So When The Man Does It, It's Murder?

I am just shocked by this story about a man who is being charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child.

What truly bothers me, is that the man is being charged with intentional homicide for giving his girlfriend an abortion pill. Why is it, that when a woman willingly chooses to abort her baby by taking that same pill, is it alright, and perfectly legal? Why is it, that a woman can choose to have her baby murdered by a "doctor", and it is perfectly legal? Yet, a man, who is the father of that same child, cannot have the same say in the child's life?

All life is sacred, and should be treated as such. The choice of whether a child should live or die should not be in the hands of the mother or the father, or a doctor or a pill.

A Little Whiskey In Your Formula, Madamoiselle?

While this isn't exactly funny, for either the mom or the baby, I do have to laugh just a tiny bit. The mom put some whiskey in her baby's bottle, in an attempt to help her calm down from a nasty teething episode. Now, as a mom, as tempting as it might be to do almost anything to get a screaming child quiet, I would never have thought of actually putting alcohol into a bottle. As a child, my mom used to put whiskey on my gums to soothe my teething, because I was allergic to the num-gums stuff they had back then. I didn't suffer any ill effects from it, other than perhaps it led to my dislike of all things alcoholic. (I still have never been drunk, and have never been able to handle more than an ounce or two of anything with even the slightest taste of alcohol in it.). Maybe that's not such a bad thing though ;)

As for the mom, I'm not sure that charging her and taking away her baby is the best solution. My guess is that she's probably learned her lesson on this one, and will not ever consider doing anything like this again. While obviously not the brightest idea the woman ever had, hopefully this is doing enough to scare her into thinking a little more thoroughly through her future actions.

My Little Girl

What a funny little thing she is. She is six, and the only girl in a houseful of boys. I recently had two different conversations with her. One let me know that she is starting to learn to listen. The other, well I'm not sure what she's learning there, but it was cute anyway.

Yesterday, after a rather difficult ride home from church (the ever popular stop-touching-me-he's-licking-me-i-don't-like-you-very-much fighting in the backseat kind of ride), I had finally had enough and offered to spank all of them when I got home. So, when we get home, my ever observant daughter had a revelation.

Ariel: Mommy?
Mommy: Yes dear?
Ariel: I was thinking. Maybe, if I don't steal, and I'm not naughty, maybe I won't get spanked.
Mommy: (trying desperately to turn this into a really good teaching moment), You're right sweetie. If you don't do those things, you won't get spanked. That's very good.
Ariel: (shoots me a little grin and runs off)

That, ladies and gentlemen, is my daughter, who has finally learned the truth about spankings. Now, if only her brothers would get the same idea!


Conversation number two. It was bath night last night. Lately, my daughter has decided that she doesn't like to be alone in the bathroom, and wants someone to sit with her. Well, in a house of boys, that's not always a good idea. So, I would sit with her for a little bit, then go do a few things. That seemed to work alright for a little bit. But then, came last night's conversation.

Ariel: Mommy, I don't like being alone with the door closed.
Mommy: What is it you're afraid of?
Ariel: I'm afraid the monsters are going to come get me.
Mommy: Hmmm. Where do you think the monsters are going to come from?
Ariel: Right here, behind the wall. (I was totally expecting the drain, but I went with it anyway)
Mommy: Well honey, if the monsters are going to come through that wall, they'd have to make a lot of noise doing it. (no sympathy here, right?) So, if you hear lots of noise, you'll have enough time to get out of the tub before they get through the wall. Okay? I'll be back in a little bit. (I was sooo tempted to go start banging on the wall from the other side, but I figured that might scar her for life, so I refrained).
Ariel: Mommy?
Mommy: Yes sweetie?
Ariel: I know there aren't any monsters on the other side of the wall. (Brilliant reasoning)
Mommy: That's right dear. So you have nothing to be afraid of then, do you?
Ariel: No, Mommy. You're just being silly.

How true that is. And all this from the reasoning of a 6 year old.

Who's Safe Anymore?

Wow, even a woman with 5 kids isn't immune to carjacking. I had hoped that any criminal stupid enough to even try to take my van would think twice after seeing all the kids in the back seat, but apparently that might not be the case. This woman was shot even after she was getting the children out so he could take the car.

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police said they want to find a man who shot and carjacked a woman traveling with five children.

The woman, who survived the shooting, told police she was stopped at 13th Street and Lincoln Avenue on Thursday when a man stuck a gun through the window and told her to get out of the vehicle.

She was getting the children out when the suspect shot her and took off with her Ford Explorer, police said.
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None of the children was hurt.

The woman is recovering at Froedtert Hospital.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Milwaukee police.

