Where or where did manners go!?!?!?!

For some time now I've wondered if I'm just getting crabby, or even getting older then i really am, when I'm in a large group w/ a lot of other kids. Today though I came to the conclusion that it's not me, it's the large # of kids that are not taught manners, morals or anything worth while from the adults in their lives. I won't go in to a million explanations but I will tell you all about our afternoon, so have a seat.

Today we went to a birthday party at the indoor city pool, that was probably our first mistake but still no excuse for the events that followed which seem to be all too common anymore. For starters we took all 4 of our kids and were there w/ just 2 other kids, we both got in the water because in order for any kids under 8 to swim they have to have an adult in the water too (probably because the lifeguards there are usually pretty worthless and look strung out) and the other adult there had no intentions of swimming. There were a good number of other people there but nothing outrageous or horribly packed.

They have a walk in area that goes right to this big play tower for the smaller kids (it has a variety of little water spouts and a smaller water slide on it). On the tower there is a set of wide stairs, then a landing and then it goes up a couple more to get to the slide. On the landing there are three little geysers and then on the top by the slide is this little water shooter deal. We walked in the water, I was trying to acclimate M to the water since it was a bit cool and the others were splashing a bit. She wasn't too thrilled so I moved over to the bottom step since they were wide and tried setting her on it to see if, once she realized she could splash and play too, she would be ok w/ it all. There were 2 boys who figured out of they blocked 2 of the geysers it built more water pressure in the remaining one and then if they put their foot on that one just right they could aim a mass amount of water at people. They proceeded to shoot it at my 1yo and myself and then when i yelled out of surprise they laughed and continued to do it until I managed to get up, grab her and get out of their range. Once out of range they both took off laughing hysterically. When did stuff like that become ok? It's rude enough to do it to an adult you don't know but when they're holding a baby that's a huge no-no. Needless to say M was now terrified of the water and wanted nothing else to do w/ it for most of the time we were there so she sat on the other adult's lap wrapped in a towel most of it.

I learned today too that the water levels of the city pool are no where near that of the YMCA that we're used to swimming at. Not only did the pool area smell, and not just of chlorine but a weird rotten smell, but it tasted even worse. I know, you're probably wondering what in the world I was doing tasting it. Since the other adult wouldn't get in the water and the birthday girl didn't really know how to swim I was working w/ the kids on a few basics and was trying to teach them how to put their face in the water w/out getting a gush up their noses and they're not about to do it if you don't demonstrate first. OMG! the taste that clung to my lips and continued to gag me for hours after we'd left the pool. It seriously tasted like chlorinated sweat and smelled just as bad.

So, time progresses, we'd been in the pool for a little over an hour. My eyes and sinuses were burning like crazy all of a sudden and I was starting to get a bit frazzled as more kids were flooding in to the pool. At this point several older kids decided to take over the play tower as well. I saw several boys literally shove my 3yo out of the way so they could go down the slide before her, and not just once but a few times. An older girl took the water sprayer deal at the top from my 6yo. Then, and this was the last straw for me, a boy went up the tower took the spray gun and shot me in the head as I was helping Ciara out of the slide. I looked at him and asked him not to do that again and he proceeded to shoot me in the face and then laugh hysterically. I waited until he came down the little slide and informed him that if he pulled another stunt like that I'd be finding his parents (which I do not think were there and he knew he'd be kicked out of the pool if that's the case).

We rounded all of the kids up and told the other adult we were leaving because I knew if I stayed I was likely to end up unleashing on any number of kids and possibly their parents too. She said that they were going to stay because her kids were still having fun which was fine since that was her choice and her kids which were a bit older. After we came back out of the locker room from having gotten everyone showered and changed she told us that her son had come out and said he was getting tired but when asked if he was ready to go he told her no and went back in. We stood there and visited for just a moment as we finalized the plans for the rest of the day and her son, who is 10yo, came out of the pool again kind of holding the side of his and his eye was all red. We asked what happened and he told us that another boy told him "Move out of my way!" and punched him. He then also claimed that he never saw the boy either so my guess is that he didn't want to risk his mom going to the lifeguards or finding that boys parents or he wasn't actually punched but rather that elbow side-to-side motion a lot of kids tend to do when they're walking in water that is getting deep for them and in that he ended up catching that kids elbow in the eye. Either way, they then decided they were w/ us and had had enough.

I just don't know what it is with so many kids anymore. Are manners and morals just not taught? Days like that make me love homeschooling even more, and not because of the public schools themselves but because they won't have to spend entire days with kids like that and either picking up those same bad habits or being picked on by those kinds of kids. So, if you're a parent, teach your kid(s) how to grow up w/ respect for others and at least a few manners. I don't expect kids to be perfect, quiet little robots at all times but they need to know that there are certain things you don't do at any time. If you're a parent to that kind of rude kid, well, don't expect any play dates in the future or get togethers of any kind because if we did I might be saying a few things that wouldn't make you too happy.

Musical Names

No, this is not a post about how often I mix up my own kids and call them by the wrong name. That number would probably be a tad embarrassing. Rather, this is about the names my kids come up with.

