Why I refuse to give my kids everything

I was talking to an old friend a couple days ago and the first thing she asks me was how our holiday was. Next question she asks is if the kids got a lot of stuff for Christmas. I told her no. She was puzzled and could not understand why. I told her that I refuse to stress myself out to buy a bunch of things for my kids just for them to have a lot to open on Christmas. I explained that there is indeed life after Christmas. She then goes on and on about all the fancy gifts her young child got as well as how much she and her family members got. Big freakin' deal. Can I afford to buy a bunch of things for my kids? YES. I just won't because these same kids will eventually be adults and will eventually get married and have their own kids. I will not do a disservice to my kids by giving them everything they want. I had plenty as a child and when I was on the streets at 17 (by choice) I did not know how to survive. I was clueless and broken. I had to learn to grow up very fast. I also had to learn that things would not be given to me, I had to make a living. I suffered greatly--walking to where I had to get to, learning to catch the bus, being approached by pimps and strip club promoters, not eating some days because I could not afford it, not having many clothes besides the 3 outfits I left home with. The spoiled girl who grew up like a princess in her designer duds got a rude awakening called "real life". Real life kicked my ass hard.

Even when I got married and we had the girls we still struggled. We had no help from anyone, it was just us. We did not have our own home, no car and Dwayne would work 2-3 jobs at a time so we could buy diapers and eat. We did whatever we had to for our family. We persevered and eventually were in a position to buy a home and really get established. It was a hard road but we have all that we need and then some. My kids don't have an iPod touch but never complain about their $30 mp3 player. They actually laugh at their friends who brag about their brand name stuff and what they paid. One of Brie's friends got some UGG boots for $150. Brie was bragging about her Aeropostale boots that were on sale for $25 and the fact that she was able to get 2 pairs. You see, my kids know the value of the dollar. They know how to spend smart as well as save. They both got a large amount of cash from Dwayne's parents for Christmas to buy whatever they wanted for themselves. The first thing they said to each grandparent was "Are you sure? This is so much money!" I took the girls shopping and they were very selective about what they were willing to spend on. They hit the clearance racks and got a ton of stuff at deep discounts. As a matter of fact they both still have a big bulk of that money left over. I can only hope that they will always be this smart and pass it on to their own children. I am very passionate about raising well-rounded children who know how to make decisions. I want to be able to let them go out into the world and know that they will do just fine. Real talk people.

Wordless Wednesday

William in a laundry basket~ He said "Help! I stuck"

New Braces!

Finally, Brie got her braces! She has had them on for about 4 days now and is doing really well. I think the key is to not let other people's 'stories' influence you too much and make it a negative experience. I think it was way easier than we expected but we have a long 3 years and some oral surgery to go. She is already planning the colors of the little bands for the next 3 months and seems to like having them. I am impressed with all of the extra time she is taking to keep her braces and teeth extra clean. Thankfully she has accepted the fact that she has to give up a few of her favorite snacks and foods. She is still able to eat fairly well so let's hope it stays this way!

I will try to post a photo each month to show the progress her teeth will make.

The last jacket this child will ever get

Back in early November Dwayne and I ordered a Letterman's jacket for Chardie since she has expressed numerous times that she really wanted one. She has already lettered twice so we finally broke down and let her get it. As we made the order and picked out the patches, I asked the salesperson what the turnaround time was. He said roughly 6-8 weeks since it was the holidays time. He said that it would be closer to 8 weeks. You should have seen the look on my child's face. I think she was thinking more like 1 week. So for 7 weeks I had to listen to her complain and whine about how her jacket was taking forever. With all I went through having to listen to an impatient teenager I told her that this would be the last jacket she would get for the rest of her high school career. I also informed her that she better wear it all the time since we spent $200 on it. You see, my child is one of those girls that will love something and finally have it and decide that it is not quite her style.

Well the jacket came in on New Year's eve and she has almost not taken it off since then! She is so happy with it. We ordered a size small short since she is a little munchkin. She could not wait to go to school today to show it off. After all, she will be the only girl at her school that has one.

She loves the HUGE volleyball patch with her number on it. It is way bigger than we were expecting actually.
She wanted the embroidered letters for the back instead of the chenille. She is my classic baby.

Of course she has her full first name. She goes by "Char" at school but I think she wanted her full formal name since she is once again my classic baby. I am glad she finally got it so I don't have to hear about it anymore. Oh the things you do for your kids....

In "the lab" with dad

Please excuse the low quality photo but I just had to snap this one. You see Dwayne has a mini studio set up downstairs in his man room and William has been watching his daddy closely. It is not unusual to see Will talking into his Carmex tube or anything else that he can use as a pretend microphone. He saw his dad practicing a speech and Will said to Dwayne "Arriba!" and he goes straight for the mic and chats away. It is so funny when you play his voice back on the computer. His face lights up at the sound of his own voice.