Monthly Archives: November 2008

Parents Versus Big Brother

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Today I received an email from the parentalrights.org blog about an issue that I had just barely been introduced to in the past. I was introduced to a threat to all parents across America that got my full attention and caused me to be afraid in a way that I have never feared in my life. This fear is caused by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. Please read the article. Please. Here is an excerpt.

Since its adoption by the United Nations in 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has become the most widely accepted international agreement in history, ratified by every nation of the world except for the United States and Somalia. All signatories pledge to protect children’s rights, foster their development, and uphold their best interests by re-writing their national laws to conform to the standards set forth in the treaty.

While all this may sound harmless and even commendable, the reality is that the Convention allows and even demands that national governments interfere in the decisions of individual families and parents. By invoking the “best interests of the child ,” policymakers and government agents have the authority to substitute their own decisions for those of the child or parent. In short, parents lose their rights to be parents, and become merely caregivers. The result, as parents across the globe are now discovering, is that the family is being steadily undermined, often with tragic and devastating results for the very children who are supposed to be protected.

Without research and/or understanding of what “The Rights of the Child” refers to, the idea sounds like a great one. Everyone wants their children to have rights. Unfortunately the idea that the United Nations is pushing allows parents to take care of the physical needs of their children but takes away any other influence that the parents may have on their children. The children are expected to learn what the UN approves of and nothing else (including morals)!

Parentalrights.org is taking it upon themselves to keep track of countries who have already accepted this proposal of the United Nations and post about it every 2 weeks. Please go to their site regularly or put their posts in your RSS feed. Also, go to the site of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights site and read the declaration for the Convention for the Rights of the Child. The second statement in Article 2 was most disturbing to me. It states that

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child’s parents, legal guardians, or family members.

Read that again and think about it. Think hard about it. It says that parents have no influence on the thoughts, activities, opinions or beliefs of their children. Is that what you want for your children? It most definitely is not what I want for mine. According to “Imagine If…” by parental rights.org, the Unites States is only one of two countries that have not accepted this. If you disagree with the things written in “the Rights of the children” please do yourself and everyone around you a favor and do everything you can to discourage America’s agreement to it. You might want to start by signing a petition showing that you are against the interference of government on your right to parent your children. Then you might want to consider getting down on your knees and having a long talk with the Person most able to prevent this intrusion on our parental rights.

Update (1/3/09): I now know that this convention was signed by president Clinton but was stopped by congress. Now president Obama is planning to get it passed.  This is very urgent! Go here to do all you can to help.

Note: Although it was not my original intent when writing this post and it is a bit late, this post has a lot to do with the government. If Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings is willing, please consider this my submission for this month’s “What I Learned From” project.

Which is the Turkey?

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Luke worked really hard to make this pinata look like a real turkey. He did a good enough job that he convinced a friend’s chocolate lab hunting dog that it was real. We had quite a battle with the dog while getting these pictures. If you look close on the second picture, you will see her.

Note: Not only was this posted with permission from my hubby, but he actually suggested the title. What a sport!

Making Pinatas – Part 4

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If you haven’t read parts 1, 2, or 3 yet, feel free to go catch up before (or after) you continue. If you don’t like ketchup with your blogs, just continue reading. 😀

When we were making the pinatas, we put on many many layers because we were afraid the home made pinatas might not be as tough as the store bought ones. They were, after all, only put together with flour and water. We went light on the one the little kids would be hitting, though.

Let me tell you, the strength of those pinatas was a big surprise! The kids had a hard time with the one we went easy on! When we got up to the next age group and saw how hard they were hitting the pinata and only making dents, we decided to let a few adults try. Three different men whacked the pinata with all they had and still only left dents!

For the toughest pinata (for the oldest kids), the guys finally gave in and cut slits in it. Even then, the pinata still held strong. Finally, they raised it all the way to the ceiling and let it hit the concrete. That worked! The only downfall was that some of the candy took quite a beating (but it still tasted good, I’m sure)! Needless to say, we were quite pleased with the strength of our pinatas! I must say, though, I am now curious what flour does to our bodies when we eat it if it is that sticky! 🙂

And now for the moment you have all been waiting for! The finished pinatas!! I will tell you ahead of time that they are a turkey, a pie, and 2 pumpkins.

In Love for 10 Years!

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Ten years ago today I declared my love to a man for the first time in my life! We were sitting at a picnic table in the grove at the University of Mississippi. He was obviously in love with me and told me so several weeks before I discovered that I felt the same about him!

On November, 1998, I was able to say and genuinely mean those wonderful words to the man that would very soon become my husband! Interestingly it happened on the reverse date of my birthday – 11/7 versus 7/11. Because of that, the date is easy to remember for both of us.

I love you, Luke!

Van For Sale?

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I just discovered this hilarious post… someone is trying to sell a van…… I think.

