"We are raising men..."

but are we really? As a society, I do not believe this to be the case. We are so concerned with PC, and don't hurt anyone's feelings, that we are neglecting our children. We are doing them no favor by coddling them, especially our boys.

I had a conversation with my sister-in-law today about this. What prompted it was the fact that I went and saw 300 last night. In the first 3 minutes I felt like the most overprotective mother in the world. I told her this, and the fact that my husband tells me I baby our boys. He has constantly told me that we are raising men. I always understood what he was talking about, but I don't really think I changed my actions very much, maybe occasionally here and there. I do not however baby my daughter, I constantly thrill at the fact that she is one tough bitch. I know what it is like to be a passive girl, and will not allow that to be her fate. After all "Well behaved women seldom make history." (thanks green-eyed-godess, been wanting to use that one ) When you see this movie, or if you have, you will understand. They "were Spartans" and they took no shit from anyone. Granted we do not live in as violent a world as they did back then, but that is only here in America and a few other parts of the world. Most countries, as we all know, are not as lucky as we are. But if you use your brain at all, you can see a darker time coming for us privileged Americans. Soon we will not be so lucky, war on our soil is inevitable, especially if our current President and his party get to stay in charge. Maybe not even on our soil, but still we are sending our "men" to fight. They are not men people but boys, soon mine will be at the age, and frankly it scares the crap out of me. Not because I don't believe they can rise to the challenge, but for the fact that they will have to fight (don't get me started here) alongside of the PC-parented children. This world is not fair, and you do your child no favor by raising him to think that it is. I know most parents can not be at home with their kids, and I am sorry. But to spoil them and allow them excess because of your guilt will bring the downfall of all. Children crave discipline, they toe that line constantly, they want to know where their boundaries are. If you do not give them one, then you have failed. Ask any preschool teacher out there, they will tell you that the unruly kids are not always the neglected ones. Most of the time they are the spoiled and guilt-ridden parented children. I have always believed that it takes a village to raise a child. If my children are not behaving, I expect you to voice that to them, I expect you to hold me to my shortcomings as a parent. No, I will not sue you, I will not take offense (at least not later when I think on it :) but I will know that someone cares about someone else, and in return cares about all of us.

Please people, think of the future, not what makes you feel better for the moment. Our children and theirs will live in a world so vastly different from ours. They will have to fight- to live, eat, breathe, for everything. By giving them everything, we have left them nothing. Please do not allow your children to numb their brains away with technology. Inspire them, teach them, discipline them. For if you won't, I will.



We are our own worst enemy, not threat from abroad. We will contribute to our own downfall, by refusing to open our eyes.



GO SEE:

Come on People!

So, some of you did not appreciate my post below. Well, while I love you, I also say Fuck You! I can't in good conscience sit back any longer and allow the people I care about to make uninformed decisions. I will tell you what I know, you must make a choice with that information, and then live with that decision. I will no longer be a passive partner to the world around me. I will no longer sit back and watch people I care about be affected by others, simply because it is easier to ignore and think that things are going down the right path. Not when politicians and others with dollar signs in their eyes continue to wave sugar-coated lollipops in front of us in order to distract us from the state of reality. I have too much to lose to allow this behaviour anymore.

My official stance on the whole vegetanariasm issue,......
now that I've had a moment to reflect on what I saw. I do believe that eating meat is okay, it tastes good. I personally do not eat red meat, for about three years now, and the reason is simply, my body functions better without it. Everyone has different needs, my husband and son are old-fashioned carnivores, I am not. My daughters needs are more like my own, I know this by the types of foods that she instinctually chooses to consume. I read an article when my kids were little (because my son chose to not eat meat) that kids will eat what their body is craving. As long as you are offering them different types of nutritious (McD's is not in that category) foods they will choose wisely. As long as they are gaining weight and thriving, there is no need to worry. Made sense to me. Back to the point. I have no problem with you carnivores out there, I have a problem with the way the animals were treated in order to get that food in the market. That is the point that I was trying to make. There is no reason for it, there is no reason not to stand up and say it was wrong, as long as that was what you really believe. End point.

I watched a movie today called,............

