Growing up is work!

A little girl, around the age of nine, was getting her hair cut at the salon a few days ago, said something that just got me thinking.

Her mom told her that if she wants a feather in her hair, she has to work to earn money, save up, and buy her own feather. (Of course I love the idea!) She flat out said " I don't want to work." There ya have it! I believe for the first time in her little life, she felt the real burden of responsibility.

I am blessed that I have a job that I only have to attend 3-4 days a week-- and I love my job. But it's work. And sometimes, I don't want to work. I want to stay home and watch tv. Or, I want to play on the computer... Or do something that requires NO responsibility! --- Then I get a reality check.


I. am. GROWN. UP.

~*~*~*~ This is the part of life, some never reach*~*~*~*~*~*~

And it's sad. =( They have no pride in themselves. Nothing that they can call their own! They are forever indebted to someone. (Which is a burden they don't feel, because the feel "entitled") Let's be honest...... If they aren't working to pay their own bills, some one is. Whether it's parents, a rich husband, or the state. I call these people MOOCHES.

Ugh, I know, it sounds so harsh! I'm not above receiving help if I need it. (and trust me I have needed in the past!) It's one thing to need help, and then to return the favor(or money in my case). To constantly be dependant on someone other than yourself is terrible.

I am thankful that I live in a country where I can get government assistance if I ever need it! But I also feel it's being abused by people who refuse to GET A JOB! Come on. You're healthy, and you have no reason but sheer laziness, to not get a job.

On these days when I feel so exhausted after standing on my feet all day wanting nothing more to come home and veg out, I have to step back and think....... I'm so blessed to say that I can get in my own car that we pay for and COME HOME to a beautiful home. I have food in my refrigerator, we all have clothes to put on our back, and a computer to play on. I have a T.V. to veg out in front of when the time comes. For all of this I can say that my husband and I  proudly call our own.

Have we needed help and support from our families, and the state (school) getting here? Absolutely. But not with out the responsibility of paying it back. I don't expect hand outs! And no one should. Accept help if needed. But don't expect someone to DO IT FOR YOU.

This is something I'm pretty passionate about. I see full grown adults who are so delayed in life. They can't seem to figure out which way to go with their life plans. Making irresponsible choices that affect them for the rest of their life. They were never expected to make their own decisions, or to have to pay There's that word again the consequences.... I see someone who is constantly offended because they don't know how to take responsibility for their own feelings.  I know that we can't really control the way we feel, but we can certainly control the way we respond. These people, they usually act like a 2 year old when something isn't going their way. People around them are miserable, because they think that XX is going to explode. Why should I compromise how I feel about something, or walk on egg shells and sugar coat  something because the full grown toddler can't handle it? I shouldn't. The truth is the truth. (A WHOLE OTHER BLOG!) If the truth can't be handled, that's not my problem....

So there is my rant about adult sized toddlers. You know that all of you are thinking of someone you know like this!

Growing up is hard work.. But the benefits out weigh all that hard work! 

There is something to be said about a lazy person. It's sad, and crippling.

Anisten's first haircut!

Today was "the day"

I have been so anti-haircut. I didn't want the 2 year old with the funky bangs. I let them grow out so I don't have to cut them every 2 weeks when they are right back in her eyes....So I waited until I absolutely had to cut it.

We made a big deal of it. She went to the Salon. My friend (and hairdresser) Amber did an amazing job, not only with her cut, but with managing her wiggly self!

Before the Shampoo!

Laying down for a shampoo.

She actually laid there and let her do the shampoo and conditioner!

The blow dry.

Pretty excited!

The final product!

So, we didn't cut off a lot. Just added a few layers in the back. It's so curly that the top layer was weighing down the little curls underneath. She did great! I'm pretty proud of her. And of course, I kept a little of her hair. *sniff sniff*

Dear Parents, Parent.

I was walking through the parking lot at  the pool today, and passed a car with a mother yelling as loud as she can at her child. It caught my attention, so I listened further. (Even though I was getting farther away from the vehicle I could still hear WHAT she was saying) This is what she was saying

" SIT DOWN RIGHT NOW! WE HAVE TO TAKE YOUR DIAPER OFF! SIT DOWN!!!"

