Jamie Lynn Spears

Have you noticed that sometimes even Christians are willing to go along with the crowd if it sounds close to the right thing to do?  I've been thinking about this for a while now, and it is something that really bothers me.  What brought this on?  The gossip media splashed Jamie Lynne Spears all over every tabloid in America.  I can't stand tabloids, and I don't like gossip magazines of all sorts even if they aren't really considered to be tabloids, but that isn't really what this blog is about.

I don't know much about Jamie Lynne Spears, but I think that anyone who can read knows who her sister is.  Her mother has become quite famous as the mother of two superstar daughters.  Can you imagine having to parent high-profile, imperfect (just like the rest of us) teenage daughters in the spotlight of Hollywood and all the world?  I make enough parenting mistakes as it is.  I definitely wouldn't want the world to see every one of them on their television or at the check-out counter at Wal-mart.

I'm not here to judge Lynne Spears because I don't see myself as a better parent than she is.  Do I think she made mistakes?  Sure, but, as I said, so have I.  Do I know what those mistakes were?  Nope.  It's gossip, America, just gossip.  My hope as a parent is that the positive things I say and model for my children will have a more lasting impact on them and their future choices than the times I have fallen short.

So, get to the point, right?  Here's the big point.  The evangelical Christian community is clearly staunch in its stance on life.  We believe that life is God's to give and God's to take in any and all circumstances, or at least most of us do.  There are Christians and other pro-life advocates who march on Washington annually every January.  They look for opportunities to throw themselves into the media to help get their message out.  I'm not saying that these are bad things as that is not what this is about.  I'm just drawing a picture for you because of what many of these same people are now doing to the Spears family.

Many people, Christian and non-Christian alike, immediately started attacking Lynne Spears and her parenting skills upon the news that her 16 year old daughter, Jamie Lynne who stars on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101, is pregnant.  I don't know if she handled the info correctly.  I do know there are a lot of rumors because I can see them while I'm standing in the check-out aisle at any store.  Do I think that Jamie Lynne should continue to be a role model for young girls?  Hmm...well, that is definitely a topic for another blog.

Here's what I don't get.  Shouldn't someone stand up and commend Lynne Spears for supporting her daughter's decision to have her baby?  Are we really naive enough that we think that hundreds of other teen stars haven't faced this exact dilemma and chosen to end their babies' lives?  Obviously, Lynne has done something right , probably more than most parents who live in the limelight, because what her daughter is doing could very possibly end her career.  It will change her life forever.  Any parent knows that your life is never the same once a baby enters the picture, and while she will probably have extra help from a nanny, she's still taking responsibility for her actions.  She is going to have her baby.  She's not going to abort it like most Hollywood teens.  Who taught her to take that kind of responsibility?  My guess is that it came from her mother. 

So, in my humble opinion, Lynne Spears must have done something right.  Taking responsibility for a mistake this huge is not something that we see happen in the media very often.  She should be proud of herself and of her daughter's mature choice in this situation. 

And those pro-life Christians that I mentioned?  Yep, I'm one of them.  Those of you who know me know that I am and have been since I understood what abortion was.  BUT...instead of looking for opportunities to bash Hollywood and the main-stream media, try noticing the opportunity that is staring you in the face.  A good thing just happened in Hollywood.  A baby's life was saved for all of America to see.

Today's Top 10

1.  My house is still decorated for Christmas.  I planned to take the tree down yesterday, and then when that didn't happen, I planned to take it down today.  I also planned for Eric to clean out the family room (and unless you saw how much stuff was in there, you have no idea how big of a project that was/still is), and I planned for me to do laundry, plan for school, and on and on the list goes.  My intentions were great, and it could all have been done if we were uninterrupted and everything went perfectly.  And so, as it often goes, planning for school became much more important than un-decorating the house.  I need more time!

2.  I'm crazy-weird about certain things.  Do any of you know this about me?  For example, CDs and DVDs have to go into their cases with the title readable.  I keep my grocery list on an excel spreadsheet.  My flute is named Samantha, Sam for short.  The list goes on and on.  Now, I am cataloguing 202 accelerated readers that I purchased on e-bay in excel.  I'm recording title, author, reading level, and read-aloud level.  Otherwise, I'm afraid that by the time we need them, I'll completely forget that we own them.  I'm thinking about doing this for all of our books.  It is a huge, unnecessary project, but it will save me time, money, and effort in the future.

3.  We have had a blast over our break smothering our children with quality time and affection.  It has been wonderful, and it is directly reflected in their great behavior and attitudes.  I'm not a resolution maker, but I have decided to protect our time more, especially our evenings, so that we can make sure that we have plenty of family time at home.  I know that it is the best thing for our kids.

4.  Tomorrow is our first day back to school.  I am excited and energized and ready to get started again!  Lukas and Ava are also looking forward to it, which is great because it felt like I was pulling Lukas' teeth every school day in December.  We've got some fun activities and projects to do this week.  I can't wait!

5.  Like my new template?  It's all about where I'm at in life right now.  Crayons are a part of my life every single day, so why not enjoy them on my blog.  They're so bright and cheerful!

6.  My sister and brother-in-law bought us Dance, Dance Revolution for Christmas (at our request), and we love it.  Most of all, we love having fun while getting some exercise, and, even more than that, we love, love, love watching the kids play.  Lukas is actually better than us on some of the dances, and Ava just bounces around while staring at the screen with a very serious face.  She clearly has no idea what she is doing, but she also clearly believes that she does.  It's so cute.  We got it on video last week.  I know that those of you who are aware of my incredible lack of coordination are dying to see me play this game.  I'm sorry, but most of you will probably never have that pleasure. 

