Wednesday, July 27, 2011

What's the matter with kids today? No one wants them around?

Another article on BABY BANS!



I blogged about this a while back (read it here) from the stand point of having the common courtesy of being observant of your surrounding and deciding wether or not the environment is kid friendly rather than thinking your a mom there for everyone should cater to you and your heathen perfect child. But a baby ban?
 Can't we al just have common sense and use good judgment? 
As I learned as a high school teacher so many moms have what I call "Not My Child" syndrome. Mr T even uses the term to to describe, sadly to many, parents of his clients. 
Mr T: "your child was arrested for DUI"
Mom: "Not my child, it was her friends beer"
Mr T: "well then why did your daughter wreck her can and vomit while being pulled over?"

Hummmm ...
This makes me wonder, is there a connection between the need for a baby ban and the helicopter/"not my child" parent?

I think YES! 

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Embrace the Camera: July 14





Our "OH GA" face after I found Miss C's my little pony bubble bath extravaganza! 


so, are you ready to embrace the camera?
here's the nitty gritty:
1.  take a picture with you and your kids/spouse/family member/friend/whatever.
2.  blog about that picture and include a link to anderson crew blog, or grab the button below.
3.  link your blog post up on the link tool below.
4.  visit the other embracers...give each other lots of compliments about how good we look with our greasy hair andsweatpants velour jogging suits on.  cause yah, we need a little boost when it's been days since our last shower.
5.  have fun!




*Post a comment with a link to your embrace the camera post! I love to read them! 

Monday, July 11, 2011

if it's quite... it's to good to be true





Road Trip! Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine




We made the 3 1/2 hour drive up to Grapevine Texas to go to the Great Wolf Lodge. Jake had a baseball tournament in the area so my mom had the idea we all stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. My Aunt Lauri, Jake, Grandma Freddie, mom Miss C & I all met at the Lodge Friday afternoon. I was not sure what to expect having never been there before. I give the Lodge 4 stars! I actually enjoyed myself. It's not just a crazy kid water park. The water park is great, clean and there is something for every age group. I loved that after the water parks close at 8pm there was tons of stuff for both kids and adults to do. It kept a 3 year old and a 17 year old entertained. 


Mommy's best friend... Ipad



the "blue slide" C went down at least 50 times




after bath time with the family

MagiQuest
With a magic wand in-hand, you’ll explore an enchanted kingdom and join in the ultimate adventure as you enchant objects, befriend a pixie, learn from an ancient wizard, battle a goblin and outwit a dragon. The game is threw out the entire hotel & on all 8 floors. Miss c had a demo wand so everything would work/light up/open, but we got Jake the real wand loaded to play the game. I think we all enjoyed Jakes Magi skills. 
Glitter tattoo

Water Park










Scoops 
The kids Spa
Scoops is a parent free spa, I actually had to sign a waver saying I would leave and come back in half an hour. Killing helicopter moms one pedi at a time! 


The kids get to pick out everything themselves; polish, scrubs, lotion. The entire place is ice-cream themed. That was a huge hit with Miss C! 
Daddy is just crazy about the blue toes! 
Craft Room
the kids can color their own shirts, bags, pillowcases, or porcelain animals

 Arcade Room



 Build a bear
(or fairy puppy in our case! )

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Embrace The Camera: July 6th





Here are some pictures from last night at Blues on the Green in Zilker Park. Ganny is in town for work so we brought her out with us.

3 generations


tackling mommy is really fun



so, are you ready to embrace the camera?
here's the nitty gritty:
1.  take a picture with you and your kids/spouse/family member/friend/whatever.
2.  blog about that picture and include a link to our blog, or grab the anderson crew button.
3.  link your blog post up on the link tool on the Anderson Crew.
4.  visit the other embracers...give each other lots of compliments about how good we look with our greasy hair andsweatpants velour jogging suits on.  cause yah, we need a little boost when it's been days since our last shower.
5.  have fun!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

"I do not Love your Child"


Since moving down town I try to be hyper sensitive to my "child friendly" environment. Urban environments can be very child friendly and fun for kids but at the same time I like to be respectful of the other adults around me. I met moms who think "well to bad if people don't like my child acting crazy, they were a kid once too" ummm... I just don't think that way. I went to a lunch once a few years ago where the planning mom arranged for us to go (with 8 babies 2 and under) to a popular lunch spot downtown during the very busy business lunch hour. I was mortified, we took up 5 tabled and about 20 chairs. We were such the elephant in the room! This mom had no problem with it, she is of the mind that her kids are the center of the universe. I mean it's not fun for the kids, the restaurant staff or the other patrons. The only person enjoying it was the mom. I think thats just rude! 
So what do you think? should the other patrons cater to children or is it our job as parents to keep our kids under control?