It never ceases to amaze me in how many places I see my kids' imaginations at work. We always have dolls laying around that get new names almost daily like Jenka, Nonni, Cowlin and many others. Those ones just happen to stick out in my mind because when we were name hunting for our youngest the kids suggested them and when we kindly rejected them they were then used on the dolls for awhile.

My youngest 2 have actually been naming things more consistently lately, although they all have their favorite names to use. J, our 6yo, is learning more what are 'real' names vs the jumble of letters she would use before so at the moment her favorite doll is just called Nancy (don't dare to call it Fancy Nancy though, she is quick to correct you) but she does still have Pengy her penguin and then her array of bears that simply go by Big Bear, Little Bear, Yellow Bear and Daddy/Mommy Bear (it's having a gender crisis). E, the 4yo, is really in to My Little Ponies for about the 3rd year in a row and pretty much everything is just called Pinky Pie, her favorite pony's name.

Then we get on to the youngest 2 finally. C, the 3yo, started a while ago and despite being upset it took us a few days to figure out what she kept asking us for and crying at night for. She has 2 stuffed puppies and 2 stuffed cats that she sleeps w/ (along w/ about 1/2 the toys she owns, all on a toddler bed) and we'd give her what she asked for each night. If you asked her where her puppy is she would get it right away so she knew what it was. Apparently calling them puppies though was not what she wanted, they are Woofies. And like her sister, if you call them puppies she will correct you and tell you they are her woofies and then she will go and get a little toy dog and tell you "dis a puppy". We've learned that one by now though.

M is our youngest, she's only 16mos but she is full of spunk. She doesn't talk a whole lot more then random yells and screams but we all know what it is she wants, she doesn't stop until you figure it out. Her favorite toy is a plastic whale that we got in the pool section of Target awhile back. She even sleeps w/ that thing. Again, if you ask her where her whale is she goes right to it and brings it to you but I realized last week that she'd named it and I hadn't been listening. She'd come up to me and jabber as usually but I could tell she was asking something and the word whoosh kept coming out. Finally one day she went in to her room while I was there pointed to the whale in her crib and said Whoosh while pointing, and the name Whoosh was born. I'm assuming it's a combo of whale and fish but it's complete speculation on my part. She also has 2 other toys that she recently got that as of today have a new name as well. She has 2 dinosaurs (she's really in to the plastic animals but she likes the tough looking ones) and I guess they are her Rars. Kind of like roars but they're Rar's. These dinosaurs also like to go around and pretend to eat every one's belly buttons, so watch out.

So, lesson for the day is to listen close to see what they call something and then do NOT try to call it something else after they've seen that you know the 'correct' name for something.

Digital Cameras

Why does there need to be so many options and choices? I like my current camera, don't get me wrong, but I was recently introduced to what the mega pixels actually mean and it opened a whole new world to me. Our camera takes some decent pics that I've been happy w/ but last night I finally looked at it and realized that it is only 5mp. That's not very good. But our camera does have a 10x zoom which is not bad at all and I rely on that part. So armed w/ that knowledge the hunt is on.

I've started researching more cameras and things and thank goodness for reviews! I had one that I'd decided was about perfect and the price was much better then I'd expected and I was thinking I'd end up getting it but then I started reading reviews on it on a few different sites and they weren't that good. Some really like the pics that came from it but some were less impressed, that all happens. But there was one thing that seemed to be mentioned in EVERY post, it's a battery eater. From the sounds of it the rechargeable that comes in it works well at first but after a few weeks of use it gets down to dieing after just a couple pics and then if you put reg AA's in it they only last a couple hours before needing to be replaced again. ggrrrr, it was no longer just a few faulty batteries.

I then broadend my search but was hit by 100's of cameras that had the features that I want, that's a lot of cameras to sort though. So, it's going to be awhile before I actually get a new one. So if anyone has any recommendations I'd like to hear them, I want to know all your thoughts on it though, not just the good stuff. I don't want to pay a small fortune but am willing to pay a bit more for better features. I'd like a min of 8mp and no less then a 5x zoom but preferrably more. Manual and preset settings are also a must as well as a good flash that can be turned off it not wanted.

How many blocks?

I have a challenge for everyone (since this is a brand new blog that # is going to be very limited, but could still be fun). Lets take guesses how many Jenga blocks a child can stuff in to a VCR. Once I manage to retrieve all of the blocks I'll see who had the closest guess.

Dolphins Smell Like Cheerios

Since my kids are still asleep and I'm anxious to get this blog rolling I'm going to start off w/ something I was told about a week ago.

E, who is 4yo, was sitting at our kitchen table eating breakfast when she looked at me and simply said "mom, dolphins smell like cheerios". The conversation then went as follows...
me-what?
her-Dolphins smells like cheerios
me-Um, ok. And where did you learn this little bit of info?
her-because they do.
me-and when did you get to smell a dolphin?
her-when it was in my room. it smelled like cheerios and I didn't like it so we have to take it back now.

This is where it dawned on me. E goes to Occupational Therapy every week for sensory issues and once again they'd sent home one of the weighted animals but it had apparently been stored in the same cupboard as some of the snacks and things. She is now convinced that what that dolphin smelled like (it's been returned to the therapist yet again) has to be what all dolphins smell like.

So there you have it, dolphins smell like cheerios.