Brad's article about intelligence and wisdom really got me thinking about people who I think are wise and those who aren't. I believe that you can't be wise without being empathetic. Some people are naturally empathetic. Most have to learn through experience. Some never do. If you are totally self involved, you are neither empathetic nor wise. I don't believe in the old "with age comes wisdom" addage. It isn't a given because some get through life by sticking their heads in the sand ...

My three year old has a bad cold. He usually sounds really cute but the cuteness is almost unbearable with a stuffy nose. Even his future preschool teacher said, "Wow, he's really cute!" Well, the poor guy, who I have been referring to as coughing boy, is really stuffed up and has sniffles and is coughing like crazy. He just had a sniffling and coughing fit and I asked him if he was okay. He replied, "I'm okay. I just have snickles." I personally have never heard of a "snickle" b...

I feel like hell today. My 3yr old has a bad cold and has been coughing up a storm. I didn't get to sleep until about 1AM then he woke up coughing at 2. He was in bed with us for a little while then wanted me to lay down in his room with him. I was a total zombie at that point. I dozed off and the next thing I knew it was 4:30 and I was all cramped up from twisting myself around his stuffed animals in order to lay on the twin bed with him. I went into my room and passed out. Poor lit...

If you are reading this in hopes it is about sex, sorry. Move along. I was pondering today about the different people in my life I feel love toward and whether or not I express it properly to them. I tell my husband and kids constantly that I love them. I use loving nicknames like honey, sweetie, etc to express my affection. I am certain they know they are loved. I never end a conversation with my mom without saying "I love you". Actually, we have gotten into the habit where she sa...

We hosted an Easter Egg Hunt last year and it ended up being so much fun we decided to make a tradition of it. Last year we started out with the idea of having a hunt for our boys and their cousin the day before Easter followed by a family brunch. I soon caught wind that other friends in the neighborhood didn't have plans for a hunt. Our city has one but it is huge and early. We are not patient or morning people We invited the neighbor friends, they each brought 12 filled eggs per ch...

The only thing I could teach my son from his latest issue of Time For Kids (March 19,2004) was what reporters should not do. Journalists are supposed to be unbiased. Especially if they are reporting in what is supposed to be an educational publication. This particular publication was distributed by my son's school and paid by guess who.........tax payers like me! The front page is 99% covered by a picture of a smiling John Kerry. A tiny tringle up in the corner has a picture of a troub...

Today was supposed to be a productive one. This evening was supposed to be fun. Guess what, 8AM I found out none of my plans would be on for today. My 7yr old woke up with another terrible ear ache. Had to immediately make about 4 phone calls. It isn't until stuff goes awry that you realize how many different people are involved in your life. I had to call our builder because they were supposed to go over our 1yr warranty list with us. Had to call the school and let them know my 1st ...

I am not what most would think of as an emotional woman. I am not cold by any means but I am not the kind that cries at weddings (except my sister's) or at movies (well, once in a great while). I had three experiences today that had me in tears. The first was when I was reading the local paper. There was a story on the front page that told about one of the local middle school's helping one of their 6th graders. It caught my attention because there was a picture of a mom who looked ill ...

Anyone who knows my 7yr old will tell you he is one of the most creative, imaginative kids you will meet. I, unlike a lot of parents, don't just chalk that up to his superior intellect. I think his freedom to think has a lot to do with it. Unlike a lot of kids we know, we didn't chuck him in preschool as soon as we could. I did a lot of research on the pros and cons of early education. My findings pointed toward restricting free thinking by too much structure too early on. Kids are sh...

Some random things that puzzle me: What is the deal with people who fill their cars with stuffed animals? Why do some guys wear their shorts outside of their sweatpants? (I can understand sweats over shorts. You could then take your sweats off when you get too hot.) Who are the sadistic people who design roads that either merge with absolutely no warning or just become another road? Why is it that some toys actually cost less than the batteries they require? And the last one ...

Some random things that puzzle me: What is the deal with people who fill their cars with stuffed animals? Why do some guys wear their shorts outside of their sweatpants? (I can understand sweats over shorts. You could then take your sweats off when you get too hot.) Who are the sadistic people who design roads that either merge with absolutely no warning or just become another road? Why is it that some toys actually cost less than the batteries they require? And the last one ...

My youngest little guy is 3. He has the sweetest little face. One that makes you want to just smooch him up. He has an adorable voice and can make the most pathetic sad face you have ever seen. He can melt me in an instant with a hug, kiss or "I love you mommy". But boy can he be a stinker! I think my first child spoiled me. He rarely ever climbed on anything. He rarely ever broke anything. This one climbs and destroys constantly! Two minutes in the bathroom and I return to find t...

Bed time, I so look forward to it some days. Those days when the 3yr old has whined and destroyed all day long. Those days when the 7yr old is constanly doing the "look at this" "I want to show you something" routine. I hold on until the blissful quiet of bed time. The last couple of nights have been a total disappointment. The 7yr old has another loose tooth and it seems to only bother him once he goes to bed. It isn't loose enough to yank yet so I put baby Ora-jel on it and tell him...

We have been in our home for almost a year now. We painted both the boy's rooms in a light blue and put up posters. We are now ready to think about themes. The 7yr old thinks he wants to decorate his room with maps. I think it is a clever idea. His room in our last house was really cool. One wall had a space wallpaper on it and the rest of the room had dinosaurs. The bottom paper had dinosaur skeletons in sand and there was a border of dinosaurs in the jungle. We did it that way b...

I am a dog person at heart but our lifestyle right now isn't very dog friendly. The kids are to little to help out with a dog and we are too busy these days to take the time to properly train a dog. It would be like having another baby (not prepared for that either). I think pets are a very important part of life. We have had fish, frogs, turtles, and an iguana. These animals are pretty low maintenance but still are entertaining and teach the kids responsibility. The iguana was something I wa...