Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

(Chloe's present to two of her dance friends was a pedicure.  It was a first for all three of them and they enjoyed every relaxing and ticklish moment.)

My sweet baby girl turned ten years old on Mother's Day.  Gamma gave Chloe exactly what she wanted...a shopping day.  We took her to the mall to buy a summer outfit and ended up at Aéropostale.  Hmm..I wonder if she had this planned out all along?  This is Chloe's favorite store even though she doesn't have any of their clothing.  I figured the shirts would be a little long on her and there was no way the shorts would fit, but I was okay letting her get the shirts. We found a few items and sent her into the dressing room.  Alone.  I wish I would have remembered my camera. It was such a precious milestone to see her model the clothing for us.  Nothing could compare to the huge smile she had on her face when she realized that she did fit into the size "00" pants and "xs" shirts.  I was shocked, she was estatic and there we were...my only daughter beaming and me, well....I fluctuated between being proud of my little big girl and fighting back the tears because it's obvious she is growing up right before my eyes. 

(slightly over exposed, ya think?)

Chloe is a Prizewinner Irish Dancer and will be going to her second Oireachtas this Fall.

  

She loves Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Zoe Girl. She excels at English/Spelling/Grammar and loves to read & write stories. I am grateful that I was chosen to be her mother.  She's has such an amazing spirit and her compassion runs deep within her.  She is a true friend and while she seems to be popular in her class, she tells me about the friends she makes that the other girls don't like.  She doesn't want them to be left out and quite frankly, she thinks they are "nicer than the others anyway".  She marches to her own beat and doesn't do anything she doesn't want to.   She is a rule follower (like her mommy) and can't quite see beyond the black and white for those *sometimes grey areas.  If anything she bends the rules to be more strict.  Huh?

How did I raise this child?  I was extremely self conscious, fearful of others not liking me, afraid to do or say the wrong thing.  I didn't like myself, didn't think I was pretty and didn't feel I was worth anyone liking me, anyway.  So, how did I raise this confident child?  She is very tender hearted and cries instantly if I raise my voice to her.  She has her sassy and extremely sassy moments, but we love her all the same.  

Here's a little organizing tip for you moms of girls out there!!

Chloe had a few American Girl (AG) items, and then was gifted an amazing amount of AG stuff. 

The trunk is full to the brim with actual AG accessories and clothing, so we needed a small space to hang some of those cute (and expensive!!) outfits.   I didn't want to throw everything in a plastic tub and shove it in the closet, so I had to be a little more creative.  Chloe would use her bookcase for everything that didn't have a home or anything she didn't want to find a home.  Books were rarely found on her bookcase, but I would always reorganize it to find some room.  When we were spring cleaning her room this past March we ended up going through all of the AG items.  Then, it hit me.   I was staring at the perfect spot the whole time.  Chloe and I took an IKEA towel/hanging basket rod ($1.99) and attached it to the bottom of one shelf. It made a perfect wardrobe for her AG dolls.  

You know what I learned in the process?  Bookcases aren't necessarily just for books. 

 

trying times

First let me say that I haven't forgotten about the Mama Pad Give-Away.  I've just been inundated with so many things I can't keep them straight.  I will post the winner on Friday morning, so get your entries in before then.  

We are going through a bit of a storm, which is why I have not posted in a week.  Has it been longer?  It's always one thing after the other and lately, the things aren't so little.  I'll post more in detail when I have some time. Maybe tomorrow.  Maybe next week.  I really can't say.

I will ask that you pray for my oldest son, Brenden (15).  He was assaulted at school on Monday and is suffering from tracheal edema, acute laryngitis and T4-T10 Costal Contusions from being severely choked, punched and kneed in the ribs.  He might have been knocked out momentarily, too.  He is on mega doses of steroids and cortisone to reduce inflammation.  He already has tracheomalacia and this is just making it worse.  The swelling is also bringing back headaches/migraines and he's having coughing fits because of the swelling to his trachea.  

This child can make me so angry.  He's alot like me and we clash.  I love him to bits though and it breaks my heart to see him in pain.  I can't imagine the humiliation he felt on Monday afternoon and now that his adrenaline is gone, he's feeling a whole lot more than humiliation. His youth Pastor called him today and is taking him out to lunch on Thursday.  Brenden seemed really upbeat when he got off the phone with him this afternoon.  

I'm exhausted and ready to call it a night.  It's been a hard day for us all.  

So help me....

I am done with television!  I am at the point where I feel this is our only hope and to my husbands great surprise, I freaked out and threw out our TV's today.  Chucked them right in the trash.  A 40" Sony flat screen and a 32" w/ DVD RCA flat screen.

Okay, okay....before my mom has a heart attack I guess I should confess that I didn't really throw them out, I just had hubby put them in the storage room for the next thirty days, at least. Okay mom, you can breathe now. 

