I am a hippie!

This is my oldest daughter's latest term for me. She thinks I am a hippie and has told all of her teachers and friends. Lovely!

At first I was mortified. My vision of a hippie resembles my mother when she was about 20 years old. The long flowing muumuu dress. Long straight hair parted in the middle. No makeup, no bra. Smoking pot while listening to Jimi Hendrix (yes, my mom did this). I was freaked!

I don't think she could be more wrong. I wear makeup and a bra EVERY SINGLE DAY! I have NEVER smoked pot! I don't really care for Jimi's music. And I haven't had long straight hair since I was 6 years old. And I sure as hell don't wear muumuus. What is my daughter thinking?

So, I ask the wise 12 year old. She says I'm a hippie because:
a) we eat organic food whenever possible
b) I wear my babies
c) I cloth diaper my babies
d) I let my babies sleep with me
e) I recycle
f) I try to reduce waste (no plastic water bottles, cloth towels in the kitchen)
g) we are getting a solar heater for our pool
h) I use natural products around the house, such as, tea tree oil and Mrs. Myers products

I guess there's a new definition of hippie! If this is it, then, YES, I AM A HIPPIE! To me, it's not all about global warming. There is so much hype and propaganda about the world being ruined, I'm not sure what to believe. But, if I can do my part and MAYBE help, then I want to.

We actually eat organic food because I'm afraid that all of the preservatives and pesticides may be what's causing ADD and other disorders. Having one child with this disorder I'm trying to do whatever I can to prevent the others from developing it. Plus, it's just healthier.

As far and babywearing and cloth diapering. They are just easy for me. They are both super cute too. And of course my 12 year old enjoyed my philosophy of co sleeping when she was 2, but she has forgotten that!

I do recycle when I can. Our town doesn't have the best recycling program and I try not to use many things that need to be recycled anyway, but if I have something that can be recycled, I do. On that note, I try to reduce waste. We have dramatically cut back on our use of paper plates and paper towel. I try to use items that can be washed instead of thrown out. We use reusable 5 gallon jugs for our water.

We are getting a solar water heater for our pool. It is actually the most economical choice and we get a tax credit! We are also looking into renting solar panels for our homes electricity. It's too expensive to buy them, but to rent them is just about the same cost as our monthly electric bill.

As far as natural products, I just like them better. I use mineral makeup and other natural items around the house.

The one thing that totally grosses my daughter out and makes me a complete hippie is the fact that I am the new owner of a Mooncup. It is similar to the popular Diva Cup, but it's smaller. A friend of mine loves hers and I've decided to give it a try. I used to use Instead, but for some reason stopped and went back to ordinary tampons. I actually haven't used the Mooncup yet. I am looking forward to it (yes, I am a weird hippie). I have a feeling I will like it very much. But, my daughter was absolutely MORTIFIED when she saw it in my bathroom.

So, yes, I am a hippie. And I am now proud of it. Just don't ask me to stop wearing makeup and a bra!

Hang on or let go?

Ah, the struggles of parenthood. It's always hard to know when to let go a little more or when to hold them back. Of course we want them to learn from their mistakes, but we also want to PREVENT them from making mistakes. This is one of the hardest struggles for me as a parent.

I think back to when I was a child. I am the oldest and only girl. My parents were super strict with me. I wasn't allowed to do anything (makeup, date, shave legs, go anywhere without a parent) until I was almost 16! It was tough. But, I think I grew up to be a pretty decent person. Was this the reason? If I had been given more freedom would I have wasted it? Or taken it for granted? Would I have made worse mistakes? I do know that when I WAS given freedom (when I turned 18) that I did make poor choices. Had I been given that freedom when I still lived with my parents would I have made better choices? I don't know. I don't fault my parents for raising me the way they did. I am a little bitter than my younger brothers were raised in a completely different manner (given a license and car at age 16, and another one when they wrecked that one, whereas I had to wait until 18 to get my license). At the time I thought they sucked and that they were ruining my world. But, I'm happy with how I turned out and the adult that I've become (can't really say the same for my brothers), so I thank them.

But, now it is time to make some of these decisions for MY child. Do we go the opposite way and relax? Do we do the same thing and stay strict? Is there a middle ground? And where is it? What things to relax and what things to reign in? It's such a battle.

Here are a few of the issues that we face with our pre teen daughter: cell phones, computer access, staying home alone, makeup, dating, going places without adults, shaving legs, clothing and hair coloring/straightening. You get the point. All the things that are SO important to a middle school child. We have decided to pick our battles and draw the line on things that are really important and be a little lax on things that aren't such a big deal.

