Can I just vent?

I'm so frustrated. Two dogs without collars have been running the neighborhood all day. I took the kids out to play because I hadn't seen them in a little while and don't you know it...they came back. In fact, they came back at full speed...at Aaliyah...barking. I yelled at them and they backed off but they were still barking and growling at me (they didn't make it into our yard). We decided to go back in and call Animal Control. Don't you know they were closed. Yup, they are only open from 9-11 on Mondays. So...I called the non-emergency number for the police. They told me that I would have to call Animal Control tomorrow during their business hours. The police can't do anything about it unless the dog actually physically attacks my child.
WHAT!!! I have to let my child be bitten, scratched, or cornered by a stray dog to have someone come and take care of it????? That is rediculous. They don't even have someone to take calls during the day about such animals unless it is an emergency (ie. biting, cornering, etc.)! So...the owners will once again get away with letting their dogs run loose (this is not the first time for these dogs) because I'm sure they will be put up tonight and not be out tomorrow.

Nothing irritates me more than irresponsible pet owners...oh, wait...yeah...stupid policies and procedures. That pisses me off pretty bad, too.

Hot Topics

I don't usually comment on topics in the news, but lately there have just been too many to ingore. So...I'm starting a series called "Hot Topics" (ala The View). Here is the first.
Monogomy:
In the last few days there have been news stories on various channels about monogomy. The "reports" say that it is in our DNA to NOT be monogomous. "They" say that because we are animals we are programmed to have multiple partners throughout our lifetime. This is how they explain men and women cheating in a marriage. I actually heard a "therapist" say on one show that it was okay to have sex outside marriage if the husband/wife was open about it and that this arrangement works for some people. In the same show, a husband said that his wife allows him to have sex with "escorts" to satisfy those needs. One of the hosts of the show asked him how his wife felt about him cheating and he said that she was hesitant at first (due to some of her insecurities) but she was okay with it now. And that he wasn't cheating on his wife because she new about it, it's not like he was sneaking around behind her back. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!
God made everything, every animal and every human. Now, the primary goal of animals is to procreate. We humans, however, have been given a different objective. We are on earth to praise and worship our Creator and spread the glory of His name. We are also created to be relational and have been given a brain that can reason right from wrong. Now, if we go to the Bible, nowhere does it say that we are programmed to "stray" from our mate. In fact, He created someone just for us. When we are lucky enough to find that person and marry them, we make a covenant before God, our church, and our family to be faithful to that person. A COVENANT, not a contract, not a commitment. Covenants are never to be broken...EVER.
Sorry...now back to the topic. I am tired of people making excuses for their decisions. No one takes the blame anymore. We live in a society of blamers...blame someone else for our poor judgement, we are not responible. Maybe that man's wife was "hesitant" and had "her insecurities" because her husband was basically saying that she is not enough for him and it's all about HIS needs being met. I bet that if he were to meet some of her needs (like honesty and faithfulness to the marriage) then his desires would be met by his wife and not some prostitute. I could go on forever, but this is getting very long so I'll get off my soapbox.

Future Hot Topics - children and Mixed Martial Arts, "A Twist of Fate"

Easter pics

I tried to get pictures of the kids together, but that didn't work. Maybe next year when they both can sit still for more than two seconds (at the same time).


Aaliyah's basket



Kyler's basket



Aaliyah unloading her treats...



...and trying to eat the chocolate through the foil!



Kyler enjoying jelly beans for breakfast.


Checking out our basket at Nana's



I love this dress (I got if for $1!!)



Going outside to watch brother hunt eggs



Kyler found the 1st egg.



He was so excited!



Kyler looking so handsome.



Aaliyah and PopPop

the dying of the eggs

All ready for the mess!


Do I get to play, too?


Waiting, waiting


Yeah, whatever, put me to bed!


Lots of colors.