-Who killed the electric car?- Now I know some of you will not even watch this movie. But I encourage you too, it's informative and extremely interesting. If you won't go rent the movie, you can at least check out this, while you are wasting time on the computer one beautiful day. It's got a lot of interesting facts on electric cars vs. gas cars vs. hybrids vs. fuelcell powered (Bush's current sugar coated lollipop, he does have some stake in the gas car after all ) The video would be more impactful, but like I said before, I can only give you the info, you have to make the decision.

Vegetanariasm? is it me?

Don't watch this if you can't handle it, it's got me seriously thinking. I knew it was bad out there, but just allowed myself to ignore the situation. This video made me cry, made me sick to my stomach, and like I said I'm doing some major pondering.

and now for something a little lighter.....

Spiders on Drugs

Rainy?

So when I woke up this morning, it was kind of drizzly and rainy, not such a great way to start our Spring Break vacation.( Quite honestly I didn't mind, we needed the rain and I love the rain.) Anyways, I decided to let the munchkins watch Eragon, while I had a little computer time. As the morning progressed this is what became of the weather. Needless to say, it's gorgeous out now. So we shall commence with the Spring Break activities. Here's the list: library, grocery shopping, beach, pool, dentist appointments, Evie's speech and occupational therapy, the dinosaur exhibit at the local botanical gardens, washing the 1200 cars currently in our front yard, none of which technically belong to us. I know it sounds just like a regular week for us, but it's exciting because... we don't have to get up early? I don't know, the point is, it's vacation for 10 days, we shall be having tons of fun and these are my "hot dates" for the week.

MATADOR!

For those of you who don't know, Matador rocks. And they also lost one of the original members of the band. Drummer Doug Marcucci has moved away and we miss him very much. So this ones dedicated to you, Doug.

Saturday night they played The Billabong Pub. They were supposed to play with another local band, Hideous Idiots, who we were all looking forward to seeing. Unfortunately, as these things happen, one band member was in the hospital and another quit the day of the show. Maybe there is a reunion in the future and we can try again.

But as they say, the show must go on.

So Jonny's other band, whose name is, seriously, Lef Deppard, hopped right in and took their place, with the few songs that they knew. They were very good, and I've heard rumors that recently they shut a bar down *hush*, I know, so look for them in the future. Maybe they'll change their name.

So as promised here are a few of the thousand pictures I took of the show. Yes, it's Snapfish again, I tried another outlet and it just didn't work, so bear with me.

PICTURES, YEAH!

and for all you myspace freaks out there, you can also request to be a friend at their new page.

www.myspace.com/sansmatador

It's under construction, hopefully there will be songs and videos up by this weekend?

*cough* Jonny

we are not as superior as we once imagined.

Took this off of one of my new favorite sites to look at....

http://www.spluch.blogspot.com/

they have all kinds of stuff on there, I bookmarked it as interesting.




Chimpanzees are intelligent, and it's classic in primates that when there is a new innovation, particularly in terms of tool use, the younger generations pick it up very quickly. Now it seems that they are even using wooden spears to hunt for food!
Chimpanzees in Senegal have been observed making and using wooden spears to hunt other primates, according to a study in the journal Current Biology.Researchers documented 22 cases of chimps fashioning tools to jab at smaller primates sheltering in cavities of hollow branches or tree trunks.Chimps had not been previously observed hunting other animals with tools.Chimpanzees were observed jabbing the spears into hollow trunks or branches, over and over again. After the chimp removed the tool, it would frequently smell or lick it.In the vast majority of cases, the chimps used the tools in the manner of a spear, not as probes. The researchers say they were using enough force to injure an animal that may have been hiding inside.

Kenan Oliver

Well,well,well. The day is here, today Kenan is 12, which basically, officially, means that he gets to ride shotgun in grandma's car, ha. (That one was for him folks, don't try to understand :)

Anyways, to get back to the subject at hand, it's my middle child's birthday. He is a typical example of a middle child, we'll leave it at that. (I should note that I am also a middle child, but I am one of two middle children, so maybe there is a difference?) Kenan and I have always had our ups and downs, 27 hours in delivery, with a C-section at the end, started us off. He has always been a beautiful kid, when he was a baby he was always smiling. He continues to grow into a very handsome young man, he's smart, he can be gracious when he wants. He has so many ideas in his head, so many places that he wants to go. I just hope that one day he uses them, that one day he goes.

