How is your summer shaping up?

Well here in ND it is shaping up to be a doozy! The kids are already complaining that it is too hot to go outside and too hot to stay inside, so what are they to do? lol

Leave it up to my kids to say something like that and leave me in a bind. I shall love them dearly as I am throwing a fit about their obtusiveness!

Then we are planning on a birthday party on the 31st. Yes my middle guy will be 6! (Sniff Sniff) They are growing so fast!

Of course the only thing he wants is Spiderman, Spiderman, Spiderman! Gag me please. I have been going through this for over 3 years now with him and he is just as stubborn as I am about it. You would think that he would have found something else to worship by now! But alas the curtains, sheets, comforter, clothes, underwear, shoes and toys are all spiderman! The kid would literally walk around wearing spiderman everyday if I didn't make him wear something else every now and then.

I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised as I was one of those kids that obsessed over one character for years - Barbie! Well and Strawberry shortcake later on. But I didn't have every new toy and invention that came on the market back then. I got a select few and had to drool over the rest!

But little does my child know that he is already getting a spiderman fold out chair for his birthday. I picked one up when we were in Wisconsin for him. Then hid it before they got back home when we got back. hehehe I am just so sneaky. He really thinks that I haven't bought him anything yet and is pouting about it everyday. Poor thing.

I am just wondering what theme I should have for his party. Spiderman, you think? Would be the most obvious of solutions, but gets boring after the second year. We shall see.

Well that is all for now.

Catcha Later!
JennyB

It will be a week tomorrow! Recap of the week so far

I was just sitting here surfing on the internet and it hit me that my kids have been gone for a week as of tomorrow! Oh my god! It sometimes seems forever and then it sometimes seems like they just left yesterday! Weird...

I talked to the kids at about 7 tonight, it was a good conversation with the usual "Ummm...I don't knows" thrown in for good measure when asked what they have been up to....Typical little butts always have to make it like pulling teeth for them to say anything! :) Gotta love em though!

I figured that I would finally have time to catch up on my lack of posting and neglecting my marketing, and the biggest no no, not posting on mylot and clicking on my ptc sites. *tisk tisk* Well so far, I haven't really gotten much of anything done this week. Except for spending money that I really can't afford to keep myself entertained and not driving up the walls sitting at home.

The few programs that I have been doing are surfing for traffic on >Screenblaze which is so easy, all I have to do is open the browser while I am surfing and just let it run, or I can leave my internet connection running and watch my screensaver! Free to join and you don't have to pay anything ever!

Marketing Pond is another website that I have been checking out a lot recently. Learning the ropes and making sure that I have all my referral id's in a row, so that I can get some more signups to some really great sites that I am a member of.

Well that is all for now, I shall work up some better statistics for some of my programs in another post.


Catcha later
JennyB

Something to talk about

Here is something for all of you moms and dads out there to chew on and maybe get a little laugh out of.

I am a stay at home mom of three children. Don't get me wrong, I love all three of them very dearly. I would not give them up for the world, or trade them for anything or any amount of money. But to be honest they drive me insane on most any given day of the week and weekend!

I have gotten to the point with my children where I dont' like to spank them anymore, because I feel like once I start it just seems like it is a never ending story. Now don't go thinking that I beat my children or anything like that, because I don't. Not by a long shot.

I do believe in spankings, yes. I grew up with spankings, even though I can count on one hand how many I received in my childhood. And let me tell you I richly deserved everyone of those spankings that I did get!!! (Thanks mom) They were very memorable!

My children have learned that I don't like to spank them, I don't like to have to get them in trouble. I would much rather that they listen to me the first time when they are told something. But, this also works to my disadvantage too. They have now come up with a plan to try and talk themselves around me.

This is where the driving me insane part comes in. Have you ever tried to talk sense with a 7,5, and 4 year old child? Has it ever worked for you? Have you ever tried to explain to a 4 year old that you cannot put a whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet because it will overflow and then mommy will have to then pull out all of the sopping wet toilet paper, plunge the toilet, and then adding insult to injury have to clean up all of the water that has spilled out of the toilet?!? Have you?!? It really does not work. I have tried it.

I have also tried explaining, very rationally mind you, to my 7 year old, that you cannot hit your brother for calling you names and then not expect to have to sit in time out, or get a spanking if it was really bad. Just because you get called a name does not justify hitting. His response to me was and I quote, "When we get in trouble you spank us, so I was just getting him in trouble and saving you the trouble mom." end quote. How cute.

My 7 year old is now trying to save me the trouble of punishing his younger siblings for minor offenses. How to explain that it is not his responsibility? I have tried to explain that one to him about a thousand times and I swear it really goes in one ear and out the other and is not retained in the little gray matter in between.

My 5 year old thinks it is ok to yell names at his brother and sister when he doesn't get his own way, and to threaten time outs if they don't give him what he wants. Starting to sound familiar? I am starting to feel like a broken record in my own home. Dinner time is another story. I would swear the child likes ice cold food! Yuck! No amount of coaxing, yelling, threating, bribing, you name it will get this child to eat faster than the pace of a sloth!

I have read numerous books, articles, you name it to try and get ideas and suggestions on how to deal with my children and everyone of them says to talk with them. Reason with them. Well, I have tried that, and the end result has been for them to turn around and use my own reasoning on me!

I guess I can say one thing for my children. They are smart! And cute!

tax exemptions/credits does anybody know the difference?

I find myself in the impossible situation of fighting with my ex over who should be able to claim the kids for tax purposes! I say that I should be able to as he only has them 4 days out of the month and only pays child support when he feels like it!

He says that he should be able to claim exemptions and I should be able to claim credits.

Does anybody out there know the difference and what I should do?

I don't want to sign my life away!

Jenny