Oh, my. I was instantly saddened. If your child is small enough to wear diapers, then you do NOT need to be yelling at your child like this. Really, ever.

Let me start by saying. Yes, I very much understand those days where melt down city is just a block over. I understand the days where I need to put myself in time out for 5 minutes away from my child, because she will not stop crying and demanding things. Thankfully, we don't have many days like this! But, I have had them.

Now, having said that. Is there any reason to publicly yell at your child in such an abusive tone? I'm sure the lady loved her kids, but that didn't sound like a very loving sound to me. The child was probably worn out from being out side  at (and probably babysat by) the pool. But these are things that as parents, we have to LEARN to deal with. Ouch, there it is...we have to actually learn something? What? Yes, learn how to not only have control of the situation and child, but yourself.

I just can't help but wonder. Why do some people have kids? I guess it's sometimes not planned, and I certainly understand that. But, there are lots of people who want, and actively try to have kids, and just act like they are the biggest inconvience in their world.

New flash. You have kids, your world is no longer YOURS. It's shared with an amazing child that you've brought to life! Enjoy and celebrate that.

Sigh. I swear I don't just sit around and judge other parents! But, it's such a big part of my life, that I notice it so much now. Kinda like hair. I am a hairdresser, so I am usually the first to notice bad hair, or appreciate great hair!

Do you see a lot of poor parenting?

Baby Campbell week 5

Yesterday (oops, missed) was Monday, June 6th. My 5th week of pregnancy. This is when I found out with Anisten. I realized I was late, counted up the days, and realized I was a whole week late! So it was so different knowing as soon as I could this time.

It's been really hard to keep it a secret! We want to tell everyone ASAP. But it's just too early. I have told the girls I work with, in the case something "medically" happens at work or anything they will have enough information. And  I told my chiropractor. It's a little important to share these things with your medical peeps... So at least at work I can talk about it with someone!

I'm feeling pretty much the same as last week. I'm not as tired/exhausted as I was. I've had stronger waves of nausea, but still nothing to terrible. I haven't had any food aversions or anything. I was somewhere around 6 or 7 weeks along before it hit me really hard with Anisten. I was at Mom and Dad's house. We had driven to Kansas City to tell them the news, and the next day was my very first toilet hugging session. I wanted apple juice SOOOOO bad. And, right back up it came. Which is really funny, I craved it all through my pregnancy, but threw it up every single time I drank it.

As of now, I don't really have any cravings. I'm just getting aggressively hungrier. And I'm extremely thirsty all the time. I've been downing about 90 oz of water a day. YOW!

I've been dizzy a few times.

Mood swings. This, I don't remember with A. I will be completely content, and suddenly I'm extremely grumpy or agitated! And, it's like i'm aware of it, but have not control of it. :-( Sorry Honey.

I feel "bloated" and thicker. I know that not running much in the past 6 weeks, has allowed me to fill out more than usual, but I mean, I really feel thicker.
I am taking weekly pics to keep on an app in my phone. So I know that there is a difference from last week.

I'm feeling a little worried. I heard somewhere if you test on the day of your missed cycle, and it shows up strong, that means your horomones are extremely high. Which can maybe be twins-- Um, I'm scared. I believe there are some twins on my mother's side of the family. I'm not really scared of the idea of having 3 kids(Okay, yes I'm horrified) But I'm more frightened by the idea of CARRYING them! I have a really strong intuition that I am not having twins, but it's still a fear. We will see after 6/27!

Hope I have more to update you on next week!

Counting my blessings.

Yesterday...

I spent the morning creating "dinner" with play dough while having my morning coffee.

I shared a late morning snack of blueberries, and strawberries.

I made sand animals.

I played in the water at the splash pad.

I made a pink and purple tinker bell bubble bath.

I had a tea party.

I did a puzzle.

I read winnie the pooh 3 times before prayers.

I ate an imaginary dinner.
I loved every second of it!

I realized yesterday while enjoying every single second of my day with my daughter how blessed I truly am! Not only am I able to spend 4 days off with my sweet girl, but I enjoy and look forward to those days. Thinking of fun ways to spend the day with a very brilliant, imaginative 2 year old!

