7 Quick Takes: Ugh and Yay!

--1-- Ugh!

The bug that started with a barfy kid the Monday before last has been diagnosed as the flu. It looks like we're in it for the long haul, but there are days when the yucks lighten and we get some stuff done. It could always be worse.

--2-- Yay!

My nephew and his wife had their baby girl last night in the wee hours of the morning. I've seen a picture, but so far, no name has been announced. You'll have to take my word for it that she is as cute as a button. Though I'll share photos of my own kiddos, I let my family keep their kids to themselves. It's not as if they asked for a blogging auntie!

--3-- Ugh!

I've struggled to stay on the budget for several months now. My mom got sick in March, put her house up for sale, and moved out by us, changing the family financial dynamics enough that I've needed to revamp the budget. Instead of doing the work I've been mentally estimating which is the same as not using a budget, I've discovered. The program I used on my PC can't transfer to my Mac, so I've been using the excuse that I'm stuck in a back room to do family finances as a way to avoid the duty long enough to justify buying a new program and manually transferring data. What better way can you think of to spend the flu-induced downtime?

If you need help getting started budgeting, I highly recommend heading over here to check out Dave Ramsey.

--4--Yay!

Given that we are going to be out of action for at least another week, I'd say we wrapped our home school year just in time! We won't be falling behind in our studies having the flu this early in the year. How's that for a half-full kind of thought?




Takes 5, 6, and 7 are interesting articles that I came across this week. They were thought provoking enough that I may be blogging on each one in the next few weeks.

--5-- Modern Parenting My Hinder Brain Development Notre Dame Study Finds

Though I have two major disagreements with the article, I thought this was a great read and provocative enough to share.

Nitpick #1: This title should read "Modern American Parenting" as many modern Western countries do not follow the practices cited in the article. We Americans are becoming too busy, too stressed, and too distracted to pay attention to anything for very long, much less our children. As a culture we indulge, we don't discipline. Not all of us parent this way, of course, but it's far too common. This study proves that bad parenting is bad.

Nitpick #2: They are placing a bit too much emphasis on breastfeeding as a mark of good parenting. I've seen a few moms who managed to breast feed and parent badly. Since I've both bottle fed and breastfed, my kids are a mix of both, and I can say with some authority that I don't love the bottle fed any less than those I fed on homemade milk. Don't get me wrong, breastfeeding is wonderful if you can manage it, but using it as a marker of nurturing behavior is a bit of a stretch. Sometimes bottle feeding is the only option. Let's not pile on the guilt by implying it's bad parenting.

"Social practices and cultural beliefs of modern life are preventing healthy brain and emotional development in children, according to an interdisciplinary body ofresearch presented recently at a symposium at the University of Notre Dame.

'Life outcomes for American youth are worsening, especially in comparison to 50 years ago,” says Darcia Narvaez, Notre Dame professor of psychology who specializes in moral development in children and how early life experiences can influence brain development.'"

Link to article...http://news.nd.edu/news/36653-modern-parenting-may-hinder-brain-development-research-shows/

--6-- Here! Here! I Agree!

This article on that overwhelmed feeling of being a new parent pretty much sums it up. I think parenting one was hard, two was hard, three was the worst. Six is a breeze in comparison. Parenting is hard, but it just gets easier as the family gets bigger.

Or maybe I'm just lowering my standards. At any rate, here's the article link so that she can reassure you that it's okay to be maxed out by the number of children that you currently have. Even veteran moms of many remember those days...

To Moms of One or Two Children

--7-- And Just in Case You Disagree with 1 to 6, Here's a Handy Article

When in doubt, take it personally. 

Link: http://thepessimist.com/2013/08/07/how-to-be-outraged-on-the-internet/

7 Quick Takes

--1--

I love history. I love novels. Historical fiction is a joy for me if the writing and the history are done well. Anachronisms drive me batty. I can’t say that they are entirely possible to avoid. Our modern viewpoint is bound to intrude here and there, but blatantly compromising history through ignorance or through marketing considerations causes books to become airborne around here.

Post Sexual Revolution mores stand out like beacons of silliness in the Fourteenth Century. In the real history of the actual people referenced in a book I chanced upon, the consequences for their moral choice was banishment from the kingdom. In the novel that was glossed over as if it were of no consequence. Can you imagine years of your life cut off from your friends and family and homeland as no big deal? Me, neither.

Novel tossed.

(And no, I'm not giving free publicity to it by mentioning it by name.)