Kenan, you and I have had many talks over the years, and I'm sure we will have many more. Make no doubt about it, I will be an embarrassment to you, there will be times that you won't want me around, times where you feel that you can't come and talk to me. Oh, who am I kidding we've reached that plateau. I just want you to know, you can always talk to me about anything. I also want you to know that your embarrassment of me, will not stop me from being who I am, and I hope that I never stop you from being who you are. No one should.

We love you, Kenan Oliver, Happy Birthday!

Tell me....

what has your government done for you lately?

Keep ignoring the important matters, because we live in a land of freedom, and soon you will wake up in a completely different world. Those of you ignoring these issues and allowing other people to make your informed decision for you, are leading us all down the road to ruin. The people that you love will be affected by this in some form or another one day. The elections are right around the corner, now is the time to become informed.

Come All Ye drinkers!

shameless plugs

A friend of ours brought this over, now my girlie and I really like the Gorillaz, so we enjoyed the concert greatly. If you haven't seen it check it out, it's worth watching and recommending here on my little site.

Secondly, if anyone would like to sponsor me for this, boy I would be eternally grateful, I would set up an account with a quickness, if anyone was interested. I would of course need a chaperone, so you would also need to sponsor my loving husband, and that girlie of mine needs research for her future lifestyle.

Thanks for listening. sincerely, me.

The Fairy Reel

by

Neil Gaiman

If I were young as once I was, and dreams

and death more distant then,

I wouldn't split my soul in two, and keep

half in the world of men,

So half of me would stay at home, and

strive for Faerie in vain,

While all the while my soul would stroll up

narrow path, down crooked lane,

And there would meet a fairy lass and

smile and bow with kisses three,

She'd pluck wild eagles from the air

and nail me to a lightning tree

And if my heart would run from her or

flee from her, be gone from her,

She'd wrap it in a nest of stars and then

she'd take it on with her

Until one day she'd tire of it, all bored

with it and done with it

She'd leave it by a burning brook, and off

brown boys would run with it.

They'd take it and have fun with it and

stretch it long and cruel and thin,

They'd slice it into four and then they'd

string with it a violin.

And every day and every night they'd

play upon my heart a song

So plaintitive and so wild and strange that

all who heard it danced along

And sang and whirled and sank and trod and

skipped and slipped and reeled and rolled

Until, with eyes as bright as coals, they'd

crumble into wheels of gold....

But I am younger no longer now, for sixty

years my heart's been gone

To play its dreadful music there, beyond

the valley of the sun.

I watch with envious eyes and mind, the

single-souled, who dare not feel

The wind that blows beyond the moon

who do not hear the Fairy Reel.

If you don't hear the Fairy Reel, they will

not pause to steal your breath.

When I was young I was a fool.

So wrap me up in dreams and death.

I recommend....

My new favorite movies, both of them were very good.

went to the beach today...

it was a lot of fun. a little bit chilly .

went for a walk, down a nature path

Evie made a friend, we named her Millie.

challenged her dad to a jumping contest.

came out the winner, she is the best.

Hello everybody......

thought we could play a game......

follow directions

it's the only advice your going to get. me.

Debut

Well, I know you all have been anxiously awaiting my photo album for Xmas. You have been so patient, so I decided not to make you wait any longer. (Yes, I know some of you don't want to sign in for Snapfish but it only takes a second, and they are really a good company, no spam emails or anything.) So sign up and view my pictures.

Christmas Photo Album!

New Year's Eve was a whole weekend of events for us. Chad, Jonny, Doug, and Jabin had a gig the night before (see below for video footage). It was lots of fun and they were all awesome. I appreciate everyone who showed their love that evening, I had a great time dancing and hanging out with everybody.

The next night, our very good friends Jen and Jesse had a rocking New Year's Eve party. Lots of people, food, and merriment. I must say to them, that they threw one heck of a party, woo hoo! As far as I could tell, everybody enjoyed themselves immensely, even the next morning turned out amusing. Well that's enough of my chit chat, hope you all enjoy the pictures.

New Year's Weekend!

I could call them O-FACE, but I prefer to call them the No Name Band.

Doug- drums

Jabin- guitar/vocals

Chad- bass/ vocals

Jonny- lead guitar/ lead vocals

Here they are, ladies don't swoon they're all taken, but damn that bassist is smoking hot!

Sidenote: it is extremely hard to dance, sing along, and videotape all at the same time.
Monday, January 1, 2007

A Year in Recap

So, I read my brother's blog the other day, and he gave a recap of all the things that went on for him and his family this year. So yet again, I will not be original, and I will steal this from my brother.(Honestly plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.)

