Mother to Son

I am sure this has been seen many times, but I think it is awesome and so true, definitely something to work towards.

20 Things A Mother Should Tell Her Son

1. You will set the tone for the sexual relationship, so don't take something away from her that you can't give back.

2. Play a sport. It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time and stay out of trouble. And maybe even throw or catch.

3. Use careful aim when you pee. Somebody's got to clean that up, you know.

4. Save money when you're young because you're going to need it some day.

5. Allow me to introduce you to the dishwasher, oven, washing machine, iron, vacuum, mop and broom. Now please go use them.

6. Pray and be a spiritual leader.

7. Don't ever be a bully and don't ever start a fight, but if some idiot clocks you, please defend yourself.

8. Your knowledge and education is something that nobody can take away from you.

9. Treat women kindly. Forever is a long time to live alone and it's even longer to live with somebody who hates your guts.

10. Take pride in your appearance.

11. Be strong and tender at the same time.

12. A woman can do everything that you can do. This includes her having a successful career and you changing diapers at 3 A.M. Mutual respect is the key to a good relationship.

13. "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir" still go a long way. So do "Please" & "Thank you"

14. The reason that they're called "private parts" is because they're "private". Please do not scratch them in public.

15. Peer pressure is a scary thing. Be a good leader and others will follow.

16. Bringing her flowers for no reason is always a good idea. Remember Mum too!

17. Be patriotic.

18. Potty humor isn't the only thing that's humorous.

19. Please choose your spouse wisely. My daughter-in-law will be the gatekeeper for me spending time with you and my grandchildren.

20. Remember to call your mother because I might be missing you

Growing Children

As you know I, with the help of my husband, are growing 2 awesome little boys.
We want to give them all the opportunities that we can, whether that is in education, sport or just plain old life.
One area that we are adamant on is their confidence.
We want them to be confident little individuals, we want them to feel they can do things, achieve things even give anything a go.

So we have been happy to let the boys go and pay for things on their own, allow them to order things on their own.
If they want more sauce when at Burger King then they go to the counter and ask for it. We have shown them how to do it politely, how to wait their turn and how to say that ultimate word 'thank you' when the action is finished.
It gives them the ability to speak up for what they want, know how to talk to people whom they don't know, not strangers but people in a situation that is controlled...shops, restaurants etc.

At the Fieldays that we attended, Alex asked for a Hot Chocolate. We happily gave him the money, showed him where the stall was and stood back and watched him do the whole transaction himself.
He patiently waited in line and when he got to the front the lady ignored him!

She had served the older lady in front of him and presumed that he was with her. She never asked him!
The older lady had stepped to the side to wait for her order and Alex had still stood in front of the counter, now ok we are talking about a mobile stall here so they had to look out and down to see him but he was see able even at his little height.
It took the older lady to inform them that he was not with them for them to realise that this little guy with a $5 note in his hand was there to order something, on his own.

Do kids not order things anymore? Do kids not get given the opportunity to do things for themselves anymore?
My parents taught my brother and I to be independent confident people and I am going to make sure that our 2 boys have the same.

Kind & Caring

My father in Law is with us for a few days this week.
He has just turned 83, well yesterday actually so the boys sang happy birthday to him at breakfast.
Granddad is blind and a little fragile nowadays so even though he is slow at moving around the house a little assistance doesn't go a miss when available.

It is so cute to watch our 2 terrors be kind and caring towards him.
They are happy to guide Granddad to the table for meals, walking slowly so he can find his way holding on to their hand or elbow, although not so cute when they forget to tell him about the stair banister they walk him into or the wall they forget to tell him to mind out for!
They have learnt that we tell dad about his food placement etc by using the clock face reference. If we forget it is so cute to hear their little voices informing dad that there is juice for him at 11 O'Clock or that he has chicken at 3 O'Clock. They even tell him when all the food is gone off of his plate so he is not chasing air around the plate!
They are happy to guide him back to his seat afterwards and ensure he has his blanket etc that he may require.

It is lovely to see their confidence in helping him grow with each visit we have with him. I know that he will not be around forever so it is great to see them interacting with him and not be scared, but then after all this is how Granddad has always been to them so they know no difference and just accept what needs to be done.

I am growing kind and considerate kids and proud of them when they show what they know.

Have We Always Been Green??

This was posted on Facebook, and I loved it so much I wanted to share with all of you.....

Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. I apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days“.

The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations“.

She was right about one thing–our generation didn’t have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then? After some reflection and soul-searching on “Our” day, here’s what I remembered we did have….

Back then, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Wales. In the kitchen, we blended & stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right. We didn’t have the green thing back then.

We drank from a water fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

Wordless Post

Differences

Living with 2 boys can sometimes be a challenge, but othertimes I am glad I have 2 boys.

