I just recently had a very challenging week all around. It started off with me getting a very bad grease burn on my wrist followed by 3 incidents with my kids that were totally exasperating. All three of them (my kids) actually gave me headaches. It got me thinking that many times us parents expect our kids to act and think like adults. When in fact, they are...kids. They do not think like adults, they can't think like adults, we shouldn't make them think like adults and we shouldn't make them understand adult problems and issues. They shouldn't have the weight of the world on their shoulders. They are going to make poor choices, push limits, say or do things that we can't figure out why they said or did such a thing. If you think your child is exempt of these, you are sadly mistaken. I am not dumb enough to think that this is the last of my challenges I will have to deal with, with my kids. Small kids, small challenges, big kids, bigger challenges. I guess it's all in how us adults deal with it. Believe me, I, half the time, am just trying to figure this parenting thing out like the rest of you. I don't have all the answers. I try things and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't and I'm back to square one. I make mistakes, I say things I regret sometimes but in the end after I've calmed down, stepped back, prayed, taken multiple deep breaths, vented, shed some tears and prayed, I'm able to see that I can handle this, it's not as bad as what I made it out to be and their is always a way to make it better (my husband usually helps me understand this when I can't and I am so very grateful for him).
Of course we (my husband and I) want to raise our children to be good law abiding citizens, respecting others, kind and always do the right thing. When they are at school, at friends houses, out in public, where ever they may be, I would like to think they exercise those teachings but sometimes they fall short as do some adults who shouldn't be practicing the "do as I say not as I do" way of parenting. When my children are not with me and other people are responsible for them, I expect my kids to listen to their rules and if they do not, they need to be told and for the most part that works out just fine. I'm sure you all feel the same way. Same applies when I have other peoples kids over my house, I expect them to follow our rules and be kind and respectful to each other. Reminds me of Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Such a true statement isn't it...well at least they will know the right thing to do but we can only hope that peer pressure doesn't stray them away from doing the right thing. Such a big fear of mine.
I guess you could say I'm a bit of a momma bear when it comes to my children. I'm protective of them and their feelings sometimes to the point that I have to bite my tongue or hold myself back from replying to something I didn't like. To a kid, their peers are a huge part of their lives. They want to be liked and they definitely don't want to be the odd kid out in any way. Hey us grown-ups don't like that either it's just that some of us know how to handle it better than others or should anyway. So far my kids are very open with me and their dad and tell us when they have hurt feelings or a situation they don't know how to handle and ask for advice on how to deal with it. I can't ask for much more than that, well except for them to think a little harder "before" they make a poor choice.
Well in one of the particular incidents that happened with one of my kids, I was met with a situation I didn't think I would have to deal with but here I was literally face-to-face with the situation and I had to make a choice. A choice to not get defensive saying my child could never be involved in such a thing because frankly I wasn't there so I don't know what happened. I made a choice to take the high road and tackle it head-on, offering help in making the situation better and making my child offer to do the same whether she liked it or not. I can't do any more than that. I absolutely hate being in this position and kids have a way of putting us in crumby positions at times but it's our job as parents to use every one of those crumby situations and learn from it so we can use it as a teaching tool. You take the good with the bad, right! I'll let you know how that works out for me (insert snicker here.)
Now before you think that this is all negative about my kids. It's really not. I'm over it, all of it. Things happen, they receive their punishments and we move on. I don't throw the past back in their face and I can just hope that none of it happens again. We shall see...at least I can say that my life is never dull or boring. Here's to a new week and so far it's been pretty darn good.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
My Household Lock-down
So there is a Government Shut-down in effect. Well I willfully put our family in a Household Lock-down.
The Government Shut-down is because the two sides can not come to an agreement. I live in a Household Lock-down because my younger two kids and I do not agree in the way our house should run.
Those that are affected by the Government Shut-down are on furlough without pay. Those of us on a Household Lock-down have never received pay.
The last Government Shut-down in 1995 lasted 22 days. My Household Lock-down has lasted 6 years and counting.
During the Government Shut-down all federal government buildings are closed. During the 6 years of Household Lock-down, every room in the upstairs is locked during the toddlers waking hours. Along with my pantry, sliding glass door, front screen door, laundry room door, all kitchen cupboards and drawers.
The Government Shut-down has impacted A LOT of people and made them very unhappy (and rightfully so) while the government continues to get paid and go about their merry way. My Household Lock-down allows me to continue to be sane while my two youngest kids continue to complain about not being able to get into the rooms, pantry, drawers, cupboards, etc... without authorization from me or their father.
The Government Shut-down is a consequence of the mess the government has put us in and the enormous debt our country is in. My Household Lock-down was put in effect as to not have my house destroyed any more than it already is and to cut down on the continual mess my two youngest children make, therefore, to keep us from enormous debt.
The Government Shut-down can be resolved if both sides can work together and come to an agreement on how to move forward. My Household Lock-down can also be resolved if my two youngest kids would follow one simple rule: To Listen! Sounds easy to you an me, however, not for a certain two kids who think they can do, eat, take what they want, when they want it. Until then, we move forward with continued lock-down.
**I want to make very clear that I am in no way making fun of those who are seriously affected by the governments actions that cause some of you to be at home without pay. That is no laughing matter what-so-ever. I am, however, making light of a crazy situation with a little mom humor that is true to my life.
The Government Shut-down is because the two sides can not come to an agreement. I live in a Household Lock-down because my younger two kids and I do not agree in the way our house should run.
Those that are affected by the Government Shut-down are on furlough without pay. Those of us on a Household Lock-down have never received pay.
The last Government Shut-down in 1995 lasted 22 days. My Household Lock-down has lasted 6 years and counting.
During the Government Shut-down all federal government buildings are closed. During the 6 years of Household Lock-down, every room in the upstairs is locked during the toddlers waking hours. Along with my pantry, sliding glass door, front screen door, laundry room door, all kitchen cupboards and drawers.
The Government Shut-down has impacted A LOT of people and made them very unhappy (and rightfully so) while the government continues to get paid and go about their merry way. My Household Lock-down allows me to continue to be sane while my two youngest kids continue to complain about not being able to get into the rooms, pantry, drawers, cupboards, etc... without authorization from me or their father.
The Government Shut-down is a consequence of the mess the government has put us in and the enormous debt our country is in. My Household Lock-down was put in effect as to not have my house destroyed any more than it already is and to cut down on the continual mess my two youngest children make, therefore, to keep us from enormous debt.
The Government Shut-down can be resolved if both sides can work together and come to an agreement on how to move forward. My Household Lock-down can also be resolved if my two youngest kids would follow one simple rule: To Listen! Sounds easy to you an me, however, not for a certain two kids who think they can do, eat, take what they want, when they want it. Until then, we move forward with continued lock-down.
**I want to make very clear that I am in no way making fun of those who are seriously affected by the governments actions that cause some of you to be at home without pay. That is no laughing matter what-so-ever. I am, however, making light of a crazy situation with a little mom humor that is true to my life.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
No Place I'd Rather Be
I want to be a small town southern girl that lives on a farm with a huge vegetable garden, a barn with a couple horses, a cow, some chickens, a rooster, maybe a pig to fatten up, a few goats, one or two big dogs that will follow me wherever I go and a slew of barn cats to keep the mice away. Not to mention beautiful fields of wildflowers that adorn my property and an herb garden that you would see at the botanical gardens. I don't want to deal with any winters and when I walk outside I want to sit on my huge front porch looking at my big red barn and my neighbors so far away that the only thing I see is their corn fields edging my property. I want to auction off my pigs and cows each year to other farmers. I want to meet at the local restaurant in town to gab about what feed is the best and if I am going to be attending the Smiths pig roast and what dish I am going to bring to the church's Sunday potluck. I would home school my children and the best learning tools would be them working on the farm. I want to bake breads, make pies, have a cellar full of canned goods and a freezer full of beef, pork and chicken. I want to "work" along side the love of my life and admire him as he tends to the farms needs. I want to listen to my husband play country music on his guitar out by the fire while I am smoking a beef brisket for later. I want to walk down the country roads, kickin up dust from my boots with no where to go and no place I'd rather be. I want our family to live in the same town and do the same stuff and know the same people. That's not asking too much is it?
Seems that the older I get the farther away from any type of city life I want to be. I wouldn't be sad if I rarely saw a highway with bumper to bumper traffic heading into the city. I would of course like to visit those places but not live there. I honestly don't know how some people raise their families in the city. Nope, that life's not for me.
I have some friends who live on a farm and some friends and family who live in the South and oh how I admire them. I know it's a lot of work to run a farm like that but at the same time there is a sort of simplicity to living that life. No rat-race to worry about and our bosses, the animals, would always be grateful for time spent with them and providing food, water and shelter. For giving a little, we gain a lot! Maybe all the time spent on Kelleys Island, living the island life there, has given me a tiny peak into what living in a small town is like...and I love it.
I'm not saying that I am unhappy in the life I lead now, not one bit. I am truly blessed in every way. In some aspects I have the best of both worlds. I don't think a person ever stops growing but for me I feel that I have grown so much in so many different ways in say...the last 5 or so years. I know some of it's age I suppose. I really don't know how to describe it, maybe it just plain pure happiness. Doing what we want, when we want to do it, however it is we want to do it and with whomever we want to do it with, not caring so much what other people think. Making choices that are best for my family and praising God for what we are so blessed with. We all get one go at this life, why not make it the best it can be. Experiencing it how it was supposed to be experienced with people who brighten your world.
I don't know, maybe one day, you'll find that me and my family have packed up and headed for the life I described, maybe a little modified...we have been know to make a few spontaneous decisions, so it very well could happen? Kinda goes along with one of my favorite quotes, "If you wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, you shall never begin" Ivan Turgenev. Better late than never, right?
Seems that the older I get the farther away from any type of city life I want to be. I wouldn't be sad if I rarely saw a highway with bumper to bumper traffic heading into the city. I would of course like to visit those places but not live there. I honestly don't know how some people raise their families in the city. Nope, that life's not for me.
I have some friends who live on a farm and some friends and family who live in the South and oh how I admire them. I know it's a lot of work to run a farm like that but at the same time there is a sort of simplicity to living that life. No rat-race to worry about and our bosses, the animals, would always be grateful for time spent with them and providing food, water and shelter. For giving a little, we gain a lot! Maybe all the time spent on Kelleys Island, living the island life there, has given me a tiny peak into what living in a small town is like...and I love it.
I'm not saying that I am unhappy in the life I lead now, not one bit. I am truly blessed in every way. In some aspects I have the best of both worlds. I don't think a person ever stops growing but for me I feel that I have grown so much in so many different ways in say...the last 5 or so years. I know some of it's age I suppose. I really don't know how to describe it, maybe it just plain pure happiness. Doing what we want, when we want to do it, however it is we want to do it and with whomever we want to do it with, not caring so much what other people think. Making choices that are best for my family and praising God for what we are so blessed with. We all get one go at this life, why not make it the best it can be. Experiencing it how it was supposed to be experienced with people who brighten your world.
I don't know, maybe one day, you'll find that me and my family have packed up and headed for the life I described, maybe a little modified...we have been know to make a few spontaneous decisions, so it very well could happen? Kinda goes along with one of my favorite quotes, "If you wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, you shall never begin" Ivan Turgenev. Better late than never, right?
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
I Have a Dream
I thought this would be fitting seeing as though this day marks the 50 year anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr.'s, I Have a Dream speech. All of us have known this speech pretty much our whole lives but I actually learned a few things about it today. For instance, he didn't set out to give that speech that day, he actually had a scripted speech that he was in the middle of reading when a women from the crowd yelled out, "Dr. King, tell them about your dream!" So that is exactly what he did. Off the cuff he delivered that 17 min speech that became one of the most well know speeches of all time. Another fact I learned was that at the end of his speech, as he was leaving the podium, a little boy asked Dr. King if he could have a copy of the speech, so instead, he folded up the speech and handed it to the little boy and that "little boy" still has that piece of paper to this day that he says will never be sold even though he was offered 3 million for it. Some interesting facts aren't they?
I was thinking about this subject actually, well more of the subject of diversity and I have some thoughts myself about it. How many of us really welcome diversity in our lives and I don't just mean the color of our skin but everything that diversity stands for? Are you accepting of others who aren't like you? Sounds silly to write that sentence, kinda like I'm writing a paper for an elementary school assignment but to be serious here, really think about it, are you accepting of those who say..., don't share the same views as you? Do you want your friends to think like you think and if they don't does it make you annoyed or a bit exasperated? I believe most of us feel a little like that at times with different subjects that we feel strongly about. This is what I mean, I'll give you a couple examples: Food has become the thing to talk about, watch on TV, to be a foodie is all the rage, and everyone has their opinion on the subject. I for one have many friends who are on every part of the spectrum when it comes to what they eat or won't eat and why and what they label themselves as. Everything from being a strict vegan, juicer, clean eater, moderation eater and the Foodie and that is just the condensed list. I, however, eat what I like. I get annoyed with the Foodie who sits on their high horse and criticizes things that are any less than perfection on there pallet (insert eye-roll here). But I have tried really hard to be accepting of those who choose to eat/do things with there food differently. How boring would this world be if everyone did the same exact thing? I believe it's called communism or North Korea.
I have this wonderful, awesome group of girl friends that get together every year to spend some quality time with, to re-charge the batteries, if you want to call it and laugh till it hurts. Each of these women are so different from each other yet we still have this very strong bond that no matter the length of time we are away from each other and the changes we go through in each of our lives, we still come together at the very least, that one weekend each year and never skip a beat. One of those dear girls would love to live in a tee-pee, yes a tee-pee, she also happens to be vegan and lives on an organic farm. Another girl just became cancer free and is living her life to be more non-toxic and learned that everyday is a gift. Another girl just does her own thing and we don't hear from her until it's time to plan the next Girls Weekend but we know she'll be there and so on. See what makes our bond so special is that each of us know we can learn something and appreciate each of us for who we are and what we believe in. We share stories and eat each other's food creations. We cry, laugh, listen and know that we can be ourselves. I think it's so important to have. I must add that sometimes we do like to throw in our advice and/or opinions and that's okay too.
This goes the same for family too. Just because we are family certainly doesn't mean that we all think the same way, act the same way and do the same things. No way hose', lol. Actually it's far from that. Families are usually where you find the most diversity in thinking and that can cause tension between them. The good thing about family is that they are bonded to you no matter what and like kids, they act out to the ones they love the most. Doesn't mean it's any easier to take or right but really it's the truth.
