Sleeping Just Right

I don't know what it is about watching my children sleep that is so comforting and interesting that it manages always to capture my attention. But it does! Even watching Kai sleep at the age of 12 never gets old.

I've noticed something about the difference in the way my two boys sleep. Kai from as early on as I can remember, after he started sleeping with blankets of course, has always covered himself at night. He will have the blankets totally covering himself head to toe, with the end of the blanket over and under his head. I can't tell you how many times I uncovered him because I was afraid he was too hot or because I was worried he would suffocate himself. And to this day he sleeps exactly the same way. Sometimes it's hard to tell there is someone sleeping in his bed, even as big as he is, because it almost looks like a heap of blankets.

Cade on the other hand usually likes sleeping on top of the covers. He might start out under them, but he always ends up on top. And all of my efforts to recover him are pointless because he never stays that way. I'm always afraid he will get cold and I just want him to be warm and snuggled, so I always recover him. I'm not sure how he doesn't get cold in the middle of the night, I know I do if I ever end up uncovered.

Funny how one seems to roast and the other to freeze! Well at least that's how it would be for me. I can't sleep with my head covered because not only do I get too hot, but I also feel like I can't breathe. And I can't sleep without a blanket or sheet of some kind because I'll end up waking up because I was cold. And yet my two boys seem to be on the polar opposite of each other. Although obviously just right as far as they are concerned since they sleep quite peacefully in their different ways.

Brownie the Dog - A Touching Tail~

We hear stories of pet adoptions all the time. A family finds a dog and brings their new pet home. But how do we know if this pet really likes their new family? You never hear of a dog choosing their family.

I have a tail to tell about Brownie the Dog. A dog who went on a search for her new home and found the very best family a dog could ask for! She took matters into her own hands!

One morning right before Easter I woke up and started my normal routine. I let the dogs out and noticed a puppy standing outside. I of course wondered where she came from, but didn't have time to investigate. I had to make sure Kai was getting ready for school and get the baby dressed and fed. We finished getting ready and we went outside to head to the car. This puppy was very friendly and greeted us as we walked out. She even followed us to the car and was as sweet as she could be. I backed out and didn't expect to see her when I returned home. I dropped Kai off at school and headed to the gym. I returned home and there this dog was laying on my door step!

I thought for sure she must belong to someone in the neighborhood. I just knew someone would come looking for her. But no one ever did and she never left the yard! Instead she played with the kids and our other dogs and looked as happy as any dog ever did! The kids eventually named her Brownie, probably because she was brown, but the name stuck. And so did she! She never left. She slept outside and was always ready and waiting anytime we went outside. Weeks passed and still she never left and no one ever came to claim her. Tara finally bought her a bright pink collar and we invited her into our homes. Sometimes she stays at my house and sometimes she stays at Tara's house. We have shared custody! LOL!

I have never seen a dog more happy to wear a collar than our Brownie! Of course the pink collar isn't too pink anymore! It's dirty from swimming in our pond with the other dogs!

I don't know where Brownie came from or who she could have belonged to. I think she may have even been dumped in the neighborhood. Who knows. But I think Brownie was wondering around when she came upon our land. She saw that there were other dogs and kids that she could play with. She was fed and had a place to sleep. She even had a pond to cool off in and woods to explore. I think Brownie saw our property as a kind of Dogtopia! And so she adopted us as her new family.

She is a good dog! She knows the command 'sit' and she seems to be house trained for the most part. She is very loving, although sometimes she forgets just how big she really is! She doesn't realize that her size is capable of knocking Cade over! When she first arrived we had a problem with her knocking Cade over when she greeted him! She would run up and jump on him, knocking him over, and then she would lay on the ground in front of him and try to snuggle up close to him. All the while Cade would be crying because this dog just jumped on him and knocked him over! We finally got her to quit doing that. She didn't mean him any harm, she just didn't realize how big she was!

So that is how Brownie the Dog found a family and that has to make us the most special family around...because a dog chose us!

Brownie found her 'achuna matada'...no worries for the rest of her days!

Something Worth Thinking About

I am going to step outside of my humorous box for a moment. I watched a movie tonight. It doesn't matter which movie, just a movie based off of actual events. I watched a movie because I choose not to have cable. I choose not to have cable because I don't watch tv. I had it there for my oldest son Kai and he no longer lives with me. So more often than not, the tv was off.

I watched this movie about events that took place before I was born. Not too long before I was born, just a few years. I will be the first to admit that I live in my own little world! I do that by choice! I choose not to watch the news that comes on because I hate hearing about all the hate and violence that goes on, not only in my city, but around the world. It's rare to hear something good on the news. Or so it would seem to me. I found out about Ed Mcmahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson all at once...through Facebook, courtesy of my friends!

These are my thoughts on the news. They tell you about things to be scared of. I have always been a firm believer in ignorance is bliss and what I don't know won't hurt me. Now maybe that makes me an ignorant redneck or maybe that helps me live a more peaceful less fearful life. I don't want to run around in fear of swine flu or the Craig's List Serial Killer or what ever danger the ABC news feels I should fear.

I want to live my life and see the beauty of the world. I don't want to sit and wonder what kind of a world I brought my children into. Watching that movie made me think that. It's funny how everyone is trying to be politically correct now days and try to separate church and state. Has anyone ever realized that religion and politics kind of go hand in hand? The wars that are being fought today go back, way back, back to biblical times! And over land! And yet it is all political now.

