The Olympics begin today in Beijing! I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the games. Gab and I watched some of the diving and gymnastic trials awhile back and it was truly amazing to see these athletes. The dedication and work they put into their sport is quite impressive.

I love the stadium recently built. It’s built to look like a bird’s nest and really does. The developers even had to make a new steel that would bend yet still support the structure. Can you imagine?? I wouldn’t have wanted that job in the beginning, but wouldn’t mind being paid for it!

I think it’s amazing that the world can actually come together every few years for summer and winter olympics and agree on the common rules and play games. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take these athletes and put them in the political realm and let them figure out the world’s issues and problems. Just for making it to the debates, each country would be a winner. They could compete to see what country wins an argument, and have 2 runners-up to help the winning country achieve their goals. Then every country has a fair shot…no rich vs. poor. No powerful vs. humble. No popular vs. invisible. Just skill against skill. And a group working together to achieve a common goal.

Here’s the link to the official Olympic page…it has awesome pics and the schedule of events. GO USA!!!! Bring home the gold!!

http://en.beijing2008.cn/

Three optically challenged rodents,

Three optically challenged rodents,

They preambled over to the agriculturist’s spouse

Who removed their appendages with a carving utensil,

Have you ever witness such as scene in all your existence

As three optically challenged rodents,

Three optically challenged rodents.

Don’t you love how politically correct we’ve come to be? I found this PC version of “Three Blind Mice” when I was in high school and it’s stuck with me ever since.

I find it interesting how a nation like ours can claim to be so PC and “equal” to everyone but still have so many injustices. One small example (that I’m not going to get deep in to) is how a baby that’s born addicted to drugs or with FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) can be returned to his “mother.”

It just seems like people are more easily offended within the past few years. I think it started out right, geared towards people who were racist or bigots, to be less offensive. And I agree with that aspect.  I think, though, that groups like the ACLU have taken it farther than necessary to the point that many people don’t want to say anything related to race or the sexes. Women who stay at home taking care of the home and kids used to be “housewives”…now we’re “stay-at-home moms” or Domestic CEO’s. We all want to be respected, sure, but we need to lighten up and not take ourselves so seriously.

Ok, I’ll go first…I’m a short, white, nearly-blind, right-winged, SUV-driving soccer-mom and housewife who shops with a grocery list, carnivore who doesn’t always buy organic.

Who’s next?

Reading on the message boards recently, someone asked if newborns have nightmares. I thought it was an interesting question.

On one hand, they have working brains and gain experience and memories throughout the day.

On the other, I don’t think they have much imagination. And if they’re in a solid, happy, safe and secure home, what would they know to fear? My first thought was “probably not.”

So I did some research.  Multiple studies have been done on the topic; one in 1966 by Roffwarg and associates suggested that we dream more in the first 2 weeks of life than at any other time. That babies 3-5 months dream more than 6-12 month-olds. And 18 month olds dream twice as much as 3 year olds, and every year, as we get older, we dream less.

So what would a baby dream about? Everything that they experience in their day. A brother being noisy, the new sounds and smells at Grandma’s, Daddy smiling, Mommy giving him a bath.  So nightmares would consist of being left alone for a couple minutes, shots at the doctor, or even being hungry.

I learn something new every day.

I called one of my sisters today to catch up on life. She began telling me about work-related stresses they had last week. She and her husband own their own business and, therefore, have the occasional up-and-downs associated with doing so. Well, last week “Jane”, an employee for a competitor, sent out libelous letters to business and potential businesses who would employ my sister’s company. Jane said that the company was doing things that were not in code and that employing companies should stay away from my sister’s business. So my sister and bil went to their lawyer, who said, yes, you can prove it libel, and yes, you can sue…but it’ll cost $30-40k and would probably be better to write letters showing proof of good business, etc.

The conversation then turned to how fragile our life situations can be. If her business went under due to these kinds of problems or they lost jobs, they’d be in big trouble. They owe on equipment for work. They have a new house. They recently got a new truck for the business. Losing work would take all of it out from under them.

I think most of us are in the same boat. My husband once lost his job; we picked up and moved across country. Our community is very small, and we’d likely have to do the same thing if it happened again.

Living paycheck to paycheck is getting more difficult, especially with the increase of gas and grocery prices. “Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, said the imbalance in spending before and after payday in July was the biggest it has ever seen…”, according to a 2007 study CBS did. And that was a year ago.  About 50% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck.

