Boo Boo's are a fact of life.  They range from little scrapes to broken hearts.  I prefer the little ones.  It is so easy when your kids are little and your kisses can magically make a boo boo better.  "Max" came in today sobbing over a tiny cut on her big toe.  I am not sure that it actually bled at all, although if you based her level of injury on the screaming, her toe may have been amputated.

It brought back a flood of boo boo's throughout the years.  Back when I was little, Mercurochrome was the medication of choice.  Do you remember that orange liquid?  When my mom would get it out, I can still remember how it stung and screaming "Blow, Blow!"  Somehow when someone blew on it when it was being applied the sting diminished!  Now, "Doc" puts drops of Super Glue on cuts. 

"The Surprise" was probably the easiest of the six to sooth.  All you had to do was cuddle him.  Well...there was that time he was jumping on the bed and dislocated his elbow.  WE tossed and turned all night until we got him to the office in the morning for a cast.  You would have thought we were applying hot wax to his arm instead of a cast!.  In the midst of his thrashing around, I know I got hit in the face.

"Pook" never really had small injuries.  Everything on him was a serious injury when it happened.  I do remember being at a school athletic event with the older kids.  "Doc" got a phone call and headed out to take care of whatever it was.  It turns out that it was "Pook", but he didn't want me to panic.  A friend's son went to swing a baseball bat and caught "Pook" in the middle of his forehead requiring stitches.  Ask him and he will proudly tell you how he got the Harry Potter scar on his forehead.  I feel like the same is true of "The Blonde" except for a few minor snafu's that resulted in stitches, most of her injuries were major when they happened.   "Mini Me's" temper always got the best of her.  Finger slammed in a closet door during a temper tantrum resulting in stitches, slipping in the bathroom and biting through her lip again resulting in stitches. 

"Calvin" was a walking disaster.  As a two year old he took off down the driveway at "Doc's"  uncles house.  His crazy legs got moving faster than his body and he face skidded down the concrete.  We just came across that picture last night.  There were scabs from his chin up the underside of his nose and onto his forehead.  If I had waited for him to not have scabs or bruises, I would have had no pictures of him as a little guy. 

"Mommy" was a bit of a klutz too.  She fell the day we moved into the Haney Place and tore her knee up on the gravel so bad that we had trouble piecing it back together.  There is still that incident where she "tripped" over the dog and broke her arm.   That ended up as a summer in a cast.  I still wonder what the real story is on that.

When "the Ninja" became part of the family, she lucked out!  She is injured continually and is easily "Doc's" best patient!  She actually needed him the day "Mommy" broke her arm.  "the Ninja" cut her hand open at her own graduation party and needed stitches.  She was pretty upset that we missed the party until she found out why!

I guess if I added all the boo boo's up, the total would get pretty high.  The nice thing about those early injuries was that you could kiss them, hug them, pat them on the behind and send them happily on their way.  Not so as they get older!  I miss the good old days!

Ever think about running away from home.  I mean, I know we all did as kids, but sometimes when things get really hectic, I think about it now.  Whether or not they all about running away, I can't tell you.  I do know specifically of two times that "Mommy" and/or "Calvin"  did. 

"Calvin" attempted a solo escape towards the end of grade school.  I truly don't remember why he was so mad at me, but he certainly decided that he would do much better on his own.  Before I knew it he had packed his bags and was working the piles of his belongings down the driveway.  I don't think he ever made it the quarter of a mile that it took to just get to the road before I went after him.  I can remember wondering what people would think if they saw him moving large piles of his belongings down the street.  At the rate he was going he was going to be of age to drive before he made it to the first intersection!  That was all before I realized that any parent who saw him and his attempted escape from Alcatraz would smile and move on.  All parents have been there.

As much as "Mommy" and "Calvin" battled each other, every once in a while they would combine forces in an attempt to bury my fortitude.  There was a particular day when they were both being quite difficult.  I reached my limit and sent them both to their bedrooms and went about my business.  I admit now that sometimes, once I put them in their rooms or down for a nap, I would get busy and forget about them.  Quiet can do that to you.

As I was saying, I sent them to their rooms.  I would guess that they were about five and three in age.  I know it was summer, because they were both wearing little terry cloth shorts.  They were very popular at the time, comfortable for the kids and easy to get in and out of for bathroom purposes.  "Mommy" had little girl colors like pink and yellow.  "Calvin"  wore more manly colors like red and navy blue.  It stayed pretty quiet for a while and I guess I hoped that they had both fallen asleep.  After about an hour I checked on them and released them from detention in their rooms.

