The Outspoken Mom Blog

Our government that is killing us is now supposedly healing us?

Where to begin, where even to begin!

So tonight, I was watching that TV show with Jamie Oliver about his food revolution.  UGH!!!!  I was getting so stressed out and so upset during that show!  I could honestly feel my blood starting to boil and I could feel my heart racing and many times I had to change the channel because I couldn't handle what I was seeing on TV.

Many of you who read my blogs understand how I feel about food, the struggles our family has had with food and how frustrating it has been to watch children be fed crap, day after day in not only our own homes but, at schools, restaurants and wherever else we eat.  I have always struggled with restaurants not having healthy food options on children's menus, I struggle with fast food places and their options, I struggle with grocery stores and food companies that market this crap to our children!  To see it all flat out right in front of me in High Definition...it was honestly too much to take.

I sat there and watched as someone who isn't from our country tried and changed our schools and tried to change a towns minds and he was put up against our own government!  Our own government was telling him that his chicken, rice, and veggies wasn't following standards but, the reheated pizza the lunch ladies were serving was!  Turns out their guidelines said there must be 2 breads in their lunch and he didn't have a bread but, their crappy, unhealthy pizza constituted 2 bread servings..how you ask?  By the portion size...yep, they just gave them bigger pieces of crappy pizza to make sure they were following the guidelines set forth by the USDA, our own government!

To top that off, just as my blood is really starting to boil, the show gets interrupted and I find out from a gleeful Diane Sawyer that our own government...the VERY government that is telling us pizza is better for you than brown rice has voted to take over our health care system.  If ever I needed a push to be against something it was that....not only hearing my government is telling people what is healthy and what isn't and being SO very wrong but, also having a show about our health and food issues interrupted to find out our government will now be making our health decisions for us now too.

I am sure I am going to piss a lot of you off with this blog and so be it.  Listen, I am so anti-government right now it is sad to me.  I have never been so afraid, so ashamed, and so scared of my country's leaders before.  After seeing many sick things our government can do and is doing to people in the  business world, my husband included, and then seeing what they are doing to our children, how on earth can I trust them with my health too?

I flat out don't trust the government anymore, I don't trust them, I am afraid for my country but, most importantly, I am afraid for my children and what will happen to them.  I am watching a country I have believed in, trusted and loved become something I am growing to despise and flat out don't trust. 

First of all, let me tell you something about food, the way we eat, what we are feeding ourselves and our children, will kill all of us!  Our government is creating a food pyramid that doesn't work and can't possibly be full-filled in our society.  Our children don't know what vegetables are, they don't know how they grow or where they grow and we are feeding our children things that come from a box. 

Our produce sections are getting smaller and smaller because our grocery sections of pre-packaged, processed foods is getting larger and larger.  Nothing that comes from a box can possibly be healthy!  I don't care if you make $20,000 a year or $200,000 a year, you can still feed your children healthy food!  Our bodies are our temples we need to treat them as such!  We workout and diet and then go home and have frozen pizza for dinner! 

The diet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States!  We have diet sodas, diet candy bars, diet shakes, diet pills, diet, diet, diet, diet!  If we would just go back to eating the basic, WHOLE FOODS, we wouldn't need so many diets!  Examples?  OK, I just lost 20 pounds in less than 2 months by doing a simple thing..I ate 2 fruits or veggies (raw/uncooked) before every meal!  Then, my meal would consist of something like baked chicken, salad, frozen peas(obviously heated up), and a bowl of cut up fruit...NOT from a can!  I would have water with my meal, every meal.

I actually found myself never hungry, never craving sugar or other unhealthy foods, always satisfied with my meals and never the over-stuffed feeling I would have when I didn't eat raw fruits or veggies.  I was a good example to my children, especially my son who also eats a lot of raw fruits and veggies and lean meats.  I showed him joyfully that the food was good and healthy and made me feel good.  Soon, my son who often craved sweets and junk food stopped all together craving those things and stopped feeling like he was missing out on the 'good foods' his friends all got to eat.  Why?  Because he was feeling better, he was happier, he wasn't as agitated and he had more energy than before.  He was happy and it was noticeable not only to me his mom but, to him!

Ever hear the old saying, "You are what you eat"?  Well, what are we if we eat chicken nuggets, hot dogs, french fries, boxed macaroni and cheese, and pizza?  We are junk, we are unhealthy, we are created in a laboratory!  However, if we fill ourselves with fresh strawberries, bananas, lettuce, chicken, brown rice, carrots, lean meats, and green peppers what are we?  We are whole, we are healthy, we are filled with life created from the earth!

If you don't know what healthy foods are, think of this, if you can't grow it, you shouldn't eat it!  Try that for a few weeks and see how you feel!  I promise you, if you stop following our government and their misleading guidelines, you truly will feel a lot better and you will be healthier and you won't need to rely on the government , that is helping to make us sick in the first place, to take care of you when you get sick.

I could write on this for hours!

Blessings to you all!

-Liza

How many snacks do we really need to feel left out?

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I had no intention of writing a blog today but, apparently, God had other plans!  Ok Lord, I am listening and following.

I wish I could tell you all how much God is pushing my husband and I right now, in a good push of course.  It is amazing how much he is talking to us and the people he is bringing into our lives right now.  You CAN NOT tell me this is all just a coincidence.  Just too many factors coming into play here.  Anyway, on to the blog.

Food, yes food again.  Food is an issue in our house.  Actually, I take offense to that!  Food isn't an issue in OUR house because we don't find issue with it, the world, our family and our friends have issue with our food 'issues'.  How we eat has become the norm in our family and many families like us so much that very rarely do our children even complain or talk about it until it is pointed out to them by someone else.

Today is that day when someone pointed it out to my son.  My son who hasn't complained about his food choices or what others may call limitations in weeks did this afternoon.  I got a phone call from his school about 15 minutes ago telling me it was someone's last day at that school today and they brought in ice cream for a treat.  OK, first of all, ice cream for a treat, for what?  A celebration that you are leaving that school, a birthday that coincides with you leaving that school, are you graduating early (they are in 3rd Grade so THAT probably isn't it) but, why a 'treat'? 

Our society focuses so much on food that it is no wonder we have children that are obese, children with eating disorders earlier and earlier in life, a multi-billion dollar a year diet industry and in general, millions of people obsessed with food or staying away from food!  Add to that children with food allergies or sensitivities and it is crazy! 

