I do NOT appreciate that!

My kids are great.  They usually play very well together, want to help me when I need it, and don't talk back (especially the 5 1/2 month old...she is very respectful).  Trust me, there are millions of things that they do that I find cute, funny, endearing, etc. (Like my middle daughter saying "but you are my best friend" to her older sister when she wants things to go her way).
Sometimes, however, there are things they do that I really do NOT appreciate.  Here are 8 examples...

1.  Arguing first thing in the morning
Some days it seems like as soon as they open their eyes, they have some sort of issue with each other.  It is either getting downstairs first and who "won", who looked at who with a mean face, or who gets to pick the TV show that they watch.  Please ladies, let me at least have my coffee first!

2.  Raiding my closet
My oldest daughter has started to raid my closet lately...not for my clothes, but for shoes.  This does not bother me.  What does bother me is that she leaves my shoes all over the house.  She will come downstairs wearing knee high black boots...about 15 minutes later I usually trip over them as I carry a laundry basket through the living room.  Once I definitely think I got a slight ankle sprain from tripping over a pair of hot pink high heels at the bottom of the stairs.  This leads me to #3...

3.  Not cleaning up after themselves
Now I know that they are young, but I am really trying to get them to clean up after themselves when they are done playing.  My 6 year old is getting better at it.  She puts her plate or cup in the sink when she is done...and if she is playing with something that she doesn't want her little sister to get, she sure as hell puts that away.  But for some reason they leave all their crap EXACTLY where they were playing with it and move on to the next conquest.  I must sound like a broken record...I threaten at least once a day to put all of their toys in a bag and give them to other children that will appreciate them (and I actually have done it 2 times when I had a strategically placed Purple Heart Society pick-up scheduled the next day).

Exhibit A: Toys left on floor while the girls decide to take out all the coloring books and crayons in the other room

4.  Treating me like a short order cook
For some reason, my daughters think that the world is their oyster when it comes to meals.   Even if they both decide on the same thing, say pancakes for example, one wants plain while the other wants me to make banana.  I don't always oblige so I am not sure why they continue to request specific meals when I usually ignore those requests. 

5.  Coloring on the walls
My oldest daughter does not do this anymore, but the almost 3 year old has been known to take a crayon or pencil to my wall more than a few times.  The one place that she likes to do this is on our sunporch where we have a brick wall.  She has colored on more than half of it with chalk.  At first, I would take the chalk away and put her in time out...but I have kind of given up on that battle.  I have no clue how we will clean this up in the future...

Exhibit B:  As you can clearly see, the coloring on the brick wall has gotten a little out of hand.  You might be wondering how she reaches the higher spots on the wall...she has a stool that I have found her on quite often.


6.  Drinking from my glass
Nothing gets me more annoyed when we are eating dinner than one of the girls drinking out of my glass.  I don't mind if I offer them a sip...but when they take it without asking and get their nasty backwash all in it, that really ticks me off.  I end up just giving them my glass and getting a new one.  Who thinks that it is okay to just take someone's drink and help yourself to a sip?  Obviously, I still have some lessons on manners to teach around here.

7.  Expecting constant entertainment
Like I mentioned earlier, most of the time my 2 oldest girls play together pretty well.  They get along about 75% of the time and it is wonderful.  BUT, they are some days when they want or expect constant entertainment.  The oldest one will wake up and say, "What are we doing today?", "Can we go to someone's house?", "Can we go shopping or out to eat?".  They look at me like I am an event planner and my daily job is to fill their social calendars.

8.  Tattling
I can't stand tattling.  If it is something major that I need to know about, that is fine.  However, tattling on every little tiny infraction is super annoying.  Sometimes I want to say, "Don't you know snitches get stitches?".  But I just can't bring myself to say it...yet.


Are there things that your children do that get under your skin?  Please share... I would LOVE to hear about it:)

More Sunscreen Info

Re: my last post...Just so you don't think I am a spaz (which I am, but that is besides the point)...here is some info about the active ingredients in many sunscreens.

Active ingredients in sunscreen and associated concerns:
Octisalate- Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Enhanced skin absorption
Octocrylene- Persistence and bioaccumulation, Biochemical or cellular level changes
Octinoxate- Endocrine disruption, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Enhanced skin absorption, Biochemical or cellular level changes

Oxybenzone (the most hazardous ingredient)- Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Endocrine disruption, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Enhanced skin absorption, Biochemical or cellular level changes

Now I don't know about anyone else, but there is no way that I can have this information and still continue to use products with these ingredients. I can actually feel the anxiety building in me as I read it. (although, I am sure I need to be medicated...)

Source:
*check out the Environmental Working Group’s website for useful information…it will stress you out, but at least you will be informed-www.ewg.org

Maybe Sometimes Ignorance Really is Bliss

      The more educated that I become on a topic, the more stressed out I usually become about it. If I read about the harsh treatment of chickens, we generally have to spend double the money on cage free eggs at the grocery store.  Sometimes my worry fades...and sometimes, not so much.  To date, I have stopped buying almost all canned goods, baby food in plastic containers, scented children's products (not to mention that I spend about 10 minutes reading the label of every children's lotion/shampoo that I buy)...just to name a few. And don't even get me started with the organic food craze. If I don't buy organic fruits/veggies, I clean them all in a wash that I got from Trader Joe's. If I don't, all I can think of is my child ingesting pesticides...because of what I read. And I can't get enough...so I read more and more. I am convinced that I will have an ulcer in the very near future. This anxiety leads me to believe that maybe sometimes ignorance really is bliss!
      Summer time always adds extra stress because of sunscreen. My almost 3 year old has very sensitive skin and I have to be careful of what sunscreen I use on her. I found one that worked...but after reading that it had Oxybenzone in it (that has been found to be hazardous and is easily absorbed into the skin), I immediately stopped using it. A new one that I ordered will be arriving tomorrow. I am HOPING that it works.
      But honestly, this crap keeps me up at night! Wouldn't it be great if everything was all natural and free from chemicals? It just seems like every time I turn around I find out that something else is no good. Once I read about it, I can't bring myself to use it again for fear that I will be knowingly harming my children in one way or another.
      So I want to share this burden with you all (and I am sure you will thank me for the added stress). Here is a link to a list of the best sunscreens for summer.
http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/best-sunscreens/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/

