His Best Good California Friend

When this picture was taken, my son was 7.  It's been 2 years, 8 months and 5 days since Brytin has seen his best good California friend.

Tomorrow, the day he changes from a single-digit age to a double-digit age, he will mark the day with his favorite super saiyan beginning a week-long adventure in Louisville. Brytin has no idea that is how he will spend his evening - or the next week.

His morning will be the same as every other birthday I have celebrated with him - decorations, cinnamon rolls, and a picture in front of his closet door.

But by 6 pm, the anniversary of his first decade of life will become a day a he will never forget.

MommaBear is ANGRY!

This is the article that started it all for me…

Fentanyl-Laced Heroine
 
Somebody is poisoning the illegal drugs and no can figure out who or where in the supply chain. Someone is adding hardcore pain meds to the heroin supply and it is totally undetectable. And it is KILLING people.

It’s so upsetting to me. It is so scary. What if it were my kid? What if my kid decides to "experiment" like I did in high school? What if?!!

And it pisses me off that America decided that legalizing marijuana would be GOOD for us?! I just don’t get how that is even possible. How can I help my kid understand that drugs are BAD when they are legal?!! And there is this general state of acceptance throughout the whole country!

And then there was this...

Snap out of it, America!

And I damn near lost my mind! I work VERY hard to get my kids to make good choices. I work VERY hard to help them understand that they need to be responsible members of society. And then I read that one in five drivers on the road is under the influence of something?! So my kid, driving along, making good, safe choices suddenly gets hit by some asshole who needs Xanax to cope with life?! And our states are thinking that the answer to this problem is to legalize marijuana?! WHAT?!

I don't often post my emotional opinions on any of my blogs. I usually take days and sometimes weeks mulling over ideas and sentences and the overall tone of each of my posts. But this is just absurd.

How can I keep my children safe?! How can I protect them? How can I teach them that drugs are bad?!

My Kids are Blessed by FOEC Too!

Teaching my children to love beyond themselves has been a struggle. But we have had great success through our service at/for Eastern Cemetery.

Brytin helped make crafts to sell to raise money

Brytin scrubbed a tombstone with some magic D2

Our first day - flagging Veterans' sites on Memorial Day

Daelen can sleep through anything

Sometimes they get a popsicle break

Daelen does some scrubbing too

Andy Harpole Won’t Give Up on Eastern Cemetery, Even Though City of Louisville Has

Videos of My Fish

:12 through :17 you will see Daelen in pretty good form for a three-year-old

 

Cannonball! Daelen saw it first in, "Sandlot," and has been perfecting his technique ever since. He practices every week in the pool and as often as him mom will let him on the bed!

Brytin is still working on his dive

Brytin narrowly wins the race!

#BringBackOurGirls

I try to never involve my kids in the harsh realities of this depraved world, but this is such a big deal.

It is a Terrifying Reality

And it was the catalyst that finally got me to open a Twitter account. #BringBackOurGirls

Tweets about "#BringBackOurGirls"

Uno!!

Much to Brytin's excitement, we had our first family game of Uno tonight.

A wonderful time was had by all, especially Daddy, the winner.

Much to my chagrin, I realized that time having fun with my children is just as important as time spent teaching my children.

posted from Bloggeroid

Milestone #432

Today is the day my three-year-old Daelen will get in the pool by himself.

We have been taking swimming lessons for almost a year at the YMCA. It has been so much fun!

Every Saturday, Daelen and I get in the pool and he does all kinds of cool cool tricks to learn the fundamentals of safe water play.

Now that he is three, though, he has graduated to the next level, and Momma doesn't get to be in the pool with him.

I've tried hyping it up to be an awesome thing, but he is none too excited.

"Momma you get in the pool, too," he says every time I bring it up.

"Daelen is a big boy now. He can get in the pool all by himself!"

"But I want you to hold me."

"You don't need me to hold you; you can swim!"

"No I can't."

Yikes. Looks like he is as mixed up about today's milestone as I am! Hopefully his teacher, Ms. Pat, is there to help him through this transition.

posted from Bloggeroid