I would like to dedicate this picture to Meagan, as we all know she is a huge Sanjaya fan!
Don't worry, I did not let Micaela wear this hairstyle in public.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I would like to dedicate this picture to Meagan, as we all know she is a huge Sanjaya fan!
Don't worry, I did not let Micaela wear this hairstyle in public.
posted by Michele at 7:04 PM
Monday, March 26, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Micaela has begun really "working it" for the camera. She was very excited to try on her new clothes and shoes and just kept saying "pretty, pretty."
I like how she looks like she's sticking her finger in the electrical outlet, I promise she wasn't!
Labels: The Fam
I have been so irritated that my camera was not downloading my pictures. I vowed that I would get this fixed sometime during my spring break...and when I say I will get this fixed I mean I will get Caleb to fix it. He has been trying and trying, but nothing he's done has helped. Finally today I sat down and reviewed the users guide and I found the problem and I fixed it! I don't remember feeling this excited since I put together Micaela's high chair. Sure it said assembly time 15 minutes and it did take me almost two hours, but I had to use a screwdriver. I had never used a screwdriver before. I'm thinking I seriously missed my calling. I should have gone to school for mechanics. I wonder if they have graduate school for mechanics?
Here's the promised picture referenced in a previous post.
Now that I have a functioning camera I will post some random pictures of Micaela. Here's some of her in her Santa Cruz sweatshirt.
She's on the edge of her seat because she is so excited to jump off and look at the picture on my camera.
We visited the mall earlier this week and I couldn't resist buying Micaela some new spring clothes. So of course she needed some new spring shoes as well...
Here's the promised picture referenced in a previous post.
Now that I have a functioning camera I will post some random pictures of Micaela. Here's some of her in her Santa Cruz sweatshirt.
She's on the edge of her seat because she is so excited to jump off and look at the picture on my camera.
We visited the mall earlier this week and I couldn't resist buying Micaela some new spring clothes. So of course she needed some new spring shoes as well...
Labels: The Fam
Thursday, March 15, 2007
I believe that I am coming down with a serious case of senioritis...except it isn't called senioritis because I'm not really a senior. I'm a "been in school consecutively since kindergarten" thing/person. But you all remember the last few weeks of senior year in high school. You know where we ditched classes to go out to eat or go tanning or for ice cream. Where we started to slack on homework and show up late for seminary (oh wait that was pretty much every month of every year!) Anyways it's happening to me again. I am so done with school. I put together an entire PowerPoint presentation together last night and I didn't even practice it before presenting to my class! Why? Because I don't care anymore. Then today I assisted in talking a friend into ditching class to go have appeteasers (for those of you who watch The Office.) I received a fall class schedule in my email, and I erased it. Because I won't be in school this fall. I'm a senior again! I know that I'm going to graduate, I know that my grades don't matter, and I'm beginning to realize that I'm simply checking out of student mode. Which is about time! I've finally come to the realization that I don't want to be a professional student, much to Caleb's relief, as being a professional student is very expensive and time consuming. This is a new feeling for me, and I'm feeling very liberated. The "inner child" in me is chanting no more pencils, no more books....
Labels: Just Me, psycho babble
Sunday, March 11, 2007
I hate daylight savings time (in the spring of course.) I hate waking up earlier, changing the 20 clocks around the house, and having one less hour on my new day off. My whole day would be ruined if it weren't for my loving friend who delivered my highly anticipated girl scout cookies.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Micaela has a boyfriend. Actually she's been his girlfriend for over a year now. She's already had a longer relationship than I've ever had (pre Caleb of course!) He's about 6 months older than her, which is the exact age difference between Caleb and myself.
