Untitled Hyena Chat thread part deux! - The Continuation

[Alex2kMommy]

So do you think I spoil my kids too much? Is there such a thing as spoiling them too much?? I just want them to have a fun, awesome childhood. I want them to say OMG you would never believe how much fun I had growing up and the things that I got to do. Besides, I'm smart, I know they will be the ones picking my nursing home!

Here's my thought on the subject: Some people think giving kids things or experiences that cost a lot of money is spoiling them. But "a lot of money" is very subjective.

My parents were perfectly happy letting us run around in junk cars; that's what we could afford to buy at the time, and my parents did not believe they owed each of us a new car, or a used one for that matter. Besides, even if they had wanted to, they couldn't afford to. But they did pay the insurance for each of us until we were out of school/college.

So if a parent buys their kid a junk car, or a decent used car, or a brand new car, are they spoiling their child? I think this has less to do with the car (or lack thereof) than with the child. If the child understands that the parents don't owe them that car, the parent is giving them the car anyway, then I don't think the child is spoiled. A spoiled child is one who does not appreciate the gift and the sacrifice the parents have made in order to give it.

I remember in HS, while I was driving around a beat-up '72 Ford Maverick, one of the snobby girls in the school was given a brand new Trans Am by her dad.

She wrecked it within the first week. Accident was her fault, but she wasn't worried about that. What did she care about? She was ticked that she didn't have a car to drive anymore!

So what did her dad do? Well, he bought her another brand new Trans Am, of course!

Yeah. She was spoiled.

I don't think you can spoil your kids by giving them too much time, attention and love. Giving them memories of time with you, whether it's you listening to them read stories every night, or taking them to Disneyland, is what counts.

Somebody posted once that they took all these grand vacations, making sure they made lots of great memories for their child. And when asked what the child remembered most when s/he was older, the child brought up some seemingly minor but touchingly simple incident, not the big vacations.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

my pants are getting tighter and tighter everyday. Ugh... just depressing myself with stuff that I can do nothing about. So really, nothing new.

How are things with you?

Pretty quiet around here today. Boys and I went to Storables looking for a shelf kind of insert for our TV armoire. The TV fits in the armoire perfectly, but there's unused space up above the TV, and I thought if I could raise the TV up and create space underneath, I could store the DVDs from the fireplace mantel there.

So the TV shelf thing I'd seen at Storables with my friends turned out to be too small. And the boys were a little out of control in the store, so I was gonna walk out empty-handed, but the cashier asked if I needed help as I passed by. So I told her what I'd been looking for (the purpose), and she called over another person. (I almost called them CMs, GEESH!)

She showed me some metal shelves and metal legs. One shelf was exactly the width of the cabinet's interior, and therefore might not fit inside, too tight. So I went with a 30" shelf, and 8" legs.

When DH got home he cut holes out of the back of the cabinet (the back is cheapie particleboard or something), but the TV was too heavy for him to lift up high enough. So with me in the back and him in front, we both lifted, and DS7 shoved the shelf in place. Whew!

We rearranged all our other peripherals (VCR, VCR tape rewinder, DVD player, something to do with the sound system, the wii and another game device), so that now this other storage space on the bottom of the armoire is totally empty (except for a box of the wii remotes)! So now I just need to find some things to store the DVDs in and slide them into place! And this space has doors that we have a ziptie to keep little fingers out, so hopefully our DVDs won't be strewn about the floor getting scratched or stepped on anymore.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

DH is going to grill some burgers for dinner, so I need to go make patties. BRB!

 

[staley7580]

Thats cool. Im glad you got the thing you needed.

 

[staley7580]

Dh is getting stressed out at work. They have had a bunch of scrapped parts on his shift lately, which is really BAD. Because the stuff is NOT cheap. They work with metals that are uncommon, and huge. Therefore, they are very expensive. On top of that, one of his guys wiped out the entire interior of a machine. Okay, do you see that center machine? Yeah... The part went funky, and ripped out the insides. Dh almost crapped his pants. PLUS... they are getting all these new contracts, and his boss tells him that they are trying to cut out the overtime. So WHEN are they supposed to get the work done? They have these machines running 24/7 as it is, and they are still falling behind. I dont get it.

http://www.tectcorp.com/index.cfm?PageID=159

 

[Alex2kMommy]

they are getting all these new contracts, and his boss tells him that they are trying to cut out the overtime. So WHEN are they supposed to get the work done? They have these machines running 24/7 as it is, and they are still falling behind. I dont get it.

http://www.tectcorp.com/index.cfm?PageID=159

OUCH!

Welcome to corporate America. It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to look on paper like it's going to "save money". So execs will make a decision based on faulty information or half the information, and even if someone with guts and a brain instead of rocks in their head says "It won't work, and it's going to cost us MORE money in the long run", they'll still go with the plan.

So what's the deal with all the leftovers and the machine blow-out? Newbies? Exhaustion?

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Dang it! I better go finish the rest of dinner, the burgers are apparently ready already!

I have some fries in the oven that should be done any minute, and I need to get some sort of veggie going. DH and I can have salad, but the boys turned their nose up at it last time (it's a bagged veggie mix, and they apparently don't like raw broccoli and a few other things in it.) So I'll find some green beans or something for them.

Hopefully I can get back tonight before you crash for the evening. Get those toothpicks ready, baby!

 

[staley7580]

OUCH!

Welcome to corporate America. It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to look on paper like it's going to "save money". So execs will make a decision based on faulty information or half the information, and even if someone with guts and a brain instead of rocks in their head says "It won't work, and it's going to cost us MORE money in the long run", they'll still go with the plan.