While running around the splash pad yesterday, I quickly realized I was the only adult playing with my child.. I also realized that so many parents use events or places (or movies etc...) as a babysitter. How sad? Our kids are kids for such a short amount of time. Why waste that time? There was one mom sitting on her rump eating Mc Donald's and smoking her cigarette, while occasionally yelling demeaning commands to her children. Another set of women sat in the shade 30 feet away from the splash pad gossiping. 2 other parents read their books in the comfort of their air conditioned car.  REALLY???  And we wonder why our kids crave that connection and attention.

I was so saddened by this, that I haven't stopped thinking about it all day today. I truly just love playing and being with my daughter. I love to watch her learn, and grow. I've been able to spend the extra time in the floor with her doing a puzzle. Or getting messy with a ton of paint. I'm so thankful for that!

I love planning things to do on our days off  and vacations packed with fun filled activities that she will be thrilled with. Instead of shipping her off for a week, so that I can enjoy doing nothing. (Which can be nice in very very small doses,and very far in between!)

By all means, I don't spend every waking moment with my child. I have 4 hours of un-working/un-Anisten time each week. I can get in my shopping, appointments, cleaning, and workouts, all in this planned scheduled time off. Every Friday night she goes to "Me Maw"'s house to spend the night. So my husband and I have a night off once a week. I usually work or run Saturday mornings, and pick her up after.\Things like clean the house, and bills, and blog I still do,while she's home. She knows how to play independently very well. So please don't think I'm a full time entertainer. Lordy knows, no one has the energy for that!  --Nevermind the fact it's not healthy! Nor does it mean that every day is a perfect day. We have days with melt downs, and lots of tears. These are "grow" days. We're learning new boundaries, and acceptable behaviors on these days.



After seeing this, and hearing from other parents who always seem to be "getting rid of the kids" all the time, I just realize how blessed I am to enjoy my child so much! She's a ball of sweet energy. Perfect for our little family. =)

I just can't help but feel heart broken, knowing that this time will never come back and that I need to savor ever second of it.

love.my.girl.

Just because I'm not like you, doesn't make me wrong.

As a parent, I've learned one very important thing. There are THOUSANDS of different parenting styles. Well, which is only appropriate for the different children.

A lot of the thing I do (as a parent, and a person) are more "unconventional" but that doesn't mean it's wrong. Just because one person thinks it's crazy and would never work for their family/situation, doesn't mean that I'm doing something wrong for my family/situation.

One thing I have learned that WORKS is natural consequences. This is tough love people! But, it is teaching my daughter that she has the responsibility to own up to the choice she just made. I promise, that it has an effect on  the choices made the next time the opportunity presents itself.

It's easier for me to see my kid upset by the direct effects of her choices, than just run around spanking her all the time!

There are so many ADULTS who are un-able to handle their own emotions, and frustrations. It's sad to see adults acting out like a 2 year old to get what they want. All because they were never told no. Or they were able to manipulate their way in to whatever they wanted their whole life. These people usually aren't very favored by others. No one wants to be around a full grown toddler........ They usually are unsuccessful, and unfavored.

Seeing this only makes me realize that I want a child/person who can handle "life". I want her to know that she will sometimes hear "No" and it's okay. She can find success somewhere else. It will challenge her to go above and beyond. Instead of throwing a temper tantrum, and looking for handouts. 

Even at a young age she is learning so many things that will go with her through the rest of her life. For this I am proud.

It's okay to let your kids do for themselves. It's okay to let go a little, and let them explore, and LEARN. She will mess up. I will mess up. But that is the best way of learning! I don't expect her to be perfect, but I do expect her to TRY!

Right now, she is playing in her balls. She ask me if she could dump them out. I said "Of course you can, but you must pick them all up." And I know that she knows she has to, because she did yesterday. So instead of getting in a frenzy of " OMG there are a million balls all over the room" I just let her do it. She know that she has to clean them up afterwards. How exhilarating for a toddler??? For once, she is not hearing the word "no" when most of the time, she may hear it when dumping a massive amount of anything out!

We are working on eliminating the word "CAN'T" from our vocabulary. It's hard to teach her to quit saying,when I say it. So this is a learning process for all of us!

