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Remember my plea for a German Shelter at a rescue shelter to get surgery for an old leg injury? He got his surgery! The Rescue Group was able to find a vet who was willing to do the surgery, for approx. $4,500. The vet agreed to perform the surgery with the promise of payment. $2000 has been raised so far and I have a chipin to raise money to help with his ongoing care while he recuperates from his surgery.

My friend Mary is in contact with the shelter and is even giving thought to adopting Reign. You can read more about he is doing at her blog.

You can donate either via my chipin or send a check directly to:

Animal General
C/O Donna Jiricek
35 Brookville Lane, Glen Head, N.Y.
11545-2301

I’m in the process of moving to Wordpress.

I love big, fun, chunky pieces of jewelry and Lotta from Mom o Matic has an Etsy shop full of just the kind of fun jewelry I love. They are made of vintage materials that are often one of a kind or in limited supply. I love the retro theme of her shop which she has named Mom O Matic’s Automat. In case you don’t know, an automat is a type of coin operated vending machine that were popular in the 50’s. Her tag line is to bring your nickels and literally that’s all you need because her stuff is reasonably priced.

I love Lotta and her creations so much that I’m giving away one of her rings to help promote her shop.

You will be the envy of all your friends with this ring made using a vintage pearly pink button from the 50’s as a base. Then a single clip on earring was mounted on top. The ring is about the size of a half dollar.

It’s all mounted on an adjustable silver plated ring base. Buttons are securely glued using a very strong glass and bead glue. However, immersion in water is not recommended.

Visit Lotta’s Etsy shop then come back here and leave a comment telling me what is your favorite piece. I’ll randomly draw a winner on February 2 at 11:59pm.

Mention you’re from Slacker Mommy if you buy something and Lotta will throw in an extra bauble.

** This contest is now closed. Janice Golden is the lucky winner of Lotta’s beautiful ring. Thanks to all who entered! **

I have been a Wii addict ever since the Nintendo Fairy dropped off Mario Super Galaxy at my front door. I should be mad at Nintendo for causing my addiction that has resulted in a very messy house because I’m playing when I should be cleaning. Actually I can’t say anything but nice things about Nintendo and I’m not being paid or asked to write this. I just want to share what a first class company I think they are and how well they have treated my family since we’ve become Wii Ambassadors.

I was approached for the program last spring and agreed to having a Wii Mother/Daughter party. A couple weeks later my two oldest daughters each received a pink Nintendo DS and several games in the mail. Our party was phenomenal and included a free Wii system and games for our family. But it didn’t stop there. Every couple of months we receive a Wii or Nintendo game in the mail. They are packaged with fun confetti, small toys, or favors to fit the theme of the game plus a personalized note. Just yesterday we received Endless Ocean packaged with blue confetti and a plastic fish. Very cool game.

Thank you Nintendo for taking such good care of us. I will be so sad when my year is up.

I wrote about Madeline’s issues with a frienemy last week and how I had come to the realization that it isn’t a problem I can just “fix”. If she is going to choose to stay friends with her frienemy then she we will have to figure how to make it work.

Well, I actually got this one right. Once I backed out of “the problem” Madeline was forced to take matters in her own hands. She approached the frienemy in gym class and called a truce. They hugged and it has been going well since. For now, anyway.

In the meantime I have written two letters to each of my oldest daughters. I had given Madeline the American Girl Doll book “A smart girl’s guide to friendship troubles” to help her with her friendship woes but she poo-pooed it. She doesn’t need a book she reassured me. Hmmm, that’s interesting because she certainly seemed to want my assistance. That’s when I decided to write the first letter. She loves to hear stories about when I was a little girl and especially stories about my school and friendship troubles.

I pulled some of the important points I wanted her to read from the book and applied them to my own childhood experiences. I wrote about the times I was teased or I didn’t feel like I fit in. I shared my insecurities about my freckles and my nose and how there were times I felt jealous of another girl who had what I wished I had. The letter ended with how I came to love myself, gained confidence, and to always stay true to who I am.

I want my girls to know that all of these little life “blips” are learning lessons, milestones we all have to go through to figure out who we are. If we learn to love ourselves and treat others as we want to be treated then everything else will fall into place. There will always be little blips in our lives but if we feel good about ourselves then those blips will be more manageable. Blah, blah, blah.

Madeline loved the letter and it sparked quite a conversation between us. She is at the age where she looks up to me so it is very reassuring for her to know I’ve experienced some of the issues she is dealing with right now and I came out okay. The letter went over so well that I wrote another but it is sealed for now.

I know that in a few short years I will no longer be the center of my kid’s universe. They will be trying to gain independence, experience the world without me, and will keep secrets from me. I know we won’t always see eye to eye and I will no longer seem cool to them. I hope we will be able to continue to communicate but I also expect that it will be a trying time for us.

The second letter explains all this plus how I’m trying to keep them safe and only want the best for them even when it seems like I don’t understand. I want them to know that at the time I wrote the letter I was looking into the future with uncertainty. I am afraid of the teenage years. It’s a critical time and I don’t want to mess it up. I want them to know that I do remember being their age and that I didn’t always use good judgement. We are both going to make mistakes and I just hope that we can get through them and still like each other. I shared that I hope they will feel like they can come to me about anything and I can be reasonable.

At this point I don’t know how the letter will be received. When we hit our first teenage years blip I plan to give them their sealed letter. I will encourage them to write me back. I don’t know if will be helpful or not but I figure it’s worth a try.

As usual, I’m a day late and a penny short in writing a post to show my support of Whymommy who is having her surgery today.

