Pink Polka Dot Thoughts

Superlatives...

This is the award my son received from one of his teachers. In case you can't read it, it says "Most Open-Minded Student."

I LOVE that! I did something right!

When did we stop parenting our kids?

Today has left me scratching my head. When did we decide that the rest of society has to parent our kids instead of parents just doing it themselves?

I've been reading some blogs today that worry me for the children of our future. I know that I'm forty-something now and my kids aren't toddlers, but I see so many kids growing up with this idea that they are entitled to everything. I've often wondered where this idea of entitlement comes from. Now, I think I know.

It starts out with this idea that you have to change the whole class because your child is a little different. Maybe they have an allergy or something, but this sense of everyone bowing down to them seems to go on from there.

I have raised my kids and instilled in them the values that I believe are right and correct for them to have. They're the ones that I hold dear to my heart. They may not be the same as yours, but to be blunt, I don't give a crap.

Today, though, I read a couple of blogs I normally read and was just kind of bewildered. Yes, the FCC is considering loosening up its standards when it comes to profanity and nudity. The standards that have been in effect for decades aren't really in line with real life today. If you do a little research, you'll see that the REASON the FCC is considering the changes has to do with a little thing called the First Amendment and a little group of people called THE SUPREME COURT.

Yes, it seems the Supreme Court(remember them?) decided that the FCC had been wrong to fine certain networks for allowing Nicole Richie to drop the F-Bomb during an awards show and there was an issue with showing someone's butt on NYPD Blue. Hey, remember THAT show? As I recall, it won a ton of awards.

Anyway, to be honest, the outcry I've seen on a few sites today made me think that these moms who desperately need to "protect" their children believe that if the FCC loosens up, we'll have "F*cking With the Stars" instead of Dancing with the Stars and Dora will be naked on Nickelodeon.

Here's the truth, plain and simple. If you don't want your kids to hear so-called bad words, that's your right. Monitor what they watch on TV. There are enough network channels geared to young children that at any given time of day or night, you can find something acceptable for a child to watch and if you are NOT paying attention to what your kids are watching, that's an issue right there.

Don't decide that the WORLD has to meet your standards, whatever they may be. My kids heard the f-bomb before they turned 2. Did it scar them for life? Hell, no. My kids know what is appropriate and what isn't. I didn't beat them for words. We talked about how words have meaning and that you should use "better" words to convey your emotions. Hey, it worked for us, but maybe my kids are just smarter than the average kids out there? I don't feel I need to shelter them from life.

My kids also never got the idea that they were more important than anyone else. I read a STFU parents post today and just couldn't get over it. I know nut allergies are real, but here's the thing, if your child has a severe nut allergy, please don't expect the school or other parents to be responsible! It is YOUR responsibility to take care of your child, not mine. IF your kid has a nut allergy, I would never in a million years knowingly expose him to something with nuts, but I also don't know every single thing that has a nut in it. I don't know every single thing that could potentially kill her.

That's why it is YOUR job to teach YOUR child to never take food from anyone else. To never touch surfaces that MIGHT have residue and then put their hands in their mouths. To NEVER pick up food off the ground and eat it.

That is not MY job. MY job is to take care of my kids. We had a child with a nut allergy in one of my children's classes. We were very lucky that the parents were cool and understanding. They never demanded a nut free classroom which was a good thing because there was a year when my daughter would basically eat nothing but peanut butter and jelly. I'm not joking with you. My child would have probably starved if you'd said no peanut butter allowed.

You say, "oh, she would have eventually eaten something." No, not really. You don't know her. She wouldn't have eaten all day at school and I would have spent a year stressing and worrying that she wasn't eating.

Instead, that understanding family simply asked that she sit at a separate table for snacks and lunch. The teacher was great about checking snacks and the child had a couple of friends whose parents did go nut free so that the child was never sitting alone.

Now, that is how you handle it.

You don't say "Your child can't have nuts because my child might get sick."

Parents, we MUST teach our children to cope. We have to teach them how to be independent and how to SURVIVE on their own. If you do that, they won't turn out to be a generation of whiny, self-entitled brats.

