Monday, April 16, 2012

This little life of mine......

Ty is still reluctant to give kisses. He comes by it honestly. His momma is not fond of that particular form of expression. Anywho.....at bedtime the other night, Makenna asked Ty for a kiss which was immediately echoed by Kate. Ty, without a second's hesitation told Kate to kiss Kenna and walked away with a grin on his face that let us all know he fully understood what he'd just done.

Ty and I were drawing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway yesterday. I had already created a racetrack, a UPS truck and a train track. I was at a loss for further entertainment and started drawing simple shapes for him to identify. I pointed first to the triangle which he quickly named. Next I pointed to the square and he replied, "it's a shape, Mom" with a slightly sarcastic tone. We're in trouble.

There is a teen in our house who finds our "no bikini" rule unreasonable. She is vocal about it regularly and uses it to push any given agenda she happens to have at that moment. We've heard every possible excuse from "it's my money" to "you just want to keep us in a bubble".  Oh how I wish that second one was possible! But, we are as convinced showing off her body is a bad idea as she is that we are controlling. We believe we are protecting. I want to find balance. She is frustrated and we are tired of the discussion. Balance. I need some of that.

We have two kids eligible for learners permits. One has procrastinated for two years. One has been bugging us about her eligibility for about two years! I took Erin last fall to get hers. It turns out that as a licensed Indiana driver, I need my original Hawaiian birth certificate and two utility bills in my name in order to sign for her. The original birth certificate I have. Two utility bills, I do not. So, we sent Greg during Spring Break with his and the bills because they are in his name. It turns out his birth certificate is a copy and therefore, not accepted. I just want to point out that we are both licensed drivers and property owners in the state of Indiana! Why on earth do we need our birth certificates from out of state to prove we are residents in Indiana? My brother-in-law cleverly pointed out that Sasha and Malia would be out of luck if they lived here although I suspect government rules would be bent in that case.

We've had some scary talks this week about safety. It turns out that a friend of a friend was arrested this last week for the rape of a young girl. Our daughter was placed in a car with this particular "friend" a few weeks ago by another parent. Let me give you a second to digest that for a second. Is your heart in your stomach? Mine too. Praise God for lessons learned without direct pain as there were several learned this time. I am grateful for our kids' protection and use the story to further illustrate that bad things happen to good girls doing the right thing, why take risks that further increase the chances?Yes, at times, I wish I could just keep them in a bubble.

3 comments:

Brenda W. said...

I wish we lived closer to each other! Our kids could complain together, about the things they are NOT allowed to do. We went so far as to not allow Disney movies that involved magic, sorcery, etc...until they were MUCH older and could understand that people don't "turn into a beast, or a tea cup, or a mermaid/human" b someone casting a spell. A former neighbor thought we were C R A Z Y! I always wanted to point out that mine children were not the ones having nightmares every night.
We still control the movies, music, etc. that they watch/listen to. We agree with the NO bikini rule. We do allow the 2 piece suits that look like a one piece. All of the friends who come to swim know the rule. If it is not being followed, a dark t-shirt would be handed to her. So far, all have complied. We have the issue of having sons being the oldest, so we want to protect them from what they see! Joe has trained them to look away when inappropriately dressed women are on commercials, cheerleaders, in stores, etc....
See, our kids could talk!!!

Brenda W. said...

Oops..."my children, not mine children". Didn't proofread!

Kara said...

Yikes! My mom was the same way. I wasn't allowed to wear make-up until 7th grade ( and then only tinted lip gloss) full make up was not allowed until high school. I remember being so mad. They will make their own choices soon enough. One day when they have their own babies, they will understand. I'm glad my mom forbid med-high sugar cereals and didn't let me go to anyone's house she didn't personally know the parents of well. Hard lessons Indeed. My baby girl won't be allowed to date until she is 30. That will work right? ;)