If you're the kind of parent who allows your 5-year-old to run rampant in public places like restaurants, I have what could be some rather disturbing news for you.
I do not love your child.
The rest of the country does not love your child either.
And the reason why we're staring at you every other bite is not because we're acknowledging some sort of mutual understanding that kids will be kids but rather we want to kill you for letting your brat ruin our dinner.
Or our plane ride.
Or trip to the grocery store.


Or the other adult-oriented establishments you've unilaterally decided will serve as an extension of your toddler's playpen because you lack the fortitude to properly discipline them, in public and at home.
And we know you don't discipline them at home because you don't possess "the look." If you had "the look," you wouldn't need to say "sit down" a thousand times.
If you had "the look," you wouldn't need to say much of anything at all. But this nonverbal cue needs to be introduced early and reinforced diligently with consequences for transgressions, just like potty training. And whenever a kid throws a temper tantrum in the middle of the shopping mall it's just as bad as his soiling his pants to spite his parents, and it stinks just as much.
If you had 'the look,' you wouldn't need to say 'sit down' a thousand times.
--LZ Granderson
I have seen a small child slap her mother in the face with an open hand, only to be met with "Honey, don't hit Mommy." I have seen kids tell their parents "Shut up" and "Leave me alone" at the top of their lungs -- and they are not put in check. I shake my head knowing it's only going to get worse from here.
If I'm sounding a bit judgmental, I assure you I am not alone in my judgment.
Remember that couple that was kicked off an AirTran flight for being unable to control their 3-year-old back in 2007? The child threw a tantrum, refused to get in her seat and delayed the flight by 15 minutes. In a subsequent interview with "Good Morning America," the mother talked about how much more understanding the passengers were compared to the crew that removed the family. That may be true -- but I'm also willing to bet plenty of passengers were happy to have a much quieter flight. An AirTran spokesperson estimated 95% of the 9,000 e-mails the airline received were supportive of taking the family off the plane, according to MSNBC.
Responding to complaints about crying babies keeping people awake, Malaysia Airlines decided to ban infants from first class in some of its flights.
I don't know about you but I would gladly support an airline or restaurant that didn't make someone else's yelling, screaming, kicking offspring my problem.
And there are kid-free cruises and resorts for a reason.
Children are wonderful but they are not the center of the universe. The sooner their parents make them understand that, the better off we all will be.
This is the part of child-rearing people don't like to discuss, because socially, it's not OK to dislike kids. The ugly truth is it's the spineless parents who parade their undisciplined children around like royalty that make people dislike kids.
Parents who expect complete strangers to just deal with it are not doing anyone, including their children, any favors. They are actually making things worse. Not only are their children allowed to interrupt social events and settings when they are young, but they often grow into disruptive forces in the classrooms later. And nobody likes them for that.
I covered education for years and one of the biggest complaints from teachers was about the amount of time they spent disciplining students. Their threats were empty because parents sided with their kids. And, of course, the use of corporal punishment in the classroom is seriously frowned upon, and even punished.
Spanking is not a cure, and should not be the first resort, but I don't think it should automatically be taken off the table when dealing with small kids. We're so preoccupied with protecting children from disappointment and discomfort that we're inadvertently excusing them from growing up.
A young child slapping his or her parent's hand away in defiance is not cute, it's disrespectful. In my house, growing up, that would have earned much more than "the look" from my mother.
If I sound a bit old-school, I am. If I'm coming across as a bit of an ogre, so be it.
As a parent, I can empathize with how difficult raising children can be. There are challenges, especially within the framework of divorce, when parental guilt can sometimes blur what should be the best decision.
But I don't believe making a child's wishes top priority is a demonstration of love. Nor do I believe I, or the rest of the world, should act as a surrogate parents for somebody's bad-ass kids.
You wanted them, deal with them.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.LZ Granderson writes a weekly column for CNN.com. He has just been named Journalist of the Year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. He is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and a a 2010 nominee and the 2009 winner of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award for online journalism. Follow him on Twitter: @locs_n_laughs

To read full article & watch video by LZ click Here

Am I just to harsh???