So what's the deal with all the leftovers and the machine blow-out? Newbies? Exhaustion?

I know the machine thing was a guy running the cell... Which is actually what that pic is of, and there are 3 different machines that are in the same area run by the same guy. I guess he heard a weird noise, and by the time he ran over to the machine that was making the noise and pushed the E-stop the damage was done... So I think it was a combo of operator/ machine error. The SAME guy is one of their scrappers. (scrapping is when they mess up a part beyond repair) This POOR guy. His mom that he was living with, taking care of, died on Christmas Eve. I guess he has just been walking around in kind of a daze since then. She wasnt that old, but really ill I guess. The rest of the scrappers.. young and inexperienced.

Tell me about it. I was STUNNED when dh got home and told me that. The place runs all the time, how in the heck are they going to work it? I dont think it will ever happen though. I mean HECK. You know how much overtime dh works... and their are guys that work WAY more then he does!

 

[staley7580]

Dang it! I better go finish the rest of dinner, the burgers are apparently ready already!

I have some fries in the oven that should be done any minute, and I need to get some sort of veggie going. DH and I can have salad, but the boys turned their nose up at it last time (it's a bagged veggie mix, and they apparently don't like raw broccoli and a few other things in it.) So I'll find some green beans or something for them.

Hopefully I can get back tonight before you crash for the evening. Get those toothpicks ready, baby!

Have a good dinner! We had roast and veggies. I love my crock pot!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Roast sounds good!

The burgers were good, haven't had bbq in quite a while.

 

[staley7580]

Cool.

 

[sameyeyam]

Ahhh, so this trip for your DD is a little self-serving? (Or perhaps I should say self-preserving?) Dang, you are one smart woman, Sam!

Now I just have to see what DS wants to do for spring break. He could go up and stay with grandma & grandpa at the beach or stay home with us. Bruce's last day of work will be March 29th, so he'll be home. Maybe the two of them might just hang out and do "guy stuff".

Dh is getting stressed out at work. They have had a bunch of scrapped parts on his shift lately, which is really BAD. Because the stuff is NOT cheap. They work with metals that are uncommon, and huge. Therefore, they are very expensive. On top of that, one of his guys wiped out the entire interior of a machine. Okay, do you see that center machine? Yeah... The part went funky, and ripped out the insides. Dh almost crapped his pants. PLUS... they are getting all these new contracts, and his boss tells him that they are trying to cut out the overtime. So WHEN are they supposed to get the work done? They have these machines running 24/7 as it is, and they are still falling behind. I dont get it.

http://www.tectcorp.com/index.cfm?PageID=159

Sounds just like DH's workplace.

 

[staley7580]

Hi Alison!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Uh-ohhhh... The boys are overly sprung. They just came running into the room and fell onto the couch together and started tickling and wrestling. I was telling them to calm down, settle down, BOYS!

So now they are on clean-up duty, since they emptied out a couple of those pop-up containers I have in the room to contain their toys. They're just on the verge of wildness still, though...

 

[sameyeyam]

It's just DS and I for dinner tonight, so I just made grilled cheese sandwiches. DH has a work dinner meeting tonight. DD is spending the night with her girlfriends.

 

[sameyeyam]

Uh-ohhhh... The boys are overly sprung. They just came running into the room and fell onto the couch together and started tickling and wrestling. I was telling them to calm down, settle down, BOYS!

So now they are on clean-up duty, since they emptied out a couple of those pop-up containers I have in the room to contain their toys. They're just on the verge of wildness still, though...

Send them down to my house....PLEASE!! DS is bored. So am I a social/activity director or what? It's Friday, I'm always tired on Friday nights. I don't want to go skating, swimming, bowling or whatever fun thing he wants to do. I just want to veg out!

Hi Alison!

HI MEGAN! Feeling better this evening?

 

[staley7580]

Okay Alex... Have you seen the thread on the new honey Lattes from Starbucks? I dont know what to think of these. Sounds kinda interesting. I might have to try one. I have a bunch of Starbucks GCs from Christmas just sitting here. Calling my name.

 

[staley7580]

Send them down to my house....PLEASE!! DS is bored. So am I a social/activity director or what? It's Friday, I'm always tired on Friday nights. I don't want to go skating, swimming, bowling or whatever fun thing he wants to do. I just want to veg out!



HI MEGAN! Feeling better this evening?

We are watching Cars. Great excitement. But Alex is sick, and Mikalah is so tired I think she is on the verge of falling over.

Yeah, much better thanks. I dont know what got into me earlier. Im generally not so down.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Now I just have to see what DS wants to do for spring break. He could go up and stay with grandma & grandpa at the beach or stay home with us. Bruce's last day of work will be March 29th, so he'll be home. Maybe the two of them might just hang out and do "guy stuff".

Cool! It's so hard being a mom and having to recover from something like that. Moms aren't supposed to stay in bed and rest!

Sam, did I tell you this gal that DH works with is getting reconstruction, too? She decided to get... gosh, now I forget, was it Ds or DDs?

Anyway, they've been injecting her chest with saline to expand the skin to the right size (she's nowhere near a D), and shortly goes in for the procedure for the implants. I can't remember when exactly, but I think it's within a week or two. She's pretty excited!

 

[sameyeyam]

Okay Alex... Have you seen the thread on the new honey Lattes from Starbucks? I dont know what to think of these. Sounds kinda interesting. I might have to try one. I have a bunch of Starbucks GCs from Christmas just sitting here. Calling my name.

So what's the consensus? Are people thinking they're good? I haven't been to Starbucks in a couple of weeks. Since I now have to order decaf, non-fat, sugar free latte...what's the use? I might as well just have a cup of water.