7.  I love LeapPads.  Lukas got The Incredibles 2nd Grade LeapPad book for Christmas, and he has been playing with it nearly every day.  The same math that we were working on before break is included in the book, and he is doing great at it now while he seemed to be just barely getting it before.  We're going to review for the next few days, but I don't think we'll have any problem moving on!

8.  Ava will be starting some new things for pre-school this week.  I bought her a book at Wal-mart because she really wants to be doing what Lukas is doing, so I thought that if she had a workbook, she would feel like she was really "doing school".  Since she's turning 4 this month anyway, I figure she should do just fine with it.  She can't wait to get started!

9.  I had Ava's birthday party mostly planned in my head when my sweet, sweet sister said out loud, "Isn't she doing a My Little Pony party?  She seems to be all about My Little Ponies."  True enough, she is, but she had been planning a princess party since last winter.  Now we're having a Pony party, and, unlike her brother who just takes what he gets, she is being very specific about everything.  She is a detail girl, which she gets from me (see #2 above).  The good news is that we're only having a family party, which brings me to...

10.  Eric and I had 3 discussions about having only a family party for Ava this year before we finally agreed.  Lukas had a very, very small 4th birthday party, and his 5th birthday was just family as well.  I don't believe that a child needs to have a huge party every single year, but I love throwing them.  It isn't less work really since a family party requires a meticulously clean house while a big party requires that we simply go somewhere else to celebrate but I have to have goody bags and games and prizes.  At any rate, I still feel kind of guilty about this decision even though I know there is no reason to feel this way.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that on her actual birthday, she'll be getting her teeth cleaned.  Seriously.  That's just how it worked out, so she'll have shiny-clean teeth to enjoy her birthday treats!

Aren't you glad there's no #11?

Webkinz 911

Two things have happened in the past two days regarding Lukas and his Webkinz.  He has two of them now.  Jack, his first and favored, is a dalmation.  Icy is the new polar bear that was in his Christmas stocking.  He loves them both, but Jack has been the favored stuffed animal since he got here in September.  He loves playing on-line with Jack, always making sure that Jack is seated where he can see the screen, and he has slept with him every night.  He also takes him with him nearly everywhere he goes, though our rule is that he has to stay in the car.  When your child is this attached to something, you don't want to risk losing it, so you leave it in the car.

The first thing that happened regarding Jack happened on New Year's Eve.  We were sleeping in my sister's living room, and Lukas decided that he was not close enough to where we were.  We helped him move his sleeping bag so that he was snuggled between our air mattress and a row of baby toys (which he bumped around 5 in the morning waking us up).  That is when I realized that he didn't have blankie.  Lukas became attached to blankie totally on his own as a baby, which was funny because when my dad bought it for him when he was a month old, he announced that it would be his security blanket.  Sure enough, that was the blanket Lukas chose as his security blanket.

Blankie has travelled with us everywhere from Canada to Florida in the past 6 years, but he wasn't with us on this trip.  Lukas didn't pack him, and he didn't miss him either.  I know that some of you think I'm crazy for referring to a blanket as a "he," but Lukas determined years ago that blankie was indeed a he. 

So anyway, back to the story...As I was trying to fall asleep on New Year's Eve, I had tears in my eyes realizing that we had possibly moved past a new milestone.  I will say that blankie still remains in his bed here at home, and he even journied down the stairs this morning, but it is the first time I've seen blankie in a few weeks.  Watching your kids grow up is fulfilling, but when you realize that they are losing some of those little things that make their early years so precious, it can be difficult to work through the different feelings that battle for a mommy's heart.  Of course I am proud of him, but with every step he takes toward adulthood, it feels like a part of him is gone forever.

Now, on to a second story involving Jack, but this one reminds me that Lukas is still a little boy in so many ways.  Jack wore a red Webkinz hoody for a few days this past week.  Ava received clothes for her Webkinz, and she graciously allowed her brother to borrow them.  Unfortunately, when he removed the hoody, Jack had turned pink.  No, the clothes were not wet.  The hoody was obviously poorly made with cheap red dye.  Lukas panicked when he discovered this yesterday morning, and he kept bringing it up all day.  By bedtime last night, he was sobbing because "The best pet in the whole wide world" was ruined(he was also exhausted from staying up later than ever the night before).  A pink dalmation is not a 6 year old boy's dream pet.  Can you imagine?  He sobbed loudly, very, very loudly, in his bed for 45 minutes last night before finally drifting off to sleep.  He loves Jack, and he wants him to be white again.

I have e-mailed Ganz to let them know about the problem, and I'm going to go ahead and try to wash Jack in the gentle cycle even though it says surface wash only.  If Ganz doesn't respond, which will honestly make me angry, and the washing machine is too much for Jack, I guess I can always go on the hunt for a new dalmation.  That would totally stink for Lukas though.  If this was his fault, then I would use it as a lesson, but it isn't, and I want it to be taken care of.  Poor guy.  Poor Jack.    Isn't it crazy the things we do for our kids sometimes?  Hopefully, Ganz backs up the quality of their product.  Until I hear from them, I'll follow through with plan B and let you  know what happens!

Happy 2008 everyone!