Anyone else getting burnt out on Michael Jackson? Because I really, really am.

I’m sad for his family and his children, but I’m sick of the tributes already. I’m tired of Michael Jackson on the radio constantly. I’m annoyed with the celebrities speaking out (thanks, we already knew he was a musical genius/icon/legend and we already knew who has modeled their style after him (looking at you, Justin Timberlake)). And I’m also really struggling with the glorification of this human being, simply because he died unexpectedly and made great contributions to the world of music.

When people die, we tend to sanctify them. We remember the good times and quietly sweep the bad times, the bad habits, under the rug for another time. This is exactly what most of the world is doing with Michael Jackson, with Farrah Fawcett, with Ed McMahon and with Billy Mays.

The fact is, musical genius as he may have been, Michael Jackson was also a suspected sex offender.

Last night NBC aired a special called Living With Michael Jackson, which was a series of interviews conducted by British journalist Martin Brashear. I enjoyed it because Brashear asked the difficult questions, the ones he knew Michael wouldn’t likely answer (or answer truthfully), on topics ranging from the paternity (and maternity) of his children to having severe dermatological issues as a teenager to the ever-changing physical features.

As I watched it, I watched Michael lie about not having had plastic surgery (please!). I listened to him talk about his children, insisting he was their biological father (though apparently that’s not true, judging by the reports on this today) and insisting to Brashear that he would not mind if his children spent the night at someone’s house and slept in a bed with an adult (this was in response to the sexual abuse allegations); yet, earlier, Michael and the children took a trip to the zoo and he told Brashear that he refused to let anyone else take his children anywhere, because if something happened he wanted to be the one responsible for it (”I’d rather it be my fault,” is pretty close to what he said). Like, you know, dangling an infant over a balcony railing.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the man’s music (always stop when I come to a song on the radio or iPod, even before he passed away), but these are exactly the reasons we need to bring the pandemonium down a notch or two. Icon that he may be, he also had some serious flaws that were not necessarily kept private. We, the public, need to keep this in mind.

When I die, please know I do not wish to be canonized.

While I do hope to be remembered for my good points, I’m honest enough with myself and others to recognize the fact that I am a deeply flawed person.

I’m messy and disorganized. I don’t often think things through. I hate math and I’m no good with financial matters. I’ve worked hard to be a good mother, but I’m not the best or perfect parent; I lose my temper too easily and I have little patience. I lack discipline. I talk too much. Sometimes I don’t know the right thing to say and end up putting my foot in my mouth. I don’t know when to keep my comments to myself sometimes, like when we were at the airport checking our suitcase and I pointed out that it weighed 52 pounds (you have to pay for anything over 50). I’m picky and opinionated. I hate doing laundry. I am deeply sentimental and thus a packrat. I have [unintentionally] broken TSA rules and carried a knife in my purse on a plane (funny story is, they stopped Shanee because she had baby food in her diaper bag and here I was with a 4-5 inch knife in my purse).

Sometimes I brag too much, but I’m proud of myself, my family and our collective accomplishments. I’m not good at keeping in touch with people, except on Facebook. I’m irritating. I talk on the phone too much. My opinions are not always mainstream. I’ve had a lot of automobile accidents. I got pregnant before I was married. I stayed with an abusive husband when I knew I should have moved on. Need I continue? (I’m sure my brothers could point out tons more.)

While no one wants to be remembered simply for their flaws, my bad traits are as much a part of me as my good traits. I’m far from joining the ranks of Mary, Matthew, Luke and John.

I’m a human, not a saint.

This is also what we need to remember about celebrities. Remember their achievements, but don’t forget what made them real.

Today was a very, very long day. We had a special section to put out as well as a newspaper. We worked diligently Friday on the section – writing stories and paginating – and by 5 p.m. we were delirious. We decided to take the weekend and come back Monday with fresh brain cells and work a little more on the section.

Now, without having Friday to work on stories for the paper, we were already going to be late today. Like I said, long, busy day. *SIGH* I left an hour late because I had to pick up my kids and the other two stayed another two hours.

Exhausted, I decided I didn’t want to cook dinner tonight and didn’t want to eat out, so the kids and I had a picnic in our yard. This was a huge hit to all the other moms out there.

