Wordless Wednesday

"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live." Happy birthday, Dr. King.

I am the oldest of 10 kids, 8 are adopted. I remember when my sister, Becca, who is now 22 came home from preschool and said, "Did you know that because of Martin Luther King, Jr. you were able to adopt me (Becca is black)." So when this day of celebration does come around I do try to find new and exciting ways to teach my children the importance of acceptance in our society. This year I had a great lesson idea that really worked out well. And here it is...

Read the MLK, Jr. Children Picture Book

Following a discussion with the kids about how people are alike (we all have two eyes, we all have hair) and how we differ (blue eyes vs. brown eyes-long hair vs. short) show them a brown egg and a white egg. I like to hard boil the eggs. That way when I crap and peal them it doesn't make a big mess.

Discuss the similarities and differences in the eggs. (They are oval, they are different colors.)

Break each egg and dispose of shell. I then ask my kids how they are the same and how they are different... for the most part they say it is white and can't find a difference (Accept my son who always has something silly to say, like that one is shaped like an oval and the other a crooked circle -- He is 8 and humor hasn't reached his level of what is funny and what is not funny). I hide the eggs behind my back and ask if they can tell which is which?

No--because just like people, even though we may LOOK different on the outside, we're all the same on the inside! I then cut the egg in half and showed them the yoke. I had them put their hand on their heart and listen to their heart beating (or beeping -- Emma would say). In the inside we all look the same and we all have a core center which is our heart.

The message is very clear. While the eggs are different on the outside, they are the same on the inside, just like people.

Wordless Wednesday

About me...

Since I am turning the big 3-5 in 16 days (who is counting?!), but with that comes people who use to know me, do know me, or kinda know me. So I made a list of 10 things most people don't know about me. This way when I print my blog to a book and save it on my bookshelf at least my kids will be able to read about me.

1. I met my husband while he was serving an LDS mission, 8 months later we were married. I think that is funny, others don’t. Usually a conversation stopper.
2. I am super smart, have my Master’s Degree and all, but that is book smart and what I don’t have is common sense whatsoever. Like none. Really none. I know when I have asked a dumb question when my husband just stares at me and doesn’t answer.
3. We have had 8 cats in our marriage, all named O’Malley, most of which I picked up from a box of kittens in front of Target. It is easier on the kids when we get rid of a cat because they know the next O’Malley will be coming back. I like kittens, not cats. They always grow into cats.
4. I have a horrible obsession of keeping the house clean, but for some reason it is not noticeable until about 9 pm when I clean the house and then it is dirty before anybody comes over.
5. I love to watch General Hospital… to the extreme that the General Hospital Happenings Site is one of the first things I look up on the internet in the morning. Just to check if anybody is dead or going to die, of course!
6. I hate bubblegum. Hate it. The smell makes me sick. Sometimes I am polite and eat the piece of bubble gum when people give it to me to be nice, but the whole time I am holding back vomit.
7. I like to drink Diet Dr. Pepper, then Diet Pepsi, then Diet Coke. To me, Diet Coke is slang for a drink. Like “hey let’s go get a coke”. I think it is a cultural thing based in Los Angeles, but I could be wrong. Might go back to the whole, no common sense thing.
8. I have brown hair, just brown. I always want to have black hair so people will think of me as Snow White. I even have a red bow. Sometimes I dye it black and then it goes back to brown. Just brown, always brown.
9. I have ADD, people always think I am joking when I say that, but I am not. I really have it… like doctors note and all. My husband forgets this and still gets mad at me. Maybe I will tape the note to the fridge so he will cut me some slack, but I doubt that.
10. I am freaked out by mice. They just freak me out. Like can’t breath, sit on the counter for 45 minutes freak out. Full fledge panic attacks sink in. I don’t know why, but they do.