The next day, I was in for the surprise of my life.  I was picking up around the house and cleaning their rooms, and happened to check under their beds for laundry.  Imagine my surprise when I found a pair of pink terry cloth shorts under "Mommy's" bed that were covered in thistles.  You could barely see the shorts!  Why don't I remember this?  I decided to check "Calvin's" room and found a similar pair of red shorts under his bed.  What?!!

This called for a meeting of the minds.  These two were never very skilled at telling fibs.  All I had to do was ask and they cracked like criminals being questioned under a bright light.  It turns out that the reason they were so quiet the day before when they were sent to their rooms is because they weren't in their rooms.  Apparently they had converged in "Mommy's" room and decided to bust out of the joint.  They opened the window and climbed out, landing in a bed of thistle plants.  In an instant they looked like fuzzballs with dozens of thistles covering there shorts like metal to magnets.  Maybe they needed to think they escape through a little better.  Who would take them serious looking like that?  Back to the drawing board and their rooms where they removed their shorts and hid them under their beds.  Wait, what?  Did they really think I wouldn't find those?  What was the plan here?  I guess ultimately, detention looked better than what lay ahead of them outside the joint!  I can't help but wonder how many stories like this I have never found out about, hmm.

Look, if you haven't figured out by now that we are a bit unusual, I don't know what to say.  We sat down to dinner last night and everything seemed to be reasonably in control.  Appearances can be so deceiving!  I am not quite sure how we headed in this direction, but I do know that "Pook" was involved.  I think it had something to do with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle mask and sword that I got him on vacation. 

The discussion evolved into how will you protect yourself if Zombies come around Mom?  He went into a dialogue about how scientists had discovered some virus that is hidden in our colons just waiting to wreak havoc on humanity.  He warned me to take things seriously and asked if I had seen "World War Z".  I had, and may I just say that I struggle with end of the world movies that come relatively close to reality.  I really struggled with "2012" and have been mentally planning in the event that we would need to build an ark, as well as making sure the family would have a crisis gathering point.  Any way, we discussed the fact that in "World War Z" the Zombies did not attack people who were terminal.  My argument was simply that by being human we are all terminal.  And so the discussion continued, and I finally stated that I was not concerned, because I take vitamins.  I don't believe that there is any real logic there, but it did stop a conversation that was beginning to swirl the drain. 

This is actually typical of many dinner time conversations.  We all love movies and it tends to bring the creative as well as the ridiculous in all of us.  The best part of these conversations is watching the faces of the more "normal" people who occasionally join us at the table.  It usually brings about an "Are you serious?" look.  Then there are a few moments of confusion, where that person is just not sure.  Maybe it is because the conversation is carried on in quite a serious fashion and very matter of fact.  "Super Son" admitted that dinner conversations convinced him that he had to be part of this family!  Who else has discussions like this at the dinner table.

"Pook" and "The Surprise"  will be just fine now that they have their own Ninja Turtle accessories.  The rest of us may have to gather up an arsenal of Nerf guns and swords.  There are a few Ninja Turtle water guns hanging around.  The four boys have emotionally connected with "Donatello", "Raphael", "Leonardo" and "Michaelangelo" (and I don't mean the artists).  I prefer not to have a connection with "Splinter" thank you very much, but I might do well as "April O'Neal".  Whatever it takes, we will survive the "end of the world" with grace, and a sense of humor! 

Our gang just got back from a long weekend of white water rafting!  I actually took my computer with me thinking that I might post while away, but ..... you know, the best laid plans of mice and men!  It is very different vacationing with adult children versus young children!  Years ago, when we would travel it was fun.  It was always a change of pace and I got a lot of joy out of watching the kids' faces as they experienced new things.  Vacation was not a vacation for me though.  Very often, I would work harder than ever when we went somewhere.  Whether we stayed in a vacation home and cooked or we at in restaurants, it was a lot of work to herd the kids and make sure they behaved. 

I taught them early on that we were overwhelming by sheer numbers.  No matter where we went, we drew a lot of attention just because of how many of us there are.  People were usually surprised at how well the kids behaved, and they really did.  Sometimes waiting for a table in a restaurant took a lot longer because of the size of our group and that had the potential for restless children.  I was pretty excited a few years ago when we were in Chicago that one of the restaurants there has a line strictly for large parties.  It was a very short line and we were seated quickly!

