Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Is this parental alienation?

Tell me, is it alienation and interference when one parent cries when the children leave to go to their other parent's home, making them feel bad about leaving to go see their other parent?

Is it alienation when one parent complains about being alone if the kids go to their other parent's home so the kids worry and don't want to leave?

Is it alienation when one parent gets upset at the kids if they want to talk to the other parent on the phone or when the other parent calls, leaving them to feel bad and think their mother is mad at them?

Is it alienation when one parent reacts negatively at any indication the children are enjoying their family and time with their other parent?

Is it alienation when one parent does not encourage and facilitate a good relationship between the children and their other loving parent and other family?

Is it interference when one parent ridicules and dismisses the other parent's rules and consequences, giving the child the very real idea that they can do what they want when they want because that parent will excuse everything they do and don't have to listen to their other parent or abide by that parent's household rules like the rest of the kids do?

Is it interference (and pathetic) when one parent enjoys seeing the destruction of a child's relationship with their other parent?

Is it interference and alienation when one parent throws away correspondence from the other parent to the child before said child can read it or deletes emails from the other parent to the child before the child/ren can see them?

Is it interference and alienation when one parent allows (even instigates) and encourages the children to lie to their other parent?

Is it alienating for one parent to exclude the other parent from the child/ren's lives as much as possible?

My thoughts on this topic for the day.

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More Quotes That I Like...

The goal is to promote peace and love in this world. We must also live by the natural laws of this world as well. It is inappropriate to attack others, be it physically or psychologically; however, it is appropriate, and necessary, to defend ourselves when we are attacked.
--Author Unknown

Freedom from tyranny should extend to your home and children, and YOU are the only guardian of your child's mind and heart.
--Author Unknown

I didn't sleep with her. She's not my problem.
- - Syn (my thoughts on dealing with my husband's ex-gf!!)

They who feel no shame in doing what is obviously wrong, are the most shameful of all.
--Author Unknown

We are a product of the choices we make, not the circumstances that we face.
--Roger Crawford

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Monday, January 28, 2008

Parental Alienation Syndrome

Have you ever heard of it? My simple definition of it is when one parent knowingly or unknowingly interferes in a child's relationship with their other parent, to different degrees, to the detriment of their own child or children.

Here are some links:

Parental Alienation
PAS Conference Transcript

If you have personal experience with this, you are not alone!!

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Thyroid Update

Well, I've been on my new thyroid medication for a couple weeks now. No flighty mood changes since the very beginning so that has leveled off at least. No changes though either (yet) which I was really hoping to see sooner rather than later. I was hoping that the first prescribed level would be perfect and all these symptoms would disappear and all would be well. Not real realistic huh? Oh well. I get tested soon so I'll know where I stand then as far as prescription dosage. *Fingers crossed this is going to give me more relief of symptoms*

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Friday, January 11, 2008

Applicable Quotes

I like to find a good quote that means something to my life in some way or just strikes me as funny or good. The problem is I always lose them...never in the same place. So, I thought I'd post some quotes or sayings here as I find them so I don't lose them. These are the two I like this week:

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.


I'm not sure who said these. For quotes that I know the author's of, I will of course post that information to give credit where credit is due.

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Photo Contest

I submitted a photo into a photo contest and it's going to be published. You can vote on it by clicking here.

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Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Children's Grades & Parenting

Children’s Grades


Assuming the child understands the school work and is just choosing to not do his or her best to work to his or her potential, at what age does a parent stop being responsible for their child's bad grades? At what age does it stop being a parent's responsibility to look over the homework and make sure it is done to the child's best potential?

In my eyes, it is my responsibility to parent that kid and that means having certain expectations that I expect the child/ren to meet (or face consequences for) to the best of their ability (that isn't to say that if they don't understand and get a D, that's different but if they KNOW the work and choose NOT to do well, that's the issue here). I'm the parent. It is my responsibility to check over homework to ensure it is done. If it isn't done right, it is my responsibility to ensure it is. If they don't understand the schoolwork, it is up to me to help them understand to the best of my ability and encourage them to seek help from their teachers. I've lost count of how many "mom, I need help" or "dad, I need help" or just a cry of "I don't get this" we hear in the evenings but at least one of us is available to help them at all times. I'd rather they ask than give up, shut the book, and take the bad grade. If they choose not to do the homework right when they knew the work, it is my responsibility to give consequences until they do. If I see the child CHOOSING not to work to his or her potential, then it is my responsibility as a parent to step in and ensure the work is done correctly or implement consequences. I know you have to pick your battles, blah, blah, blah but a child's education is one of THE battles worth fighting for. My children's education is not negotiable. It'd be lazy parenting otherwise.

