Monday...

Some Mondays are better than others... Some Mondays are not too bad... Some Mondays are great... Some Mondays can go be somewhere else and not happen and disappear and go to hell and never ever come back ever ever again.
I guess if the weekend ended on a Monday and the work week started on a Tuesday, I'd be hating on Tuesdays... If the work week was switched with what we call the weekends, and the work week consisted of Saturday and Sunday, I'd be hating on Saturdays... I don't know. Just another random thought that I probably gave much more thought to than it deserved...

Brothers...

With four kids, life tends to get interesting sometimes. Going to the grocery store could become challenging. The three eldest being boys can be quite a handful. They are active and rambunctious and full of energy, like little ferrets hopped up on Red Bull and candy bars.
When all four of them are playing together, it's really cute to see. Ages ranging from 2 to 12... You would think they didn't have too much in common, but somehow they manage. My daughter usually gets bored and goes off to play "I'm Pwintheth Poofy Panth! Yay ME!" on her own leaving the three boys... (As a side note: Is it  wrong that I find amusement in watching my two year old, who, when watching Dora, will freak out when Swiper comes to swipe? "Do-wah! DO-WAH! IT'S THWIPER! OH MY DOSH! THWIIIIIIIIPERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! DOOOOOOOOO-WAAAAAAAAAAAH! Thwiper no thwiping! NO THWIPING!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! He THWIPING! AAAAAAH! THWIPER, NO THWIPING! THWIPER, NO THWIPING! THWIPER, NOOOOOOOOOOOO THWIIIIIIIIIPEEEEEEEEEEEEENG!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!")
I am being reassured by Lucky's mom (having raised three boys herself) that eventually they do start to get along... Seeing Lucky with his brothers, you would think, "No... They CAN'T have fought... Ever! They must have ALWAYS gotten along!" Apparently that is NOT the case. So I am still clinging to the hope that there will come a day when I will see my sons hanging out like old pals... In the meantime, I have to go break up another spat... Apparently we have a "cootie burger with cheese touch", a "snot rag" and a "Doofus Mc Stupid" in the house...<Sigh!>

Siblings...

"Quit hittin' yourself..." or variations thereof... I get to witness something along those lines like all the friggin' time. With three boys and a girl, I get that there are going to be sibling spats and stuff. I get that they are going to tease and taunt each other and fight and torture and abuse the ever lovin' snot out of each other.
I grew up with an older sister. She was the most sadistic bitch on the face of the planet. At eleven years older than me, she had the upper hand for quite a while. I was the subject of many "science experiments" and ridicule and torture and torment for a good portion of my young life. Her idea of playing a game with me was, "I'm gonna hit you with these objects here and you're going to tell me if it hurts or not..."
The feather and the pillow were okay. So were the teddy bear and the socks. It was when we got to the rocks and the claw hammer...
My kids, for the most part, get along well and when they aren't fighting, they spend very quality time together doing whatever, whether it's sitting and watching a movie, playing outside, playing a board game, doing arts and crafts, building a fort. And some of the time, they'll camp out together and sleep in a pile on the floor like a litter of kittens... You get the idea. It's really cool. Sure they have their moments, but I suppose in the grand scheme of things, it could be a lot worse...

...Ya know?

You would think that since the pre-teen doesn't like to be grounded, that he would avoid doing the things that would get him grounded... YOU WOULD THINK!
It's not like I ask for him to perform rocket surgery or brain science. Nope. Just a little bit of cooperation... I tried to explain that to him, but of course I'm just a big dork who doesn't know anything... Goosfraba! This too shall pass...

Babies and dogs...

What is it about babies or little ones with dogs that I find to be so gosh darn cute? Is it that they're probably on the same intellectual level and can communicate with each other and understand one another because neither one of them can talk? Is it that the dog sees the child as "my puppy" and will tend to the child as such? Maybe it's just the bond that I can see between a child and their dog... I don't know. I think all children need to grow up with a dog in their lives.
My mom hates dogs. But, she's a miserable martyr complex-ed bitch. Or maybe that's the reason why she is... I don't know.

"Stupid BITCH!"

