Saturday, March 1, 2014

Court Bans American Flag, SAY WHAT!

At first I was like WTF, but then after reading why, I understand. It sucks that there is so much prejudice and racism there that this had to go to court. I also feel it is sad that kids are threatened if they wear a flag on Cinco de Mayo. But I also agree that the non Mexican kids shouldn't be chanting and provoking others on this day.
Living in America means you can be free to feel how you want. I think one day a year is not too much to ask for to let them celebrate where they came from and their heritage. I know a lot of Americans feel that if you live here you need to BE here. However we have so many politically correct issues going on right now that it shouldn't still be a problem. We have African American history month and Asian American history appreciation so why not one day for Mexican Americans? Also Cinco de Mayo is more of a party holiday for Americans anyway. An excuse to drink and act stupid.
Well I guess they got that second part right down in good ol' San Jose!
 
School Bans American Flag <<See story here
 

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Belieber Shmelieber!

So when Justin Bieber first started to misbehave The hubs and I talked to our daughter about it and said she could still listen to his music if she liked it but we didn't feel he was a good person so would no longer be getting her anything Bieber related. She said that was fine. She agreed.
 
Then we told her about his being arrested 2 days ago for drinking and driving and under the influence of drugs, and she just looked disgusted. She actually said "Oh I'm done with him". We felt very happy.
 
So last night she had a friend stay over and she had her help take down her posters of him. I (in all my wisdom and awesomeness) had a great idea for an activity for them.



My daughter's friend taking aim
 
Perfect Target!

My son had been waiting for this day for a while!

My daughter is red, her friend was blue, and my son was orange paint.
 

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Valentine's Day for kids?

Spoiler Alert: This is not a cutesy, DIY Valentine posting today.
 
I have been thinking about this for the last couple of days. Mainly because whenever I pop onto Pinterest lately, I am bombarded with
Valentine's Day crafts, decorations, jewelery, and Valentine related clothing.
#1. My kids are in elementary school. That's a K-5th grade, so 5-12 year olds. Um, they shouldn't have Valentines. They shouldn't have boyfriends or girlfriends. Sure they can have crushes and think someone is totes cute, but I really feel that is about as far as it should go. I'm no prude, or fuddy duddy. I got engaged and moved out at 17, with the man I felt was the love of my life and I would spend forever with. 17 years later, we are still married and have 2 wonderful kids, who know that I was 17 when I moved out, but I have a hard time being okay with it for kids nowadays.
 
#2. Do people actually decorate their homes for Valentine's Day? I mean I know people who do themes for Christmas, winter, Thanksgiving, autumn, 4Th of July, Spring, & Easter (this one mainly for their kids). But is there sense in decorating for days like Valentine's and St. Patrick's. Why not Groundhog day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, or even President's Day. I mean do you put up a foam Mt. Rushmore on your mantel? Do you hang little paper Groundhog head garlands on the trellis? How about putting a MLK Jr. mannequin in your yard in January? Ya, sounds spectacular to me.
 
#3. I'm willing to bet that the moms out there are the ones who scour the internet for these adorable little V-day card ideas, trying to find the perfect one. The perfect one has to meet several requirements:
  • Cost to make
  • Supplies on hand versus need to purchase
  • Cuteness/Coolness
  • Ease to make/ skill level required
  • Does it come with something extra (candy or toy)
  • Will any other moms probably do this or something like this
Once you find your perfect lil' idea, you begin. Time and energy spent coloring, printing, folding, cutting, taping, pasting, sweating, crying, drinking, giving up, jumping back in because you'll be darned if your kid doesn't bring something totally adorable or awesome in.
     And now I guess we are giving teachers, mailmen, bus drivers, the pharmacist and neighbors V-day cards & treats too. When does it end? 
    Well the pharmacist is cool in my book; the places I'd be without that angel ;)
thirtyhandmadedays.com, mummydeals.org, anightowlblog.com
See, look at these adorable ideas that I...my kids ;) would love to do!
 #4. The candy and toys. They come home with a bag full of cards and junk because the school has made it mandatory that if you bring something in for one kid, you must bring enough for everyone. And most of the other kids also brought cards with a candy or toy attached so they will be cool. I DON'T WANT MY KID TO HAVE ALL THAT CANDY! And I'm the bad guy when I tell them that and ration it to them like it were the Great Depression. (which they haven't even learned about yet)
And if you do send them with empty store bought cards, they are most likely to be passed over and thrown out without being opened or read.
How do I know this? Because 2 years ago my darling son brought home his bag and when we went through them, he pulled one out and looked sideways at it and said "hmm, no candy" then dropped it on the table. Since then he has come to understand appreciating the thought and effort put in to things.


