Supernanny Rules

July 11th, 2008

The Best Things In Life Are Free And Barbecued!

Just like the majority of Americans, we are not going on many road trips this summer. We went to Laughlin, NV, which is three hours away and cost a crap load of gas money to fuel our 15 passenger van. Other than that, we are doing the whole summer staycation. So what is a parent to do with a house full of kids and very little summer funds? We call Uncle Mike! Daniel’s brother, who lives in our town, has a new pool. Luckily, he welcomes us and the craziness that comes with our presence. We pack up the van, grab some BBQ items and head over for a day of fun in the hot desert sun. Here are a few pics of our last staycation at his house:

As you can see, swimming at uncle Mike’s is just as fun as a day at the beach… and we don’t end up with sand in our bathing suits! Here is my recipe for burgers so tasty, they have caused many a fight over who gets the first one!

Kadi’s Cowpoke Burgers

ground beef

crumbled bacon

shredded cheddar cheese

buns

slices of beefsteak tomato

 arugula

 red bell pepper

  pearl onions

ranch dressing and BBQ sauce

1. Combine ground beef (or turkey) with bacon and shredded cheese.

2. Form patties big as a man’s hand and 1/2 in thick.

3. Grill 15 minutes over medium heat, or until cooked to your liking.

4. Brush the insides of buns with ranch dressing.

5. Grill buns 2 minutes.

6. While patties cook, saute red pepper and onion in olive oil, until tender.

7. Place patties, tomatoes, arugula and pepper mix on buns.

8. Top with BBQ sauce.

9. Enjoy!

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By kadi -- 3 comments

July 11th, 2008

A Much Needed Break!

Today, my husband and I, celebrate 10 years of marriage….woo hoo! I think it is something to fly to Hawaii for, but my husband says that people who celebrate every piddly anniversary just have low expectations. “What… are they afraid that they won’t be together by their 25th anniversary? That really speaks volumes about their faith in each other!” I gotta love that man, he has a way of putting a whole new spin on things. However, I am a romantic and think that every little milestone should be celebrated so I tell him to stop being cheap and plan something.

So we planned a weekend away. My mom is coming to stay with the kids. I am nervous because, I get anxiety when I’m away from my kids for longer than a few hours. I get homesickness that is very reminiscent of my childhood feelings of being away from my home. It is a strange thing to so badly want a vacation from being a mommy, then not be able to enjoy it when I finally get my wish. A mom on another parenting site, said that she never once took a vacation without her kids. All of them are adults, but she never once had a romantic weekend away from them and never wanted to. I have to wonder what kind of person doesn’t feel the need to escape the stresses of parenthood, once in a blue moon?

As much as I miss my kids when I’m away (which has happened a total of three times,) I am glad to spend some time rekindling my marriage flames. It is nice to return home to children who are happy to see me, instead of the usual disgust at the sight of my face and requests to drop dead.

Am I alone here? Does anybody else think that going through the journey of parenthood without pulling over in the occasional rest stop, is just insane?

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By kadi -- 3 comments

July 10th, 2008

Glorifying Teen Pregnancy?

 We heard about Jamie Lynn Spears and gasped in shock, as we bid adieu to “Zoey 101.” We saw the headlines for the new NBC reality show “Baby Borrowers” and wondered who the heck would allow a snot nosed teenager to borrow their baby. We caught wind of some odd teen pregnancy pact and rolled our eyes in disgust. Then, we spotted a new show on ABC called “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and asked ourselves, “Secret? What secret?”

 Excuse my French but what the hell is going on here? I know that this topic is nothing new, but don’t you agree that all of this media coverage is just callousing our generation of teens to the the possibility of getting pregnant? Yes, some of the new shows are designed to teach teens of the dangers of unprotected sex, but isn’t all of the exposure to teen pregnancy just making it a commonplace societal norm? “Hey kids, we know you’re gonna screw, so here is what could happen. See Jamie Lynn? Doesn’t she look miserable?” Uh….no. She looks like any other thirty something, glowing mother of a newborn. Except that she’s a teenager.  Doesn’t OK magazine realize what an effing disservice they are doing to the whole teen population by allowing this teenager’s “OOOOPSIE” to grace the cover of a magazine, painted as a normal, beautiful new mommy moment? Yes, motherhood is beautiful. Yes, the baby and Ms. Spears are beautiful. Too beautiful. Many teenaged, affection starved, disenchanted girls will look at that picturesque portrayal of premature motherhood and fantasize about it, themselves. No, I do not have statistics.

What ever happened to the days when getting pregnant, before marriage, was a big no no? I’ve heard tales of parents who shipped their pregnant daughter off to live with distant relatives, out of the sheer fear that she would be looked upon as a whore. My own mother was livid when she found out that I was pregnant out of wedlock. L-I-V-I-D. I was shamed by my traditional Baptist family. Did they encourage me to abort my baby? No way. The told me that “I am now responsible to raise my baby to be a God fearing child…oh, and when was the wedding?” Did the enable me to continue my life as a carefree teenager, by raising the baby? Heeeeeellllll no. Happy fun time ended when I conceived. I had to take responsibility for my actions. Maybe if more parents treated teen pregnancy and premarital sex as the huge mistake it is, there would be less of it. The media might even loosen its capitalistic grip on the issue and stop turning out shows that make it seem like a normal rite of passage and an event worthy of a magazine cover.

