America's Funniest Home Videos

Crossing our fingers, we are hoping they will select our home movie to be broadcast across this great nation. Where else can you turn on the TV weekly and see children smacking their fathers in unhappy locations, dogs singing, or adults falling on their faces (painfully, from the looks of it) and laugh without guilt? And maybe soon you will see my daughters giving me zerberts as I lay on the parlor floor with my shirt up. (It's really quite cute; Diana, the 9-month-old is laughing to bust a gut!)
Sure do wish I'd managed to lose all the rest of the baby weight before taping my bare stomach for national TV, though. We better get that $10 grand! I'll keep you posted.

Apricot Creme Empathy

This is something that I have pondered for a long time at many different moments throughout my life. I have only ever shared this line of thought with my best friend in the world, my husband, Dan. OK, here goes.
I think, maybe, some ice cubes would prefer to be used in Sprite rather than water. Or some might dread being selected from the tray at all. Do they watch the hand approach, pleading to be chosen if they know it will be lemonade that they enter? Or do they cringe away from the seeking fingers to preserve their life - and wave a sad farewell to the selected ice chunk?
Does a chip in a bowl with other chips hope to be picked out for munching? Does it care whether you head for the salsa, or chomp on him straight? Or does it seek to shift and hide under the other chips - sending them to a digestive death sooner?
Do M&Ms jockey for position to be under the hand reaching into the bag? Is it an honor to enter a human's mouth or a curse?
A dilemma of this nature..., well, I am sure you can see why it has occupied my mind for literally years. And I have recently been given good news - I am not the only crazy person to wonder about this! I have proof that others are concerned as well.
My husband gave me a card for Valentine's Day. This in itself is not noteworthy; he's pretty reliable about that sort of thing. Anyway, the front pictures a heart-shaped box of candy that is empty but for a few crumpled wrappers and one, single, lone piece of candy. That piece of chocolate is thinking (thought bubble appears over its head), "Day 4: It's quiet now...eerily quiet. They got Larry last night. It's just a matter of time until they come back for me." The bottom of the page reads, "The Diary of a Valentine Chocolate with the Yucky Apricot Creme Center."
I died laughing (maybe not the reaction most go for with a Valentine card, but it works for us)!
And now I have a new thought to ponder...do chocolates have names?

Three-year-old Musings

Sometimes it is incredibly difficult to hold in the laughter and grins inspired by a 3-year-old's plans, songs, comments, or play times.
Today Becca, adorned with plastic jewelry and a hat, told her father, "Daddy, I'm all dressed up so I'm as beautiful as a wet hen!"
Earlier she had been playing with her baby sister and announced that she was married to her Grandma Meeks and Diana was married to her Grandpa Meeks. (A few weeks ago, she was angry and devestated that she could not marry her father because he was already married to me!)

Baby 81

Praise God for the life of a 3-month-old baby that was swept out of his mother's arms in the tsunami! How else could a young infant still be alive after such a situation, but God's awesome hand?
This is a tough subject, though, because so many others did not survive this horrible tragedy. Where was God then? I know there are many people who wonder this.
And the answer is that He was right there with every one of them. Those who knew Him personally and had accepted the gift of salvation offered by His son, Jesus, were immediately taken to heaven and are living a much fuller, joyous existence; they need no mourning. And everything that happened works out for the good of those who love God - the Bible tells us.
I know that some of the good is visible and some will never be discerned by human minds. The visible blessings that have resulted are numerous: groups and countries crossing borders and prejudices to bring aid to the survivors, an increase in church attendance and interest in religious beliefs as a result of the "kick in the pants" of all that death and destruction.
And Baby 81 must have a special purpose that we can't know yet. Or his parents do. Who knows?

Baby's Breath

I love it!!
Nope, not talking about small white flowers used as filler in bouquets or in hairdos at weddings. I am thinking about the scent that wafts out when my 9-month-old exhales.... Mmmmmm.
This is strange, I know, but I love the smell of Diana's breath just after she nurses. The sweet scent of mommy milk on baby's tongue. Yummy!
[Any other nursing mothers out there ever think the same?]

Tire Troubles

Why do flat tires happen only when the baby really needs a nap, it is raining, and you just loaded 50 pounds of cat litter into the trunk on top of the spare? That was my situation yesterday. Oh, I forgot, I was also due to pick up my 3-year-old at preschool, too. Needless to say, I didn't make it. Thank goodness for grandmas!
I came out of Target and loaded my purchases (including cat litter) into the car. I picked Diana out of the seat of the cart and pulled it with my free hand toward the cart corral (the only one was a zillion miles away). Fortunately, I pulled it between my car and the next on my passenger side, or I probably would have driven away on the completely flat tire I noticed there. So, I made a call and AAA earned their money for this year.
Thank you AAA for the quick and efficient service.
My husband's only comment when I called him (while waiting there), "Good thing it isn't dark out."