My thoughts and prayers are with Whymommy and her family today. I pray that her surgery goes well and for a smooth recovery.

If you aren’t familiar with Whymommy’s story you can read it here. Check out Canape’s post if you want to participate in showing your support to Whymommy and her family.

Go ahead, click on this link of what I found on Craigslist.

I can always find something to make me laugh or shake my head in disbelief on The Best Of Craigslist.

***********************************

I think I’m finally going to make the move to Wordpress. Some of my friends have done it and I’m starting to feel uncool. So if my blog gets wacky like I’m blogging on crack then you’ll know why. Got any tips?By the way, YOU GUYS ROCK! I have raised $75 so far in my Chip In for Reign (you may need to clear your cache for it to update) and I know some have sent a check to the shelter. Seeing Reign get his surgery and possibly a new home actually seems possible.

Last summer I came across Mary who authors the blog A Grumpy Bunny after googling “canine nasal tumor”. Like me Mary also had a Golden Retriever that had a nasal tumor. Sadly we both buried our beloved dogs several months later.

Mary has come across a dog in need at a local rescue shelter. She has asked me to share his story with you since she knows I’m not above whoring out my blog.

Reign is a beautiful 18 month old German Shepard. He has a badly broken front leg from being hit by a car when he was 3 months old. He never received the medical care he desperately needed to repair his painfully broken bones.

It breaks my heart to think about how much pain he has endured in his short life and all at the hands of his irresponsible owner. After all he has been through he deserves a chance for a better life and surgery by an experienced Orthopedic Veterinarian, costing approximately $4,500.00 will possibly save his leg and end his pain and suffering once and for all.

This may seem like a lot to spend on a dog to some but I spent just about this much seeking a diagnosis and treatment last summer for my beloved Sonny. That’s how much I love animals.

If you are also a dog owner then I want to make a plea for your help to get Reign his much needed surgery and a chance for a better life. It would be one of those random acts of kindness I wrote about on Monday.

Please consider making a donation. Whatever you can give even if it’s $1. Every bit helps. The shelter has received $1000 in pledges already.

You can mail your donation to:

Animal General
C/O Donna Jiricek
35 Brookville Lane
Glen Head, N.Y. 11545-2301

or if you prefer PayPal I have a Chip In widget in my sidebar. I will match whatever I raise in my Chip In.

Thanks for your time.

Actually three-fourths of my family were victimized while I was attending Wicked with my oldest daughter. My hubby took our other three children out to dinner at a local pub and grill.

It was mostly an uneventful meal for them considering we have a a feisty red headed two year old. At the end of their meal the server informed my hubby that their meal was paid for by another table and he pointed out an elderly woman.

Hubby thanked the woman but she denied having paid their bill as her companion giggled. He got the kids bundled up in their coats and then approached the woman again.

“If you did buy our dinner I want to say thank you again.”

They chatted for a few minutes and the first question she asked was where was his wife. She must of thought he was either divorced or a widower because of our kids mismatched clothes and unbrushed hair. My hubby doesn’t give those things attention when he’s in charge.

He called me to tell me about this woman’s random act of kindness and it turns out that the friend that I was with had the same thing happen to her at the same restaurant. My guess is the elderly woman must do this often. She probably chooses a table of diners every time she dines there. How cool is that?

I love random acts of kindness. Not only do they feel good to the recipient but it feels good to be the giver. I often perform random acts of kindness via the internet as some of you who read me already know. It feels good knowing I made someone else feel good and that good feeling is contagious.

Have you been a victim of a random act of kindness? What random acts have you done? Please share.

***************************************************
I have a new giveaway at Lipstick to Crayons!

I’m having one of those days where I want to hang up my mommy hat and catch the first flight to Tahiti. So here I go again, boo-hooing about how hard it is to be a parent.It seems the older my kids get the more ill equipped I feel for this parenting gig. My own parents were terrible role models so I’m learning as I go. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don’t.

Madeline, my guinea pig oldest is having friendship troubles. She has a love-hate friendship with another girl in her class. Her frienemy happens to be a little girl I can’t stand. She is spoiled, bratty, rude, manipulative, and lacks boundaries. For some reason, Madeline enjoys her but it isn’t without conflict. The frienemy has everything but lacks time with her parents and Madeline gets lots of family time but lacks many of the material possessions of the frienemy. They are constantly feeling jealous of what the other has that they want and one-upping each other. It makes me crazy.

I met with the teacher today to see how we can help the girls get along better at school. This past Tuesday Madeline had an emotional breakdown in the car after school. The frienemy had left her out at lunch, giving her mean looks when the teacher’s back was turned, and trying to get her in trouble.

I didn’t get what I wanted out of the meeting. I love the teacher but I came home not feeling like there was any resolution. I had to ask myself what it was that I was hoping to get out of the meeting and suddenly I had a light bulb moment. This isn’t my problem to fix. This problem isn’t about when I was the kid feeling left out or mistreated and didn’t have a mother who would go to school and make it all better.

One of the things I have found most challenging about parenting is dealing with my intense desire to snuff out my kid’s emotional pain. I’m a big believer of natural consequences but when it comes to failure, disappointment, and friendship woes I want to pacify their feelings along with the ones I still carry from my own childhood. Logically I know that my kids need to experience their own emotional pain and struggles in order to grow but the mamma bear in me tends to instinctively jump in and rescue.

I can’t rescue Madeline from her friendship woes. She has chosen to continue this close friendship with the frienemy so she is going to have to figure out how to make it work. I’m here to support her and give a listening ear but this is one boo boo I can’t put a band-aid on.

Realizing this doesn’t make me feel any better though.

Damn it.

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