So my take-away of the day is to think before you speak and act. Be open to others who are different in what they think and do. Learn something from them. Be kind. Be thankful and you will see that people will respond to you in a much different way, a better way. It's a simple solution to a big problem in the world. Slow down, enjoy all parts of God's gift of life here on this place called Earth.
What's your dream?
I was thinking about this subject actually, well more of the subject of diversity and I have some thoughts myself about it. How many of us really welcome diversity in our lives and I don't just mean the color of our skin but everything that diversity stands for? Are you accepting of others who aren't like you? Sounds silly to write that sentence, kinda like I'm writing a paper for an elementary school assignment but to be serious here, really think about it, are you accepting of those who say..., don't share the same views as you? Do you want your friends to think like you think and if they don't does it make you annoyed or a bit exasperated? I believe most of us feel a little like that at times with different subjects that we feel strongly about. This is what I mean, I'll give you a couple examples: Food has become the thing to talk about, watch on TV, to be a foodie is all the rage, and everyone has their opinion on the subject. I for one have many friends who are on every part of the spectrum when it comes to what they eat or won't eat and why and what they label themselves as. Everything from being a strict vegan, juicer, clean eater, moderation eater and the Foodie and that is just the condensed list. I, however, eat what I like. I get annoyed with the Foodie who sits on their high horse and criticizes things that are any less than perfection on there pallet (insert eye-roll here). But I have tried really hard to be accepting of those who choose to eat/do things with there food differently. How boring would this world be if everyone did the same exact thing? I believe it's called communism or North Korea.
I have this wonderful, awesome group of girl friends that get together every year to spend some quality time with, to re-charge the batteries, if you want to call it and laugh till it hurts. Each of these women are so different from each other yet we still have this very strong bond that no matter the length of time we are away from each other and the changes we go through in each of our lives, we still come together at the very least, that one weekend each year and never skip a beat. One of those dear girls would love to live in a tee-pee, yes a tee-pee, she also happens to be vegan and lives on an organic farm. Another girl just became cancer free and is living her life to be more non-toxic and learned that everyday is a gift. Another girl just does her own thing and we don't hear from her until it's time to plan the next Girls Weekend but we know she'll be there and so on. See what makes our bond so special is that each of us know we can learn something and appreciate each of us for who we are and what we believe in. We share stories and eat each other's food creations. We cry, laugh, listen and know that we can be ourselves. I think it's so important to have. I must add that sometimes we do like to throw in our advice and/or opinions and that's okay too.
This goes the same for family too. Just because we are family certainly doesn't mean that we all think the same way, act the same way and do the same things. No way hose', lol. Actually it's far from that. Families are usually where you find the most diversity in thinking and that can cause tension between them. The good thing about family is that they are bonded to you no matter what and like kids, they act out to the ones they love the most. Doesn't mean it's any easier to take or right but really it's the truth.
So my take-away of the day is to think before you speak and act. Be open to others who are different in what they think and do. Learn something from them. Be kind. Be thankful and you will see that people will respond to you in a much different way, a better way. It's a simple solution to a big problem in the world. Slow down, enjoy all parts of God's gift of life here on this place called Earth.
What's your dream?
Thursday, August 15, 2013
The Wrong Kind of Shock Therapy
Last week I was on Kelleys Island with the kids, enjoying a great time off the grid and decided to go to The Kelleys Island Wine Co. for one of Anna's favorites on the island, their flatbread pizza's. I like to go to the winery because it's laid back, as most places on the island are. You can sit outside on the lawn which has picnic tables, horseshoe pits and corn holes and it even has a kids play area, which makes it nice for the little ones to have something to do. Next to the winery is a cattle farm, yes a cattle farm and to keep the cattle on there own side, they have an electric fence. They have small signs all along the fence to warn that it is electric. Here's where this story gets interesting...So, during this particular visit, we decided to sit outside by the play area so the kids could run around and play. The girls quickly found a few friends while I walked around with baby Neil as he explored his surroundings, like he usually does. When he was done exploring, he went over and started playing with the other kids so I went to sit down at the table and have a bite to eat. In a matter of seconds, baby Neil ran over to the cattle fence, touched the bars and ZAP! He got an electric shock! I was in the middle of running to get him before he touched it but he was too fast for me at that moment and I was just a couple feet away from him. I scooped him up because he was screaming, looked at his forearm and he had red lines all over it from where he touched the fence. I have to say I was pretty calm but at the same time upset that this happened at all.
I sat down and thought about how I should handle the situation "before" I reacted in haste. I made the decision that I should let the winery know what happened for the simple fact that the play area that they so nicely provide is too close to the electric fence and to please move it to the other side. When this happened, it was only 10ft away and if it happened so easily with my child, I'm quite sure it's had to have happen before.
I went inside and asked a server for a manager. She told me she was not there right now and that I should call later that day. I showed her my son's arm and the first thing out of her mouth was, "There are signs posted all over the fence, sorry." Well that didn't fly with me at all. So I asked her to write down the manager's name and phone number. She said she was busy and she couldn't do that. Are you kidding me??? So I asked her again and again her reply was that she was too busy. At this point I was getting more upset by the minuet that I was being blown off, so I told her, "If you do not write down the name and number of your manager right now, I will call the police and report this situation!" Well, I had the name and number in my hand in less than 30 seconds. I hate being like that but this situation called for it. Now, at that same moment, out comes the owner of the winery who was just catching wind of what had happened and came out to talk to me. I calmly showed him my son's arm and before he listened to what I had to say, his immediate response was, "That looks like a bug bite but there are signs posted all along the fence and it's been there for 30 yrs. and it's not considered there property and only a few kids a year get zapped, sorry!" Oh boy, deep breaths! I politely asked him why he was getting so defensive before he had listened to what I had to say? He shut up so I could talk. I told him that I know that the signs are posted on the fence, I realize it's not there property BUT they might want to move the play area far enough away or put a barricade up by that area so this doesn't happen to ANY kids at all. He shut down my barricade idea and again started to get defensive until I explained that this could have been serious. Well then he changed his tune, offered to buy "baby" Neil a root beer, which I declined, and said that they need to move the play area away from the fence. I said thank you and was on my way. Now can someone please tell me what is wrong here and what is wrong with people?
The more I talk about it, the more upset I become. While "in the moment" I was only thinking about the red lines up and down my sons arm and his screaming. I started to believe that maybe it was my fault for not catching him before he touched the fence. Now, after the fact, I know it is NOT my fault and even though signs are posted, NO WAY should a children's play area be anywhere close to an electric fence, period! If they had no where else to put this play area then they should most certainly have a barricade in front of that fence as to avoid any injuries to children. I should have been asked to write up a report by the winery but I was not. I am not the type of person to make a big deal out of things and cause problems but when a child gets shocked by an electric currant at a restaurant, that's where I draw the line. Especially when it could have been avoided and handled in a much different manner by the staff and owner.
To be honest, I don't want the winery to take away the play area altogether because I do think it's nice they provide it and I tried to tell them that but I just wanted to get through to them that maybe they need to re-think the placement of things and how they handle serious situations like mine. I don't know if I got through to them or not but later that day the play area was moved far away from the electric fence. It makes me sad that I was treated in such a poor manner and made to feel like it was my fault and a careless mother. I also believe that they are lucky that this didn't happen to another family that could have sued the snot out of them and won. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Kelleys Island and all it's quirkiness, that's what makes it so unique and quaint but to keep up with it's wonderful reputation, things like this should be handled properly and respectfully and with the utmost concern that one of their customer's that keep them in business, was caused harm by an avoidable situation.
Never a dull moment in the day and life of the The Stenger Family.
**Update: September 4, 2013**
While I was up on Kelleys Island this past Labor Day Weekend, I went to the KI Police Dept. and filed a report and spoke to the chief and officers, in length, about the situation and they guided me on what I should do. I feel better that I did that and now I have started a paper trail in case anything, God forbid, should happen in the future.
People must realize that when something like this happens, go with your gut. If the situation feels wrong, it probably is. Do not let someone make you feel guilty for their stupidity just because they got caught! It is not in my character to sue the pants off people and make them pay for their wrong doing BUT it is my character to make sure they know what they did was wrong so it doesn't happen again, to anyone! I'd be singing a different tune, however, if the outcome of "my" situation was different.
I sat down and thought about how I should handle the situation "before" I reacted in haste. I made the decision that I should let the winery know what happened for the simple fact that the play area that they so nicely provide is too close to the electric fence and to please move it to the other side. When this happened, it was only 10ft away and if it happened so easily with my child, I'm quite sure it's had to have happen before.
I went inside and asked a server for a manager. She told me she was not there right now and that I should call later that day. I showed her my son's arm and the first thing out of her mouth was, "There are signs posted all over the fence, sorry." Well that didn't fly with me at all. So I asked her to write down the manager's name and phone number. She said she was busy and she couldn't do that. Are you kidding me??? So I asked her again and again her reply was that she was too busy. At this point I was getting more upset by the minuet that I was being blown off, so I told her, "If you do not write down the name and number of your manager right now, I will call the police and report this situation!" Well, I had the name and number in my hand in less than 30 seconds. I hate being like that but this situation called for it. Now, at that same moment, out comes the owner of the winery who was just catching wind of what had happened and came out to talk to me. I calmly showed him my son's arm and before he listened to what I had to say, his immediate response was, "That looks like a bug bite but there are signs posted all along the fence and it's been there for 30 yrs. and it's not considered there property and only a few kids a year get zapped, sorry!" Oh boy, deep breaths! I politely asked him why he was getting so defensive before he had listened to what I had to say? He shut up so I could talk. I told him that I know that the signs are posted on the fence, I realize it's not there property BUT they might want to move the play area far enough away or put a barricade up by that area so this doesn't happen to ANY kids at all. He shut down my barricade idea and again started to get defensive until I explained that this could have been serious. Well then he changed his tune, offered to buy "baby" Neil a root beer, which I declined, and said that they need to move the play area away from the fence. I said thank you and was on my way. Now can someone please tell me what is wrong here and what is wrong with people?
The more I talk about it, the more upset I become. While "in the moment" I was only thinking about the red lines up and down my sons arm and his screaming. I started to believe that maybe it was my fault for not catching him before he touched the fence. Now, after the fact, I know it is NOT my fault and even though signs are posted, NO WAY should a children's play area be anywhere close to an electric fence, period! If they had no where else to put this play area then they should most certainly have a barricade in front of that fence as to avoid any injuries to children. I should have been asked to write up a report by the winery but I was not. I am not the type of person to make a big deal out of things and cause problems but when a child gets shocked by an electric currant at a restaurant, that's where I draw the line. Especially when it could have been avoided and handled in a much different manner by the staff and owner.
To be honest, I don't want the winery to take away the play area altogether because I do think it's nice they provide it and I tried to tell them that but I just wanted to get through to them that maybe they need to re-think the placement of things and how they handle serious situations like mine. I don't know if I got through to them or not but later that day the play area was moved far away from the electric fence. It makes me sad that I was treated in such a poor manner and made to feel like it was my fault and a careless mother. I also believe that they are lucky that this didn't happen to another family that could have sued the snot out of them and won. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Kelleys Island and all it's quirkiness, that's what makes it so unique and quaint but to keep up with it's wonderful reputation, things like this should be handled properly and respectfully and with the utmost concern that one of their customer's that keep them in business, was caused harm by an avoidable situation.
Never a dull moment in the day and life of the The Stenger Family.
**Update: September 4, 2013**
While I was up on Kelleys Island this past Labor Day Weekend, I went to the KI Police Dept. and filed a report and spoke to the chief and officers, in length, about the situation and they guided me on what I should do. I feel better that I did that and now I have started a paper trail in case anything, God forbid, should happen in the future.
People must realize that when something like this happens, go with your gut. If the situation feels wrong, it probably is. Do not let someone make you feel guilty for their stupidity just because they got caught! It is not in my character to sue the pants off people and make them pay for their wrong doing BUT it is my character to make sure they know what they did was wrong so it doesn't happen again, to anyone! I'd be singing a different tune, however, if the outcome of "my" situation was different.
Monday, July 15, 2013
On a Wing and a Prayer
Sorry friends, I have taken summer break seriously and have not been in the mood to blog. I have been busy enjoying life and warm summer weather and the last thing I've been feeling like doing is sitting downstairs in my basement like a troll and blogging. So here I am, back at least for today.
Most of you know that Neil and I along with our kids, LOVE Kelleys Island. For years we would talk about having a cottage on the island and being able to enjoy the island as much as we wanted. Well we didn't want to get old and that still be a dream that never became a reality. Sooooooo, we just did it, we decided to make it happen. Our journey has been, to say the least, a huge adventure! As much as we would have liked to hand contractors a bunch of checks and a blueprint and say, "Call us when it's done." The reality was, if this is something that we really, really want, we would have to do most of it ourselves and it will get done, when it gets done. So we set out on this journey on a wing and a prayer (actually many prayers) to make it to this point... Neil has been writing a blog to document the Our House Cottage project and I would love to share it with all of you. So if you are curious, take a look at a snip-it into our dream come true, Our House Cottage http://kelleysislandcottage.blogspot.com
I did say above that "we" had to do most of it ourselves but let me just clarify that I probably shouldn't have used "we" as my word of choice. I need to be truthful here and say that my husband Neil has busted his butt, spent countless days, hours and weekends doing the work up there along with our dear family and friends. While I do help when I can, the kids need taking care of, so that's the trade-off.
Enjoy your summer days...
Most of you know that Neil and I along with our kids, LOVE Kelleys Island. For years we would talk about having a cottage on the island and being able to enjoy the island as much as we wanted. Well we didn't want to get old and that still be a dream that never became a reality. Sooooooo, we just did it, we decided to make it happen. Our journey has been, to say the least, a huge adventure! As much as we would have liked to hand contractors a bunch of checks and a blueprint and say, "Call us when it's done." The reality was, if this is something that we really, really want, we would have to do most of it ourselves and it will get done, when it gets done. So we set out on this journey on a wing and a prayer (actually many prayers) to make it to this point... Neil has been writing a blog to document the Our House Cottage project and I would love to share it with all of you. So if you are curious, take a look at a snip-it into our dream come true, Our House Cottage http://kelleysislandcottage.blogspot.com
I did say above that "we" had to do most of it ourselves but let me just clarify that I probably shouldn't have used "we" as my word of choice. I need to be truthful here and say that my husband Neil has busted his butt, spent countless days, hours and weekends doing the work up there along with our dear family and friends. While I do help when I can, the kids need taking care of, so that's the trade-off.
Enjoy your summer days...
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
You're Gonna Miss This...