 

Happy Birth Month, my friend

It's April and every April, I start thinking about my friend, coincidentally named April, who passed away from Cystic Fibrosis.  I can't help thinking about her. She was a HUGE part of my childhood and teen years.

(If you don't know much about CF, watch the video above. It's a cool little explanation.)

April passed away the October after I got married, so it's been almost 22 years now. That's just shocking to me because it seems like just yesterday she was bugging me to watch Dirty Dancing with her for the bazillionth time!

April loved to dance. All her life, she loved dancing. She took lessons and pushed herself even though it sometimes breathing was a struggle. Dancing made her happy. I think she felt free when she danced, so we would sit and watch Dirty Dancing over and over whenever she came to visit. It was a little thing we did.

I don't remember the first time I met April. She was just always there. I  remember her as a baby because she was about 4 years younger than me. I knew she was sick as a baby and heard all the whispering between the adults about her health. As she got older, it wasn't a secret that she had CF. I watched her take her breathing treatments. I watched her mom and dad beat her back to loosen up all the gunk in her chest. I watched her go in and out of the hospital.

Over and over, she was in the hospital. It also seemed like the older she got, the sicker she became and the more time she spent in the hospital. Her mom and dad took her out of state to be treated. It was a drain on them--emotionally, financially, in every way, I'm sure.

That was normal though. To us, it was just who she was. She was like a little sister to me. She could be annoying. She could make me laugh. Mostly, we had fun together because we were around one another a LOT because our parents were friends.

We grew up and I had my friends. She was younger and in a different school--when she was able to go. She spent a lot of time at home or in the hospital with tutors or with her mom studying. We still stayed close though and our families continued to visit with each other.

When it was time for me to get married, her mom suggested I go with her to Columbus to pick April up from one of her hospital stays. It was a long drive, but I wanted to go--not just to see April, but because there was an outlet there and I wanted to see if they had any bridesmaids dresses. We went shopping first because we knew April couldn't handle shopping. She was really not doing well at this point. She was skinny. I remember as we looked through the dresses trying to find something to fit her, her mother said to get the smallest size we could. She said it wouldn't matter because it would be too big and we'd have to take it in anyway.

I hadn't seen April for a while until that day. She was going to be a bridesmaid in my wedding, but she'd be in and out of the hospital, I'd been busy with college and planning a wedding--life just got in between. We went to the hospital to pick her up and I was surpised to see how frail she looked. She'd always been skinny as a rail, but she just didn't look well.

We went home and I cried. I hoped she'd be able to make it to the wedding. She was on oxygen by the wedding, so I decided instead of being a bridesmaid, she could be the book attendant so she could sit, but still wear her pretty dress.

The day of our wedding, however, she was back in the hospital in Columbus. She didn't get to wear her dress and I didn't see April again. I got married and moved almost 1000 miles away. I always thought there would be "later" to see her, but there just wasn't. At some point that summer, I asked my mom to give her my copy of Dirty Dancing. I knew watching it was her escape and she watched it over and over when she didn't feel well.

Three months after the wedding, she died in a hospital in Pittsburgh while waiting on a lung transplant. I hated getting that phone call and I hated it that I couldn't fly home to see her one last time.

To this day, I cry when I hear this song.

 

I hadn't watched Dirty Dancing in its entirety since 1991 until last Christmas. I just couldn't do it. I would try, but I just couldn't do it. Even now, sitting here listening to this song, I have tears.

I believe she sends me special little messages. A few years ago, I was on Facebook and a friend suggestion popped up. It was her name which shocked me. I clicked on the link, but there was no photo and no information. It was a totally empty profile, but it was her name. Later, I looked at the calendar and realized it was her birthday.

I don't believe in coincidences.

Happy Birth Month, April. I really do hope you had the time of your life. I know you're out there watching over us all. You have a special spirit that will always watch over those you love.  (And yes, I know that. ;))

26 Acts - 4 Down

The events of December 14, 2012 affected me greatly. When I heard about the 26 Acts of Kindness movement, I decided to participate, but I honestly don't have a lot of spare cash to hand out and do BIG Acts. Instead, I decided to do smaller acts of kindness and to spread them out over the course of this year.

