What's happening in Kerbyville on a Friday night? I get a live concert from the stop sign rock band. Gigi is the singer/song writer and the little man is on the guitar. They look tough and they sing some mean lyrics that go something like this....I love you mommy, I love you mommy, please don't leave cuz I love you to much. One of the best concerts I have ever attended!

Can't Be Tamed

Oh Miss Miley, what has happened? Hannah is to embarrassed to make an appearance at this point. I get it girl, I understand that being a pop star princess on the Disney Channel can be the kiss of death. You might never get a serious role and your music might forever ring out on Radio Disney. You want to break free from screaming 8 year olds but sister don't sell your soul. After that performance on Dancing with the Stars moms every where are gathering all that purple Hannah gear and heading to the Goodwill. It will gather dust on shelves along with the other Disney Pop Princesses gone wild. We all thought that maybe you would rise above, maybe you would be able to have the best of both worlds. We were hoping you would be the one that would be a role model for our girls breaking away from the ideal that sex sells and seventeen year olds don't need to march around in hooker books proclaiming how the man in their life can't tame them. You scream out don't change me but I can honestly say I don't even recognize who you are. Oh and Billy Ray someone ought to stomp on your achy breaky heart for letting your little girl march around like that! (the music video is more appalling than DWTS). Now I know there are some out there that will say she didn't ask to be a role model for young girls, really, then why did you star in a show targeting young girls, and that she has the right to break free and move on. Yeah I know, it just breaks my heart that breaking free and moving on means leaving behind all things wholesome and innocent. It means transforming into something that you are not. It means being sexing and singing about relationships that you have yet to experience. It means that most of your fans can no longer watch your music videos because they are PG-13. It means conforming to the world's standard of what a woman should look and act like. Oh how I was hoping you would break that mold that you would stand up and say NO! I guess that is a lot to ask of a 17 year old girl especially with the pressures of Hollywood wanting to make a buck by sacrificing you on the alter of fame and fortune. Oh girl how I wish we could have a conversation. I wish you could have had all those moms out there that are screaming don't do it, it's not worth it, you deserve more, you are better than that, right there with you when they asked you to make this video. You might have thought twice. So to all those screaming moms out there what do we do now? We have yet another pop princess sending our girls the message that the way to make it in this world is be sexy, be spoiled, and go through men like money. Wow makes our lives so much easier!

*sorry 2 rants in one day. I told you God was making me less naive. I have another post in the back of my mind but I will save it for another day. I am seriously considering starting a blog dedicated to parenting in this crazy world. We will see. It has been on my heart lately.

I want to be naive. It would make life a whole lot easier. You know walking around pretending all is good in the world and nothing bad ever happens. Naive, it would be wonderful! I wouldn't have to get that lump in my throat when I think about sending my kids off to school. I wouldn't have to sit with a student and feel my heart break for them. I wouldn't have to get on a soapbox and rant about all the evils in the world. I could sit on my patio sipping tea and listening to the birds sing. Life could be all rainbows and unicorns. What good would that do though? I mean really what good would be done in this world if we were naive. None. We would not have the eyes to see or the heart to help. So you might be wondering where this little rant is coming from well join the club. For some reason God thought that I needed to be a little less naive this week. I have weeks like that when I am bombarded with information that I wish I never knew. This week though I thought I would share. It started out when I came across and article about a new site called chatroulette. For some of you this may mean nothing but if you know anything about this site you are probably starting a rant all of your own right now. So what is this lovely little site. It was developed by a 17 year old and basically you can video chat with a stranger at the click of a mouse. Don't like that person just click and move on. Sounds innocent enough right? Might sound a little less innocent when you hear that 1 in 10 users are naked and/or m*sturbating. 50% of users are engaged in inappropriate behaviors. So what's the draw? Well to kids it's the thrill of seeing who you will get and the fact that several celebs have been spotted on the site. What tween girl would not die if they came across Justin Beiber or the Jo Bros? The problem is they will find Joe who is 60 and naked before they will find a Jonas brother. Creepy and scary all at the same time. Think well that won't happen in my house. Well maybe not but what about the sleepover your girl is scheduled to attend Friday night? Yeah, I know scary and I can feel that same lump that just came up in your throat right now. I can also hear the question that just popped into your head, What do I do now? Lock them in a room! Okay that's probably not legal but unfortunately chatroulette is. So what to do. Talk to your kids. Let them know that you are concerned for their safety. Let them know that you trust they will make a good decision and coach them through the situation. Role play what they could say or do if a friend is asking them to participate in this kind of activity. Most kids don't want to chat with strangers. The whole creepy predator thing scares them but they might just want to check out the site once. The problem is what will they see and how long will that image be burned into their mind. If they understand the dangers up front they will be less likely to want to join in. I always love when parents don't want to talk to their kids about things because it will just give them ideas. Really, well when they were 2 you told them not to run in the street, weren't you concerned it would give them an idea? What about warning them about stray dogs, maybe it would tempt them to pet one. Oh and there is the whole don't get in the car with a stranger maybe they would want to know why and try it. Come on people, we have to arm our teens with knowledge so they can make the right decisions. Whose voice do you want popping into their heads when they are faced with moral decisions, yours or their best friends? Talk to them, don't lecture or preach, just have a conversation. Trust me I am right there with you, scared to death when I think of all the things that prey on the minds of our kids. I pray everyday that God will protect their minds and hearts. I also know that God has called us as parents to prepare our children for these battles that they will face everyday. We have to face the giants and fight for our kids. You are the greatest influence in their lives. Love them and talk to them, they will thank you for it one day.