The schools nowadays have online grade systems where you can check your child's grades at any time or the kids keep assignment books and keep track of their percentages so they always know what their grade is at any given time. If a parent isn't checking that, and doing something about those bad grades, then shame on them! You should care enough to do more.

I may not be popular with my kid, should I ever have to monitor my kids that closely when it comes to their schoolwork (thankfully they are very conscientious about their homework and grades that it isn't an issue for us here yet), but ya know what? I've made plenty of other unpopular choices in other areas and even if the child didn't agree with it, it was still the right thing to do. Parenting isn't about popularity. Sometimes you have to make the unpopular choice that ticks your kid off. Let them stomp away and wish they could madly text their friend about what a bitch you are (but they can't because you took that cell phone away until the grades came up!) Parenting is about instilling values in your child to ready them to become responsible adults. It is about caring enough to have expectations for your child so they know you care enough and think they are smart enough to meet those expectations. If you don't expect anything of your kids, what a blow to their self esteem that must be to think you don't think they have what it takes to meet any expectations. I wouldn't want my child to think they didn't have any potential. It is about giving them consequences when they misbehave. That means removing video games, cell phones and computers from them if they choose to slack off. That means shutting off the tv. That means no karate until homework is done and done right. That means no running around with friends until homework is done correctly. That means being available for my child in the evenings so that I am there in the event they don't understand something while doing homework. That means temporarily restricting activities until they apply themselves, behave themselves, whatever. That means BEING A PARENT!!

I don't expect all A's from my kids (though I sure do love it when they bring them home, lol). I do expect them to work to the best of their ability when it comes to their education though. If they get a C but did the best they could do, then a C is a good grade. If they get a C because they chose not to do the homework even though they knew the work, then a C is not a good grade.

My point is, you don't do your child any favors by letting them off all the time, by giving excuses for misbehavior, irresponsibility, or disrespect. They'll just grow to be adults who can't take care of themselves, behave irresponsibly, and are disrespectful to bosses, spouses, etc. I want my kids to be able to function well in society as adults.

There are certain responsibilities a parent has when they choose to have a child. I see a lot of parents becoming buddies with their kids or making excuses for their kids bad behavior even when the rest of the world sees the bad behavior for what it is. If you want to be a parent, then BE a parent. What happened to this generation that actually parenting your child is suddenly too strict?

What do I expect from my kids? I expect that they treat each other and others well. I expect respect shown towards both parents. I expect honesty. I expect education to be important and for them to do the best they are capable of doing. I expect help with household chores. I expect a babysitter for a few minutes so I can run and shower, lol.

From this, they will learn honesty, compassion, responsibility and integrity. That doesn't seem like I'm expecting a lot over 18 years. Seems more like parenting to me.

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Monday, January 7, 2008

How to Treat Lice Safely

How To Treat Your Child's Lice Safely and Effectively

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Friday, January 4, 2008

JCPenney Winnie the Pooh Deluxe Playset Recall

I just returned from a trip to JCPenney to return my six-year-old daughter's Winnie the Pooh Playset she received from us for her birthday. It was recalled due to a violation of the lead paint standard. It was manufactured in China.



Just take it back, hand them two garbage bags full of Winnie the Pooh "stuff" (we didn't have the box anymore) and they refund all my money. Easy right? She'd played with it quite a bit, along with our other kids, but had basically moved onto other toys by the time the recall notice was sent so it didn't break her heart to lose it. It was more irritating to me - wondering about the lead exposure to the children. Wondering why all of these recalls of children's toys because of violations in China. Wondering if lead was always there before but never noticed or considered a huge hazard (or just ignored) or wondering if China is messing with the U.S.

Here are two websites to check for recalls of many different products, not just toys:

Recall.gov
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

If you have one of these Winnie the Pooh Deluxe Playsets, click here for more information.

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Thursday, January 3, 2008

Doc Changed My Thyroid Meds

Well, it's been about a week since my new doctor changed my thyroid medication (at my request so I was happy she was so readily agreeable to hearing me). I am hoping to see some relief from some irritating symptoms.

