Nature in our yard

Look what was making herself at home by my front door….

These are called banana spiders. The North American banana spider (as opposed to the South American one, which can be deadly) is not aggressive. They build their large, intricate webs near my house all the time and sometimes we let them (depending on how close they are to our doors) and sometimes we remove the web with a broom, careful not to harm the spider.

Mom, Would You Mind If I Failed?

That’s what my daughter Shawna asked me last night.

My daughters take CCD classes at the catholic church near us. (don’t ask me what CCD stands for because I have no idea) This is the church we recently had my mothers funeral service at. For any new visitors who don’t know much about me, I was raised Roman Catholic but have been agnostic my whole adult life (I’ve recently become drawn to Buddhism but that’s more of a way of life rather than a religion). After adopting our three children, I wanted them to have an “official” religion so I had them baptized Catholic. They started CCD so they could do their first holy communion but then they didn’t go back the following year because they said it was boring – which is how I remember it being when I used to have to go as a kid. They decided to go back again this year and give it another go. They’re free to choose their own path and I would actually prefer them to form their own opinions and values before being influenced by those of a religion (any religion).

Anyway….

In Shawna’s class they were supposed to memorize the ten commandments, in order and then be tested on it. She was kind of stressing about it (I didn’t know that she was anxious about it) and that’s when she asked me “Mom, would you mind if I failed”?

I told her my feelings on being tested were that all it proves is you were able to memorize the material, it doesn’t prove that you learned anything. I told her that if the ten commandments meant something to her then it was more important to live them, not memorize them in order.

What would it mean if she was able to memorize them in their correct order?
That she was a good person?
That she was smart?

No…it would mean she was able to memorize some facts.

Big friggen deal.

My daughter is a good person.
My daughter is smart.

I love my daughter.

On another note about this church…

Shawna decided to join the youth group. I was actually little hesitant because of something that happened to Cimion last year when he had joined. Cimion told me that during a discussion about how the “devil” shows itself here on earth and about evil, one of the kids said hard rock bands. Cimion told me that he actually thought the kid was joking but when the kid said “…bands like Godsmack” (We’re big rock fans in our house and one of our favorite bands is Godsmack.) Cimion told the kid that wasn’t true and that he should listen to their music before making judgements. When Cimion came home and told me, it opened up a whole discussion about real evil…like child molesters and people that torture animals.

So I was a little hesitant but she wanted to try it. Her first day there, Billy called me to say that the leader of the youth group told him that after the meeting, she and the kids would be walking up to the highway and holding up signs in protest of abortion.

WTF??????

My daughter is only 12. Abortion is not a high priority in her life right now and it sure isn’t something she feels so strongly about that she would hold up signs in protest over.

I myself am pro-choice. I have strong opinions on things like abortion, homesexuality and organized religion, and although I share my views with my children, I respect their right to form their own set of beliefs.

And I expect others to treat my kids the same. Until my daughter has formed her own opinion about abortion, I don’t want her blindly follow what anyone else tells her.

I called the church and left word that Shawna was not to participate and that I would be by to pick her up. I told the leader how I felt and that if it was going to be a problem, I would take Shawna out. I also recommended to her that trips to the senior center or hospitals may be a little more Shawna’s speed. LOL She said she understood and that Shawna was welcome to stay.

November is almost here..

…and that can only mean one thing.

Black Friday.

For those who may not get out much, Black Friday is held the day after Thanksgiving and retailers across the country sell at a discount to start the holiday shopping season off. You have to know your prices though and most major retailers will offer a selection of products at considerable discounts while others are priced as you would find a weekly sale item. It pays to patronize stores you’re familiar with and look at their ad before you go.

I’ve blogged about my past experiences with shopping with Billy on Black Friday. For some strange reason, we enjoy this crazy tradition of waking up with the sun and going shopping with hundreds of other people. If nothing else, it sure is entertaining. LOL We usually go to either WalMart or Kmart, and then to Circuit City (if we were already thinking about buying something). I may take a look at Ace Hardware this year because one opened up a few minutes away from my house. I’m also waiting for the EB Games/Game Stop ad to come out because we would like to get a second system and I’m hoping to get one at a good price. Any recommendations? I’ve gotten some good deals over the years on a Kodak digital camera, a bike for my son and the steering wheel for Playstation 2.

Sites like BlackFriday.net are helpful to see all the ads in one place (good if you want to hit several stores). You can sign up for an e-mail letting you know when a new store has posted their ad. I may even shop online this year at amazon.com and overstock.com (I love that site).

Anybody else ever shop on Black Friday?

bfads

Plane Ride

Our recent trip back home to NYC for my mothers memorial service (we moved to Florida in ‘02) was my daughters first time on an airplane. My husband & I have flown many times and don’t think it’s a big deal anymore, but seeing it through their eyes was great!

We flew out of Orlando….Jacqueline & Shawna in the airport waiting to board.

Billy took this picture of us on the plane:

Jacqueline took this picture.

Coming back to Florida, we flew out of JFK (always an experience in itself-lol)

Waiting for boarding to be called…Billy playing on the laptop and Jacqueline reading over the material we got on our trip to the United Nations.

Billy took this picture of two tired girls and one very awake one. lol

Shawna took this from her seat:

I just realised from posting these that Shawna wore her Girl Scout shirt both flights. lol

Not-Back-To-School-Pool Party ‘07