Hi All,

96 White Chevy Astro Van; Many NEW parts. Please come by and ask for Joesph anytime after 12:30pm, if interested. Asking $500.00 Firm. Come by and talk and he may go lower. The van runs good, but tends to overheat if go long distances. Just needs a tune up/oil change, and its a great vehicle. Great vehicle for flea markets and or anything else, as their is approx. 7ft. of cargo space. Please do not respond to this ad as I am helping him post this ad and know nothing about the van. Thank you

Making Pinatas: Part 3

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Here is a short video I took while the family was working on pinatas. Peter really enjoyed the newspaper strips while Phillip liked just standing there cutting up newspaper. Anna was very hands on. At different times she tore newspaper, wet strips with flour paste, and placed the wet pieces on the balloons.

Even though, the other kids were involved in several parts of the pinata making, Anna is probably the only one old enough to have a full knowledge of the process. The others will probably refer to it as that time when they had permission to make a big mess in the floor and then play in it! 😀

Making Pinatas – Part 2

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Today I will show you pictures of the newspaper strips, wetting the strips with a paste of flour & water, and putting the strips on the balloon. The kids seemed to have a blast with every step of the pinata-making, but it was most obvious with the newspaper strips!

If you missed Making Pinatas Part 1, feel free to take a moment to catch up.

Making Pinatas – Part 1

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Each year at our church’s harvest party, the kids break pinatas full of candy. This year we decided to make our own pinatas and decided to share the process and results with you. Maybe in the process you will learn how to make one for your next birthday party! Stay tuned tomorrow for pictures!

Materials:

  • Several largish balloons
  • plenty of old newspapers
  • flour (self-rising or all purpose)
  • water
  • paint (optional)
  • creative mind (optional)

Directions:

  1. Going with the grain, tear the newspapers into strips about 2 inches wide. Don’t be extra careful with size. Just have fun making a mess.
  2. Decide what shape you want to make, and use your imagination to visualize how you can make the shape with several balloons. If your creative juices aren’t flowing, just go with a pumpkin, ball, or some other round shape and use one big balloon.
  3. Blow up the balloons and arrange them in the shape you imagined.
  4. Make a paste of flour and water, a little thinner than pancake batter (maybe even a bit thinner). It’s pretty hard to mess up the paste.
  5. Dip strips of newspaper, one at a time, in the paste and use 2 fingers (usually pointer and middle finger) to wipe off the excess paste. (Pretty much get as much off as you can without spending too much time on it.
  6. Flatten the wet strips on the balloon in several layers.
  7. Hang the pinata (or lay it flat and rotate after a while)  until it has hardened.
  8. Repeat steps 5-7 until the pinata is almost as strong as you want.
  9. When your pinata is almost as strong as you want, attach a string to hang it by. If possible have the string tied around the bottom of the pinata, too.
  10. Repeat steps 5-7 for at least one more layer to cover up and strengthen the string.
  11. Stab the top of the pinata with a knife, and make a hole to add your candy.
  12. Removed the popped balloon and fill your pinata with candy.
  13. Paint your pinata if desired.
  14. Hang up your hard work and let the kids beat it to smithereens. 🙂

Tabetha’s Tidbit: 1-Ply or 2-Ply?

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Since it is close to Halloween, toilet paper seems like a good topic to post on. I had totally forgotten that yard rolling happens at this time of year and was not reminded until Halloween was over with. So, since it does you no good this year, maybe I can help you decide how to get the most for your money next year. I know you are all going yard rolling next year, right? (Believe it or not, I have never rolled a yard). 🙂

When I first visited Rhode Island, I noticed that everybody was using 1-ply toilet paper. I began to wonder if they even sold 2-ply toilet paper up here! After moving here, I have discovered that they do indeed sell 2-ply. For some reason that I did not understand, everyone seemed to prefer 1-ply over 2-ply.

I grew up thinking that 1-ply was used in stores and schools, but nobody used it at home. Because my parents always used 2-ply and considered 1-ply “cheap,” I always thought it was not worth anything.  It seemed like a waste of money to me because everyone knows that you have to use twice as much 1-ply as 2-ply, right?

Just out of curiosity, I checked the prices here and discovered that 1-ply is cheaper per 100 squares, but that didn’t seem to make it cheaper to use because of the extra amount of 1-ply used. I was not convinced that it was a better deal.

One day about a year ago, because I had plenty of practice using 1-ply here in RI, I realized that I do not use twice as much 1-ply  as 2-ply. I used a maximum of 50%  more 1-ply squares (I counted each and every square – just teasing). 😉 Another thing that ultimately swayed me to the other side was the fact that young children tend to waste toilet paper (at least mine do). Either they roll it off onto the floor or, even worse, throw as much as possible into the toilet. I have decided that I might actually save money with the 1-ply.

Because I was so strongly against 1-ply all my life, I had to do a little test before I was convinced. I went ahead and bought a 4 pack of 1-ply to test. I was amazed at how long that four pack lasted. It lasted twice as long as a 2-ply 4 pack. I was convinced. I have used 1-ply ever since, only now that it has passed my inspection, I buy the 12 pack.

So, now I don’t even notice when Wal-Mart has 1-ply toilet paper in their bathrooms. I believe that, at least here in Rhode Island, 1-ply is the best frugal choice.  Then again, maybe it is the best deal because that is what everyone here prefers.But, hey, it never hurts to check out the price and compare, right?

You never knew there was such a science to something as simple as toilet paper, did you? 😀