Month: January 2013

So, last night b set up the play station move in the living room. As I’m doing dishes, I hear the boys laughing and all having a good time. B challenges me first to a game of disc golf…lets just say there was one element missing that must be the only reason disc golf is fun…not that I’ve ever played disc golf. Then, b challenges me to bocci ball. I changed my avatar because my avatar while playing disc golf threw herself on the ground and had a tantrum…seriously! Well, I ditched belle and selected Giselle. Giselle had on booty shorts (shear). With a thong
underneath…I think. Chet kept asking why she had a wedgie. B kept asking I’if I wanted to play another match. 😉

Then, at 4 am, big brudder woke with a headache. I gave him Advil and sent him back to bed. Didn’t take his temp or anything. Then, dentist and orthodontist. We get home this afternoon, guess who has fever…and an earache. Mother. Of. The. Year.

On the bright side, the expander is working nicely AND I’m getting some serious cuddles in!

Xoxo

Maybe I’m late to this realization. Early this morning as I was reading about the latest school shooting, and how the shooter was possibly tormented by classmates, I had a thought. We would never say to a person who had been verbally or physically abused by their spouse, “oh, this is just part of life. It will make you stronger one day.” Why then, can we justify teasing, name calling and physical violence perpetrated by one child onto another with this rationale?  I realize that yes, bullying can make one stronger IF they can muster through.  But sometimes, bullying does exactly what it’s intended to do.  It can make a child feel worthless, sad, depressed, angry, alone.  It’s the last one that breaks my heart the most. Alone.

I recognize there are some problems with my thought process. In the case of kids, they are both kids. The perpetrator can not see the potential for lasting effects. That’s where it’s our job as moms and dads and grandparents, aunties, uncles, teachers, pastors, friends to instill kindness. Instill empathy. Instill compassion. Instill a sense of right.

I can’t say I never said ugly things about people. I’d be a liar if I did. This fact makes me sad. I wish I could take back some of the hurt I probably caused some poor child in middle school. I wish I’d had the courage to stand up for the weird, the quiet, the chunky, the one with glasses, or the one who just didn’t quite fit in. I am teaching my children this, I hope.

I’m not saying shooting your bully is ever an okay option. It’s not. But the human brain has a breaking point. A child’s breaking point may be lower than yours or mine now that we are grownups…

As I see schools trying to combat bullying with zero tolerance policies and participating in Rachel’s Challenge, I still see lots of hate oozing from children. What’s the culprit? What can we do? What can I do? Am I perfect?  Heck no!  Do I judge people?  Sure.  Do I say things I shouldn’t or wish that I hadn’t.  Yep.  I do try and stop and realize what I’ve said and think about it. Recognize it. Own it. Hopefully, learn from it. I don’t think we are a family of bullies. We try to live our lives in a way that makes us proud of ourselves and each other.  So, I am saddened. I will begin looking, scouring for a way to make it stop.

With peace and love in my heart,
K

So the new year started off with a bang! Brian and I had a fun, relaxing date night have a couple of shiners and playing shuffle board (it really IS fun) and enjoying each others company. Then, bang! On our way home, we get a call from Brian’s sister. Joe and Chet had a meeting of the minds and Chet’s lip is busted.

We drive (proud no speeding was involved) to the ER to meet Brian’s mom and dad with the wee one. Holy cow! He’s bitten a hole through his lip! First ER doc says. I’ll stitch him up, no problem. Ten minutes later, he comes back in…well, this is more complex than I thought. I want to give you the option of going to a hospital with a plastics doctor on call. So at 11 pm, we head to San Antonio. The ER doc tries to basically bully us into letting her stitch the wee ones lip. We almost give in, but the nurse says, “are you SURE you don’t want to wait for plastics?” It turns out a PS won’t come in in the middle of the night unless it’s a life or death situation. So at 3 am they tell us to come back tomorrow at 7. Fortunately, there was a motel 6 right across the street. The three of us got a few hours of shut eye and headed BAKC across the street at 7 where we check into the 2nd ER for the third time. We wait for about an hour and then are told a PS won’t come see us until 6 pm but one could work us into his schedule at his office. So, we make another trek to the PS office where for the first time I hear the wee one cry (shriek, really) at the sight of a needle. Numbing shot in. Watched the doc clean the wound really, REALLY well., and then stitch my baby up with what looked like a gold toned fishing hook.

So far so good. The swelling is down and he’s able to talk and eat nicely. He’s easing over his fears of re-injury at school.

After all this craziness, we were all ready to get back into a routine!

Last night, I was bribing the boys to try avocado (didn’t work…they wouldn’t do it). I told them avocado was really good for their testicles. It is. Don’t judge! So, j says, “I don’t know what those are.”
So I explained their location. He said, “are they to aid in our buoyancy?” After in turned around to hide my laughter and composed myself, I said “No, babe. They are part of your reproductive system.” He says, “are they sperm holders.” I say, “yep, bud, they are.” I guess he’s watched enough animal planet and various documentaries to know more than mom. He’s always good for a chuckle. I did explain that sperm, testicles and reproductive systems were not information we need to pass along at school. We shall see how long before I get a phone call or email about that.

Xoxoxo