Anyway, it has been a long time since I smiled as much as I did this weekend.  I still did some organizing and work but it was nothing like it used to be.  It was fun to sit back and watch the kids interact with each other on a completely different level, as adults.  There  personalities are strong and there were a few "moments" but they figured it out.  On a couple of instances, I talked to one of them when they were stressed or a little out of line, but it was no big deal.  I have always maintained that my children love each other but that their relationships with each other belong to them.  I do NOT force them to be best friends.  I simply insist that they conduct themselves in a socially acceptable manner when they are together.  It has worked for us all these years, and tends to make large family gatherings a lot more fun. 

I am proud of how strong each person is, and how unique each one is.  There are no "Cookie Cutter" kids in our house!  There is a common thread that runs through them, but each one is uniquely constructed.  I have gotten used to the personalities and manage the treacherous waters fairly well.  So, when I say we went white water rafting, it involves more than the river!  We have started to make these play dates an annual event and I am thrilled.  I love having as many of us together for these as we can get.

We rafted on two different days and I loved hearing the stories for each event.  The experiences were completely different for each person and in each group!  As we stood in the bar, watching the videotape of the Saturday trip, I couldn't stop smiling as I looked around.  Later that evening, I hugged "Doc" and said "We have something pretty amazing here!"  That's my mushiness for the day!  Here's my advice, make sure you save up and take some sort of a trip with your kids as they grow up and when they are adults.  It puts you on a completely different level than the "normal" days.  Even though you work hard when they are little, it is enjoyable.  When they are grown up, it is a hoot!!!!  Thanks gang for another great trip!!!!

I hope there are no dentists who are offended by the title of this blog.  We had family day at the dentist yesterday, and well, it brought up a lot of stories.  The first being that I remember my initial experiences as a child at the dentist.  Way back then, we went to Dr. Sitar and his lovely assistant Beverly.  She was so nice and pretty, and really helped you calm down.  The dentist was okay.  He had a hobby of painting Disney Figurines and you would get one if you had a good checkup.  There is the word - "If".  I was heartbroken the first time I did not get one of the seven dwarves.  Worse than that, I was devastated by the visit!  Back in the dark ages of my childhood, novacaine was not used and dentist chairs and appointments were a form of ritualistic torture when the drilling began!  To this day, even though I am in no pain whatsoever, I still clench the arms of the exam chair. 

I must have passed some of it on to "Mommy" because she would start crying as soon as she walked through the door out of the waiting room and into the patient area.  I can still remember her clutching her stuffed pony at age 12, and having the dentist say "I haven't even touched you!"  while tears were flowing down her face.  "Calvin"  should have been afraid.  He had the top bunk in the room and the tall chest of drawers stood next to his bed.  I was shocked the day I found the top drawer loaded with candy wrappers, but I suddenly understood why he had cavities.  "Mini Me" and "The Blonde"  were relatively safe. 

"Pook" always has the potential to create a situation.  I think he actually bit a dentist once. He is something like Pig Pen in the Charlie Brown cartoons.  His dust just goes with him.  His bottom adult teeth came in with marks on them.  We have been able to lighten them, but every dentist wants a shot at fixing it. Last year he had his wisdom teeth pulled. Leave it to him to have problems.  A simple procedure took three surgeries before he was okay.  I maintain it was because he was being mean to me at the time.  Mothers do have a variety of curses to use at their discretion you know. 

All of the kids benefitted from the services of an Orthodontist.  They were cooperative as long as they were maintained within my grasp.  They all managed to have a need to have baby teeth removed by the dentist also.  The numbers pulled per child ranged from seven to a high of thirteen.  "The Surprise" was probably the worst with respect to pulling teeth, but that is because he pulled his own.  Around age five or six, he found that his siblings were getting cash from the Tooth Fairy for teeth that had come out.  Leave it to him to decide to be an entrepreneur and pull his own teeth for cash.  Great idea until he spent about seven years in braces to get his teeth to line up properly!  I wonder how much he expects to make on his wisdom teeth next year when they get pulled?

Another era has started.  The grandchildren are beginning their visits to the dentist.  "Mommy" is trying hard to remain calm and not terrify her kids.  "MIni Me" is trying not to terrify herself, because in surgery where she works, she sees the worst of the worst.  I wonder what makes someone want to be a dentist?  Maybe they are just hoping to get lucky enough to care for a family like us.  We always leave them with a story and laughing!

I know that I have mentioned a couple of times that I have issues with technology.  We simply do not get along.  Desk top computers were intimidating.  There were wires and connections everywhere and with my propensity for moving furniture, I was terrified to disconnect anything to move the thing for fear that I would hook things up wrong and get sucked into some weird computer world.  I think there was a kids show about that!