I am sitting here typing this out and my little man Cade is sleeping so very peacefully next to me. He looks so at peace, so beautiful, and so safe. He feels safe. I feel safe. I feel safe in my ignorant little world. And yet there are mothers around the world who are staring at their children, just as I am now, and they don't feel safe. The sounds of gunfire and bombs exploding is an everyday reality. Does anyone realize how lucky we are to be Americans. How lucky we are to sleep safely and soundly in our little ignorant worlds safe from the chaos of the world?

I am a Marine Corps bratt! I live in a Marine Corps town! I hear stories from my friends that are Marines of Americans saying horrible things to them. In other cities of course. I don't want to stereotype any particular kind of people that do it. But that makes me mad. Perhaps they, them and their children, should spend a night in one of the unsafe places of the world. The places that are smack dab in the middle of a war zone. Maybe they should be forced to look at their sleeping child and wonder if they are going to make it to see sweet 16 or their 21st birthday. Maybe then they would appreciate those who keep them safe. Those who allow them to gaze down at their sleeping child and feel safe.

I wish we could live in a peaceful world! I wish wars were a distant memory in every country. I wish the children of today were allowed to live peacefully and that century old hate wasn't passed onto them. But that is unrealistic because we live in the real world. It's not a perfect world! But looking at Cade sleeping so soundly, I hope he can one day look at his children and feel the same as I do right now looking at him!

I would hate to think that some mother at this very moment is staring down at her sleeping little baby boy, just as I am now...Both of us feeling the same...only to have them grow up and fight against each other in some war. Some war that started with people centuries ago...that most have no idea why it started...that one of these precious little babies will grow up to kill the other.

I hope I just made you think...

Here are some pictures I took of Cade today...Pictures taken by a proud American Momma!

My story...the how and why of becoming a truly single mom!

At the ripe old age of 18 I gave birth to my first son, Kai. The day after my 27th birthday I unexpectedly gave birth to my second son, Cade. He wasn't actually due till November 27th. There are many reasons I finally decided to leave my husband of 11 years, but some of them had to do with things that happened after the birth of my second son.

We have been separated for well over a year and will be divorced by July of '09. I really didn't see being a single mom as a big deal. I always felt like a single mom with Kai because I did everything by myself. So it really didn't seem any different after my husband moved out.

My oldest son really started acting out a few months ago. He was doing things out of his character and he was very adamant about living with his dad. So in April of '09 I let him go. It was the toughest decision I have ever made in my life, but I made the decision so that perhaps things would become better for him in the long run. So my 11 year old son, who I had devoted my whole life to, moved over 10 hours away from me.

At first I was devastated and mourning his absence. Then I became aware of how my life had come to a sudden halt. I had spent years, (he was four when he started playing sports), running him all over town for soccer, baseball, lacrosse, birthday parties, and Boy Scouts. I had spent countless hours at practices and countless weekends at games. As he grew and started playing classic soccer the traveling increased. We were going two or more hours for games and sometimes spending the entire weekend in another state for tournaments. I became friends with the other parents and spent all those hours talking and socializing while he played and practiced.

I no longer had my social hour, as I called it, to talk and joke around with the other parents. I am a social butterfly! So imagine how it felt to realize that my life had come to a sudden halt and there was no one around anymore. The other parents had children and their own busy schedules, so I can't blame them for not keeping up with me after we disappeared from practices and games. But I had never felt lonelier in my life. Too much had happened all at once, too many changes, and humans don’t do well with that much change all at once. So of course I was feeling a bit depressed!

Then came another realization…oh gosh, I'm really - really a single mom! Challenges began presenting themselves that I had never even thought of! Its one thing to be a single mom, but it's another thing to be a single mom of a child that requires constant supervision! That's when the real fun begins! During Kai's younger years, I had a husband. While he wasn't always around, he was around enough that I never faced the challenges I do now. And even though my husband and I separated while Cade was still just a baby, well Kai was old enough that he could help. But then Kai left and it was just me and Cade.

Suddenly bringing in groceries was a serious task! I was faced with a dilemma, what do I do? Do I leave Cade strapped in the car while I unload the groceries, do I let him run around the yard, or do I leave him in the house...I didn't know! Anytime there were groceries before, I would grab a few bags and the baby and come inside. Kai would bring in the rest while I put them away.

So I have a new respect for the truly single mom! Yes being a single mom isn't easy. But if your kids are old enough to dress themselves and fix something to eat for themselves and can be left home alone...then it isn't as challenging as having a little one like Cade...or a special needs child, I have a friend whose son is about Kai's age but functions as a toddler.

So these blogs are my day to day struggles! Doing things for the first time that I have never ever had to do before. And for some reason, it always ends up like an I Love Lucy show, there seems to be mishaps all the time. But I see the humor in it. So these are my humorous mishaps! Do not take them for whining! I don’t whine and I will not whine about being a single mom! But I love to write and writing is what I have thrown myself into with all of my new found time.

I named my blog The Great White Adventures of a Single mom for a couple of reasons. First, I have always been fascinated by Great White Sharks! They are the only apex predator to not ever be tamed or kept in captivity for too long. I plan to one day dive with them...safely protected in a cage of course! I have to get my diving license first, but I am working on it. Second, there is not a lot known about Great Whites. They can't be kept in captivity for too long without dying and that's one of the main reasons for all the mystery.

I knew very little about being a single mom! I am learning as I go, as I face new challenges. So I view being a single mom as a mystery, as something that few people know little about, unless they have been there...but been there with a little one, not older children who can fend for themselves. Great Whites aren't a mystery to themselves, just to the rest of the world...I think the same goes for a single mom! You might think you know…but you have no idea!