Saying No

Decided to take the boys off gluten free and see if we see anything. We are at dinner at Macaroni Grill and keep asking Karson if he wants to try different things and he keeps declining. So Kullen says to him, "Dude here I am living the good life and you just keep saying no!"

Here Come the Groomsmen

Karson "So are Kullen and I the groomsmen?"
Me: "Why do you ask?"
Karson "Well, I think they are suppose to throw some big kind of party for the groom and there is suppose to be alot of wild women. I know I can handle the wild ones but I am not sure about Uncle Mark."
Me: "What do you know about wild women?"
Karson "I have lots of them in my class. And then there is Kellis, the scratcher... I have to deal with wild women all the time."
Me "Well, in answer to your question the groomsmen are responsible for throwing a party and providing entertainment but you don't have to worry about it because you are not groomsmen."
Karson "Well, I could still provide the entertainment."
Me "What would it be?"
Karson "Well, I could talk to Uncle Mark about Dinosaurs. That would kill about two hours."

Diapers

We found and unused disposable diaper tucked away at the cabin and Kullen says to Kellis "Yuck that is your diaper"
Kylee to Kullen " Hey, you used to wear diapers too and I had to change them!"
Kullen...walking way "How unfortunate for you!"

Bagpipes In the Forest

Dave is playing his bagpipes at the cabin when Kullen pipes off with " Dad is going to wake up all the animals in such a hard way that they will have a forest riot!"

Bagpipes In the Forest

Dave is playing his bagpipes at the cabin when Kullen pipes off with " Dad is going to wake up all the animals in such a hard way that they will have a forest riot!"

Fast Forward

Karson: "Why doesn't life have a fast forward button?"
Me: "Why?"
Karson:" Frankly, instead of doing the dishes I would rather be on the Cook Islands watching the girls go by in their bikinis."

UGHHHHHHHHHH...and I thought he was just interested in the fish!

The Lengths One Has TO Go To Be An Artist

At the bus stop
Karson to Kullen:You are an artist just like Van Gogh
Kullen: Wasn't he the one who cut off his ear and killed himself?
Karson:I don't think you need to go that far to be known as a great artist!

Here We Go Again

In the car:
Kullen: What were the days of the Gold Rush like
Me: I wouldn't know. I wasn't there.
Kullen: Are you sure? You kind of look like one of those miners!

To My Child's Teacher

I wanted to make you aware of something you may not have considered in regards to these "Where I Came From" type of assignments. My daughter does not have a birth picture as most international adoptees do not. This can be very painful to some adoptees when class assignments such as this come around. My daughter was born in Korea where children are adopted in a very legal and orderly manner with children being placed with agencies after birth. Yet, part of her past is missing. And some kids from China are left in public places as it is against the law for parents to abandon a child and in that culture the gender of choice is male. Therefore, often girls are abandoned. In addition, due to the one child policy; abandonment happens to females in high numbers. These children often struggle with the fact that they were "left" somewhere.

In addition, having to include a story of their birth is very difficult because many children who are adopted have no clue about the story of their birth. They can't say things like my mother ate pickles during pregnancy and cried and cried when I was born. They have no idea of the circumstances of their birth except that in many countires it is one of disgrace and shame. Instead of their birth being a happy time many adoptees feel that it is a time of sorrow where they lost their identity and their heritage.

My daughter cannot answer the questions of the hospital where she was born and who came to see her and how her mother felt. We can answer those questions from when we first saw her picture at three months and when she came home at almost 8 months but this seperates her out from the other kids. In addition, we only encourage her to share what she knows of her birth story with people she wants to and frankly it is not appropriate for just anyone to know nor it is not everyone's business to know the circumstances of her birth.

These kinds of assignments can be hurtful to adoptees or children who come from "different" families other than a two parent mom and dad type of family. Many kids now come from gay families and may not be comfortable sharing that. Many kids now come from single mother with unknown fathers and may not be comfortable sharing that. Many children come from foster families and had abusive first parents who may have told them over and over things like, "I wish you had not been born." Many times the birth of a child is not a "happy" time in a family and a child may know that. While the jist of these assignments are made with the noblest of intentions, in reality, these types of assignments are often uncomfortable and hurtful for children.

Just wanted you to consider this from another point of view.

Another Age Thing

Was pokemon around when you were little?
I am not sure
Well, I am wondering about the olden days
I wouldn't know about the olden days. I didn't live in them.
I mean the 90's, mom
Son, the 1990's were not so long ago and they certainly were not the olden days
No, I mean when you were little; back in the 1890's