Whitney Houston...and other things on my mind! -
I know that a tremendous amount of Whitney Houston fans and myself were deeply saddened to hear of Whitney’s passing. I have been reading about her and the events that led to her demise, and to be perfectly honest, I do sort of agree with some people out there who say “she was a drug addict, etc. and why did her death get such paramount attention?” There are so many other individuals out there of importance who have passed and did not get the same recognition. I hear what they are saying, additionally when they say she was so G-d fearing and loved her child, why didn’t she get clean? I hear it all.
Unfortunately, we as human beings are NOT infallible and we can’t always conquer our demons as well as others. Thankfully, I don’t have those kind of demons, but we all have our insecurities and weaknesses. We must make the best of the life we have, while we are in it. We don’t know what the next day will bring. I am sure that her daughter was a huge part of her life, but she also was addicted to both drugs and alcohol and that combination, as we all know is lethal. It is a shame for her family, friends, followers and the like. If we can learn anything from this and someone else can be saved from this happening to them, then Whitney has not died in vain. I know that her music will live on in me for as long as I live. Her songs were popular when I was a young girl and the summer of my first “real” boyfriend, when I was 14, I was in “LOVE” with her music and listened to it all the time. I knew (and still know) every word to almost every song by heart. She had an incredible voice, her range was unreal and she literally gets you to stop what you are doing to take time to enjoy her lovely vocals. It is such a shame that someone with such a talent and gift, can literally throw it all away. She had a beautiful voice, she herself was gorgeous, she was a good actress, etc. I hope her family finds peace and comfort in the days, months and years ahead. I can’t even imagine what they are going through. I don’t believe Whitney wanted to die, but she did not realize how bad she had become over the last several years…drugs and alcohol can turn you into another “person” and that is probably what happened to her. I bet friends could not even reach her anymore. I didn’t personally know her, but it sounds like she was depressed, insecure and lonely the last months of her life. May she find peace…finally…Whitney, we will always love you!
On another note, we have back in stock many of the Trumpette Sock sets. Come take a look. We have even lowered the price from $23.99 to $22.00 So don’t delay, stock up. We ship very quickly. Here are some of the great styles available, including a new one, COWGIRL, so cute!
CowGirl
Rosie’s
Baby Buffalo (boy)
Camouflage (boys)
Great advice on when your child is being "disrespectful": -
We all have days where we feel like our kids are being so awful, disrespectful, etc. to us or their friends. We have all been there and are so embarrassed. Unfortunately, we tend to react to their angry words and yelling by doing just the same thing back to them, or we punish them. What are we really teaching our children then? Obviously, they are frustrated and they have not learned or been given the tools of how to behave appropriately or to properly channel their anger. By punishing them, we are basically saying “It is NOT OKAY to have overwhelming emotions”. Is that what we want them to think? Absolutely not! So, I of course, after reading Sharon Silver’s article on “How to deal with backtalk”, I thought, she is SO right on! The solution is NOT TO GET ANGRY and YELL BACK it is to get your child to understand that their feelings are okay, but that they need to calm down, then discuss it with you, etc. Here is her wonderful article and advice.
“Don’t you dare talk to me that way!”
When a child is being verbally disrespectful, or as we called it in our home, “emotionally biting” someone, a parent’s defensive wall goes up and she screams right back! Circle of Moms member Jodie M. wonders how “to manage her own anger when dealing with oppositional kids.” Most parents who are having loud, ugly words screamed at them would react. The question is, “is there another option?” Yes, there is.
First, let me say that I firmly believe that parents should not be disrespected, or have to endure any kind of emotional rudeness, but it does happen. Once it happens a parent feels like there’s only one thing to do to stop it: punish! I want to offer another way, one that not only stops the rude and disrespectful behavior in its tracks, but also teaches.
Remember when your baby’s cry was her only form of communication? Rude, disrespectful behavior is also form of communication. Verbal disrespect and rude words are a volatile expression of feelings that haven’t (otherwise) been verbalized. The feelings need to be released or all sorts of things may happen.
When a child is screaming horrible things at you, the first thing you need to be aware of is your desire to scream back, “Don’t you dare talk to me that way!” or “Who do you think you are?’ or “You’re g-r-o-u-n-d-e-d!”
I’m not going to lie; it’s hard, and it’s normal to want to retaliate. But screaming and punishing in response doesn’t address or resolve the original feelings that caused your child to be disrespectful. They don’t teach a child how to manage the intense tidal wave he or she is feeling. Punishing her makes her swallow her intense emotions, and will only cause those same feelings to erupt again in a different form.
Parents tend to think children get angry on purpose. Your child doesn’t know how she got so mad. Her anger is a mystery to her. It’s also a cry for help. To a child, being really mad feels scary, like she’s out of control and her feelings have a life of their own. When you say, “Stop it now,” she thinks, Okay, but how do I hold this tidal wave of feelings back? Please show me, don’t punish me.