Today's Mothering Comments

I have two observations today about parenting.
First, it is absolutely amazing that second children ever survive to adulthood. After the first child, parents are no longer concerned about the cleanliness of toys or what babies find on the floor to eat. Also, the older child treats the younger like their personal bean bag toy.
Second, I cannot wait until my daughter figures out how to wipe on her own. I am so ready to stop wiping someone else's poop!!

There. I think I'm done for today.

Lower the Legal Driving Age to 4?

Ok, I really enjoy the odd stories that somehow catch CNN's attention and end up with a link on their home page. Most of the stories are normal "Pres. Bush said..." or "... Bombers in Irag did ..." etc. But every once in a while, you scan their links/teasers and pause to say, "Huunggh?!"
Today, I read about a 4 year old boy who left his mother's apartment in the middle of the night and drove her car to a convenience store and then home again when it was closed. And he didn't crash until he got home.
Now, I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and this blows my mind. She would have no idea how to drive my car - she has just gotten strong enough to open the door for herself! And what is up with not knowing that your child just left the building.
So, he gets to the store, discovered it was closed, and heads home. A cop noticed a car without lights weaving and thinking it was empty, follows it. I guess he figured out it wasn't empty when (just after it crashed and came to a stop) it backed up into his police cruiser. Ooooh, how do you explain that one to your superior?
Anyway, my conclusion is that the mother must have taught him how to drive - the kid knew how to put it into gear and then into reverse, for heaven's sake! Even if it was just in fun, HOW STUPID!! Not to mention the 4-year-old getting out at night without your notice. So, I'm shocked when there were absolutely no charges filed in this case.

Citizens Against Nude Juicebars and Pornography

In McCook County, South Dakota there is a topless juice bar and movie theater. It was originally a bar with topless dancing until it was denied a liquor license. So the owner sold juice instead.
Then, a law passed that outlawed nudity, except that the owner found a loophole for movie theaters. He immediately started showing movies and charging $10 for an "all day movie ticket."
My salute to the owner's tenacity. But the topper is the name of the group that has organized to shut this business down: Citizens Against Nude Juicebars and Pornography. LOL. No, ROTFLOL.
[My husband's favorite part of this story is that CNN actually paid someone to visit the site for the story.]
And I admit, while I find this story absolutely hilarious, it would be less so if the bar were in my neighborhood. So while I chuckle, I apologize for my insensitivity.

Dr. Dobson and SpongeBob

I have heard bits and pieces about how Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family have accused SpongeBob Squarepants of being gay and the following media outrage. I have no time for reading newspapers or watching t.v. (being a very busy mom), but still, fragments of ridicule for his insane accusations have leaked into my world. From the few details in those reports, I too was inclined to think that Dobson had really said something stupid, despite the fact that I think he and his organization are very credible and have wonderful values and programs. I have never disagreed with anything that they've supported in the past.
Today I discovered just how ridiculous all the media's accusations are. It turns out that Dobson never said SpongeBob was gay. Here's his side of the story:

In truth, this tale has very little to do with SpongeBob himself, and everything to do with the media’s ability to obscure the facts and to direct lies and scorn toward those of us who care about defending children. It all began on an evening in late January, during Inaugural Week in Washington, D.C. At that time, I spoke briefly to 350 guests attending a banquet hosted by Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and Gary Bauer’s American Values. I concluded by sharing a word of concern about a video that will be distributed to 61,000 public and private elementary schools across the nation, for use on the proposed "We Are Family Day," March 11.

The video, which millions of children will soon see, features nearly 100 favorite cartoon characters that kids will instantly recognize, including not only SpongeBob, but also Barney the Dinosaur, the Muppets, Dora the Explorer, Bob the Builder, Winnie the Pooh, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Jimmy Neutron and Big Bird. The video itself is innocent enough and does not mention anything overtly sexual. Rather, it features the children’s cartoon characters singing and dancing along to the popular disco hit "We Are Family."

But while the video is harmless on its own, I believe the agenda behind it is sinister. My brief comments at the FRC gathering were intended to express concern not about SpongeBob or Big Bird or any of their other cartoon friends, but about the way in which those childhood symbols are apparently being hijacked to promote an agenda that involves teaching homosexual propaganda to children. Nevertheless, the media jumped on the story by claiming that I had accused SpongeBob of being "gay." Some suggested that I had confused the organization that had created the video with a similarly named gay-rights group. In both cases, the press was dead wrong, and I welcome this opportunity to help them get their facts straight.

But all I've heard about from my limited exposure to popular media is how ludicrous it was for Dr. Dobson to single out SpongeBob as gay. I guess this goes to show that most members of the media (who've been reporting that as the story) don't really research what they are spouting off as truth. They must not value truth very much.