Some days I reflect more than others and today seems to be a big day all around for that. Baby Neil is 2 years old and it's the last day of school for both my girls. I now have a 1st and 5th grader. It's so cliché to say, "Where did the time go?" or "Time just flies by" but it really does and I'm feeling it today. I don't want to miss a single thing in each of their lives yet the years are passing like cars on a highway.
I dropped Neil off at the airport yesterday afternoon and driving home this song, You're Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins came on the radio and I couldn't help the tears that started coming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBDN8yWyNYU
So many times we wish our lives away and I don't mean it in the literal sense but we are always waiting for something in the future. Always hurrying through the day. Can't wait for the weekend. Looking forward to vacation. Can you believe we're married? Wow, such a big house for just the two of us. 2 more months until our new baby is here. Can't wait for that first smile, first step, first word, first hug and first I Love You. When I retire, I'm going to... Then pretty soon you've experienced many of those things and you say, "Boy, I wish we were still on our trip" or "Wish it was still that weekend" or "Seems like ages ago when I was in the hospital waiting for my baby to arrive", you see what I mean. Then again, that is what life is all about, getting to experience all those little (and big) things. Even the bad days make us a little more appreciative of the good ones.
My Anna was SO sick with strep throat and a double ear infection this past weekend and she just wanted me to be by her the whole time. As much as I wish that she wasn't sick, I sat and rubbed her head and played with her hair until she finally fell asleep and I thought to myself, I want to remember this very moment. A moment that I was able to soothe her, only me.
The sleepless nights when baby Neil was an infant and I thought they'd never end and I'd be sleep deprived forever. And now I'm wondering how he's 2 already?
When Sophie says, "Momma, their is no other momma like you, you're the best!" I want to somehow etch that moment in time in my memory forever.
Don't you ever think, "I will never get that minute, hour, day, year, whatever it may be, back again...ever." I do, I think about that a lot. I watched Sophie get off the school bus today and thought, she will never be a kindergartener again. I will watch Anna do the same and think she will never be a 4th grader again, ever. I know, I'm sappy like that but I can't help that if I'm not careful, those things will pass me by and I won't be able to get that time back again. So no matter how little, how crazy or how silly you may think something is...it's important to you. That's one of the reasons I take an insane amount of pictures, so life is well documented.
So today I say to myself, "You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back. You're gonna wished these days hadn't gone by so fast. These were some good times. So take a good look around. You may not know it now but you're gonna miss this."
Gonna go plant some pretty flowers in my garden now and listen to the kids play outside because it will never be 1:21pm on this sunny Tuesday afternoon again. So enjoy right now, whatever it is that you may be doing.
I dropped Neil off at the airport yesterday afternoon and driving home this song, You're Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins came on the radio and I couldn't help the tears that started coming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBDN8yWyNYU
So many times we wish our lives away and I don't mean it in the literal sense but we are always waiting for something in the future. Always hurrying through the day. Can't wait for the weekend. Looking forward to vacation. Can you believe we're married? Wow, such a big house for just the two of us. 2 more months until our new baby is here. Can't wait for that first smile, first step, first word, first hug and first I Love You. When I retire, I'm going to... Then pretty soon you've experienced many of those things and you say, "Boy, I wish we were still on our trip" or "Wish it was still that weekend" or "Seems like ages ago when I was in the hospital waiting for my baby to arrive", you see what I mean. Then again, that is what life is all about, getting to experience all those little (and big) things. Even the bad days make us a little more appreciative of the good ones.
My Anna was SO sick with strep throat and a double ear infection this past weekend and she just wanted me to be by her the whole time. As much as I wish that she wasn't sick, I sat and rubbed her head and played with her hair until she finally fell asleep and I thought to myself, I want to remember this very moment. A moment that I was able to soothe her, only me.
The sleepless nights when baby Neil was an infant and I thought they'd never end and I'd be sleep deprived forever. And now I'm wondering how he's 2 already?
When Sophie says, "Momma, their is no other momma like you, you're the best!" I want to somehow etch that moment in time in my memory forever.
Don't you ever think, "I will never get that minute, hour, day, year, whatever it may be, back again...ever." I do, I think about that a lot. I watched Sophie get off the school bus today and thought, she will never be a kindergartener again. I will watch Anna do the same and think she will never be a 4th grader again, ever. I know, I'm sappy like that but I can't help that if I'm not careful, those things will pass me by and I won't be able to get that time back again. So no matter how little, how crazy or how silly you may think something is...it's important to you. That's one of the reasons I take an insane amount of pictures, so life is well documented.
So today I say to myself, "You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back. You're gonna wished these days hadn't gone by so fast. These were some good times. So take a good look around. You may not know it now but you're gonna miss this."
Gonna go plant some pretty flowers in my garden now and listen to the kids play outside because it will never be 1:21pm on this sunny Tuesday afternoon again. So enjoy right now, whatever it is that you may be doing.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Just Do It
All you parents out there, are you the kind that are homebodies or on-the-goers? I myself love to be on-the-go. Doesn't matter to me whether I have 1 or 3 of my kids with me, if I want to go somewhere, I go. Then again I'm a pretty spontaneous gal anyway, so it's nothing for me to think of a cool thing to do and decide to go right then. I mean, to often we plan things out so much that we never end up doing it because we talk ourselves out of that very same plan that minuets ago seemed like the greatest idea in the world...am I right? I've done it, I'm sure we all have. I love to come up with what I think are great ideas, I call mine a Life List. I don't actually write it down although I should but instead I mentally have all these things that I would love to do. Sometimes I think of these things and if they are within reason, I just do it. It seems that those spontaneous adventures are the best kind. Who says you can't pack up the kids and go down to the West Side Market just to get a hot dog from Hot Dog Johnny's or let the kids run around outside at 2am on New Years Eve just because it seems like a fun thing to do. How about getting a bunch of friends (12 to be exact) and getting on The Martha Stewert Show or getting up super early just to be in the audience of The Today Show. Some of those things don't seem like a big deal but at the time when you think about it, you could easily say, "Oh, that's a waste of gas to go to the West Side Market just for a hot dog or the kids might get sick running around outside in the middle of winter at 2am." Which I suppose are all true statements but look at the memories you just created, not too shabby eh.
I guess growing up, my parents were the same way, they took us on all sorts of adventures. If my dad had a hankering for Tony Paco's Chili, off we went to Toledo on a Sunday afternoon and I have to tell ya, it was some darn good chili. Remember going for "rides" in the car? Our family did that a lot. Usually on Sunday afternoons. No real destination in mind but we picked a direction to go and we went. Sometimes we'd come upon a Maple Festival and stop to sample the fresh made maple ice cream or hike the cliffs at Wolf's Ledges or see an awesome tree to climb and stop to take a picture after I finally was able to make it to the top. On vacations often times we would decide our next hotel on the road from a list of hotels/motels in our Trip Tik from AAA. My dad would see a sign for horseback riding in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada and sign us up for a day trip. Eating canned meat in the back of our Suburban in the middle of the Badlands with no one in sight for miles was not at all unusual to me. We stayed in motels with wild horses on one side and buffalo on the other and being in a rodeo in Cody, Wyoming was just about the neatest thing a 10 yr old got to do even if the prize for roping a calf was a 12 pack of sarsaparilla. Made no difference to me, I just went with the flow. Sometimes mom would wake us up in the morning on a school day and say, "Ya know what, you aren't going to school today, instead we are going shopping and out to lunch, just you and me!" We thought that was the best surprise ever and I have happy memories of those times. Ice skating across Lake Hamlin from our cottage to my dad's ice fishing shanty to bring him hot coffee and lunch was just another adventure on the Lake in Michigan. Running down the sand dunes just to fall over ourselves because the hill was so steep was, in my mind a great challenge. Cross Country Skiing in the Ludington, MI National Forest and coming home with red cheecks and sore legs and stories of what we came across in the forest made for some great show-and-tells at school.
You see, in this life I want my children to have those same great adventures, no matter if they are big or small. Sometimes it's the little things that have the biggest impact in little minds. So next time you see an ad on TV for Perry's Monument on Put-in-Bay and say I'd like to go there and check it out...or Amish Country for some great cheese or a neat hiking path in Hocking Hills....pack up the family and just do it. If your kids say they want ice cream from that place by the beach but it's 9 at night and they are in their jammies, so what, who's to say that's wrong? Jump in the car and get some ice cream from that place by the beach. While your at it, watch the sunset. I promise you won't be sorry because what's better than Making Memories. I can't think of a single thing?
I guess growing up, my parents were the same way, they took us on all sorts of adventures. If my dad had a hankering for Tony Paco's Chili, off we went to Toledo on a Sunday afternoon and I have to tell ya, it was some darn good chili. Remember going for "rides" in the car? Our family did that a lot. Usually on Sunday afternoons. No real destination in mind but we picked a direction to go and we went. Sometimes we'd come upon a Maple Festival and stop to sample the fresh made maple ice cream or hike the cliffs at Wolf's Ledges or see an awesome tree to climb and stop to take a picture after I finally was able to make it to the top. On vacations often times we would decide our next hotel on the road from a list of hotels/motels in our Trip Tik from AAA. My dad would see a sign for horseback riding in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada and sign us up for a day trip. Eating canned meat in the back of our Suburban in the middle of the Badlands with no one in sight for miles was not at all unusual to me. We stayed in motels with wild horses on one side and buffalo on the other and being in a rodeo in Cody, Wyoming was just about the neatest thing a 10 yr old got to do even if the prize for roping a calf was a 12 pack of sarsaparilla. Made no difference to me, I just went with the flow. Sometimes mom would wake us up in the morning on a school day and say, "Ya know what, you aren't going to school today, instead we are going shopping and out to lunch, just you and me!" We thought that was the best surprise ever and I have happy memories of those times. Ice skating across Lake Hamlin from our cottage to my dad's ice fishing shanty to bring him hot coffee and lunch was just another adventure on the Lake in Michigan. Running down the sand dunes just to fall over ourselves because the hill was so steep was, in my mind a great challenge. Cross Country Skiing in the Ludington, MI National Forest and coming home with red cheecks and sore legs and stories of what we came across in the forest made for some great show-and-tells at school.
You see, in this life I want my children to have those same great adventures, no matter if they are big or small. Sometimes it's the little things that have the biggest impact in little minds. So next time you see an ad on TV for Perry's Monument on Put-in-Bay and say I'd like to go there and check it out...or Amish Country for some great cheese or a neat hiking path in Hocking Hills....pack up the family and just do it. If your kids say they want ice cream from that place by the beach but it's 9 at night and they are in their jammies, so what, who's to say that's wrong? Jump in the car and get some ice cream from that place by the beach. While your at it, watch the sunset. I promise you won't be sorry because what's better than Making Memories. I can't think of a single thing?
Monday, May 13, 2013
A Thought about The Miracle in Cleveland
What a tragically, horrible yet remarkable story of 3 kidnapped teenage girls, held captive for over 10yrs., saved by an ordinary neighborhood guy, Charles Ramsey.
Ten years ago I just had my first baby. Ten years ago things were much different, life was not the same...ten years is a loooong time. These girls kept locked away from society, life and everything that is going on around them and without them. Only a few miles from each of there houses and families. A new baby girl born in captivity, I sound like I'm talking about animals, however, that is exactly how they were treated or I guess how I imagine it to have been. If I let my mind wander, I start to get really upset thinking of my own children in that situation. It's sickening really that another human being can do this, be so evil without any conscience. I guess it goes on more than we think in this world.
They are free due to Amanda Berry's bravery and a guy being in the right place at the right time, who did a selfless act in a short amount of time. Yes, I heard that their was another guy who helped but for whatever reason he didn't make the news like Mr. Ramsey. Here's what bothers me about this, or one of the things that bother me about this. Charles Ramsey is an interesting fellow, not perfect, could use a brush-up on social etiquette, uses colorful words to describe the rescue, probably made some poor choices in the past but nonetheless a pretty alright guy. Why is it that we take Mr. Ramsey's accounts of this dramatic rescue and turn his words into a song or viral video on You Tube? Sorry, but I don't find it funny. Nothing about this situation is a joke, nothing. He did a heroic thing, we reward and praise him for it but we don't sit and laugh at his accounts of this situation or pass it along to friends via facebook or other social media and attach the caption, "It was only a matter of time before this came out." Really? That makes me sick. I wouldn't feel good about myself if I was to belly laugh at something like this. Some might say that we have to find something to lighten up such a dark story....No You Do Not. We don't have that right to make a mockery of such a sadistic event. Sadly it is what it is. We thank God that these women and little girl are free and pray that they can heal after 10 years of captive abuse. We offer what we can to help make that healing process as smooth as it can be. We give them space and privacy that they are pleading to have but we don't make jokes about any of it.
Mr. Ramsey's life is also forever changed because of this, I can only imagine how he must feel. I can only imagine how the police feel after witnessing the horry that was within "that" house. I can only imagine how the neighborhood feels having lived so close to such a demonic creature. Each of those people will forever have to be reminded of the horrible things that went on just next door, down the street, across the street, at the next block over and so on. Those girls went home to families just a couple miles from "that" house, how could you go on with your life having to see "that" house all the time. I don't know but I think I would have to move. I would want to start over far, far away from the sadness that once was my life.
Anyway, I won't know how that viral video went or what the comments said about it on facebook, don't ask me if I saw how funny it was or tell me that I have to see it because I refuse to watch it. Personally speaking, something tells me that it's wrong and if it feels wrong, it probably is.
Ten years ago I just had my first baby. Ten years ago things were much different, life was not the same...ten years is a loooong time. These girls kept locked away from society, life and everything that is going on around them and without them. Only a few miles from each of there houses and families. A new baby girl born in captivity, I sound like I'm talking about animals, however, that is exactly how they were treated or I guess how I imagine it to have been. If I let my mind wander, I start to get really upset thinking of my own children in that situation. It's sickening really that another human being can do this, be so evil without any conscience. I guess it goes on more than we think in this world.
They are free due to Amanda Berry's bravery and a guy being in the right place at the right time, who did a selfless act in a short amount of time. Yes, I heard that their was another guy who helped but for whatever reason he didn't make the news like Mr. Ramsey. Here's what bothers me about this, or one of the things that bother me about this. Charles Ramsey is an interesting fellow, not perfect, could use a brush-up on social etiquette, uses colorful words to describe the rescue, probably made some poor choices in the past but nonetheless a pretty alright guy. Why is it that we take Mr. Ramsey's accounts of this dramatic rescue and turn his words into a song or viral video on You Tube? Sorry, but I don't find it funny. Nothing about this situation is a joke, nothing. He did a heroic thing, we reward and praise him for it but we don't sit and laugh at his accounts of this situation or pass it along to friends via facebook or other social media and attach the caption, "It was only a matter of time before this came out." Really? That makes me sick. I wouldn't feel good about myself if I was to belly laugh at something like this. Some might say that we have to find something to lighten up such a dark story....No You Do Not. We don't have that right to make a mockery of such a sadistic event. Sadly it is what it is. We thank God that these women and little girl are free and pray that they can heal after 10 years of captive abuse. We offer what we can to help make that healing process as smooth as it can be. We give them space and privacy that they are pleading to have but we don't make jokes about any of it.
