My 7 year old and I have been watching a new reality show, Kid Nation. Have you seen it? 40 kids (ranging from ages 9 to 15) for 40 days, left in an "abandoned" town to figure out things on their own. Of course there is adult supervision, but they have to sort pretty much everything out themselves, choose leaders, decide who does what, etc. The kids can choose to go home anytime they like.
The first thing that struck me was WHAT were these parents thinking? I am sure they have strict adult supervision, but you don't know these adults from Adam!! Just because they are on TV doesn' t make it ok.
But the second thing that struck me was how well these kids worked things out. They identify a problem, meet and work out a solution. Sure, some of them argue like crazy, but they speak their mind to each other. It is quite refreshing. There are no politics.
At every town council meeting, they give away a gold star, worth $20,000 to one of the members of the town. The 4 leaders have to choose this person. They do a great job of picking out who works the hardest, leads the best, comforts the most, etc. Again, there are no politics.
It actually works pretty much like it should work.
These kids are open and honest with each other. If they don't like something, they speak their mind. If they want to cry, they cry. If they want to hug somebody, they hug somebody.
In a time of extreme PC, it is amazing what we adults could learn from these kids. Check it out Wed. nights at 8 on CBS.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Martha Stewart School for the Crafty Impaired
I am making my 2nd grader's Halloween costume. Not because I am crafty but because there is not a dog costume anywhere this side of the Mississippi.
"I am not crafty" is understatement for me, and let me just give those of you who are a tip:
If you come up with a great idea and are proud enough to post it on the internet, keep in mind that the person searching for your ideas is probably NOT crafty. We need detailed instructions, like those you would give a 1st grader.
When you search for 'kid's dog cosutme', you get things like: buy a brown sweatsuit, pin a couple of socks to a headband for ears, stuff a sock for a tail and draw a ring around one eye with makeup, put dots around the mouth for whiskers. For a crafty person, their child probably looks like a cute puppy. My child looks like a a left-over hippie with a black eye and a five-o-clock shadow.
And the "stuff a sock for a tail" does not work...Maybe it works for a crafty person, but mine looks like a stuffed sock. My 2nd grader took one look and said, "uh, no." So, I stared at it and thought, maybe if I cut it and sew the pieces together. It is too thick. So I am staring and staring and I thought, "Ok, so I will just cut off everything that doesn't look like a dog tail."
So, I did. Then I sewed that together. Then we stuffed it. I am not sure what it looks like, but it isnt a dog's tail. I spent an hour on that, so my 2nd grader graciously accepted it.
We are on to make a collar. No one on the internet told me how to make a collar. I am thinking --old belt maybe. The problem with that is that NOW the left-over hippie looks like she may have taken a trip to the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in the 80s.
I give up. Maybe we can just throw in a poodle skirt and rename her costume--4 decades of the insanity of my parents and grandparents.
"I am not crafty" is understatement for me, and let me just give those of you who are a tip:
If you come up with a great idea and are proud enough to post it on the internet, keep in mind that the person searching for your ideas is probably NOT crafty. We need detailed instructions, like those you would give a 1st grader.
When you search for 'kid's dog cosutme', you get things like: buy a brown sweatsuit, pin a couple of socks to a headband for ears, stuff a sock for a tail and draw a ring around one eye with makeup, put dots around the mouth for whiskers. For a crafty person, their child probably looks like a cute puppy. My child looks like a a left-over hippie with a black eye and a five-o-clock shadow.
And the "stuff a sock for a tail" does not work...Maybe it works for a crafty person, but mine looks like a stuffed sock. My 2nd grader took one look and said, "uh, no." So, I stared at it and thought, maybe if I cut it and sew the pieces together. It is too thick. So I am staring and staring and I thought, "Ok, so I will just cut off everything that doesn't look like a dog tail."
So, I did. Then I sewed that together. Then we stuffed it. I am not sure what it looks like, but it isnt a dog's tail. I spent an hour on that, so my 2nd grader graciously accepted it.
We are on to make a collar. No one on the internet told me how to make a collar. I am thinking --old belt maybe. The problem with that is that NOW the left-over hippie looks like she may have taken a trip to the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in the 80s.
I give up. Maybe we can just throw in a poodle skirt and rename her costume--4 decades of the insanity of my parents and grandparents.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Frazzled Female
I met my son's current babysitter at a Bible study that I attended. She is all of 25. We were discussing the next one in the series which was "The Frazzled Female".
