Friday Foto Feature

Thru the eyes of BratChild...

LOVE


POWER




GOOD LUCK!


Please DO NOT FORGET about BratChild's favored cause:

To Write Love On Her Arms

Friday Foto Feature

Looking thru the lens of BratChild future photog to the Stars!




A little Yellow goes a Long Way...










Don't Forget!
Support BratChild'S Favorite Cause!

To Write Love On Her Arms... six words that mean so much...


And could be the difference in some one's life

Just when you think your kids don't need you, they do! (Just don't tell THEM!)

It's another Saturday Night and I ain't got nobody... Ain't got no money and I just got paid...

I know that is the line in a song, but I just can't remember what the song is... go figure!

Well, it IS Saturday night and here I sit watching a Hallmark movie ( so far no one has died, oops! Never mind Martin somebody-or-other just did).
Anyway, sitting here watching a movie,the adult-like kids are out with friends, the tweens just went to bed and HeMan Hubby went to bed over an hour ago feeling pretty lousy.

So it's just me and the TV and the laptop sitting here enjoying some peace and quiet, and I got to thinking that it's almost too quiet.

I know, I know... Too Quiet? Whoever heard of such a thing? Surely not I. But in reality my kids are all somewhere between AdultLike and TweenYears, with friends and lives that do not always include parents. This got me to thinking that in the very near future an evening of TV and the laptop without bickering kids, barking dog and footsteps trumping up and down the stairs, followed by doors closed just a tad too loudly... well, soon those won't be a part of my daily life at all.

As much as I THINK I HATE the noise and complaining and even the times when the kids prefer Dad to Mom, not having those loud, boisterous and often hormonal people running wild though the house would be worse than anything I can imagine.

When I think of the future, when they are all off living their own lives, I think of holidays and birthdays spent here at home, but maybe they won't be here. Maybe they will have their own traditions and special things they do at their homes. Maybe they won't come around to see Mom and Dad like I think they will, or rather, like I want them to.

Maybe they will have full-filled lives with children and spouses who love them and take care of them. Maybe they will be upright productive members of society that will make me proud every day just by being who they are.

And maybe, just maybe, they will be living in my basement with their 4 kids and spouse, eating my food and using up all of my hot water, making lots of noise, breaking my dishes and using my vehicles to get to the unemployment office to pick up their checks...

Okay, maybe I need to soak up this quiet Saturday night with my TV movie and my laptop, because this memory just might come in handy when all those extra people are mooching off me and making my life a living hell...

Oh! The Joys of Being a Parent... I wonder if those positive life subliminal message tapes would work if I started piping them through the ductwork???

Hmmmmm, Maybe!

WOW, iPods and Growing UP?

Today is my youngest child's 11th birthday.

Now when did that happen? He was just a little guy with strawberry blonde hair, big blue eyes and the most adorable dimple in his chin... and now he is this tall, lanky, freckle-face young man, who still has the most awesome blue eyes and dimples to die for by the way.

I know the kids grow up. I mean we would all go insane if they didn't, but really, they are growing OLDER sooner than they used to.

My oldest child is now 29. I remember her playing with friends when she was 11... playing with dolls and playing "teacher".

Now 11 year olds play video games and hang out on the computer gaming and reading their email... well, not mine of course since I think kids that young should have more cerebral pursuits...

OKAY! You got me. I DO think they should have more mentally stimulating activities, but my kids do play World of Warcraft (or WOW as it is affectionately known in our home) and have PSPs, iPods, Playstation, X-Box and Nintendo gaming systems.
They also have a large selection of DVDs to watch should they tire of video games.
Oh, and yes they have books... thousands of books are in our home and YES! the kids have actually read them, not just used them to prop up broken desk legs or hold down science fair projects while they are drying.

The one thing that they DO NOT HAVE is a cell phone. No phone until they can pay for it themselves. And I mean go to the store and get their own account and pay the bills themselves.
My 3 older kids had to do it that way so the 3 younger ones are stuck with it.

So now that my baby is 11 and no longer thinks he is my baby, what do I do?

I throw a frickin' party that's what I do!
Only 7 more years and the last one will be of an age to fend for himself... not that he will since his 20 year old brother is still living at home and is not financially secure, but he will be old enough that he could be on his own.

The count-down has begun... I still miss the little boy that was, but I am looking forward to meeting the man he will become... and celebrating his achievements over the next few years on his way to being that man.

Oh, and the vacation I will be able to go on once he has left for college... well, if I can afford one...