Mr. Ramsey's life is also forever changed because of this, I can only imagine how he must feel. I can only imagine how the police feel after witnessing the horry that was within "that" house. I can only imagine how the neighborhood feels having lived so close to such a demonic creature. Each of those people will forever have to be reminded of the horrible things that went on just next door, down the street, across the street, at the next block over and so on. Those girls went home to families just a couple miles from "that" house, how could you go on with your life having to see "that" house all the time. I don't know but I think I would have to move. I would want to start over far, far away from the sadness that once was my life.
Anyway, I won't know how that viral video went or what the comments said about it on facebook, don't ask me if I saw how funny it was or tell me that I have to see it because I refuse to watch it. Personally speaking, something tells me that it's wrong and if it feels wrong, it probably is.
A Memory to Last a Lifetime
Not really sure why I started thinking this way but I recently decided that I am going to use the special things that I get as gifts from people. One might think that it's no revelation to think that way but to me it really is a new thing. Let me explain...
So for whatever reason I loved to keep all the things that people got me. I would receive olive oil from from my sister and brother-in-laws honeymoon in Italy, trinkets from Scotland when my sister & brother-in-law went there for a wedding, soap from my best friend's honeymoon in Paris, soaps from my 10 year anniversary trip to Jamaica, countless wines from everywhere, a crazy collection of hotel toiletries from all over the world, spices from Grenada, bracelets, earrings, sauces, pictures, trays, crystal and clothes. The list goes on and on. I would display some things so I could "look" at them for many years. I would put other things away for "safe keeping". I would say to myself, "Don't use that because then it will be all gone too fast." I would have excuse after excuse as to why I wouldn't use any of it. And so there is all sat, beautifully displayed on bathroom counters, wine cases, decorative shelfs, in a scrap book, in the pantry or my jewelry box. For years this went on until a couple months ago when it dawned on me that all those "special" things probably weren't that special if I never enjoyed them.
I thought to myself that all those people that took the time to pick these items out, carefully stuff them into suitcases so they could make it safely home, excitedly take time out of there day to present them to me with anticipation of me using them so I could share in the experience that they had...all so I could look at it or put it away.
No more, I say! I realized that people give gifts to be used and enjoyed. To provide feedback to them on how awesome that wine tasted and how and where I enjoyed it. How I used the trinkets and how I thought of them when I used the crystal or the trays. The compliments I received when I wore the bracelet, earrings or necklace. How the smell of the soap from our 10 year anniversary trip to Jamaica brought back the memories I had of a wonderful time. The emotion of a great product when I boast about it to everyone that if they are ever in Europe or the tropics, that they absolutely MUST check it out and grab some for themselves.
What was I saving these items for, only to be no good when I find them 10 years later. I found I was sad when I had to throw something away because it had gone way past an expiration date or didn't work anymore. When a friend asked how I liked something, I would say, "Oh, I didn't use that yet, I'm saving it, " only to see the disappointment in there faces.
I have now started using the soaps. I create a beautiful meal around a spectacular bottle of wine and drink it at it's peak. I wear the jewelry and tell of the special memories of where it came from and who gave it to me. I place my pot-luck on the trays and drink out of my crystal. I ask my guests if they can taste the particular spice I got from an island in the tropics. We don't know what tomorrow may bring so use the stuff, enjoy it, savor it, make a point to create a memory because memories last forever, things do not.
So for whatever reason I loved to keep all the things that people got me. I would receive olive oil from from my sister and brother-in-laws honeymoon in Italy, trinkets from Scotland when my sister & brother-in-law went there for a wedding, soap from my best friend's honeymoon in Paris, soaps from my 10 year anniversary trip to Jamaica, countless wines from everywhere, a crazy collection of hotel toiletries from all over the world, spices from Grenada, bracelets, earrings, sauces, pictures, trays, crystal and clothes. The list goes on and on. I would display some things so I could "look" at them for many years. I would put other things away for "safe keeping". I would say to myself, "Don't use that because then it will be all gone too fast." I would have excuse after excuse as to why I wouldn't use any of it. And so there is all sat, beautifully displayed on bathroom counters, wine cases, decorative shelfs, in a scrap book, in the pantry or my jewelry box. For years this went on until a couple months ago when it dawned on me that all those "special" things probably weren't that special if I never enjoyed them.
I thought to myself that all those people that took the time to pick these items out, carefully stuff them into suitcases so they could make it safely home, excitedly take time out of there day to present them to me with anticipation of me using them so I could share in the experience that they had...all so I could look at it or put it away.
No more, I say! I realized that people give gifts to be used and enjoyed. To provide feedback to them on how awesome that wine tasted and how and where I enjoyed it. How I used the trinkets and how I thought of them when I used the crystal or the trays. The compliments I received when I wore the bracelet, earrings or necklace. How the smell of the soap from our 10 year anniversary trip to Jamaica brought back the memories I had of a wonderful time. The emotion of a great product when I boast about it to everyone that if they are ever in Europe or the tropics, that they absolutely MUST check it out and grab some for themselves.
What was I saving these items for, only to be no good when I find them 10 years later. I found I was sad when I had to throw something away because it had gone way past an expiration date or didn't work anymore. When a friend asked how I liked something, I would say, "Oh, I didn't use that yet, I'm saving it, " only to see the disappointment in there faces.
I have now started using the soaps. I create a beautiful meal around a spectacular bottle of wine and drink it at it's peak. I wear the jewelry and tell of the special memories of where it came from and who gave it to me. I place my pot-luck on the trays and drink out of my crystal. I ask my guests if they can taste the particular spice I got from an island in the tropics. We don't know what tomorrow may bring so use the stuff, enjoy it, savor it, make a point to create a memory because memories last forever, things do not.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
A B C Easy as 1 2 3...
Sorry for the little hiatus, I'm back though. Was invited to be a part of a 2 week long online Mom Study. When I was told about it I didn't fully know the amount of time it would take me to do. It is a lot of work but as soon as I got rolling, I was able to knock out a bunch of stuff at a time. Anyway, it's good to be back at it.
So this week for us and next week for some is OAA Testing in the schools. Now...the schools have had standardized tests like this since I was in school. I am no way against it, I think it's fine and does serve a purpose but when I was in school I don't remember it being a huge deal, like to the point that I was stressed out about it. I would know the tests were coming up, I would take them, do as best as I could and move on to the next lesson. As a mom with kids in school, I am a little perplexed at the fear they put on the kids to do well. With a daughter who already deals with a little bit of anxiety, this isn't something I would consider worth stressing out the kids over. For at least two weeks before they were scheduled to take these tests, Anna would come home saying, "OAA's are in a couple weeks, I really have to study and go to bed early. I am so nervous, what if I don't do well, my teacher said I won't graduate to 5th grade or go to Swings-n-Things for our field trip?!" I assured her that it was nothing to stress over and to just do the best she can.
Now...don't get me wrong, I am all for studying hard to get good grades and going to bed early, that all is great advice but when they start throwing in that they won't graduate to the next grade level or won't be able to go on a field trip, that's where I draw the line. That is NOT okay in my book to tell the kids. They even went as far as to send home a letter that us parents had to sign about the importance of doing well on the test and NOT to finish early and if they do finish early to use that time check over their work a couple times. If they don't do that they will not be able to participate in the upcoming field trip. OH PULEASE!!!! That just makes me angry. First of all my child WILL NOT be held back because of a poor grade on a standardized test, that's for darn sure. Second, she will not be left out of a fun end of year field trip. I don't care how the school wants to spin it, that is not a productive way to ready the children for tests. That is just instilling unnecessary fear in them. What about the children who aren't good test takers? Do they get preferred treatment or do they just have to perform or else? Anna came home from school last Friday and said, "My teacher said that she will provide the mints but we are allowed to bring a water bottle to school to have during the test." Yeesh, while that all is very nice it's a bit overboard, don't ya think? Are a couple mints gonna help with test taking? I guess the whole way they go about it is a bit overboard. I have never heard of schools putting this much emphasis on these tests. Is it only me?
Let me put this into perspective, unless your child doesn't answer any questions, totally goofs off and doesn't care, nothing is going to happen!!! Nothing! So why am I so worked up over this, well because they work up my kids to the point that it's all I've been hearing about from my daughter about how nervous and worried she is for the past 2 weeks. Again, let me say that I am not against them, just against the way they stress out the children over them.
I also want to say that I love our school system and am super happy with most everything. I have really admired and have had nothing but good things to say about each of my kids teachers, they have been wonderful. But no school system is perfect and could always use some tweaking on the rules and policies. Another annoyance of mine is when they send home the paper for us parents to sign to have my child measured and weighed. I can say I do not want her measured and weighed or okay it. I "always" choose to not have this done to my children. I don't think it's any of the schools business to know my childs weight or height. What do they need that info for? Some say it's to determine the proper weight in children of today but that, to me, is not the schools job. I certainly don't need them telling me that she is within the perameters of a good weight or overweight or underweight. So I don't allow it, I and my childs doctors will be the judge of that. They can teach and promote good health and hygene and offer healthy school lunches but that is as far as I believe they need to go.
Even though it's our children who are attending school, it is our job to be fully invovled in what's going on at the school and with what our children are into. I am always questioning things and talking to my kids teachers and admin. I give praise when praise is due and provide feedback with suggestions for improvement or even tell them when something is right on. I am not the know-all of school policies or procedures but I sure as heck know what works and what isn't working for my children.
So this week for us and next week for some is OAA Testing in the schools. Now...the schools have had standardized tests like this since I was in school. I am no way against it, I think it's fine and does serve a purpose but when I was in school I don't remember it being a huge deal, like to the point that I was stressed out about it. I would know the tests were coming up, I would take them, do as best as I could and move on to the next lesson. As a mom with kids in school, I am a little perplexed at the fear they put on the kids to do well. With a daughter who already deals with a little bit of anxiety, this isn't something I would consider worth stressing out the kids over. For at least two weeks before they were scheduled to take these tests, Anna would come home saying, "OAA's are in a couple weeks, I really have to study and go to bed early. I am so nervous, what if I don't do well, my teacher said I won't graduate to 5th grade or go to Swings-n-Things for our field trip?!" I assured her that it was nothing to stress over and to just do the best she can.
Now...don't get me wrong, I am all for studying hard to get good grades and going to bed early, that all is great advice but when they start throwing in that they won't graduate to the next grade level or won't be able to go on a field trip, that's where I draw the line. That is NOT okay in my book to tell the kids. They even went as far as to send home a letter that us parents had to sign about the importance of doing well on the test and NOT to finish early and if they do finish early to use that time check over their work a couple times. If they don't do that they will not be able to participate in the upcoming field trip. OH PULEASE!!!! That just makes me angry. First of all my child WILL NOT be held back because of a poor grade on a standardized test, that's for darn sure. Second, she will not be left out of a fun end of year field trip. I don't care how the school wants to spin it, that is not a productive way to ready the children for tests. That is just instilling unnecessary fear in them. What about the children who aren't good test takers? Do they get preferred treatment or do they just have to perform or else? Anna came home from school last Friday and said, "My teacher said that she will provide the mints but we are allowed to bring a water bottle to school to have during the test." Yeesh, while that all is very nice it's a bit overboard, don't ya think? Are a couple mints gonna help with test taking? I guess the whole way they go about it is a bit overboard. I have never heard of schools putting this much emphasis on these tests. Is it only me?
Let me put this into perspective, unless your child doesn't answer any questions, totally goofs off and doesn't care, nothing is going to happen!!! Nothing! So why am I so worked up over this, well because they work up my kids to the point that it's all I've been hearing about from my daughter about how nervous and worried she is for the past 2 weeks. Again, let me say that I am not against them, just against the way they stress out the children over them.
I also want to say that I love our school system and am super happy with most everything. I have really admired and have had nothing but good things to say about each of my kids teachers, they have been wonderful. But no school system is perfect and could always use some tweaking on the rules and policies. Another annoyance of mine is when they send home the paper for us parents to sign to have my child measured and weighed. I can say I do not want her measured and weighed or okay it. I "always" choose to not have this done to my children. I don't think it's any of the schools business to know my childs weight or height. What do they need that info for? Some say it's to determine the proper weight in children of today but that, to me, is not the schools job. I certainly don't need them telling me that she is within the perameters of a good weight or overweight or underweight. So I don't allow it, I and my childs doctors will be the judge of that. They can teach and promote good health and hygene and offer healthy school lunches but that is as far as I believe they need to go.
Even though it's our children who are attending school, it is our job to be fully invovled in what's going on at the school and with what our children are into. I am always questioning things and talking to my kids teachers and admin. I give praise when praise is due and provide feedback with suggestions for improvement or even tell them when something is right on. I am not the know-all of school policies or procedures but I sure as heck know what works and what isn't working for my children.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Light, or Dark - Black, White or Green, Which do you Prefer?
Are you a coffee or tea drinker?
For someone who have never been much of a coffee drinker other than on the weekends, at a restaurant or if someone else makes it, I sure do like it now! For awhile, every time I would drink it I would get this weird jittery feeling that would make me feel like I couldn't settle down so I stayed away from it. Just recently I started making it in the mornings for myself and adding a fun flavored creamer in it and I'm beginning to really enjoy it. It's not like I am addicted to it and "have" to have my morning coffee before I talk to anyone, nothing like that. I mean, I can stop anytime... lol. In all seriousness, I barely have one cup but I do like it and I guess it gives me that little caffeine jolt that I need in the morning. A little story... when I was little my grandma, we called Babchi, would usually stay at our house on Saturday nights to go to church with our family on Sunday mornings. Early Sunday morning she was up and would make me "special coffee." Really all it was, was lots of sugar and milk and a little coffee. I thought that I was so cool being able to drink coffee like the grown-ups and have kuchen. Anyway, one of those special memories I have.