So, I answer the phone and my son's special ed teacher tells me that the class is eating ice cream and my son would like to eat some and wondering if it is OK.  First of all, is it NOT in his IEP that he can not eat ANYTHING unless it comes from home?  Also, it is in his files and on his medical forms in many different places that he is not allowed to eat wheat or dairy...hello?!  So, after all of those thoughts go through my head, I calmly and kindly say, "Oh, bummer, no he can't have any ice cream".  She then tells me why the class is eating ice cream and that my son feels left out..."of course he does, wouldn't you?" is what I want to say but, instead I calmly and kindly say, "Well, he can't have any."  She then asks me if I would be willing to tell him that.  Sure(chicken sh**, is what I think but, do not say).  So, my son gets on the phone and I am super excited to hear his sweet voice come on the phone and hear, "Hi Momma!"  OH, my heart melts every time I hear that from him!  So I excitedly say hello to him and ask him about his day and chit chat with him.  Then, I say to him, "So, I hear someone is leaving and they brought ice cream for a treat."  His voice instantly changes into a hint of sadness when he says, "yea". 
I then let him know I just found out about it and that his baby sister is still sleeping and school gets out in 15 minutes so, there is no way I would be able to bring him a snack to school but, I promise him he can have a snack when he gets home.  He protests.  I then remind him that ice cream has not only dairy but, often wheat, corn syrup and sugar in it too, all things he can't eat.

He gets bummed out a bit more but, understands.  It is hard to hear an 8 year old have to make such grown up decisions!  You know, he has to be so grown up so often in life being the oldest and only boy in the family but, then you add his food choices, his Asperger's, the huge amount of supplements/vitamins he needs to take, and no wonder he sometimes lashes out in school!  He is so grown up in so many other areas when is he allowed to just be an 8 year old boy?!

We end our conversation on a good note and we hang up.  Then, the blogging comes in.  I have had many conversations with other parents about food.  See, in Minnesota it is a State Law that you cannot have any food brought in to share unless it is store purchased and in many cases has the ingredients label on it.   That is also why there is no sharing of school lunches anymore or trading of snacks.  I get it because of food allergies the no trading of school lunches and such however, when you put a law in there to 'protect' children with food allergies by telling us everything needs to be store bought, you are actually excluding many of those same children from classroom activities and parties.

There are VERY few choices for school treats to bring that are wheat/gluten free, dairy/casein free, and then you add in corn syrup, sugar, and egg free and you have pretty much eliminated my son and sometimes my daughter's from participating with their classmates.  Now, for my son, who is already dis-engaged often and pulled out frequently and misses a lot of 'normal' class time and class participation, you further alienate him by bringing in treats such as ice cream, cupcakes, candy, etc. for parties.  The hardest pill to swallow with all of this is, NOT once has any parent ever asked the teacher if there are any food allergies in the classroom they should be aware of.  Something I never forget NOT to do.  I always ask about food allergies when I bring in treats.  But, more often than not, I try to bring in 100% juice boxes or fruit snacks that are 100% fruit.  I wish I could bring in cupcakes and cookies but, I have to make those things for my children and I can't share them with the rest of the class.  Very often, I ask the teachers to let me know in advance so that I can either make something just for my children or I can go to one of our local gluten free/dairy free bakeries and pick something up for my children.

Very often though, I get a call just minutes before the treats are served with the teacher telling me they didn't know the parents were bringing anything in, the parents just surprised the teacher and class with treats.  Again, first of all, we all love surprises but, you need to tell teachers in advance and two, hello...once again did you ever think someone in the class might not be able to eat what you bring and you might be leaving someone out?

Same goes for all those sporting events that all of us parents bring treats to, whatever happened to a parent bringing a gigantic bag of cut up oranges and some water in a thermos with cups?  Since when do 6 year olds need to drink Gatorade and Goldfish to replenish themselves after a soccer game?  We don't need to celebrate every single occasion in life with food and drink especially sugary snacks and high fat, high calorie things do we?

I am afraid that we all are a bit guilty in this epidemic we call obesity.  Everything is usually OK in moderation (unless you have a food allergy) but, how much is moderation when weekly if not more our children are having parties in school, playing how many sports a week with how many snacks after wards and then you add drive-thru dinners, take-outs and pizza delivery and before you know it your children's diets consist of mostly saturated fats, various corn syrups, food coloring, and preservatives than fruits and veggies.

Hey, I am in no way saying our treats need to disappear from schools or from sporting events but, how about a treat at the END of the soccer season instead of every game?  Or how about we only celebrate birthdays or holidays and instead of only bringing in cupcakes and ice cream we once in a while include something fun like a grab bag of non-edible treats to students or little wrapped gifts for everyone in the class of some 'goodies' to make them all feel special? 

I need to stop here, 2 of my 3 are home from school and the baby is now awake too and we have dance pictures tonight that I need to somehow get hair done for and make sure the costume is primped and ready to go so my daughter looks her 'best' for pictures. 

Thanks for reading and be on the look out for some hopefully big changes coming to this site soon! :-)  I am hoping to do an 'official' launch of my blog soon!

Blessings to you all and welcome all of my new readers! 

-Liza

Being carried through life

Good Morning All!

My girls went downstairs to play so, I have a quick moment alone so, thought I would seize the moment and blog!

Have you ever been so confused with your life you just sit there and go hmmmmm?  As many of you know, we have been having problems with our son in school again this year!  After having a good year last year, he is back to stressing out and lashing out in school and it is breaking my heart.  My son has a hard exterior but, is quite fragile on the inside.  It is hard to see him lashing out like a caged animal.

I know how he feels truly know.  When I get the feeling like I am trapped or just completely overwhelmed with stress I tend to lash out too.  It is a horrible feeling because you really do feel like a caged animal and you just sort of 'snap' because you feel if you don't get out at that very moment you might never make it out.  My son is experiencing that a lot lately and it is so hard to watch.

Yesterday I had a meeting with a bunch of the people involved with him at his school and expected to work out his schedule for me to home-school him starting in 2 weeks(just after spring break).  They all sat there and told me pretty much flat out, "no" to homeschooling.  They had an answer to every concern I had and while it felt good yesterday during the meeting, today I find myself upset that I caved.  I am not sure if I caved or not but, I feel like I did.

So, now they are going to try doing a behavior test on him to see what triggers him, what his patterns are because as of right now, there truly don't seem to be any patterns or triggers.  My question is, why didn't you do this behavior test that you need to 'observe' him for a length of time, back in October, November, December, January, or even February?!  Why did you wait until AFTER I say I am pulling him out of school?  Actually, they did mention the test at conferences in mid-February but, we went on vacation.  But, I still believe all the paperwork should have been filled out and ready to go for his return from vacation!

This is my precious son you are talking about and my guy is so smart and way too smart to not like school and to not being doing well in school.  He has a heart of gold and is really funny.  It hurts me to the depths of my soul that he isn't able to find his place in 'life' yet.    It hurts me even more that my husband and I were right, he needed the stability of being at the same school with the same teachers and same friends for a long period of time and that is why we had chosen Calvin for him and Calvin ended up not working for him.  There are days I truly believe that he never stood a chance at that school because they didn't want to put in the effort.  Because I have seen so many other children similar to Seth succeed there. 

It is hard when your son is the one that absolutely WILL NOT give any respect to strangers or to those he doesn't know.  Unfortunately for him and us you have to earn his respect but, once you have it, you have it.  For our son to be switching schools a lot, to never see the same friends in the halls, to have different people around him all the time.  It takes time to get to know the quirks of my son, he would have benefited so much from the stability of going to ONE school with the same friends and a small school.

