Ramblings...

Have you ever had times in your day when thoughts just seem to pop into your head and somehow you end up talking to yourself about these thoughts...often out loud?  I have these moments quite often, but sometimes the thoughts are started by someones comments or conversations.

Here are some of my rambling thoughts:

• Last night at Beaver's (I am the leader), we were playing "Freeze Dance" outside and the only type of music that we had was my iPhone, so I turned it on and the boys started to dance and freeze, dance and freeze.  One of the boys said to me: "is that an iPhone 4?" and I said "no, it's a 3" and one of the other boys said "you can tell cause the 4 is fatter"...really, at 6 years old you know that??  They then proceeded to tell me that one of the boys in their class has an iPhone 4 and one other boy said that a boy in his class had a Blackberry!!  Now, here is where my thoughts start going a little nuts!  Are the people of this world insane?  Who in their right mind thinks a kid needs an iPhone or Blackberry?  In fact who in the world thinks a kid really needs a cell phone at all?  My daughter was not allowed to have a phone until she was 16 years old and had a job so she could pay for it herself but I am always blown away to hear about parents who think their kids "need" cell phones or fancy iPods.  My friend Bobbie-Jo made a good point one day when she said this: "I know a lady who said that she got her 8 year old a cell phone so she would always know where her kid is" and in response to that she said: "shouldn't you always know where you 8 year old is anyway?"...good point!  I think there is some twisted mindset we have now where we think our children need to have everything that is out there now!  I am tempted to just get my kids walkmans and some cassette tapes so they can listen to music...it worked for us!  My kids (with the exception of Natalie) have never even asked about the idea of having iPods, iPhones, iPads, etc. and I don't plan on planting that seed anytime soon. 

• Vitiligo ( /ˌvɪtɪˈlaɪɡoʊ/), is a disorder that causes depigmentation of patches of skin. It occurs when melanocytes, the cells responsible for skin pigmentation, die or are unable to function. The cause of vitiligo is unknown, but research suggests that it may arise from autoimmune, genetic, oxidative stress, neural, or viral causes.^[1] The incidence worldwide is less than 1%.^[2] The most common form is non-segmental vitiligo.

This topic has been popping into my head lately every time I look into the mirror.  I have had vitiligo for about 14 years now and I have watched my Mom deal with it for my whole life, so I am no stranger to it.  It has never bothered me before, even though my skin looks like "marble cheese", according to my three year old, but now it is starting to go on my face!  I seem to remember my mom saying that it bothered her the most when it started happening on her face (though she can correct me if that is not ture) and I can understand why now.  I have had some spots around my eyes for a while, however my glasses hide the spots so I don't often notice them.  What is bothering me now is that just in the last week most of the area around my mouth is now white!  Because I have vitiligo, I try to stay out of the sun, so my natural complexion is not as dark as it used to be, and that is helpful when trying not to look too much like a freak!  My hands are completely white now, however all other areas of my body are still "marbled" and it really doesn't bother me, execpt for my face.  Eventually I will be completely white, incuding my hair - which is already starting to turn white in some areas - and I will try my best to embrace my new complexion and hair colour.  For the time being though, I have to admit that I am having a bit of a hard time facing the fact that my face will now be freakish too!!

• As you may or may not know, I run a Licensed Family Day Home, which means that I work for an agency and have rules and regulations to follow.  We are going through a process called reaccreditation and we have to have site visits in our homes so the government (who helps to fund us) can make sure we are following all the rules and doing everything just right.  In preparing for this site visit we have gone through the checklist of what they will be watching for and one of those things includes discipline...which you may think means teaching a child right from wrong or even punishing a child for something they did...you would be wrong though, and I would fail my site visit!  According to accreditation, we are not to give a child time out (or anything harsher), we are not to say "no" or "don't" and we are to only use positive statements around the children.  For example, if a child bit another child, this would have to be my response: "Oh Johnny, teeth are for eating, you must be nice to your friend"..."let's go play with some toys now."  Is it any wonder why our children are so out of control and self centered these days?  The people looking after our children (a huge population of children are in licensed care) are not allowed to discipline them in anyway what so ever!  I am not saying that we should go back to having straps in schools, but I think a little fear is good for a kid.  I am not sure if this way of thinking will change anytime soon, but I fear that if it doesn't change, neither will the children!

Those are just some of my rambling thoughts for today and I am getting tired, so I will turn my mind off for another day and hit the hay!

SJ