I got my first laptop about 15 years ago and the price was astronomical!  Now you can get them for a few hundred dollars.  My current one is lighter, but not necessarily smaller.  But, I did decide to get a tablet or notebook, not sure what to call it.  You know like a Samsung tablet or an IPad.  The kids think it is a hoot, because although I use it to check facebook, emails, etc., I use it mostly to play free cell.  There are 100,000 games to win and I have made it may mission to win every scenario of the game that there are.  I am currently on game 4,755.  It's going to take me a while.

Cell phones and I struggle.  My kids will tell you that I never answer my phone.  Not so!  Whenever I can find it, I answer it.  Of course, that is assuming that the battery isn't dead and the ring tone is turned on.  It is a standard joke in our house, that I never know where my phone is.  I hate to admit it, but I do ask that million dollar question - "Where is my phone?" at least ten times a day.  The really odd thing is that it isn't a small phone.  It is about the size of a checkbook - I suppose I am the only one who still owns and uses a checkbook.  Anyway, the point is it isn't hard to find. 

Not too long ago, "The Ninja" was here and helping me with some issue with my phone.  I think I lost an address or something.  I don't know.  I had the thing for a year and a half before I even knew it had a stylus stored inside it!  Anyway, I had handed her my phone to get some assistance with one of the 5,000 features that it has that I never use.  Not two seconds after I handed her my phone, the next question out of my mouth was "Where's my phone?  I can't find it and I swear I just had it."  The silence in the room was rivaled only by the look one everyone's faces. 

If I can manage to keep the ringer on, and sometimes I don't want to, you will know my phone in a heartbeat.  The ring tone is the theme song from "Lost in Space", the television show.  It is awesome!  And throughout the night you can hear "Danger Will Robinson." when I get a test message.  I really need a ringtone that says "That does not compute!"  I need to work on that, if only I could find my phone!

As I have mentioned before, we are not big cat people.  Usually when we have them, they are meant to help us control mice.  I am terrified of mice - dead or alive.  My family takes delight in tormenting me.  I now send a posse anywhere that I think we may have mouse traps set up.  We had a lot of issues with mice this past winter in the garage.  "The Blonde" and I both had nests in our car engines, and there were signs of them in the attic.  Finally figured it out in May when I cleaned the garage.  "Doc" had forgotten a bag of bird seed in the garage.  The mice had a free food all winter and of course, moved right in!!! 

While we can't keep cats now, we used to have some at our last house, and they were always barn or outside cats.  When the kids were much smaller we bought a house that had a barn with a goat in it.  You do remember my story of Casper the Friendly Goat, right?.  Did I mention that he was the first goat ever written into a contract for purchasing a house?  Anyway, the owner also left two cats.  I don't think they were meant to be outdoor cats, but they began living outside once we moved in.  I don't think they wanted to live in the same house with us and the feeling was mutual.  "Calvin" named them after "Doc's" partners' daughters, Sarah and Melissa.

Sarah was the first to pass on.  We buried her in the yard and had a little funeral for her.  About six months after she died, I luckily caught "Calvin" coming out of the garage with a shovel.  Hmm, any guess where he was headed?  So, I asked him and yes, he was going to dig up Sarah.  When I asked him why, his answer was simple.  He had forgotten what she looked like and needed to remember.  This became an opportunity to discuss death with "Calvin", I wanted to handle him gently and explain what happens when someone or a pet that you love dies and is buried.  So I had this beautiful discussion and looked at him lovingly and asked if he had any questions.  Of course he did!  "So, you mean I can't dig her up because she doesn't look the same?"  Well yes, that is correct.  "So she is dead, blowed up, becayed!"  Yes (those are not typos, those are his own words!).  "Well, okay!."  and he walked away and put the shovel back.  Of course he announced his revelation of the cat's condition to everyone he saw for the next week!

