The story of Phoebe Price is a sad one. And, the fact that this is becoming far too common is just as sad.
I don't understand why some decide that another is invaluable. I guess we could all think of reasons why they do but none would really explain it.
It's easy to say that it would've gotten better for her. But to a 15 year old who is being bullied everyday, that would seem the impossible.

Her family, being Irish immigrants and new to the area, probably didn't know the American rights that possibly could've helped them.

These are some of the questions I had when I heard this story: Are the parents of the bullies really surprised that their kids were invloved? There is a lot of cyber bullying out there as well. Do parents read their kids' Facebook and My Space pages? Do they read their friend's comments, which I think can be just as telling? Could a group of teen-agers really hide this behavior from anybody for that long? Did the school or teachers know what was happening?

What about bullying as adults? Do we not call it bullying because they are adults? What about television - talk shows or reality shows? Do we dismiss the types of bullying seen there because it's a good show? What about negative comments on blogs? Sure, one can disagree and it can be done civilly, so is there really a need for harsh words?

Maybe it's just the teenage girl in me that is sensitive to the desires for acceptance and happiness or maybe it's the mother in me that desires for my kids to live in a kinder world.

Whatever it is, I just wish all these families weren't going through this today or any day.

Egg-cellent placecards

Filling the eggshells with soil and seeds.

Chubby fingers.

Trae couldn't resist a taste test.

Does planting grass in egg cups sound fun to you?

It did to us so that's what the kids did last week.

I made the crack on the tops of the eggs and opened it to save 2/3 of the eggshell. Luckily, my kids love to eat eggs so none were wasted. After washing them out, we filled them with soil and a generous pinch of grass seed.
When the grass has finished growing, and hopefully the quick seed will do the trick, we should have lush, green grass growing from the tops of these eggs.

We are going to use them as placecard holders on the dinner table. Each person's name will be written on cardstock and we'll place it between the blades of grass. And since eggs don't stand up straight too well, I'll help them out by using egg cups.

I think most kids love to do projects like this. It may just be a way to get mine to help set the table a little more egg-citedly...okay, I couldn't resist.
Fingers crossed for a nice crop of grass eggs!

Thrift store picks of the week - week 5

Belen and I managed to make a quick trip to the local flea market and 1 thrift shop on Saturday. We wanted to escape the virus that was knocking 3 of the other kids out. Since Jon was home and the kids were sleeping, we went out for a while. Most of the market vendors started loading up by 2 PM so we didn't see much there. I did manage to pick up a few things though. I usually have an idea of what I am looking for so I quickly scan the booths and avoid perusing them too much. That keeps me focused and on budget.

My first find was this cute little bird. I remember my mom had a pair of these. Although it looks like a smooth finish, it actually feels a little rough with a porous texture. A light dusting made it look pristine. And for only .75 cents it came home with me.

In one of my last posts I mentioned that I like to buy things that are "native" to the area in which I live. Well, I couldn't do any better than this! This is going into the boys' room and Reese just loves it. I have a few other banners to display as well so they will make a nice grouping.

Next up - If I spot books that are in decent shape with interesting covers or in this case, spines, I like to use them to elevate other things, like this flower. You wouldn't even know that this candle holder came crashing down a few weeks ago. Apparently kicking shoes over the banister will do that to ceramics. Super glue was a good invention.

I don't always buy just vintage items at fleas or thrift shops. Take this glass candle holder for instance - it was a Target item that had been marked down twice in the store before the Goodwill bought its clearance items. I liked the chunky glass so I bought it for $2.99 with an extra 20% off. Charley said, "You got a discount on top of a discount??" Yup.

Speaking of Target, I spotted this metal sign at the flea market for .50 cents. It will also go in the boys' room. Reese thought it looked too new for him so I may have to run over it, hammer it or something.

So there you go - another round-up of fun finds. For all you fellow thrifters and flea marketers, as soon as I work on a link party, we can all link our posts together on one page. Then we can enjoy what each other has found.
Until then, let me know how your hunting was!

When man's best friend doesn't like you

Trae with our neighbor's wonderful dog. He loves to run with her and she lets him. She is a good dog.

Have you ever had a run in with a dog?

I did once. I was delivering girl scout cookies when I was 8 and a neighbor's dog came running from its house and tried to chomp my arm. He jumped up and was nearly as tall as me. Maybe he wanted the cookies I was holding which I was trying to use to fend him off. I can't remember whose Thin Mints I ruined that day...

I loved my childhood dog, Darby. He was a Chihuahua. I remember my mom taking me to get him. The owner of the litter of pups had me lie on my stomach and call them to me. The one who made it to me first was the one I could have and Darby was it. We loved him silly.

Not long ago, my husband was enjoying a trip to the Dentist. The office is in an old saltbox house and the steps up to the entrance flank each side of the door. There is a driveway to the right of the door which is narrow and leads to the parking spaces in back of the house. It's kind of charming.

But kind of not; it is a dentist office after all.

After his appointment, Jon bounced down the steps and turned the corner. As he rounded it he reached into his pocket for the car keys. When he looked up he was staring into the face of a huge German Shepherd. The dog was already in motion to jump and as he did, Jon took his right arm and crossed it in front of his chest in a defensive motion. It was the only thing he could do after being startled so suddenly. The dog jumped and clamped on to his arm. As the dog pulled away, he took with him a bite out of Jon's arm.