Although it can get very challenging when one expresses an interest in doing something and then the other wants to do it as well, that is when I wish we had a boy and a girl cause then the boy could get on and do his boy stuff and the girl her girl stuff, and they would have their own thing to do.

Unfortunately our boys are very a like in their activities and so are both doing Judo and absolutely loving it.
Alex last year expressed a wish to play soccer, but being so little and us not quite ready to give up our Saturday mornings, then we managed to change his mind a little on that one, whew, at least for last year.

Unfortunately Ben has now expressed an interest in wanting to play soccer this year. We have started to check it all out and will attend the club muster in March, however, I have a strong feeling that it won't be too long and we will may have 2 boys playing soccer.
I already know that Alex has expressed a desire to play this sport before and feel that when we check it out they will both want to give it a go.
So once again they will both be doing the same activity. Now I do realise that with having 2 boys, this is sadly going to be the case, unless one of them suddenly developes a need for not doing sport anymore then they will probably be in the same clubs for a little while to come yet. Although on the extra plus side for us, it means they both have to be at the same place at the same time and not one at each end of the city 5 minutes apart!
I know that one day 1 will give up something that the other keeps doing and vice versa, and we will support them in their choices at the time.

Even at home they always want to do the same thing but with different approaches to it.
During the summer holidays they both sat down one day to build new Lego they had received as presents.
It was such fun to watch them build it.

Ben sat there and methodically seperated each piece into colour piles, as the instructions suggested (always one to follow the instructions to the letter!)

He followed each picture on the pages step by step and almost double checked each thing before moving onto the next step.

Alex on the other hand, well his approach was very different.
Lets empty everything into a pile.
Lets look at the picture but try to combine 2 pictures at the same time
Lets get really frustrated when things don't go together as they should.
Lets yell and scream and get very annoyed because it is not working!
So lets throw the Lego around and proclaim "this is stupid"
And generally end up sitting there frustrated and in tears because it just isn't all coming together nicely like Ben's!

Before the tantrum started

It was such fun to watch and interveen with, but at the same time so funny to see 2 little boys who are so a like in one aspect of their lives, sport, yet so totally different in their approach for other areas.

Man it is going to be such fun growing these 2.

Dummy's

This morning Alex decided that his dummy's could go in the rubbish bin!

He has done this before and then a couple of hours later he has fished them out and washed them ready for bedtime.

But today he forgot all about them. I didn't! And they were duely fished out, washed and hidden in a cupboard.

That is where they still are at this present moment of 7.50pm.

Alex on the other hand is upstairs in bed, without one!

We have had a 5 minute rage, because there wasn't one available for bed, but we just calmly explained that he had thrown them out and I had cleared the rubbish. He even went so far as to ask me to go see if the bags were still beside the road!

After a while he calmed down, obviously realising that mum and dad were not about to produce one for him and he has now settled for the night without one.

So first 30 minutes looking good so far, will keep you posted as to how the night goes and how we get on over the next few nights.

One more milestone getting crossed off, next it will be 2 little boys dry at night without nappies!

Even before I managed to hit 'Publish Post', Alex has crept downstairs and demanded his dummy. It is going to be a long night!

Big Boys

2 recent pictures of my boys.

Ben's picture is of his first day of school for the new year (a little tradition I am going to try and keep). In New Zealand their school year is from February to December, so an actually calendar year. So Christmas is the summer holidays. We also have 4 terms in the year with 2 weeks break between each term. A little confusing to a Northern Hemisphere person like me!

So this is Ben starting in his new class with a new teacher.

Alex's picture is of him catching up on the latest gossip at the local Barbers shop. He has been attending a barbers to get his hair cut for at least 2 years now, so is very good at sitting in the chair all by himself and having his hair cut.

Just a little off the sides please, with the back shaven!

3 Years Old

Alex is 3 1/2 and do we know about it!

He has hardly eaten over the last 4 weeks, well no, don't worry, he is eating, but he refuses most meals, although after he has been sat at the table with us for 10 mins he usually eats a little of what is there, because we will not just jump up and make him something different! If he doesn't want what is being offered well then he can go without, and he has been told this just about everynight "if you don't eat this, there is nothing else until breakfast tomorrow"

He is having the worst temper outbursts we have ever seen.
Because he is not eating properly, then he is not sleeping properly and because of that he is then in a very foul mood for the day! Viscious circle really.

He is drinking fine, and if he had his way would live off of bread and butter or bread and jam.
Now I have no worries with him having that for breakfast and lunch but dinner times I would like him to eat something a little more nourishing. So then the fighting begins.

Add to that he doesn't want to wear a nappy to bed at night, and he is so not ready to be dry at night on his own. I have had to change the sheets just about everynight this last week! I actually sneak a nappy on him about an hour after he has gone to bed, although then we get told in no uncertain words the next morning "I didn't want this on!"

So we are in the middle of the 3 year old wars! I hope it doesn't last too much longer, I would really like to enjoy Alex again sometime!

