Month: August 2013

5 Really Stupid Reasons I Yell at the Kids

| LibertyDee

So how’s your Orange Rhino (No Yelling) challenge going you ask? Well let’s just say that my heart is definitely in the right place and that I am without a doubt yelling less.  That’s a step right? The part that is going really well is the fact that I am learning why I yell and what those things are that set me off.

I’m then able to take that information and make changes to avoid them or at least think of alternative ways to deal with them.  Let me give you a quick example. It used to be virtually impossible for me to leave the house in the morning without yelling at someone. I’m always running late and the kids take forever to get ready and get out of the house. I now (for the most part) make sure that I leave their clothes ready the night before as well as anything they may need to take with them. This has really helped to speed up my mornings and in turn I am yelling less.

When I do yell and of course deal with the subsequent guilt I am taking the time to figure out why it is that I shouldn’t have yelled.  (Let me tell you there have been a handful of times that I did yell and did not feel guilty about it. Like the time recently, when  Baby Girl bit The Plan like a crazed Pit-bull and I had to yell at her to release).

As part of this reflection I have found a few situations where I yell for really unnecessary and in truth really stupid reasons. Here is my list of the top 5 really stupid reasons I yell at my kids.

  1. They ask me the same question more than once. Ok, maybe twice or even three times. Regardless of how many times the question is asked this is a really dumb reason to yell at a child or anyone for that matter. Maybe they didn’t hear me, maybe they don’t know how else to make conversation or maybe just maybe they love the sound of my voice. Stupid.
  2. They yell at each other. Seriously? Do I really think that yelling at them because they are yelling is teaching them anything? Stupid.
  3. The TV, Video game, Toy is on too loud. I guess my philosophy on this one is to fight loud with loud? Stupid.
  4. They don’t want to do something that I think they will like. Well of course if I think it will be fun, then they are going to have fun. Even if I have to make everyone miserable in the process. Stupid.
  5. MrLibertyDee yells at them for something I think is unreasonable and I get so frustrated that he yelled at them that I turn around and yell at them. Yes I know. If anyone wants to give me the stupid award you can do so for this one.

The point is that now that I am aware that I do these stupid things I can work towards changing my behaviour. I’ll keep you posted.  I’m sure there will be another list coming.

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Half Full

| LibertyDee

Ever since I wrote the blog about not having a bucket list, My Empty Bucket, I have started being more aware of the things I may want to do at some point. I also got a “talking to” from MrLibertyDee about how he found that post a real “downer” and that I have the bucket list concept all wrong. I decided to listen to him (he’ll be shocked to read that) So I have started thinking about the bucket list not so much from the “kicking the bucket” point of view but more like kicking a can down the street like I did as a kids just for fun.

Here is my list of things I have come up with so far that I would like to do at some point just for fun. In the spirit of keeping things positive I am not thinking about ti as my empty bucket but rater as my bucket being half full.

1. Pet a Horse – This should be relatively easy to do. I don’t have any desire to ride one but I would like get close to one and maybe pat it on the head orsomething.

2. Milk a Cow- Not sure how I would find a cow to milk but I’m sure there must be a farm somewhere not too far from me that could possible show me how to do it. Come to think about it, do people milk cows anymore? I always see those poor animals hooked up to those milking machines. I always felt like one of this cows when hooked up to my breast pump when the kids where infants. I hated that thing. I hope the cows don’t feel the same way.

3. Take a Disney Cruise – I guess I’ll have to start saving up for this one. I really like Disney and I have heard nothing but good things about their cruises. I’d love to do this with both sides of the family. Eating, drinking, and relaxing in the sun with two life-sized mice. What could be better?

4. Buy a Piano – Another thing I have to save up for. I took piano lessons from the time I was 9 until I was 13. I loved playing but didn’t like my piano teacher vey much. She had a habit of putting her hand in her blouse and playing with one of her breast while she talked. One day a button popped of her blouse and her boob just plopped out! She just kept talking, plopped it back in and carried on. I was out of there within a few weeks.
Now that I am much older I would like to take it up again and I think as long
as the teacher is either a man or wear’s a bra it shouldn’t be as traumatic.

