Halloween at our House

To the right: Hubby making a silly face, Double-EE trying to be funny, and Spirit probably thinking "get this costume off of me!".


It's almost 9 p.m. on October 31 2008 - Halloween. This was our first in our very own home, and we were prepared. We had two big bags of various candies (bought at Sam's), a skeleton hanging on our green-bean trellis, and electric pumpkins in our window.

I dressed our dog in a pumpkin costume - that lasted all of 10 minutes, or her first "shake". Hubby dressed as a hippie with a tie-die t-shirt, fringe vest, headband and peace-symbol necklace. Double-EE dressed as Superman, but trick-or-treating didn't last long with his poor post-surgery foot. And I dressed all in black, added a witch's hat, a peace symbol necklace and cackled as a hippie-witch.

Our candy is almost gone, so I'm on my way upstairs to take care of Double-EE's foot.

Meanwhile - think about this.... what an odd tradition... one night a year, it's okay to go from door to door, asking for free candies and goodies. Did we forget the background of All Hallow's Eve?

Vee-Mama
http://www.newviewgroupllc.com/

Never too young to VOTE!

With less than one week till the big day, Hubby and I took almost-12-yr-old Double-EE down to vote early this afternoon.

We had studied the "2008 State Information Booklet" to analyze and decide which way we would vote on the Referendums and Amendments. No, we didn't agree 100% on every issue, but we made our notes. He gets off work at 2:30 so by 3:05 we'd left the house in search of our Early Voting place. There were about 6 people in front of us by the time we got there at 3:20, so this went quickly. Double-EE stayed with me as I voted on our electronic machine with the little voter credit-type-card. He said aloud who I chose for President but after I shushed him, we realized no one had heard (I later explained about the right of privacy).

All in all, it took about 15 minutes plus drive time. Not bad.

Double-EE had heard Hubby and I discuss the issues and the candidates for weeks now. He made up his mind about who he'd like to be President. If he had been old enough, he would have voted. Proudly. We live in a democracy where we choose the people to represent our needs and wants in a centralized government. We do NOT cater to peer pressure. So, as we explained, if we don't vote, we don't have the right to complain about how our government is run.

And if we don't like the way things are going, we do what we can change them.

Kids:

• If you had the choice, who would you have voted for President/Vice President? And why?
• What is one thing you would change about our government and country?
  

Vee-Mama
http://www.newviewgroupllc.com/

Introduction to "Kid Whispers"

The new kids of today feel misunderstood. They can't sit still. Can't articulate their feelings. Feel bored with rote learning and schoolwork. Need constant attention.

What do we do? We try to control them, and can't. Often, we fail miserably, and feel the need to resort to therapy or medication (i.e. Ritalin).

I know I did. While I was a single parent struggling to make a living and spend time with my child, there were often-times I just couldn't do it. My little boy sucked my energy. He couldn't stop from blurting out answers in kindergarten. He fixated on his interests, blocking out all else.

When the kindergarten called me for a special meeting with a psychiatrist, the teacher, administrator and another person, I felt overwhelmed. "Put him on Ritalin or leave," they told me.

We left.

He's almost 12 years old now. Life continues to be a struggle, finding a balance between helping him develop his own interests and making time for myself. It helped to find a good partner.

Now, we're starting this blog (and soon, a monthly e-newsletter) for other people involved with helping the new kids of today (sometimes called "indigo children", "starseed", "rainbow children" and so forth. We hope to also discuss special camps, peer pressure, friends, family time, education/alternate schools, career paths, and more, including special interests and gifts.

Kids: feel free to comment on our postings. And if anyone has a suggestion for an e-book or other information you'd like researched and provided, or if you have something to contribute, please e-mail us. Thanks!

Vee-Mama
http://www.newviewgroupllc.com/