She met Hudson when she was about 8 months old. His mom works in the daycare at the gym Caleb and I go to, and she always brings him in. He was a little shy at first, but soon fell head over heels for her. When Micaela would come in he would drop whatever he was doing, and run over to hug her with a huge smile on his face. She would usually back away, a little timid and probably playing hard to get. Occasionally he would be crying or upset when we came in, but the second his mom pointed out Micaela was here he would cheer right up. She even told me that she would tell him all day that "he better be good because Micaela was coming to play later." I've become friends with his mom, she coaches cheerleading and I've even judged some competitions for her. So the families get along quite nicely.
So now for the drama...there is a new teacher in the daycare and she has a son the same age as Hudson, named Sam. Tonight when I went to pick Micaela up they told me that Hudson and Sam got in a fight over who got to sit next to Micaela at the craft table. I guess it got pretty ugly and both boys ended up in time-out. I was obviously concerned, but Micaela seems fine. In fact, I kinda think she enjoyed the attention. I can't wait untill she's a teenager...
She met Hudson when she was about 8 months old. His mom works in the daycare at the gym Caleb and I go to, and she always brings him in. He was a little shy at first, but soon fell head over heels for her. When Micaela would come in he would drop whatever he was doing, and run over to hug her with a huge smile on his face. She would usually back away, a little timid and probably playing hard to get. Occasionally he would be crying or upset when we came in, but the second his mom pointed out Micaela was here he would cheer right up. She even told me that she would tell him all day that "he better be good because Micaela was coming to play later." I've become friends with his mom, she coaches cheerleading and I've even judged some competitions for her. So the families get along quite nicely.
So now for the drama...there is a new teacher in the daycare and she has a son the same age as Hudson, named Sam. Tonight when I went to pick Micaela up they told me that Hudson and Sam got in a fight over who got to sit next to Micaela at the craft table. I guess it got pretty ugly and both boys ended up in time-out. I was obviously concerned, but Micaela seems fine. In fact, I kinda think she enjoyed the attention. I can't wait untill she's a teenager...
Labels: The Fam
Sunday, March 4, 2007
This blog contains harsh judgements. Read at your own risk!
I promised myself I would never be a judgemental mother, which is easier said than done. I constantly work with parents (specifically mothers) who have developed really bad parenting habits, and I feel like I am a walking parenting book sometimes. I mean I teach parenting classes for crying out loud! Not like my child never misbehaves, everyone who has met Micaela knows she is a typical 2-year-old who tantrums and wants "her way." Anyways I am trying not to be judgemental, but I just do not get this. What is this mystery? It's spanking.
I read an array of "mommy blogs" and I have come across one where the mommy talks about how spanking cures all of her 2-year-olds misbehaviors. I clicked on the comments, expecting to see some extremely negative responses, and not one single reader commented negatively. Most of them were offering congrats and discussed how spanking works for them.
I am disgusted on so many levels.
Point #1: Children hit each other. Children hit each other often. Children hit each other because they are not adults, they feel very, very frustrated when they are hurt/angry/sad and they don't know what else to do. So they hit each other and even hit parents too. Where an adult may yell or cry, a child will hit. It is a means to expressing an emotion. As an adult I can express my frustration without hitting. If Micaela makes me angry, which she does, I feel I can tell her I'm angry and even discipline her without hitting. To further illustrate my point...would you hit your spouse? If your spouse made you mad would you hit them to let them know they "did something wrong?"
Point #2: When a child is tantruming, which they all do, why would you spank them? They are crying and screaming, and by hitting them you think they will stop? In my experience when children are hit they cry and scream louder and it takes longer to calm down. So spank away, but your child wont stop crying. I think its so ironic that a parent who is embarrassed that their child is tantruming in public will spank their child in public. More people will stop and stare at an angry parent spanking their child than they would a child throwing a fit.
Point #3: If a child is hitting another child, how will hitting them teach them that hitting is not ok. This will teach them that they only shouldn't hit when you are watching.
Point #4: For chronic spankers, what happens when your child is too old to spank? Eventually kids grow up and become too big to spank. How do you then discipline them? When they're used to being spanked being grounded will seem like nothing.
