Holy Smokes Batman!

Our house almost caught on fire last night! And I don't know what is going on here, because I have lived my whole life without any fire issues, and now I have 2 almost catastrophes in the time of one year. It was actually almost exactly a year ago that this happened. And now, This:




Okay, now that I am looking at it, I can see how the pictures are not very clear. Let me explain. In our bathroom, when the door is open all the way, there is a lovely perfectly round hole where the doorknob busted through the wall. Well, there used to be a perfectly round hole, until last night. Now it looks like those lovely pictures. Why? Because the boys were trying to kill the spiders. And we DON'T even have a spider problem! How were they trying to kill the spiders? Well, Jake was the lighter, and Josh was the holder. Josh held the toilet paper while Jake lighted it, and then Josh threw it INTO THE DOORKNOB HOLE!!! Holy Smokes Batman!!!

There was smoke billowing out of the hole, and when we ran in, Rick happened to be holding a beer in his hand, so he dumps the beer into the hole. And it is STILL smoking! So I grab this metal bread pan, because I bake bread so much that the breadpan is located in the bathroom, holding lipstick. I dump out the lipstick, fill the breadpan up with water, and pour it into the hole, and all down the wall, and all over the floor. Repeatedly! Because it WOULDN'T STOP SMOKING! Kyley runs in with a gravy boat (from the kitchen, although that thing would probably be good for holding Q-Tips) so I start using it, because it fits into the hole better. Now Rick runs in with the fire extinguisher from under the kitchen sink, and Oh Shit! It doesn't work! And somehow, now Rick has a pair of pliers, and is ripping the sheetrock with the pliers. So I run into the kitchen, and run back in with a large knife, and now he is sawing away at the sheetrock. I am continuing to pour water. And suddenly the power goes out! "OH CRAP!!! I think I just cut through an electrical line!!!" OMG! You should be dead! Sawing through an electrical line with a large metal knife, while standing in water.

He runs back in with a flashlight, because we have to be sure that the fire is out, and it still looks like smoke, and he is still sawing, and I am afraid to dump any more water in there, because the electrical line is probably exposed, but he reassures me that the breaker is completely off, so I am dumping, and he is sawing. We stop. We take a little break to reevaluate the situation, there in the dark, with the flashlight, and it seems that there is no more smoke. A huge sigh of relief. We examine the electical line with the flashlight, and it actually looks fine. Rick heads to the breaker box, telling me to yell if I see any sparks. I hold my breath, and now the lights are on, and nothing is sparking. OH THANK GOD! There is no smoke coming from the hole, the fire is out, and we still have a house.

Coming Soon: We disclipline two 6-yr-old boys who almost burned our house down

So Frustrated Part Deuce

So I just went and had yet another conversation with Kyley about Mr Science teacher.

I have serious concerns about reporting Mr. Science teacher, because we live in such a very, very conservative, religious, republican area. I am almost positive that if I did contact Mrs. Principal about this, I would be the first and only parent to ever do so. Therefore, I am sure that nothing would come of it. Doesn't Mr. Science teacher need more than one complaint in his 70 years of teaching to change his ways? So this makes me feel like there would be ramifications on my kid. She already had a couple of rough days at school involving politics. The first was the day the students had their "mock" elections, which of course afterward they discussed who they mock-voted for, and she discovered that ALL of her friends thought she was crazy and stupid for voting Obama. The worst day though, was the day after the real election, where she bravely wore her Obama t-shirt, and was chastized, and had complete strangers angry at her for wearing it.

And it's not just Kyley. Poor Brooke got in a raging yelling match at school, 3 against 1, when she mentioned her views on being pro-choice. It went as far as her being called a baby-killer. It was carried on at home, when we found out that her own twin sister was one of the 3 kids yelling at her. Thank-God that my kids are so self-assured. After this happened, Brooke turned the whole thing into an essay for an assignment, on something that she was passionate about. The whole essay was about being pro-choice, and thankfully the teacher saw her passion and (even if she didn't agree) gave her the "A" she deserved.