Now, I see my son acting like a caged animal again, just clawing his way out and trying to escape a stressful situation that very few adults would be able to work through let alone an 8 year old boy.  I will not stop fighting for that guy!  He is my son, my only son and I KNOW he has a place in this life, I KNOW there is a school out there for him, I KNOW he will be successful someday and when it all comes together it will just sort of 'click' together and work.

It is hard being a parent!  No one ever tells you your child might not fit in, they might not be successful in school no matter how hard you try and they might not have friends.  Then, no one tells you they will eventually know they don't fit in, they know they aren't successful in school and they know they don't have friends and then, no one tells you how strong you have to be on the outside and how much your heart will break on the inside.  No one tells you how you need to find strength you never knew you had to help your son and how much you have to be his advocate and how much you have to fight to give him the 'basics' that seem to come so easily to most children.

Well, I don't have any answers for any of you going through something similar but, I can tell you, right now I have this really strange peace surrounding me and I have this incredible 'ahhhhh' in me right now.  I have absolutely no more answers than I had yesterday, really I only have more questions but, somehow, someway I am at peace with the not knowing and I feel light and like I am floating almost.

Truly, life seems to be crumbling all around me with my son's education, his school situation and a lot of other things I just am not ready to share yet and I have undeniable peace about everything.  I feel like I am walking on air or like I am being held up and all I can think of is the footprints poem.  For I know Jesus is carrying me right now, he is holding me and carrying me through this time in my life and not letting me go it alone and is taking the burden off of me.  It is incredibly hard to explain if you haven't felt it before but, Praise God because looking at what is happening to our lives right now on paper, they are falling apart yet, not only me but, my husband too...we are being carried right through it all.

Blessings to you all!

-Liza

Here is a copy of one of the Footprints poems:

http://www.llerrah.com/footprints.htm

I am back and ready to speak up!!!

Hi All!

Ahhhhhhhh, finally home and back to normal!  The sun is trying to shine through the clouds and the weather is warm and the snow is on rapid-melt right now.  Spring isn't too far away!

I am feeling so happy to be home, I can't even stand it!  So, here is my topic today, actually, who am I kidding, I really have no clue until I write what my topic will really be :-) 

There are so many things running through my head right now I don't even know where to begin!!!!  I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks for any of my blogs so, I have massive overload of blogs in my head.  Which doesn't help my ADD mind very much in decision making.  BTW, thinking of going back on Ritalin just until the end of the children's school year.  I haven't taken it in about 3-4 years but, feeling it might be just the 'calm' my head needs right now.  But, for me to get on it would mean me going to the doctor monthly to get my refill and frankly, that isn't very appealing to a mom of 4 especially when that mom of 4 has ADD!!!  Hahaha.

I find myself sometimes wanting to completely 'buck the Schwab system' and just try my son on some sort of drug.  It would just be so much easier to give him a pill a day instead of trying to shove 10 a day of supplements down his throat plus, monitoring his food intake and frankly I just want him to fit in.  Even though I know that would mean turning my son into a robot, it would be nice just for one day to have the 'normal' son. 

It is really draining on me and I am sure my husband too to be constantly thinking, "I wonder what our son is doing", "I wonder when I will get a phone call" or frankly just wondering how he will act in certain situations.  I totally understand why some parents just put their children on drugs instead of working on other things!  It is not only expensive but, it is also extremely time consuming and frankly mind consuming too.  You are never at the finish line when you try and do things naturally, you are always working and re-working the routes so, you never make it to the finish line.  It is tiring at best sometimes.

But, see, that is me more worried about myself than my son...that is all I have to say to 'snap' myself out of thinking drugs could be the answer for him.  Drugs are easier for ME because I am spending so much of my time and energy on the children that I truly just don't have anymore in me to work on me too.  Maybe I should be a bit more accepting of people who choose to medicate their children instead of working on the diet, supplements and such....NAW...really?  Then I wouldn't be the Outspoken Mom anymore, haha.

I am just exhausted, I am drained and worried, it is my son's first day back after being gone for 2 weeks and I am holding my breath.  I truly strongly dislike the fact that my son can't find his place in school, in seems to be any school.  Plus, with the upcoming (or in my case, looming) self-imposed deadline of 3 weeks for our son to pull it together in school or I am pulling him to home-school, eek.  Talk about pressure.

Hence the Ritalin for mom talk and me even contemplating putting my son on something, just to keep him in school.  It breaks my heart my son isn't getting school, actually, he is getting school but, he also gets that disrupting class or acting out gets him out of class so....he chooses to get out of class as often as possible but, frankly who wouldn't?  It is so boring to just sit there everyday!  I was just like him when I was younger and I was so bored in school.  Is school supposed to be boring?  I think not!

That was the whole reason I went to college to become a teacher so that I would change the schools system or at least MY class and make sure it wasn't boring to students.  I still see the boredom seeping in when my husband and I try to help our son with his homework, it is like we both glaze over and just get sleepy.  Where is the fun in school?  Where is the excitement to learn, to grow and to explore?!

My son has a natural curiosity about nature, plants, weather and people.  He LOVES skiing, biking, building things, and water.  Why can't we find a school that teaches to his strengths, he interests, instead of just teaching to the median.  Schools now teach on the 'bell curve' no longer do they teach to interests, long gone are shop classes, art classes, baseball games during recess, cooking classes, and sewing classes.

We are a generation of parents who don't know how to sew a button on a shirt, we don't iron, we don't knit and many parents don't even know how to bake a cake anymore let alone how to cook dinner for a family anymore!  We don't plan menus, we don't know how to even read labels anymore, we purchase everything pre-packaged, pre-cooked, and pre-heated.  We don't know how to change our own oil, hang up a picture, or how to blend paints.

OH....light bulb moment here....I would say that is probably has something to do with our children and our society being so FAT!!!!  We don't know how to do anything for ourselves anymore!  We don't know how to cook, our children don't know where food comes from other than the McDonald's or Pizza Hut.  We don't have big gardens in the back yard anymore, we don't make our own sauces, stews and breads.  We purchase everything!

Then you get a child like my son who has extreme interest in cooking, growing, research, exploring, science, art, and building and he gets labeled as a trouble maker because he doesn't fit the mold of school and the robots we are raising.  Heaven forbid our children think for themselves, heaven forbid they think outside the box! 

Bring back home ec, bring back gym(real gym), bring back longer recesses, bring back art classes 2-3 times a week, and bring back shop!!!  Our children need to start thinking back outside the box and we need to embrace their differences instead of stifling them.

Feels good to be back!!!!!

-Liza

Bring Back Dodge-ball!!!!

Good Morning Everyone!

Today I come to you desperate and well frankly disappointed and discouraged and I would like to change all of that.

I am way too many words that are negative about our schools.  I am not upset about the usual things we hear people talking about I am upset about things that I think people feel but, are either too timid to mention anything or are just maybe oblivious.