Previously, I had been on the same thyroid medication for 6.5 years, since I was first diagnosed. I was still having a lot of thyroid symptoms but my previous doctor, an endocrinologist, always brushed my symptoms off. Tired? Oh, you have kids. Stressed beyond belief? Oh, kids and "that" issue (we'll leave the "that" for another post in the blog...maybe). Hair falling out? Stress from kids and "that" issue. Itching? Whatever. Depressed? Can't be your thyroid because your levels are FINE. Symptoms must be related to something else. Irritable? Look at how many kids you have. Brain fog? Mom of four kids...again. Boy, my kids were blamed for almost everything! I'm sorry but if parents had THIS much BS to deal with regularly from their kids (and MY kids are basically good, sweet kids), if it affected them SO badly, I don't think people would continue to have kids. Besides, I had also been to my family doctor and my ob/gyn. Everything else was ruled out.

She was the only Endocrinologist in our area and she was who I went to. Then we moved. There isn't an Endo in our immediate area, but the doctor my husband goes to seemed like a possibility. It is a family and sports medicine practice and she specializes in "women's issues". Off I went to my appointments:)

I asked her at my second appointment if I could change to Armour. I explained that some of the symptoms were only evident since my thyroid disease diagnosis so either 1) the medication was causing it or 2) the medication wasn't enough to take care of the symptoms. She listened to me! It felt good to have a doctor open to hearing what I had to say or how I felt about my health.

I also didn't want synthetic hormones anymore (unless I have to). I won't be stupid and refuse the medication if Armour doesn't work and the other works better but I have to try. I want to try.

So, it's been about a week. My moods were a bit odd the first few days. I was a bit loopy for a couple hours (like an airhead, lol). I was relentlessly teasing with my husband. I'm not sure if that was medication related or just holiday related. He said I was getting annoying, lol. However, he also said if this new medication helped my moods, that'd be good. That must means he's willing to put up with my teasing. Yeah for me because he's fun to tease. After a few hours of being a bit of a ditz, I crashed for a little while. I was SO exhausted. That lasted a couple hours too and then I was back to my regular self. My moods seemed to have stabilized - no more off the wall goofiness or crashing a few hours later. Good!

So, now I wait. In about three weeks, I'll have my hormone levels tested through blood tests. If my doctor needs to adjust medication levels, she'll do so after she gets those test results.

Here's hoping to a noticeable improvement in thyroid symptoms! Cheers!

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Tuesday, January 1, 2008

New Year's Day

I got that kiss hubby and I missed last night thanks to too little sleep and a messed up work schedule:) Better late than never.

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Our New Year's Eve Celebration with Kids

Well, it started out big. My husband came home with Tequila, a bottle of red wine, and a bottle of Desorona. Everybody has seen the commercial about Desorona right? The woman with the ice cube, Desorona on the rocks, glances between the woman and bartender? So my husband comes home with THAT yesterday. It came in a kit too - two shot glasses and two rock glasses. They were were really cool glasses too. For our kids, we got what they call "kid wine" - grape juice with a bit of fizz. We make these rolled up tacos for dinner for everybody. They weren't bad surprisingly. Hubby and I have a drink (mine being REAL small since I don't generally drink). We pop in Santa Clause 3 (yes, we're a few days late but it's still a good movie) for the kids to watch while we make cookies. The cookies turned out perfect with the chocolate real creamy.

After the movie, the family plays 'Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader'. It turns out my 5th grader IS as smart as a 5th grader (guess her education is on target, lol). She wins that game. She even went one further and answered two million dollar questions and answered them both right. I got out on my second 4th grade question (something about poems). Dad, well, he didn't do that great. He got out at 1st grade on an oceans question. Some of those questions are hard! I don't remember learning some of that stuff back when I was in school...you know, before they had automobiles and you had to walk to school five miles while barefoot, up and down hills and through a foot of snow.

So, the game is over. Dad and I have another drink. Well, I have half a drink while hubby has another...on very little sleep. We take out snacks - chips, tortilla and salsa, cheese, meats, crackers. Everybody snacks for a bit until our two year old starts making a mess of the mustard so we put it all away. We'll take it out again later.

We make plans to take out some flashing stage lights (back from my husband's band days) later after it is good and dark so the kids can have fun dancing to bring in the New Year. My husband decides he is going to take a little nap. He's out in no time so I send the kids to play elsewhere for a little while so dad can get a little sleep so he can get up in a couple hours to finish celebrating with us. No dice. Dad does get up a little while later but it is just to go to bed, lol. He SAYS he is going to get up before midnight but we'll see.

