On the last day of school, you always get a great sense of relief and accomplishment all at once.

• about pretending to eat plastic food and drinking air out of a plastic play cup, and complimenting the cook on the fabulous meal. 4.28.2009
• realizing that a million pictures are wonderful, but it only takes one to take you back to the memory.
• about riding amusement park rides called “Plankton’s Plunge” instead of the “Drop Tower”. (at King’s Island)
• about realizing how cheap yet valuable happy meal toys can be.
• wiping the mud off of white tennis shoes to try to make them look brand new again. Kids love new tennis shoes.
• understanding why your noisy toys would “mysteriously” disappear when you were a kid.
• 20% teaching right from wrong, and 80% reminding them of the difference between right and wrong.
• experiencing Christmas like a kid again.

Waiting for the bus . . .

First glimpse of the bus. . .

Bye mom.

Off to school.

About spoiling your kids:

“Give your children a sense of being not a sense of having.”
- Dr. Oz

I jotted down this message from the Oprah Show, don’t know what episode or date it was aired on. I dunno, I just thought it was quite profound.

Two things to do for your children:

1. Give them unconditional love.
2. Teach them self discipline.

- moved post here from TalkShowWisdom. blogspot. com

At home today. It’s Saturday, and it has been a beautiful morning. I have the blinds open, so the sun is shining in. Ryan and I have been hanging out. I read that you should always try to keep babies awake during the daytime and keep things quiet at night, so maybe by three months they sleep all night. The thought of it is wonderful. Phil is out with the guys today. Which I think is great for him. It’s easier for me to have him at home, but I don’t want him to think that parenthood is the end of your social life as you know it. LOL, even though, it sort of is. You are a parent first, then you sort of resume to your old self when the baby is a little older, or worse. . . On his way to college.

If I have ever done anything right with Haylee, it has been to take care of me so I could take care of her. She has turned out to be quite the social butterfly, and very “understanding” as much as a kid can be. She can be quite independent, but not completely of course. There are times as a parent when you just “do without” or put your own hopes and wants aside to do it later for the kids. However, you will never be a good parent unless you are happily balanced in your life and take time for yourself and your friends.

We will take time to just be together too. That time will come soon enough. I really want to make sure that we can have time together, out to dinner, out dancing, or to clubs and hang out with friends and be young too. I still want to try new things and see new things and go to new places.

That’s just me.
Life is too short not to enjoy it.

– moved from my original blog darkbluesun.blogspot.com