TYCTWD

There are tons of acronyms out there....do you know what the one above stands for??

Take Your Child To Work Day.

That was the other 'holiday' celebrated today, besides Earth Day.

I don't remember this holiday from my childhood. That's easily explained... it started in 1993 (according to Wikipedia), the year I graduated high school. So, I never got taken to work with either of my parents. At least not on this official date.

I did go to work with my dad quite a bit during the summer or weekends. He was a university professor, and had lots of flexibility with his job I guess. As long as he taught his classes and did his research, I don't think it mattered if I was there. I recall both his office and his lab (where he did the aforementioned research) on campus. I also remember him bringing work home and doing it in the evenings after dinner. I remember walking down to the secretary's office and that they knew my name. I remember having lunch out at the picnic table with him and his fellow professors (I knew them all by last name, and it took me years to understand why they referred to each other that way!). I remember him playing his classical music as he wrote on his yellow lined legal pads and talked to me about lemna and all kinds of other thrilling things!

I remember my mother's office well too. In my early elementary years, she worked full-time 20 miles from our house and was gone long hours. I vagely recall visiting that office once or twice. By the time I reached middle school, her office was the downstairs 'bedroom' in our house. She worked from home as an independent contractor long before that was the fashionable thing to do! I do remember going with her to drop off projects that she had completed at home. She worked late into the night, and on weekends, to complete the projects to fit them in around other activities that were going on. I can still picture the wall full of technical dictionaries that help her do her job (mostly because the wall is still there and full of them!). I am still amazed by the mere fact that my mother speaks/reads/understands (at various levels) seven different languages!!

I do recall TYCTWD from about 5-8 years ago, when I was working in Human Resources. Part of my job was to coordinate activities for the children who would be coming to work with their parents. You know, fun activities that would keep children interested and entertained, while their parents worked. So what was the point in bringing your child to work with you?

Why am I reminiscing about this? Since this post brought the subject to my attention.

While there are lots of valid points in both the article and the comments, there are also, of course, a few shallow, poorly communicated comments too. In particular this one,

"Kids don't need to be taught to run a household. I'm sorry, but it's not rocket science. It's something that everyone, unless they can afford multiple maids and a personal assistant, has to learn to do sooner or later. So why do they need to do it at age 8? Let them be kids. My parents let me be a kid and didn't "teach" me how to cook, do laundry, or clean the stove, but I learned by watching them, and I can run a household just fine, working outside the home or not.

In my mind, "difficult" is something that only a few people can do well. LOTS of people are good parents, and lots more run a household well, so how "difficult" can it be? I don't want my daughter growing up to think life is difficult."

WOW! There are so many issues to hit in this one small comment.

Yes, it's something everyone has to learn to do sooner or later. I wasn't instantly good at budgeting (talk about a lot of credit card debt right out of college), but it's an important skill to have running a household. What about finding a decent/reliable/honest/trustworthy contractor if you want to have renovations/remodeling done. Lots of people hire contractors only to get "taken to the cleaners" by them! Don't believe me, trying watching "Holmes on Homes" on HGTV. Maybe it's worth helping your children learn how to find a reputable service provider. Or, helping them learn how to mow the lawn, fix the clogged toilet, or vacuum the carpet so they don't have to hire someone to do it, but can handle (at least the basic) responsibilities of home-ownership themselves.

Maybe it's all about the word "teach". Both my boys are learning to cook and do laundry, and a number of other things! At an age appropriate level. Right now that means helping me measure items for a recipe for dinner, loading the dishwasher, or helping carry down the laundry basket and load the machine. They don't know how to do that without some input, supervision, and direction from me. I would call that "teaching". As part of our family, they have a duty to contribute to our family and to help us have a functional household. Let me tell you, if I'm the only one doing laundry, dishes, and cooking we DO NOT have a functional house.....cause I get CRANKY!!! My kids get plenty of chances to "be kids" to play and have fun and dream and imagine. But they also have a right and a responsibility to be a contributing useful member of our family, so they can grow up to do the same for our society!!

