Tough Love vs. Spanking - Good Argument

Hello Everyone! My friend Andrea sent me this awhile back and thought you all would like to read this advice from a dad...:) Enjoy! By the way, don't look at the picture til you have finished reading his letter!


Tough Love vs. Spanking - Good Argument

Many Americans think it improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control kids when they have one of 'those moments.'

One that I found effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride and talk.

Some say it's the vibration from the car, others say it's the time away from any distractions such as TV, Video Games, Computer, IPod, etc.

Either way, my kids usually calm down and stop misbehaving after our car ride together. Eye to eye contact helps a lot too.

I've included a photo below of one of my sessions with my son, in case you would like to use the technique.

Sincerely,

Dad

When my boys do this...

When my boys do this...

and that...

This happens...my poor little witches get their
feet sliced off. So sad...

This is what they are supposed to look like...
But my boys swear that the witches gave their allegiance
to the evil Sith Lord, Emperor Palpatine.

Well, in that case, I will take some pictures of them and
post them on my blog...my boys the heroes!!!

Luke, I am your mother (spoken in the Darth Vader accent)

As Luke's mother, I just love him like crazy. As a baby, he made me laugh the most and I think he still makes me laugh the most. He cracks me up. I have lots of fun pictures of him. Not so many of the other kids! I love that he loves his name. He is the perfect Luke. He loves when people call him Luke Skywalker. Brett was going to be named Luke but I just wasn't sure about all those Ls...see, I have lots of Ls, Laurie Lynn Layer. Anyways, Jenny was going to be Luke until she was born and I found out that she was a girl. So, finally Luke came! He was such an easy baby compared to the first two! I love that he is still easy going. I love that he too, like his brother, is very curious about life. He is so curious and wants to be in on everything. I love that Luke still likes to cuddle with me. I love that he would like me to still carry him up to bed.:) I love that he still gives me kisses on my cheek every night when he says good night. All my others just give hugs...although Sophie will give a kiss every now and then. I love that he takes pride in all that he does. I love that he isn't reserved or particulary shy. He just goes for it. I love that he loves sports. He is really good at soccer but he would like to play football. Hmmm, even though he is a tough little kid, I'm hoping that he will change his mind and stick with soccer seeing how he is rather small and he would get pummeled to say the least! Leave football to big people. The thing is, he really looks up to Brett. Brett wants to play football but he is BIG. I love that he makes his bed really good. I love that it is still important to him to please me. He loves to be praised. Most kids do though. I love that he always thinks he is the best player on any of his teams or the best student in his class or the best runner in first grade. I've also read that this is common with most young children. Oh, the confidence children have in themselves! I love that he loves Sophie, Jenny, Brett, Dad and I. He really enjoys his family! Although, sometimes being the younger brother is hard. I love Luke's smile, it is contagious! It lights up his whole face! His eyes are so bright...brown but bright. Ya know how the eyes are the window to the soul? Well, Luke's eyes tell me he's a wonderful, kind person (who still likes to get into a lot of mischief) :) He's a sweet little guy (oops, he doesn't like to be called little)!! But I can tell you that he's a ladies man. My mom tells me he's the one I'd better keep a close watch on! Those girls... Well, I love him so much. We just started reading the Doctrine and Covenant Stories together and I love all the questions he asks. And I'm so glad that I know the answers! I think I need to go find him and give him a hug!!

Why I love my daughter Jenny

I'm here to continue my love writing! I love Jenny Rose! She is such a wonderful daughter! Truly, I've been blessed with amazing children. I love that she is feisty. She has been feisty since day one. I love that she has a voice that she wants to be heard. I love that the only person she would go to for her 1st year of life is me. Seriously. I'm not kidding. I can say I love it now, but back then I truly thought I was going to go crazy. Actually, I think I did go crazy there for awhile. I love that she is more organized than me. I love that she would be just as good a teacher as many at Chloe Clark! She's amazing! She just bought an easel and has started a school upstairs for Sophie. She has made a number, an alphabet, a colors, and a shapes book all by hand for her little school. She also has a set of school rules that she has written out for the student (Sophie). I love that she loves Sophie! I find her reading stories to Sophie all the time. Before Sophie, she loved Luke, dressing him up in all sorts of outfits! I love that she is responsible. I have to tell my other kids things many times before they do it. Jenny is really good about doing things on her own. She even tells me to not forget to help Sophie with her job chart! And she has been working hard on a FHE lesson that will help her pass off one of her FIG requirements. And it is a miracle that I haven't had to remind her. I love that she is athletic and enjoys sports. I love that she is competitive and wants to be the best she can be. I love that she too works hard on developing her talents. I love that she will get me up in the morning around 6:00 am to read together for our book club. I love that she loves to make chocolate chip cookies. I love that she is modest in appearance and speech. I love that she is a good example to her friends. I love that she is a good friend to her siblings and friends. I love that she is funny and goofy. I really, really love her devotion to her family. She really loves everyone! I love how much she loves her dad. She really missed him when he was gone. I love that she too is finding her testimony and learning to share it. I love how helpful she is! I love that she enjoys shopping now! I love that she still lets me do her hair most of the time. I am so blessed to have her in my life. She is a beautiful gift from Heavenly Father and I'm so glad she is a strong, loving person! I love you Jenny Rose! You are an angel!