I used to only drink tea in the mornings. I love hot tea and iced tea. Every morning you would hear the whistle of the tea kettle and I would brew some fancy gourmet tea, thanks to my mom, she only gets the best. My mom is what you call a "Tea Expert." She does Afternoon Teas to different various groups around the city. During the Afternoon Tea, while you are enjoying the meal, she talks all about the history of tea and the different types that there are and so forth. She has even done some Children's Tea Parties, that are so beautiful for the kids. I had Sophie's 5th birthday party as a Formal Tea Party. All the little ladies and gentleman wore there most fancy outfits, played fun games like Pass the Parcel and ate like royalty. It's funny how they have the best manners when you let them use your best china. It's wonderful really and some of my friends and family have had the privilege of attending some of her events. Well, if you've ever been to one of my sister or I's wedding or baby shower's, then you've tasted some of her many creations she whips up. She by far has the best scone recipe around, you would swear it came straight from England and her clotted cream is to die for, I am so not kidding. Then she makes assorted tea sandwiches and shortbread cookies that you can't get enough of. Anyway, being her daughter, I am one lucky gal, I get to help, which means I get to snitch, I mean taste test the food, you know, to make sure it's good to serve. It always is. If there is anything left, my sister and I fight for the leftovers. You never drink out of paper cups, she always brings her collection of china tea cups. So, If you have an event you need to plan and would like something different, I could hook you up with the best around.
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For someone who have never been much of a coffee drinker other than on the weekends, at a restaurant or if someone else makes it, I sure do like it now! For awhile, every time I would drink it I would get this weird jittery feeling that would make me feel like I couldn't settle down so I stayed away from it. Just recently I started making it in the mornings for myself and adding a fun flavored creamer in it and I'm beginning to really enjoy it. It's not like I am addicted to it and "have" to have my morning coffee before I talk to anyone, nothing like that. I mean, I can stop anytime... lol. In all seriousness, I barely have one cup but I do like it and I guess it gives me that little caffeine jolt that I need in the morning. A little story... when I was little my grandma, we called Babchi, would usually stay at our house on Saturday nights to go to church with our family on Sunday mornings. Early Sunday morning she was up and would make me "special coffee." Really all it was, was lots of sugar and milk and a little coffee. I thought that I was so cool being able to drink coffee like the grown-ups and have kuchen. Anyway, one of those special memories I have.
I used to only drink tea in the mornings. I love hot tea and iced tea. Every morning you would hear the whistle of the tea kettle and I would brew some fancy gourmet tea, thanks to my mom, she only gets the best. My mom is what you call a "Tea Expert." She does Afternoon Teas to different various groups around the city. During the Afternoon Tea, while you are enjoying the meal, she talks all about the history of tea and the different types that there are and so forth. She has even done some Children's Tea Parties, that are so beautiful for the kids. I had Sophie's 5th birthday party as a Formal Tea Party. All the little ladies and gentleman wore there most fancy outfits, played fun games like Pass the Parcel and ate like royalty. It's funny how they have the best manners when you let them use your best china. It's wonderful really and some of my friends and family have had the privilege of attending some of her events. Well, if you've ever been to one of my sister or I's wedding or baby shower's, then you've tasted some of her many creations she whips up. She by far has the best scone recipe around, you would swear it came straight from England and her clotted cream is to die for, I am so not kidding. Then she makes assorted tea sandwiches and shortbread cookies that you can't get enough of. Anyway, being her daughter, I am one lucky gal, I get to help, which means I get to snitch, I mean taste test the food, you know, to make sure it's good to serve. It always is. If there is anything left, my sister and I fight for the leftovers. You never drink out of paper cups, she always brings her collection of china tea cups. So, If you have an event you need to plan and would like something different, I could hook you up with the best around.
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Achoooooooooo!
Ever since I can pretty much remember, I have suffered with some form of allergies. It was around the time that my family moved to our house in Middleburg Hts., OH, I was 7 yrs. old, that I remember spending many summer afternoons knocked out on the couch from the allergy medicine I was given. If I wasn't on the medicine I was miserable. I sneezed a hundred times a day, had itchy watery eyes, runny nose and broke out in hives. It was awful!!! As I grew older, I adjusted to living with allergies, I had no other choice. Fast forward to today and I still have days that I'm knocked out on the couch bacause of my allergies.
During the past 35-36 yrs I have been dealing with this, about every 7 years or so they say, my allergies would change. I would start to be allergic to something new and maybe stop being allergic to something I use to be and then some would stay the same. I had been to many doctors about it and tried numerous medicines to relieve them. I have gone into Anaphylactic shock a few times that landed me in the hospital on more than one occasion. It sucked really. When I was younger it was plain scary but after the first time it happened I knew when it was coming on and what to do and what to avoid if possible. For many years I carried an Epi Pen with me everywhere, just in case. Luckily or unluckily, whichever way you want to look at it, I never had to use it and the one time I did need it, it was expired and I had to rush to the hospital. Of course it always came on in the most inopportune times so it became more of a nuisance than anything. The trigger of those sever allergic reactions would be food. I was told I was allergic to mango's, Red dye #4, chicken skin, dairy (milk), store bought spaghetti sauce and the list goes on but those are the main ones. My parents made the changes to my diet and I of course thought it was a the worst thing ever to have to give up certain things I loved but I did it and it was fine. I knew what to stay away from and again, I knew how to handle it. Along with the food allergies I had, I was also allergic to cat dander, pollen, fresh cut grass, dust and random unknown things that they didn't find. I sneeze more times in a day than Neil does in a whole year. If you know me, you know that I almost always have a tissue or two with me at all times, along with my allergy medicine. I am always open to trying something new and natural to make them better and through a friend who recently said to try raw apple cidar vinegar everyday. I haven't yet looked into that option but believe you me, I will! It's just one of those on-going battles I deal with and my family just knows that's part of what makes me, me. I'm hopeful that when I grow up, they will just go away....a girl can hope, right?
Now having dealt with anaphylaxis and every other allergy, I think I can say that I don't know why all of a sudden schools have made peanut allergies such a huge deal. Whereas they have devoted entire classrooms and lunch tables to children with nut allergies. Everyone is so overprotective about what is brought into the classrooms if you are sharing with other kids. Believe me, if a child has a severe peanut allergy, then they know not to eat certain things or not to accept a treat that they don't know what's in it or if they are too young then the teacher should know but I do not think that entire classrooms should be devoted to nut allergy kids. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't care about those children who suffer with nut allergies, I do and I understand what could happen, I've been there. I mean I went into my child's school to have lunch with her and was not even eating anything, did not have any food with me, sat on the chair at the nut allergy lunch table and was immedietly shooed off saying I could harm the other kids at that table. Ok...here's the thing, you can't shelter those kids who go to a school that not everyone has a peanut allergy. They will come in contact with children who have eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or someone who has touched a peanut, whether it be on the playground, bus or walking in the halls. I just don't get it. It's too much. If your child has that severe of an allergy towards something, that you fear for his or her life, then sending your child to a school that most of the children there do not have allergies, then no amount of seperation, aside from seclusion, is going to matter.
Anyway, been dealing with pollen allergy attacks lately with crazy itchy eyes and chalk it up to the time of the year, Spring. I will continue my search for a snake oil remedy, as my husband likes to call it, in hopes that I'll find it sooner than later. If you suffer like I do, I feel for you. But know this, I don't let it ruin a single thing I want to do or eat anymore. I figure that is the only way I'll know if things have changed or not and I'm not missing out on anything! Maybe I've lost my marbles thinking that way but never been one let myself be sick without fighting every second of it.
During the past 35-36 yrs I have been dealing with this, about every 7 years or so they say, my allergies would change. I would start to be allergic to something new and maybe stop being allergic to something I use to be and then some would stay the same. I had been to many doctors about it and tried numerous medicines to relieve them. I have gone into Anaphylactic shock a few times that landed me in the hospital on more than one occasion. It sucked really. When I was younger it was plain scary but after the first time it happened I knew when it was coming on and what to do and what to avoid if possible. For many years I carried an Epi Pen with me everywhere, just in case. Luckily or unluckily, whichever way you want to look at it, I never had to use it and the one time I did need it, it was expired and I had to rush to the hospital. Of course it always came on in the most inopportune times so it became more of a nuisance than anything. The trigger of those sever allergic reactions would be food. I was told I was allergic to mango's, Red dye #4, chicken skin, dairy (milk), store bought spaghetti sauce and the list goes on but those are the main ones. My parents made the changes to my diet and I of course thought it was a the worst thing ever to have to give up certain things I loved but I did it and it was fine. I knew what to stay away from and again, I knew how to handle it. Along with the food allergies I had, I was also allergic to cat dander, pollen, fresh cut grass, dust and random unknown things that they didn't find. I sneeze more times in a day than Neil does in a whole year. If you know me, you know that I almost always have a tissue or two with me at all times, along with my allergy medicine. I am always open to trying something new and natural to make them better and through a friend who recently said to try raw apple cidar vinegar everyday. I haven't yet looked into that option but believe you me, I will! It's just one of those on-going battles I deal with and my family just knows that's part of what makes me, me. I'm hopeful that when I grow up, they will just go away....a girl can hope, right?
Now having dealt with anaphylaxis and every other allergy, I think I can say that I don't know why all of a sudden schools have made peanut allergies such a huge deal. Whereas they have devoted entire classrooms and lunch tables to children with nut allergies. Everyone is so overprotective about what is brought into the classrooms if you are sharing with other kids. Believe me, if a child has a severe peanut allergy, then they know not to eat certain things or not to accept a treat that they don't know what's in it or if they are too young then the teacher should know but I do not think that entire classrooms should be devoted to nut allergy kids. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't care about those children who suffer with nut allergies, I do and I understand what could happen, I've been there. I mean I went into my child's school to have lunch with her and was not even eating anything, did not have any food with me, sat on the chair at the nut allergy lunch table and was immedietly shooed off saying I could harm the other kids at that table. Ok...here's the thing, you can't shelter those kids who go to a school that not everyone has a peanut allergy. They will come in contact with children who have eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or someone who has touched a peanut, whether it be on the playground, bus or walking in the halls. I just don't get it. It's too much. If your child has that severe of an allergy towards something, that you fear for his or her life, then sending your child to a school that most of the children there do not have allergies, then no amount of seperation, aside from seclusion, is going to matter.
Anyway, been dealing with pollen allergy attacks lately with crazy itchy eyes and chalk it up to the time of the year, Spring. I will continue my search for a snake oil remedy, as my husband likes to call it, in hopes that I'll find it sooner than later. If you suffer like I do, I feel for you. But know this, I don't let it ruin a single thing I want to do or eat anymore. I figure that is the only way I'll know if things have changed or not and I'm not missing out on anything! Maybe I've lost my marbles thinking that way but never been one let myself be sick without fighting every second of it.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
I've Been Duped!
I'd like to say I consider myself pretty smart when it comes to telling whether or not things on the internet are true or real but this time, I was duped. Anna needed to do a project for school that either has a chemical or physical change. She had to come up with 3 ideas, present them to her teacher and decide on one. The one she decided on was The Glowing Mountain Dew Bottle. Now, I'm no chemist so don't judge but it seemed to me that it was a good, simple experiment that she could do in a 4th grade science class. This is how it was "supposed" to work: You take 3/4 of the pop out of the bottle, add 1/8 tsp baking soda and 3 cap full's of peroxide to the remaining 1/4 of pop in the bottle, replace the lid, tighten, shake and bingo, it was supposed to glow. It didn't do anything of the sort. All it did was make the pop cloudy. I then looked at all the reviews of this experiment and ALL of them said it didn't work, duh, ya think I would have looked at them BEFORE she made it her project of choice. Neil also checked Snopes and it came up with a big fat FALSE. Oh well, happens to the best of us sometimes. Figured if I posted this, I could save a few of you some time and disappointment and go onto something else.
Neil to the rescue...instead we went with a Buoyancy and Density Experiment, that is tried and true. It's equally as simple. Here is how it works: You take that same plastic bottle, fill it up completely with water, take a liquid fast food sauce packet such as soy sauce, add it to the water bottle. It will float. Seal the bottle. Squeeze the center of the bottle hard, you will see the packet sink to the bottom. Release pressure and the packet floats to the top. Simply put, by squeezing the bottle, it makes the bubble in the packet get smaller and the entire packet more dense, so it sinks.
I've since found some other good one's that I looked up and saw that they worked equally well. So, don't get duped like me, read the reviews.
Neil to the rescue...instead we went with a Buoyancy and Density Experiment, that is tried and true. It's equally as simple. Here is how it works: You take that same plastic bottle, fill it up completely with water, take a liquid fast food sauce packet such as soy sauce, add it to the water bottle. It will float. Seal the bottle. Squeeze the center of the bottle hard, you will see the packet sink to the bottom. Release pressure and the packet floats to the top. Simply put, by squeezing the bottle, it makes the bubble in the packet get smaller and the entire packet more dense, so it sinks.
I've since found some other good one's that I looked up and saw that they worked equally well. So, don't get duped like me, read the reviews.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Stress at it's Highest Level but Still Wouldn't Switch Places with Anyone!
Notice I haven't been posting in the last couple weeks? Well, we have had quite a couple weeks in Our House. Let me tell you about them...Spring break started 2:30pm Friday March 22nd. That day was also the first day that the Kelleys Island Ferry Boats started running on a very limited schedule and the day Neil went up to the island to open up the cottages and start doing some work on the Our House cottage. Anyway, so I thought it would be fun to take the kids and a friend to Southpark Mall to window shop and have dinner. Sophie had been telling me that her tummy hurt but I hear that so much from one kid or another that I just said that maybe she was hungry. Well long story short, poor sweet Sophie threw up in the glass elevator at the mall. All fun ceased at that point and home we went. Some way to start off break. We then had plans to go to the Natural History Museum with my mother-in-law the very next morning on Saturday, that got cancelled. Instead we tried to cheer her up with some egg coloring and candy making but she was just to sick to enjoy any of it.
Sunday rolls around and we are anxiously waiting for the time when Neil would be arriving back home from KI. Sophie is still not feeling well and has a fever so pretty much our weekend consisted of hanging around the house taking care of Soph. About 3:30pm I get a call on my cell from a number I didn't recognize so I let it go, however, I immedietly get the same number call my home phone and I listen to the person leaving the message and realize it's Neil asking me to pick up, that it's an emergency. Uh oh, not what I wanted to hear so I pick up the phone and Neil, in a rush to make the 4:30pm ferry, locks his keys in his truck along with his phone and everything else. At first I was going to have to get someone to watch the kids while I drive out to Marble Head to the ferry dock and pick Neil up but our island neighbor, Chris who lives near the ferry dock, said he would drive him home. Thank goodness for good neighbors! Then the what-if's started running through my head...like what if chris wasn't at the cottage then? Neil would have had to walk from the cottage to the ferry dock and wait for me on the mainland until I got there. Not the end of the world but it was freezing and after a long weekend of working, not what he would have wanted to do. Neil and Chris tried without success, to open the lock and at that point, Neil was fit to be tied!!! He gets home and we figure that we would go first thing in the a.m. to head back up to the island and retrieve his truck. I had my mom lined up to come over at 6:25am to watch the kids while we go on this adventure.