We draw the line on cell phones (not anytime soon), dating (she actually had a "boyfriend" last year and she broke it off bc she didn't like being a couple), going places without adults (not allowed at this point), hair coloring/straightening (not allowed, even the hair dresser told her it would be bad). We are pretty strict with the computer access, but she does have some. She has an e-mail account (that we check daily) and will not have myspace, facebook or IM for awhile. We're pretty strict about the home alone thing too. She used to be allowed to stay home alone for 2 hours after school every day. But, she abused that power, so it's been taken away. Occasionally, we let her stay home while we run to the store, but it doesn't happen often. Once she earns back the trust she'll be allowed a little more.

We give her pretty free reign in the clothing department (as long as it's not skimpy). She definitely has a different taste for clothes, but as long as she's covered we are fine with her expressing herself this way. Last year I broke down and let her start shaving her legs. I know that it bothered me tremendously when people would tease me because I wasn't allowed to shave my legs. I didn't want her to go through that. And it's really not a big deal to me. As long as she doesn't hurt herself.

Here's the big one: makeup. We finally decided to let her wear make up this year. And by make up I mean eye shadow and lip gloss and a little bit of mascara. I really wanted to hold out. I hate the way some of these girls cake the makeup on. It looks awful. But, one of my friends suggested going to the school to see how many girls DON'T wear make up. She reminded me what it felt like to be such an outsider when "everyone else was doing it". I remember and it wasn't fun. And is makeup really such a big deal? At least she's not doing drugs or having sex. I can live with some makeup. She kept pushing that she wanted eyeliner. I REALLY didn't want her to, but I knew it was the "cool" thing. So, I decided to put some on her and see if she liked it. I didn't do the best job (partially on purpose, partially bc it was hard to put on someone else) and she hated it. She agreed that she didn't need eyeliner! YAY! And she even talked to one of her friends and she agreed that she looks better without! Double YAY!

Let me tell you this is one of the best decisions I've made. She's happy, I'm happy (you can barely even tell she has makeup on). She thinks we're giving her "freedom" and that we're "cool".

And she hasn't even asked for a cell phone for three days!

Definitely know when to pick your battles!

In other news

If you've read this post you know that it doesn't take much to amuse me.

But, I am so excited! I WON something! I won the solarveil ring sling from Elizabeth at The Whole Family! It will go to good use here in Arizona! I can't wait until our pool is completed so that I can try it out in there. Thank you so much Elizabeth!

In unrelated news, I am moving Picture Wednesday to Saturdays. (But, you must check back because I did get pics of Jocelyn and Xander cosleeping. They are adorable!) I just cannot upload my pics during the week. It's too time consuming and I can't do it from work. For some reason we don't have memory card readers on our computers. Geez!

Some other happenings with us:

Jocelyn is almost one! Her birthday is less than three weeks away. I am SO sad that my baby will soon be a toddler and that I won't have any more babies. Sad beyond belief. Maybe we should have had five children (or eight or ten). And my friend Stephanie is making Jocelyn's birthday dress. Isn't it to die for? I am in love! Stephanie has the BEST taste and extraordinary sewing skills. She makes all sorts of stuff. Contact her if you want anything.

Unfortunately, the party is going to be held off until our pool is completed. I'm hoping it will only be a two week delay. They were moving so quickly, but we've been at a stand still for three weeks because our tile is stuck in customs! I want to go pick another one, but Robert doesn't. He's hoping it will get here this week. They cannot do anything else until they install the tile. Ugh!

Carissa and I are going to The Melting Pot with her friend and her mother on Saturday. I LOVE The Melting Pot! And it'll be a fun Girl's Night Out!

Speaking of Girl's Night Out, we had another Mom's Game Night this last Saturday. I must say that I haven't laughed like that in awhile. We played Cranium, Catchphrase, and Scattergories. It is fun to see how different the games get as more alcohol is consumed. We were in tears. Such fun!

My kids go back to school on the 16th! Can you believe it! And Robert is going to be in a 1st/2nd combo class because he's such a smarty pants. They are putting the smarter Kindergartners in that class with the slower first graders from last year. Hopefully it will challenge him enough. He gets so bored. And he'll be going full day this year. Yay! It's so hard when they go for half of a day and you have to pick them up after three hours. Not really enough time to get anything done. I love year round school. They get a short summer, but they get three weeks off in both October and April. It's a lot of fun taking our vacations at those times when others are at home. A lot less tourists to deal with!