We got another kitten a few months later.  He was dubbed Pancake after "Doc" accidentally stepped on his head one day.  The poor cat could only walk in circles for a few days until the head fuzziness cleared up!  You really had to keep an eye on "Calvin" back then.  You never knew what he could dream up and whatever it dreamed up was spontaneous and he quickly moved on.  He would spend a lot of time playing in the barn and imitating "Doc".   We bought him a toy tool box and shovel and stuff like that.  We noticed one day that we had not seen Pancake for a day or so.  I mentioned it to "Doc" and he promised to keep an eye out for him while he was fiddling around outside.  While he was in the barn, he kept hearing cat noises.  He looked around to see if the cat was stuck somewhere in the barn.  The noise took him to "Calvin's" tool box.  "Doc" opened the box and the poor cat leaped out of it like a cartoon character and attached itself to "Doc's" chest! When he finally got pried off, he took off running. "Calvin"!!!!  Did you put the cat in your tool box?"  the answer was affirmative.  "Why would you do that?"  "I don't know. It was empty."  And he happily strolled away.  We did have a long talk a little later about never doing that again.  I think he was more impacted by the loss of his tool box than he was about the cat.  Pancake did come back after he cleaned himself off, which shocks me! He stayed with us until we moved.  We brought him to our new home, and as soon as we opened his carrier door, he ran, never to be seen by us again!  Hope he didn't find his way into another tool box.

Okay, this one is weird, even for us.  I will tell you that it is wonderful having a medical family.  We been saved from multiple trips to the emergency room for minor injuries and stitches as long as "Doc" is available.  There was the time when "The Blonde" stood up under the corner of a beam and split her head open.  We couldn't locate "doc" and I took her to the emergency room.  Not long after we arrived, I got a call from "Doc" with instructions to leave the emergency room and meet him at the office.  anyway, this whole story came out of a conversation as I was having my shoulder injected at the kitchen table.

All of the kids were very involved in sports.  The boys played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track.  The girls were runners and basketball players.  The whole family was always there to support whoever was participating at the time.  I swore the youngest kids were shaped like carseats for years because we traveled everywhere to watch the older siblings in sporting events. Every spring there was a major track meet about an hour from home.  It was in the evening and we always got home late.  I cannot remember who was running at the time, I think it may have been "Mommy"  Everybody went, even my brother which was unusual.  When we left, we decided to order pizza and chill out at our house after.  We got home and the smallest bladders ran to the bathroom immediately.

Now before I finish this story, let me ask you to think about something.  Have you ever had the handle to your toilet stick so that it doesn't flush or the toilet continues to run water?  If that happened in your house, would your child fix it?  I would bet the answer is no.  These are people who will step over dirty clothes and won't put them in the laundry! I would tell you that my kids would pretend just not flush.

I am wrong.  "Pook" ran to the half bath near "Calvin's" room as soon as we got home.  I was barely in the house when I heard a loud crash.  The next thing I heard was "Pook"  screaming "I'm sorry!" I don't know why but my first thought was that he broke the fish tank in "Calvin's" room and there is water and fish everywhere!  With this mob, I have been trained to expect the craziest things that could happen.  I came around the corner, and "Pook" was running at me with blood pouring down his leg.  Apparently, he decided to fix the toilet and dropped the lid to the tank.  He found out just how sharp pieces of ceramic are.  It sliced his shin wide open.  I scooped this middle school child into my arms and headed back to the garage, catching "Doc" on his way in the door.

Now here is the funny part.  We started to head to the office for stitches.  I am a nurse.  I don't do stitches.  I get sick!  On the way down the driveway, we picked up my sister in law.  She is also a nurse, and she does stitches.  "Doc" gets all the supplies ready, and we have "Pook" on an exam table.  He wants to see what they are doing, I am trying to stop him because it will make me sick. "Doc" puts a stitch in and asks my sister in law to cut the suture line.  Um, she couldn't see it.  In all the haste, she forgot her glasses which are as thick as coke bottle bottoms!  So she took "Doc's" glasses off his face put them on hers, snipped the stitch and put them back on his face for the next stitch.  And so it went until the wound was closed.  The really disappointing part was that the pizza was cold when we got home. 

You can't make this stuff up and you don't need to embellish it to make a reality show out of it.  Such is our life. 

Sometimes the kids think I am a little "off".  Oh heck, let's be honest, there are many times they think I am just plain nuts.  Which would explain the Christmas gift I got that is hanging by the service door.  "Welcome to the Nut House".  I rearrange furniture all the time.  The kitchen get reorganized and no one can find dishes or food.  I like old movies and 70's music and Barry Manilow is one of my favorite singers.  The kids will tell you that is about all that the proof that they need to have me put in  "The Home". I confessed a while ago about my compulsion to purchase "As Seen on TV" items.  I refuse to get help to cure that.  By the way, I just bought the "Perfect Hose" and I can't wait to use it!

