Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
inconsistent consistency
Although I can agree with the current president on almost nothing, I can thank him for one rather consistent thing: his nearly daily reminders to one of my most fatal parenting flaws - inconsistency.
For me, most any word or sentence or phrase that comes out of our commander-in-chief's mouth comes out in the same tone that the intercom at the airport when I'm not on any of their flights- having no relevance. Too many empty promises. Too much rhetoric. Commanding sounding, but empty of significance.
And that's me. Is it that there are too many small children each needing constant guidance at the same time? Have they heard me talk so much about good behavior and finishing little chores and respecting their siblings and not seen me do the same that my words are irrelevant?
Is that why they currently have escaped outside after I gave another small speech about the disarray just one floor and four rooms of the house are and that they are mostly responsible for the dolls, books, play dishes and plastic animals scattered everywhere?
So while it's certainly not good for the country, I reluctantly admit the multitude of promises and absense of the fulfillment of those promises jars me to introspection.
Now if only the solutions I see for him would be as clear-cut as those for me...
For me, most any word or sentence or phrase that comes out of our commander-in-chief's mouth comes out in the same tone that the intercom at the airport when I'm not on any of their flights- having no relevance. Too many empty promises. Too much rhetoric. Commanding sounding, but empty of significance.
And that's me. Is it that there are too many small children each needing constant guidance at the same time? Have they heard me talk so much about good behavior and finishing little chores and respecting their siblings and not seen me do the same that my words are irrelevant?
Is that why they currently have escaped outside after I gave another small speech about the disarray just one floor and four rooms of the house are and that they are mostly responsible for the dolls, books, play dishes and plastic animals scattered everywhere?
So while it's certainly not good for the country, I reluctantly admit the multitude of promises and absense of the fulfillment of those promises jars me to introspection.
Now if only the solutions I see for him would be as clear-cut as those for me...
Saturday, August 8, 2009
cooking
I found this interesting article the other day. Ironically, it coincided with my frustration at all the dirty dishes that are constantly piled up on my sink counter.
Although I have been somewhat close several times to resorting to the frozen food section in the grocery store just to save some time - cooking and cleaning up - I haven't yet. While fish sticks, tator tots, chicken wads and patties and frozen pizzas look so tasty and greasy and palatable, I fear I may never come back once I start the pattern of their place in my grocery cart. Besides that what would I have to nag the kids about at dinner time. Their plates would always be clean, licked clean of fish stick crumbs. But I don't think simply carbs and salt can be considered nutrition.
So really soon here, I'm going to wash some more sticky pans and dirty utensils and clear a small spot off the counter for the next round. I would hate to have so much extra time from eating out the frozen food section, that I'd be tempted to do things like offer long commentaries on how proper child raising should be done or get ideas about assembling a cookbook of the best recipes I know.
Then I would feel the need to add a part-time job to pay for the membership at the gym to work off the extra pounds due to chicken wads and ranch dip. And we all know what happens when one spends too much time at the gym: less time for cooking real food and more time spent in the frozen food section choosing between Tyson or Hy-Vee fish sticks.
Although I have been somewhat close several times to resorting to the frozen food section in the grocery store just to save some time - cooking and cleaning up - I haven't yet. While fish sticks, tator tots, chicken wads and patties and frozen pizzas look so tasty and greasy and palatable, I fear I may never come back once I start the pattern of their place in my grocery cart. Besides that what would I have to nag the kids about at dinner time. Their plates would always be clean, licked clean of fish stick crumbs. But I don't think simply carbs and salt can be considered nutrition.
So really soon here, I'm going to wash some more sticky pans and dirty utensils and clear a small spot off the counter for the next round. I would hate to have so much extra time from eating out the frozen food section, that I'd be tempted to do things like offer long commentaries on how proper child raising should be done or get ideas about assembling a cookbook of the best recipes I know.
