Finally, Spring Break

I’m not sure why our spring break came so long after Easter, but we are so ready!  Tomorrow the kids and I head up to Nana and Papa’s to spend the week with them and Erica & Kids.  Not sure if I’ll be checking in, but there should be some wild stories when it’s all said and done.  Unfortunately Rob can’t come with us, so give him a call if you’re bored. He’s such a hard worker 🙂

Why Abstinence?

I just received an email from United Families International. Some of the pro-family groups out there I find to be overbearing and even hateful. I don’t know a whole lot about this organization, but I thought this information was relevant and helpful:

The number of people walking around with STD’s is shocking. In fact, research presented last month showed that one in four teen-age girls in the United States (3.2 million) have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) – That means 25 percent of all girls ages 14-19 have an STI! at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National STD Prevention Conference

Common sense tells us that sexual abstinence until marriage is the only 100-percent proven way to prevent STD’s; yet more than 75 percent of all sexual education courses taught in our public schools are based on the active promotion of condoms, other forms of contraception and “safer sex.” The following facts are proof of why there is an epidemic of sexual transmitted diseases:

• Condoms failed to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus between 15 and 31 percent of the time;
• According to the National Survey of Family Growth, one in every five teens using condoms becomes pregnant within one year;
• Sexual activity prior to marriage leads to elevated risks of suicide, depression, substance abuse, anxiety and dating violence.

Parents must be teachers about many things in life, and sexual abstinence until marriage should be high on that list.

Here are some tips for you:

• Stay close to your children. Fewer teen pregnancies and STD’s result when fathers maintain good relationships with their daughters ;
• Support abstinence-only education and its funding;
• Monitor the “sex education” programs in your children’s schools;
• If you believe any of your children are sexually active, have them tested and treated;
• Encourage your children to think consequentially and to remain abstinent. Re-enforce this theme on a regular basis. Children respond to clearly communicated and high levels of expectation from their parents;
• Positive peer pressure on teens can work. Teens in religious youth groups will receive positive instruction from a youth leader and peer pressure from fellow teens to remain sexually pure until marriage.

April Fools!

Rob set up this joke for the kids’ breakfast. We never have these “sugar” cereals in our house, so everyone was very excited to have breakfast today. The kids busted in a little early, and Hunter came into our room holding the white slip of paper reading, “April Fools” and said, “Emma wants to know where the real Cookie Crisp is!” I have a feeling she wasn’t the only one wondering. We were amazed when Hunter barely flinched at getting tomato clam juice instead of what he thought was ruby grapefruit. Emma took a nice big swig though and gave us a great reaction, “I don’t like this! What is it??” So fun for Mom and Dad, not sure if we’ve been forgiven yet though…

My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

So I was especially tired this morning. I stayed up too late as usual, and it hit me especially hard today. After getting Hunter and Emma off to school, and Rob off to work I sat Hannah and Sabrina down in front of the Barbie Rapunzel movie and headed to the shower. I took a longer shower than usual in an attempt to wake myself up. Little did I know there was mischief afoot as I lingered in the warm water…

Apparently, Hannah or Sabrina had been playing with the phone and accidentally dialed 911. Of course the dispatcher didn’t get any response to her questions so a police car was sent to our house. And when did they knock? As I’m standing in the shower of course. But since I’m a bit groggy and the shower masks most noises, I don’t hear the knocking. Hannah and Sabrina do though, and run to open the door for whoever might be there. (I swear it was locked, but either I forgot to lock it or they figured out how to open it.) Lucky for me it was two police officers wanting to know if there was an emergency. Unlucky for me, they are questioning the girls about where their parents are as I step out of the shower. I heard unfamiliar man voices downstairs and freaked, so I grabbed my robe and ran downstairs with my hair dripping and the rest of me dripping too because I hadn’t bothered to dry off. The officers don’t look happy and tell me that they received a 911 call from this address. I apologize and tell them it must have been the girls while I was in the shower. I’m of course embarrassed, but relieved that it isn’t some kidnapper or thief that has broken in.

Unfortunately, they don’t have a sense of humor about any of it, and tell me I’ll need to come with them to the station because I left my children unattended. Are you kidding me? I was in the shower and that’s “unattended?!” I tried to call Rob, but he was in a meeting and I couldn’t get a hold of him. My neighbor happened to be home and stayed with the girls while I was allowed to change into clothes and ride in the back seat of the police car like a criminal to the police station. At this point I was livid, and couldn’t believe this was happening to me. They took my “mug shot,” my fingerprints, and had me fill out forms… It was horrible and humiliating. I was so relieved when I finally got a hold of Rob and he came to get me. They let me go, but I now have a court date to prepare for. I’m sure it will all work out in the end, right? Now is a time I’m glad I’m married to a lawyer. Rob thinks the whole thing is funny, and even got a copy of the mug shot. I didn’t want to post it, but to humor him I’ll link to it instead of putting it on the front page. If you’re interested, click here.

So now you may not want to stand within a ten foot radius of me, because I may only be able to shower on weekends…

Gotta Go!

Potty training is under way in our house. We’re working on Hannah, but I have a feeling that Sabrina won’t be too far behind.

Accident count: 4

Days in training: 3

The bribe: One M&M for each time she gets to the potty and is still dry, Two M&Ms for successfully going in the potty.

Cross your fingers that it sticks this time! So far we think she is doing great!

A President’s Wisdom

I have long admired Abraham Lincoln, and was reminded of the many words of wisdom he left behind while looking through Whitebinder. In seventh grade I memorized the Gettysburg Address, and have always remembered it as being such a strong yet emotional speech. In eighth grade I toured Washington DC with my class and loved the Lincoln Memorial. It is beautiful, peaceful, powerful, and to me Abraham Lincoln sitting in that large chair is the epitome of presidential. In 2003 our family visited Washington DC and I took this picture of Hunter and Emma.

Here are some of my favorite quotes attributed to Mr. Lincoln:

“Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.”

“We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.”

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax.”

“Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

“The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty.”

Recycling

Save the water from washing your clothes to flush the toilet.  Great idea, but do you think it would really catch on?  I know that I would end up dropping a sock in the toilet when I emptied the washer.  But then I guess it wouldn’t matter too much because that’s the same water the sock was just rinsing in. Ew, weird.

Yogurt cups that snap together for playtime after lunchtime. Clever.

After you open up the computer, the box is ready for play time. Instructions come inside the box for turning it into a house, rocket, etc.  And no cutting or extra work for the parents. My kids already make forts out of cardboard boxes, so they would love this!