What am I talking about?  I am talking about our schools turning our children into mono-thinking, boring little robots.  Have you noticed this?  In Richfield Public Schools our children must sit only with their class, you are not allowed to talk during lunch time and you only get one recess a day, even for the primary grades. 

Our schools are expecting our children to sit for long periods of time, to think only a certain way, we only give creative classes like Art and Music once a week(however in my son's school Art is once every other week!) and Phys Ed is all over the place.  For a while it was only once a week, now because everyone is so afraid of having fat children, they are doing it 2-3 times a week or more.  Which is great but, we have carpeted gymnasiums now, we don't play games like Bombardment or Dodge-ball, and heaven forbid the children get to choose their own teams!  No way!  Now they do lessons about Yoga, how to play 'fair' and Ships Across the Ocean. 

Our children sit for so long it is actually unhealthy!  They are punished for being squirmy or worse yet, labeled as being ADD/ADHD.   Long gone are the childhood games of tag, fort building, or snowball throwing and forget about the occasional food fight!  That is cause for expulsion now!  Our educators have become rigid and strict.  They are creating a 'fair' world which can't possibly exist in the real world and we are ill-preparing our children for the future. 

We are teaching our children that you can make excuses for your bad behavior by putting a label on it or better yet, taking a pill for it.  Our schools are forcing homework younger and younger and more and more of it.  Children can no longer socialize outside of their own classroom.  They have to be quiet in the halls, quiet in the lunchroom and in some cases there is even NO running on the playground!

Why are we as parents letting this happen to our children?  Why are we not fighting for our children and their childhood?!!  We all went through the hair pulling, teasing, occasional fights on the playground heck, we even did penny drops over cement for goodness sake.  Most of us survived.  Yes, there was that occasional mishap of a broken arm or black eye but, wasn't that a part of childhood?

I know we don't want our children to be teased, we don't want them to get hurt and we want to protect them all the time.  But, in doing that we are really hurting them!  They need to know that behaviors have consequences and not because the teacher or the parent told them so!  They need to know there is a pecking order on the playground, they need to understand it is ok once in a while to disagree and frankly that it is ok if you don't get along with someone that is life.

My grassroots movement is for bringing back some of the 'childhood' into schools.  I want more recess time in our schools, especially for the younger grades.  The children need more 'free learning' time for exploring and adventure.  I want them to be able to sit with their friends, talk about life and their fun adventures and their dreams of what they are going to be when they grow up.  And yes, sorry schools but, I think if they drop something on the floor or sneak and switch lunches that is ok.  Yep, you heard that from a mom who has children with food allergies even! 

If my child wants to trade their banana for an apple, go for it!  Or if their friends want to trade their pb&j for a ham sandwich, good!  It is called bargaining and it is a good life skill to have.  I remember selling friendship bracelets, friendship pins and other 'handmade' goods at school in the hallway!  That was how I bought my candy after school to eat on the way home.  Oh yea, I even walked to school when I was little, GASP!

It is up to us parents to start demanding our schools change.  My children are bucking the system here and there and Steve and I are happy about that.  We don't want those little children that sit with their hands in their laps and just listen and obey.  We like that we see a little 'fight' in our children!  We like that they question rules sometimes and we like that they are outspoken(imagine US having outspoken children) and ask why there are such rules and why they can't talk and such. 

Steve and I have already begun to verbally communicate with our Principals, teachers and Aides how we feel about their many restrictions and we will continue to do that.  We have also been talking with other parents and getting them involved.  Our next move will be going to the School boards and the community.  Our children need to be children, it is ok to be a bit squirmy, don't you remember the phrase, "Ants in your pants"? 

Let's bring back the morning recess and the after lunch one.  Let's extend those recess times to more than 15-20 minutes!  Let's bring back allowing the children to talk in the lunchroom, in the hallways(obviously quiet talk) and BRING BACK DODGE-BALL!  Bring back Red Rover, sledding at recess, snowball fights, and all those other things I am forgetting about that were super fun and just a part of being a child.

I don't think children are learning anymore now than they did when we were growing up!  Yes, they are learning about more 'stuff' but, they aren't learning the basics anymore.  And the life lessons they are learning they are being told in the classroom instead of being able to experience it in the halls, lunchroom, gymnasium, and playground.

I have one theory as to when all this stuff starting changing and yep, it is controversial but, here goes....I think much of the 'fun stuff' and 'normal childhood' stuff started leaving the schools when open enrollment went into effect.  Just one of those crazy ways us 'white/middle-class/burb living' parents decided to 'protect' our children from those 'non-white/rough/city' kids.  Am I right, no clue!  But, just got you to think didn't I?

Blessings to you all and fight for your children!  Fight for their dreams and stop letting our schools stifle their imaginations!

-Liza

To vaccinate or to not

Good Evening everyone!

I really should be in bed but, after watching our local news program about vaccines and how they used the 'scary' voice to advertise it, I felt led to write about it in a blog.

I am that parent that has done both.  I have given some of my children ALL the shots and one has received only 2 shots so far.  Why?  Well, my biggest reason is because I don't think we know the answers!  I am choosing to do something because of MY research and MY experiences with MY children and what has happened to them after vaccinations. 

I truly believe there is no right answer when it comes to vaccinations.  I think they are truly good for most people.  However, there is a small percentage of people that a vaccine will kill, mame or utterly change that person for the rest of their life.  It is a small risk however, I am not willing to risk my children without doing everything possible to understand and know WHY and WHAT shots they are getting.  What is DtaP?  What is Pertussis?  What is MMR?  What is Varcella?  They sound like very serious vaccinations and when you read about what the diseases/sicknesses are that they protect you from and read all the side effects of those diseases and what could happen, well of course you are going to vaccinate your child!
However, when you also read and compare what the vaccine is, what is in it, the side effects of those vaccines and what diseases/sicknesses and deaths those have caused well.....what is a parent to do?

The only thing a parent really can do in my mind.  Research, research, research, and then more research!  You will never figure it all out, you will never find what is right and what is wrong and frankly, you will never know the right answer.  But, at least you will be informed and you will be aware.  Until our medical society and doctors start doing a simple test when a baby is born to see if they have a pre-disposition for Autism, sickle-cell, or seizures....well we are all gambling with our children's health whether we choose to or not to vaccinate.

All I know for my family is my son is on the Autism Spectrum.  I DO NOT believe vaccinations caused his Asperger's Syndrome however, I do believe they acerbated it.  I believe he was pre-dis positioned to have it and after seeing how simple foods can affect his behavior and his moods and how he feels, not to mention medicines well, how could I choose to vaccinate him anymore.  His body CAN NOT handle chemicals or certain foods.  Most, if not all vaccines are made in eggs or gelatin, both of which have adverse reactions for my son.  No he is NOT allergic to these foods, in fact they show up on no allergy tests of his as being an issue.  However, as with many children on the Autism Spectrum, after years of working with his diet and watching his behavior change over the years, he body just simply can't handle some foods, chemicals, and environmental hazards, of those, most vaccines fall into those categories.