 (FYI: My daughter just walked by and told me she was impressed with how much i am typing)

 So I have this parent part of me that wants to ask the teachers to have kids not bring candy in this year. And I have the cool parent, that used to be an un-cool kid, part of me that wants to keep my mouth shut.
 
Maybe if I send in one of these vintage gems then they will politely ask me to just not send anything in next year ;)
google.co.nz, im3.etsystatic.com
http://www.babble.com/mom/20-totally-creepy-odd-vintage-valentines-day-cards-images/?pid=5601, scottsaavedra.com
 

Monday, January 20, 2014

What I'm trying for in 2014

I haven't updated my profile yet but I actually have a job now as well as being the PTO Treasurer and Art Discovery Coordinator at my kids' Elementary school. I used to be the president but needed to take a more low key spot so that I could get a paying job to help with our growing debt to income ratio. Don't we all love those little nuisances called BILLS!
http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/free%20country%20getting%20bills_39985
 
To start off, my good ol' minivan I've had for 9 years transmission gave out on Dec 23rd. Since my busiest time of work was coming up in a few days, we had to go get a car on Christmas Eve. (Only day my husband had available to go with me) That turned out okay. I mean I got an awesome new car and the payments aren't that bad. However we figure it will cost at or just over what we make on average a month. My income is tricky because I have a revolving 4 week schedule. Week 1 & 2 is busy but 3 is slow and 4 is slower. Then it starts all over again. But I love my job so I don't want to find another one.
 
We have switched our cell phone carrier so we will be saving about $50 bucks a month there. But I need to get a real handle on the finances and make sure I have the right numbers floating in my head. That there is the problem. I've relied too much on just playing it by ear and knowing how much we have in the bank versus what I need to pay.


http://researchingreform.net/2011/01/17/

So my New Year's Resolution was to get organized. Not just with clutter and papers, but with information as well. I mean here's the Debbie Downer part but, what if something happened to me an my husband needed to know the account numbers for the bills, or the passwords to all the online accounts I have. So I have spent the half of January looking up way to keep track of all this stuff, and ways to go through all the junk in the house too. I don't know why I need someone else to tell me how to clean and organize because I can go to someone elses house and have a plan of attack in like 3 seconds. But when it comes to my own stuff, I have a hard time "letting go". Even though it makes me mad and sometimes I say "lets just get rid of everything, we haven't even opened some of these boxes in years". I know I'm not the only one who feels this way right?
 
I have found a couple of freebie downloads I found that I think will help me. I found some people's Home Management Binders and saw what they did. Some of the info or calendars I felt I didn't need because I need a visual calendar and not one in a binder.
This is the bulletin board above my computer. I have a Meal plan for the month. My bills. Then my work Calendar.
 
The Meal plan is very simple. It is just dinners because we know what to eat for breakfast and lunch. It has whether we will have pork, chicken, spaghetti, pizza, or something else like meatloaf. Then I go plan the meals once a week based on those main ingredients, and shop for anything I don't already have.
My Bills calender, I need to see when they are due in the month to plan which paycheck is going to cover them.
My work calendars show what week my jobs are to be done in so I can choose which days I work and which days I'm going to take off (for volunteering).
 
But I thought I would share some of the pages I've found that I'm going to use. I am thankful for their generosity in offering these printables for free.
www.pinterest.com/luckymama10/organization
My pinterest Organization board

 
 This first website has a bunch of printables for organizing information. 
http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/2013/01/home-management-binder-printable-tabs.html
diyhshp.blogspot.com
 Monthly & Weekly Calendars, Cleaning schedules, Labels, Contact Lists, Dates to Remember, Shopping Lists, Freezer & Pantry Lists, Password Log, Medical Records, Emergency Contacts, etc....
And did I mention its all pretty and colorful :)

 
http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/09/home-organization-101-kitchen.html
A Bowl Full of Lemons.net
 This second website has a 14 week plan to organize your home. I look forward to starting it (on my own time) next month. I haven't followed through on if there is a current one running, but this program was in 2012 and I can see how it would help to have moral support and ideas from other people doing the same project but in different spaces. That's why I am trying to rope in my friend who is also complaining about her home. I figure we can motivate each other and tell each other to "suck it up and clean missy".