Random Thoughts

Recently, I have vowed to be better about keeping my blog up to date.  Let's be honest, there for awhile I was becoming quite a slacker at keeping it current!  So my goal is to blog at least every other day without fail. Sometimes I have a lot going on in my life and other times I don't.  You may have noticed, I blogged twice yesterday - I was playing catch up!  This morning I feel like blogging but I don't have any real specific items to discuss.  I guess I will start with updates about past blogging and move to my random thoughts.

Sarah: As you well know, Sarah has an imaginary pink dinosaur that lives in our walls and also likes to travel in the doors of our car from time to time.  The pink dinosaur is still alive and kicking!  There have been some new developments that I would like to share with you. First of all, congratulations are in order!  Apparently she has given birth to a purple baby dinosaur! Exciting stuff, huh? As I have found out, this recent development comes with some restrictions.  One of which is getting "hushed" by Sarah at varying times because this purple baby dinosaur is sleeping.  Quite frankly, I find it very frustrating that "pink dinosaur" set up residency in my kitchen wall!  If  Sarah and "pink dinosaur" want peace and quiet they should have found a quieter location in the house to set up living quarters!  It also seems that pink dinosaur has given up kleptomania since having her baby - this is great news! Some other developments with Sarah; She has started taking dance lessons, started Day School and Mom's Day Out and is loving every minute of her activities. Almost nightly she asks, "When do I start kindergarten?"  She sure is in a hurry to grow up!

Olivia: She has been in school for about 10 days now. All is going well on this front except the mornings.  She isn't loving getting up early.  I really don't blame her because I am not a morning person either.  She really likes school and likes her teacher.  Olivia is also taking dance classes.  This year she is doing ballet and jazz.  I personally think jazz might be more up her alley.  Other than this, she is a happy little girl and there isn't much else to report.

Emma and Abigail:  Middle school is going just fine.  I do wonder though, what is the drastic change in middle school that has caused my teacher loving kids into hatred?  School started for them on August 25th and all ready they have a deep seeded hatred for some of their teachers.  What gives?  You see, I don't allow my kids to even use the word hate and here they are telling me that they hate Mrs X, Y and Z!  From what I have been able to gather about their new found hatred is that they simply don't like the rules of some teachers.  In an effort to sound parental, I have explained to them that just because you don't like a certain rule doesn't give you a right to hate the teacher.  For instance, one of the teachers that Emma "hates" has a rule that you aren't allowed to read outside material in her class.  While I know this is a serious issue for Emma, it isn't "hate" worthy in my humble opinion.  Clearly you aren't at school to do what you want to do; you are there to absorb what the educational system wants you to learn. Now Abigail has a teacher that she "hates" as well. According to Abigail this teacher is nosey and goes through every single one of her subject folders - The nerve of her!  Okay this is complete sarcasm on my part and the reason you might ask is this; the teacher in question is her I.E.P. teacher.  In case you aren't aware of what an I.E.P. teacher is, she is an intervention teacher and her job is to help her students in all areas of study.  So I can't help but laugh when Abigail acts like this particular teacher is invading her schoolwork.  All right, so that is it about school but if anyone has any inkling of the new found hatred of teachers, feel free to comment!

Emma is playing soccer and I have passed the responsibility of taking her to practices to Scott.  She really enjoys soccer and I am very impressed this year with her dribbling skills though her goalie skills could use some definite work! She is doing very well in school and continues to be completely addicted to reading.

Abigail is back in dance classes.  I think the child would shrivel up and die if she couldn't dance!  All I heard this summer was, "How long till dance starts back up?".  She also helps assist in two classes, those are the classes that Olivia and Sarah are in.  For awhile her teacher wasn't sure if Abigail would be helping in Olivia's class and this had Abigail in a panic!  She kept saying, "I can't lose my kids!".  She really loves helping out and she just adores the little ones.  She seems to be adjusting well to middle school but still can't get her locker open!  Knowing her, she couldn't figure it out so has just made the decision to not even bother with it.  I can see it now, she will graduate from high school never gaining the skill to open a locker! 

Enough about the kids all ready!  Let's talk about me, ok? I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want to be when I grow up.  Some of my thoughts have been cosmetology, writing an advice column or writing a "real" parenting book. 

The reason I was thinking about cosmetology is the fact that I have four daughters who need their hair done.  Great reason, don't you think?  Emma and Abigail both get highlights in their hair all ready.  Not to mention Emma has to get her eyebrows waxed!  I was thinking of the long haul it might be beneficial to have a skill that could benefit my family as a whole.  Yesterday I decided to call the Ohio State School of Cosmetology and get some information.  You can go full-time or part-time.  If you go full-time you can be done in as little as 15 months.  If you choose to go part-time it will take about two years.  The cost of this education? The cost is a mere $16,900! WOW!  I am not sure the girls'  hair detailing over the next fifteen years will amount to that. Of course, I would be able to have a flexible schedule and make money at some point.  You know, at Great Clips because I am challenged in the hair department anyway. 

My second thought is writing an advice column.  I would love to tell people what to do with their screwed up situations.  Of course, I am not sure how one gets into that kind of occupation.  I am sure it requires some sort of knowledge of psychology.  Wouldn't you think?  I am not sure what my pen name would be. Any suggestions here would be appreciated as well!

My last thought was to write a parenting book - A "REAL" parenting book in which I gave advice about how to deal with one's children.  Here's a sampling of what I might write and suggest:

You are in the store and your children are taking turns running down aisles, screaming, carrying on, climbing in the rounders, displays and demanding you get them a certain item they just have to have. What should you do?  A professional would suggest bending down to their level and explain to him/her/them in a quiet calm voice that this is not acceptable behavior in a store. An experienced parent, such as myself, would suggest grabbing the little heathens by their ears and spanking their bratty little astronauts while flipping off the store surveillance camera and any onlookers giving you condescending looks.  I mean seriously, who wouldn't appreciate advice like that? 

Anything I choose would have to have a flexible schedule.  I just hate constraints on my precious time and after all, I do have children that I am responsible for.

Sincerely,
The Queen of Insanity