With all the words available to us in the English language (or other languages, for those of us who are multi-lingual), you would think that people could come up with something a little more original when trying to insult someone. I must get called "stupid bitch" at least ten times or so in a given month. Maybe more given the time of year it is... Whether it was because I accidentally bumped into someone, I got the parking spot before them, I almost allowed myself to get hit by their car, a kneed someone in the groin because they deserved it... Maybe it was a perceived (by them) but unintentional (on my part) slight or maybe it was because they were having a shitty day and needed to unload by verbally taking their aggression out on a stranger or not-so-stranger... Whatever. It's always the same thing. "Stupid bitch!" Really? I mean, I don't see how the mental deficiency of a female dog has anything to do with the situation... Meh... I usually shoot back with the standard, "Pfft! That's the best you can do? And you're calling ME a 'stupid bitch'?..." Seriously. There are so many other things that you can say about someone that would get the job done so much better... With a little bit of creativity, the sky's the limit here.
There's always the pointing out the obvious. Again... Meh. I'm sure that they are quite aware of the fact that they are fat or ugly or short or freakish in some way. Most people are quite sensitive about their shortcomings and will do their best to hide them instead of fix them (that is if they can be fixed at all...). As far as the creativity there? Well, there really isn't.
Confusing the offender is a great tactic, but only if the offender has the remotest bit of intelligence. It gets wasted on the less than intelligent...
Going off on a complete tirade is also pretty fun, but it's time consuming and wastes quite a bit of energy. Meh... I reserve those only for those who truly deserve it AND may be worth the time and effort.
The kindergarten, "You're a poopie head!" tactic and sticking your tongue out done in a very childishly mocking way is also quite amusing in some instances.
The "making the world stop" stare is also a great one. This is the one where you stop everything that you're doing and stare at the offender with a look of pure disdain and disgust. It requires a strong "stare down technique" because no words are used. You have to be able to make a person feel stupid with just a look.
I know that "lazy" is just something that everybody does now. I get it. And there's so little creativity in the world these days... Not too much "new". It's just the same old shit repackaged. We need to get motivated people! Who's with me? .... Hello? Aww! Never mind then! Screw you! Ya stupid bitches!

School these days...