Mother's Day

My mother's day card made by gigi

I love it when you....

Make me cookies. I love it.

kiss me

say I missed you. I love you

say what do you want for dinner. If I say I want to cook it you say okay.

make me happy.

Best gift ever complete with illustrations. I don't need anything else in life.

~Scarlett

Piggy Pies

Spring has arrived here in Kerbyville. You would never know it looking at the thermometer but it has arrived and there are little clues all around me reminding me that warm weather is on it's way. I just need to be patient. One reminder of spring is babies. As I drive to work everyday I see baby calves jumping around and little lambs chasing there mothers. I spotted 12 baby geese swimming with their mothers tonight while walking the dog. I was very thankful they didn't attack me when my dog jumped in the water and started swimming after them but that is another post! I was walking through the farm store the other day and gigi and I spotted the baby chicks. Gigi has been begging and I mean begging for some baby chicks. I keep telling her that between the dog and 2 cats that they don't stand a chance at our house but that does not stop all the begging. On this particular day gigi marched right over to those little chicks and proceeded to check them over. She was confident that she would be taking a few home. She even brought the new 20 dollar bill that was burning a hole in her pocket. She figured at 79 cents a piece she could get oh, 10 chicks and some feed. I had to say no and watch the tears stream down her face as we checked out. I don't know if you know my gigi but this girl is pure country. Not really sure how that happened except deep down I am with her a little. I mean the thought of living in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of animals is kind of appealing. Don't get me wrong we can handle Louis bags and 5 star resorts but we can have just as much fun clunking around in cowgirl boots. Let's just say we are not afraid of getting dirty. So I took my girl home and tried to explain that we need a chicken coop before we could ever get chickens. We get home and that little girl flashes her brown eyes at her daddy and tells about how she wanted some baby chicks. Now I don't know if you know the mister but there is only one reason to have an animal around, you can eat it or it can eat something pesky. Okay so that is 2 reasons. He really sees no point in having a pet rabbit and the dog is around to humor me. He does like the cats because they are constantly leaving dead mice on the deck, see useful. Any hoo, I know he wonders where this country girl came from and all I can think is um, you were raised in the middle of nowhere on a dairy farm. See it came from his side of the family. When that little girl flashes those big brown eyes and says daddy I want a horse, steer, chicks, lamb, goat....you fill in the blanks because she has asked for them all. I can see the wheels turning in his head and I know if he could he would buy her 20 acres and a horse. So on this particular day he looks at me and says what would it take to make a coop. Uhh, wha....just happened? I answer with I will have to do some research. Now don't get me wrong the thought of fresh eggs sounds awesome but I will admit chickens freak me out a little. So I was very happy when I asked when we were picking up pigs for 4-H. That's right we raise pigs for 4-H. The mister said tomorrow. I have never seen my girl move so fast. She was getting her boots on and heading to the pig pen to get it ready for the new arrivals. The baby chicks were a distant memory. So for now I have managed to escape becoming a chicken farmer. We will see how long that lasts. The next day we picked up gigi and little man from school. Here she is ready to go pick out her prize pigs.

We brought home 4 little piggies all of whom will go to the market (sorry couldn't resist). 3 Yorkshire cross (they are pink) and one Hampshire (black with a pink stripe in the middle). It is scary that I even know that. Any hoo here is a picture of them in their pen. It's not very good not sure what happened to it. Their official names are Olivia, Oreo (that's the black and pink one), bacon, and sausage. They have quite the personalities. Oreo is very funny. She will lay on her side and let you rub her belly. I wonder if gigi will get extra points in fitting and showing if she can get her pig to do that for the judge. So for now they are the newest guests at kerbyville and will be with us until fair time. I think I might have to start referring to gigi as Fern. I've got a feeling there will be some tears come sale time. For now, she is making friends with them. Another season in kerbyville.