Bindings, Lines, Memories and Love

A few years ago, when I lived in New York, I went to a Super Saturday and made these really cute soft cover books. My friend, Nadia, was the expert behind this project. (Remember Nadia?) She taught me how to bind these books in a few different ways and it was really cool.


My plan was to make one for each of my kids and then I would write in these books every so often, maybe write a letter, or just funny moments, spiritual moments, not-so-good moments...ya know, whatever. Something to pass on to my kids that hopefully they would cherish. I made 5 just in case I had another child. I've always wanted 5 or 6 kids but my body has decided on 4 which I'm not too thrilled about but hey, I've thought about adoption so we'll see. Maybe we will bring back a baby from Europe or something... Well, back to my story. These books still remain empty because I wanted to write very light lines in them so my writing would be straight cuz I tend to write at a slant. So, whenever I think about it, I always think," Well, I've still got to get those lines in there so it will be all nice, straight and pretty. :) But hey, man, times a tickin' and now I can't remember all the little things that would have been so nice to put in them. So I thought I would write something on my blog tonight (wow, I just looked at the time and it is kinda late but that's OK) about one of my kids, then I'll try to write about the others in the next few days. And hopefully I can get writing in those cool notebooks I made. So tonight is:

Why I love my son Brett

There are so many reasons why I love Brett. He has such a tender heart and a kind heart. He is always so kind. Every year his teachers tell me what an exceptionally kind and respectful child he is . There aren't too many out there like him. I love that he loves his siblings (for the most part) . He really loves Sophie and would love to spend more time with her but his sister is way more aggressive and demanding than he is so she usually gets the time with Sophie. He's so innocent and thru the years I've smiled at many of his earnest and heart felt questions. For a few years now he has asked many times when his next sibling would arrive. He finally knows what, "we are doing all we can to get one here" means. Funny. He is shy around me and only asks Dad private questions. I'm glad he asks though. :) I love that he tries hard at whatever he is doing. I love that he thinks fast is better no matter what it is. Like with piano...no counting needed...just do it as fast as you possibly can. You should see how fast he can play the Star Wars Theme. I love how he is working on his talents. I love that his prayers are becoming more sincere and that his knowledge of the gospel is increasing. I love that he is curious. I love how he asks questions. I mean LOTS of questions about everything and every possibility and every "what if". A couple weeks ago we were in the car and he just started going off asking question after question after question. I looked at Dave and we both just started cracking up. We couldn't stop laughing. And sweet Brett is like," What? Why are you laughing? What's so funny? I don't get it!"

I love Brett because he is my first born and I wasn't all that easy on him. Trust me, patience comes with time. I'm a lot more patient than I used to be but still have a long way to go. Brett still loved me when I wasn't super nice. I love Brett because out of all the kids he is the first one to come and say sorry for his behavior. And if he doesn't think I heard him, he will come right up to me and makes sure that I know that he is sorry. I love that he can tell when I'm having a bad day. He lets the other kids know it too! He's really sweet.
I love that he could care less about fashion, girls and cars. (Although, that may come later on). I love that he thinks he is pretty funny. I love that he is strong and that he can pick me up. I love his willingness to try something new. I love that he wants me to read the books that he reads because he wants to talk to me about them and then he wants me to suggest them for my book club choices. I love that he thanks Heavenly Father for the Atonement. I love his big brown eyes and dimple. And I simply love him because he is my son and a precious gift from God... I love you Brett. ( I know you don't want to hear that because it is embarrasing but I do and will forever!)

This is NOT my house!

Well, I just had to take a few pictures of this house all decorated in TWILIGHT stuff. Now there is a serious Twilighter! And I love the red pumpkins. The floating Cullen is nice as is the skeleton Quileute guy. I drive pass this house a couple times a day...the first time I saw it I had a good laugh! Who thinks I should knock on the door and invite her to go to the movie with us? Well, assuming it is a "her"! :)

The 80's Were Killer Dude!!

