Technology deprived kids. . .

My kids would have you believe they are deprived of many things that their friends have and get to do.  They firmly believe they are technology deprived.  My 13 year old believes he should have a lap top, cell phone, and a TV in their room.   My 10 year old would just like a lap top.  They both have access to our computer that is in the den.  Sprat did get a lap top for Christmas this past year and he uses it for school work as well his entertainment.   I still do not believe any child needs a cell phone.  I don't let my kids talk on our home phone why would I give them a phone to carry around with them.  I know I am the mean mommy, I wear that crown proudly.  Sprat is in middle school and I know at some point I will have to break down and get him a cell phone but I am going to try and keep from doing it until he is in high school.  There are some kids that are in the second grade that have cell phones.  Please tell me why a second grader needs a cell phone?  They are either at school, where they have access to a phone if needed or are with their parents or child care provider.  I know most of my kids friends and my friends kids  all have cell phones and have had them for a while.  I still don't see the point.  My kids are not on Facebook either.   I have seen where kids are being bullied on Facebook and by kids texting ugly things to them and about them.   You can say don't give your number out to people you do not know but kids tell other kids everything so inevitably that number will wind up in the wrong hands.   I have seen where young girls that are in high school are posting pictures of themselves drunk or they are talking about how drunk they got over the weekend.  I hate to inform them but, employers look prospective employees up to see if they have a Facebook and to see what they have on their Facebook.  I would also wager a guess that colleges also look at these things too.  They may not advertise that they look, but I know they do, especially if you are applying for scholarships.   This is just my opinion and I know some of you may think I am living in the dark ages.  I grew up with out a cell phone, lap top, and brand new top of the line car and I survived.    This is for another post but, my kids will not be getting brand new cars when they turn 16 either.  They will be lucky if they get to use the truck.

People? ? ? Bullies? ? ?

Why is it that some people feel they can intimidate others into doing what they want them to do?  Have never dealt with an "adult" bully up until this weekend and I had first hand experience with it.   Not a pleasant experience either.   We tell our kids how to handle bullies in school but, I am here to tell you that until you have experienced it you don't really know how to deal with it.  I was dumbfounded by what happened to me and I did not know how to react.  I can tell you this, I felt violated.  I do not like people in my personal space to begin with and certainly not  a man that I do not know.  My GYN does not get that close to me when he is doing an internal exam.  It was all a power trip for this guy and all on the rouse that he was "trying" to apologize for being so rude to begin with.  Most people when they are apologizing take a more humble approach, they don't stand over top of you and pin you in where you cannot move.   His words may have been an apology but his demeanor was a big BULLY!   I think he picked on me because I was the only woman there without her husband, I do not think any of this would have happened had my dear hubby been there.  No self respecting man would be behave in this manner.  And yes this is the same cloven hoofed beast I have mentioned in previous posts.  

Spring Fling. . .

We had Spring Fling  today at Church for the youth.  We had games outside, bingo, bake sale, breakfast, and lunch.  We had a lot of goodies for the bake sale.  I picked up my sister-in-laws blackberry wine cake.    She makes the best cakes, and this one is by far the very best.  We had cupcakes, brownies, pound cakes, cookies, and pies.  We had all the carnival games for the kids to play and win little prizes.
After the fling we went to the ball field.  Big T had a game and so did Sprat.  Hubby took Sprat and I took Big T.  I had missed Big T's game last Saturday because I had to take Sprat to his out of town.  Big T's team is undefeated.  We won today too.  They had a rough game today.  I am so proud of our team, they have improved so much.

Feeling Blessed. . .

