. It's almost embarrassing to me to hear the reporters and commentators admonish A-Rod, as if every one of them lives the utmost highest standards of personal character and integrity. puh-lease.
I think that A-Rod simply fell victim to what many, many people have a problem with: they want accolades and recognition from the world. His excuse for taking the steroids was that he felt the pressure be the best ballplayer that he could, that he wanted people to continue to think of him as one of the best players in the world and he thought the drugs would help him do this. To me, wanting the adoration of the world, and doing things that compromise your personal integrity, without regard for the impact on your character, is the greatest travesty of the whole issue. Dishonesty, whether in your public life or your private life, tell a lot about someone's character. I'm not trying to pass judgement on A-Rod, but when things like this happen, it makes me take a step back to look at myself to see if I am living my life for the recognition of those around me or if I'm really trying to be the best person I can be, if my character is where it needs to be.
I really can't imagine wanting to be defined by what your job is or doing things for the worldly glory. Just like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man had his reward during his life on earth, and paid for it in the eternities.
I guess the thing that is probably most distressing is that time and time again, we find so many examples of dishonesty in the world, for personal material gain, whether it be money or power. I wish that more people would be more honest, if not only for themselves and their own personal character, but for the examples that they set for the people that look up to them in their lives. And in A-Rod's case, I'm not talking about me or my kids or the fans of baseball that admire his baseball playing ability. I learned long ago that you don't look to athletes, or other public figures and celebrities, to be "heroes" or people that you really look up to. If you do this, then much, much more often than not, you're going to be disappointed.
I'm instead talking about the individuals in the personal lives of these people - their spouses, brothers, sisters, children - who rely on them to be examples. A-Rod has 2 young daughters, how terrible that they'll now grow up knowing that their father cheated and lied his way into making hundreds of millions of dollars. Even more distressing to me is the potential choices that they will make in their own lives, as a result of seeing his example.
Personal integrity seems to be a path that fewer and fewer people take in life. This brings to my mind the Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken", the last 3 lines of which are:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Once in a while, you wish that public figures would take the road "less traveled", and increasingly, being honest seems to be one of those roads. There aren't many worse travesties in life that I can think of than being dishonest with yourself and those closest to you. And having to live forever with the consequences of those choices.
To my children, I'll leave you with one last tried and true cliche - "honesty is the best policy". No matter the situation, no matter what you've done in the past, there is no substitute for being completely honest going forward. The short-term pain or embarrassment that you may feel by telling the truth about a certain situation is nothing compared to the long-term guilt that you'll feel on your conscience and the destruction of your character if you choose another way.
I have to admit that I'm conflicted about the whole situation. I have a problem with his taking the steroids for a couple of reasons:
-Taking prescription drugs without a prescription is against the law
-In some cases, it sounds like either he, or someone he knew, illegally transported these drugs into the U.S. from another country
-It's cheating
You'll hear ballplayers defend themselves with things like "A lot of players did it" to which I would say "Didn't your mother ever tell you the analogy about following the crowd if they were jumping off a bridge?".
Other players will say "It wasn't specifically against the rules of major league baseball", which is true, but stealing and murder aren't specifically against major baseball rules either, but that, as well as taking prescription drugs without a prescription, are against the LAW.
Now on the other hand, and contrary to the "holier than thou" reporters and fans making comments left and right about A-Rod's character, I really don't feel the need to hear all of the specific details about his steroid use. I don't feel I have the right to hear a full confessional, as many people feel. He admitted to taking them, that's all I need to hear. It's almost embarrassing to me to hear the reporters and commentators admonish A-Rod, as if every one of them lives the utmost highest standards of personal character and integrity. puh-lease.
I think that A-Rod simply fell victim to what many, many people have a problem with: they want accolades and recognition from the world. His excuse for taking the steroids was that he felt the pressure be the best ballplayer that he could, that he wanted people to continue to think of him as one of the best players in the world and he thought the drugs would help him do this. To me, wanting the adoration of the world, and doing things that compromise your personal integrity, without regard for the impact on your character, is the greatest travesty of the whole issue. Dishonesty, whether in your public life or your private life, tell a lot about someone's character. I'm not trying to pass judgement on A-Rod, but when things like this happen, it makes me take a step back to look at myself to see if I am living my life for the recognition of those around me or if I'm really trying to be the best person I can be, if my character is where it needs to be.
I really can't imagine wanting to be defined by what your job is or doing things for the worldly glory. Just like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man had his reward during his life on earth, and paid for it in the eternities.
I guess the thing that is probably most distressing is that time and time again, we find so many examples of dishonesty in the world, for personal material gain, whether it be money or power. I wish that more people would be more honest, if not only for themselves and their own personal character, but for the examples that they set for the people that look up to them in their lives. And in A-Rod's case, I'm not talking about me or my kids or the fans of baseball that admire his baseball playing ability. I learned long ago that you don't look to athletes, or other public figures and celebrities, to be "heroes" or people that you really look up to. If you do this, then much, much more often than not, you're going to be disappointed.
I'm instead talking about the individuals in the personal lives of these people - their spouses, brothers, sisters, children - who rely on them to be examples. A-Rod has 2 young daughters, how terrible that they'll now grow up knowing that their father cheated and lied his way into making hundreds of millions of dollars. Even more distressing to me is the potential choices that they will make in their own lives, as a result of seeing his example.
Personal integrity seems to be a path that fewer and fewer people take in life. This brings to my mind the Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken", the last 3 lines of which are:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Once in a while, you wish that public figures would take the road "less traveled", and increasingly, being honest seems to be one of those roads. There aren't many worse travesties in life that I can think of than being dishonest with yourself and those closest to you. And having to live forever with the consequences of those choices.
To my children, I'll leave you with one last tried and true cliche - "honesty is the best policy". No matter the situation, no matter what you've done in the past, there is no substitute for being completely honest going forward. The short-term pain or embarrassment that you may feel by telling the truth about a certain situation is nothing compared to the long-term guilt that you'll feel on your conscience and the destruction of your character if you choose another way.
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