Image: OK Magazine

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By kadi -- 11 comments

July 9th, 2008

Gifts Of Love For Scott Terrill’s Sons

I have decided to do the only thing I know of, to help the Terrill boys. I really wish that I could hug them and offer kind words, but I know that they will get plenty of that. So I decided with the help of some other Supernanny families, to set up a donation button, through Paypal. You can access it on my personal blog, or Christy Schrage’s personal blog. Any gifts are much appreciated and will be sent to Jo Frost, to pass on to the boys. I just feel in my heart, that we should do something to help these poor boys out and I am relying on the kindness of all Jo Frost fans and fellow humanitarians, to join me in offering Lane and Tate a small token of our support. Thank you, in advance for your gifts of love!

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By kadi -- 0 comments

July 9th, 2008

Jon and Kate Plus Eight - Aunt Jodi on a blogging warpath

For those, like me, who enjoy watching Jon and Kate Plus Eight - it seems there’s a few changes a brewing in the upcoming season.

Aunt Jodi will not be back and she’s decided to open up in a tell all blog at Truth Breeds Hatred

According to one blog post, the real reason that Jodi has been cut from the show is the recurring theme orchestrated by Kate, that being control.  You have to admit, Kate does seem to be very controlled, organized and delegating in any given episode.

Here’s what Aunt Jodi has to say about her not returning…

Have you watched Jon and Kate Plus Eight? 

I love that show!!  I do have to admit though there have been several episodes that left me scratching my head wondering what exactly Kate is doing during the day while Jon is at work.

I’ve seen Kate have people come in to clean, do laundry and help out - but she never seems to look as tired as her husband.

For friendly discussion sake - If you’ve seen the show, I’d like to hear your thoughts on what you’ve personally observed.

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By Gayla McCord -- 42 comments

July 8th, 2008

Lessons Derived From A Tragedy

I struggled with whether to post this glimpse of Scott Terrill’s life. I would hate for his family to think that I’m sensationalizing this whole ordeal and the pain that this family is going through, as a result. However, my heart feels the need to shed light on this subject as an example of what the feeling of hopelessness can lead to and the portrayal of people on reality television shows. Please take this post for what it truly is, a chance to educate people and bring hope out of an extremely tragic situation. My heart hurts for Scott and his family and I think that there are two very important lessons to be learned here…but at a horrible price. The following is an excerpt from Bluegrassmoms.com:

Read More

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By kadi -- 1 comment

July 8th, 2008

Daddy’s Alter Ego

I remember, all too vividly, the day that my parents told us about my dad’s affair. I knew that something wasn’t right, because the night before, the sounds of my mother’s sobbing could be heard through the walls. It kept me awake all night, pondering the meaning behind those agonized, yet muffled sounds of a woman’s heart being broken. My mother never cried, so I knew that something was seriously wrong. The next morning, my parents sat my sister and I down in the living room. I do not remember much about the details of what they said, but I do remember our reactions. I remember my youngest sister, she was only 10 at the time, trying to run out the front door. I remember feeling like it was just a bad dream. My dad was not the kind of person to cheat on my mom.

I also remember the day we found out that my dad was gay. It was a year after my parents split up. My dad was away on business, as usual. My mom sat us down, again, in the living room. She began by telling us that she had some suspicions toward my dad and his recent interests. She divulged that she had hired a private detective to follow my dad. Her findings were congruent with those suspicions. He had been sleeping with men. Again, I was left in a fog. I could not grasp the idea of my dad, a true blue family man a conservative Christian and wonderful father, leading a life that contradicted so much of what he had raised us to believe. I still wonder how any person can decide to make such a radical life change in the midst of raising a family. Yet, I know that it happens everyday.

My mom was always very open with us, throughout the divorce process. So was my dad.  Mom shared her feelings of confusion, feelings of inadequacy and anger towards my dad for leaving her to pick up the pieces while he gallivanted around the country in search of selfish pleasures. He was still our dad, but he was not the dad we knew. My dad was always more than willing to share his side of the story. From what I gather, they love and respect each other, but did not have a great marriage. My dad decided to pursue a life that, he claims, had been his true identity since birth. He still loves us. I believe that. Will I ever fully comprehend how he hid his true feelings for 41 years, only to decide that the right time to live his truth was right smack dab in the middle of our childhood? Probably not. I don’t obsess over it. It does, however, make me wonder how many parents are stifling their true identities because they made the choice to have children and commit to a marriage that they do not belong to, whole heartedly. I’m willing to bet that it happens a lot more than you and I would suspect.