We have a large yard and a lot of flower beds.  We also have a vegetable garden.  Lots of grass to mow too.  Now as a kid, I wasn't crazy about yard work.  I thought I lucked out by being a girl, because mowing was a man's job, so my brother got stuck with that.  Well, let me tell you - I was wrong about that!  One of my prize possessions is my Kubota tractor.  I love getting out on it or the middle sized tractor to mow.  You can put on head phones, or just sing out loud while driving back and forth across the fields and yards.  It is relaxing and mindless work.  It gives you time to yourself and time to be alone in your thoughts or prayers.  I absolutely love it! 

I have also spent years trying to convince the kids that weeding is good for the soul.  You get on your hands and knees and extract those pesky weeds out of the dirt.  There is some weird satisfaction in getting the whole root out.  It is a simple job that brings great joy when you stand up and look at the beautiful flower beds that you have created.  You have had your hands in the dirt, maybe sweating in the sun and you feel strangely fulfilled.  Yeah, the kids aren't buying it.  They would rather go to the dentist and have teeth pulled than weed with me.  Funny, the dentist works to get the roots too!

I have beaten one of my compulsions and that is registering to win Publishers Clearing House.  When the kids were little I would order things from there in the hopes of being the next big winner.  Someone has to win, right?!  It developed into quite a nasty habit.  I really got hooked on the two for one deals.  Order 75 flower bulbs and get 75 free.  I couldn't stop.  And I couldn't remember what I had ordered.  Eventually, we spent one entire day planting hundreds, and I do mean hundreds of bulbs that I had ordered.  The kids begged me to stop.  But I couldn't.  I ordered the can opener that doesn't leave sharp edges and got two for the price of one.  I understand why it didn't leave sharp edges, it wouldn't even open the can!  The kids begged me to let them use the electric can opener.  I got great deals on food storage containers and all kinds of cool gadgets.  The kids wanted me to get help for my problem.

I don't know how I did it, but I finally made the decision to quit cold turkey.  It was hard to walk away from the opportunity to win millions, but I made it!  I got a packet from Publishers Clearing House in the mail today.  I opened it, just to see what they were selling, and maybe I could enter just one more time!  I got caught by "Pook" who asked me if in all of the entries I had made, had I ever won a single dollar?  He was right, and the packet went in the garbage.  Maybe I need to sign up for Contest Anonymous.  No, the kids will keep me clean.  They don't want the work that comes with those flower bulbs!

In my defense, I got the "Sounds of 70's" collection!  Nothing beats that!

Or is it the other way around?  Because of my grandchildren, I have the joy of reliving some of the things I shared with my own children.  When my kids were younger, Disney started producing some great movies like "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast".  These were movies that rivaled some of the ones that I grew up with like "Snow White", "Cinderella", and "Sleeping Beauty".  I just watched "The Little Mermaid" with Max and loved singing and dancing with her.  I can remember "Calvin" performing the entire movie beginning to end. He played all the characters in various voices and sang all of the songs in fast forward completing it in under 30 minutes.  It was amazing! 

And, maybe for the first time, I really listened to the story being told.  It is classic.  Daughter wants what she wants in spite of the parent setting limits and saying no.  Daughter does what she wants, never thinking of anything but what she wants.  She doesn't consider the consequences of her actions to herself and her family.  Oh Boy!  How many times has that story played out?  It makes me think about how often I have given advice or had to say no because it was "for their own good".  The odds have definitely been in my favor for being right.  I wish I could play the lottery with as much consistency as I attempt to direct my kids.  I suppose my parents would tell you that I was not much different.

Another classic kid action - hanging out with the wrong crowd.  "Ariel" strikes a deal with the "Ursula, the Sea Witch".  What a surprise!  She isn't really interested in helping "Ariel". She doesn't want to be her friend.  She has ulterior motives.  It never goes well under those circumstances does it?

The story of true love comes last.  This is the part where you really wish that life imitated art.  Wouldn't it be amazing?  You wish for that happily ever after for your children and try to guide them to finding that.  If only they would cooperate! 

I am pretty sure if I went around singing songs to them about life, like they do on TV and in the movies, my kids would have had me committed to the home years ago!  They hold that threat over me every day in an attempt to keep me on their side.  I always love applying fantasy to life and watching movies and fitting it into the world I live in. However, I am a little concerned at this point. I either need to give Hans Christian Andersen credit for being the smartest man in the world, or accept that Walt Disney lived in our house without my knowledge and stole our lives, making us a cartoon version of the first reality television shows.  And I bet right now, you have some song from "The Little Mermaid" spinning around in your head now that I have planted the seed.  Go ahead.  Sing!  If they try to put you in the home, ask for a judge who is a parent and about your age.  They will understand!