"I am not interested in going to that one," she commented.
That piqued my curiosity. "Really?" I asked.
Not interested in something for the frazzled female? She has 3 boys under the age of 4 for crying out loud. How could she not be interested.
"Well," she kind of giggled, "I am not frazzled." Now, I was really intrigued. Actually, I was speechless. Didn't being married and having kids automatically make you frazzled? Hmmm?
I walked out to my car, and thought about what she said. Then, it occured to me. She is 25!!! She hasn't had time to get frazzled. I thought about her in 15 years, when she turned 40, with a 19, 18 and a 17 year old. Not frazzled? I smiled, and the words of wise 'ol Yoda came to mind when Luke told him he wasn't afraid. "You will be...You will be."
"I am not interested in going to that one," she commented.
That piqued my curiosity. "Really?" I asked.
Not interested in something for the frazzled female? She has 3 boys under the age of 4 for crying out loud. How could she not be interested.
"Well," she kind of giggled, "I am not frazzled." Now, I was really intrigued. Actually, I was speechless. Didn't being married and having kids automatically make you frazzled? Hmmm?
I walked out to my car, and thought about what she said. Then, it occured to me. She is 25!!! She hasn't had time to get frazzled. I thought about her in 15 years, when she turned 40, with a 19, 18 and a 17 year old. Not frazzled? I smiled, and the words of wise 'ol Yoda came to mind when Luke told him he wasn't afraid. "You will be...You will be."
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Lost on Lost
I have just caught up on Season 3 of Lost. I have been watching it on the internet. (My sister bought me Season 2 for my birthday and I just watched it a few months ago).
Well, I didn't realize the last episode was not on abc.com so I had to read it because I could not wait to find out the end...Lost doesn't read that well. Or should I say, whoever writes the paraphrase doesn't write that well....I think it would be difficult whomever the writer was.
So, am I reading it right? They get off the island and Jack meets Kate to tell her they need to go back? I have to say that I think they have thickened the plot so much and added so many characters that the darn thing might implode. The connections are becoming a little ridiculous (Claire is Jacks' half sister?) I miss them running around fighting over water and whose going to push the button next.
And, sorry for all you Desmond fans, but he just annoys me. That episode with him
having flashes, seeing Charlie on the street, trying to predict the soccer game was just chaotic.
His accent doesn't even help him (as it usually would for me). Ya got that, brotha?
But I like him more than Claire. I was wishing that it was really her that was supposed to drown.
Well, I didn't realize the last episode was not on abc.com so I had to read it because I could not wait to find out the end...Lost doesn't read that well. Or should I say, whoever writes the paraphrase doesn't write that well....I think it would be difficult whomever the writer was.
So, am I reading it right? They get off the island and Jack meets Kate to tell her they need to go back? I have to say that I think they have thickened the plot so much and added so many characters that the darn thing might implode. The connections are becoming a little ridiculous (Claire is Jacks' half sister?) I miss them running around fighting over water and whose going to push the button next.
And, sorry for all you Desmond fans, but he just annoys me. That episode with him
having flashes, seeing Charlie on the street, trying to predict the soccer game was just chaotic.
His accent doesn't even help him (as it usually would for me). Ya got that, brotha?
But I like him more than Claire. I was wishing that it was really her that was supposed to drown.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Donny's voice
So I have been called a nerd, a dork and a few other things for being obsessed with donny O. That is O as in Osmond. But MORE people tell me they love him too. Ever since I was little, his voice is like calming audiotherapy for me. No one else does that for me. I can be having a rotten day, and I listen to him, and instantly, my blood pressure lowers.
So, that is what I did today, and now I am creating a blog which I have never done. I shall use this as a sort of therapy too. I turned 40 this year, and I find that I am a bit cheeky-to quote Thomas Train. I also have a 2 year old. Perhaps that, coupled with the fact that I just turned 40, is what makes me a bit cheeky.
So, that is what I did today, and now I am creating a blog which I have never done. I shall use this as a sort of therapy too. I turned 40 this year, and I find that I am a bit cheeky-to quote Thomas Train. I also have a 2 year old. Perhaps that, coupled with the fact that I just turned 40, is what makes me a bit cheeky.
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