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By kadi -- 0 comments

July 8th, 2008

It’s official - As a Mom, I suck

Under any other circumstance, I would admit that as a parent I do suck, but following a lengthy conversation with my kids recently, I am teetering on whether I suck or if it’s other parents that do.

For eight long years, I raised my twins alone.  Their father wasn’t in the picture.  The kids didn’t want him in the picture and it was my belief that if I didn’t press for support, he couldn’t press for visitation.  It worked!

My parents and I had it worked out that for the twins birthday, beginning of school and Christmas, they would get them a couple of toys, but mostly they would get them nice clothes.  I always worried that they would be made fun of if they didn’t wear at least the name brands of Levi’s and Nike.

Boy was I wrong!

Apparently those are the name brands of poor kids now. And while I tried desperately to dress my kids in clothes that would shelter them from ridicule, I was almost dousing them in flammable brands and throwing them into the fires of torment.

Then came middle school.  I thought it might help the kids to fit in a little better by getting them each a cell phone.  We all had Razr’s and apparently they might as well have a rotary phone attached to the wall.  Kids found ways to make fun and ridicule because they didn’t have a cool phone.

Fortunately I am MomGadget and Verizon Wireless was kind enough to send us a line of phones to review.  It was that offer from Verizon that hoisted my kids up from lowly and poor to somewhat cool.

Now, perhaps I’m not so clear in thinking, but if a kid dresses in the coolest, most expensive skateboarder clothing and carries a $500 cell phone - while the parents live in an older model mobile home and drive old rusted out vehicles, does that not speak volumes for the type of adult that child might become?

To me, it screams Priorities Need Adjusting - but since I’m prone to being overly judgmental these days, I thought it might be good to ask all of you…gimme a lil’ help here.

These days my kids do wear the cool skateboarder clothes that might normally cost an arm and my first grandchild - but thanks to eBay - I’m able to get nice, gently used cool clothes for a fraction of the cost.  But still I feel as though I’m giving into the torments and allowing the vicious cycle to continue.

This would be SO much easier if our school did uniforms!

How is a parent supposed to combat the torments of peers and classmates who are so brand conscious and well, spoiled?

(image: stock.xchg)

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By Gayla McCord -- 19 comments

July 7th, 2008

Manners are Societal Expectations and Are Optional

Are you still sitting in your chair?  I completely understand if you had to stop and pick yourself up from the floor - I certainly did.

“Manners are societal expectations…they are optional.”

So shocking I had to say it twice and even then, it leaves this echoing residue of sorts.  Doesn’t it?

That very statement is an actual comment left in another discussion that’s going on here on Guerilla Parenting. 

Honestly, I’m disgusted that people take disregard for good manners when it comes to dealing with or being a part of the public.

I’ve raised my boys similar to what I was raised by my mom and grandmother - and that is if I don’t practice good manners with the please, thank you and here let me get that for you… I might just wake up with a few teeth missing.

I have this real problem with people not behaving respectfully in public.  In fact, I’ve made it my own mission of sorts, to take those who lack respect or manners and embarrass them publicly by calling them out for whatever it is they’ve done that’s offended anyone, including me.

I’ve been known to point out that a store manager must be having a really bad day in front of a line of customers when the manager thought she’d be big and belittle the cashier in front of patrons.

I’ve been known to let dumbasses who park in handicap spots without the plate or a limp that they were busted and should move or be reported to the store immediately.

I’ve been known to call out mean kids in front of those they were obviously trying to impress and insist they treat me the exact way they’d bullied others earlier.

I’ve no problem delivering kids to their parents and letting their parents know what a very poor reflection their children’s behavior is on them.

I’ve been known to create a sign for windshields of people who park poorly - taking up two or three spaces that lets the world know they truly are a “Privileged Parker“

I believe manners have fallen by the wayside to everyone who feels the need to play the victim or believes they are entitled just because they live and breathe.  Manners have become almost extinct in the name of free speech, women’s lib and a person’s rights. 

There was absolutely NOTHING wrong with a time when men held doors for women - when people could actually pull over to help someone with a flat - when a knock at the door wasn’t always something to be inspected before opening - when background checks were unheard of and you could leave your house never having to lock the door.

When manners became optional - humanity and kindness became an endangered species. 

Thanks for the post idea Natures Mom

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By Gayla McCord -- 17 comments

July 7th, 2008

Airlines Without Compassion or Today’s Gold Rush? You Decide

I’ve decided to invite our readers to watch THIS news clip of a family of four who was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight in Seattle and join in a friendly and informative discussion.

Please consider leaving your own observations of whether or not this family was:

Kicked off the flight with just cause

They were being discriminated against because they have one child having Autism and one having Cerebral Palsy

or

Could this possibly be the beginnings of a modern day gold rush?

You decide - and I’ll chime in later.

(image: Screenshot CNN )

Hat Tip:  Homemom3

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By Gayla McCord -- 40 comments