First of all, make sure you’ve got one. This is a pretty handy checklist for those that aren’t sure.

The Munchkin is not 100% introverted, and there are actually probably very few who could be described that way.  But he falls just on the majority side of introverted, and that’s good enough for me.

First of all, know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being an introvert, even as our society rather absurdly celebrates the extroverted, who apparently are always ready to flip over tables and dance drunkenly on camera.

I try to keep his introvert tendencies in mind when we go places and not force him to do things he doesn’t want to do.  But, that doesn’t mean I will allow him to never have to address or speak to people, which I think is an important life skill.  Well, to do it politely and efficiently, anyway.

So a while ago when he wanted to purchase something with his own money, I made him go to the cash register and pay for it himself.  He freaked out.  I informed him that the people working at the store were nice people who were not going to bite his head off, in fact, quite the opposite.  He continued to freak.  We struck a bargain where I stood beside him the entire time, but he was the main contact with the employee.

It worked well, and since then he has somewhat overcome his fear of cash registers, and has no issues with paying for things by himself.

Wait until he learns I want him to join Toastmasters.

I would classify myself as someone who used to be more introverted, but somehow became extroverted.  First my Dad helped me out of my shell when I was young and too terrified to speak to adults I didn’t know well, and then my husband (a bona fide extrovert) pushed me over the edge into extrovert territory.  Or at least someone who is able to fool people into thinking I’m an extrovert. Pretty soon I was talking to anybody and everybody, and soon found myself able to easily conduct employee trainings for large groups of people with aplomb.

So I know the path my son walks, and I’m here to help guide him through it.  I don’t expect him to be an extrovert any time soon, but if I can get him to the point where he doesn’t freeze at the thought of talking to strangers (i.e. employees in a store) and can carry on a brief but interesting conversation with almost anybody, then I will consider my job to be done.

If he grows up and would rather stay home and read rather than go out clubbing, then I might just thank my lucky stars.

I was talking to a friend of mine who wa recently laid off her job of ten years. She spoke of some depression and anxiety, and she wants badly to climb out of the funk. However, losing her job was an unexpected blow to both her ego and her bank account.  She has two boys, seven and two years old.

She said that she had been talking to her mother-in-law and the MIL mentioned that she had noticed that my friend had changed since she had first met her.

“You know,” she mused, “You definitely became different after you had the kids.  You used to be so happy and carefree.”

Well I’m sorry, but what the hell is suprising enough about that to warrant a comment?

Who among us was not a fairly happy, carefree married/attached woman when things like children and mortgages weren’t in the picture?

It’s really easy to be lighhearted and the life of the party when you don’t have small leeches that suck the life out of you children.  Imagine being able to have some time to yourself to read a book, or have a guilt-free workout, or a glass of wine, or any of another million things that become harder when you have children under the age of five.

And I think the worst part of it is that even though the MIL truly wasn’t trying to be critical, I think that if my friend had maintained a devil-may-care attitude, people would have noticed and said that she obviously doesn’t take mothering all that seriously.

Motherhood, the land of no winning.

I promised, and here are my personal downsides to homeschooling.  Click here for the Top Ten Things I DO like.

10.  Oh, the weight of responsibility!  If he can’t get into an Ivy League, I’ve got no one to blame but me.  Kidding. Sorta.

9. Storing all of the various and sundry items needed to pursue school at home.  Had to purchase a small bookcase just for all the stuff.

8. I’m sure this is different for most people, but I personally dislike being a stern taskmaster.

7.  Which brings us to the fact that nine year old boys can be ah, a bit averse to learning. Let alone one who would never speak to a teacher the way he speaks to me when he doesn’t want to do something.

6. The fact that I am probably more critical of him to his face than a teacher would be.

5. Having to do school work when my toddler has pretty much tired me out for the day.

4.  Feeling like I have very little time to relax.

3. Having a gnawing feeling that I could be doing any or all of this better than I currently am.

2. Not being able to drop my kid off and have him be someone else’s problem for 6 1/2 hours a day.

1.  Trying to balance everything, and somehow coming up short.

10. The amount of depth we can go into on a particular subject at any given time. For example, we do current events, and I will tell him about something important that has happened somewhere in the world, and he will grab his globe and go find it. I think he has a better grasp of world geography than me at this point.

9. The fact that I know where my son is all the time (which may not be such a bonus for him, eh?)

8. No bullies! Not that it was an issue with my son, but I have heard some stories that would make your toes curl, and I am just glad that my son will not have to deal with that type of crap. I am not of the opinion that dealing with bullying is a “normal” part of growing up.

7. Not having to pack lunch and snack every single damn day. AND knowing what he eats every day as opposed to what is traded away/thrown away.

6. Being able to really control what my son is learning, and how. Not that I am doing some sort of free-form schooling, but empahsizing the things I think are important versus what someone else might think. Also, being able to introduce a critical thinking element to pretty much every subject.

5. The definite downturn in illnesses. Some people might see that as potentially bad, but I’m not one of them.

4. No more endless fundraising appeals. While I totally understand the need, they are still exhausting and annoying.

3. Field trips! Field trips! Field trips!

2. No drop off or pick up lines! Yay!

1. Waking up whenever we want. And then doing whatever we want during the day instead of planning our days around when school gets out.

I never really knew how much of a nonconformist I truly am until we started this.

Tomorrow, the flip side!

No, no, that isn’t a typo.

I didn’t mean to type Trunk Monkeys and somehow missed by a bunch of letters.

You see, my daughter is a stubborn type of child who likes to go places where she isn’t invited, such as my bathroom or the hallway closet.

Enter the door monkey.

It is the easiest, safest type of child door “lock” I have ever had the pleasure of using. It also works double duty as a pinch guard.

You simply attach the door monkey to the door without any type of adhesive or screws (it takes about, oh,  1 second) and voila! Your doors are childproofed.

Granted, it isn’t perfect for when you desire complete privacy as there is about an inch and a half gap where the door is slightly ajar, but if I need privacy I just enter the preferred room and lock the damn door. Usually I appreciate the gap as it allows for air circulation.

These monkeys have worked flawlessly for about a year now, and the ONLY problem I can see is if your little darling decides to climb up on something and unlatch the door that way, but if you child is doing that, you have much bigger problems.

Besides, I like being able to go around the house asking everyone where the monkeys are.

Speaking as someone who has never smoked even a tiny smidgen of a joint, (for serious) if I had seen this candy or even eaten it as a child, I highly doubt it would have led me onto the path of doing drugs.

Doing drugs just isn’t the way I roll, yo.  I don’t really even get drunk.

And yes, I am a fun person to hang out with.

That being said, I really don’t think these cannabis-shaped lollipops are a great idea.  They contain no marijuana so I don’t quite see the point, but maybe normalizing it to a younger generation is what they are trying to do?

Pot is still illegal, no matter how many people wish it wasn’t, so this would be a no for my son’s Halloween bag.

But mmmmmm, sour apple….

79% of you are right handed, thus leaving the remaining voters as lefties.  Except, of course, for that troublemaker Sarah G. who had to go and muck up my EXTREMELY SCIENTIFIC poll.  Thanks for nothing, Sarah!

Ahem.

Today I’ve been thinking about the Occupy Wallstreet protests.

Seriously, the kid SHOULD see this.  My son adores this site, and I find it just as fascinating as he does.

Created by a mom and her three year old, this is something a kid could spend quite a bit of time on and learn a ton while having fun.  What could be better?  The video above is just one of the eye-popping things in store for you.

Get thee to the site and bookmark it.  Now.