"Dave and I were invited to a Halloween Rockin' 80s Party on Saturday night and it was so fun!! And it was kinda my friends 30th bday party too even though she turned the BIG 3-0 in August. It was at the roller skating rink on post which was probably decorated in the '80s and hasn't been remodeled yet! So, yes, it was the perfect place for the party. We brought some Zingers and Hohos and really enjoyed ourselves. My friend, April, made this totally awesome Rubic's Cube cake and there was even games and prizes. It was so fun. Everyone dressed up and we all skated like it was 1985! I wish I could post all the cool get-ups but there were just too many!

Here are the host and hostess! Don't they look awesome!?
Seriously, they were the "IT" couple!

Here are the girls and I!
Me, Jen, Heather, Karin and Dana.

The photographer who took all these pictures, Jen.
And her incredibly hulky Mr. T.!!

And here are Dave and I. I am naturally
Olivia Newton-John and Dave makes one heck
of a Mullet Head don't 'cha think?
Who ya gonna call????Ghost Busters!!
And I don't think I will be coloring
my hair blonde anytime soon!! Yikes!

I Never Knew Canning Could Be So Fun!

Dave and I did some canning the other night when all the kids were in bed. Did you know that canning is fun? We did lots of wheat, sugar, flour, oats, powder milk and beans. We have about 6 months worth of the basic dry food. Seeing how we have been counselled by our prophets and church leaders, year after year to get our houses in order, save, don't go into debt, have some food storage for a rainy day (or month or two...or year), we have been taking that counsel to heart. And we both thought it was fun to do the canning at our place rather than going up to Kent to the cannery there. We liked it so much that we finished all 114 cans that night and took the canner back up the next day. The cannery people were surprised that we didn't keep it for the whole 3 days...nope, we just needed it for less than a day! So, we only have 6 months worth of food to go. As far as the 3 months supply of the everyday food that we eat, we have been working on that too! Lots of cans like soup, fruit, chili, green beans and so on! We try to store up on cereal too. The commisary was having a really good deal on cereal the other day! Honey nut Shredded Wheat was only $1.39 a box!! Nice! Well, I hope we all will be prepared when we need to be. Notice I said when and not if. Really...it is time to prepare! And an easy way to start storing water is to just buy an extra case or two when you are at Costco. Water is a MUST!!

But, I'm thinking I could just live off of this for a year!! Thick chocolate, watery chocolate, cold chocolate, hot chocolate...IT IS ALL GOOD! :)

The Final Twilight Trailer!!

I thought you all would like to know that the final trailer is out!! It's pretty good. The only thing that bugged me was him running up the tree like Spiderman or something! Just click on the title of this post and it will take you right to it!!

The Cruise

The Cruise

Dave and I outside the ship while it is pouring rain! I got a new
jacket out of it so it wasn't so bad!

I don't remember the name of this appetizer but we just wanted a picture of all the silverware. 12 pieces per person x 1800 people...that is alot of silverware!!

This was a cute little alleyway filled with all sorts of cute shops in Nanaimo. Nanaimo didn't have much to offer...Dave and I found some blackberry bushes and picked some while we were walking around town! They were delicious!

The Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC! Neat looking huh? It is over 100 years old and sits right on the water front. A very impressive building! In August, we took the ferry over from Port Angeles to Victoria but didn't get a good look at the Empress. However, we did take the kids to Buchart Gardens and to the castle. Hey maybe I will blog about that trip next!!

Funky trees in front of the Empress Hotel.

Oh, Dave's parents are great! They came and watched the kiddos while Dave and I took a break on a cruise in the San Juan Islands. It is the perfect cruise because you only have to drive an hour to get to the boat. It was... Wonderful. Relaxing. Tasty. Fattening. Beautiful. A bit chilly and rainy. Wavy for a day. Rejuvenating. Perfect.

Gymnastics Superstars!!

Well, it's been awhile and I have tons I could and should put on here. So, let's start with my outing with Jenny on September 27th to the Tacoma Dome where we watched the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars! It was really fun! Jenny loves gymnastics and told Dave and I that she wanted to be an Olympic gymnast one day. She's good and who knows what would happen if she had 10 hours a week to practice!! Well, the gymnasts were AMAZING! We were so excited to see Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luiken! But, the guys really surprised me. They were great too! The Hamm Brothers did a routine together which was awesome! And to Jenny's surprise and delight Mitchell Musso,"Oliver" from Hannah Montana, opened the show with 3 songs that he sang. He was actually pretty good! She said she didn't know that it was a concert too! It was then that I thought Luke would have liked to go too. It was a good time for both of us! I invited Collette and Madeline to go but they already had plans. What could the plans be? Oh yeah, too bad the General Relief Society Meeting was at the same time!! Oops. But, hey a little bonding with my daughter is a good thing too!! I couldn't get a decent shot of the stage with my...less than lovely camera! But you couldn't take camera's with lenses that came off in anyway! I will soon have one of those and am so excited about it!!