How much is too much?

How much should a parent interfere in the social development of their children? How much is too much?

When I was a kid and had a fight with a friend, it was up to me to solve the situation or take the consequences. Outside of our immediate neighborhood, my parents knew very few of my friend’s parents. So if we had a fight, the parents didn’t get involved except maybe to say “If you can’t get along, then you can’t go there anymore.” But today, if you don’t know intimate details of the parents of your friend’s kids then you are being a negligent parent. This has brought a new set of complications that is driving me insane.

NOW, if kids get in a fight, it demands calls between parents trying to work it out. And here is my problem with that – the kids lose the opportunity to learn how to deal with each other. They don’t learn how to take up for themselves when parents step in over every hurt feeling. This is creating a bunch of whiny kids that run to mom to solve their problems. Yeah, I believe that adults should step in when a child is being a bully. But just because one isn’t getting his way? Or was called a name? Or was ignored? Come on. Give the kids a chance to deal with it.

Hello, my name is Lisa...

and I'm a book-a-holic. How did I come to this conclusion? Several things have happened lately that opened my eyes.

1. I noticed that I have stacks of books in various places around the house. Large stacks in danger of falling over and hurting someone. The stacks are still large despite the fact that I have a ton of books loaned out to different people.
2. I admitted last night that my bookshelves have become the local library. Need a book? Call Lisa and see if she has it.
3. I can't keep up with what I have read (or what I own) without a spreadsheet.
4. I am considering purchasing a Nook. I compared Nook and Kindle and decided that the Nook fits my needs a little better. Because I can still share my books with other people. I like sharing.
5. I looked at my wishlist at Barnes and Noble... 12 honest-to-goodness paper books with covers and 20 e-books. And I have another wishlist @ Amazon with completely different books - another 9 books.

So, what am I going to do about this addiction? Not a damn thing. There are worse addictions.

Decisions, decisions

March, 2009 was a turning point in my life. I know I've written something about this before...but I'm too lazy to go back and see what I actually said. And a year and a half later, my perspective has changed anyway, so.

I January of '09 I turned 40. In March '09 I had my much dreaded mammogram. And we all know how that turned out. So, next year was filled with doctor's appointments, chemo, radiation and all the fabulous things that cancer entails. Well, here it is, July 2010. I've finished everything except for the final reconstruction. We (my little family) made it through the mess, and we are in a much better place than we were before. I know what I can expect from Mike - he really stepped up. OK, it took a little prodding. And for reality to set in. And Evan - what can I say about my little man? He is a strong little boy.

All I have left to do is the final reconstruction - I get rid of these funky shaped tissue expanders and get REAL implants that look like REAL boobs. I'll probably get to do that in September. Yea! Perky boobs! With nipples and everything!!!

To celebrate, I want to get my first (and probably last) tattoo. I want a phoneix - this was a suggestion from Miss Grace (who has one of the most awesome tattoos of all time). I don't even know if she remembers the suggestion, but it stuck in my head. I want something feminine...and it took a while, but I think I've found what I want to use for a pattern. Except I want the body shaded in either a crimson or pink.

Holiday Weekend...plenty of drama to be had!

The weekend was VERY eventful. We took a quick trip to Fairhope to spend time with family in one of the coolest little towns in Alabama. Mike had to work Friday and be back at work Tuesday, so he and a friend came Friday night and left Monday. Evan and I were there earlier Friday and didn't leave until Tuesday.

Quick rundown:

Friday night Mike and Scott were pulled over 1 block from Becky's house. Because Mike had his hand out the window and Scott had on the bright lights (trying to find street signs). They were accusing Mike of throwing something out the window? Anyway, they weren't doing anything wrong and were released. Whatever.

Then Saturday morning someone broke into the cars. If it was unlocked and had anything of value, it was stolen. Our car didn't get hit. George lost his satelite radio and his wallet. Had to spend Sat morning with the bank getting that worked out. Becky lost a bag of sunscreen, sunglasses, MP3 player... So, not as bad as it could have been.

Oh, and I hit a grill with my car. That's the second one I have hit. Mike is threatening to get grill stickers and put one on my car every time I hit one. Like a WWII bomber. But he wasn't mad - that in itself is a miracle.

We spent the rest of the day at the Bay getting hammered, um, I mean working on our tans. Then we came back to the house and grilled steaks, boiled shrimp and had a blast by the pool. There was a house full of people - 7 adults, 5 kids, you get the picture. Everybody was having a great time. All of the adults had washed off the Bay and were dressed - just hanging by the pool. The kids were all inside watching TV and playing video games. And then Asshole Neighbor showed up - a good combination of hammered and baked. He decided to tackle some people into the pool. Which is all fine and good - when people don't have cell phones in their pockets. And of course, he refuses to help pay for a new one.

I have to admit something. Last year, there was a person that I referred to as, well, something not really nice. She was abrasive and I could not escape from her. And I think that was really the problem. Not her, but the fact that I couldn't escape. Last year I couldn't get in the water - I was still healing from surgery, so when you are trying to avoid infection, Mobile Bay is not the place to swim. So I stayed under a tent all day. This year? I could go wherever I wanted - and I did. She's OK in small doses. And I think Evan has a crush on her daughter.

Fireworks were wonderful, food was great, kids were great, made a lot of new friends.

And the Anti-BP sentiment is strong...even with the kids. I didn't get a good pic of his sail, but it says: BP lies