Keep Repeating to Self: My children love our pets

When I woke up I discovered the dog peed on our bedroom floor, and the cat threw up on our living room chair.  Then an hour later the cat pooped on our couch, the dog ate the poop, and the cat threw up again.  And it's not even 9 a.m.

Why have a vivid imagination...when there's YouTube!

For the not-so-computer literate out there YouTube is a video hosting service that is the in thing to do.  It's been a forum for a whistle blower of a major company and it's been a site that you can watch a young girl's heavily downloaded web diaries as she discusses her initiation into a cult. (Not real!)  So you might be thinking, "I bet the majority of that site just has videos of reckless teenagers jumping off their parents' garage."  You're only half-right.  So in between cooking, cleaning and trying to shake a cold, I went on an in-depth search of the obscure geeky things that I imagine in my mind but never saw in real life.  The first thing would be anything Broadway in nature, since that world is left to the elite whether you are an actor or an audience member.  I have had an un-healthy obsession with Broadway since I was four.  It runs in the family to have the passion but lack the "it" factor.  So, since then I have imagined what it must be like to go through an audition and be in rehersal for a show.  YouTube put me in the audition room with a young Lea Salonga and saw Miss Saigon's creators' expressions change, knowing they found their star.  She has gone on to be the singing voice of Princess Jasmine and Mulan.  Someone took the time to upload the video for my viewing pleasure and I am eternally grateful.  My mind is still on a high from the nine part documentary.  Nothing I could watch on TV would be greater.  So maybe you're not a Broadway voyeur...think of a favorite childhood cartoon you thought no one remembered.  It might be there waiting to reawaken your inner child.

A New Feature!

I've probably mentioned how much of a sci-fi geek my husband can be.  Well, I'm geeky in other ways.  Take etymology for example, the history of words we use on a daily basis.  My eleventh grade teacher Mr. Smith had a passion for etymology and soon enough I did too.  Years later, I visited him and told him how much I enjoyed looking in old dictionaries to find where the word orginated from and its meaning.  He said, "Karen, you and I are the only ones."  So for those of you that want a monthly taste of English class that you were too young to appreciate then, I bring you Karen's Etymological Corner in the sidebar of my blog.  Let me know what you think of it!  And if Mr. Smith is the only one that reads it that's OK by me. :)

Would you let your young child play in the street?

This question would be a no-brainer to most women readers but I am astounded at the amount of children under the age of six I have seen playing by themselves with no supervision.  If I wrote this blog thirty years ago (let's stretch our imagination) maybe that would be no big deal.  Do you realize the times we are living in?  I warned a new neighbor about four sexual predators that live in our town that was posted on a police website.  Boy was I wasting my time.  Her husband is a cop and she still lets her four and six year old have run of the neighborhood.  As a society, are we in denial about how many sickos there are out there?  If you are one of those parents, let me tell you a scary story.  My cousin knew a woman who was a very lax parent.  She would let her adorable daughter outside by herself anytime she wanted.  She had her own yard but lived close to other houses.  Well, a man across the street just happened to be a pedophile.  He would watch her playing and would have fantasies about her.  The mother got to know of this when the police confiscated his belongings one day and found numerous pictures of her on his computer.  He had taken them while she was playing.  Thank goodness nothing happened.  Perhaps if the mom played outside with her daughter sometimes, she would have seen a creepy neighbor taking pictures.  Do you really know your neighbors?  Can you afford in this day and age to be a lax parent?  The only one who pays for your neglect is your child.  Will you be able to live with that guilt for the rest of your life?

So I got ahead of myself...

I quit my job last week much to the suprise of everyone.  There are numerous reasons for doing this, but the main ones are I missed my kids and the dentist could be a jerk.  I told you how sceptical I was about finding a new job and I proved myself right.  Everything looked good on paper, but when you have someone demeaning you 50% of the time your mental facilities don't know which way is up.  It's hard to walk away from something I enjoyed doing but was not going to work in the long run.  Besides, I'm princess Barbie.  It is good to note my husband just got hired on where he was consulting which makes staying at home more doable.  I was given the book Misery Moms: How to Live on One Income so now I'll have to get around to reading it.  Now you know why I haven't blogged at all.  The job stressed me out.  I was not even able to get my lines for the next audio drama, Iron Legion.  I don't know how women do it who have little ones and work more than 20 hours a week outside the home.  I guess having a six figure income would help.  What I value above all is time.  When will my daughter be 3 again?  When will she want me to play dress up and play store like she does now?  When I was little, I remember never having to conform to a schedule.  (So maybe that's why I'm always late is besides the point)  I had a great time during my preschool years of making tents out of foldable chairs and sheets.  My mom would sew dresses for my Barbies.  It was a simple time.  I can't help but want Madeleine to have the same.  So what if we don't buy all her clothes from Gymboree.  So what if I don't have money to get our dream house sooner.  People in this day and age are more consumed with wanting things they don't need than spending unstructured time with their kids.  I understand two income families are a necessity but I feel sorry for the parents that let the precious years of their children go by under someone else's supervision.