Life Lesson #15,038-What's In A Name?

Life Lesson #15,038-What's In A Name?

"What's in a name?"  I do believe Shakespeare said that.  What I think it means these days is this. Don't name your child something is going to embarrass them.  Simple!!  These people in Hollywood kill me with the names that they are giving these poor children.  When I was a kid I hated my name and I wanted my name to be "Kelly", like my best friend's name was.  Well now I just want to thank my parents for not naming me "Apple"!! Of course, Apple is the most normal name that has come out of Hollywood in years!  How about Jason Lee's son?  His name is "Pilot Inspektor".  Google it!! I swear it's true!!  David Duchovny and Tea Leoni named their kid, "Kyd". No, I am not kidding. How about "Moxie Crimefighter"? Yes, Penn Jillette named his daughter that.  The very best, I saved for last because they are Motown Royalty.  Jermaine and Michael Jackson take the cake with the naming of their sons.  Jermaine's son is named, "Jermajesty" and Michael's son is named "Blanket".  If you didn't know this, you have lived in a box for the past few years.  Who names their child "Blanket" or "Pilot Inspektor"?  These people are seriously insane.  They have been drinking too much Kool Aid in Hollywood.


So what do we do in the burbs?  Could we get away with naming our children crazy names?  No, we could not.  We just try not to give our children names that won't get them beat up on the playground or names that rhyme with curse words.  My sister ruled out "Tucker" this way.  Seriously, people, please don't name your child something embarrassing like "Sweatsock Larry" or "Moonstruck Luna Milan Anastasia Fredrika Lowlight". I swear when I was pregnant my husband and I went through the book of baby names and we could agree on one name and that is what we named him.  It is an ordinary name and doesn't rhyme with anything inappropriate!! Yay, me!!



Now, Look at the list of the names of the Presidents of the United States.  Until you get to Barack Obama, every one of them have a very Presidential sound.  Of course, George Washington sounds presidential because our nations capital is named after him but even William Jefferson Clinton sounds very presidential!!  Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, William Henry Harrison...see...Presidential, right??  One day we will have a president named Moxie Crimefighter? I don't think so.  Great name for a detective though.  How about President Pilot Inspektor Lee?  Bahahaha!  No, but again a great name for a detective. Apparently, there will be a lot of Hollywood children in the crime fighting business.  

Okay, now that I am off of my soapbox about the crazy names, let's really try and come up with names that mean something to us.  All of the old names are coming back in style.  A lot of the Biblical names are still great to use.  Think of someone who was influential in your life and tryout their name.  What about a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or in law?  You could even use a last name in the middle name slot!  I did this.  My mother-in-law's maiden name is my son's middle name. I love this!!  So the reason this is important is because this Name will be with this baby/child/teen/adult forever.  It will be on their birth announcement and their gravestone.  Their diploma and their drivers license.  What's in a name?  Hopefully, not a fruit or vegetable.  Profound, right?

Life Lesson #15,034-Raising Kids To Be Good Adults

#15,034-Raising Kids To Be Good Adults, Not Good Kids

I don't care what anyone says, being a parent is the hardest job ever!  You have one chance to get it right.  If you are the mother then you will be the one who gets blamed for any character flaws in your child.  If they are spoiled, it's your fault.  If they are "trouble" then it's your fault.  If they have any problem whatsoever, it is your fault.  For some reason, the Dads get off free and clear!! I don't get it.  Aren't Dads half of the parents?  Anyway, we are raising these children to be good adults and we have to remember that.  If we are just trying to raise good kids then most of us have succeeded but then when they become teens some of them get lost to the struggles of being a young adult.  Some kids who are raised with very tight restrictions become wild animals when they are finally allowed some freedom and some kids turn out fine.  Some kids who are given free reign turn into homeless drug addicts and some turn into very responsible adults. So what do we do?  How do we know what is the right way to raise our children?  I mean, some kids who are raised in church or even by pastors are awesome kids and others rebel.  Some of the most rotten kids I knew were the pastors' kids.  I remember one bringing beer to school and drinking it in middle school.  Some of the nicest people that I know now, have never even been to church. I think every child is different.  Every kid should be raised on a case by case basis.  See what works for your particular child and do that.  Some kids will need an occasional spanking, some can just be threatened with taking away a toy and they will never stray!  Before you start telling me how horrible spanking is, I am not for beating or prolonged spanking but a little swat on the rear end has done wonders for my son.  He hasn't had one in many years but I can threaten it and he straightens right up.  The last time he got one, he had been talking during church and being disruptive and he deserved it.  He got a swat on the rear end when he was three for lying to me and he has not lied to me again.  That was 10 years ago.  He may start lying to me tomorrow and never tell me the truth ever again but so far it worked.