We've come to the end of the first marking period at the kids' schools. We moved from a podunk little town to a bigger community and there is a HUGE difference in the quality of the schools.
The public school system in podunk was a nightmare. A cookie cutter, white bread, winter wonderland friggin' nightmare. I am talking about US being the token minorities of this town, kind of nightmare. The school administration and staff were not able to handle anything other than average, "normal", garden variety, cookie cutter types and it showed.
The cookie cutter faculty and administration at the schools were wretched. They all plastered on their fake smiles and patronizing natures and spewed bullshit platitudes and nothing was ever done. I started barking louder. The smiles disappeared. I started barking even louder and the patronization went away. I came at them with everything and they started getting defensive. These people were terrible.
My eldest son was the constant target for bullies. I must have stormed the school at least twice a week, EVERY WEEK to confront administrative staff regarding the bullies AND the faculty who did nothing despite the fact that my son was asking for the help.
A fine example: My boy once got chased around the playground by a group of boys armed with sticks. They eventually caught up to him and started hitting him with the sticks. My boy went to go tell on them and the response he got from the teacher was, "Get over it kid. You weren't hurt that bad..." Of course, when I went into the school to confront this teacher, she hid behind the administration and the administration allowed her to.
Fine. So be it. I went into the school and gave them their final warning. If nothing was to be done by them and they were going to sit on their thumbs, then I would do something about it. The first thing I did was tell my boy, he IS allowed to defend himself. The school convinced him that he was NOT allowed to do this. Are you kidding me? The school wasn't going to do anything AND my boy didn't have any recourse?Whatever.  I know my boy is more than capable of defending himself.
The second thing I started to do was call the police when incidents occurred at school. If the administration wasn't going to answer to me, they would HAVE to answer to the police. Not only would the school have to answer, but the parents of the children would have to come forward and answer for their children's actions as well.
Well, now, come to find out that this kind of shit happens everywhere. They call it a "no tolerance policy". A "no tolerance" policy sounds great... Put into practice? Not so much. I get how the schools are trying to make sure that the situation when it happens doesn't escalate right then and there. Understandable. On the other side of that, to not punish the instigator basically allows them to get away with their actions and let's them gear up to do it again. What of a situation like that and it escalates... What isn't tolerated is kids fighting back or defending themselves. The other thing that isn't tolerated is making the administrative staff answerable to anything.
If your child is harassed by a group of 6 or 7 kids, chased down a hall, roughed up and ultimately pushed down a flight of stairs, well, apparently, that's NOT a bullying issue and will not be handled as such. The way to go is a half assed "investigation" which is basically,
Teacher: Did you guys chase him down, rough him up and push him down the stairs?
Kids: No.
Teachers: See? CLEARLY not a case of bullying.
Then peer mediation, and a denial of the victims accusations before everything is neatly swept under the rug.
WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!! Me? Uh-uh. I don't think so. I've called up the police so that THEY can do an investigation, and they can try and tangle with my Jewish cobra. My Mitchie, my best friend, my lawyer.
The only advocates that children really have in school are their parents. It's unfortunate that as parents, we can't hang out with our kids in school to make sure that things like this don't happen. We send our kids off in the morning in the hopes that they come home, unharmed, unscathed and happy. A large portion of the time, no big deal. It's that one incident that can throw you for quite a loop. And when you're met with non-cooperation by the very people who, during the school hours should be making sure that things like this don't happen, how are you supposed to deal.
I get that middle school is a tough time. A weird age, all sorts of stuff, the pre-teen whatever... I get it. As far as 12-13 year old boys? They have their moments. Mine is no different. But as far as I'm concerned, he's never done anything to these other boys that merited him getting pushed down the stairs. So now? Everyone at the school tells me that their hands are tied, yet in the meantime, my son comes home to tell me that these same boys still verbally harass him whenever they get the chance and the school's hands are still tied. A great way to get them untied? Writing letters. There are several people that they do need to answer to. The Board of Ed, the superintendent of schools, police, other outraged parents in the same boat and the public.
Holy cow! When did things get so friggin' difficult? I remember a time when it was just, someone had a problem with you, you took it outside at recess, you scuffled and done. A week later, you're sitting down for juice and cookies at the kid's house and you've become BFFs. It's either that people today, including children, are becoming much more like animals that we need to have these policies put in place or we're becoming more like animals because of them... I'm not sure which is more terrifying and we're running out of room in that hand basket there...

Prayer...

I have read the bible and done some bible study, purely out of curiosity. I'm not saying I'm not spiritual, I'm not saying I don't have faith, and I will never claim to not having ever prayed ever either.
I don't know whether what I did was considered prayer or if it was wishing out loud... Sometimes they were "heard", other times... Well, no. There's a wrong way, there's no such thing as a wrong way. The book says this, the book says that... I just don't get it.
I tend to ask a lot of questions when it comes to the whole God/ bible/ religion thing. I've really never heard a concise answer. I just hear a lot of how theirs is the correct path and list the many reasons as to why everybody else is misled. I know that until I get there, I'll never be able to subscribe to a single belief. I'll just keep chugging along with what I'm doing. If I have to answer for it later, then, I guess everybody was wrong. God is just a mean bully with issues. If this guy is as understanding as most would have you believe, I think I'm going to be okay. In the meantime, we don't see eye to eye about a lot of stuff and I am always going to ask questions and keep on demanding answers. It's just how I'm wired. For something as important "where to place my faith", I just don't think it should be done willy nilly at the first thing that sounds good...

Indifference...

There is a lot of indifference in the world. It mostly has to do with people and their selfish natures and the lack of humanity thing that is spreading like a disease. People are suffering from entitlement complexes believing full damn well that they should be able to have their cake and eat it too and who gives a shit about anybody else. "I deserve it!"
What they deserve is a swift kick in the ass and a bat upside the head. I get the indifference thing. There are some situations where one is not able to do anything, but the stresses from said situation may spur one into action anyway. A small measure of indifference and the time could be better spent on something else.
I am talking about the indifference in a situation where one can do something but won't, simply because of their selfish nature and poor character. What makes it more sad is that they show this lack of character and they giggle and point in someone else's direction while NOT doing what they SHOULD be doing.
<Sigh!> We need "Anarchy for a Day" day. I'd set a few things right...