I think the most offensive part of the comment to me is that "LOTS of people are good parents". Really? I guess it's all in how you define good. Maybe it's just how flippant this comment sounds. As if it's SO easy to be a good parent....duh! I'm not trying to insult the MANY good parents that are out there. But at the same time, there are many who could use some amount of help, some more than others. Many parents recognize that and they read parenting books, go to seminars, talk with experts, or just talk to other parents. We seek out information, we seek to be "taught" to be the best we can be. I've done all of the above to help myself be a better parent because my kids are worth it! And is "good" really good enough? No matter how good a parent you are, can't you always strive to do better? I want to be the best parent I can be! I worry that if we assume our kids will be good parents, because it's "easy", that they won't realize what a challenge it is to do well, and that it's okay to ask for help if you don't know how to do it (parenting, or anything else).

As a former teacher it frustrated me to no end that I had 4 years of college education, but got little respect from some of the parents at the school I was at because I wasn't a parent. Pardon me, but the last time I checked I had a 4-year degree, and all it took to be a parent was a little action in the backseat of a Chevy!!

If LOTS of people are good parents, there wouldn't be nearly the number of foster children that there are in the US. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, "On September 30, 2006, there were an estimated 510,000 children in foster care. " According to ChildHelp, "In 2007, approximately 5.8 million children were involved in an estimated 3.2 million child abuse reports and allegations. " That's way too many not good parents for me! And what about all those children that "fall through the cracks".

In my current situation, I take my children to work with me everyday.....they are my work. (Work that is often devalued by people who work outside the home-but that's a topic for another day.) But what the initial article has brought to my attention is that today, and every other day, it is important for our children to be exposed to all the various career choices that are out there....including being a stay-at-home-parent (whether girl or BOY!).

Yes, I guess 'everyone' can learn to do it, but why not help both our sons and daughters learn to do it well!! Oh, and by the way, life is difficult, but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, so bring on the difficult!

Busy Busy Busy

So I've been a slacker in the blog-world. On the plus side, it's because I've been anything but a slacker in the real world!

In mid-November, Izzy and I took a plane ride to Delaware to visit family and friends. I got to catch up with an old friend from high school who I grew up with but who I haven't seen in years, and that was awesome! Then, I got together with a great group of friends who I've known for years but only known most of them via email conversations. We had a great night hanging out together and catching up. Finally, I got to spend a day at my brother's house, for his annual Pre-Thanksgiving dinner. Yummy and a great chance to see a few old acquaintances and meet some of his friends.

I came home just in time to host Thanksgiving dinner for us and hubby's family. 12 of us gathered for turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and all the other yummies. It was good to see all the cousins who are spread far apart these days.

Since then, I've been busy Christmas shopping (including Black Friday-a first for me!), decorating, and sending Christmas letters.

I've also been busy working on a new business venture....T-shirt Blankets. A few years ago, I took all of my college fraternity shirts that I rarely wore anymore and turned them into a blanket. At the time, I figured it was pretty simple and nothing special. But 3 or 4 years of using the blanket at the park for picnics has made me think otherwise. So many people stop to comment on it, and think it's a great idea, and something they'd love to have but never could do themselves. So....I figured I'd give it a try making blankets for other people. Heck, I've even put together a website for it. Wanna see??? Here's the page!

One last thing has been occupying my mind this last month. And unfortunately, I'm going to end this post on a sad note. I've been forced to realize just how lucky I am recently, because of some terrible things that have happened. First, a friend of a friend's family was driving to Disney World when their car was rear-ended. Sadly, their 4-year-old daughter, was critically injured and passed away. Shortly thereafter, we learned that DH's cousin's newborn daughter may be diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Details and a definite diagnosis are still pending, so right now we are playing a waiting game. Then, I learned of a friend's 5-year-old son diagnosis with stage four neuroblastoma. So far, he's doing well through stages of chemo and fighting hard. Finally, hubby's aunt passed away suddenly a week ago.

It's truly been a heart-breaking and emotionally exhausting few weeks. I am trying so hard to be thankful for everything I have, and to do all that I can to support those who are dealing with such terrible loss and pain at what should be the most wonderful time of the year. So send your positive thoughts, your prayers, or do whatever it is that you do, and make sure you say "Thank you" for all the good things in your own life.