So, dad goes to bed. Our two-year-old conks on the couch fast asleep. Next, our six-year-old drops off to sleep on the other couch. Two kids down, two to go. I get out the snacks for the remaining kids for a little bit and they watch Spongebob. My oldest falls asleep for a few minutes but then she's up. Yeah. I think she's going to make it.

At about 11:45 p.m., I go down to wake dad up. He's not getting up, says he is too tired. He has been going between 1st and 3rd shift this past week and his body clock is all messed up. I go back upstairs a bit disappointed. We've never missed that kiss for New Year's before. I'm thinking about making myself a margarita. I decide not to. I'm not much of a drinker so I grab some water instead.

So, my two oldest kids and I were up to meet the New Year together this year with two little ones fast asleep on the couches with us and dad downstairs dead to the world. We do our "yeah's" and kisses/hugs and stay up for about another hour together, watching the musicians on Dick Clark's annual new year show. My daughter is drooling over Jonas Brothers. We make a phone call to Aunt Sonja and Aunt Lori to wish them a Happy New Year. They sound like they've been having one helluva celebration earlier that evening. We talked for a bit and then it was time to tuck all our monkeys into bed.

It was the first time my son ever made it awake to greet the New Year. He was quite happy. The kids had a really good time celebrating with us. They want to do it again tonight but I'm not up to it. Next year. Maybe next year, we'll get a third child to stay awake to meet the New Year with us. Staying home with my kids and husband, celebrating together, is much more appealing to me than finding a sitter and leaving them at home to go out and deal with a bunch of drunken fools at a club or on the road. Yes, next year I think we'll stay home again. We had a good time.

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Mineral Girlz Make-Up - - - healthy for your skin






I have been a Mineral Girlz Consultant for several months now. There are so many different colors and fragrances to choose from. It truly is healthier for your skin. The make-up is light (so you don't need to worry about your teen daughter walking out the door looking gawdy, which is another thing I like about it). The fragrances are light so it's not like walking out the door smelling up the entire room as you walk through so no more perfume headaches for me, lol. I am afraid that I steal my daughter's Random gliderz because I really like the fragrance for myself (and I don't generally like perfumes...this is the first perfume I've actually worn in years).

Check it out! Order a few samples, try to soaps (they feel wonderful on your skin), have fun again with beauty products.

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Check Your Smoke Detectors...We had a scare yesterday!

This is a reminder to check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors TODAY. Change the batteries. We have both on both levels with batteries but after the scare we had a little while ago, I thought I'd better send a reminder out to our friends and family. I think I am going to pick up a few more too to be extra safe.

We were gone yesterday afternoon for one of our daughter's basketball games. When we came home, my daughter tried to turn her cable box on to watch tv and it wouldn't turn on. I told her to unplug it, wait a minute, and plug it back in to reset it. She's back within 20 seconds, telling me there is something wet and black on her plug. I go look - the plate was black where it had been plugged in and the plug itself is very hot. I put my hand in front of the plate and feel heat radiating off of it like a heater. I feel the wall around it and it is HOT from the electrical outlet to about 6-8 inches of wall above it. Damn! I call our local fire department and explain what I see and feel. He says he is right down the road and will come take a look. I'm scared but trying not to show it with the kids because they're all worried, especially my oldest who gets anxiety ridden over everything.

He arrives within two minutes and sees/feels the same thing I did so he unscrews the plate and sees black wires, burn marks, and says it is still arcing!! It shouldn't have been doing that - the circuit should have flipped before it got that bad. It didn't. Damn again! He puts his tester on it and we start flicking off circuits to find the right one. We find it and get it turned off so it doesn't start a fire in our wall. It shuts off the wall into the bedroom next door - my son's one big fish is going to freeze. I hope the pet store is open tomorrow because I am going to see if they'll take him for us before he dies. I'll dump some warm water in there periodically and keep the door shut to keep the room warm until then. We'll see. He is a butt ugly fish but I still don't want him to die.

My stomach is still in knots, thinking about the fire that could have started in my daughter's bedroom wall. We are going to have to call an electrician out here to replace the box in there, but I'm wondering if I should have all the electrical in the house checked and maybe updated. I'll be worried everytime I go to bed at night if I don't. Worried about my kids. I am also getting rid of the electrical baseboard heating in the bedrooms. Scares me too much.

So, if you haven't done it in a few months, check all your detector batteries. Make sure they all work. Replace old detectors. New ones aren't that expensive. Add more where you need them. I definitely am going to add a couple more. It may be overkill on the detectors but I don't care. Better safe than sorry.

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