HELP! I'm surrounded by STUPID PEOPLE! They're EVERYWHERE!

I know I post quite a bit about the stupid people I come across... In truth, if I posted about ALL the stupid people I came across, I'd have to start a whole new blog JUST about the stupid people. Seriously.
I gave this a whole lot of thought. Probably way more than it deserved. I mean, to the point where I actually started to question my own intelligence...
See, the thing of it is, these stupid people think that they are reasonably intelligent or smarter and try to pass off their stupidity as intelligence. What makes it worse is that they believe everyone around them to be the idiots, which fuels them to spew even MORE of their stupidity to prove (more to themselves) that they are not stupid. Then they have to add to it by trying to point out that they are smart and you are not using less than logical arguments. I often find that just having been in the vicinity of such stupid people lowers my I.Q. temporarily...
And trying to have a rational discussion with these people? Forget it. THAT is a lesson in futility. They lie, use dirty tactics, make excuses and blame everybody else for everything. And again, the arguments themselves make no logical sense what so ever... <Sigh!>
It's fun to mess with their tiny little minds though. Just keep throwing logical arguments  at them and watch them struggle to stay afloat by trying to fabricate counter arguments, then eventually watch them flounder around in the pool of shit they created for themselves when you start calling them out on it...
Yes, much like the lady who ran the stop sign and damn near hit my fuckin' car and had the balls to tell me she had the right of way...
1.) You sorry excuse for human intelligence, "meeting" at a three way intersection, you had a stop sign, I did not. Guess what, I have the right of way. You're an ass.
2.) If there is a car already IN the intersection, that car has the right of way and maybe you should fuckin' wait until the car is out of said intersection before trying to go peeling into the already occupied intersection. Stop beeping at me  and if you flip me the bird one more time, I'm going to get out of my car and break that finger off. You're an flaming retard.
3.) No, I am not blind. I saw I had no stop sign and also took notice that you did. Your town called looking for you. They offered me money to keep you. I declined and paid them to take you back.

To sum up: The octagonal RED SIGN you saw that says STOP, means stop. Shut the fuck up, stop beeping and keep your hand gestures to yourself. You're a waste of space and perhaps you should go crawl under a rock and die. You'd be doing the world a favor.

Don't laugh...

No... Don't.... Laugh.... Must... NOT..... LAUGH.....
I have issues with that sometimes. I KNOW that there are certain things that I shouldn't be laughing at and I do try. There are certain situations when I shouldn't laugh, but what can I say?  I find humor in the oddest places and let's just say sometimes I laugh when it's a bit... Inappropriate.
Sometimes it gets triggered by something that I saw. I once saw a lady take a pretty good digger in a parking lot. She was a rather large, hefty woman. She ended up rolling around like a pill bug and and in trying to reorient herself, she looked like a turtle on its back. She scraped up her knee pretty good, but she didn't really get hurt. I asked her if she was okay, and she said she was fine... Granted I was chuckling when I asked...
It could be something that I heard that triggers the inappropriate laughter. When in an elevator, A man and a woman were talking about a rather harrowing experience the man had about his mother ending up in the hospital after a bad heart attack. That wasn't he part I was laughing about. He said something about running around like a chicken with it's head cut off... Something about the image of a headless chicken running around.... I couldn't get out of that elevator fast enough.
I have episodes when I'm not even paying attention. I might have a random thought pop into my head that I find quite amusing and sometimes, I might start to laugh... But because it's me, it will be at the most inopportune time... Like at a funeral or something.
As much as I'd like to able to say, "It's not me!" it is. Oh well... Chalk it up to another quirk I guess... It's one I'm trying to work on, but I don't have too much faith that this one is something I'm going to be able to change...

Smile! Uh... Never mind...