A Place We will Miss

Since Ben was 7 1/2 months old he has been attending daycare. He had a 6 month break as he turned 2, whilst I was at home on maternity leave with Alex, but after that he has been there until this day.
Alex joined him when he was 7 1/2 months too.

We chose this daycare as we felt it had a homely feel to it, plus Ben took an instant liking to it on the times we visited prior to him starting. He was always fascinated by what was going on and all the pictures on the wall, all the other places we visited, he never seemed that interested in them.
We have never for a moment regretted sending our boys here, this has been the 2nd place for them to grow up, the place where they do all their messy play, learn to share with more than just 2 other people and learn where they fit in with a big group.


Daycare have always been very accommodating to our needs, always being able to help us when we have required extra sessions, be it for 2 weeks or 6 months.

When Alex was first born I could ring them at 8.30 to see if they had space for Ben and he was usually there playing by 9.15.So he did quite a few extra days when Alex first arrived. It was great to have that outlet for both myself and Ben.
He got to play and have lots of attention and I got to have one on one time with Alex, or more time to sleep!

The current owners took over a month or so before Ben first started and lots has changed whilst we have been there. The rooms inside have become even bright and colourful than I remember them on our first visit.
There are so many little corners for the kids to hide in, escape to or even discover. The walls are always covered in pictures and stories of what everyone has been up to in the centre and it is always fun to find out what has been happening.
The boys have their little set routine and are so good with what happens when they arrive and leave. It makes collecting them and dropping them off so enjoyable.
So thank you so much to Glenda and her wonderful team at 'Under 5' Care and Learning.

My sons have grown so much with all your love and care.

We shall miss you all very much, we are very grateful for everything you have ever done for our family, your support and your open door to our family.

Boys

The boys are continuing to grow right before my eyes!
Ben has just blossomed into a little boy and Alex who is nearly 2 has started coming out with words that even Ben won't say.

They both want to help with things, they want to do things and Ben is always looking after his brother, even if it is a little hug and cuddle after he has hit him.

With the odd moment, they are actually a delight to have a round.
Ben is for ever singing nursery rhymes. Baa Baa Black Sheep, Row Row Your Boat and unfortunately all the theme songs to the programmes he watches regularly. Maybe he has been watching them too much if he knows the words to the songs!

Regardless of what is happening out there in the big world, I still appreciate them and count myself very lucky for the 2 wonderous little boys that I have helped create.

So my heart goes out to all those families at Virginia Tech this last week. Especially the family of the young man who caused all this trouble. They may have known that he was in pain and having trouble, but to suddenly see him portrayed over the television in such a dreadful way must have been a terrible shock. They may have been trying hard to help him and know that has all failed.
I just hope they, like all the other families affected can rebuild their lives over the next couple of years to some level that works for them.

They are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Beautiful Ben

I am very proud of my big little boy, Ben.
Today we took him for his appointment with the Special Education - Speech Laungage Therapist. We were concerned because at 2 years old he had a total vocabulary of 10 words, everything you read says they will have 200 at that age!
Anyway, he had increased his vocabulary quite a lot in the last 4 months but still not enough for us to feel comfortable with him, so off for the appointment we went. (Alex stayed at home with my cousin, so we could totally focus on Ben)

The 2 ladies we saw were wonderful, making us feel at ease from the moment we walked in. They sat and talked to us about Ben and then watched him while he played with the toys around the room, all at the same time commenting to us and also interacting with Ben. They made comments like"does he always play so quietly?" and "that was a 6 word sentence he just spoke then"

Eventually they annouced to us that he was fine, yes he has limited vocabulary, but the vocabulary he does have, although he may not use the whole word, he used the words correctly and in the right context. They are happy with the amount of sentences he is coming out with, again he has a small amount of words but making sentences with what he has very well.
They gave us some super little tips on ways to encourage him to say things and how to repeat things he has said. And yes they want to do a follow up appointment in 6 months but they don't feel there will be anything to worry about, although if at the next appointment they find he still isn't prepared to use the whole word then speech therapy down the track may be of some assisstance.

At the end of the day Steve and I were relieved but glad we had followed through. As we said to each other " it was reassuring to know that everything is fine"

Although when that was all over we then had to go home to our other lovely little bundle of joy who was at home with a nice high temp of 38 deg.
As his eye got gunkier and gunkier over the day I made the decision to take him to the doctors, because I couldn't believe his gunky eye was the total cause of the high temps (highest being 39.1)
After a 35 minutes wait due to a very sick patient with the doctor, she had great pleasure in informing me that Alex has raging tonsillitis and needs anti bugs. So much for me thinking I could just dose him with Pamol and hugs, although apart from the added antibugs, that is all he is getting, although he does have mummy all to himself tommorrow as I will not be going to work.

So a typical day in the life of a young family really. Nothing happens for a while and then everything happens all at once.