5. Visit Italy – There is something about the Italian language that I just love. I’d love to spend time in Italy, exploring, eating and learning the language. MrLibertyDee and I had been planning a trip to Italy just before I found out I was expecting Baby Girl. Those plans got set aside but I’d still love to go.

6. Go Whale Watching – On a large boat. None of this going out in the water on a dingy and letting the whales push you around. I want to see the whales not be eaten by them.

7. Swim with the Dolphins – I’ll keep this on my list but my brother was recently attacked by a jelly fish and now I’m a bit nervous what lurks under the sea.

8. White Water Rafting – The only problem with this one as that I’ll probably have to go alone because there is no was MtLibertyDee would do this one. He is somewhat water adverse. I had plans to go with my brother but then ended up pregnant with The Plan and it never got rescheduled.

9. Buy a Car – I have a car now and have gone through the purchasing process a few times but it’s always been with my hubby. I want to save up, do the research, walk into a dealer on my own and walk away with my car. Yes I may choose it because I like the colour and it comes with a fancy mirror but it will be mine, mine, mine.

That’s it for now. Sorry I couldn’t make it a nice even 10 but I just can’t think of anything else. In outing this list together I have learned a little bit more about myself:

1. I obviously like animals
2. I obvioulsy like the water
3. I obviously shouldn’t plan any exciting trips or else I’ll end up pregnant.

Grandpa and the War of 1812

| LibertyDee

Last Month I wrote about some of my favorite family quotes in Why a Unicorn is Better Than a Pony and so I have decided to start a reoccurring Blog post made up of Quotes of the Month. My kids are always saying all kinds of things that I think are worth noting somewhere and once in a while I’ll even catch myself saying something to the kids that sound absolutely ridiculous.
So here we are. Below you will find the top quotes said by my family in the month of July.

1. We’re not wrestling. We’re hugging on the floor- The Plan_ in response to my ”STOP WRESTLING!” when I heard a commotion upstairs.
2. “Is that the war grandpa fought in?” – The Life_ as my husband talked to the boys about the war of 1812
3. “If you make me yell at you I’m going to kill you!” _ Me to the boys as they were getting “restless” in a hotel room we had been stuck in all day and I was ten days into my Orange Rhino Challenge.

This next one a small excerpt of a conversation between The Plan and The Life at the dinner table when the topic turned to how babies are made:

The Life – “So do they have to take their clothes off?”
The Plan – “This is what I don’t get. They don’t have to but they choooose to.
Technically they only have to take off their pants.

Join me again next month when one of my kids will say “blahblah blahblah blah
blah blah” (anyone out there know where that’s from?)

Why There’s a Bottle of Scotch on my Night Table

| LibertyDee

When I see my doctor for my yearly physical I always dread the question “do you drink?” I always go into a long story about how I don’t think I drink too much and then I go on to pretty much detail every drink I’ve had over the last year like I’m in confession or something.
I absolutely know that I could simply say yes or no but there’s something about my brain-to-mouth connection that just keeps my mouth moving once I start. About 5 minutes into my long winded drinking explanation she’ll usually cut me off and say something like ” so you have a drink once in a while”.
We have been having this same conversation for 11 years. Actually I guess It’s 8 years because I didn’t drink a drop of alcohol while I was pregnant. Although I craved red wine so strongly that it became a bit embarrassing for MrLibertyDee. Every time we went out to dinner or had an event and he left the table, he would come back to find me with my nose in his wine glass, inhaling deeply.

By this point you may be wondering then why is there a bottle of scotch on her night table if she’s supposedly not a big drinker?. The answer is this: Mosquito bites. It turns out that scotch is an amazing itch reliever.
I came back from my vacation with lots of mosquito bites on my legs and the itching was driving my crazy! I couldn’t find my “After Bite” itch ointment ( I remembered putting it somewhere safe which is similar to throwing something into a black hole because I rarely remember where that was) MrLibertyDee had the brilliant idea to “Google”  some home remedies and we were presented with three options
1. Aspirin – mash it up and apply to bites
2. Salt – mix it with a bit of water to create a paste and apply to bites
3. Alcohol- use a cotton swab and apply to bites

I didn’t have any Aspirin, the salt mixture sounded bit messy to apply to my legs and I didn’t have any rubbing alcohol. That’s when MrLIbertyDee had his second

brilliant idea. He pulled out a bottle of scotch and a roll of paper towels. I wet a paper towel with some scotch and held it to the bites. Within seconds, the itching stopped! It was a miracle!

