It has to be said

In this world of texting, blogging, facebooking, myspacing, tweeting, emailing and about a million other things , I'm sure that people have lost any common sense they may have had. People have no problem taking jabs at each other, saying things they would never say to other peoples faces, and being completely disrespectful. I've seen it in the blogs, with anonymous comments, odd facebook comments that clearly are patronizing or degrading. Emails that let loose a virtual assault on someone, or forwarding text messages that clearly should be erased asap! My problem is this, if you aren't man or woman enough to say it to my face, then don't type it, don't text it, don't tweet it. If I update my status on facebook, or myspace, don't assume you know what I'm referring to. There is no MUST LEAVE COMMENT button on facebook or myspace, sometimes its just a general reference to something going on in my mind. Honestly I think many of us have lost the human contact factor. If your not saying it in person, how do we know if its a ha..ha.. thing ... or a I'm really serious thing. I'm not sure many people take that into consideration when they are sitting behind the computer screen thinking they are being sly and smart. Maybe I'm old fashioned or a prude, but I think even though we all have this incredible freedom to communicate virtually anywhere anytime , we still owe each other respect, dignity, and common courtesies. Now ... if you'll excuse me I think I will step off my soapbox.

I've been ever so slightly busy

Where has September gone? I just noticed I blogged twice this past month. I'd like to say I was off saving the world with my incredible super powers but alas I was only keeping my head above water most of the month. Alex has started his online courses and is off to a great start. I have to fess up and say the first week I was pretty sure I would have something resembling a nervous breakdown. Thankfully I have friends that use the same online school and came over to calm me down and walk me through it! Its taking some adjustment , but I must say he is a completely different child, blossoming in ways that make my heart sing! For that I am thankful beyond words for.
This month I've also come to terms with my weight, I'd like to announce some big old diet that's going to work wonders on me, but I'm really trying to be realistic about it. Anyone who knows my family would say that I'm pretty similar to my Aunt Katie ... round, very round. I mean that in a good way -- she is cute as a button , I just don't want to run into the same health problems she has , but its safe to say I am her . So its one day at a time, eating a balanced diet ... ( so much for my Reese cups and mt dews!! ) and learning to be more active. Gosh that's a tall order!
I hate even referring to it, it makes me ill, but to those wondering , we reported Andy's stalker to the proper people and hopefully they will take care of the rest. That's been a tough lesson to learn.
Aaron has been dragging along a low grade fever the last couple of days , I'm trying to be calm about it , the first thing my mom suggested was the swine flu. I'm not willing to go that far .. yet. Andy's seems to have taught Aaron the old " hold the thermometer on the light bulb trick .... and I keep finding him reading books with a flashlight well after bedtime. Hmmm.... I'm starting to put two and two together.
Other then the normal mumbo jumbo and adjustment to homeschooling Alex, crazy Internet predators, and a may or may not be fever ridden child.. I've scratched my way through September . On the positive side, Alex got his first deer of the season tonight and I cannot wait to get the meat back! So bring on October, it can only get better !

a sickening experience

Before I start my story , Yes, my oldest 2 sons have cell phones . There are times when I feel like people get so focused on that and their own opinions that everything else is lost. I have my reasons for letting them have the phones, that being said this story has a much larger point. An extremely important point that more people need to understand. I have always been the kind of mom who checks, scans, and reads various forms of communication whether its myspace, text messages, facebook, voice mails. I admit that I probably teeter the edge of invading privacy, its a fine line . Having said that, tonight I was looking through Andy's phone , which I do quite often, and found text messages and a picture of a man . After some further questioning ( read interrogate ) I found out that this "person" met Andy, playing an online game and said he was 12, looking for friends... blah blah blah. Big shocker here.... this "person" is well over 12 .... lets say somewhere in his late 20's. The text messages where sexual, and he only referred to himself as his screen name online . Doug called the phone number , which had a New York exchange, and a man answered and hung up promptly after Doug asked why he was sending lewd messages and pictures to a 10 year old boy. I hope you see where I'm going with this story. I think this person is a very sick individual , I think he had other plans for Andy , to what extent no one knows. I know this has hit close to home and I'm not taking it lightly.
As much as I try to hover over my boys, to know every move before they make it, I can't always catch things the minute they happen. Even without a cell phone , or Internet access, the dangers are huge, we have 2 sex offenders living within a baseballs throw of our house and God knows how many are out there undetected. So if the predator is not coming in through electronic devices, they are lurking elsewhere. I can't put my boys in a bubble , this is a heart wrenching reminder that I need to educate them more then ever, that not everyone has good intentions.
I know someone who was molested for years by a trusted teacher , and church member .... and no one caught it . So yes , the electronic age makes it more convenient for these sick people, but if we are vigilant as parents we can keep ahead of the wolf.

a quickie catch up

Today I turned 34, not exactly a monumental moment, but not as scary as I thought. Somewhere in my mind I literally stopped aging in my mid twenties. That's another story , anywhoo... it was a marvelously fun birthday , I truly have amazing friends and family. I am blessed !
I haven't blogged much lately, the last week has been a blur, I took a giant leap of faith and withdrew Alex from public schooling and started him with online classes through Ohdela , his laptop and printer along with some books arrived today and it looks like its time to jump in the frying pan and see what I'm really made of. That is overwhelming for me to think of, I just need to have faith in myself and Alex that we can do this.
Somehow it just feels like another chapter in my life is starting, the pages have turned without my consent, but its forcing me to demand better for myself, my children, my family. So , as with everything , life moves on at its own pace and I'm hanging on for dear life .