The weather today was so, so, so nice! It was 85-90 degrees all day with little humidity (so THIS was the dry heat you guys always talk about!). Absolutely GORGEOUS and perfect for a little picnic. We had turkey and cheese sandwiches (except for Jenna, who just had grape jelly) and chips and shared with mosquitoes and flies. lol.

Before we ate, the kids said grace. It was super cute, as always. lol.

Such a simple little thing really won them over. They want to have more picnics! If the weather stays as nice as it was today, that may happen more often. (Well that and if we can get rid of the bugs!)

Saturday was somebody special’s birthday! ♥

Weeks ago I asked her to write a list of what she wanted and returned to me was a paper with things such as get nails painted, go to the movies, Nintendo DS, see Daddy, go to Grammy’s house, etc. So instead of a big to-do with a bunch of people, we planned a low-key birthday lunch at my parents’ house and then she and I would spend time by ourselves.

Friday night she asked if she could make breakfast the next day and I told her, “We’ll see!” Saturday morning she didn’t forget and was asking me if she could make something out of her cookbook before I had even set foot out of bed! I told her if we had the ingredients, we would. She pulled out her cookbook and the first recipe she asked about was chocolate chip muffins. We had everything and she was given the go ahead.

She pulled all of the ingredients out and, with my supervision, got to baking. The muffins came out very, very good! I think we had a tad bit too much baking powder, but otherwise they were okay.

My brother came over to do some drywall work and my adorable niece and nephew came too. Khloe is more than happy to oblige and take a picture with her auntie. Caiden, however, not so much.

After Tyrel was done, we all headed to my parents’ house. Dad had already made Jaiden’s cake and got busy grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and my mom made cucumbers & onions. Loving that I literally had to just show up and that was it (awesome how that worked out). We ate lunch, then opened presents (all while fielding phone call after phone call from friends and family members who don’t live nearby).

Jaiden received a lot of clothes, a few Barbie dolls, a Hannah Montana doll that sings, the book Anne of Green Gables and a lot of beads to make bracelets. She really, really wanted a Nintendo DS, but I’m not prepared to buy her a video game system that costs so much. She was really thrilled with the beads, though.

Next it was time for cake! She wanted an Aurora cake, but my dad made her cake, so we just bought the little Polly Pocket princess Aurora and used that for decoration.

The cake was very, very good! (In fact, I just finished a piece. Still good two days later!) After cake, time to go swimming! I hadn’t been in the pool since last summer (and didn’t swim while we were on our honeymoon), so I was really excited about it. lol. The kids, of course, are always excited to go swimming.

Once everyone was tired of being in the sun, Jaiden and I dried off, got dressed and left. She wanted to get her nails painted, but on the way there she decided she liked her sparkly nail polish that came with the fake makeup Tyrel & Katie got her, so I promised to take her with me next time I go for a pedicure. Skipping the nails meant we were headed right for the movies. On the way, we stopped for snow cones! I got sour apple and blue raspberry and she got banana and sour apple.

Every birthday we take “Mommy & Me” pictures to commemorate the anniversary of the day we first met. This was ours this year, less dignified than in years past, but definitely fun.

That was after our snow cones in the parking lot at the movie theater! We bought our tickets for Up in 3-D, plus popcorn and Junior Mints and got ready to watch.

I honestly had no idea what the movie was really going to be about. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else, but I will say that I cried through a lot of it. It was so sad! I think it makes more sense for adults than it does for children, but it’s still child-friendly too. It was very, very good.

After the movie Jaiden still wanted to go shoe shopping. I told her Wal-Mart was the only store still open, but she wanted to go anyway, so we went. We were having a good time, just the two of us! She chose a pair of ballet flats with butterflies on them, plus she also chose to spend her birthday money from Grannie and her dad. She purchased a CD with cheerleading songs on it (she wants to cheer), a jump rope and a set that has plastic beauty tools (hair dryer, straightener, etc.).

We headed home and I realized it was almost 10 p.m. and we hadn’t really eaten dinner (though we had a late lunch). Oops! We picked up McDonald’s and ate a very late dinner. I returned phone calls and she played with her toys before we went to bed.

We started reading Anne of Green Gables that night. We read a chapter each night; Jaiden figured it out and we should be done reading the book by next Thursday, July 9. lol.

