"Wife Swap" on ABC

I very seldom get to watch ABC's reality show "Wife Swap" because I have to rely on an over the air antenna to get 47 and it doesnt always come in clear,but I did manage to catch most of it last night and a Maryland couple were on the show!The Maryland couple,the Phillips, were a retired military colonel and her quiet,devoted husband-this lady had THREE jobs and ran her home like a boot camp and was a strict parent.The other couple,the Blankenships,were like a biker family.The husband (Tim?) was a rock musician who looked like a biker with long hair and tats and all,and his gorgeous wife catered to his every need-waiting on him hand and foot in full makeup around the house.All Hell broke loose towards the end when Tim learned that his wife had taken her "Swap husband" out clubbing and demonstrated "body shots" in a bar with some other guy.
I admit the Colonel Mom was tough on her two teen girls but they were very wise for their age and seemed dedicated to their Dad.At the same time,the Blankenships son was permitted to play video games for hours daily instead of homework,chores,etc.So it is kind of hard for me to pick sides on these type of shows.
I would never invite the world into my home,even for the 50 grand the show awards to each family,so I have some respect for people just baring it all like that on TV but some of the people are extreme.Tim Blankenship felt that since he was the "breadwinner",his wife should cater to him 24-7 and keep the house to his standards and still manage to look like a model from "Outlaw Biker" magazine.
Now I admit I do most of the housework and laundry but my husband cooks for us often and works very long hours so I can spend more time at home,so out of respect for him and all he does I do the "traditional" stuff like get his clothes out for him before bed,make his lunches,etc.I just dont look all that great doing it!LOL.Instead of "Outlaw Baker" centerfold,he is getting a grouchy bitch in sweatpants and slippers.
If you have never seen "Wife Swap" check it out on Wednesday nights at 8 on ABC.

Spare the rod-stay out of jail

What on Earth is Rep.Jay Kaufman smoking on?He is pushing H.B. 3922,which would basically make parental corporal punishment illegal in Massachusetts!No government entity should dictate family issues or take power away from the parents.Abuse is one thing,but warming up your childs rear-end to discipline them is NOT abuse!Parents who don't spank will not go to jail,but odds are their kids will eventually if authority is stripped from loving,responsible parents.Call it "policing at home" if you will.When children learn that there are consequences for breaking rules,they are less likely to repeat their actions.Look at the decine in social and behavorial standards in public schools since corporal punishment there was eliminated.People my age can recall when they got spanked AT school by the Principal and when they took that note home,they got another butt-whipping there.Now they get a vacation from school.
When I first heard it on O'Reilly,I was taken aback.He (Rep.Kaufman)needs to divert his attention to the kids who really need protection,the many children who ARE abused.Is anyone else just dumbfounded by this whole thing?With this mindset,no wonder theres kids getting arrested for fighting and stealing and worse all the time-they never learned that there are undesirable repercussions for their misbehavior.

Christmas Memories and More....

For many years I spent Christmas morning at my Mothers house and then in the afternoon,it was on to my step-grandparents with my Dad and stepmother.This was the second christmas without my mother,which is VERY difficult to comprehend,so after my daughter finished unwrapping her loot from Santa,we packed up and it was off to the grandparents(my stepmothers parents)to spend the afternoon with the extended family.Other than my husbands grandmother,they are the only living grandparents I have left and they are getting on in years and are in poor health,so each year is a blessing.Pop-pop Jim has had many strokes and cant really recall much,but the look on his face when he sees his many great-grandkids is priceless.He doesnt know all their names anymore but he knows they are his greatgrandbabies and he is content just to watch them play and get hugs & kisses all day long.It makes my day to see him so happy.
Also,is it just me,or is everything overpackages now?I filled 5 yard-sized garbage bags to almost bursting with paper and plastic packaging today,mostly from toys!To see our dump pile you would think we bought out a department store!
I also had a pile of dishes waiting for me when I got home today.Although I did not cook at home,I baked some sugar cutouts(from a mix) and pecan sandies(from scratch).My dear husband sat down and hand-shelled over a hundred pecans Sunday while watching football,sans nutcracker tools.Try to find a nutcracker set!One store where we checked said"No,we don't have them,but everyone is asking for them!"Uh,duh!Used to be at least one person would give you a nutcracker set for Christmas,now they seem to be scarce!At least I do not have to buy pecans-my father has so many he gives them away!
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and got to spend time with the people they love.You never know who will still be here with us next year so its important to always make time for family and loved ones!

Have a Blessed & Merry Christmas!

I will not be blogging again until Wednesday and just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.Yes,I said Christmas!Some of you may have already celebrated Chanukah,yet others of you may be celebrating Kwanzaa later this week.Some of you just celebrated the Winter Solstice and I am sure there are some of you who will not celebrate any holiday at all this week.Regardless of what you believe or practice,I will not change my greeting-if you do not celebrate Christmas,then take my holiday greetings as my wishes to you for peace and love this year and every year!Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Christmas Day movie openings

For some families,bundling up and heading to the movie theater is as much of a tradition as opening gifts and trimming the tree,and there are quite few movies debuting this year on Christmas Day-something for everyone!

• "Predator vs. Alien-Requiem"
• "The Great Debaters"
• "The Water Horse:Legend of the Deep"
• "The Bucket List" (limited release)
• "Persepolis" (limited release)

Myself,after all the festivities are through will be cleaning up while watching "A Christmas Story"!!!!

Multiple mayhem

Last week there was a news story about teenage quadruplets born in 1990 who paid a special visit to a newborn set of quads who were born at the same hospital as the teens and as I read the advice that the teens parents gave to the new parents,I couldn't help but think of how mainstream and commonplace multiple births are now,mostly due to medical advancements and intervention."Jon & Kate plus 8",a show about a family with a set of twins AND a set of sextuplets,is one of the highest rated programs on TLC.The McConahey septuplets just celebrated their 10th birthday and were featured on the cover of a national womens magazine.

I have mixed feelings about the issue.I certainly can understand the desire to have a child and the lengths that a woman will go to in order to do so,but it's not all warm & fuzzy....The more babies there is,the higher their chances are of being premature,which in turn leads to a host of physical and developmental disabilities.Some doctors advocate "selective reduction",in other words,aborting some of the babies early in order to give one or two of them a better chance of survival-but thats not an option for alot of expectant parents,because of religious or moral beliefs.Unfortunately,because artificial insemination procedures are SO expensive and rarely covered by insurance,multiple embryos are implanted in the hopes that at least one will "take".While it would be wiser to implant just one or two,most women can only afford it once and are determined to succeed because they might not get another opportunity.So it is a very personal and complicated issue.

It used to be that multiples were rare,and while there are still the occasional set of multiples that were conceived the "old-fashioned way",for the most part the increasing multiple births are due to modern fertility medicine.I personally do not know how I would cope if I had more than one toddler but theres families that have anywhere from 3 to 7 and somehow they manage.They used to be able to get freebies from big companies but as multiples become more common,the diapers and strollers and other goodies have dried up.At least things are easier for these tots now.Back before artificial reporduction,quads and other multiples were exploited by their parents and sideshow barkers,some even being raised in circuses and traveling oddity shows like bearded ladies!We have come a long way since then.I can only recall one or two sets of twins in my high school-now there liable to be one or two in EVERY class!