Maybe this is another one of those things that I think about way too much, but it's something that always pops into my head. Is there such a thing as smiling too much or too little? I know I can be cranky sometimes and I'll sport "the puss" and my smile? Yeah... If you've been following along, you know that my smile is pretty "special"... But there are people who are constantly walking around with "the puss" on their faces... Even when they're smiling, they're not... Actually, it's kind of creepy looking when they smile, either that or gross because it's a mixture of "psychotic meltdown" meets "constipation".
Then there are these idiots that are smiling ALL THE TIME. That's kind of creepy too. I mean, no matter what's going on, they're smiling. Makes you kind of wonder what the fuck is wrong with them, like "maybe they're mom dropped them on their heads when they were babies" or "HOLY SHIT! I think this one is going to snap... Hit the deck!"
I try to make it a point to try and smile, despite the "special" quality that mine has simply because it helps to reflect what I feel on the inside. I gave this another one of those "reflective moment" things...
I am forced to live with my parents because "certain situations and events" ultimately lead to my children and I  having to have to be here. But at the end of the day, my children and I have a roof over our heads, food on the table, we are warm, we are clean, we are comfortable and  I am able to care for them the way they should be cared for  because we DO have a roof over our heads. Granted, if certain situations were to change, I'd be packed and outta here like a bat outta hell, with the kids in tow in 0.2 seconds flat, but "certain situations" won't ever change because "certain people" won't ever change their stripes, so to speak. Meh... I'm working towards my own goals. To hell with "certain people".
My children and I have our health and we are chugging forward through life. Sure, there are moments of "drama" that come up, but fortunately, they are quickly forgotten and everything and everyone moves forward. The older ones are beginning to see "manipulations" for what they are, and they have been learning the difference between moving forward and wallowing in self pity. They are learning the importance of working hard and doing things for yourself because they won't be done for you. They are learning to appreciate the value of things, the quality of people and that happiness doesn't come in a box, nor does it come from lying to yourself about who and what you are. Valuable lessons that need to be felt and seen rather than just preached.
We have the people who matter to us and the people who we matter to always close by. When the shit hits the fan, the back up is there. They are there to share the load in our woes, to celebrate with us in our triumphs and there is never a fear of rejection or harsh criticism or judgment. There is love and support and a true family spirit that we carry with us throughout our days.
We all still have our "wants" sure. Who doesn't, but as far as out needs, they are all met in spades.  We have plenty of things that we can be thankful for and smile about and despite my pessimistic nature, I know that everything will eventually work itself out.

Scary looking dogs...

I've met some pretty scary looking dogs in my time. Large ferocious looking animals... In some instances, they were in fact scary. They would have ripped your arm off and played squeak toy with your head. Then there are the ones that look ferocious, but you say "PUPPY! Who wants a tummy rub?" and the tail is wagging, the goofy doggie smile, the doggie "Play?!?" position, and bam! Right over onto the back and the paws are flopping around all over the place for the "Rub my tummy! Rub my tummy!!! Me, me, me!!! Me wants a tummy rub!"
There are so many breeds of dogs that get such a bad rap. Pitbulls and mastiffs and rotties and dobies... Some of the sweetest dogs I've met were pitbulls and mastiffs and rotties and dobies...
I'm not saying you should run up to EVERY dog and make friends. I know that it is the philosophy of THAT kind of man that "All big dogs are my friends!" (Lucky happens to be one... And it's rather strange but there hasn't been a dog he's met that DIDN'T liked him...) By all means, assess to make sure that the dog is friendly, but it is another one of those, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" thing... I'm just sayin'...

I'm not sure why...

Stolen food ALWAYS tastes better... Especially stolen food off of someone else's plate. I really can't explain it. You could be eating the same thing as the person sitting next to you or it could be simple just to get up and grab the same thing as whatever it is that someone else is eating. It's the grabbing of the nom off of someone else's plate that makes it taste good because of the special FLAVOR that gets added because it belonged to someone else. Tell me you haven't nommed off of somebody's plate and thought, "Damn! That was GOOD!". I'm not talking about nomming off the plate when someone is like, "Here, try this..." I am talking about 100% table sharking of a nommy bit off of someone's plate and nomming the ever lovin' crap out of it.
I once grabbed a chicken breast off of someone's plate, realized I couldn't shove the whole thing in my mouth and licked it to claim it as mine... Okay, fine! It was about a week ago, but still... It didn't quite work... Lucky took it back and ate it anyway. He tried to share, but in doing that, it didn't taste the same any more... I guess in some instances it doesn't work.
My dad stabbed me in the hand with a chopstick once... Not that it stopped me from trying to nom off of his plate... I became adept and fast. I thought of it as training. It helped me to become the nom nom table shark that I am today...
I'm just saying, noms are good. Noms off of somebody else's plate is nommier...