I wanted to watch and wait for the right things to come along. I knew that I would find the things I needed to do. I knew that as time went on, I'd certainly be able to come up with 26 Acts of Kindness. I wanted what I did to really matter.

Here it is the first of February and I've completed 5 so far, with another already brewing in my brain.

What have I done so far?

1. Gave a gift card to my son's teacher. My kids' high school is in a very high poverty area and many of the kids come to school hungry. This teacher keeps food in her room(sandwich fixings and more) for the kids. I gave her a grocery gift card to help her out.

2. Sent little packages to a couple of friends who had been feeling down. It really seemed to lift their spirits and it made me feel good to know they were happy.

3. Donated food that I picked up free or almost free with coupons. This didn't cost me much at all, but I know it made a big difference to the people who received it.

4. Purchased 2 extra copies of a book that my son needed for English class for the teacher to give to kids who couldn't get a copy of their own.

5...will update soon!

Most Romantic City?

Now this is interesting. According to Amazon, Knoxville, TN is the most "romantic" city in the country.  I guess it's rated that way according to the number of romantic gifts and ummm...sex toys purchased on Amazon.

And a reason I love Jimmy Kimmel?  He just said "That proves that Knoxville is the most romantic city or they have the horniest shut-ins in the country!"  (I think it may be the latter...) Oh, that makes me laugh for many, many reasons!

Where are the truly most romantic cities in the country? Hmmm...I'll have to think on that, but I know some nice secluded cabins in the mountains around here that are quite romantic.

"Be courageous."

" Speaking is difficult but I need to say something important. Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying. We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold, be courageous. Americans are counting on you. "

Be courageous.

If now is not the time, there will never be a time. Our children need this violence to stop. Gabby's words are not complicated. Her plea is simple.

We must listen. She's right. We must protect our children.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Princess!

Our little princess turned 2 this past weekend. She had an Abby Cadabby birthday party.

An Abby cake...

The Princess dressed as Abby...

New Abby clothes...

And so proud of the t-shirt her cousin gave her...

American Horror Story The Name Game - Starring MOI!

No, not really. Just my name. This was definitely the best part of American Horror Story last night!

So there's my name and for ONCE it's pronounced the RIGHT way in a movie. I grew up hearing Lana banana and actually one of my best friends in elementary school used to love to sing this song to me. Watching this last night brought back some memories!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This isn't going to be one of those out with the old, in with the new posts. It's not even a post about my New Year's Resolutions because the fact is, aside from figuring out Twitter, I don't really have any.

I have decided to enjoy my life. I've decided to have more FUN and to spend more time with my kids. They're virtually grown up. I'm lucky that the girl's boyfriend lives too far away for her to want to spend New Year's Eve with and the boy's girlfriend was working. Mr. Polka Dot was home, too, so we had our own little party with the kids and my mom.

I cooked a lot of snacks. We had meatballs, wings, mozzarella sticks, pepperoni rolls, mac&cheese bites and these lovely cheeseburger cupcakes. The filling is really a cheeseburger and the bun on top is like bread. You top them with a special sauce and the toppings you like. This was was the boy's. He loves bacon!

We watched Anderson & Kathy on CNN because it's just not Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve without Dick(and because I'd rather have my eyeballs poked with forks than watch that much of Ryan Seacrist.)

Then we rang in the New Year! My kids adore their grandma! I'm so lucky that they like to spend time with their family. I know someday that's going to change and I've been lucky to have them for this long.

 

Welcome to 2013!

Merry Christmas, Princess!

The little Princess had quite the Christmas. She was spoiled with a new kitchen and her Aunt Nan-nan got her the Little People Disney Princess Castle with ALL the princesses. Some had to fly in from as far away as Texas because I couldn't find them here. She had a lot of fun playing with everything the other day when she visited.

We're so lucky to have such a sweet little one to spoil and love. She is just as sweet as she looks!

She also loved her Abby Cadabby hat that had to fly in special from Maryland! It's absolutely ADORABLE and she doesn't like to take it off her head!