I really, really enjoyed spending time with her, just us. We so rarely get to do that, so it’s a real treat! She said she really had a great time, for which I’m thankful. I know she would have loved to have a big blowout birthday party and so would I, but this birthday will really stick out for me because it was different. We typically try to keep it small and simple, but last year she had quite the party and she still talks about it. lol.

I really can’t believe how quickly she is growing up. Seven already. In seven more years she’ll be a full-blown teenager (oy). The night before her birthday she told me she didn’t want to grow up because she didn’t want to have babies. I don’t want her to grow up yet for a myriad of reasons and, yes, that is also one. lol. She, Jaylen and I have had talks recently about having children before you’re ready (i.e. before you’re able to be financially responsible for them) and I hope it sticks.

My first sweet, cuddly little newborn is now a second-grader. How does that happen? With her, we’re dipping our toes into the tween stage. She’s too big for Dora (she told her grandma so lol), but not big enough for other things. She loves High School Musical and Hannah Montana. She loves cooking, if you couldn’t tell. lol. I hope that continues. But most of all, I hope she continues to be a kind-hearted person.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! Mommy really, really had a wonderful time with her BIG GIRL!

Today my first baby is turning SEVEN!

It’s hard to believe (yes, I know I always say that!). On one hand, it seems like she was just born yesterday, but on the other it seems like she’s always been here.

We will be celebrating with a little family party at my parents’ house, then she and I will go out and have our nails painted, shop for shoes and go to a movie, all her requests. She’s becoming quite the little lady, often writing Darin and I letters telling us she loves us because we’re sweet. lol. She’s also getting a little feisty, as 7-year-olds tend to do, but she is more special to me now than ever before!

Happy birthday, sweet Jaiderbug! ♥ I love you so, so much (because you are sweet)!

During the crazy busy week of the wedding, I suddenly remembered we had a whole box of Dave Ramsey materials in the closet. Days before, Darin and I had discussed chores and allowance for the kids, so this was quite the timely find. We were not exactly in agreement regarding allowance, so I opened the Financial Peace Junior materials, educated myself and we discussed it further.

I’m a bit of an organization and office supply geek at times and I was really, really wowed by the kits. Each Financial Peace Jr. includes:

• Commission Worksheet (Dry-Erase Board) – Keep a record of all of the jobs your child has done and how much money he or she earned each week.
• Saving to Buy with Cash (Dry-Erase Board) –Your child can choose one item to buy with cash, and when he or she has saved enough to reach the goal they can purchase the item.
• Envelope System (Save, Spend, Give) – Placed the money earned each week in the envelopes so your child knows exactly where his or her money is.
• Clip and Carry Coin Case – Helps your child keep track of his or her spending money and helps you to monitor your child’s spending.
• Instruction Manual – A guide for effectively using the kit to teach your children.
• Instructional Audio Cassette – Provides additional instructions for you and your child.

And you know where I’m going with this, right? Yep, we started it.

A couple of weeks ago, we sat in bed after breakfast and went over the program to develop our plan of action. We talked about tasks and commissions and came up with a plan, which we later presented to our little brood. And it was pretty well-received, I have to say. They all liked the idea of earning money, so that was a great start.

Jaiden (7 on Saturday!) and Jaylen (5.5) are asked to: help with laundry (bringing it down to wash, help sort, help fold & put away), feed/water the dog, walk dog morning and evening, help cook, help with dishes, put their plates up after dinner, clean up their play area and Jaiden, because she is older, has to help sweep the floors. They switch off with the feeding/watering the dog, morning or evening dog walking and cooking and dishes. We do not pay them to make their beds or practice good hygiene.

The younger girls, who are 3 and 3.5, must fold their pajamas, fold their small blankets (they like to sleep with baby blankets), help sort laundry, put their plates up after dinner, clean up play area and put their shoes and dirty clothes in their proper places.

Each chore was assigned a commission value – ranging from a nickel (putting plates or shoes up) to a dollar (helping with laundry). They can not earn more dollars than they have years. This program also has fines; the children can lose either a nickel or 15 cents depending on the offense, which is predetermined and listed on their board. All of the kids have interrupting listed, because we have a big problem with it. Other offenses include talking back, tantrums, repetitive questions (Like, “Daddy, where are we going?” 15 times in a row!), whining, biting/hitting, staying on task, etc.

