Parents don't let your daughters dress like prostitutes...

It never fails to amaze me what teen and tween (and even children) girls are wearing in public. (When I make a statement like that I feel myself raise my eyebrows and begin to think of how old I sound). But really, parents please don't let your daughters leave the house looking like she is a prostitute, half clothed, or 13 going on 30. It is amazing how many girls I see with way too short skirts, see-through blouses (with colored bras), and shoes with huge heels. I understand (at least somewhat) the fashion trends today, but these fashion trends I'm talking about are not for minors.

Now I feel I need to be diplomatic and cut some of these parents some slack. As a former teacher, I know that some kids go to school in the clothes their parents approve of and change into clothes that their friends bring them. I also suppose that this could happen on trips to the mall or at sleepovers. But, here is where another important step of being a parent comes into play... know your children's friends and get to know their friend's parents. You can't control everything that your child does and does not do, but you can influence their choices through your words, actions, being aware about what is going on in their lives, and being physically there at the right place and time.

Not all parents are naive to what their children are wearing. Many times, I have been in a restaurant and have seen a girl dressed in inappropriate attire, with her parents by her side. That is incredibly inappropriate, in my opinion. These parents either approve of the way their child dresses or don't choose to say anything, which is a silent approval in itself. Young girls are impressionable. They need guidance from their parents. After all, they have many friends, but they only have two parents.

So tired...

I have been tired for the past 3 years. It first started with pregnancy woes. Then, post-pregnancy came newborn, newborn became baby, and baby became toddler. Today, between my 2 1/2 year old that wakes up at the crack of dawn and doesn't like to take naps over an hour (that is IF she takes a nap) and my husband that snores, chomps his mouth in his sleep, and hogs the bed, I rarely wake up refreshed.

But, what drives me nuts is that on the rare occasion that my husband gets up with IB in the morning...
1. I get to 'doze' with a toddler jumping on my back or picking at any skin bump she can find. (Meanwhile I'm begging T to get up with her).
2. I get to hear my toddler screaming at the door, opening the door, and getting into things, in our room, because T isn't really watching her.
3. I get to be woken up every 1/2 hour by T to see when I'm going to get up.
4. I get to clean up the mess that IB made of the house because T fell asleep or wasn't really watching her.

Now, on the VERY RARE occasion my parents take IB overnight...
1. I get woken up by T, who has woken up early and wants to jump out of bed to do things.
2. I get woken up every 1/2 hour by T to see when I'm going to get up.
3. I get to have my sheets taken off and sat on, by T, so that I get up.
4. I get to listen to how I'm "so boring," "always sleep," and "have slept so long already" (all of course by T).

I am not sure who is more difficult, my little kid or my big kid...

Opposites attract?

People say that opposites attract. I definitely believe that this is true about T and me.

About a month ago, I realized just how different we are. We took IB to our local park. IB and I were walking around, when T came up looking disgusted. He proceeded to tell me that he saw a deflated balloon on the ground, but he wasn't sure if it really was a balloon. He kicked the 'balloon' to see what it was, and realized that he had just kicked a used, purple condom. After our initial disgusted reactions, I asked T why he had kicked it. He said, "I kicked it because I didn't know what it was." I said, "that is exactly the reason why you shouldn't kick it."

... Enough said :-D