Lastly, I've gotten on Emily's bandwagon and started Body for Life. I'm in my second week and I really like it. I have a ton more energy and feel a lot better and stronger already! I am hoping to lose 10-15 pounds and firm up in general. The eating plan is really easy. Even when we eat out I don't find it too hard to stick with. And the weight training is definitely working. My legs were SO sore after the first workout. For cardio I walk around the block (1 mile) while pushing the stroller. After only the third time I was actually able to RUN part of it! I NEVER run. I cannot believe it! I really like the 12 week challenge part of it too. It gives me a definite deadline. Of course you still need to stick to it after 12 weeks. But, I like being given a time frame as to when I should expect results. I've done other diets, but haven't seen anything after four weeks and give up. This gives me a deadline to reach. Although, I am disappointed that I haven't lost a single pound yet. But, AF could have something to do with that. And if I feel better I don't really think the number should matter.

So, that's what's going on in my world! How about you?

Our NEW family bed

We have a NEW family bed. And let me tell you, I'm super excited. It means that mommy can finally get some sleep and daddy can finally get some alone time with mommy (wink, wink).

As most of you know, Xander has NEVER slept in his crib. Ever. He hated it. He coslept with us until his baby sister came along. It was just easier. We tried everything, but he just wanted us. That's ok, except mommy doesn't sleep very well when she's crowded. And Xander thinks that you sleep on a bed in the horizontal position. But, we dealt with it for 1 1/2 years.

When it was time for Jocelyn to come we convinced him that the bottom bunk in Robert's room would be a GREAT place to sleep. It took a lot of cajoling, but he finally tried it. It's gone ok. Some nights are better than others. Sometimes he comes in our room, sometimes it takes an hour to get him to stay in his room, other nights he goes right in and stays all night.

Jocelyn on the other hand HATED cosleeping as a baby. Even when she was breastfed. She did not want to be touched or held (must have gotten that from me) when she was sleeping. She was a WONDERFUL sleeper. We'd put her in the crib wide awake and she'd go right to sleep.

Then seperation anxiety hit. And she did a complete 180. Night and day difference. Unfortunately, mommy and daddy have gotten used to having their bed back. But, of course, we let her in. But, she's a squirmy little bug. And she likes to throw her butt around. Literally! She gets up on her knees (in her sleep) and throws her butt to the side. Over and over and over. All night long. It drives me crazy!

It was ok when daddy worked midnights. There was enough room in the bed that she could do her "butt flops" all night long. Now, daddy is on day shift and someone is always getting hit by that little butt. We've been taking turns sleeping with her in the queen size bed in her room. But, mommy and daddy miss each other.

So, we decided to put the two little stinkers together. By themselves! And let me tell you, they love it, we love it and four people are sleeping well! I want to take a picture of them all cuddled up together, but I'm afraid, very afraid, that I'll wake them. But, it's the cutest thing to see them all snuggled up together. And it works!

I know we'll have to break the habit someday (or else people will think we're REALLY strange for letting a sister and brother sleep together), but it works for now. When you have six people in the house you'll do anything to ensure a good nights sleep!

Identity Theft

So, last night I received a call from American Express verifiying that I had applied for a card. They were concerned that I listed a Tampa, FL address that does not match my credit report. I inform them that I don't live in Tampa and that I never applied for a card. They inform me that some jackass must have stolen my identity. GREAT! We go through the whole process and they cancel the application and report it as identity theft. They give me all the info to put an alert on my social security number and my credit report- although I'm not sure I'll do that, a friend did and said it was nearly impossible for her to legitimately apply for credit.

But, it got me thinking- if you want to be me, then you can't just take the good stuff, the money, you need to take it all. So, Mrs. Identity Theft (I'm assuming it's a woman because a man would have a hard time using my card) are you ready to step into my shoes? It would mean that you have to deal with a preteen daughter who, on a good day, considers you a witch, with a capital B. And a two year old who thinks mom's bed is a great place to be at 2 am and that a back massage given by feet and knees is a treat. Or the nine month old that decides 4am is a good time to wake up. Or, how about the house, dinner, the dog, all the bills. Yes, if you've got control of the money you better pay the bills too. And what about those crazy hormones. After four kids, everything is not right. Those mood swings are a bitch, are you sure you're ready for it.

Most importantly, if you want my name, then you've got to deal with what comes with it. That's right, the in laws. If I have to put up with them to have that name, then you sure as hell have to too. So, get ready for the crude jokes and the controlling phone calls. Expect those children to pick up so awful habits and expect to be the "family bitch" if you say anything about it. YOU deal with that stupid sister in law that considers herself a mother even though she's never cared for either of her girls. YOU deal with the weird brother in law that doesn't announce his marriage or divorce or child. Not to mention all the other crazies. Are you sure you've thought this out? Are you SURE you want to be me? Actually I think it's a fair trade. Sometimes I've wondered how much money it would take to make them go away.

So, if you're sure you want it, you've got it. I'll even mail you the card.