      And do yourself a favor...do NOT search what you are using now if it is not all natural or organic because you will see that there are probably more harmful ingredients than you would care to know about.
(Thanks to my friend Katie G. for posting this link on facebook!!!)

      So at least my kids will be safe...while I am laid up in the hospital with multiple stomach ulcers due to worrying about every danger in the world.

WTF is up with some of these children's TV shows?

Every night as my daughter watches Dora the Explorer, dozens of questions race through my head. The same thing happens with countless other television programs that I have had the extreme pleasure of watching over the years. Here I will discuss some of them and the many questions that I have...

1. Dora the Explorer- Why is this young girl able to go on these adventures completely unsupervised? Oh, that's right, she has her pet monkey, Boots, along for the ride. Really? Her parents think that this is safe? And why do all her adventures only involve 3 landmarks? All she has to do is repeat, with the help of her trusty map, the 3 landmarks over and over and over...and she gets to her destination. I just don't get it.

2. Go, Diego, Go- We can not forget Diego either. So apparently he is a wildlife rescuer with a pet baby jaguar. How is that acceptable? He interacts with animals in almost every episode that would probably fatally injure him in reality. Are children supposed to think that it is okay to approach a puma, monkey, alligator, etc. if they encounter them in the wild?

3. Max and Ruby- So we have all heard the "Where are Max and Ruby's parents?" question before. I have accepted that I may never know that answer. That is fine. I would like to know a little more about them though. For instance, is the grandmother the primary caregiver? If so, why does she live down the street? How old is Ruby supposed to be? If she is old enough to babysit for her brother while unsupervised, I think she needs to get a grip and stop playing with all of her damn dolls then. And why is it that Max only says one word each episode? That is just annoying. Ruby needs to stop babying him and being an enabler.

4. Handy Manny- Both my husband and I have a major problem with this show. Why is it that Manny gets all the credit for doing little to no work? Let's be honest, the tools do it all. Speaking of the tools...in some episodes they eat. How does that happen? Please someone, explain it to me.

5. Calliou- My questions regarding Calliou are plentiful. First, I understand being original, but what is that name? Also, why is he bald? There is not even one strand of hair on his head. If he was supposed to have some medical condition then that is fine, but the creator should make viewers aware of that so we can at least have a heads up. That way we could explain it to our children if necessary. Finally, can that kid be any more annoying and whiny? I do not allow my children to watch this for that very reason. Each episode consists of his constant complaining.

6. Thomas and Friends- I get the whole train thing and the fact that the trains are "alive". What I do not get is why they have to make the creepiest facial expressions. It is plain scary...and sometimes those trains are awfully mean to each other.

7. Wonder Pets- Man, these "classroom" pets are something else! My first question is how does Tuck get from the water in his little turtle aquarium thing to the water in the sink? I just don't get how that happens. Then, how do they make an actual working boat that flies across the sky with toy parts, scraps, and 2 highlighter caps? Finally, do they ever want something different than celery? It is the same snack every episode. I would think that might get old...but maybe not to a turtle, guinea pig, and duck.

8. Make Way for Noddy- This lovely little gem on Sprout is chock full of goodness. First of all, Noddy is far from the sharpest tool in the shed...I don't know how he lives alone and survives. And what is up with his friends? There is the bear with only a shirt on, a creepy talking doll, and those 2 troublemakers that might cause nightmares in children under the age of 3, just to name a few. My first daughter watched this show...needless to say we will not repeat that mistake with the other two.

9. The Fresh Beat Band- How old are these "kids" supposed to be? Is their "music school" part of highschool or college? And if it is highschool, why do they all live together? Also, they must get on each other's nerves at some point. Why do they always have to be so freakin' happy? I found one person's take on it and thought it was funny. I will share it with you:
"...the generic misadventures and bland pop stylings of Kiki, Marina, Twist, and Shout are what all entertainment will resemble if Mitt Romney is elected president." (no offense if you are a Romney supporter)

Please feel free to share some of your questions regarding these or other television programs. I would love to know that I am not alone every night when watching these shows in complete bewilderment.

Karma is a big B*%^#

“Karma moves in two directions. If we act virtuously, the seed we plant will result in happiness. If we act non-virtuously, suffering results. ”
-Sakyong Mipham

I really want to keep this blog light-hearted and humorous, but I must touch on what happened today with the verdict of the Casey Anthony trial. Being a mother, I can't imagine how one would harm their child, although it happens everyday. Shocked is only one word I would use to describe how I felt when I heard that verdict. Disgusted, sickened, and sad for that little girl...the list could go on and on.
When I think of children who are harmed by anyone and their offender does not face legal consequences, one thing that makes be feel better is thinking of that big b&^$* that they call Karma. I hope it comes back to all of them and kicks their asses. That is my hope today for the mother who sat and smiled upon hearing her fate. Yes, she was found not guilty but she must live her life knowing that her child is gone. Only she truly knows what role she played in that...it is her cross to bear.

I found this picture and it made me smile...hope you all enjoy it as well.