Night people...

 Fear not the night.
Fear that which walks the night.
And *I* am that which walks the night.

But only evil need fear me …
and gentle souls sleep safe in their beds… 
because I walk the night. 

By Dave Grossman 

Lucky is a midnight shift cop... He spends a good portion of his life in the dark... The definition of "butt white" came from someone having seen his ass. It is so white, it's blue. He sleeps during the day and lurks around the shadows at night... Much like a vampire. When he HAS to be traversing the sunlit world, he always wears the dark sunglasses and whines about how bright it is...
But when the shit hits the fan during the scary, scary night, this is a man who will rush into a house filled with smoke to rescue puppies. This is a man who will trek through the woods on foot, in the dark for many miles in search of a missing person. This is a man who will respond to all sorts of horrific accidents and incidents... Rain, snow, humidity, cold, whatever...It doesn't matter. He says it's just a job, but I know that if it truly were, there wouldn't be the passion and effort he shows in doing the job. Another reason of the multitudes that I love him and I am VERY proud to be able to say, "Yeah. I'm HIS girl!" every day.
Regardless of how you feel about them, Firefighters, EMTs, Paramedics and police officers work the streets night and day to keep people safe. They miss their families to take care of yours. In 2010, there were 85 firefighters, 39 EMTs and 160 Police Officers killed in the line of duty. If you are a firefighter, emt, paramedic, police officer, Thank you. If you love one, or appreciate one, or know one or even just see one, just take a moment to thank them.

He's stupid, but he means well...

This story involves Otis, a baby and the UPS guy...
When my middle son was born and he came home from the hospital, Otis would not leave his side. If the baby was in the bouncy seat, Otis was right there. If the baby was in the bassinet, Otis was right there. If the baby was in the carrier, Otis was right there. If the baby was on the floor all lump like, Otis was right there. Otis was absolutely fascinated by the baby. To him, THAT was his. If the baby so much as made a squeak, Otis was running around like an idiot, making sure that the baby was okay. Diaper changes were supervised by him, feedings, naps, you name it.
When my son was about two months old, we were visiting with my parents. He was being all lump like on a big blanket on the floor of the TV room and Otis was on the blanket next to him. The doorbell rang. Quick as a flash, Otis was at the door. When I went to open it, there was the UPS guy doing his UPS thing, delivering packages and there was Otis, hackles raised barking away like a raving lunatic dog from hell. He ran back into the TV room and came back a few seconds later to resume his barkity barking. He repeated this process a couple more times as I signed for the package and apologized to the UPS guy. With the package put into the kitchen, I went to check on my son...
Entering the room, I saw quite a sight... Otis was peeing on the baby. Yuck! He had marked the whole perimeter of the blanket and then the baby himself. Then he lay down right next to my son, satisfied that he had done his job. I couldn't bring myself to yell at the dog... Everything was thrown into the wash, the baby got a thorough bath... Twice and Otis got a cookie. What was I going to do? He was just protecting "his puppy" from the evil UPS menace...

How to confuse a baby and their revenge...

Is this a universal game or what? Beeping or Booping or Honking the nose... It confuses the ever lovin' crap out of a small baby. It's kinda funny to see their reaction... Their eyes go all wonky because they're trying to follow where your finger is going and as they are trying to process that, BOOP! The nose gets touched and then they're trying to process that... You laugh yourself stupid over it and the game continues. That is until...
There does come a day when laughter becomes a trigger for the little ones too. They start to find amusement in things. Eventually, they get enough coordination to be able to touch your face and you think "Aww! How CUTE!" That's when BAM! you get a baby fist right in the CORNEA! You're going "OW! (#^$%(@&^$(&^! OW! That hurt! Oo, ow, owie, ow, ow!" Once the initial pain subsides, you will come to see that this time, it's the baby laughing him or herself stupid...