Parents need to accept that intense feelings are part of growing up. You are their safe place; you need to teach your child how to deal with volatile feelings by doing it yourself. How? By showing her something other than reacting, retaliating and screaming at her.
Imagine for a moment that a parent and a child are standing opposite each other. Stretched between them is a rope. As the child yells, she pulls on the rope and lets go. A tidal wave of emotion leaves the child and travels across the rope and hits the parent. Now covered in imaginary emotional goo, the parent pulls on the rope as she yells back. It becomes a tug of war, an emotional war.
In order for a parent to teach a child how to handle a tidal wave of intense emotions, the parent has to disengage and drop the rope, thereby stopping the tug of war, before any talking or resolution can begin.
This is the crucial turning point. You’ve stopped things from continuing to escalate, and have turned things toward resolution.
Your child will try to get you to reengage. She’ll scream mean words at you and she’ll be rude. Stay silent. Do not reengage; do not pick up the rope!
As soon as your child realizes that you’re not reengaging, she will also realize she was out of line. Now is the moment for action.
You might say, “When you get this upset, you need to calm down first, hit something, and release your anger (though exercise, or whatever the rule is in your house) before talking to me.”
Once your child has released the anger, invite her to talk: “Now please begin with an apology and let’s talk about your feelings calmly.”
By dropping the rope and stopping the emotional tug of war, you’re able to get to the crucial turning point and turn things toward resolution instead of keeping the “war” going by yelling and punishment.
I hope that the next time any of my three children has a disrespectful moment, I can take time to stop, think and then react, rather than simply react by doing something that a) you feel bad doing later, b) is counter productive. c) is not teaching/giving your children the necessary tools to handle things in a more proper way in the future and the future of their own children’s lives. Sometimes, what we think is OBVIOUS, is not always as OBVIOUS as we think! Great advice, you can also learn more about Sharon Silver on her parenting website called: http:///proactiveparenting.net. Check it out. Link is attached to this blog entry.
Lastly, there is only another 3 more days for www.startingoutsmall.com ‘s 30% off your entire purchase, so what are you waiting for? Need a unique yet practical baby gift that won’t break your bank? Check out our unique baby gifts soon! Simply enter discount code WOWsave30 during the checkout process!
Also, more TRUMPETTE GIFT SOCK SETS back in stock!
[video]
Save 30% NOW through January 30th, 2012 -
What can I tell you? It has been two weeks since I last posted…I know, I have not been the best lately, BUT, this will make my customers happy!
January Special:
Save 30% now for the next two weeks on your ENTIRE ORDER! Shop now, details below….
It has been a busy and crazy Fall/Winter so far! My youngest daughter just turned 3 and she is so particular. She refuses to wear pants and shirts, ONLY dresses and particularly “party” dresses. So, mornings are not the easiest, as you can imagine. With temperatures below 30 degrees, I would much rather bundle my cute daughter in warm pants and sweaters, but oh, no G-d forbid I do that! You must choose your battles, so I do, but it still takes time each and every morning. I wish there were uniforms for 3/4 year olds! Are there any schools that have uniforms that young?
I also have been under the weather a lot over the last few months and even got Pneumonia, so I guess my immune system is shot, not sure. I eat fairly well, though I have included TONS of chocolate lately, (I so love chocolate, especially the Lindt/Lindor chocolate truffles which are now Kosher…unfortunately or fortunately). I would definitely say that chocolates/sweets are totally my VICE. I am sure I am not the only one…and I see my oldest daughter has totally followed in my footsteps, not a good thing!
It is also winter break for all three of my kids starting this Thursday and I have as of yet, NO plans! I feel so disorganized. Hopefully, I can figure out something fun last minute, albeit not too far away. We are thinking of doing the indoor water park thing, my kids enjoy that, so we shall see.
Lastly, but perhaps the MOST important thing, since cupcakes have been a part of our house since early January when it was our daughter’s third birthday, I decided to make the next two weeks sweet for you all as well. I am offering 30% off your entire order NOW (Jan. 16th) for the next two weeks ONLY! So, shop, stock up and save, save, save! This is one of the biggest discounts I have ever offered. So, take advantage NOW! Use coupon code WOWsave30 at checkout time. Happy shopping!
Check back often, as we will soon be adding new products.
Cool site: Looking for a way to fund your new venture? -
I just found out about a great site called Kickstarter.com. It is a place you can go if you need money to start up a business idea or get money to fund your specific cause. Take a look at all the creative people and/or groups of people out there that have received money to fund their projects. What a concept!
I will have to start thinking of something myself…it beats having to get a loan…
Check it out!
Enjoy!