As luck would have it a Police officer just happened to be near the sidewalk when he heard the commotion and came running. Who says cops are always at the donut shop? The Dentist and his wife both ran out the side door closest to the drive-way and called off the dog. The officer, angry at the situation, yelled at the Dr. to see if he was the owner. Nervously, the dentist had Jon come in and they cleaned his wound, saying they would pay for everything and worrying that we would sue. After they bandaged him up, he went to our family doc, got stitches, a tetanus shot and antibiotics.

The police called and asked him to come in for pictures and to file a report just in case this were to happen again. His 1 pm appointment had now stretched to 7 pm.

He was asked to sit next to a girl in a waiting room at the police station. There were two officers grilling this girl about her drug activity. The officers were stern and she was crying. Jon thought at first that he was in the wrong area. He sat quietly listening to the girl's story and wanted to raise his hand to be excused but they told him to wait there. Finally it was his turn and they took pictures and asked again if we were going to press charges. Jon said no, it was an honest mistake. Someone had left the gate opened and the dog ventured out. We were just glad it wasn't a child that had been bitten.

So after all of this, and two weeks later I got a bill in the mail. Not from our family doctor but from the dentist himself! He sent over a $25 gift card for the shirt (from an outlet store) and a $59.00 bill for the teeth cleaning. The nerve, I thought, and I wanted to go bite him in the arm.

I ignored the bill for a while thinking they might get the message but it kept coming. Jon sent the payment over and inadvertantly made it out for $50.00.

AND after all of that, they called Jon at the hotel he manages. They called, not to see how he was doing, they didn't even mention it. They called to see about getting a good deal on a meeting room for their classic car club. Jon quoted him a price and they thought it was too high.

Then the puny gift card made sense to me.

A few days later, I received another bill for the $9.00 we left out of the original payment.

And 6 months later, I received many messages on my phone reminding me to make our next appointments.

"Are these people for real?" I wondered aloud.

I planned on calling them to express my frustration but I just never got around to it.

Then I figured that sometimes silence speaks the loudest and I never heard from them again.

Vaccination questions

I don't often stray from a feel-good blog, but we're all friends here, right?
It's all good...
Let me preface this by saying I do believe that immunizations are important. I get that.
My kids are immunized. I am not completely comfortable going without shots. But I'm not comfortable giving an 8 pound newborn a cocktail of injections either. I am thankful that I have a great Pediatrician who lets me choose which ones to give and when.
It's totally on my time line.

My kids meet all of the state requirements but it's just on a different schedule. The doctors give me recommendations and we go from there. They actually tell me which shots my kids don't need right now. Can you believe that?
They have even given me their personal cell phone number to bypass the answering service when I need them on a weekend, which I have used. Love them.

Anyway, I just received a letter from the school district stating the new guidelines for vaccinations for the 2010-2011 school year. Who makes these decisions? Why should I believe they are safe when the pharmaceutical industry has paid out over 2 billion in settlements on products that were once deemed safe?
When is it all too much?
Is Thimerosal really out of the drugs?

These are just a few questions I have.

Now I have to look up the records and see what the kids need or should I say, supposed to have. It used to be so easy to remember but with the changes every year for school and for different grades, I simply can't keep up.
Is it just me?

*Back tomorrow with funner stuff!*

Sure sign

To me, a sure sign of Spring is when the kids start bringing me flowers from the yard.

I put a few little jars on the windowsill as soon as I saw Daffodils reaching out for the sun. It's kind of like, "If you build it, they will come." I was ready with the vase and sure enough, they came with flowers.

Sometimes they pick them too short for vases and sometimes I only have the bloom to work with. When that happens, I have pretty cups at the ready and float the flowers in them. But this day, the stems were just the right length to stand happily on the windowsill.

And I happily stand back to look at them, being reminded once again of the simple nature of children.

I love it.

Thrift store picks and uses - week 3

Today brings another installment of my weekly Thrift store round-up. I have a lot of fun going out each week and seeing what I can find that will prove to be useful around here. I am always reminded when I go that useful doesn't have to cost a lot. One of the best parts I think. Oh and did I mention I always have fun?

From my excursion I brought home another plate and candle holder. The plate's painted design was wearing off so managed to take it off from the center but I still need to scrape off the rest.

I loved its detail and knew I could turn it into another cake/dessert stand. My kids could not wait for me to take the picture before they started helping themselves...

Hangers.

I love them and am always on the look-out for good, vintage hangers. I love their lines, typography and hinges. They are usually well made and always have a nice, 'made in the USA' stamp. Love it.

Not only do I use them for clothes but the main reason is that I like to use them to hang up the artwork that Reese so proudly brings home. It's easy and looks cool. It doesn't hurt that he likes it too. Who knew a .25 cent purchase could make someone so happy?

Self portrait - spot on.

And rounding us out are these sweet, little school chairs.

I couldn't pass them up.

I am a sucker for kids' items and chairs top my list. When I won't be using these as picture props they will be used by three of my little ones, whom have already struck their claim, but they are sturdy enough for adults.

Surprisingly heavy too.

I still need to finish cleaning them up but they've already been used to reach the sink, sit on to read a book, look out the window and have been pulled up to the ottoman for snack time (and to watch the yellow sponge of course.)

I'm already planning my next trip and look forward to seeing what's in store, especially now that flea market time is here. If you make any great finds, let me know and if you have any questions on an item or how to re-purpose it, just ask. I'm sure we can put our heads together and think of something.
Happy hunting!

Laura

Linking up to Somewhat Simple's "Strut your stuff Thursday." and Santa's Gift Shoppe