Cue Music!

Some things in life deserve to have their own theme music. C'mon. We've all done it! Something's going on and all of a sudden you feel the music... The theme song that somehow defines that moment. I am not talking about the stupid song that gets stuck in your head. (Currently, mine is "Turning Japanese"... Again. Go figure...)
Perfect example: Won the game! (We are the Champions -Queen) and who hasn't "Dun dun Dun dah, dun dun dun dah"-ed the Mission Impossible theme song when doing something they shouldn't be at least once in their lives?
Life can have it's moments where, I think, they deserve a theme song. Certain moments in my life have their own songs. Certain people have their own songs. I'm not saying that I have a constant soundtrack going on in my head, but there are times when the little people in the control tower area of my brain go through the iPod and cue a song that fits the moment... Sometimes, they're spot on. There have been times when... Well... Not so much. Which is probably a reason why I giggle at inappropriate times every once in a while.
Life is short and it's only going to be as interesting as you're going to make it for yourself... Yeah, I know. Mia's quirk #126. Theme songs.

The reason kids are so friggin' cute...

It's hard to stay angry at a child. The sad, "I'm sorry" face is the reason why. It's the reason why kids seem so friggin' cute when you're trying to be mad at them. It's a survival mechanism... Imagine some of the things they do... Then imagine if they were ugly, hateful little creatures with misshapen heads and features... Probably wouldn't go over as well.
I just survived through a 35 minute temper tantrum thrown by a very angry little two year old because I wouldn't let her eat the giant candy bar that she found. I told her that it was close to supper time and that if she did well, she could have a piece for dessert. She did not agree with me. Her shrill cries were probably heard throughout a five mile radius and I'm sure that we will be reading in the local paper about a bizarre incident where bats were flying into walls and windows, dogs were howling, cats were going crazy and local wildlife of all sorts were running amok in the streets trying to get away from some kind of "invisible predator" in droves.
When she was done with the screaming, I pulled out the ear plugs and sat with her on the bed. I was going to read her the riot act about behavior, but after looking at the tear stained face and the big, sad puppy dog eyes, I went with, "Don't do that again..." and gave her a hug. She fell asleep for a short while, a little 15 minute nap just to recharge, and lo and behold, she was my sweet little angel again.
I guess it does help that kids are cute, otherwise, I guess the species wouldn't have survived...

TV Time...

There's only two televisions in the house that are hooked up to cable. This poses a problem when there are seven people living under the same roof ranging in age from two to like I don't know... My dad has to be, like, 200 or something... Naturally, this poses a problem. We have different people with different "TV needs"... The TV room TV is the only one set up with satellite for Japanese television and pop usually wins out when claiming that it's his TV time... The scramble to the kitchen to see who gets the remote first (because it's never in the same place EVER...) to determine who will pick what everyone is watching.
Now, thankfully, there are TV's in the kids' rooms equipped with DVD players, but there are times when there's something on TV that someone HAS to watch or they'll be the only person in school who DIDN'T watch it and it's worse than the whole "cheese touch" thing... (Still have no idea what the "cheese touch" is...) Really? I remember when we didn't have access to cartoon all the time and we played outside and ran around and played with rocks and cardboard boxes.
I limit the amount of TV time they get because it turns then into little boob tube zombies. You know, the blank stares, their inattentive natures, the slack jawed, couch slouch, mini blobs. But there are times when it HAS to be TV time. Fine, I get that too. It's when they ALL want something different that it poses a problem, which is more often than not. Whatever...
They're starting to come around on the whole, not needing the TV thing. Sure they still watch your occasional cartoon and all, but in trying to curb the amount of TV they watch, it's been a slow process, but it's getting better. I want them to know that experiencing life is far better than just watching "life" (real or fake)happening on the TV. Besides, there's no way we're gonna be able to wrangle the remote away from  the old coot anyway...

Happy New Years!!!!

2011 is the year of the rabbit or so I'm told... Whatever... Happy New Years, everybunneh! See my bunnehs? Aren't they cute?