Notice the cracked pink egg (the only one that got dropped, I was quite proud of him)


"Kyler" egg


"Aaliyah" egg


My favorites (okay, I did these)


Kyler's eggs


All our eggs

Lessons learned

This is the first year I have dyed Easter eggs with Kyler and boy did I learn some valuable lessons. Two years ago, he did it with my mom (I think) and last year we did it at a friend's house with 5 boys and 1 girl (all 2 or almost 2). That was chaos. Anyway, here are a few valuable lessons I learned this year.

1. It is always best to boil more eggs than you actually want to decorate because they will get dropped and cracked (you would think this is common sense with a 3 year old)
2. Even though the package says that you can use vinegar, lemon juice, or water to disolve the tablets, go with vinegar. The others take too long to disolve and way too long to color the eggs.
3. This is a great way to teach a child to be gentle and what patience really is.
4. Have everything set up and ready to go before your child is actually ready to start. If not, this leads into one of many discussions about patience.
5. Dying eggs with a 3 year old is not the best idea for a control freak with a mild, self-diagnosed case of OCD!

Any lessons you learned this year or any you could let me know before this time next year when I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old at the table?
Pictures coming soon...

Verse of the Day

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB)


'nuff said.

Wow

Yesterday morning at about 6:15 Kyler and I were watching the news while Aaliyah had her milk and a commercial for St. Thomas Hospital came on. Kyler said, "mommy, that's a cross," and I said yes it is. Then he said "mommy, do you know who died on the cross?" I asked him "who?" just to see what he would say. He then said, "Jesus died on the cross because he loved us so much. They put a crown on his head and nails in his hands and in his feet. It hurt real bad. The men didn't like him and that's why they killed him, but then he came alive again!" I couldn't believe it. It's one of those moments that you wish you had a hidden camera to capture the whole conversation and the expressions on his face. It was a moment I will never forget. My three year old knows why Jesus died on the cross and who put him there and what happened and why he did it! I told him that that's why we have Easter, because that's the day that Jesus rose from the dead. He said "He's Alive!" But then in the same breath he asked when the Easter Bunny was coming to give him candy. Man I love this kid!

Spaghetti Fun

Our first time with spaghetti on our own. She did quite well.


Yum!


all smiles (yesterday was a good day)


Here! Want some :)


Gotta love the spaghetti face!


He wanted to take off his shirt so he wouldn't get spaghetti all over it...smart boy!


Showing off his noodle skills.








Kyler's not near as messy as Aaliyah, but they both had nice red-stained faces after dinner last night.

STD crisis

This week a study revealed that 1 in 4 girls 14-19 has an STD. That was shocking, but not really. Having taught for 3 1/2 years in a middle school, I know that girls are having sex at a younger age and think they are invincible. Now...what about the boys? Where are the girls getting the STDs from? Just a thought. It seems wrong to focus on girls having unprotected sex, but just brush off the boys. STDs don't just fall out of the sky.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow...

...in MARCH????!!!
Oh, well. At least we got a good snow in this year! And we got a good one last year. The world must be coming to an end in Tennessee. ;)
Here are some pictures of the kiddos


Here's that snowball maker again. This time there was enough snow to make good snowballs!



Kiddo number 1 (love you, honey!)



Aaliyah's first good snow...and she was awake to play!



Pink Puffy Princess



My sweet snow angels


What's this?



I'm cccccccooooooolllllllddddd!



Daddy and the princess




The bad thing about snows like this is that I spend about 15 minutes getting everyone bundled up and ready to go (including me) and we only spent about 5 minutes outside. Oh, well. I got good pictures. :)

pictures promised

The Princess Has Arrived!


presents?...okay!


Grandpa showing her how...she was more interested in Kyler's Big Brother present.


Now we got the hang of it!


The Cake


No, Aaliyah, you're supposed to eat the cake!


mmmm, cake


now what am I supposed to do with this?


icing is my favorite


mmmmmm, icing


She ate all the icing off first.


Yeah!!!


Is this ice cream! :)


This is where the cake went when the ice cream came out.


So Big!


The post-cake face





She played us a little music after her bath.