Babies on a Plane

Could people please stop complaining about misbehaving children on planes?!  If you don't want to fly with kids, drive.  And do these people think that parents ENJOY flying with their  young children?  Seven hours of being trapped on an airplane with your little ones is stressful and add that you had to show up early to the airport and possibly a long drive to the airport and probably had a "fun" layover for a couple of hours with sleep deprived kiddos... what do people expect from the parents and the kids?    People often mention having an annoying child kick the back of their seat and that the parent LET the child do it.  Really?  I bet that kid's mom gave her a tutorial on how to kick the seat at just the right angle. Come on!  Obviously, I don't want my children to annoy me or other passengers during a flight, but it's likely to happen given the unpleasant circumstances. 

How about instead of offering nasty glares, rude blogs and "so annoyed" tweets, we offer assistance.  Ask the parent if it's okay for the child to play with something from your bag, tell a story, offer your phone or some candy....  Ask the parents what you can do to help because you see that they have an energetic child who has nowhere to run and play!  The parents are likely to say there is nothing you can do, but how much better they will feel knowing that someone was supportive instead of judgemental.  Get over yourself- kids gotta fly too!

Assistance Dog

Check out this page to help a woman with Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. Brook and I went to high school together and she is working toward getting a dog trained to be her assistance dog. Please help her if you can and please pass this along to others who might be interested in helping her reach her goal.
http://www.gofundme.com/helpharperhelpme

Best Winter Ever

This winter has been so wonderful! I love that there was snow on the ground every single day in January. Being cold is not my thing, but when we have such a beautiful snow covered landscape, I seem to be able to cope with the snow just fine. I know that a lot of people have had some major headaches caused by this harsh winter and they are looking forward to spring making an appearance. We've been blessed in our home and haven't lost power, had frozen pipes, missed vacation... Part of what makes this inclimate weather easier for me to enjoy is the fact that I'm a stay at home mom and don't have to leave the house every day. The bad roads aren't really getting in the way of my plans. I'm not having to scramble for child care because of school cancellations. Bundling up kids every single day would get annoying fast. I understand the frustrations that many are having. For me, this winter is what I wish we had every year. It's been great having the kids home from school! (I'm trying to not think about being in school half way through the summer.) I love that we've been able to do so much sledding! Most winters you have to go sledding as soon as it snows because you don't know how long it will stay cold. We usually seem to get snow, then get a warm up for a couple days and all the snow melts. I love snow and am grateful to live in a place where we have 4 wonderful seasons. Spring will come. I will welcome the blossoms and the green, but for now I am soaking up these snowed in days while watching the snowflakes fall so beautifully!