When my 4th child was born we already had chosen to not vaccinate that baby if it was a boy.  For some reason Autism hits more boys than girls.  But, when she came out a little girl, I truly didn't have any answers.  I read and read and read then, yep I read some more.  I still don't have the right answers but, I feel like I am able to make some educated choices about her and we have decided to vaccinate her however, we have done it on a schedule that we have created with our doctor.  She is almost 18 months old, she has had only 2 vaccinations and is set to get her 3rd soon.  Am I making the right decision, I have no idea.  All I can do is educate myself, ask questions and pray.  I pay attention to who my children are and I keep a very close eye on them before, during, and after receiving vaccines so that if they every do have an issue with a vaccine, I can recognize it quickly so, hopefully we can fix it fast.

So, as our local news station did a story about statewide conscientious objectors in the state of Minnesota by looking at the school districts medical records here come all the questions and frankly very few of the answers. 

I watched the story and even teared up hearing the two mothers stories they interviewed.  After the story was done I quickly ran to my computer to look up my children's school district to see how many children in their districts aren't getting vaccinations.  I knew the numbers would be pretty low.  Frankly, we live in a lower income area and historically, lower income means higher vaccination rates.  It is usually the higher income areas that have lower vaccination rates.  Why?  Usually because of education levels and frankly many who choose not to vaccinate are the ones who do the research and know to ask questions. 

I will say, I giggled when I looked at our school district and realized that we are the ONLY people in the district to not object to one of the vaccines.  I actually was quite surprised that for the varcella vaccination only 2 children didn't have it and they were both mine.  Which, actually is now only 1 of my children because again, after doing research and knowing my child realized that it would actually be much worse for my son to get Chicken Pox than the vaccine (hopefully, I am right.).  Why?  Because there is no way with his texture issues he could handle things all over his body and itching and with his chemical issues and medicine problems, he could handle the anti-itch stuff or Tylenol or Motrin to keep his fever down.  So, we made a decision to give him the vaccination. 
I will say after seeing the stats though, I now totally understand why my children never got Chicken Pox!  Everyone has been vaccinated! 

Anyway, I don't have any right answers, I don't know what is right/wrong.  All I know is I am trying to make the best decisions I can for my children and to give them all the health advantages I can.  I just ask you do some research and think about and ask questions and know what you are putting in your child's body and why.

Here is the link:

http://kstp.com/article/11754/

For those of you in Minnesota you can read the article and find your school districts rates of objectors and what vaccines they are objecting too.  Just so you know, this is ONLY for the vaccinations that are required to start school and to have while in school.

Blessings to you all and those beautiful babies of yours!

-Liza

No robots allowed..update

Good Evening Everyone!

My baby is in bed and my husband took the other 3 to a water-park!  Oh, I feel like I can breathe!!!  I just have to clean up the kitchen before they get home but, I will take that any day to trying to entertain tired and fussy children at night.

So, today was school conference day at 2 of my children's schools and as always, just terrific news. hahahahahaha.  Just once, I would like to go to a school conference and not hear about how my children don't listen, they don't sit still and they don't follow the rules.  Hey, I get it OK?!  My children aren't rule followers, I don't really like it but, at the same time, I don't feel like they should be expected to sit all day long in a chair and just look up and listen.  I don't want that child!  I like that my children have fire in their belly's.  Oh granted, it would be nice if my children listened ONCE IN A WHILE and if they didn't choose to use mommy's bad words in class, and well, I guess it would be nice if I didn't have the child that throws stuff at the teacher when they get a problem wrong...OK!  So my children aren't the greatest in the classroom, lol. 

But, I don't think they are absolutely horrible either.  OK, well my son is pretty horrible sometimes and he is difficult...OH fine....my children SUCK in school. lol. 
Oh, where was I going with this?  OHHHHH!

So, my children aren't the easiest and I don't really know what would help them sometimes but, I do believe a lot of what our schools and school systems are trying to do is force our children into becoming robots.  We want and expect them to sit and be quiet, to not talk in the lunch room and if they throw food, they can't eat in the lunchroom anymore!  What ever happened to food fights?  I LOVED those!  Or what happened to sitting with your friends and yes, many times I sat alone but, oh those times I got to sit with a big group of people, that was awesome!  I remember school being fun.  I remember spending tons of time out on the playground and in the parking lot with NO playground ladies telling us we couldn't run.  We had 3 recesses a day at my elementary school.  One in the morning when we first got to school.  See, our buses didn't drop us off right before the bell rang, we got dropped off about 20 minutes before school started and played up until they told us to line up.  Oh, and we all ran as fast as we could to get our backpacks in line first when we got dropped off. 

Things were pretty fair, if you ran slow, you were always last...I liked that, I believe it made me the fast runner I am today.  We played games in the parking lot, did penny drops over the TAR parking lot, we stuck our tongues to cold metal poles and lived.  It was crazy scary!  Oh and get this, I even had to WALK to school across busy roads and a freeway!  What?!  Oh yes, I walked to school every year 6 blocks and nothing happened to me, no crazy person stole me or my friends, we played games all the way to and from school.  I was home alone starting in 2nd grade and made myself breakfast and dinner.  I woke up to the timer on the stove and never was late to school.

I don't remember having to sit inside on snowy or rainy days for recess either...we went outside rain or shine, I think that was the teachers break time!  Every girl knew how to do a cartwheel, back-bend, and how to hang upside down on the bars by 1st grade and everyone jumped rope for hours.  You were considered weird if you couldn't do a cartwheel by 1st grade.  We flipped, jumped, scampered, flipped some more, and hung upside down for what seemed to be hours every day. 

We didn't have to 'train' for our Presidential Physical Fitness awards because we did most of those things daily anyway.  I remember in gym class we played Red Rover Red Rover and tried our hardest to break through that line no matter how much we hurt the other person, it was GREAT!  Then there was dodge-ball, bombardment (how do you spell or say that?!), ships across the ocean, OH and we picked teams!  Yeah, that's right, 2 people were picked and we picked teams based on skill and yes, the weakest person was always picked last, get over it, none of us cared, it was life and we knew it.

We listened to our teachers, we followed the rules and wow, when an adult spoke, we listened!  We knew they were big and scary and weren't to be messed with.  Our parents and their friends and ALL adults were NOT our friends and we were OK with that, in fact, we preferred it that way. 

Our playgrounds were simple and metal....not plastic which, isn't plastic bad for the environment?  Yes, our playgrounds were 'Earth friendly' before we even knew what that was.  They were metal, not painted, not pretty, they were a bland gray but, they worked.  We had monkey bars, hanging bars, lines and lines of swings on super long chains that could help us to reach the sky!  We had merry go rounds, domes to climb, and super tall metal slides that burned your butt in the summer and made you go about 50 miles an hour in the winter in your snow pants.  I remember always packing snow onto the slides so you would go faster.  Everything was about speed, danger, and I never remember feeling afraid.  I wasn't, didn't know you could get hurt and if you did get hurt, oh well, you got a band-aid and got right back up to do it all over again.
I wasn't a dare devil by any means.  I was actually considered a scaredy cat by those older standards.  I didn't dare do a penny drop until 5th grade for goodness sake! 