Funny things just keep happening to us.  Not funny ha ha, but funny unusual.  Dear hubby and I have been sticking to our budget and we are paying off our car in record speed.  That is the only thing we owe on besides the house and I am so happy about that.  Anytime we get extra money we pay extra on the car.   We are also saving our 3-6 month emergency fund.  That has been a huge deal.  We have never had extra money to truly save before.  We have always saved through the 401K offered through dear hubby's job and that is growing like crazy.
If you have never listened to Dave Ramsey, I highly recommend it.   He has a plan that works.  It is working for us in ways we could never imagine.  I like Dave because he uses scripture to illustrate his plan and shows how the Bible has a plan for money management too.  I like Dave's concept of giving, hubby and I have always given off  the top to our Church and other local charities.  In Dave's budget giving is the first category, because you should give first.   The Bible also says what ever you give, you will receive in return ten fold.  I have seen this just this week.  It is so funny how things happen sometimes.  Think about sharing your wealth with your Church or a local food bank.  They are all in need and you will get back way more than you ever give.  If you are giving try giving a little more and see how your life can change.  Ours has changed in ways that would take me years to post.  We are truly blessed.

Boston Tragedy. . .

I was getting ready to post about all this tragedy yesterday and I was talking with my dear hubby and I decided to wait.  My original post was pointed more toward the whole terrorist Al Queda thing.   My dear hubby brought up some interesting facts that made me re think my post.  We talked about the fact that Monday was April 15th our tax day, it was Patriots Day, and Boston the infamous place of the Boston Tea Party.  Hubby seems to think it may not be foreign terrorists but some crazy American opposed to taxes, Patriots, or government in general.  He recounted all the nuts that have bombed us before that were Americans.  There have been a few.  I guess we should not jump to conclusions just yet.   I hope the FBI and any other government agency investigating has thought of these things.  Sometimes they are too involved in the big picture to think about dates, and locations.  I have not seen anyone mention those connections in the news either.  It is something to think about.  I hope the powers that be will.

Classes winding down. . .

I am almost through my first semester in school after almost twenty years.   I have to finish my term paper on pornography for Ethics and take a big test  in both classes.  I wasn't the oldest in my classes but I was darn close.   I have signed up for one online class over the summer in security concepts.  I am only taking a couple of classes per session because I still want to be here for my kiddos.  I know it will take me longer to finish my degree but, that is ok with me.  I am not in a race to finish and I think I might want to do an internship with the police department before I finish.  I am enjoying the challenge of school and learning something new.  There is a lot that I did not know about computers and now I am a little more comfortable working in different aspects of the software and hardware I use.  When I have to upgrade my computer I think I will be smarter about what I need and don't need.  

Baseball, baseball, baseball. . .

I do like watching my kids play baseball.  I like watching them play all sports, who am I kidding.  I do get excited and if you know me personally  you know what I mean.  I yell and holler and jump up and down.  I yell for every kid on our team.  That is what I like about our club.  Every parent is yelling for every child.  How cool is that, that each child has twenty people yelling their name and cheering them on.   When you come to our games you can never tell which parent belongs to which child because we are all yelling.
 Every child deserves the right to play whatever sport  they desire regardless of their talent level.  Imagine going to sign your child up to play baseball and the person signing them up said, "has your child ever played baseball before?"  If you answer, no.  That person might say oh, well your child will be on the "B" team.  That is what some idiot that has recently joined our booster club is trying to do.  We barely have enough kids to have a team much less an A or B team.   I do not like this A or B team mess.  Each team should be set up equally, so that each team has it's own chance to win or lose.  We have played other clubs before and you could tell that they had A and B teams.  One team rarely if ever won a game and one of the teams was undefeated.
We have a wide range of talent on our team.  We have kids that have been playing ball since t-ball and kids that have never played before.  All of our kids get equal time on the field and one of our parents has a problem with this.  By the way, we are 5-0, and this guy is not happy because we have a kid that has never played ball before and has not learned the finer points of the game.  This child is learning every game and practice and he is so positive and excited about playing.  He has improved every game.  All of the parents except one yells for him and gives him encouragement every time he gets up to the plate.  All of the kids on the team yell and encourage this child because they want him to do well and not to feel bad about himself.  Why is it that this guy is so pig headed and mean?  Yes, he is my cloven hoofed friend from my previous post.  Our club is set up to teach and encourage not to diminish someone else because they have never had the opportunity to try.