is that even a word?

why is a chair called a chair, or a rock called a rock? those are the questions i've been asked a lot lately by my 8 year old and also the questions i remember asking a lot through my life. since the words in our language had to start somewhere in time, they really weren't words at one point. which brings me to my point that any word i say could actually be a word if i say it is...because i would have just made it one. so the next time you react to your child's abhorrent behavior with a word like "crutz!" and someone asks "is that really a word?", you can now reply "yes, i just made it one".

we've been trying to come up with other words to say to replace "oh my gosh", since she sometimes slips and uses a word we don't use because of hearing it often at school. so please leave your comments with funny words we could use in place of that...whether they're real words or not yet.

our kids' fears...or ours?

sometimes the things our kids do that we think are so strange are actually a reflection of our own fears or actions. i know one child who will not eat anything unless her mom makes it for her. i'm now wondering if that stems from her mom teaching her not to take food and things from strangers or something like that. or maybe not. that thought came to mind today as kyra was eating a non-edible object off the floor and i responded by saying, "we don't eat stuff off the floor." and then quickly added, "or things that aren't food." after i say things like that to her, i wonder how she processed it, since she's absorbing everything i say into that little brain of hers. it just makes me try to be more careful how i phrase things. dids don't know that monsters are scary unless we tell them that. they don't know what scary is or that people don't laugh at things that are "scary". this is a drawback to having older siblings...they pass on their fears and dislikes just by voicing them. so from the moment that kid pops out we should be pumping positive thoughts and cheer into their heads. granted, they will eventually form their own opinions of things, but it all starts with us.

bunnies...what's the point?

my sister's son wanted to breed rabbits, so that's what they've been doing. one of their rabbits seemed so lonely after they sold her bunnies and my sister was saying she thought that reproducing was rabbits' purpose in life. i kind of forgot about that conversation as i was driving home one night a few weeks later and i spotted a few bunnies running down the sidewalk and into people's yards. i started to ponder the reason for rabbits and really couldn't come up with anything other than they're cute and you just can't help but be happy when you see or hold them. then my previous conversation came back to me and i discussed it further with my sister. We both agree now that the point of rabbits is to bring joy to us in life. i guess we have enough creatures that do the opposite...mosquitoes, etc...that we needed something soft, furry and cute to balance it out.

smoking and peeing...just gross

	just a thought for ya'll that i heard on tv yesterday... "having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool". if you have a problem with this and if you don't like the smoke drifting over to your table when you're out to eat, then think about this the next time you're swimming. thank you...this was a public service announcement.

i thought i had it hard...

just when i thought two kids was sort of a handful, i get an email with this article in it. now i view two kids differently. although...i guess there's a reason the lord didn't give me five in one shot...or five at all. this just makes me grateful that i have the time to spend individually with my kids and not have to divide between so many babies at once. http://www.ldsmag.com/exstories/080326miracle.html

i've decided the whole world has a.d.d. (attention deficit for those who weren't paying attention). i mean, why else would they actually have to post a 3 foot tall sign in the drive thru of mcdonald's asking you not to talk on your cell phone while ordering. or why they have to put a cinema room in gold's gym for you to watch a movie while you work out. seriously, every car now has a built in dvd...some in the dash for the driver. so for those who feel guilty for taking your child's ritalin for yourself every once in a while...i think you've got a legitimate excuse. I can't even lay on the table at the gyno without my ipod blaring. i don't know how our schools can expect our children to get through a day quietly with only a 15 minute recess when they've been raised by a generation of technology dependant parents. maybe we wouldn't be so distracted if apple and sony would come up with things that would enhance learning instead of slacking.

the air that passes through us

i'd thought i'd just share a thought that's popped into my mind now and then. i've found it rather unpleasant that the air that passes through someone else's body is then emitted, either through a burp or the other way, into my personal space. why can't we just have invisible shields to put up around us like they do on star trek? the smell is one thing, but the thought of then breathing that air into my lungs makes me want to send my stomach contents back their way. i don't know why sharing this makes me feel better other than to make people consider others before releasing gas into the air around them. " good manners: the noise you don't make when you're eating soup. " - bennett cerf

i do release my share of air, but i try not to do it in public...especially when sitting in a concert or church or somewhere that those around me will have to breathe it in. butt...to my family...i will truly try to start doing better. shayla's called me on it when i tell her not to belch and then i open my mouth to talk and what comes out but the air built up from my coke?! after all, the definition in the devil's dictionary for politeness is "the most acceptable hypocrisy".

thanks for letting me air my thoughts where you can breathe them without actually inhaling them.