Point #5: My favorite "I only spank my child when they are doing something unsafe, like walking towards the street." So the child isn't even doing anything wrong (hitting, fighting, yelling) and you spank them? So instead of teaching your child about safety and keeping themselves safe, you hit them when they are in dangerous situations. And the theory that "the child is to young to understand reason" does not apply. If you think they are old enough to understand why they are being spanked then they are old enough to understand "no."
Point #6: Parenting research has shown over and over again that spanking is not an effective form of discipline. At best it produces short term results, but has never been shown to teach morals or values. Recent research, has found that children who are spanked, whether from "good" parents or "bad" parents produce children who have aggressive behavior and play, lower academic skills, lower interpersonal skills, increased defiance, and more behavioral and emotional problems (perhaps I should be grateful, after all this keeps me in business.) Alarmingly 70-90% of Americans use spanking. I can't help but think, are we as parents that desperate for conformity that our first choice of discipline is hitting a child?
I promised myself I would never be a judgemental mother, which is easier said than done. I constantly work with parents (specifically mothers) who have developed really bad parenting habits, and I feel like I am a walking parenting book sometimes. I mean I teach parenting classes for crying out loud! Not like my child never misbehaves, everyone who has met Micaela knows she is a typical 2-year-old who tantrums and wants "her way." Anyways I am trying not to be judgemental, but I just do not get this. What is this mystery? It's spanking.
I read an array of "mommy blogs" and I have come across one where the mommy talks about how spanking cures all of her 2-year-olds misbehaviors. I clicked on the comments, expecting to see some extremely negative responses, and not one single reader commented negatively. Most of them were offering congrats and discussed how spanking works for them.
I am disgusted on so many levels.
Point #1: Children hit each other. Children hit each other often. Children hit each other because they are not adults, they feel very, very frustrated when they are hurt/angry/sad and they don't know what else to do. So they hit each other and even hit parents too. Where an adult may yell or cry, a child will hit. It is a means to expressing an emotion. As an adult I can express my frustration without hitting. If Micaela makes me angry, which she does, I feel I can tell her I'm angry and even discipline her without hitting. To further illustrate my point...would you hit your spouse? If your spouse made you mad would you hit them to let them know they "did something wrong?"
Point #2: When a child is tantruming, which they all do, why would you spank them? They are crying and screaming, and by hitting them you think they will stop? In my experience when children are hit they cry and scream louder and it takes longer to calm down. So spank away, but your child wont stop crying. I think its so ironic that a parent who is embarrassed that their child is tantruming in public will spank their child in public. More people will stop and stare at an angry parent spanking their child than they would a child throwing a fit.
Point #3: If a child is hitting another child, how will hitting them teach them that hitting is not ok. This will teach them that they only shouldn't hit when you are watching.
Point #4: For chronic spankers, what happens when your child is too old to spank? Eventually kids grow up and become too big to spank. How do you then discipline them? When they're used to being spanked being grounded will seem like nothing.
Point #5: My favorite "I only spank my child when they are doing something unsafe, like walking towards the street." So the child isn't even doing anything wrong (hitting, fighting, yelling) and you spank them? So instead of teaching your child about safety and keeping themselves safe, you hit them when they are in dangerous situations. And the theory that "the child is to young to understand reason" does not apply. If you think they are old enough to understand why they are being spanked then they are old enough to understand "no."
Point #6: Parenting research has shown over and over again that spanking is not an effective form of discipline. At best it produces short term results, but has never been shown to teach morals or values. Recent research, has found that children who are spanked, whether from "good" parents or "bad" parents produce children who have aggressive behavior and play, lower academic skills, lower interpersonal skills, increased defiance, and more behavioral and emotional problems (perhaps I should be grateful, after all this keeps me in business.) Alarmingly 70-90% of Americans use spanking. I can't help but think, are we as parents that desperate for conformity that our first choice of discipline is hitting a child?