Questions about Atheism?

I admit, it has been awhile since I have posted. Spring time means more outside time and busy children so I haven't had a lot of time.

I have been trying to decide what to post about and I saw one of my friends blogs where people were asking her about atheism and how it affected her life in various ways. Being that she was from Canada it is slightly different than here in the US, but it was still an interesting thing to read.

So sorry Julie, but I am "stealing" your blog idea.

I am going to leave this blog post up for a week or so and let people ask questions that they may have about atheism. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on the subject but I can tell you about my experiences and I do have resources to find the answers to questions that I am not sure about (and will reference them as needed).

So go ahead, if you have ever had a question about atheism, ask. In a week or so, should I get any questions, I will write a post answering them for you.

Insecure Parenting

We recently had a big day in our house. Mr. A had a screening for kindergarten as he starts in the fall. It is a big deal of course so I was excited and nervous as I dropped him off yesterday and was more worried that he would be shy than anything else.

I went to pick him up (they have you drop them off for 2 hours) I was excited to see him, see how he did, and see what he thought about the whole thing. Before he saw me, I saw him and for a brief moment, my heart stopped. All the kids had made bracelets and necklaces but Mr. A had picked pink and purple. I quickly recovered what I am sure was a look of shock before he saw me and went to get him, complete with a big hug.

Now, I have no issues with pink and purple for a boy. He has always enjoyed painting finger nails, wearing tutus, picking pink paper instead of blue, and stealing my skirts to wear as dresses. None of that bothers me in the least.

For that moment when my heart stopped, I was worrying about what the other kids were going to say to him or if anyone had said anything to him.

We all know most mothers want to do what they can to keep kids safe and happy and I am no different in that respect. I am also painfully aware of how hard it can be when other kids decide you are "different" and start pointing that out.

Part of what got me about the situation is I wasn't prepared for it. I hadn't seen it coming at all. If he had decided he wanted to bring a purse to school I would have let him, and I would have explained to him that some of the other kids might think that is silly and might say things to him, but that it is totally okay to bring a purse if he wants to. I felt ill prepared as I hadn't thought of color prefernces.

I talked to him about what he thought of "school". He told me he had a great time and really liked it, so I was able to breathe a sigh of relief as it seems the other kids didn't notice his choice of beads, or if they did, they didn't care (which isn't THAT surprising at 5 years old).

The whole thing brought up my own insecurities as a parent. More than anything in the world I want my children to be accepted and loved. I know in reality most kids get bullied (even the bullies) but I also know that a boy that likes pink and purple is a more likely target than some of the others.

We all know that kids can be cruel and adults can be even more so. Sometimes people don't accept things that are "different".

I would NEVER dream of telling my son that pink is a "girl" color or tell him to go play in the woods instead of pretending to be a princess. I love him 100% and I want him to be the person that he is. I just hope I am able to raise him to be strong enough to handle what comes his way, no matter what, and to know that his Mama is ALWAYS here and will never judge him, only offer love and support when he needs it.

Update on 365 and Beyond

So I am sad to admit that I have given up on Project 365. I didn't intend on it but life is getting in the way and I am just taking photos as they come and putting them on facebook etc. I enjoyed it while I did it, but I know life is just going to get crazier the further into spring I get.

I hope to keep posting photos every so often but it won't be happening everyday like I was. I will have more updates and posts as they come up and as I have a chance to write about them but for now, the majority of pictures are done.

Pizza Dough!

I decided that tomorrow night we are going to build our own pizzas for dinner. I figure the kids will have a BLAST picking what to put on their pizzas and it is all from scratch (except the cheese, I haven't learned to make that on my own yet).

So I got my dough book out and made an olive oil bread dough that will be rolled out flat and made into pizza by the kids tomorrow night!

First Nice Day

Book List

So I totally missed yesterday. Booo. We were out and about a great deal and I just forgot. So here is today's post instead.

Today's post is my little sticky note with my list of books that I have read this year. So far there aren't many. I have managed 4 and have started a 5th. Now, considering the only time I really read is right before bed, it isn't a half bad list.

This list doesn't show Dark Tower Book 1 Gunslinger because I got about halfway through it and decided it was garbage and I wanted nothing to do with it. I know a LOT of people disagree with me on that book but I just couldn't get into it. I did try, honest.

Last night I started Hunger Games which is a fiction book written towards young adults. After my heavier non-fiction reading I wanted something quick and easy and this seems to fit the bill quite nicely.

Spring/summer is coming and I will have much more time to read on the front steps while the kids run around and play. Then I will actually start making a dent in my reading I hope!

The "Fridge"

I always heard growing up (and now in the parenting world) that a child's arts and crafts go on the fridge. As it happens we don't have many magnets and those that we DID have were run off with by the children.

What this means is that in our house when the kids do a craft it gets taped up to the window in the kitchen. We have these great big double windows that the table is in front of and each kid sits on one side. So when they do a craft it gets taped up on "their" side.

We HAD some snowflakes up there but with spring coming I couldn't stand it anymore so I took those down and we did a craft where they got to pick stickers off a sheet (flowers, butterflies, frogs, trees, etc) and put them on a piece of blank paper where they wanted. They also did a trace of their names where I dotted lined their full names for them and they "wrote" their names with crayon.

You can also see a little peak of Ms. I's clothespin stegosaurus we made last summer. It has managed to stay up and she is QUITE fond of it, so it hangs out there. Plus it isn't seasonal so Mama lets it stay put as well.