 I remember by 6th grade I was playing basketball for the entire recess and get this...WITH my 6th grade teacher the whole time!  Yea, that is right, my teacher would eat lunch with us and then go out and play some b-ball with us on the playground!  How many of your children's teachers do that now a days?!!  I remember in junior high being teased profusely about my nasty red hair and gaingly legs.  I was often compared to a flamingo on the soccer field and hey oh well.  Yes, I have horrible memories of junior high but, really looking back, I had a lot of fun then too.  I was ugly back then!  Heck it was the 80's there weren't too many good looking people back there and by the way...for all of you trying to bring back 80's fashion...dig out the old jr high photos, you will put that flashdance sweatshirt and leggings with a super mini lace skirt back right away!

People often tell me I probably looked like Molly Ringwald with my short red hair, I laugh hardily and let them know that I looked like the OTHER red head from Sixteen Candles...yes, that is right, Anthony Michael Hall...yep, proud of being so stinking ugly!  Man, my scanner isn't hooked up...I need to find a photo to post for you all, it truly is a sight to see.  Ok, I am back couldn't find the truly horrible ones but, found one that will show you just a piece of the heinous puzzle of junior high

Yes, that is me on the right!  Oh and the person to my left that is actually a girl too..see, the 80's horrible!!!!

OK back to my rants and raves.  Point is, I am going to include an email my girlfriend sent to me to put this all into perspective...relax!!!!  We all survived so we might have broken a few arms (I never did) or a leg or two (again, not me) and so what if we have scars, that is what happens when you LIVE life!!  Let your children LIVE life, don't just let them be molded into something that is 'easy' or 'manageable'.  Don't teach your children to just exist..life is way to short for that.

Encourage your children to think for themselves, to problem solve and to think outside of the box.

Here is the email.....

 First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints. (again...sorry, no belly's please!)

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes. (I don't condone this one as I was ALWAYS in a car seat)

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.  (Everyday in the summer!, still do!)

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?

Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K. 

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times,we learned to solve the problem.

 

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. 
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! 

 

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

 

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. 

(I TOTALLY did the eating worms thing!  In fact, we made worm cookies for a badge in Girl Scouts!!!)
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. 

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!! 

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! 

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas..

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. 

If YOU are one of them? CONGRATULATIONS! 

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ? (YES!)

 

So everyone!  Go out and make a mud pie, cook up some worm cookies, eat some grass, run through the sprinklers and for goodness sake, hang upside down once in a while!!!!

Blessings to you all!

-Liza

Oh By The Way, I too wash my children's mouths out with soap occassionally if bad things come out of that mouth.  We have a bar of Ivory soap sitting in the hall closet for just that occassion.  Trust me, after even one time, they see that bar coming and they quickly change their potty mouth tune.  So, throw me in jail or throw the book at me in court but, I am trying my hardest to raise children that will respect adults and some day be hard-working, upstanding, well educated, adults that will contribute something to society other than a pain in the neck.

What am I talking about?  Here is the link :

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Mom-Arrested-for-Washing-Kids-Mouth-With-Soap--64112132.html

My perfect and unique Snowflake

Good Morning Everyone!

Wow, I have to say our fall is so much nicer than our summer was here in Minnesota!  I can't believe how utterly perfect the weather has been lately.  I think it is supposed to take a turn for the worse but, these past few weeks have been wonderful.

As many of you know, my son has Asperger's (on Autism Spectrum).  We have done most things by trial and error with him and by me doing lots of research, talking to parents, educators, etc.  We have done very little with our pediatrician because frankly, they just don't know much about it.  Our chiropractor knows a little but, again not too much.
We felt our 'window' had closed in really doing much more with him and that who he is, is who he is.  However, on our date night Monday night at a vitamin store, another couple overheard Steve and I talking and told us about some new vitamins, creams and such I had never tried and a new DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor/clinic that had just opened up and how growth spurts and especially puberty can really affect our son and his behavior.  Wow, I never knew!  So, we think our son might be in a growth spurt as he hasn't really had one in a while and is definitely due for one and with that and the stress of starting a new school, with new friends, new teachers, it is all just too much for him.

So, I started him on liquid vitamin B12 and vitamin D and even my husband has noticed a difference in our son since Tuesday when he started them both.  He is much calmer.  He still wanders a bit but, when we tell him he can't do something, he doesn't fly off the handle and I guess last night at his soccer game, he didn't get frustrated and had a great time and even passed the ball!  What?! 
Now, by no means do we think adding those two vitamins are the miracle cure for our son but, it is hopeful.  It might also be because this is the 3rd week of school and he is starting to settle into the new routines and starting to relax a bit.

It is so hard to know because there are so many variances and factors in raising a child with Asperger's.  It is so true that no two children with Asperger's are the same, they truly are like snowflakes all different and beautiful in their own way.  I love our son, I love how quirky he is and how smart that little guy is.  I am excited to see how he grows in life and to see what kind of a man he will be. 
With all of that though, it is hard to see my soft-hearted boy being a fist flailing, screaming, running away, disobedient, almost crazy boy.  That isn't my guy and that is when I know we are missing something or something is really stressing him out.

Now with him being on these new vitamins, which by the way, he is a champ at taking vitamins!  Some days he takes up to 15 and never once complains!  What a guy, he knows that he feels so much better on his vitamins and supplements than without them and he asks for them if I forget them.  So, we have new vitamins and yesterday I finally got him an appointment to see a DAN doctor!  I am very excited, I have no clue if she will be able to help our son but, I am hopeful.  Seth is so close to being 'normal' and I know we are just hovering near finding that key that will put him back together and back to a calm, loving, soft-hearted little guy that truly is fun to be around and has a heart of gold. 

The DAN doctor I talked to yesterday for almost 2 hours seems to be very optimistic about our guy because of how pro-active we have been in his treatments and she gave me the best compliment a mother of a child on the spectrum could ever here; she feels like us being so observant of his food issues when he was an infant, and choosing not to put him on any gas meds and instead work with my diet(since I was nursing) and with his diet once he started eating, she thinks we saved him from being full blown Autistic or being lower functioning.  Wow, I feel like I finally did something right. 

So, for those of you with children/infants, here is my advice to you, try to feed your children a diet of the least amount of processed foods as you can.  NEVER feed your infant or child Sodium Nitrate (found in bacon, luncheon meats, and other processed foods), if your infant has colic or spits up a lot pull ALL dairy out of their diet and if you are nursing, pull it out of your diet too.  Don't give your infant gas medications, they were created and designed for adults, NOT infants.  Try to do as much organic fruits and vegetables as you possibly can find and afford.

I am very nervous/excited to see the DAN doctor next month!  I don't know what she will find, if anything.  But, as I have discovered with our son and from other parents with children on the Spectrum, sometimes it is the littlest change that makes the biggest difference.  I don't know how much it will cost, I don't know if our insurance will pay for any of it even though they do accept insurance.  But, this is my boy, how can I let something as truly meaningless as money stand in the way of my son being the best he can be and achieving his highest potential in life?!  Granted, we do have our limit of how much we truly can spend since we will have to find the money and cut back in other places in our life to pay for it but, still, I think/hope it will be worth it all in the end.