I have suffered from mosquito bites all my life. I can be outside in a crowd of one hundred people and I will be the only one who gets bitten. Then the itching lasts for days, interrupting my sleep and making me cranky. By using the scotch, the relief was almost immediate. I woke up only once that night with some itching. I put some scotch on it and went back to sleep. The itching hasn’t bothered me again since.

The only draw back to this remedy is that it’s hard to convince people you are not a heavy drinker when your whole body smells like booze and you keep a bottle of scotch on your night table.

Do you have any strange but true remedies for bug bites?

Where’s My Eyebrow?

| LibertyDee

I am about to reveal something very personal and even a little bit traumatic for me.

I lost my right eyebrow.

Yup. You read that right. My eyebrow just disappeared right from under my nose, (well..not my nose cause if I had a brow under my nose that would be a mustache).
It started last summer when one day after a shower I noticed some of it missing right from the middle of the brow then next thing I know,  all that was left was the little poof by the bridge of my nose. It’s really quite inexplicable as I have had it looked at and  there is no” skin condition” in play  and although I do have hypothyroidism which can cause hair loss this seems unrelated as I am not experiencing hair loss anywhere else.
Part of me thinks this is some kind of karma thing because I was always very proud about the fact I had such lovely eyebrows that were always perfectly groomed without the need for any type of cosmetic intervention.
I was initially quite self conscious about it.  I tried to draw it back in but the only thing worse than two obviously fully drawn in eyebrows is one normal eye brow on one side and then a small poof and a drawn in line on the other. ( it was not a pretty picture)

I considered just removing the left one to at least have some symmetry but I just couldn’t bear to part with my one good brow. I then found a different solution.

I cut my hair and got bangs. Mind you, I had not had bangs since I was 10 but I did It and I thought I looked pretty good. My eldest, The Plan,  didn’t think so. He frequently made comments about how the bangs made me look strange. MrLibertyDee always said the right thing when I asked him about it but I’m not convinced he truly meant it.
I think I have since figured out what happened to the eyebrow. I rubbed it off.I have developed a habit that when I’m thinking or feeling stressed I rub my face and especially the right eyebrow area.  MrLibertyDee was the first to point it out and since becoming aware of it I have caught myself doing it often. I now stop myself and have noticed that my eyebrow has started growing back.

I have started to let my bangs grow out and today was the first day I wore my hair down without my bangs pushed over my forehead. I did still have to draw about 3/4 of the eyebrow in but when The Plan saw me ready for work this morning he said ” I like you better with your hair like that” “Really? “I replied. “Yes you look like a normal mom not like a one eyebrow-ed mom with weird bangs.” Well if that’s not a compliment I don’t know what is.
I’m hoping that my eyebrow is on the road to recovery and that one day when we are all a little older we can reminisce, and the kids can  say something like. “remember that time  your eyebrow fell out?”

You-must-never

Award x 2 = Super Sweet Blog & Versatile Blogger

| LibertyDee

I got back from my vacation to find that I have been nominated for two different awards by three different people!! Wooohooo!! Yay Me!

I am still a very new blogger and it blows my mind that people actually read this stuff. I mean, I think its great stuff but for others to not only read it but nominate my blog for these awards is just wonderful.

Cupcake4

Thank you very much to Working MotherAssistant for nominating me for the Super Sweet Blogger award. Please head over and check her blog out right now. Go. Now. ( but don’t forget to comeback here!)

A BIG BIG Thank you also to Brianne Huwe and Mummy Flying Solo for their versatile_zps69e5ac6anomination for the Versatile Blogger Award.  Please head over to their blogs too.

Instead of creating two separate posts for these awards I am melding them together and passing them both on.