We have reused little votive cups from the wedding for their commissions, which we have been paying with pocket change. Every day they see the amount in their container increase, which is instant gratification and motivation.

My mother-in-law gifted us with the entire Dave Ramsey set, including Financial Peace Jr. and three add-ons. The kids really enjoy seeing it all add up. The system has envelopes for spending, saving and giving; we let the kids choose to which charity/organization they would like to donate (Jaiden chose church/school and Jaylen chose an animal rescue).

As I’ve said, it’s only been two weeks, but we’re doing well with it so far. It’s a win-win situation because, in addition to their goal of earning money to buy something special, Darin and I get help around the house. Last week was a lot less stressful than normal because we had help. And through this we see skills emerge – Jaiden loves cooking with me, Jaylen is wonderful at wiping down the table and chairs and loading the dishwasher, Emma is great at sorting clothes and putting her shoes away and Jenna likes folding her pajamas and blankets (just make sure you catch her in a good mood, she has been grumpy in the mornings lately).

I’m eager to see how this will work for us long-term.

I was sharing our success with my in-laws over the weekend and my mother-in-law said, “Yeah, how’s it working for you?” Well, um … see, we haven’t started it for US yet, but the kids? Yeah, they love it! lol. (We will though, soon!)

All of Dave Ramsey’s products can be purchased on his web site, www.daveramsey.com.

I really didn’t know recapping our honeymoon on the blog would take like, seven times the length of the actual honeymoon (at the rate I’m going!). Oy.

I left off at Tuesday, June 10. We slept in and left the hotel in search of breakfast on our way up to the Currituck Sound lighthouse in Corolla. Darin spotted a Dairy Queen and had high hopes of something yummy, so we stopped and browsed an adjacent souvenir shop until DQ opened at 11 a.m. Sadly, when it did open, we found all the store had was ice cream and chili dogs, neither of which we were ready to consume at that hour. We had Burger King instead, setting the tone for the rest of our meals that day (read: cheap!). (more…)

For the children of the ’80s and ’90s, today is a day we will not soon forget.

Most of us learned the news unexpectedly, surprised to learn the King of Pop had died at age 50. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I was checking Twitter on my phone while driving when I saw the first message: “MJ dead. dang“. I wondered aloud if Ro meant Michael Jackson or someone else. I scrolled down and was shocked to see that she did, indeed, mean Michael Jackson.

This was just before 5 p.m. CST and was approximately 45 minutes after the reports said Michael Jackson was pronounced dead (at 2:15 pm PST).

For about an hour, I sense most of the world was in a state of confusion: was he dead or just in a coma? Was this a hoax (or was Perez Hilton the only one who asked that)? And, finally, even mainstream media was reporting the story that TMZ.com broke, confirming the death of the King of Pop.

Unlike Elvis’ death 32 years ago when CBS didn’t even lead with the story on the evening newscast, word of Michael Jackson’s death spread quickly through the use of social networking and social media sites. Once the word was out, the tributes began. On Facebook and messageboards we discussed our favorite MJ songs and videos and expressed our ongoing shock at his unexpected death.

For us, Michael Jackson was an icon during our childhood. I was a preschooler when he danced the epic first moonwalk on “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever.” As I got older, Michael’s legendary status grew. When I was a kid, he was still The Gloved One and had not yet made the transition to being Wacko Jacko.

Allegations and physical transformations aside, he was and is a legend. My children are growing up with their own legends, but tonight I couldn’t help but take the time tonight to show them a few of the videos I grew up watching on MTV (yeah, remember they used to show videos?). Dirty Diana. The Way You Make Me Feel. Parts of Thriller. They were a little confused because they saw him evolve from younger Mike to older Mike, where we didn’t really resemble himself, and they asked questions I couldn’t answer.

I still remember where I was when I found out Princess Diana had died (the driveway at our old house in Virginia; I had just arrived home from a long day at work at Busch Gardens). And, of course, I still remember where I was when the world stopped turning. Here’s to yet another “where were you when … ?” that maybe my children will be interested in in the future, but for now I’m exhausted with the amped up coverage that is just beginning.