Then, we have a call into a behavior specialist that works with only Autistic children and I am hoping getting him into behavior therapy will finally help him understand why he can't just take off for a 3 hour long bike ride without telling anyone.  Or why while his thinking was so nice, it just isn't right to bring all your money in a shoebox and walk 8 blocks to a pet shop to buy your little sister a bunny without telling anyone you left or asking if mom and dad would let your sister have a bunny.  Or when you are mad at mom because she won't let you eat cream cheese puffs, you can't just leave the restaurant and walk home by yourself even though you know the way home and we have often Roller-bladed back and forth from home to that restaurant. 

These are some of the things we have been dealing with lately with our son and while none of his actions are truly 'dangerous', he needs to understand he needs to tell mom and dad where is going and ask for permission.  He isn't understanding that right now and although when you ask him the rules, he will recite to you, "I have to ask permission to leave the yard", "I can't ride my bike without a helmet", "I can't buy anything without asking mom or dad first", you can look at his face and see he is only reciting the rules but, he isn't connecting with the rules and doesn't truly understand the rules.

It is hard to be a parent of a special needs child that 'looks' and 'acts' normal for the most part but, struggles with some basic parts of life.  He isn't like the little guy in a wheelchair, or who has down syndrome, or anything that people can see because it is physical.  Children on the Spectrum, look and act mostly normal unless they are truly Autistic and low functioning.  For the high functioning children, I think life is almost harder because we expect them to be able to fit in with the mainstream of life, school, etc.

I know my son can fit in, he actually does a really good job, we just need to constantly tweak him and keep working with him on the social basics and behavior basics.

Our guy is awesome and he is exactly the way God wanted him to be and I know he is the son God sent to me for a reason and I am thrilled and honored to raise this little guy.  So, I ask that you cover our son and our family in prayers and I also ask you pray for our DAN doctor and that we might find another piece of our son's Autism puzzle to put into place to make him more, 'whole'.

For those of you with a child on the Spectrum, don't EVER give up on your child or yourself!  Don't quit trying to find those missing puzzle pieces, they are out there somewhere and you will find them, I know you will!  Remember, your son or daughter is a snowflake, no two are alike and that is what makes them so special and perfect!

Blessings to you all!!!

-Liza

Hectic Schedules

Good Morning Everyone!

I can't believe I am taking the time to write this blog but, I do love writing so yes, I am taking the time!

I never knew how busy I would be as a stay at home mom, truly busy.  Back to school is usually the hardest part because everything starts at the same time.  So, I am not only making sure my children all have their backpack, lunch box, and school supplies but, I am also writing insane amount of checks, blowing through even more cash than at Christmas or vacation and I still am forgetting some things.  I think I am going to keep our baby out of any activity until her older brother can drive to help out!  That is only 7 1/2 more years so, she can do her first activity of any kind when she is 9.  Yeah right!

I just laugh looking at our family calendar and how some of the days are so full I have run out of space to right!  Even my Outlook Calendar can't take it all in!  I think it thinks there is some error with how busy some of the days are. 
I admit, I completely overbook myself and my children on a couple days a week but, that is because we try to book most if not all of their activities in the middle of the week so that Mondays, Fridays and weekends we have very little scheduled.  I know that will have to change as they get older but, for now, we barely see each other Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Our schedule is actually manageable with the amount of activities they have but, then you add in birthday parties, birthdays, my book club, our dinner club, date night, doctor/dentist appointments, and Bible study and WOW things get really hectic fast.  Our craziest time of year is usually September and October too which I would love to be the least hectic with school and everything getting going again but, in Minnesota you can only play summer soccer or fall soccer and for the little ones, fall soccer ends 2nd week of October due to cold temps.

Yes, many of our schedules are forced by our seasons here in Minnesota and others are forced by working parents and other over scheduled families.  So, I guess we all do it to ourselves.  Really, how much is too much?  See I had no siblings so, I did a lot of activities because there also weren't children in my neighborhood to play with and my mom worked a lot.  So, I did dance, gymnastics, softball, soccer, and basketball.  Granted, I didn't do any sports until 4th grade which is when most of the children started sports...not like now when if you don't have your child proficient in a sport by age 5 forget it! 

So, my 8 year old is playing soccer right now but, only 1 or 2 days a week and next week he starts church choir(which he hates, I will admit).  He will start Cub Scouts again next month and we are forcing him to play hockey again this year.
My 6 year old(will be 7 on Sunday) is doing dance, gymnastics, and ice skating(only in winter) and thinks she will be playing basketball again this year(so painful to watch!  She just sits on the floor unless she is bringing the ball down) and Daisy's(baby girl scouts) will start up again for her in October and church choir will start for her again next week too.  Plus, she wants to play softball next spring..add to that her social calendar of birthday parties(which she LOVES as friends are her life) and that she makes us sign her up for after school care because to her it is social hour :-)  I do truly love that girl!
Then, my 5 year old who is finally a big girl in Kindergarten, she is our most active and gets most joy from sports and activities along with friends.  She is in dance, gymnastics, soccer, ice skating(in winter only), and new this year swim team(2-3 days a week).  She also wants us to sign her up for tennis and hockey..we are waiting a bit. 

I only have so many hours in a day/week but, I am also flat broke some months by all the activities fees!  This month of September has been so expensive I blew through my entire months grocery budget(on activity fees) in less than 2 weeks.  Sorry family, it is beans and rice for the next 2 weeks!  Just kidding honey, I know you read my blog daily.

It does crack me up though.  Because after adding in the meetings about all the sports and activities, the volunteer hours, the working at the 3 different schools to help out, trying to have lunch with all three of the children AT LEAST once a month if not more and fundraisers, social gatherings, conferences, school pictures, buying things for teacher wish lists(which I NEVER will complain about because I believe it is SO important).  Then, add in my husband and my activities, we have a standing date night every Monday night(why our children don't do anything on Mondays), me in the process of planning my 20th high school reunion, my book club, my new Beth Moore study at church, and my husband and I belonging to a dinner club, well life is busy.

It is a good busy though!  Truly it is.  I think it is a good problem to have trying to figure out a time when Grandma can take your almost 7 year old to American Girl to get her first American Girl doll.  YES...don't tell our almost 7 year old but, she is finally getting one and she will flip out!  I also think it is a good problem trying to figure out how to get my daughter to a birthday party and the other daughter to gymnastics plus, feed everyone dinner.  Or how and when to give my almost 7 year old her bike from Grandma and Grandpa (yes...don't tell her!)  See, these are good problems to have, really good problems.

We are busy and I frankly don't know how we are going to manage some of our nights this year but, we always have figured it out in the past so, we can do it again this year.  God has blessed us with so much!  We have been blessed with great friends, great communities, great children, great schools and a great church, of course we want to be as involved in all of those things as possible!

