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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Let's Talk About ...

There comes a time in every parent's life when she must face the bitter truth. This time usually comes at the most inopportune moment and without very little warning. For me, the time did have some small warning and I was able to control the exact timing of the moment when "the conversation" actually took place. It was still rather difficult and - ahem - shocking, to say the least.

For about two weeks, Kira has been asking vague questions about certain aspects of human biology. I provided vague answers and noted in my mind that it was time to bring out THE BOOK for her.

THE BOOK, you ask? Which book would that be? There are so many.

Ah - but there is only ONE book that is perfectly suitable for providing answers to those all important biology questions that young children will inevitably ask.

**I would like to make it clear at this point that it is my own personal opinion that the questions children ask should be answered with complete honesty, no matter how difficult this may be for the parent. Telling a child that babies come from storks, cabbage patches, or "magic" is not only bad form but it also makes it more difficult to have open discussions later in your child's life when those discussions will really matter.**

The book I chose for this all important discussion is one that I purchased many years ago when Gibson was only 6 years old and started asking his own set of questions. Mind you, Gibson's set of questions were not nearly as - hmm - specific... or detailed... or difficult. Just like the stretch marks that Kira refused to recycle when I was pregnant with her, she also had to use her very own set of questions. Luckily, THE BOOK works well for all sets of questions.

Right about now you're probably wondering what book I'm talking about. Well - It's So Amazing! 

No, no, no, silly.... That's the name of the book.


It's So Amazing! A book about eggs, sperm, birth, babies, and families. 


I love this book because it is written in a very child friendly and parent friendly format. It talks about many different types of families and gives straight forward, factual information on the creation of babies. It helps that the book is written sort of as a comic strip with a bird and a bee having interesting conversations along the way. There is also a great deal of parental directed humor for the adult's reading pleasure. When I first picked this book up all those years ago, I sat in the middle of the book store and laughed for half an hour as I flipped through the pages reading the comic strips.

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For those of you who enjoy a bit of comedy, here's a few of the lovely little questions that Kira asked when I pulled out THE BOOK after we had a few moments to browse the pictures inside.

1) What is sperm and where does it come from? 
   
          The sperm comes from the Daddy and helps make the baby.


2) How does the Mommy get the sperm?

          The Daddy shares his sperm with the Mommy.

3) How does the Daddy share his sperm with the Mommy?

         The Mommy and Daddy put their bodies close together and that's how the Daddy shares the sperm with the Mommy.


4) blink blink blink - But HOW does the sperm get inside to the Mommy's egg?

           **red faced Mommy** Well, you see these pictures here. The Mommy private parts and the Daddy private parts are made to fit together like a puzzle and that's how the Daddy shares the sperm with the Mommy.

5) Did YOU do that, Mommy? 

          Well, Yeah. How do you think you got here, honey?


6) So if a Mommy and Daddy wanted to have a boy and a girl, they would have to do that twice, right? 

          ** I decided not to go in the mechanics of exactly how many times it might take to actually manage to make a baby. Sometimes it is best to just NOD AND SMILE.**

          Great thinking, Kira. I like how you are using your Math skills to reason out problems.


7) BIG LIGHT BULB OVER KIRA'S HEAD --- I bet they have to take their underwear off to do that! 

          **Nod and smile.**

This was about the time that I ended the conversation with "BEDTIME" ... after TWENTY very long and excruciating minutes of honesty. 

Saturday, May 22, 2010

What About Those Links?

If you come here often, you may have noticed that many of my posts have a link or two conveniently located within the text. I know many blogs have links that are embedded for whatever reason there may be. Sometimes the links are relevant. Sometimes the links are merely pop-up ads. (Those things irritate me more than whiny kids...)

I just thought I might take a moment to make it known that any links that happen to be embedded within the body of my posts are placed there specifically by me to make it easier for readers to navigate throughout the great world wide web. For instance, if I'm talking about a specific museum or entertainment spot, I will place a link to that locale's website. This would make it easier for somebody who is interested in learning more to go and explore the topic.

I did try Pay Per Post for a short while. I think I might have completed 3 or 4 of those before I determined that it just wasn't my sort of thing.

So now you know. You can be certain that any content comes directly from me and any links are placed there for your convenience. If I am reviewing a product by company request, I will specify that within the post. Anything that you see here without a specific note stating that the company asked me to do the review comes directly from my own thoughts and desires to share the information with my readers.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Minor Rant

I CAN NOT GET INTO MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT BECAUSE I AM NOT AT HOME AND THE NEW SECURITY MEASURES ARE BEYOND RIDICULOUS.

Okay - I feel better now. Although I am wondering if I will be able to access my Facebook when I get home. The system SHOULD recognize the computer I'm using. It should just let me right in. I'm not at all certain of how this new security measure is supposed to work. All I know is...

I WANT MY FACEBOOK!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Chili's To Go ... Online!

Today I am a very happy Mom. You see - everybody in the house is sick except me. (Not why I'm happy...of course.)

I'm sitting here and it occurs to me that I'm the only person in the house who happens to have any desire for food. Nobody wants to eat except me. I can't disappear for any length of time to enjoy a meal out. I don't want to try to cook something for just me.

Usually I would call a local restaurant and order something, but calling can be somewhat of a hassle when you've got a houseful of sick, pitiful people.

I went online to check the menu for Chili's to verify the cost of my favorite dish - Cajun Chicken Pasta - and much to my surprise I discovered that Chili's has now instituted Online Ordering! This was just awesome news for me tonight. It took me a mere few moments to place my order and I can still pay at the restaurant when I arrive to get my food.

Speaking of - my food is scheduled to be ready at 8:31. According to my computer, it's time for me to go get my food.

See Ya!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Trust UPS to ship...

...your kids? 

We will be embarking on a family vacation in a few short days (though not nearly short enough). Our driving time will be about 6 hours, maybe 7 hours depending on how often we have to pull over and break up whatever fight has broken loose in the back of the car between the rival siblings. This - I do not look forward to. Both of our girls have discovered the sheer joy and power that comes with being able to annoy the other. Poor Kira is an easy target, too. Marisa - though the youngest - definitely knows exactly how to push Kira's buttons to get the maximum annoyance benefit. With this in mind, Randall and I had a discussion tonight about the best possible way to arrange our car for traveling with relative peace.

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We've decided that we will take the girls to the local UPS Store and ask them to ship - same day delivery - to our hotel location. We have determined that if the Georgia Aquarium trusts UPS to ship million dollar fish, then we can certainly trust them to ship our precious darling children safely to our hotel. I bet they wouldn't even need to use any duct tape... (on second thought...)

**Is a Whale Shark a fish? ...a Beluga Whale? Isn't the Beluga a mammal? Hmm - have to go look that one up.**

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After we finished joking about all the various ways we could ship our children to our hotel without having to deal with the frustrations of their constant bickering, we did decide that it was probably best if we simply put one of them in the back of our van and one in the middle. Hopefully by keeping them separated in the car we will be able to minimize the bickering that goes on between them. 

We also decided that we really need to convince at least one of the Grandmas to take one of the girls for a couple of days before we leave. Maybe if they have been away from each other for a day or two they will be less likely to bicker so much. (maybe?) Ideally, for us parents, we will be able to convince one Grandma to take one girl and the other Grandma to take the other girl - leaving us kid free for a day or two before we leave on our vacation. Wouldn't that be an awesome idea. Now I just have to manipulate (ahem - convince) the Grandmas into believing that this genius plan was all their idea....