Failure is NOT an option!

Was watching My Drunk Kitchen tonight while waiting for a cake to cool enough to decorate...yea...if you didn't know it...I make cakes! Anyway, I'm a much better cook and baker than Hanna...however not nearly as entertaining. LOVE her! Even better is to watch my all time fave youtube lady Jenna here...then watch Hanna here. Yes yes, it is obvious I have been spending WAY too much time on the internet. But are you kidding me? Who wouldn't with such righteous bitches as fore mentioned??? Also, I am not completely sure I am spelling Hanna's name right. I'm guessing not. But I am getting my point across that she is The Boss Applesauce...you know...to Jenna's fuckin youtube fuckin unicorns shitting rainbow pancakes with a side of BACON status!

ANYWAY!!! I was chit chatting with a dear friend and the convo went towards NOT setting your kids up for failure. And SO many are guilty of it. Even the schools are guilty of it. What the fuck is wrong with getting letter grades by the third grade? What the fuck is up with EVERY kid getting in a trophy in EVERY SINGLE sport or activity??? I am all for raising a child with high self esteem...but if they grow up getting rewarded for everything what skills for coping with loss is that going to leave them with in the real world? NONE. It breeds people that will eventually need to go on drugs and spend countless hours in therapy thinking they are not good enough. (I am not knocking therapy...it has done great things for a lot of people.) I just feel like we are all conditioning the youth of our generation to think that no matter what the situation they cannot lose. I honestly think that is why so many freshman in college do so poorly their first year. They have spent their whole life "pseudo winning". Now they are in the real world away from friends and family most times...and left feeling alone and lost. If you think I am wrong...please stop reading now. They are left not knowing how to deal with the real world. Not sure if you've noticed...but the real world is a cruel, heartless place when it comes to jobs, money, sustainability. No matter if we are in a recession or not. People are people...we judge others. If you say you don't, you are a liar. You may be flower power love every single being be it plant or animal...but you judge. You will disagree with someone's beliefs or platform. You will be on one side of an issue, however, fail to see even the slightest point on the other side. I am GUILTY of judging. I wish I didn't. But I am big enough to admit that I do. Obviously. Let me first say that I totally 100% wholeheartedly agree with building your child up to think that they are the cat's meow...to a point. I don't want my girls to think that they are better than anyone, but I do want them to think that if they work at it they can be the best at things. At the same time, I want them to understand and realize that there may be someone that does something better than them. I do NOT discourage my children when it comes to their hopes and dreams. I am a realist. Therefore, they in turn will be as well. I want them to all be gracious when they lose a game and at the same time thankful for the experience.

Here is where it may get sketchy. WHY oh dear Lord WHY do people think it is completely fine to feed their children SO much of CRAP FOOD??? You would think at a certain point someone would stop and think to themselves...wow. Just wow. Gotta cut off the McD's. That is not baby fat and it ain't comin off easy. I really have no room to talk...I can't get a grasp on my own eating habits. I've had three kids and in no way do I look like I did at eighteen. But we learn our habits early. My mother in law met me to drop off the kids on the way to her paint class tonight and I was driving the kids home. Asked them about their day...and Abigail said, "My day was good...but I want a happy meal and a frosty." NOT happening. I told her she and Sydnee needed to think of something we could make at home and just because they came into town where there is a McD's does not mean she is getting it. She said she wanted a humongous salad with mushrooms and ranch. Sydnee said, "I don't want salad but I would like that white pasta with peppers and some of that yummo broccoli." You know, because it's yummo in the tummo. So...there you go.

I may do things late at night in the basement that are bad for me like smoke and drink and watch zombie shows and slasher movies....but I am empowering my children to do the right thing. I shield them from the scary part of mommy. And it is paying off so far. It may come back to bite me in the ass...and you may judge me for my own tactics as people WILL DO. My kids are BY FAR not perfect, nor do they always do the right thing...but I would like to think Jamie and I are doing what we think is best for ours...and they seem to be doing excellent so far. They have common sense...which is one of the most invaluable lessons as far as I am concerned. They have compassion for others. They are super creative. They love things on their own without being coaxed into it...well mostly. My girls do love to rock out with mommy. In my defense...I'd rather they hear these lyrics than these...which is what my SIX year old learned at school and then taught to my 3 year old. Not cool for a six year old to be singing. I feel like I set a good even example for them...I dance to Ellen in the kitchen almost nightly cooking dinner and they join in...we have a fun house...but a strict house. A house that makes them feel safe and at the same time we prepare them for what is to come in their lives. Shit, fuck dude...the world is scary. Scarier than any zombie flick I watch on TV. I made them watch the video on the news a couple weeks ago that showed some guy trying to take off with that little girl from Walmart. They were scared shitless...and I loved every minute of it. I want my kids to have to have that even balance of the world is a wondrous place and scary as fuck...and know the difference. We CANNOT shield our kids anymore from everything...we CANNOT pacify them forever...they NEED to know what it feels like to lose early in life so they rise above and do better and greater things!!

If I make it to age 75...and that is generous...I hope I have a youth that can lead this country in the right direction. All because they were raised with morals, good intentions followed by great outcomes and common sense. That is what we ALL need to get back to.

ALL over the place...but I think...I think I got my points across. We shall see huh?

Hope it was an enjoyable read!

Til next time

xoxo