--2--

My mother is out of the hospital and felt well enough to come by to see the grandkids Friday. Walking is now a part of her must do list. If you’re wondering why she was in the hospital, she unknowingly had pneumonia. If you’re wondering how she could not know she had pneumonia, she has Cystic Fibrosis. If you’re wondering what Cystic Fibrosis is, click the word. If you’re wondering how she can have that disease and be in her 70s, you’re not the only one. She’s a medical astonishment, but she’s better now.

--3--

First World Announcement

Whoo! Whoo!

Celebrate good times!

We now have bathrooms! (Note: plural s on the direct object!) That’s right, we’re a two potty party over here! The second bathroom is finished except for the painting. I’d say the lines to use the bathroom are reduced at our house, but since all the kids want to exclusively use the new toilet, everyone is still waiting and whining outside one bathroom door. If you come over for a visit, use the bathroom at the back. No lines. No waiting.

--4--

Large Family Announcement

Whoo! Whooer! Whooest!

Celebrate even better times!

At 7:45 February 12, 2013, all the laundry at my house was done. All of it. I had to make a note of that somewhere. The last time this happened my washing machine was broken and I ran all 15 loads simultaneously at the laundry mat.

Please note that the date is actually from last Tuesday. We had a slew of bed wetting that very night and throughout the next week, so I was so busy washing bedding and blankets last Friday that I totally forgot to make this announcement in last week’s Quick Takes. Those of you who have families of 3 or more kids totally understand why the accomplishment bears announcement even when evidence of it did not last a full 24 hours.

I did it. I folded it. I put it away. All of it.

--5--

Speaking of folding laundry, I was calculating how many times I’ve been through the entire Bible the other day. I’m on my fourth time through, not counting Daily Masses. If the first sentence doesn’t make sense to you, folding a pile of laundry bigger than your head is mind-numbingly stimulating: you will think of anything to keep yourself mentally occupied. If the second sentence doesn’t make sense, you have to know that the Catholics hear the entire Bible in Sunday Mass every three years (it only takes one year for Daily Mass attendees), so I figured out how many times I’d heard the Bible since I’d converted. I counted up the years, then divided by three.

How many times have you been through the Bible? Anyone actually sat and read  through the whole thing? If you don’t count the Epistles, the book of Numbers, Leviticus, and Matthew 1, I’ve read it all the way through, too!

--6--

If you haven’t read this yet, read this. It will help you when you are thinking that you’re the only one who feels this way. All my friends who have children reacted to this piece with a “That’s me!” reaction. All of my friends who have children with special needs reacted the exact same way.

Which brings me to this point I’ve made before: parenting children with special needs is not a different kind of parenting, it’s just more intense. We’re doing exactly what good parents do for children, we are just having to do it longer or harder for this child than that one. Parenting is parenting and children are children. We don’t stop being human just because our bodies or our minds work quirky.

Here We Are
by Simcha Fisher

--7--

On a related note, here’s a story poem that someone shared with my husband and me shortly after we received the news that our son likely had Autism. It helped.

Welcome to Holland

by Emily Perl Kingsley

To view this poem, click here...

Because it is Monday

Click here for more comics and the T-shirt option from this starving artist...

It's Time for Epic Parent Fails--Time-Out Edition!

The Official Disclaimer for Nana: No actual Martin was harmed in the making of this blog.

This is not a Martin.

Since it is always fun to learn from other people's mistakes, and since I'm a little desperate for material this week, I thought I might share with you some of my hard won insights into parenting. Yes, folks, I'm going to share with you the bad and the ugly.

It's time for Epic Parent Fails: Time-Out Edition!

Time outs are not complicated. They aren't even hard. So why, oh why, can't I get them right? Here are some real life Epic Parent Fails at my house.

When it's too short...

After wailing and moaning throughout the entire time-out the toddler says, "I happy!" the instant you relent.

Said toddler, after a serving hard time for hitting, says the obligatory, "I sorry," to her sister before popping her a fresh one.

When it's too long...

You discover after finishing up the lunch dishes that you've got two kids against the wall and you can't remember why.

A good sign you've not been keeping a close enough eye on the little felons...

You order one errant child into time-out and discover the other four standing against the wall when you turn around.

A sign that they eventually learn something...

In the girls' room all the baby dolls are lined up against the wall while two preschool mommies lecture about the kind of behavior they expect in their house. Within moments there is a "tearful" dolly reconcilliation scene worthy of the Hallmark Channel!

Your oldest transgressor marches himself off to his time-out spot while you are still mentally counting to 10.