In January we pulled Ashton out of regular middle school and decided to homeschool him. Within the next few months, as friends and family saw him, everyone remarked on how much he had improved. His speech was better, he seemed more outgoing and had loads of self-confidence. Score one for the Ash! In February, Kenan turned 11 and decided school wasn't important anymore. He is currently (I am proud to say) back on track, finally. March and April went on like life always does. In May, the love of my life turned 30, we had a big party and everybody celebrated what an awesome guy he is. (I can't believe we've spent more than half of our lives together, already, I'm very lucky) In June, I got to spend a fabulous 5 days in Costa Rica with my two very best girlfriends, with no cares or worries. (see I told you he was an awesome guy) After we came back from Costa Rica, I got to spend an additional 3-4 days meeting my ultra cool niece and nephews, and visiting with the aforementioned big brother and his lovely, glowing, pregnant wife. July came and I got to go to the beach alot, and surf a little, and I remembered why I liked being a stay at home mom. Yes, they still fight alot, but for some reason I took it in stride. In August, my pretty girl turned 9, and we made the big decision to take her out of regular school and homeschool her as well as Ashton. In September, not only did I turn 30, but my oldest son, turned 13, OMG! In October we had a lot of fun planning for Halloween (the one holiday everyone is excited about in my house) and the kids totally rocked their costumes. Spawn, a Shaolin Monk, and a Beautiful, yet deadly Ninja. In November, we had a great Thanksgiving, lots of people and lots of fun. I can't believe it but here we are at the end already, Xmas came yesterday. It was great. I had earlier lamented the fact that my kids were too old for toys and such, but my husband proved me wrong yet again. They received mega amounts of fun, cool toys. Genevieve is at this moment pelting me with her Nerf Blaster gun, (who gave her this thing), and giggling maniacally. The boys are playing with their dad. I am currently counting all my blessings. Lots of things happened in between, we went camping, the boys had their "first official up all night geeked-out on games" evening. I started gardening, which I'm really excited about.Parties and massive amounts of mischief. The year however, is not over yet. Chad is playing his first official gig, next week on the 30th. Which I am extremely excited and proud about, he is a great musician. Then we have New Year's to contend with.

It's good, real good.

To: You

From: Us

Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year!

I do believe in fairies, I do, I do!

I got

my Xmas

spirit back. Yeah!

I know for all you scrooges

out there, this may

seem trivial, but to me

it means alot. It came in the

form of a free Xmas tree, two to be exact.

I picked up my very cute nephews

from school yesterday and thought

it would be fun to go and look at the trees.

So we went, while we were walking around we heard

how they were going to throw

away a whole trailer full of trees. So

we go over to check them out and the gentleman

tells me, he is going to write them off and I could have them

if I wanted, but they probably won't last until Xmas.

*Poof*, a little twinkle came over me and I declared

that with a lot of love and water they would be just fine. Well

he looked at me like I was nuts and walked away. Luckily, I had Chad's

work truck with me and I pulled it up to the trailer and threw two beautiful trees in the back. We pulled out of the lot, tires squealing, feeling like it was too good to be true. I got home and cut a ton of branches off of them, sawed the trunk way up and gave them lots of *love* and water. Then I called a friend over, who had also been in need of a tree, and gave her the other one. *BAM*, there it was,

that old wonderful feeling came back with a

vengeance. So today, now that it's sat for a

night, we are going to decorate our tree. We are

also going to start the baking, and the

Xmas carol singing, the crafts, and the gift giving.

Watch out Ebenezer.

Do you ever feel like talking to yourself?

I told Chad the other day that I realized I like to talk. He wasn't surprised, maybe even a little amused. I frequently find myself having conversations with myself, I even answer back. Now, I have heard that's a sign of mental instability, frankly me and myself don't believe that. I think that's what a blog is, right, I mean you are talking to yourself. Maybe in hopes that you will be read by millions or just friends and family, but essentially you're talking to yourself. I think that during the day when I need adult company that's all I'm doing, just talking to myself with hope that someone will come along and talk with me. Maybe that's why somedays I blog alot and others not at all. Either way I've decided that yes, I like to talk alot, no, I don't care what you think, and be grateful that I don't fill your ears with all the nonsense I fill mine with.