Bringing Back Memories

When Adam was in 3^rd grade he studied Ancient Civilizations and was introduced to historic figures. We took him to the Children's Museum in Baltimore since they had an exhibit on Ancient Egypt. He loved the hands on activities of taking the boat across the Nile, writing in hieroglyphics and exploring a pyramid to discover a mummy.

Like so many units of history and science he has studied, we love to find hands-on activities for him to supplement what he's being taught in school. Lucky for us we live in the DC area – filled with tons of museums between Baltimore and Richmond.

Adam is a fairly quick learner. But when he sees and touches what he's learning, the learning is even that much faster. Often we don't need to go farther than our local bookstore or library. Just looking at a DK book or some other book with pictures helps to solidify information for him.

I received Famous Figures of Ancient Times by Cathy Diez-Luckie as a member of the From Left To Write online book club. When I showed the historical figures that you could color (or use the pre-colored sets), cut and assemble he immediately said, "Remember when we went to the museum in Baltimore when I studied Ancient Egypt? That's when I started learning about the Egyptian and Greek Gods!" Later that day I found him reading one of his books about the mythical Gods.

 

As I member of the Left To Write book club, I was given a complimentary copy of this book. I was not obligated to write about this book, and all opinions are mine only.

Read more!

Dinner with NO Sitters

Yup - you heard it. We don't need sitters anymore. It's really official now.

Our child, who couldn't name the peers he sat next to in 2nd grade...
Our child, who would throw 2-3 hour tantrums at the slightest change in routine....
Our child, who would spin, and spin, and spin nonstop rather than engage in age typical activities.....

Our child who has worked soo very hard....

Our child who has learned to be flexible....
Our child who loves when his friends come over to play....
Our child who is always finding kids at the pool to play with....
Our child who can modulate his own sensory needs....

Stays home alone now.
We've been leaving him alone for short stints and slowly increasing it over the past year (he's old enough we could have been leaving him home alone for hours at a time last year).

Tonight, for our anniversary Hubby and I went out to dinner. And we didn't need a sitter.

Sometimes dreams do come true.
Sometimes the nightmares begin to slow down.
Sometimes it's really safe to dream some more.

Read more!

Does Anyone Else Have This Problem, Part II

I know you are all in suspense wondering what I've decided to do.
Grow the bangs out of course!
Stay tuned for Part III where I of course, decide I want bangs after all and one morning spontaneously cut them myself because if I wait for a hair appointment I might change my mind by then.
Ugh.
The endless cycle.

Read more!

Does Anyone Else Have This Issue?

I've got bangs.

Problem is when I have them, I don't want them. I start to think I look better without them. They require more maintance - especially since I have a cowlick just in the center of my forehead (thank goodness for straightening irons!).

So I grow them out. And then I don't have them.

But then I think I look better with bangs. So I get my hair cut and get bangs back.

And about 4 months later I think, 'No, I looked better without bangs. I should grow them out.'

Rinse, Lather, Repeat....

Am I the only one with this issue?

Read more!

Back To School Shopping At Target? Not!

Unfortunately it's August. Which for us means Back to School Shopping. And, which for the past 6 school years have meant going to Target.

Why Target? Why not. They always have what is on Adam's teachers lists. And then more. I heart Target. I really do. It's where his clothes come from. He loves that blue creatures with lots of eyes line of clothes. Heck, it's where most of my clothes come from. It's where I pick up those cute seasonal plates for him (well, not so much anymore, but when he was a kid he loved seasonally themed kid plates and bowls to eat from). Most of our house accessories come from Target. I planned on having a fun day shopping for new accessories there in September when our new kitchen finishes its total remolding. Need a few items from the grocery store – no need to go there, just pick them up at Target and no need to go to another store also. After our mortgage, I think Target is probably our biggest monthly expense!

But I won't be shopping at Target this year for back to school supplies. In fact, I won't be shopping at Target at all for now. It will be hard, but I'm gonna do it.

You see, I believe if you fall in love with someone, you should be able to marry them. To find someone who you share values with, good times with, makes your heart go thump, thump. To find someone you want to work out life problems with. Forever. It's so amazing when you've found that someone. It's so special when you've found that someone. I'm so grateful that I found my partner. Aren't you grateful for your partner? Shouldn't we all be allowed that same joy?

I'm not so sure Target believes this though. It has been reported that Target has donated $150,000 to Tom Emmer's campaign. He is a Republican running for Governor in Minnesota. Minnesota is where Target is headquartered.

According to The Minnesota Independent:

In 2007, Emmer authored a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage and civil unions.

In many instances, Emmer has tried to change language in bills to that same-sex couples cannot benefit. In a bill to create standards around surrogate motherhood, Emmer attempted to replace the word "parents" with the words "mother and father." In a wrongful death bill this session, Emmer questioned the use of the term "domestic partner" just as he has in bills aimed at providing benefits for same-sex partners.

Heck, here's what Tom says on his own campaign website:

I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, I have consistently supported the constitutional marriage amendment that protects traditional marriage.

So, I'm really confused. Target claims to support gay-friendly policies, including offering domestic partner benefits. However, with the money Tom's campaign received from Target, they may not be allowed to keep these benefits. Why would Target support him then?

Before writing this article I did some research. I was also surprised to find out that Best Buy also contributed ($100,000) to Tom's campaign. Um….

I mean, this probably shouldn't be a surprise. I'm sure lots of places I go to and give my money to support candidates that I may not totally agree with. But now this is out in the open. Target and Best Buy are supporting a very anti-gay candidate. In fact, he is the only candidate running for governor that does not support same-sex marriage.

Once I am aware of something I can't ignore it. And this is something I truly disagree with. I truly agree that if you fall in love, and the relationship is healthy (no abuse for example) and you want to get married, you should be able to, regardless of you and your partners gender.

And because of this, I am joining Dial M for Minky Moo and many others in boycotting Target. At least for now. People and companies can make mistakes. But mistakes can be fixed. If Target truly does support gay's rights (as I used to think they do, but am now confused about it), they can make amends. They can donate money to The Human Rights Campaign. Because The Human Rights Campaign will certainly need additional funds to help fight human rights from politicians like Tom, especially is he is elected.

While I do not know for sure who Walmart and other big chains support, I do know that Target has confused me who it supports on a value that means a lot to me, and for that reason I will be doing Adam's Back to School shopping not at Target this year. Will you be joining Minky Moo and I?

PS – The Human Rights Campaign has a button to click to take action if you are so inclined.

Read more!