The adventure begins...we wake up to about 5 inches of snow on the ground and it still snowing like crazy but see you can't just call the KI Ferry Dock to see if the boats are running because they don't open until a 1/2 hour before the first ferry is to depart. Well if we waited until then, we'd never make the 8 am ferry and be able to get to the island, retrieve the truck, turn around and get on the 9:30am ferry back to the mainland. Then the next ferry boat wasn't until 4pm. So we make our way out, we get to Sandusky in a snow storm, call the ferry dock and were told that they are not running the boats that day and weren't sure they would run them Tues. either. OMG, seriously?! Ok, families lived with one car, so we can too. I mean I grew up with our family only having 1 car for a lot of years and I never really noticed it being too much of a problem. I guess times have changed because it was a problem! Not only did Neil have to take my car but I had to give him my phone for work, so I was left with nothing or Anna's phone. Wednesday we would try the ferry boat again.
Tues comes around and Neil has to work late so we are stuck at home again, no car and no phone. Sophie gets what I suspect to be a UTI that needs attention and a prescription from a doctor. No problem right? Wrong! How would I get her to the doctor without a car? My mom to the rescue again! I take Sophie in my mom's car to Rocky River Urgent Care, wait 1 hr, go get her prescription and come home. My mom goes home because she will be back over the next morning at 6:25am so we can try the ferry boat again.
It is now Wednesday early morning, no snow on the ground so we think that this might be the day to finally get over to the island. We get to the ferry dock and get on the 8am ferry, hallelujah!!!! The sun was shining, the island looked so pretty. We get to Our House cottage and there in a beam of sunlight, was Neil's truck. All is well in the world at this point. We get back on the 9:30am ferry and home by noon.
NOW, let Spring Break Begin! Sophie is feeling better and all of us needed to get out and have a little fun the rest of the week. We managed to go to the Cleveland Auquarium, The Childrens Museum, the Rainforest and the Zoo, went to Good Friday service with the family, out to Red Slopster for lunch, fun with friends at the Westlake Rec Center, grandparents sleepover, Easter Sunday with the family and wrapped up break with fun with cousins at the play yard McDonalds and Anna at the IX Indoor Amusement park. Nothing can bring down the Stenger Family, we can be slowed down but not stopped! Even with everything that went on I kept thinking to myself that things could always be worse and I wouldn't trade places with anyone, I was still happy being in that moment of chaos with my family. Builds character, patience and believe it or not, memories!
Sunday rolls around and we are anxiously waiting for the time when Neil would be arriving back home from KI. Sophie is still not feeling well and has a fever so pretty much our weekend consisted of hanging around the house taking care of Soph. About 3:30pm I get a call on my cell from a number I didn't recognize so I let it go, however, I immedietly get the same number call my home phone and I listen to the person leaving the message and realize it's Neil asking me to pick up, that it's an emergency. Uh oh, not what I wanted to hear so I pick up the phone and Neil, in a rush to make the 4:30pm ferry, locks his keys in his truck along with his phone and everything else. At first I was going to have to get someone to watch the kids while I drive out to Marble Head to the ferry dock and pick Neil up but our island neighbor, Chris who lives near the ferry dock, said he would drive him home. Thank goodness for good neighbors! Then the what-if's started running through my head...like what if chris wasn't at the cottage then? Neil would have had to walk from the cottage to the ferry dock and wait for me on the mainland until I got there. Not the end of the world but it was freezing and after a long weekend of working, not what he would have wanted to do. Neil and Chris tried without success, to open the lock and at that point, Neil was fit to be tied!!! He gets home and we figure that we would go first thing in the a.m. to head back up to the island and retrieve his truck. I had my mom lined up to come over at 6:25am to watch the kids while we go on this adventure.
The adventure begins...we wake up to about 5 inches of snow on the ground and it still snowing like crazy but see you can't just call the KI Ferry Dock to see if the boats are running because they don't open until a 1/2 hour before the first ferry is to depart. Well if we waited until then, we'd never make the 8 am ferry and be able to get to the island, retrieve the truck, turn around and get on the 9:30am ferry back to the mainland. Then the next ferry boat wasn't until 4pm. So we make our way out, we get to Sandusky in a snow storm, call the ferry dock and were told that they are not running the boats that day and weren't sure they would run them Tues. either. OMG, seriously?! Ok, families lived with one car, so we can too. I mean I grew up with our family only having 1 car for a lot of years and I never really noticed it being too much of a problem. I guess times have changed because it was a problem! Not only did Neil have to take my car but I had to give him my phone for work, so I was left with nothing or Anna's phone. Wednesday we would try the ferry boat again.
Tues comes around and Neil has to work late so we are stuck at home again, no car and no phone. Sophie gets what I suspect to be a UTI that needs attention and a prescription from a doctor. No problem right? Wrong! How would I get her to the doctor without a car? My mom to the rescue again! I take Sophie in my mom's car to Rocky River Urgent Care, wait 1 hr, go get her prescription and come home. My mom goes home because she will be back over the next morning at 6:25am so we can try the ferry boat again.
It is now Wednesday early morning, no snow on the ground so we think that this might be the day to finally get over to the island. We get to the ferry dock and get on the 8am ferry, hallelujah!!!! The sun was shining, the island looked so pretty. We get to Our House cottage and there in a beam of sunlight, was Neil's truck. All is well in the world at this point. We get back on the 9:30am ferry and home by noon.
NOW, let Spring Break Begin! Sophie is feeling better and all of us needed to get out and have a little fun the rest of the week. We managed to go to the Cleveland Auquarium, The Childrens Museum, the Rainforest and the Zoo, went to Good Friday service with the family, out to Red Slopster for lunch, fun with friends at the Westlake Rec Center, grandparents sleepover, Easter Sunday with the family and wrapped up break with fun with cousins at the play yard McDonalds and Anna at the IX Indoor Amusement park. Nothing can bring down the Stenger Family, we can be slowed down but not stopped! Even with everything that went on I kept thinking to myself that things could always be worse and I wouldn't trade places with anyone, I was still happy being in that moment of chaos with my family. Builds character, patience and believe it or not, memories!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Living Easter
I found this project online a few years ago and wanted to try it but always waited too long to start it. This year I was determined to do it so I got my butt in gear, got my supplies ahead of time and yesterday made it! Not really sure what the project is called but I am going to name it, "Living Easter Project". Here are a few pics of how we did ours.
Sophie as my little assistant, getting all the supplies together. Which are: potting soil, a large shallow round pot which I found at the dollar store, a small pot to use as the tomb, rocks for the path out of the tomb, a large rock to put aside the tomb to signify the tomb was empty and stone was rolled away, rapid growing grass seed such as rye grass, sticks to make the three crosses, rope to tie the sticks together in the shape of a cross and I added moss for the sides of the stone path.
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The finished product once the grass grew in. I had to "cut" the grass three times before Easter Sunday.
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I wanted to make sure that my kids knew that Easter wasn't just about Easter bunnies, baskets and candy. Although that is fun and we do all those things too, knowing that Christ died on the cross for our sins on Good Friday and rose again on Easter is what is most important. Doing projects like these is a fun way to teach the kids in a way they will remember. I will post a picture of the end result once the grass grows in. Then I will take it to my parents house to display for all to see on Easter Sunday.
May each of you have a blessed Easter!
Enjoy these songs. I believe this was my grandmas favorite church hymn and it is mine also. Crazy how some songs can be so moving. It is beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT88jBAoVIM
Here is a rendition by Chris Tomlin that is also quite beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I
Sophie as my little assistant, getting all the supplies together. Which are: potting soil, a large shallow round pot which I found at the dollar store, a small pot to use as the tomb, rocks for the path out of the tomb, a large rock to put aside the tomb to signify the tomb was empty and stone was rolled away, rapid growing grass seed such as rye grass, sticks to make the three crosses, rope to tie the sticks together in the shape of a cross and I added moss for the sides of the stone path.
Sophie working hard designing the project with me. Like her mommy, she loves to get right in there and get her hands in the dirt. We can't wait to go outside and start planting our gardens and flower pots but until then these types of projects will have to do.
Completed without the crosses. I will spray the grass seed with a water bottle a few times a day and cover with plastic wrap until the grass starts to grow. Then I will remove the plastic, add the crosses and continue to water. It is important to remember that you will need to allow yourself anywhere from 7-10 days for the grass to grow for your finished project by Easter. You need to put in a light area so when the grass does grow it will grow straight and thick instead of sparse and droopy.
Showing you how the crosses look. I'll take them off until the grass starts to grow but I wanted you to have a visual of the end product. I am so pleased with it. You could do anything you want as far as what you added to it just as long as you keep the main things in place...the crosses and the empty tomb with the rolled away stone.
The finished product once the grass grew in. I had to "cut" the grass three times before Easter Sunday.
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I wanted to make sure that my kids knew that Easter wasn't just about Easter bunnies, baskets and candy. Although that is fun and we do all those things too, knowing that Christ died on the cross for our sins on Good Friday and rose again on Easter is what is most important. Doing projects like these is a fun way to teach the kids in a way they will remember. I will post a picture of the end result once the grass grows in. Then I will take it to my parents house to display for all to see on Easter Sunday.
May each of you have a blessed Easter!
Enjoy these songs. I believe this was my grandmas favorite church hymn and it is mine also. Crazy how some songs can be so moving. It is beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT88jBAoVIM
Here is a rendition by Chris Tomlin that is also quite beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
You're Worth More Than Gold
Thought I'd share a song that I've been jamming to all morning! A friend shared it with me a couple weeks ago and I loved it. So today I came across it again and figured I'd share it with all of you.
On top of it being a catchy tune, the words are so great too! I wish I could put up posters of the words all around my kids schools as well as taping them to each kid. Good reminder for us adults as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YUfy58Gac4
SO...whether you're having a stinky day and need a mood changer or you're having a great day and want to turn it up a notch, this song is for you!
Rock on my friends!
On top of it being a catchy tune, the words are so great too! I wish I could put up posters of the words all around my kids schools as well as taping them to each kid. Good reminder for us adults as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YUfy58Gac4
SO...whether you're having a stinky day and need a mood changer or you're having a great day and want to turn it up a notch, this song is for you!
Rock on my friends!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Livin La Vida Loca
Big Ole Fail This Week!
Up until this year, 2013, I would say I had it pretty easy. By whose standards, well mine I guess. Easy meaning compared to this year's happenings, it's been a piece of cake. Lately baby Neil's mischief has brought back Sophie's toddler years and those years were enough to make any mom check herself into the loony bin. But as the years went by, I soon forgot them. That is...until now. I would often say, "If I got through Sophie's destruction, I can (literally) handle whatever this baby throws my way!" Well here we are and I'm getting it thrown at me from all different directions as if to say, "Ha, how do you like me now!" Yep, I'm sticking my foot in my mouth alright. Ok, ok, it's not THAT bad, well maybe to some it is. A mom's gotta do a little whining too, I mean we learn from the best!
Here's a little peek at what baby Neil's been up to or into, whichever way you want to look at it. During the Sophie years I had to buy special child-proof locks to put on our pantry and laundry room door because that leads out into the garage. With these locks on the doors, even without locking them, it makes them hard to turn. Well baby boy has figured it out. Just this week, he has gone outside into the garage when he felt like it and I found him playing with the sidewalk chalk, no coat, shoes or socks. That was fun finding him there. Next day, he figured since he was able to go outside and that door is locked, he might as well try the pantry door to see what he could find in there. You guessed it...he found a box of instant cafe mocha and evenly spread it all around my kitchen floor. I just don't know how much more "fun" I can take? Apparently I needed more because today Sophie didn't lock the pantry door after she came home from school and little "Houdini in training" decided to check out the pantry again to see what he could find. He found the paper napkins and played 152 pick-up with them and a baggie full of tea leaves thrown around the kitchen. I'm just having a ball over here, don't you wanna join me?!
Are you thinking that I should be watching him more? Well if that's what you are thinking you must either A) don't have kids B) all your kids are grown C) have only one kid that you say is an angel and never gets into anything or D) are a person out of touch with reality. Anyway, I have a house to keep, calls to make, laundry to do, kids to feed, fights to referee, contractors to monitor, homework to check, games to play, toys to pick-up, taxi service to provide and 20 questions to answer every hour- SO- no, my eyes are not on baby Neil 24/7. He's a baby and baby's are busy and with busy comes exploring and with exploring comes learing. See the pattern here. Well by #3 you get pretty good at figuring stuff out so you'd think I'd be ahead of the game. Sometimes I am and then other times I think that this one isn't going to do what the other's did and WHAMMO they got me. It's those times that I have to stop, take a bunch of deep breaths and continue on...ok, maybe a little bit of shouting along with the deep breaths, a glass of wine, a couple Advil and a few prayers for patience, I didn't say I was perfect.
Then at night when all my babies are asleep and all I have are my thoughts, I think about the days happenings and I think, small kids, small problems. One day they will be grown and I'll be wishing for the laundry door escapes and spontaneous pantry reorganizations. Right now I'll focus on the sweet smiles, big hugs and kisses, lots of lovin and the 20 innocent questions an hour.
Up until this year, 2013, I would say I had it pretty easy. By whose standards, well mine I guess. Easy meaning compared to this year's happenings, it's been a piece of cake. Lately baby Neil's mischief has brought back Sophie's toddler years and those years were enough to make any mom check herself into the loony bin. But as the years went by, I soon forgot them. That is...until now. I would often say, "If I got through Sophie's destruction, I can (literally) handle whatever this baby throws my way!" Well here we are and I'm getting it thrown at me from all different directions as if to say, "Ha, how do you like me now!" Yep, I'm sticking my foot in my mouth alright. Ok, ok, it's not THAT bad, well maybe to some it is. A mom's gotta do a little whining too, I mean we learn from the best!