Christmas Tree

Yay! The Christmas tree is up! I LOVE the smell of a real tree in the house and we had lots of fun getting it and decorating it! When I say we, I mean the boys. Hubby and I don't get to have fun right? We just do all the work so the kids can have fun!!

We went tree hunting last weekend, at a farm about 45 minutes from home. Yes there is one about 5 minutes from home, but their selection of tall trees (8.5 feet) is poor, so we take the long drive. The amount of time to drive and bundle up the kids - it was about 15 degrees - was longer than it took to find a great tree. But that's ultimately a good thing... we had lots of selection, and found a beautiful tree for only $40 in about 10 minutes. Way before the boys got tired of walking in the snow and knocking snow off the trees.



Daddy cut down the tree, we caught the farmer's wagon just in time, and hauled it back to the finishing area. We watched them shake the dead needles and snow off and then send it through the machine to tie it up - the boys love both of those things.
Then we (me and the boys) left Daddy to strap it to the roof... we went to have FREE hot chocolate! And while we were there Santa stopped in to say hello. Neither of the kids were really excited about Santa... he's just another stranger to them. They said hi, but that was about it. They have NO desire (even under threat of no presents) to go sit on his lap and talk to him. I'd love the photo of them with him, but I don't want the stress of trying to get it... I've got enough stress right now! So, I guess no Santa picture this year! oh well...

We got the tree home, and put up. We were letting it unfold and warm up before decorating and it decided to fall down, not once or twice, but three times!! Fun times! After re-cutting the bottom, and adding some blocks, we got it to stand up. Let the decorating begin!!

I've determined the easiest way to decorate a tree with young children involved. 1. Let them hang only the unbreakable ornaments wherever they can reach. Later you can hang the breakable ones up above these where they can't reach, thereby insuring that they 'might' not get broken. 2. Let them hang the ornaments wherever they want. Then when they are in bed or otherwise distracted, redistribute as necessary to avoid 15 ornaments on 1 branch and none anywhere else! Or leave them like the kids put them if you're not as picky as I am!

None the less, for better or worse, the tree, the house -both inside and out- are decorated. Heck, there are even presents wrapped under the tree already! Sometimes being pregnant is a good thing for me.... I figured I better get a head start on things or we wouldn't get it all done in time.

Actually,we've even already made Christmas cookies!! Woo Hoo!!



Now we're almost ready to host hubby's family on Christmas Eve, and then my family for Blake's birthday! If only I knew what to cook for Christmas Eve!

4th of July

Whew! What a weekend.... 2 parades, 2 sets of fireworks, 2 VERY tired little boys! We had a good time.

Trevor started off the festivities at camp making a hat and flag, and having his face painted.

Friday we went to the parade right here in our own town. Grandma and Aunt Kate joined us, but I forgot the camera. I'll add some of Grandma's photos later....she always has a camera on her, hence why she's called "the Paparazzi" by Trevor! The kids had a blast, filling their bags with candy, seeing all the fire trucks complete with sirens, and all the old tractors-very cool.

Later that night, Grandma and Aunt Kate joined us in the backyard for the local fireworks. Also quite exciting. While waiting for them to start, the boys played with glow sticks (a great cheap toy!), and caught lightening bugs in jars....reminding me fondly of my own childhood. The village fireworks were great, but 2 of the neighbors had their own to set off and they added a great second finale. After company went home and the kids to bed, Steve and I sat around the fire pit enjoying that and the neighbor's hard work!


Saturday we decided to head to the next town over's parade to watch with friends. Same firetrucks, tow trucks, and crazy cars made an appearance, but the boys were just as enthralled as the first time around. Not as much candy to be had, but that's fine...we've got more than enough to last us until Halloween!! Again, no photos!!

Saturday night we drove down to a work colleague of Steve's in the south suburbs (like 1.5 hours from here....still in Chicago-land!). Nice backyard barbecue, some sparklers, and more fireworks!!


Today....just a lazy Sunday at home... I watched the Cubs win (2 out of 3 baby...take that Cards fans!!), and I caught the end of Wimbeldon and saw Nadal beat Federer (finally!), and I saw some Olympic trials....geez I'm a couch potato!!! No pictures of that necessary!!

Hope you had a fun and happy 4th!!!