 

So what is the correct form of parenting?  Whose book should we go by?  Dr. Sears?  John Rosemond?  Or should we just maybe take a little from each and use whatever advice works for us.  To spank or not to spank?  To use Time Out or not?  Take away toys/gadgets?  Ground them?  Maybe it all changes and continues to change as they grow up.  Maybe one thing works for you from birth until they are 18-years old.  Maybe nothing works at all.  Every child is different just like every adult is different. I've seen two children raised in the same house and raised by the same parents with the same parenting style and the kids are totally different.  I've even seen twins who are completely different. I know some of it has to do with birth order or only children or if a sibling dies but it still amazes me. 
 

I think that just spending time with our children daily and letting them know that they are loved is the best thing that we can do for them.  Now before anyone starts saying, "But you only have one child.  It's so easy to do with one child", I just want to say that it isn't that hard to give 10 children a hug and a kiss and tell them that you love them.  Take that time everyday to tell each one of your children that you love them.  Never EVER let their head hit the pillow at night without you telling them that you love them.  Even on the days that they aren't that lovable remind them that you love them and that no matter what, you always will.  I can't think of one thing that my son could ever do or say that would make me not love him.  Okay, that being said, I am not the perfect parent and I'm not sure that there ever was a perfect parent besides our Heavenly Father and he loves us all unconditionally.  So here is to all of us who are striving to be the best parent that we can be!! Hug and kiss those kiddos today and every day after that!! They grow up so fast.

Life Lesson #15,027-Feel Good About Yourself. Go to Walmart

Life Lesson #15,027-Feel Good About Yourself. Go to Walmart

Now I swear I am not being judgmental but if you really want to feel good about yourself, just walk around Walmart for an hour.   Trust me, you will see much larger muffin tops than you have.  You will see much worse hairdos than you have.  You will see much worse wardrobes than you have.  You will see much worse teeth than you have.  You will see at least 5 fake Louis Vuitton bags. (And I mean really bad fakes. Not the semi expensive ones.) You will see people who literally just rolled out of bed.  PJs and bed head and all. Maybe even a pair of slippers.  You will see much worse parenting skills than you have.  I have seen a full on beating of a kid who needed it in Walmart.  (I'm not for abusing children so don't message me but that kid needed his butt beat!!) 

Before you even get out of your car, you will see reasons why you probably shouldn't go inside The Walmart.  (Around here it is called "The Walmart".) There are people who have parked their beat up Volvos taking up 2 spaces.  Now, really.  If I can park my big ole tank in one space surely you can park your Volvo with a door that's a different color than the rest of the car in one space!!  Then you will see carts, buggies, whatever you call them, littering the parking lot.  I mean, there are 15 cart return places taking up 30 parking spaces littered all over the parking lot and you couldn't return your cart to one of them? Really?  Then you will see the people in the parking lot and you think to yourself, "Is it safe to go inside?" but you do it anyway.  Why is that?  Of course, it's because you want to feel good about yourself.  You look like a darn beauty queen going into that place!!  But hey, if you don't want to put on makeup or even brush your teeth, you probably won't be the worst looking person there!! 

I say we should all be required to go to Walmart once per week just so our self esteem is bolstered! Who doesn't want to be the best looking person in the room?  At Walmart, it ain't that hard!!  Now don't get me wrong. I love The Walmart when I need it.  I mean where else can you get paint, ammo and cup-o-soup?  Nowhere!! You will see it all at Walmart.  From circus freaks to society's elite.  We all need Walmart once in a while!  So get on out to your local Walmart and see what you can see!! Trust me, you will feel much better about yourself when you leave!