The rules for those nominated:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Answer 5 Super Sweet questions (found below)

3. Post 7 Interesting Things about yourself.

3. Include the award image in your blog post.

4. Nominate 10 other deserving bloggers.

5. Notify your  nominees on their blog.

5 Super Sweet questions

1. Cookies or Cake?

What kind of a question is this? Really? Cookies or Cake. This would have to be a pretty nasty world we live in if one day we are made to choose one or the other. I like to believe we live in a society where we can have both. Yes both. No need to choose and no one can make me take sides. I stand for the right to eat both cookies and cake and the freedom to love them equally.

2. Chocolate or Vanilla?

I’m on team Chocolate.

3. Favorite Sweet Treat?

Hot apple pie with Vanilla ice cream. Kind of contradicts my answer above. The only time that vanilla will win over chocolate is when it’s sitting atop hot apple pie. And I mean really hot, none of this warm or room temperature or dare I even say cold apple pie. YUCK! I Like it Hot, Hot, Hot.

4. When Do You Crave Sweet Things The Most?

I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity eater, so any time of day is a good opportunity for something sweet.

5. Sweet Nick Name?

I tend to use Honey quite a bit but if I start a sentence with “Ohh Sweetie Pie..” in a sing song voice, someone is in BIG trouble.

I’d love it if someone started calling me Chocolate Thunder!

7 Interesting Things About Myself

  1. I have never smoked. There was one time at a club with some friends in my 20s where I held a cigarette to my mouth but I had no clue what I was doing and I swear I didn’t inhale.
  2. I am much more comfortable speaking in front of a large group than I am in a small setting.
  3. I love my birthday. I have no problem with the fact that I am getting older. I don’t always like what comes along with it but I don’t lie about my age and I make sure everyone knows when my birthday is coming.
  4. MrLibertyDee and I went to prom together as “friends” and that same night I told him that he and I would never be anything more and he should give it up. (There’s a lot to be said for persistence)
  5. My first job was selling inflatable toys at a kiosk in the mall. It lasted one day.
  6. I don’t take sugar in my coffee. People think its really health conscious of me but for some reason cake tastes better with a coffee that has no sugar.
  7. I played the trombone for 9 years and I’m considering taking it up again.

Nominees: There are some in here that have received similar awards recently so I don’t expect you to go through the process yet again but I did want to recognize your super sweet and versatile blog.

Fascinations Of A Vanilla Housewife

Momtimes4

Field Notes From Fatherhood

Did That Just Happen Blog

I’ve Become My Parents

Raising 5 Kids With Disabilities And Remaining Sane Blog

Ah Dad…

Chasing A Daredevil & Twins

How To Ruin A Toddler’s Day

The Adventures Of Fanny P.

Doodlemum

And there you have it. Thanks for reading!

My Empty Bucket

| LibertyDee

I don’t have a bucket list. Is that weird? I like to think that I’m living a pretty fullfilling life everyday but now I find there is so much talk of bucket lists that I’m starting to think I should make one. The problem is that I can’t think of anything to put on on it.

We were recently in Atlantic city and MrLibertDee was able to cross off “gambling at at the Trump Taj Mahal” off his list. He played five buck at the slots,
lost and left. check. ! For me, yes I had always wanted to go to Atlantic City but I wouldn’t say it’s bucket list worthy.
I would like to take a minute to clarify what I interpret a bucket list to be so that if I am wrong you may help to clarify.

My definition:
When the day comes and I am on my death bed my bucket list represents all those things I wish I would have done in my life. If there is nothing left on the list then I can be at peace that I have lived my life to its fullest and if there are still many things on that list then I will die full of regrets.

Hmmm. So. Here is my conundrum what happens to me? What will I be thinking on my death bed if I don’t have a bucket list? There are definately things I would like to do and places I would like to visit but at the same time there is nothing that stands out as being something I’ve “just got to do” before I die.

Maybe I’m just not thinking out of the box enough or maybe I just like to live life in a wait and see what happens kind of way. Either way, I would be very interested to hear what types of things you have on your bucket list. Maybe it will stir some ideas in my head. Can’t wait to hear from you.