TO ALL THE KIDS

I know this has been around hundred's of times....but it's so true!!!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!


First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.


We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because .

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING !

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.

And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride downthe hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers!, no Internet or chat rooms.......WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!


We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rangthe bell, or just walked in and talked to them!


Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!


These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them . . . CONGRATULATIONS!

take care,
Dawn

What was that sound?

There are nights when I lie in bed and out of the blue hear a popping sound. This has been going on for a couple of years. At first I really didn't pay too much attention to it. Then I began to try to figure out just where the sound was coming from. When we first bought our house 10 years ago the outlet in our bedroom needed to be repaired. After hearing the popping sound I thought maybe it was the outlet. As often and as hard as I tried I couldn't pin point the origin of the sound. At one point I would put the extension cord on the bed so I could tell if the popping was coming from that. Every night (not that it happened every night) that I heard it I thought I really need to call an electrician. By morning I would forget about it until the next time I heard the pop! Finally after months and months of trying to figure out what it was I had an idea. There was "something" in my room that I thought could be making the noise. I took it out and what do you know? The popping started in another room. I found the source of the pop. It was my rainstick!!!! After I solved the mystery all I could think of was how embarrassed I would have been had I actually called the electrician. He would have laughed all the way back to the shop thinking that this was the fire hazard I had been so afraid of!


take care,
Dawn

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Rainsticks are ceremonial musical instruments used to invoke the rain spirits. They are made by people who live in the deserts of northern Chile. In Chile, rainsticks are traditionally made from dead cactus tubes with hundreds of cactus spines hammered into the tube. Tiny lava pebbles cascade gently through the tube, sounding much like rain.

Plastic Surgery

We had the news on the other night and the story was about plastic surgery. Timmy asked me what it was. I explained that it was an operation that people have to change the way they look. I told him that lots of times people have this surgery because they want to look younger.

My *sweet* boy looked at me and said, "Do you need plastic surgery?".

Kids....gotta love 'em!

On a side note, what is it with "older" actresses who think that using botox to make their lips look obscenely HUGE is attractive!!! UGH!

take care,
Dawn

Philip Jr.

We did it! Philip Jr. joined our family today! We are hoping that Philip Jr. will have many years with us. If we can make it past the week mark I will feel pretty good. Last winter when Philip (the original) died we made three failed attempts to replace him! Each time our new family member "expired" within days. The first sign was the white specks on him. Keep your fingers crossed, say a prayer, send positive thoughts...we'll take it all!

Timmy thought that by naming this fish Philip Jr. it would bring good luck since Philip lived for so long. Let's hope this guy has some spunk!

The clerk at the pet store said that beta fish aren't as "hardy" as they used to be because the demand for them is so large that they are being bred at a speedy rate. I did find out that they have a three day "replacement" policy if needed! Oh how I hope not!

Updated to say he made it through the night! And, unlike the fish that died, this one is actually eating. I took a better pic today so I updated Philip's picture as well. Keep those positive thoughts coming :)

take care,
Dawn