The First Day of School - Church Eases Fears

Today was the first day of school in our town. Last night my daughters were both excited and apprehensive as they prepared for the next morning. I could hear them chatter excessively about what friends might be in their classrooms, what their teachers would be like, who would return and who wouldn't, the hard studying they would have to do now that summer break was over, etc. None of this excitement really surprised me and it made me smile hearing them because it brought back memories of when I was in school...way, way, way, long ago. What did surprise me, however, was the fact that underneath my bold exterior I was even more apprehensive than they were. In fact, I was a little bit scared of them going back to school.

Times have changed so much since I was in school and kids did not have nearly the troubles, worries, challenges, and problems that they face now. Bullies, violence, gangs, unscrupulous teachers, school shootings, etc...all of those things scare the devil out of me now. In church yesterday the pastor did something that put my mind to ease..they called all of the children going back to school up to the front of the church along with the parents and he prayed over us. How thoughtful! They also handed the children gift bags with a few school supplies and treats and each one of them were surprised with a popsicle on their way out of the church doors. All of these things may seem small, but wow did they ever make a difference!

Another One Bites the Dust

Yesterday, after 15 years of extraordinary success at a major computer company I was laid off. The reason? They are outsourcing a LOT of jobs to Brazil and India. I am absolutely numb. With all of this going on and the state of the economy, how are we Americans supposed to survive? Now, here I am 41 years old and having to decide how to spend the rest of my life. I have a few ideas, I just didn't think I would have to worry about restarting my life at this point. I think it is absolutely awful what the big companies are doing and sending all of our jobs oversees is uncomprehensible. Well, that's my ranting for today. Like it or hate it, I think it stinks!

Writing On Walls

Why do children like to write on walls? I have tons and tons of blank copy paper, tablets galore, coloring books, big easels, everything a person could dream of to draw on, yet my walls look like I live at Disney World. Most of the time, I am able to use a Magic Eraser to clean off the scribbling, however here lately it has become harder and harder to do so. At times, I have even seen the paint come off the wall from my scrubbing it. I threaten punishment, I try to hide all of the crayons, markers, and pencils, anything you can think of I have done it but to no avail.

On Super Nanny I saw an episode where she had the parents take big giant pieces of easel paper and tape them to the walls with the kids' names on them. The kids' were told that these were the only places in which they could write on the walls. On the show, it seemed to work. I'm curious, have any of you tried this? If so, did it actually work? Please let me know. If you have any other hints or tips on how to curtail this very ugly habit of my kids' please let me know that too. Thanks.

Spiderman Boxer Briefs - Successful Potty Training

If you have been reading my blogs, you know that I have been trying to potty train my three year old for about a year now. Honestly though, I have not really been firm in exercising the necessity of him becoming fully potty trained until a few months ago. Now it comes to do or die time. Although he is physically and mentally ready to move to the next pre-k level, his teachers have informed me that unless he is fully potty trained before school starts back on August 11, he will NOT be moving up to the next grade with his classmates.

At first I was very upset over this, but what can a person do. I truly understand how they feel. He is a big boy, even taller than most in his classroom, and he should be totally potty trained by now. I try, I really do...but he does very well in school and does horribly at home. I don't understand this trend. I keep his big boy underwear on him at home after he gets home from school until he has an accident in them. Inevitably he always has an accident in them. I place him on the potty every 30 minutes, but for some reason he will have a boo boo accident not even 20 minutes later. Frustrated, that ends it for me in the toilet training department for that night. Between getting dinner ready, preparing the kids baths, tidying up the house, and catching up on work for the office, I simply can not keep stopping to clean up potty accidents. What to do?

The one thing I decided to try was to get him some new undies. I went to Big Lots and Lo and Behold I saw some Spiderman Boxer Briefs in his size. I grabbed a couple of boxes in took them home. When he saw them, he immediately took off his pull up and put on the boxer brief. That A Boy! To my amazement, he loves wearing those undies! Also, he does not want to get Spiderman wet or dirty, so he actually goes to the potty on his own (most of the time). We did have a minor set back a couple of days after this breakthrough because he got really sick. I tried to keep the undies on him, but the diarrhea just made it impossible. A few days later once he felt better, I started back with the Spidey Undies. It has been touch and go since then, but please keep your fingers crossed for us. If I can't get him trained within the next 30 days, he will be the oldest, smartest, and tallest pre-K little boy in his pre-k 2 classroom. (He is 3). Please let me know if you have any pointers.

Parents Taking Care of Parents

My father has been in and out of the hospital since the last week of February. Of those four months, he has spent approximately 90 days in the hospital. And not the same hospital either. He has been a patient of four different hospitals. During this time, myself and my siblings have pitched in to help in his care. Frustrated with the level of care he was receiving from the many doctors who handled his case, we even contacted a well known physician who has experience working with patients suffereing from various ailments who were also well known. This type of specialized care is not covered fully by insurance, so the four of us chip in to pay the quarterly balance. This is all to ensure our dad receives the proper care he deserves. And you know what, now he does. It is sad to say that the new physician is finally on the right track to making my dad better because the new physician obviously is quite expensive. But I have heard it before, and in this case I see it first hand, you get what you pay for.


This blog was not supposed to be written about physicians, it was meant to speak about those of us who are now assisting in the care of the very people who used to wipe our noses and change our diapers...the people who gave us life, our parents. If someone had told me that I would be in this position in which my dad would be needing special care in which he is dependant upon us to take him wherever he needs to go...doctors appointments, grocery shopping (although he can't actually walk, he tells us what to get and we go get it), DMV, etc. I don't mind, I love my father and would do anything for him. I just never dreamed that at the age of 40 I would be helping take care of my 60 year old father...he , to me, is just too young for this to be happening.

There are a lot of days when I wish I could just put him in a bubble and place him on my mantle so I can protect him from anymore pain, suffering, or harm. I know that this is not possible, but again, I just wish I could do more. I wish the same thing for my children...to protect them from everything so that they will not feel any hurt feelings, suffering, or harm in any way. How ironic that I have now placed my parents in the same bubble as my children. For them all, I just wish I could shield them from all of the badness, sickness, and hatefulness that exists in this world.