Then I would feel the need to add a part-time job to pay for the membership at the gym to work off the extra pounds due to chicken wads and ranch dip. And we all know what happens when one spends too much time at the gym: less time for cooking real food and more time spent in the frozen food section choosing between Tyson or Hy-Vee fish sticks.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
queen of fashion
Priya has long possessed an uncanny ability to come up with outfits that are 1) out of season and/or 2) lacking in coordination. She will always tend toward the sticky thrift store bargain basket knit coordinate outfit from a decade ago's style. The kind in shades of turquoise and hot pink and black with a ruffle around the bottom of the shirt. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this sort of fashion when it comes down to clothes or no clothes, but when so many more modern and superior fashions are just as cheap and easy to acquire, I tend toward those. And besides, anything in the same fashion decade with mullets and big bangs and stonewash is to be avoided in my opinion.
But Anneka, as the third child, gets under the radar often and escapes into semi-public - the yard- with some even more memorable get-ups. Last week, when it started to sprinkle, Priya took that as the cue to put raincoats on herself and her younger sister. She spent most of the hours after supper around the yard in her yellow bee raincoat - and nothing else but a diaper and shoes. At one point when we were rounding up the crew for bed, she emerged from the ditch - in her raincoat - where she had found some mulberries on her level to pick and eat.
This morning after we got to church, she crawled over to sit on my lap. I noticed that after we had put her dress on, she had helped herself into a pair of Priya's gray knit shorts. When the tag was in the back and her dress was long enough that they didn't show, it was okay that they were inside out. I guess she figured since this dress didn't have a bum cover to go with it like many of her other dresses, she'd just have to improvise.
But Anneka, as the third child, gets under the radar often and escapes into semi-public - the yard- with some even more memorable get-ups. Last week, when it started to sprinkle, Priya took that as the cue to put raincoats on herself and her younger sister. She spent most of the hours after supper around the yard in her yellow bee raincoat - and nothing else but a diaper and shoes. At one point when we were rounding up the crew for bed, she emerged from the ditch - in her raincoat - where she had found some mulberries on her level to pick and eat.
This morning after we got to church, she crawled over to sit on my lap. I noticed that after we had put her dress on, she had helped herself into a pair of Priya's gray knit shorts. When the tag was in the back and her dress was long enough that they didn't show, it was okay that they were inside out. I guess she figured since this dress didn't have a bum cover to go with it like many of her other dresses, she'd just have to improvise.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
population
I do understand why people get momentarily distracted and jump on the overpopulation myth bandwagon. One may even find his or her thoughts heading that direction after a particularly challenging family reunion or an afternoon of supervising a whole herd of children.
One child is so manageable, in my humble opinion. The diaper bag or backpack is well-stocked with any possible situation in mind. There's always an extra diaper and set of clothes. Snacks are stored in colorful snap-lid containers. Sippy cups are coordinated and full of fresh beverage.
But when God was thinking about developing my character, He knew full well that if my family was contained to one child, I would wax way too eloquent about what works in discipline, teething, sleeping and all those other areas that I would have extra time to contemplate and philosophize about. That would also leave me far too much time to criticize other people's kids.
Currently, I just have theories - that are in constant change. And many times I don't even have a theory - especially in the areas of sleep and discipline and behavior in the car. Like the other day when Sam spent the better part of an hour howling about absolutely nothing important - I told him he needed to go to use the little boys room before he went outside. My response wasn't much better and I'm sure our neighbor that Mark happened to be talking to outside the house wondered if he should offer Mark a quiet place for the night.
You know how you start looking for things to support a certain position that you have come to find truth in. That position is that we have more than 2.5 children and don't drive a solar-powered two-seater and in some people's minds, we are actively responsible for overpopulation.