Here's a little peek at what baby Neil's been up to or into, whichever way you want to look at it. During the Sophie years I had to buy special child-proof locks to put on our pantry and laundry room door because that leads out into the garage. With these locks on the doors, even without locking them, it makes them hard to turn. Well baby boy has figured it out. Just this week, he has gone outside into the garage when he felt like it and I found him playing with the sidewalk chalk, no coat, shoes or socks. That was fun finding him there. Next day, he figured since he was able to go outside and that door is locked, he might as well try the pantry door to see what he could find in there. You guessed it...he found a box of instant cafe mocha and evenly spread it all around my kitchen floor. I just don't know how much more "fun" I can take? Apparently I needed more because today Sophie didn't lock the pantry door after she came home from school and little "Houdini in training" decided to check out the pantry again to see what he could find. He found the paper napkins and played 152 pick-up with them and a baggie full of tea leaves thrown around the kitchen. I'm just having a ball over here, don't you wanna join me?!
Are you thinking that I should be watching him more? Well if that's what you are thinking you must either A) don't have kids B) all your kids are grown C) have only one kid that you say is an angel and never gets into anything or D) are a person out of touch with reality. Anyway, I have a house to keep, calls to make, laundry to do, kids to feed, fights to referee, contractors to monitor, homework to check, games to play, toys to pick-up, taxi service to provide and 20 questions to answer every hour- SO- no, my eyes are not on baby Neil 24/7. He's a baby and baby's are busy and with busy comes exploring and with exploring comes learing. See the pattern here. Well by #3 you get pretty good at figuring stuff out so you'd think I'd be ahead of the game. Sometimes I am and then other times I think that this one isn't going to do what the other's did and WHAMMO they got me. It's those times that I have to stop, take a bunch of deep breaths and continue on...ok, maybe a little bit of shouting along with the deep breaths, a glass of wine, a couple Advil and a few prayers for patience, I didn't say I was perfect.
Then at night when all my babies are asleep and all I have are my thoughts, I think about the days happenings and I think, small kids, small problems. One day they will be grown and I'll be wishing for the laundry door escapes and spontaneous pantry reorganizations. Right now I'll focus on the sweet smiles, big hugs and kisses, lots of lovin and the 20 innocent questions an hour.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Our House
Some might wonder how I came about the name of my blog. Seems self explanatory but there is more behind it. Not only am I sharing the goings-on in Our House but the fails too. Everyone is welcome and every comment is welcome in Our House. You know the saying, "not in my house", yeah, it means that too. It's also the name of our 2nd cottage on Kelley's Island. Our House is the name of our wedding song by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7goifK_2qY
Most importantly it is these words that we live by, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15.
Which brings me to today's topic, being a Christian. For those who don't know me, I am a Christian. Did I say in another blog post of mine that one doesn't talk about politics or religion with friends and family? Well just because "It's been said" doesn't mean I follow that saying. I saw this and thought that it really says it all.
Some people have asked me how I can be so positive all the time. I can't take credit for that, I pray often for help to be a better mom, a better wife, daughter, sister and friend and I believe God is with me every step of the way. People say, "Well you haven't had it as bad as I have" or "You can't possibly understand what I am going through" but truth is, sometimes my pain feels just as dark and heavy as yours, just in a different way. I just take that dark and heavy pain and give it to God. I trust he knows what he is doing and that his plan is far greater than my understanding. I've had people say to me when they are talking about something they don't think I'd agree with, "Sorry Bon, but...". You don't have to be sorry. Actually by you saying that tells me I am being exactly the person I want to be and it's showing in my actions and words. I would have to say that you just paid me a compliment.
I don't claim to know all the answers about Christianity, to be honest I still have a lot of questions myself as to why God did this or that or why he let's certain things happen to us and those we love? Some of those questions can be answered and some I won't know the answer until I ask God myself when I stand before him when my time on Earth has ended. Until then I will live my life as a imperfect Christian women, in an imperfect world saved by the Grace of God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7goifK_2qY
Most importantly it is these words that we live by, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15.
Which brings me to today's topic, being a Christian. For those who don't know me, I am a Christian. Did I say in another blog post of mine that one doesn't talk about politics or religion with friends and family? Well just because "It's been said" doesn't mean I follow that saying. I saw this and thought that it really says it all.
Some people have asked me how I can be so positive all the time. I can't take credit for that, I pray often for help to be a better mom, a better wife, daughter, sister and friend and I believe God is with me every step of the way. People say, "Well you haven't had it as bad as I have" or "You can't possibly understand what I am going through" but truth is, sometimes my pain feels just as dark and heavy as yours, just in a different way. I just take that dark and heavy pain and give it to God. I trust he knows what he is doing and that his plan is far greater than my understanding. I've had people say to me when they are talking about something they don't think I'd agree with, "Sorry Bon, but...". You don't have to be sorry. Actually by you saying that tells me I am being exactly the person I want to be and it's showing in my actions and words. I would have to say that you just paid me a compliment.
I don't claim to know all the answers about Christianity, to be honest I still have a lot of questions myself as to why God did this or that or why he let's certain things happen to us and those we love? Some of those questions can be answered and some I won't know the answer until I ask God myself when I stand before him when my time on Earth has ended. Until then I will live my life as a imperfect Christian women, in an imperfect world saved by the Grace of God.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Things That Make You Go Hmm?
So why is it that I have two bottles, one each of shampoo and conditioner, using the same amount of each when I wash my hair and I run out of shampoo before the conditioner. So I am left with 1/4 full bottles of conditioner. If I just buy a new bottle of shampoo then I will most certainly run out of conditioner so I always buy both and end up having 3 bottles laying around. I could marry them but I don't always buy the same kind every time. Just one of those thing's that I think about when I take a shower. There are a ton of those things that make you go hmm, aren't there?
On a different note, I was talking to my sister who told me about a great find she got at Trader Joe's, Coconut Oil and all the things you can use it for. I had seen it there but never bought it. Then I saw a bunch of stuff on Pintrest about it so decided to buy 2 jars. It has got to be one of the best buys I've made in awhile. I keep one in the bathroom for moisturizing and one in the kitchen for cooking. I slather it on my feet then put socks on. I do this in the morning and before bed and I can't tell you what a difference it's made. I use it on my lips and hands and I cook with it too. The cool thing about using it to cook with is that it tolerates high heat very well. It's not overpowering in taste or in smell. It doesn't get better than using natural ingredients on and in your body. Hey, and it's only $5.99 at Trader Joe's! Try it, I think you'll like it!
On a different note, I was talking to my sister who told me about a great find she got at Trader Joe's, Coconut Oil and all the things you can use it for. I had seen it there but never bought it. Then I saw a bunch of stuff on Pintrest about it so decided to buy 2 jars. It has got to be one of the best buys I've made in awhile. I keep one in the bathroom for moisturizing and one in the kitchen for cooking. I slather it on my feet then put socks on. I do this in the morning and before bed and I can't tell you what a difference it's made. I use it on my lips and hands and I cook with it too. The cool thing about using it to cook with is that it tolerates high heat very well. It's not overpowering in taste or in smell. It doesn't get better than using natural ingredients on and in your body. Hey, and it's only $5.99 at Trader Joe's! Try it, I think you'll like it!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Eye Need Sleep!
My eyeballs are tired! So close them and take a nap would be the logical thing to do but see, that doesn't work. What I mean is, when I close my eyes my eyeballs feel like they can't relax so it makes me want to open them. It's very frustrating and it's driving me nuts. Really it's eye strain throughout the day that is caused by not enough sleep, allergies, excessive computer, phone and tablet use and not wearing my reading glasses sometimes when doing some of these things. I think I am guilty of every single one of them. It's been going on now for about a week, not a huge deal but no less annoying.
So what do you do about it? Well their are things you can do to relax your eye muscles to relieve that feeling. Such as blinking your eyes rapidly and then closing them to rest and repeating. Palming, which is rubbing your hands together to warm them and then placing your palms on your eyes until the heat subsides. Looking at a object in the distance and changing what you are looking at every 20 min. and of course limiting those things that are causing the strain. Then their are exercises that you can do to stregthen those muscles such as looking to the left while you move your head to the right and vise versa also doing that same movement up and down. I tried the above relaxation techniques and exercises and they did seem to relieve the irritation somewhat. So hopefully if I keep it up it will go away. Well I'm hopeful it will anyway.
I figured I'd blog about this because it's such a weird thing to have that maybe if anyone else was experiencing this, you would remember this post and know what to do.
When you get to be my age, the ripe age of 41, you start having all these things going on that you never had to worry about before. I never even needed glasses except sunglasses, until 40 and now I have to wear reading glasses to read comfortably. They still feel foreign to me though. I mean, they help and all but I just can't get used to the fact that I have them and need them but hey, what are ya gonna do. I'm only hurting myself by resisting them.
Well seeing as though I'm not practicing what I preach, I should get off of the computer for awhile and rest my eyeballs. Here's to a relaxed eye muscles tonight!
So what do you do about it? Well their are things you can do to relax your eye muscles to relieve that feeling. Such as blinking your eyes rapidly and then closing them to rest and repeating. Palming, which is rubbing your hands together to warm them and then placing your palms on your eyes until the heat subsides. Looking at a object in the distance and changing what you are looking at every 20 min. and of course limiting those things that are causing the strain. Then their are exercises that you can do to stregthen those muscles such as looking to the left while you move your head to the right and vise versa also doing that same movement up and down. I tried the above relaxation techniques and exercises and they did seem to relieve the irritation somewhat. So hopefully if I keep it up it will go away. Well I'm hopeful it will anyway.
I figured I'd blog about this because it's such a weird thing to have that maybe if anyone else was experiencing this, you would remember this post and know what to do.
When you get to be my age, the ripe age of 41, you start having all these things going on that you never had to worry about before. I never even needed glasses except sunglasses, until 40 and now I have to wear reading glasses to read comfortably. They still feel foreign to me though. I mean, they help and all but I just can't get used to the fact that I have them and need them but hey, what are ya gonna do. I'm only hurting myself by resisting them.
Well seeing as though I'm not practicing what I preach, I should get off of the computer for awhile and rest my eyeballs. Here's to a relaxed eye muscles tonight!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
My First Amendment Right
It is said that you don't discuss politics or religion with family and friends but no one ever said that about voicing your opinion on Labor Unions or Gun's. So I'm just gonna voice my First Amendment Right: Anything I say in this blog post, should not be taken personally and is not directed towards any one individual.
Oooh I bet you are all on the edge of your seat wondering what in the world I am gonna talk about today. Then again, you may care less. Anyhow, unless you don't live in town or under a rock, I'm sure you have heard about the Strongsville, OH Teachers Strike going on right now. I'm just gonna come right out and say that I am not a supporter of the teachers in this case. Really, I am not a supporter of Labor Unions. So unless your job on a day to day basis is life treatening such as law enforcement or firefighting, that sort of thing, there is no need for them. Just so all of you know by definition Labor Unions are an organized associatian of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. Way back, mid 19th century or so in response to the industrial revolution the labor unions began to form and rightfully so, they needed them then. People including children, were being treated unfairly in the work place, factories etc... because their were no laws to protect them. Over the years Labor Unions got to be too big, too powerful and the reason for them being around became distorted. Now their are laws in place to protect people in the work place so Labor Unions are no longer necessary. Now with the 2008-10 Economic Crisis unions have become an issue and are on the decline in popularity.
Now here's my beef with the whole thing. First off, I still can't figure out how Labor Unions have crept in all these different areas. If someone can answer me that question intellegently, I'd appreciate it. The average teacher salary in Strongsville City is $47,140, not bad at all for being in the suburbs.
What's the reason, for teachers to have a union and don't give me the old stand by answer of, "It's for the sake of the children" bologny. That doesn't mean anything. For instance this strike that is going on does not and I repeat, does not have anything to do with the children. It has everything to do with the teachers themselves. One of the reasons is because they do not like the fact that their is a freeze on pay increases...ok, so what! I have worked for a couple companies that put freezes on pay increases, it's just the way it is. Suck it up like the rest of us. Why should you have the option to say, "I don't like that, so I'm not going to work until you give me what I want!" WHAT!? So now you have made a worse situation for the children and for yourselves. You are doing the exact thing that schools are trying to ban and that my friends is Bullying. You are bullying the board into giving you what you want. I believe union officials use the word, negotiating an agreement. Either way, it's bullying.
Continuing on...say my passion is to be a teacher but I do not want to be a part of a union, I don't think that is an option and I would be told that I can either join or they will find someone else. Also there are a lot of poor teachers out there just waiting out the time until they can retire. Unions make it near to impossible for them to be fired for poor performance. How about you don't do your job well repeatedly, you get handed a pink slip and they hire one of the thousands of other qualified teachers willing to take their place. Another thing is they have off 3-4 months out of the year AND still get paid so how can you possibly complain? Don't get me wrong, teaching is tough and I give props to them and those who work in the inner city schools that many times have to pay for the supplies of the classroom out of there own pocket, however, my job is tough too. How about those people who used to sit outside of the Marc's Store in Berea, on lawn chairs with signs telling people not to shop there because they do not support unions? They are there rain or shine for years? How about WORKING! You mean to tell me that those people are being protected under the labor union to do that day in and day out for years? That makes no sense and if you can explain it to me, I would appreciate it because as of right now I have not gotten a good answer. I think it's called, taking advantage of the situation.
So now look what you have created by going on strike. You have put the children in an environment that is crowded and chaotic. Substitute teachers are in charge of 3-4 classrooms full of children. They are not being taught anything. They are going to school to color, play cards, text and socialize. The superintendent actually said that the children were not in any danger and that they should be going to school. Um, really? You think that that environment is a positive one? Then the teachers on the picket line are not even following the laws and it is getting out of hand. Wow, what positive role models.
I have a lot of very intellegent, hard working teacher friends and family out there who love what they do and do it well, some of which will read this and I mean no disrespect to you but I believe you would agree that this perticular situation is out of hand. If I lived in Strongsville, I would start homeschooling like a few of my friends who do live in that city, are. I feel for all those parents who's children are going through this. What a stressful situation your are being put in.
Now onto Guns... Ha, no I won't go into that today. I'll save that for another day.
3/9/2013-
Today is Saturday, almost a week since the teachers strike in Strongsville has been going on. Here are my thoughts on it now. Yeah, I still feel the same way, if not more so. Just because I don't live in Strongsville and my kids do not attend that school system doesn't mean I do not have strong feelings on the situation. I know some might disagree with my feelings and that is perfectly fine with me, I don't expect everyone to share what I believe on everything I post. I love hearing other points of view. I believe that if you put something out there on any social media, you absolutely have to expect to receive other thoughts on the matter. So for those of you afraid to comment or say anything, just know I welcome them all. Of course I think it goes without saying that since I do not curse or disrespect anyone, I will not tolerate it in return. Ok, got that out of the way...