Anyway, living in a more rural area, in the South, is hard for a girl from Vermont. And I would love for my kids to be able to hear all viewpoints on politics, to be exposed to many different cultures, and religions, and to make their own choices as adults. And these past couple of months really woke me up, because from the start I didn't think I was very political, didn't think that I was doing a good job trying to teach my kids my views. I even wrote it on this very blog somewhere that I am not very politically minded. But obviously I have done something, because in this sea of conservatism, where my kids are getting religious teachings in public schools, where my kids are being told regularly that everything I believe is wrong, they are listening to me. They are forming their own beliefs. A couple of them very strongly are forming beliefs and standing firm in them. All of them voted Obama in their mock-elections, even the kindergarten ones. And they don't all agree with me or each other about everything, but at least they are talking and thinking about the shit.

And that day that Britney had been in the group of kids yelling at Brooke? We discussed it, and we discussed the reasons they both felt the way they did. And then I naturally did what I do, and argued my pro-choice position, and I used the best debates for my opinion that I could think of. And just when I got Britney switched over to my side, I realized what I had done, and how it went against the big picture of what I am trying to accomplish with these kids, and I quickly switched it up. I told Rick I felt bad, and I called her back into the kitchen, and debated to the very best of my ability all the reasons why she should be pro-LIFE. And that night, I knew in my heart that that 13 year old girl new more about the issues surrounding pro-choice/pro-life than many adults. And she had heard both sides, until she was holding her hands over her ears saying "I can't take anymore!" and could now make her own informed decision.

So this is my goal. Not for my kids to be clones of my beliefs, but to be educated, and have their own beliefs. And I am SO blessed to be able to have a conversation with my 11 yr. old kid about her teacher, and for her to first of all realize and vocalize her opposition of having to hear his political views in the classroom. Then on top of it, I know that the reason it bothers her so much is because she has strong political views OF HER OWN, which are the opposite of his. I am just so blessed to be able to deal with this as a parent. It makes me cry the happy tears. I can only hope and pray that in the future I get to have to make more of these hard decisions. Decisions that make it so clear to me that my kids are turning out fucking incredible, and that no matter how stressful it feels in our daily life and how monotonous the days seem, and how they just seem to run into each other with all of our running around, there are some seriously awesome things happening in my household.

My kids are turning out exactly how I hoped and prayed that they would. So do I wish I was raising them in VT, where everyone thinks the same way I do? Yes, on most days I do. Do I sometimes feel like I am doing them a disservice by raising them here, where they have to deal with this shit? Absolutely. But my god, I cannot even express how successful I feel as a parent right now.

Which still leaves me with this bitter-sweet parenting decision. Do I report Mr. Science teacher to Mrs Principal, knowing that 90% (at least) of our area believes exactly like Mr. Science teaher? Do I risk the repurcussions on my kid as even if I do it anonymously the kid with the Obama shirt would be the one suspected? It is wrong. I know it is. I also know it is illegal. But it is also the way of life here. But, (smiling) not in this house.

Wizard of Oz Wedding

Plus Harley, and Halloween.

I am so pissed. Someone (one of the 7 dwarfs) dropped my camera, and the battery cover was loose, and I lost the battery. I need to special-order one on e-bay, but the timing couldn't be worse. I have no pics of halloween with the kids, and I have no pics of the WOZ wedding. DAMN!!!! I have had to rely on the couple of pics taken with the phone, and the pics taken by the Groom's sister, which she graciously uploaded to Kodak. When Kelly uploads her pics, we will have some more to share. Here we go...

Dorothy, Me, and the Wicked Witch:



The Ceremony:





Notice the Scarecrow (Kelly's Son):



Notice the Cowardly Lion (John's Son):







Kelly and her son Alex:



Right before they rode off into the sunset:



The Reception:

Harley Cake (Ride off into the Sunset):







Kelly's Dad is "The Father":




And the party starts:




Dorothy and the Groom:




Notice the Breathalizer, this will come up later:







Dorothy wasn't sure how to take a breathalizer test, so the harley bride showed her how. This was followed by the Father of the Bride exclaming "That's my girl!"





More to come as soon as I get some more pics...