So when she says "Mommy, I can't!" I correct her and say " Yes, you can, you just need help" I have learned through this experience that I can always find another way to phrase my sentence so that the word cant is gone.

When we were learning to use the potty, Anisten would be playing or watching tv(something distractable) and just pee on the floor. I know that she knows the sensation, and that she knows when to go, but she was refusing to stop what she was doing, and go. So my solution to this? She has to clean up her mess. And it was a LONG DRAWN OUT PROCESS. I didn't help once. (until she was no longer looking, I would "clean clean" it) I would show her where the towels were. She had to wipe it up. Then she had to put it in the washer, and start the washer. I made it as long of a process as possible. She didn't mind at all, in the beginning, but she was grumbling and whining about doing it after the 4th or 5th time ..... Now, we're over a week free of accidents and almost sleeping with out a diaper! She learned that it was easier, and faster to just go potty and run back to what she was doing. Other than having the tv turned off while she cleaned.
Did I feel terrible while she had to clean it up? Yes, I felt like a horrible drill sargent parent. But now, I'm so happy we did. She had to clean up maybe 10 accidents, but it was a lesson learned!!!! This is where the judgmental parenting comes in--- But, again, Just becuase I'm not like you, doesn't make me wrong. 

I had no intention of even introducing potty training until 2 and half years old. That's still 5 months from now. But she showed interest, so we just took our cues from her.

I've learned that more than anything, as she changes, I have to change. I have to constantly stay on my game and up my parenting! I'm constantly looking up things for her age. We are always introducing new and stimulating things to do that are good for her brain, motor skills, and that are just plain fun!

So, parents you do what works for you and your child! Not what everyone else thinks you should do. Because what works for one, may not work for another. 

Blogging, is for Bloggers....

I'm certainly not meeting that qualification!

I spent a lot of time keeping track of my training on my "running" blog that I kind of...well I just plain old ignored this one.

But that's okay! Now that I'm not training anymore, and just running like a normal person, I can spend more time over here where I actually have some readers!

It's been a busy spring (as always) for us! It seems like the first weekend in April starts and the flood gates open. Anisten's birthday. From there it just poored out graduation,prom,and weddings! Well, this is all part of my business. Aside from the business part, we did have 2 graduate from Scott's side of the family. We are so proud of Stephen-Who graduated from OSU! And Krista, who finished the dreaded highschool ;-)


I had a few weeks where I was working 10 hour days...this is A LOT in a hairdresser's world. I double book my clients. So it made for extremely busy days. I quit working Saturdays. And have yet to have one off! LOL. But it won't always be wedding season. In July I'll be twiddling my thumbs.

Anisten is amazing!!!! She is talking non-stop (just like "all girls" as uncle J says). She is full of joy. The temper tantrums have subsided for the most part. She is going full days wearing big girl underpants- NO DIAPERS! For about 2 weeks, this was trying, and challenging. But now she obviously has prooved that she has more control of her bladder. So, we haven't had any accidents in a while. It's awesome! It's not very convenient to have to find the bathroom as soon as you walk in, and remember to go before you leave a place, but it's getting better! We're pretty proud of our girl!  I'm still every day so thankful that I can spend so much time with her, to watch and teach her to grow. She's so brilliant. I know every parent says this about their kid. But she really is.....in a noticeable way. She puts things together that a lot of 2 year olds just wouldn't understand. Every day I'm shocked by something new. She is still a wiggle worm, and probably always will be..Who am I kidding? Her Mommy and Daddy are wiggle worms. We very rarely just "sit".

Our home life is just the right balance! We get to have Daddy home for dinner and bedtime every night. We wake up and eat breakfast together. We both manage to squeeze in our runs. The house is getting easier to keep up since I have been teaching her to keep her toys in the "toy room". This makes for a sane mama! I am able to cook 4-6 nights a week, and LOVE IT! When things get a little out of wack, which will always at some point happen, I really feel it.

So, we are just smooth sailing right now. We are enjoying every second  together! We find things to do as a family on our days off. We love the zoo, park,aquarium,splash pad,toddler gym,wagon rides....etc! (told you we're not a sedentary family!) So this may explain some of my absence on this bloggy thing!!

Until next time......