June 26, 2010 – Write From Karen

List six ways you indulge or spoil your children

Actually, I think it’s more apt to say:

List six ways you DON’T indulge or spoil your children.

Because yes, I’ll be the first to admit it, our boys are spoiled.

But they’re not brats.

No really! I KNOW parents SAY their kids aren’t brats, but honestly, our boys are not brats.

Usually. 🙂

Let’s see if I can narrow down the ways we spoil out kids (and then offer excuses for doing so):

1. Allow them to play video games for as long as they wish. (Hence the reason they’re both uber geeks and never leave the house. BUT, geeks make money AND I know where they are … so WIN!)

2. Though we expect them to make their beds and keep their rooms clean, we don’t really require them to do anything else around the house. (Though they will if we ask them. But we have to ask them, they don’t usually do it of their own free will. That’s a bit annoying, actually).

3. Pretty much buy them anything (as long as they follow the rules and continue to do well in school).

4. Take them on awesome family vacations every summer. (Confession: I actually do this one for ME because they’ll be moving out soon and I want to take advantage of this time together).

5. I buy them junk food and soda in the hopes they will actually GAIN weight. (They are both so skinny!)

6. The boys both have their own computers – with Windows Vista (I’m still on XP). We pretty much buy them anything and everything electronic because it gives US an excuse to do the same because come on man, it’s FUN to play with that stuff.

Am I wrong? 😀

*photo credit

From time to time, I’ll be recording thoughts and events from my past. These memories are prompted from the Between Me and You, Mom memory book. I plan on filling this book out one of these days to pass onto my children. I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds the lives of our parents fascinating. It’s weird to think of my parents as children and it’s really fun to hear stories about their past, how they met, etc. If my children read about my past, perhaps they will understand me just a little better.

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What was your sister and brother like when you were growing up?

I have one younger (3 yrs) sister and one younger (7 yrs) brother.

I’m the oldest.

Sort of explains a lot, doesn’t it.

But if I had to sum my siblings up in one word?

Sister: quiet. I don’t really remember talking to my sister very much growing up. And I think it was mainly because I was off in my own little world. But my sister was so quiet that I wasn’t sure how to relate to her; I don’t feel like we ever found any common ground with which to build a relationship. I take the bulk of the blame here because I didn’t make much of an effort to FIND that common ground.

She didn’t talk much. She liked to stay in her own little world and because she was so quiet and I was so self-absorbed, I just sort of ignored her and never took the time to get to know her.

Just one of many regrets in my life.

Brother: funny. He’s seven years younger than I am. So … it was like, “Oh look at my little brother. See how funny he is? Okay, now go away little boy.”

😀

I watched him grow up from afar. And when my parents moved away shortly after I graduated from high school, my brother would have been eleven or so, I simply lost touch with him. He grew up without me around.

So again, I don’t really feel like I know my brother enough to say anything more.

Wow. It sort of sounds pathetic, doesn’t it. Not knowing my own family?

And that probably says a lot about my personality.

And I’m thinking it’s not saying anything positive.

(Feel free to take this question and write your own blog post!)