It seems that my kids have it a little too good.

In my quest to provide my children with a good life, I have inadvertently given my son a sense of entitlement.

Mama isn’t pleased.

We drive nice (but not outlandishly nice) cars, we have a comfortable home in a wonderful neighborhood.  Our city has good schools, abundant and well-maintained parks, and potholes exist for a short time, if at all.  There is no open homeless population, no graffiti, no run-down areas. 

In fact, I was trying to think of the grittiest thing my son has ever seen, and that probably would be graffiti scrawled on the walls of the freeway, far-removed from his surroundings.  If he has even seen it, since he is probably too busy watching movies.

And so unwittingly, I have caused my son to score a big zero in the empathy department for people who are less well-off than we are.  Also, a nature of such laziness and unwillingness to work that it trumps even mine, which is saying a LOT.

I have tried to inform him through various media of how good his life is, and how there are thousands of children who would trade with him in a heartbeat if it meant all they had to to was clean their room, do their school work, and weed the yards.  We’ve donated old toys and clothes together.   We’ve talked about his attitude at great length.

And yet, when I told him that I thought he was old enough to go out and perform some volunteer work, he actually started to cry.  TO CRY, I kid you not.  Granted, he is an emotional child, but I truly had to restrain myself from smacking him upside the head.  He said it was embarrassing.  I told him that there was nothing embarrassing about helping people less fortunate than you, and ordered him out of my sight before I did indeed smack him upside the head.

So, I’ve been scouting out sites for youth volunteerism, and to be honest, there isn’t a whole lot for kids his age.  I don’t want this to be a one-off experience, I want to commit to an organization and make this part of his routine. 

Any thoughts on some good volunteer jobs for nine year olds?  Or how to combat the whole entitlement things?

Maybe a smack upside the head?

44% of you consider the weather when deciding how long to leave leftovers out.  17% do a couple of hours no matter what, another 17% of you don’t even care, and another 17% of you REALLY don’t care.  Only 3% of you are as anal as I am, it seems.  Er, well, maybe that was just me.

On Friday I got my hair did, and as I was writing the check out to my stylist, I thought to myself that I couldn’t even remember the check I wrote before that.

Buzzfeed has a current article with pictures of 50 kids “cooler than you’ll ever be.”

I beg to differ, although some of them certainly are.  Here are the highlights.  Although it must be said there is a distinct lack of girls on the original list.

No, not because her infant’s sunglasses probably cost more than my own.

It’s because she was able to actually PUT sunglasses on her offspring without him instantaneously trying to fling them off. Putting sunglasses on my toddlers is (or was, in the case of the Munchkin) like trying to put a bandanna on a cat. Nice in theory, but horrible in practice.  The clawing and yowling effects caused by said accessories are pretty much the same across species.  In my family, anyway.

As you may already know, last week Gallup published the results of this survey, which showed that if Americans were to only have one child, 40% would prefer a boy.  28% preferred a girl, and 26% stated that it didn’t matter.

So while not quite a majority, still quite a big differential going on there.

Is it the whole “girls can get pregnant” thing?  Would people rather be the parent of the impregnator rather than the impregnatee?

Is it a financial thing, where people seem to think boys are cheaper to raise? 

Perhaps they are concerned about passing on the family name.

Or is it a flat-out gender bias?

What do you think?

And just a side note, the two lads featured up there in the picture come courtesy of Marie Osmond. 

I think they will haunt my dreams.  And I didn’t want to be the only person having nightmares, so I had to share.

You’re welcome.

Oooh! Last week’s poll about watching movies at the theater wound up with a tie!  I don’t ever remember that happening. People, you know my life is in need of a change when I get excited over a tie.

 27% of you enjoy seeing movies at a theater, and another 27% would enjoy it more often if it didn’t cost quite so much money.  Seriously, I think ticket prices, at least in my neck of the woods, are a little out of hand.  20% only like to shell out the dough to see certain types of movies, and 17% would rather wait on it to watch at home.  And that leaves 6% of you who don’t really like watching movies that much at all.

Today I’ve got an admittedly odd question, but I wanted to get a larger sample size than just my friends.  You see, I recently went out to dinner, and we planned on seeing a movie afterwards.  I had enough of my meal left over to take home, but I waffled because I don’t like to eat food that has been sitting unrefrigerated for more than a couple of hours.  One of my fellow diners thought this was ridiculous and offered to take my leftovers for themselves.  And they did.  And they claimed to have no ill aftereffects.  Allegedly.

Do polls fill you with inexplicable joy? I’ve got another one at Manolo Beauty!

My God, is it already Friday? And is June really almost over?

I apologize, my friends, for not putting up a CDF last week.  Even though I am dead tired, there is no way I would leave you hunk-less for two weeks straight.

Of course, Jamie Bamber cruised to another win, and one more victory will have him entering the CDF Hall of Fame.  Er, or maybe that should have been today but I just really enjoy looking at his picture.

Today’s challenger is an actor who is known for his character on the once-promising-but-went-to-hell-in-a-handbasket show Heroes.  Also known as husband to Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks.

VERSUS

Whew, that is a handful of a name, is it not?

I know that the Manolo prefers the Saltwater Sandals for the summertime feets of the children, but I’m going to have to differ with him on this one.

Not that there is anything wrong with the Saltwater, they just aren’t my style.

I bought these Nikes for my 19 month old, and they are fantastic. 

Soft, no rubbing on tender feet, a sturdy yet flexible sole that can tackle almost any terrain, can work in wet or dry conditions, and best of all, adjustable on both the back and front straps.

Love!