Where Have All The Parents Gone?

This is just another example of how young children are running free to the point of destruction. 12 and 14 year old boys, with enough boredom, or anger, or whatever the case may be, going to a store and destroying and stealing property. Where are their parents? Where is any influence in their young lives telling them that what they are doing is wrong? Has no one told them that destroying another person's property is a bad idea?

In my opinion, the parents of these children should be held at least partially responsible. The parents are supposed to teach the children values and respect for others. These are their children, and they have a certain amount of responsibility until those children are adults.

When my oldest son, who was 4 at the time, developed a bit of a klepto problem, we dealt with it strictly and immediately. He still does it around the house now and then, but he is punished each time. And it becomes further between each time. When he stole something from a store, we made him take it back, apologize, pay for it, and kept it from him. A candy bar once, a pen another time. We paid for them, and then threw them away. It upset him terribly, but now he is more willing to work for the money to buy these things. He is learning that there are consequences to actions, and that there are ways of getting something that is desired, without stealing. Where was that sort of teaching for these boys? Where are the parents in all this?

Does anyone else think the parents should be responsible for their children's actions?

I Am Never Going Out In Public With Him Again!

Okay, maybe not "never", that would be impossible. I'm talking about my 2 1/2 year old son, the one my friends and family refer to as "challenging". Let me start from the beginning of the most recent incident. Just a little background first, I have 5 children, ages 7, 6, 4, 2 1/2, and 1. My husband is not with me today because he is working. So it's me, alone, with 5 kids.

Today, I had to go out for a little errand. Nothing big, but it was close to dinner time. I had some certificates for Noodles & Company through the library reading program, for free bowls of whatever their little hearts desired which was, of course, mac & cheese. So, I did my errand, went to the restaurant, and ordered their mac & cheese, along with a nice little bowl of chicken soup. We were doing good, for about 5 minutes. Then suddenly, my son decides that he doesn't want me helping with his water. Well, that's not happening. There wasn't a lid on the cup, and he's just not that talented yet with such a large glass. So I told him I would help him hold it while he drank. He wanted none of it. So he started screaming. And I mean the I'm-not-getting -my-way-I-must-let-the-entire-shopping-complex-know-I've-been-wronged kind of screaming. So I finally managed to calm him down. For a minute. I tried to convince him to eat some of his mac & cheese. He thought I needed some so I took a bite. Now, it's not exactly my favorite thing to eat while I'm pregnant, but I was trying to humor him. Bad idea. He felt I needed more, and when I refused, trying to tell him that I already had my own food, he tried to throw his whole bowl of mac & cheese. I wasn't having any of that, so I grabbed him up and hugged him to me. After a moment or two he gave up, but then we were back to the water issue again. He wanted to hold it all by himself, which meant trying to tip it up while sucking on the straw, and again, I wouldn't let him. So again, he started screaming and trying to throw things.

Now, while all of this is going on, his three older siblings were happily munching away at their mac & cheese, and the youngest was occasionally squawking for more mac & cheese of his own. I was only giving him a bite at a time since he was in his stroller, and I didn't feel the need for a high chair.

There are thankfully very few people for the most part. I'm really only noticing stares from some late high-school aged boys, who probably think this whole thing is just fascinating. I finally give up and get take out boxes to dump all the mac & cheese into, so we can leave. I have never had to leave anywhere. I was so completely embarrassed by the behavior of my child I was shaking. I couldn't calm him down, I couldn't get him to see reason, there was nothing I could do. I felt helpless. Then to top it all off, when I said "We're leaving, let's go", he jumps up and shouts "Yay! We're leaving!". So this is what he wanted all along! I couldn't believe it. I tried fighting back tears at this point, unsuccessfully. I just couldn't comprehend the situation. He'd been fine most of the day, had had a nap, and had been behaving for the most part.

So now what? I've just done the worst thing I can think of, which is giving in. If I sit back down, the screaming re-commences. If I leave, he gets what he wants. He doesn't understand punishment, and no matter how hard I've tried with him, he just wants his own way to the point of abusing his siblings, or himself. Where do I go from here? My oldest son was strong headed, but would eventually see reason. There is no reason with this child. He can be the sweetest, most loving child in the world, until something happens that he doesn't like. Then the horns come out and all hell breaks loose. I hate to say something so awful about him, but even our closest friends and family have commented the same thing. I've had to leave church services several times because of him, but at least I could leave the other kids with friends or daddy, and come back after a few minutes.

Has anyone ever dealt with a child like this? Do I need to get him into behavioral therapy? I'm really at a complete loss, especially after today.