I do have to say though, I do not know how working moms do it.  Seriously, how on Earth do they do doctors appointments, dentist appointments and not just for their children but, them too!  Then, conferences, sports, and social time.  I am exhausted at the end of my days, I couldn't imagine how tired I would be trying to do all this and work at the same time.

Oh...I almost forgot, we are doing all these activities and we have a 15 month old at home too!  She was lucky enough to go to a meeting with me today and by the way, she was perfect!  Thank you baby.  Life is truly very busy and I am sure we are one of those over booked families however, the children LOVE their activities for the most part.  They don't enjoy church choir as much as I believe they should but, that is NOT an option to quit so...smile children :-)

Maybe I am pushing too much on myself too trying to do book club, dinner club, soccer, and a Bible study but, I need activities too and I need to see my friends and have adult time.  Ok, so should we cancel our date nights...no way, our marriage is the pillar of strength to our family and our date nights are extremely important to keeping a strong and happy marriage.  So, looks like the busy schedules will just continue and that is OK.

This is why I don't work, this is my job of sorts.  I have always said I am 'retired' and I have scoffed when mothers say, I work I just do it in the home.  Well, I am finally going to agree with them!  I do work and it is exhausting!!!!  But, it is by far the best job I have ever had even though the vacation time sucks! hahaha.

I will tell you all though, I am taking my first ever time away from my family next weekend!  Yes, I have NEVER been away from my children!  Never.  The longest time I was ever away from any of my children has been around 12 hours.  So, this is truly going to be a new adventure for me and I hope it is just the beginning of my mini vacations from the children.  I am hoping my employer(my family) is finally going to start allowing for more mommy vacation time.  I am not nervous, although...I am worried a bit about the baby as my hubby tends to step on her a lot but, other than that, I am ready.  I think 8 1/2 years of working without a vacation...well, it is just time now.

It is a mini-weekend vacation up to the cabin but, oh how great it will be.  I just hope the weather cooperates and isn't too cold or rainy as I will be driving the convertible up and I love driving up there with the top down.

Anyway, way off subject there, can you tell I am a bit excited?!

So, today, think about your family, think about your schedules and don't forget to schedule time for your spouse and yourself.  It is so important for your children to see you doing things for yourself and you and your spouse doing things without them.  Enjoy your life, no matter how busy or easy going it is, for it will all go by so fast.

I love my life, I love my hectic schedule and I love filling out what seems to be millions of forms a year.  Life is good and these are the days our children will look back on hopefully with fond and funny memories.

Blessings to you all!

-Liza

The Country is calling

Good Morning Everyone!

Sorry it has been a few days since I wrote, summer vacation tends to be busy in the Schwab house!  Our 5 year old is at VBS, and our son is down on my 'real' dad's farm in southern Minnesota.

So, after hearing about my son's day yesterday and hearing about their plans for today on the farm, it is very clear to me what living in the city does to our children.  Or maybe I should say what they miss out on living in the city.

The city was meant for adults, teens, elderly, NOT children, especially boys.  Children need freedom, they need to roam, they need to explore, they need to experience nature.  Living in a large city with small lots, there isn't a lot of space to explore, especially when there are few children in the neighborhood to explore with.

Let me give you an run-down on his day yesterday.  He got to the farm around 10am and went to bed around 10pm.  In that time, he played with the kitties, planted plants, went on a motorcycle ride, swam at the community pool for a couple hours, roasted weiners over a bon-fire, went fishing, and played.

Today some of the plans they have are visiting the neighbors horses, playing with the kitties, fishing, swimming at the local pool, gathering eggs from the chickens on the farm next door.  Then, I am sure they will have another fire, do some more gardening, probably another motorcycle ride or a scooter ride, and who knows what else!

My son is happy, free, and loving life.  He is only inside to sleep and the only TV he has watched was a movie this morning while he waited for everyone else to wake up, since he woke up at 6am!

Children need that freedom!  We are blessed because my husband's mom has a cabin up north that we go to often in the summer.  So, my son drives a boat around, fishes, swims, and just is outside.  I think it is so important for children to play outside and especially important for boys.

Children don't need organized sports, they should be able to do a pick up game or just go to the park and play catch with who ever is there.  That doesn't happen anymore.  It still happens in the country but, not here in the city anymore.

Parents are afraid of abductions, afraid of their children getting lost or hurt.  Parents are working so their children are in daycare all day.  I don't think we realize as parents how much of our children's childhood we are stealing from them.

You only get to be a child once, we should embrace their childhood and everything that comes with it.  That includes all the scrapes, broken bones, fish hooks in fingers, dirt/mud, you name it.  Children are great, they by nature have an explorer attitude and it is part of how their brain and body needs to grow.

Now, I know we all don't have a farm or cabin we can go to and many of us live in a city so, what can we do to let our children have some freedom? 

Send them to camp!  There are a lot of day camps, over night camps, and specialty camps.  They can go to camp for horses, arts and crafts, water-skiing, and Bible time.  There are even camps for children with diabetes, AIDS, gluten-free camps, wheelchair camps, you name it, there is a camp out there and chances are there are some pretty great camps very close to where you live.

If you can't give your children freedom at home, give them the freedom at camp.  Or take a road trip!  We live in a great country for road trips and there are still some great areas within a days drive from everywhere in the US for exploring, adventure, and nature. 

Upper Mid-West people go visit Duluth, MN, Mt. Rushmore in SD, Mackinaw or Madeline Is in Michigan, or the windmills in Iowa.

West people go visit Napa Valley, Victoria Island, WA, The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Aspen Valley and the Continental Divide in CO.

South people visit the Bayous in Louisiana, Indian Mounds Wilderness in TX, or Talladega National Forest in Alabama.

Eastern people....for one...move out of the city!  Ok, just kidding.  Go visit Maine, just visit the whole state, it has so much to offer!  Also visit any of the many Civil War Battlefields while they are still around!  There are some in MO, KS, VA, GA, SC, WV, and PA. 

Central US people one of my favorite spots is Atchison, Kansas.  Go visit Benedictine College on the bluffs on the river and look across the the river valley.  It is beautiful and I am sure some of it has been built up in the last 18 years but, it is still not touched too much.  Plus, Atchison, KS is the birthplace of Amelia Earhart.  Visit St. Joseph, MO just about 40 minutes away to see where Jesse James was shot.

I know there are many more places in this beautiful country of ours to go visit.  Take the time, go visit them.  Let your children explore, let them learn about the history of our country and let them be free!

Get your toddlers out of their strollers and off their leashes and let them run free.  Get your boys outside and have them look at different leaves from all over the US or teach them about our country.

OH!  Also, when or if you do a road trip, I would strongly suggest doing 'no chains'.  That means no fast food, no chain restaurants.  Steve and I did that last summer on our family road trip to a dude ranch in CO.  We had great meals, they were cheap and we stopped in weird and random places we normally would not have.  We never had a bad meal either!

I need to go get my daughter and get outside!

Blessings to you all!

-Liza