"Why did you get rid of the TV's?".   I've had a few people ask me why on Facebook, so I thought I'd post about it here.  Below are just a few of the reasons we got rid of the tv. 

1. I'm extremely tired of my children being so media focused.  

2. I'm tired of being ignored because of the tv.

3. I want more time with my kids and husband.

4. I would rather see my children playing outside than being couch potatoes.

5. I would rather see my children reading a book than watching mindless TV.

6. I would rather play a board/card game or put a puzzle together with my kids.

7. I believe that my children will start communicating more respectfully to each other and to us.

8. I believe our family will appreciate making this change.

I could go on and on about how I feel, but I'm not trying to convert anyone to the TV-Free side. I've had a feeling that we needed to get rid of the TV's for a long time.  This whole TV issue has been going on for years and we've just ignored it.  When the twins were little, I would have gone insane if Barney wasn't a daily part of our lives.  Most people are insane because of Barney, but my twins loved that purple dinosaur.  Those formative years, before my children started Kindergarten, were sadly spent in front of the television much of the time. I'm guilty of letting the TV be a babysitter because I was too tired to deal with the stress and not very creative in finding other ways to spend our time.  There, I said it.  I'm a mom and I'm not perfect.  

Growing up with TV:I truly believe that how television is used when you are growing up plays a huge part in how you use television as an adult.  Both of my parents were profoundly deaf and both lost their hearing when they were young.  I remember when Closed Captions (CC) came out.  We had one of those huge console TV's and a box on top of it that allowed the CC's to come through.  I was pretty young when CC's came out, so most of my memory is of TV with CC's.  When my parents were home, we would watch CC'ed shows, like The Love Boat, Knots Landing, Cosby Show and a whole slew of others.  I remember that TV was so important in our lives because my parents could finally enjoy what everyone else was enjoying, too.  My favorite part of the day was when my mom and dad got home from work, cooked dinner and we all ate in the living room with our TV trays.  Mom and dad had the tall ones, and my brother and I had the small ones that sat over our legs on the floor.  Those were good times because it allowed our family to be together and enjoy something together.  It didn't matter that they were deaf and we were hearing.  The shows on the tube allowed us to laugh, cry and sit in silence, but we were together.  Except for the words on the bottom of the screen and the absense of being told to "shhh!" while watching a show, we were just like any other family at that point.  We somehow communicated things we didn't know how to share without the TV.  Maybe we just lived vicariously through the characters on the television set? Their simple act of communication (without hands) was something I just didn't quite get.  It was wonderful, but clearly not my reality. Aside from television, we didn't play board/card games all that much because TV was such a fundemental part of our lives.  It wasn't until I became an adult when I realized why it was so important and why my parents loved to watch.

Oh, and for fun, do you remember this?

Well, to show you the difference....this is what I grew up with:

Materialism & Character Building:

My children are saturated with materialism and getting rid of the tv is just one way for me to put my foot down.  Not only do they want everything they see on TV, but they tend to act like the characters on their favorite shows.  The only reason we laugh at these children talking back to their parents, or parents being rude to their children is because we are numb.  My children are not the only ones who succumb to the Great Advertisment.  Do you know how many times I've sent Rob out to get a late night snack because a commercial came on?  Does anyone know why it's always Wendy's?  No?  Hmm...   Anyway, I can probably give at least 40 pounds in the last 15 years to late-night fast food advertisments.  ::Sigh::  Speaking of advertisements....has anyone seen the Cricut Expression one?  I NEED that!!

Ahem....

See....it's not just children who are tempted and targeted.  Exhausted and hungry women in their 3rd trimester, men who love new trucks, the lonely single,  the closet shopaholic, the guilt-ridden mother and the obsessed organizer (me!!!) are all being tempted by commercial ads. Oh, and if you haven't figured it out yet....Visa, Discover, American Express and Mastercard are all drooling over our hunger for satisfaction and instant gratification.  

Praise God for Dave Ramsey, though!!!

The saddest part is, I spend time and energy trying to encourage our children to be more helpful around the house and they completely ignore me. I could spend hours making a fair chore chart and unless I physically force them to complete a task, it doesn't get done.  We've tried everything: family meetings, letting the kids have a say in what is fair, talking, talking loud, talking even louder, yelling, screaming and ultimately me crying.  

After fifteen years, I've finally realized that children do not need the latest gadget to be happy.  They need our time.  They do not need to relax in front of the TV after a long day at school.  They need to get out and burn off some energy.  They also need to have chores around the house.  They need parents who don't sit in front of the television and tune out the world because they've had a stressful day.  Something inside me, an instinct of sorts, tells me that getting rid of the television will give our family more time to focus on what our family is about. Hmm...I wonder why it took me so long to follow through with something I've felt so strongly about?  

For those of you who still don't get it.  That's okay.  To sum it all up:

I'm tired of just existing and trying to get through each day. 

I want to LIVE, ENJOY and EXPERIENCE my family.

Goodbye TV and Good Riddance!