Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

Thanksgiving Checklist: Baked pies (or bought them at Eat N Park). Check. Made the side dish, Check. Now you are getting ready to head out the door to the family Thanksgiving. Do you dread getting together with your family? I wouldn't say I exactly dread interactions with my extended family.  I am leery of going, however.  You never know when a relative will say something completely inappropriate, awkward, or just plain rude.  You may be anticipating family friction or an encounter with someone who has a grudge against you. And of course there is always the possibility of being judged. So, Thanksgiving isn't so much about food...it's about survival.  Instincts.  When to respond and when not to.  Who is safe to talk to and who to avoid. Why is it like this?  Why can't it be simple like the Peanuts gang singing, "Over the River and Through the Woods?"  Then enjoying a turkey dinner and pie, and going home happy? I think the family...

Do you know what our society has produced?  A generation of self-centered youth who have no desire to take care of themselves, no desire to succeed.  No ambition to work or start their own businesses or have their own place to live. I remember it being a thrill to live in my own place for the first time.  I had my first real job, and split the rent with a friend from college.  That place was a dump!  But it was our dump.   Ok - it wasn't this bad, but you know what I mean.  Did you ever live in such a place?  Ah, the starter home! Weird 70's green, yellow, and orange shag carpet, along with that fake dark wood paneling and uneven floors. That tiny house was undesirable to everyone except us.  The newbies to the adult world.  Living on our own and loving it.  I loved putting my bi-weekly paycheck in the bank and shopping for groceries each week.  Discount groceries.  I remember saving ju...

After changing diapers for roughly 7 years, we are ready to be done. My 3-year-old boy has master the #1, but #2's are just not happening unless he's wearing a diaper.  So I thought I'd try what my friends have had success with: Explain that mommy and daddy are tired of changing stinky, dirty diapers. Now it is the toddler's turn.  Place toddler in tub and allow them to change their own diaper. This is supposed to be offensive enough to them that they quickly change their mind and do their business on the potty from here on out. OK... So we are on day six of my darling son's adventure in changing his own diaper. It's not going well. He takes it off, starts whining and complaining and holding his nose. So far so good. "Okay - here are the wipes.  Clean yourself up," I say. And then he refuses.  "I can't do it." "I'm tired of changing dirty diapers!" He tells me. Sigh. A three-year-old shouldn...

Thanksgiving Day is upon us...or it will be in a few days. We love to watch the Peanuts Thanksgiving videos - what a cute little group of Pilgrims!  The children all survived the trip and outlived many of the adults that first winter.  They had to perform chores and tasks that kept the colony alive while the adults were ailing.  They were amazing! Then there are my children, who can't survive without technology for 5 minutes... When I think about pioneer families - they obviously survived without iPads...but that was just it.  They were geared toward survival.  Oh yeah - and there was no electricity.  In today's culture, children don't have to tote water, chop and haul firewood, or feed the livestock twice a day.  In fact, they have very few responsibilities.  Moreover, we moms and dads have added extra work to our loads so our beloved children can participate in sports, art programs, or whatever area we think they might ex...

 Earlier this month, I came across a story I knew I had to share with you:  "There is a church in England that has no lights.  Many people who visit the church are shocked that the architect left out something as important as overhead lighting.  But the architect had a plan.  The various families who regularly attend the church are given their own pew, as well as a lamp and a book.  When a family comes to church, their lamp is lit.  If they are not in church, the pew is dark. (Here are a few pics of St. Peter's Chapel in Bradwell, England, to give you an idea of what the church might look like.  I researched online and could not find the specific church mentioned in the article.) What difference can one darkened pew make?  Not much, you might think.  But what if several pews were lacking lamps?  Then the whole church would be affected.  It's obvious.  If all are present and in their pews, the church is al...

  A man and his wife bought a cabin at a lake.  They had almost reached retirement, so this was their plan.  They would spend weekends there, fishing and relaxing.  Rocking on the porch and watching the sunset. One weekend, the husband decided to go up early, hoping to get a "head start" on fishing.  His wife would join him after she was done with work.  When she arrived, his car was parked near the cabin, but he was no where to be seen.  After a thorough search of the cabin, the dock, and scanning the lake, he was still absent.  She waited for an hour or two to see if he had gone on a hike in the woods.  No hiker returned that day. For days, weeks, and months the police and the foresters, firefighters and neighbors searched the woods.  They dragged the lake. He had completely vanished. People wondered what had happened - did he have a heart attack and fall in the lake?  There was no one there to hear hi...

Why, in this generation of the 20-30 somethings, are we doing these crazy things? Why have returned to having larger families? Why do we favor organic foods over all others? Why do so many families homeschool their children? In my opinion, from what I have observed, it is because we want to do it better . We don't want to settle for 2 1/2 children. We don't want to settle for truck loads of lab-based, over-processed, fake food. We don't want to settle for a one-size fits all education. We are done settling.  We want to do it better . We want to experience what is like to have large families, and we want to love on each child God blesses us with equally.  We want to help each child in our family to develop to their full potential.  We want them to be able to "discover themselves" in a safe, supportive environment.  We want to have as many as we can - we think children are great! We want to grow our own food - to experience the whole pr...