As a side note however, I wonder if any of those learned individuals who have also waxed eloquent on the subject of population are ever from states likes South Dakota or Wyoming or Texas. I suspect they live in high rises, work in high rises, exercise in high rises and vacation in high rises. And speaking of Texas, this website claims all 6 billion of the world's people would all fit inside the state of Texas each with a 33' X 33" spot of ground to live on, with the rest of the world open for exploration and development. Hmmm....those darn facts get in the way of some theories all the time.
That's no excuse for people who bring many children into the world by different fathers and mothers and expect the government to pick up the tab in raising them. That's also no excuse, in my opinion, for people who keep on having babies simply because like the baby stage of human development. The baby stage may be the shortest stage on all in a person's life.
And finally could I argue that in those places where there might be too many people living, the problem isn't too many people. The problem is that those people have chosen or are ignorant of the principles God has given us for living.
Before you get the impression that I have it all together - you know, that my children are always fully-dressed appropriately for the occasion, well-behaved in social settings and otherwise, and that our property is well-manicured and immaculately organized inside and out - forget it. Most of the time, none of those things are all in place and all of the time a few are out of place.
All my ranting is idle and empty if we are not on the same page about a God who is in charge of everything. I know God is sovereign. He is still in control of populations and water supply and heating and cooling of the planet and how He is developing my character. For me, He has chosen to bless me with a pile of children to help teach me about His character, His relationship with me and how He wants my character to be like His. And from that perspective, I am not using up too much water or taking up too much space.
One child is so manageable, in my humble opinion. The diaper bag or backpack is well-stocked with any possible situation in mind. There's always an extra diaper and set of clothes. Snacks are stored in colorful snap-lid containers. Sippy cups are coordinated and full of fresh beverage.
But when God was thinking about developing my character, He knew full well that if my family was contained to one child, I would wax way too eloquent about what works in discipline, teething, sleeping and all those other areas that I would have extra time to contemplate and philosophize about. That would also leave me far too much time to criticize other people's kids.
Currently, I just have theories - that are in constant change. And many times I don't even have a theory - especially in the areas of sleep and discipline and behavior in the car. Like the other day when Sam spent the better part of an hour howling about absolutely nothing important - I told him he needed to go to use the little boys room before he went outside. My response wasn't much better and I'm sure our neighbor that Mark happened to be talking to outside the house wondered if he should offer Mark a quiet place for the night.
You know how you start looking for things to support a certain position that you have come to find truth in. That position is that we have more than 2.5 children and don't drive a solar-powered two-seater and in some people's minds, we are actively responsible for overpopulation.
As a side note however, I wonder if any of those learned individuals who have also waxed eloquent on the subject of population are ever from states likes South Dakota or Wyoming or Texas. I suspect they live in high rises, work in high rises, exercise in high rises and vacation in high rises. And speaking of Texas, this website claims all 6 billion of the world's people would all fit inside the state of Texas each with a 33' X 33" spot of ground to live on, with the rest of the world open for exploration and development. Hmmm....those darn facts get in the way of some theories all the time.
That's no excuse for people who bring many children into the world by different fathers and mothers and expect the government to pick up the tab in raising them. That's also no excuse, in my opinion, for people who keep on having babies simply because like the baby stage of human development. The baby stage may be the shortest stage on all in a person's life.
And finally could I argue that in those places where there might be too many people living, the problem isn't too many people. The problem is that those people have chosen or are ignorant of the principles God has given us for living.
Before you get the impression that I have it all together - you know, that my children are always fully-dressed appropriately for the occasion, well-behaved in social settings and otherwise, and that our property is well-manicured and immaculately organized inside and out - forget it. Most of the time, none of those things are all in place and all of the time a few are out of place.
All my ranting is idle and empty if we are not on the same page about a God who is in charge of everything. I know God is sovereign. He is still in control of populations and water supply and heating and cooling of the planet and how He is developing my character. For me, He has chosen to bless me with a pile of children to help teach me about His character, His relationship with me and how He wants my character to be like His. And from that perspective, I am not using up too much water or taking up too much space.
Monday, July 27, 2009
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