I have dinner on the stove so I can’t really type much now, just wanted to share!

Michele’s CNN article.

I really should be writing articles instead of all the other stuff I’ve been doing today. But they’ll be easy enough to finish up later.

Has anyone else noticed how the weather’s so screwed up lately? It shouldn’t be this cold this early in the fall should it?? It’s 65 here right now and supposed to be 54 tonight. Last week it was still in the 80s! I had to turn the heat on today because I got tired of sitting here with chill bumps LOL

We’re talking about getting a smaller, more efficient car, but that’s not easy either. All of the locally owned car dealers in our area have trucks and SUVs… why? Because everyone else bought cheaper, more efficient cars months ago! LOL!

I’ve found several telecommute jobs that he qualifies for lately so hopefully something will pan out soon!

Unique Names article on CNN.

This article just blew my mind this morning. Which I’ll admit is easy to do pre-caffeine, but still

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/07/20/gonzalez.child.dies.in.suv.wptv

How? I’d like to hear the mother’s story this time. How could she not know her child was in the vehicle?

Definitely a sad day for her, no doubt.

1. Spanking is very controversial, I know. But my kids have definitely had spankings. Some say there’s a fine line between spanking and abuse while others say any type of hitting is abuse. I have 2 adopted sisters, one who was abused as a baby. IMHO, there is a HUGE line between spanking and abuse. When a two year old gets its diaper whacked or hand smacked for doing something wrong, that’s a spank. When a two year old spills a cup of milk (given to her without a sippy cup) gets hit with a stick so hard she has blood oozing from some of the welts that pop up all over her body… that’s abuse. Even spanking with a belt is considered appropriate by some law enforcement officials. Ask my mother. A cop even offered her his belt to use on my unruly teenage sister.

2. Time-out. Time-out is a great disciplinary tool imo! With my two, I started out at 5 minutes for something as simple as needless arguing. (notice I said needless.. debating is ok.. arguing is not) If they continued to argue during their 5-minute time-out, I added another 5 minutes to it. Did I mention I have hardwood floors? Little butts get tired of sitting on hardwood floors. When I went to help resolve the issue after their time was up, if they interrupted each other or started arguing again, I added another 5 minutes and walked away. I will mediate any debate, but will not tolerate arguing.

3. Grounding. My kids don’t enjoy sports or anything like that. They never go out with friends, etc. Their big thing is video games. So any time I want to be really evil and ground someone, I threaten grounding them from their favorite video game. They behave

The key to ANY type of discipline is consistency! Once you find something that works for your child and lifestyle, keep it consistent. Make that your primary disciplinary action!

So what do you do?

Michele