” Analysts at The Heritage Foundation recently examined how going from $3 and $4 retail to $5 and $6 retail per gallon of gasoline would affect the U.S. economy. If prices continue to rise at an accelerated pace over the course of a year:

• Total employment would decrease by 586,000 jobs,
• Disposable personal income would decrease by $532 billion,
• Personal consumption expenditure would decrease by $400 billion, and
• Personal savings would be spent to help pay the cost.”   (http://www.heritage.org/Research/Economy/bg2162.cfm)

Ouch!!!  So what do we do? Drive less and pray more! The LDS church has counseled its members for decades to build up a food storage that would last a year. This is wise counsel for anyone. If my husband lost his job, or my sister’s business had to go lean, we would have at least food to help our families.  But food doesn’t pay for gas and utilities. Each of us has to put away savings, even if it’s $10 a paycheck for occasions like this.

Money comes and goes and sometimes all we can do is hang on tight and hope we’re prepared for the worst. Our life situations can change in an hour.

I’ve always been one to think about mortality. I think this was ingrained into me by Grandpa R. He always said, “Life is just too short.” “See that picture of me there? I was young then. Now I’m an old fart.” “It’s hard getting old. I don’t feel older; I just look it.” “Getting old is a terrible thing.”

Yikes. Great things to tell a growing kid!   So since I was a teenager I’ve dreaded getting older. Every birthday is a challenge; some have been downright depressing where I’ve spent the day in tears. It’s so hard to see time go by so fast. I see it in my children and am reminded I’m getting older with them. One of these nights I’ll go to bed and wake up a 70 year old woman with grandkids. I’ll be dying my hair blue and taking casseroles to young women who’ve just had a baby. I’ll tell them stories of when my babies were born.  I know there are many positive things about getting older. Hopefully Paul and I will be able to build a good retirement fund and travel some. Ok, so that’s the only positive one I can think about right now…

I believe in life after death…it’s the death part that concerns me. I enjoy this phase of life too much to see it pass to the next.

So it’s up to me to make the best of every day I have NOW. I have to enjoy my children at the ages they are now and not wish for when they’re older and out of a difficult temporary phase. I have to look in the mirror and see me for who I am now, and not fear what I will see in the future. I would hate to look back when I’m 70 years old, and wish I didn’t spend so much time fearing old age so much.

If life is too short, as my Grandpa said, I better live it to the fullest now.

Pierce will be 3 next week and I hear people around me talking about preschool already. Why? What’s the rush? Why do parents feel the need to get the child out of the home and into school at 3 years old? Isn’t home supposed to be the ultimate learning zone? Are parents just anxious to push the child to get ahead by putting him in school earlier? The child should be learning everything at home that they would at a preschool.

I’ve heard the “she/he needs the social learning” excuse. Maybe some kids do. But, in general, they should be learning how to share toys, take turns, talk nicely, sit still, etc., from their parents. Then it’s simply second nature.

I’ve also heard “it’s structure that my child needs from a classroom”. HUH? Teaching structure starts at birth. It’s called a schedule. A child wakes up, eats breakfast, maybe watches a favorite show (besides Spongebob), plays with mom or dad, then it’s snacktime then naptime. Nap’s over; lunch, clean-up if the room/house needs it, outside play, inside crafts/learning, then dinner. Dinner’s over, then play with family, and bedtime routine. Each of my older kids has thrived on these types of schedules and can predict how their own day will go. Routine and structure provide security and stability, and therefore, a happy and independent child.

“What about learning numbers, shapes, colors, math, and alphabet?” Well, as a parent, we should know all these things; we pass them on to our children. Pierce knows his alphabet, his colors, can count to 15, backwards from 5, up to 10 in Spanish, his shapes and a few other words in Spanish and Chinese. He also knows how to clean his room by himself. He didn’t learn on his own. As a family, we’ve taught him these things.  We’re in the process of teaching him math.

I’m not bragging; I’m proving a point. That’s why he won’t be going to school until Kindergarten and maybe not even then.  Paul and I have toyed with the idea of homeschooling for a couple years. I believe that it very much depends on the child’s readiness to sit and focus. Typically it’s later in boys than girls. And there’s pros and cons to it as well as many “if..” scenarios. If I, as a parent, am determined to do it. If the schools don’t pass my inspection. If my child doesn’t drive me crazy!

I don’t think homeschooling is for everyone, just like preschool isn’t for everyone. Each is an alternative. I don’t think someone is a bad parent for putting their child in preschool. I do know, though, that I’m going to keep my little kids at home and little for as long as possible.