As far as the strike, here are some new lows on the part of the teachers who are picketting and posting on different public social media's: Calling the substitues Scabs and negatively bashing them saying they are out for there jobs and that they are not qualified to be taking there place in the classrooms, so a settlement has to be made so those teachers can get back to work. Are you kidding me???? Those so-called Scabs, as they so indearingly referred to them as, are being asked/hired to do the work that they are refusing to do. It is by no means there fault. They are doing the best they can with the situation they were put into. Obviously they are qualified.
They have caused the city to be less safe both by driving and causing a chaotic situation outside the BOE and the school on Rt 82. Each area that they are picketting in, there are one or more police officers to, keep the peace and a controlled environment. Now, is that a proper use of our law enforcement? I think not!
The children walking or driving by seeing there teacher on the pickett line and watching them display poor conduct, is unacceptable, period! The children don't know whether to wave to them or cry. Then saying that if the BOE would come to an agreement, this would not happen. Um, no! Good for the BOE on not giving in to the ridiculous demands and not allowing themselves to be bullied.
Good for the parents of the community on stepping in to help where ever it's needed, alot of them are. Also, good for those parents who are now responding in protest to the teachers on the pickett line, but sadly that is stooping to their level if they are also picketting.
Believe me, I know not all of the teachers who are on strike necessarly agree with how this is being handled and are in the middle of this whole thing, with there hands tied. That is a sad state of affairs right there.
So again I ask for someone to please give me logical explainations as to why this is being tolerated? In my opinion, those teachers who are doing the bullying and picketting should be given there walking papers and they can pickett themselves right down to the Unempolyment Agency, buh bye.With their being so many people without jobs and barely able to put food on there table, this is a disgrace and those teachers should be ashamed of themselves.
Now I would like to give a shout out to some awesome teachers that have made a huge impact in my childerens lives:
All the teachers and staff at All Saints Lutheran Preschool
Mrs. McNeeley, both Anna and Sophie's kindergarten teacher at Olmsted Early Childhood Center
Mrs. Rivera, Anna's 1st and 2nd grade teacher at Falls - Lenox Primary School
Mrs. Stanszak, Anna's 4th grade teacher at Olmsted Intermediate School
I am certain that they are the reason both my kids love school and have learned so much! For all of that, I am So Very Gratefull!
Oooh I bet you are all on the edge of your seat wondering what in the world I am gonna talk about today. Then again, you may care less. Anyhow, unless you don't live in town or under a rock, I'm sure you have heard about the Strongsville, OH Teachers Strike going on right now. I'm just gonna come right out and say that I am not a supporter of the teachers in this case. Really, I am not a supporter of Labor Unions. So unless your job on a day to day basis is life treatening such as law enforcement or firefighting, that sort of thing, there is no need for them. Just so all of you know by definition Labor Unions are an organized associatian of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. Way back, mid 19th century or so in response to the industrial revolution the labor unions began to form and rightfully so, they needed them then. People including children, were being treated unfairly in the work place, factories etc... because their were no laws to protect them. Over the years Labor Unions got to be too big, too powerful and the reason for them being around became distorted. Now their are laws in place to protect people in the work place so Labor Unions are no longer necessary. Now with the 2008-10 Economic Crisis unions have become an issue and are on the decline in popularity.
Now here's my beef with the whole thing. First off, I still can't figure out how Labor Unions have crept in all these different areas. If someone can answer me that question intellegently, I'd appreciate it. The average teacher salary in Strongsville City is $47,140, not bad at all for being in the suburbs.
| Grade Level | Average | 10th percentile | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-school | $21,447 | $16,209 | $17,601 | $20,050 | $23,618 | $28,409 |
| Kindergarten | $46,547 | $26,775 | $32,422 | $42,038 | $60,748 | $73,035 |
| Elementary | $55,270 | $29,752 | $39,527 | $57,743 | $70,344 | $80,400 |
| Middle school | $52,579 | $33,038 | $39,341 | $51,821 | $64,633 | $77,355 |
| High school | $59,860 | $37,088 | $46,060 | $60,229 | $74,223 | $84,050 |
What's the reason, for teachers to have a union and don't give me the old stand by answer of, "It's for the sake of the children" bologny. That doesn't mean anything. For instance this strike that is going on does not and I repeat, does not have anything to do with the children. It has everything to do with the teachers themselves. One of the reasons is because they do not like the fact that their is a freeze on pay increases...ok, so what! I have worked for a couple companies that put freezes on pay increases, it's just the way it is. Suck it up like the rest of us. Why should you have the option to say, "I don't like that, so I'm not going to work until you give me what I want!" WHAT!? So now you have made a worse situation for the children and for yourselves. You are doing the exact thing that schools are trying to ban and that my friends is Bullying. You are bullying the board into giving you what you want. I believe union officials use the word, negotiating an agreement. Either way, it's bullying.
Continuing on...say my passion is to be a teacher but I do not want to be a part of a union, I don't think that is an option and I would be told that I can either join or they will find someone else. Also there are a lot of poor teachers out there just waiting out the time until they can retire. Unions make it near to impossible for them to be fired for poor performance. How about you don't do your job well repeatedly, you get handed a pink slip and they hire one of the thousands of other qualified teachers willing to take their place. Another thing is they have off 3-4 months out of the year AND still get paid so how can you possibly complain? Don't get me wrong, teaching is tough and I give props to them and those who work in the inner city schools that many times have to pay for the supplies of the classroom out of there own pocket, however, my job is tough too. How about those people who used to sit outside of the Marc's Store in Berea, on lawn chairs with signs telling people not to shop there because they do not support unions? They are there rain or shine for years? How about WORKING! You mean to tell me that those people are being protected under the labor union to do that day in and day out for years? That makes no sense and if you can explain it to me, I would appreciate it because as of right now I have not gotten a good answer. I think it's called, taking advantage of the situation.
So now look what you have created by going on strike. You have put the children in an environment that is crowded and chaotic. Substitute teachers are in charge of 3-4 classrooms full of children. They are not being taught anything. They are going to school to color, play cards, text and socialize. The superintendent actually said that the children were not in any danger and that they should be going to school. Um, really? You think that that environment is a positive one? Then the teachers on the picket line are not even following the laws and it is getting out of hand. Wow, what positive role models.
I have a lot of very intellegent, hard working teacher friends and family out there who love what they do and do it well, some of which will read this and I mean no disrespect to you but I believe you would agree that this perticular situation is out of hand. If I lived in Strongsville, I would start homeschooling like a few of my friends who do live in that city, are. I feel for all those parents who's children are going through this. What a stressful situation your are being put in.
Now onto Guns... Ha, no I won't go into that today. I'll save that for another day.
3/9/2013-
Today is Saturday, almost a week since the teachers strike in Strongsville has been going on. Here are my thoughts on it now. Yeah, I still feel the same way, if not more so. Just because I don't live in Strongsville and my kids do not attend that school system doesn't mean I do not have strong feelings on the situation. I know some might disagree with my feelings and that is perfectly fine with me, I don't expect everyone to share what I believe on everything I post. I love hearing other points of view. I believe that if you put something out there on any social media, you absolutely have to expect to receive other thoughts on the matter. So for those of you afraid to comment or say anything, just know I welcome them all. Of course I think it goes without saying that since I do not curse or disrespect anyone, I will not tolerate it in return. Ok, got that out of the way...
As far as the strike, here are some new lows on the part of the teachers who are picketting and posting on different public social media's: Calling the substitues Scabs and negatively bashing them saying they are out for there jobs and that they are not qualified to be taking there place in the classrooms, so a settlement has to be made so those teachers can get back to work. Are you kidding me???? Those so-called Scabs, as they so indearingly referred to them as, are being asked/hired to do the work that they are refusing to do. It is by no means there fault. They are doing the best they can with the situation they were put into. Obviously they are qualified.
They have caused the city to be less safe both by driving and causing a chaotic situation outside the BOE and the school on Rt 82. Each area that they are picketting in, there are one or more police officers to, keep the peace and a controlled environment. Now, is that a proper use of our law enforcement? I think not!
The children walking or driving by seeing there teacher on the pickett line and watching them display poor conduct, is unacceptable, period! The children don't know whether to wave to them or cry. Then saying that if the BOE would come to an agreement, this would not happen. Um, no! Good for the BOE on not giving in to the ridiculous demands and not allowing themselves to be bullied.
Good for the parents of the community on stepping in to help where ever it's needed, alot of them are. Also, good for those parents who are now responding in protest to the teachers on the pickett line, but sadly that is stooping to their level if they are also picketting.
Believe me, I know not all of the teachers who are on strike necessarly agree with how this is being handled and are in the middle of this whole thing, with there hands tied. That is a sad state of affairs right there.
So again I ask for someone to please give me logical explainations as to why this is being tolerated? In my opinion, those teachers who are doing the bullying and picketting should be given there walking papers and they can pickett themselves right down to the Unempolyment Agency, buh bye.With their being so many people without jobs and barely able to put food on there table, this is a disgrace and those teachers should be ashamed of themselves.
Now I would like to give a shout out to some awesome teachers that have made a huge impact in my childerens lives:
All the teachers and staff at All Saints Lutheran Preschool
Mrs. McNeeley, both Anna and Sophie's kindergarten teacher at Olmsted Early Childhood Center
Mrs. Rivera, Anna's 1st and 2nd grade teacher at Falls - Lenox Primary School
Mrs. Stanszak, Anna's 4th grade teacher at Olmsted Intermediate School
I am certain that they are the reason both my kids love school and have learned so much! For all of that, I am So Very Gratefull!
Monday, March 4, 2013
Because We Can Do Whatever We Want
Did you ever have one of those weekends, weeks or days that you didn't want to end? I just had one of those. A weekend without the kids, just Neil and I alone together from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon to do whatever we wanted to do, whenever we wanted to do it. They are SO important to have, to recharge the batteries and be able to give all my attention to my husband.
We took a little trip to Pittsburgh, PA to go to Ikea on Friday afternoon. It was our first time there without the kids, just the two of us. We had a lot of fun and spent 4 1/2 hours browsing around, taking our time because we could. We always leave with a cart or two full of stuff for the house and in our case, our cottages too. After stepping foot in that store, makes me want to redo my whole house and it's fun to plan out how we are going to decorate the Our House Cottage once it's finished. We didn't end up leaving the store until 8:30pm and got home around 10:30pm. One would think that we would call it a night after that but nope, we decided to go have a couple cocktails and some snacks at our local joint up the street. It's fun to be able to just head out whenever we want to, so we did. After a little wind down time, we called it a night and headed home, ready for another fun day ahead.
Actually the real reason for the weekend was to kick-off the Kelleys Island Season with our annual KI Party at Sawmill Creek Resort. It's a time to gather all our neighbors and the island gang together and talk about the upcoming season, make plans and see how everyone is doing after the long winter. We all get hotel rooms next to each other and spend the whole night going from room to room like we were in high school. Lots of laughs and much needed catching up. The best part, being able to sleep in, be lazy in the morning and going out to eat in peace! I can't tell you how nice it was, no really I can't....it was that nice! You're probably thinking, "Did you miss your children?" and my answer is, of course we did. Funny enough, as much bickering, noise and chaos that goes on in my day to day life, when they aren't around, we miss em, like crazy. We talk about em, show pictures of em and say we can't wait to see em but that's what it's all about. They say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" does that go for your children as well? I'm gonna say yes. When we got home I got lots of squeezes, kisses and I love you's and I soaked up every bit of it. Then.......after about an hour the pestering started, the bickering started and the whining started and I say to myself, thank goodness for weekends away!
Of course those weekends would not even happen without someone to watch our 3 kids for 3 days and I want to say a HUGE Thank You to my wonderful mom and dad for all you do for us to give us that time to just be together, it means so much! Mom and dad, I hope you know we don't take any of it for granted either! You guys are the BEST and we love you lots!
Also Neil's mom is always willing to take the girls for fun sleepovers and trips around town and I want to say a big thank you to you too, Nama! We love you!
Oh we know how extremely lucky we are to have our family live so close and so willing to do all they do for us, we are beyond blessed!
Now here it is Monday, the start of a new week and I'm wishing the weekend wasn't over but it's fun planning the next adventure...whatever that may be?
We took a little trip to Pittsburgh, PA to go to Ikea on Friday afternoon. It was our first time there without the kids, just the two of us. We had a lot of fun and spent 4 1/2 hours browsing around, taking our time because we could. We always leave with a cart or two full of stuff for the house and in our case, our cottages too. After stepping foot in that store, makes me want to redo my whole house and it's fun to plan out how we are going to decorate the Our House Cottage once it's finished. We didn't end up leaving the store until 8:30pm and got home around 10:30pm. One would think that we would call it a night after that but nope, we decided to go have a couple cocktails and some snacks at our local joint up the street. It's fun to be able to just head out whenever we want to, so we did. After a little wind down time, we called it a night and headed home, ready for another fun day ahead.
Actually the real reason for the weekend was to kick-off the Kelleys Island Season with our annual KI Party at Sawmill Creek Resort. It's a time to gather all our neighbors and the island gang together and talk about the upcoming season, make plans and see how everyone is doing after the long winter. We all get hotel rooms next to each other and spend the whole night going from room to room like we were in high school. Lots of laughs and much needed catching up. The best part, being able to sleep in, be lazy in the morning and going out to eat in peace! I can't tell you how nice it was, no really I can't....it was that nice! You're probably thinking, "Did you miss your children?" and my answer is, of course we did. Funny enough, as much bickering, noise and chaos that goes on in my day to day life, when they aren't around, we miss em, like crazy. We talk about em, show pictures of em and say we can't wait to see em but that's what it's all about. They say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" does that go for your children as well? I'm gonna say yes. When we got home I got lots of squeezes, kisses and I love you's and I soaked up every bit of it. Then.......after about an hour the pestering started, the bickering started and the whining started and I say to myself, thank goodness for weekends away!
Of course those weekends would not even happen without someone to watch our 3 kids for 3 days and I want to say a HUGE Thank You to my wonderful mom and dad for all you do for us to give us that time to just be together, it means so much! Mom and dad, I hope you know we don't take any of it for granted either! You guys are the BEST and we love you lots!
Also Neil's mom is always willing to take the girls for fun sleepovers and trips around town and I want to say a big thank you to you too, Nama! We love you!
Oh we know how extremely lucky we are to have our family live so close and so willing to do all they do for us, we are beyond blessed!
Now here it is Monday, the start of a new week and I'm wishing the weekend wasn't over but it's fun planning the next adventure...whatever that may be?
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