deedee1231's comments

New Rule Closes the Loophole with the "Do Not Call List" - Blog Entry

05 Sep 2008 07:26 PM

Well I certainly did not mean to be harsh or rude so I will apologize for offending you and anyone else who did not like my comment. I suppose I was just being sort of flippant?

Anyway, I have in fact worked telemarketing, way way back when I only had one child. It is the worst job I ever had, and I didn't last long, but few do in that field which is why I thought the flippant attitude was justified. (Perhaps I should have nixed the sarcasm and simply stated that I don't think robocalls take jobs away from real live humans because no humans can last long in those lousey jobs).

While I was working for the telemarketing firm, a friend of mine who actually did work at McDonalds got a raise and was making about the same money as me, and she didn't have to bear the expense of wearing business clothing to work. Perhaps that has changed in the 14 or so years since I did it, but for me it really was a deal breaker. Also, you don't need to know fluent Spanish to work fast food in the midwest, didn't realize that was the case in NY.

And as for the comment about taking jobs you would rather not, I certainly did not want to have to move to Texas this past June to make it, but I didn't have much of a choice in the matter if I wanted to avoid public assistance. Like you and your husband I did not want that for my family. I myself have a degree, am pursuing another one now, and have worked as a legal secretary off and on over the years. My family doesn't understand why I won't just put my children in school and work to help my dh make the bills, but I won't. That is my personal choice and I really do not like to be judged for it so point taken.

Anyway, I have the utmost respect for your husband because he is married to one sassy and smart lady, and I really didn't mean to offend anyone. I am sorry. : )

Favorite Romance Movies - Blog Entry

05 Sep 2008 06:31 PM

I am ever so glad you didn't say Casablanca! I can't stand Casablanca, LOL!

I LOVE The Notebook. Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors and that movie is rare in that it actually lives up to the book.

New Rule Closes the Loophole with the "Do Not Call List" - Blog Entry

05 Sep 2008 05:46 PM

As far as I am concerned any human who would work for a telemarketing firm has no scruples and deserves to be put out of a job. Honestly, I have more respect for the fry boy at Mickey D's and they earn about the same amount.

Stay-at-Home-Mom Says Record Game Show Win "Lessens Guilt" - Blog Entry

05 Sep 2008 05:35 PM

Kara, you just literally have to refuse to let other people's values dictate how you live your life. You and your dh know you are making the choices that are best for Katelyn and the one on the way, and honestly, you don't have to justify your decisions or values to anyone else.

This is a lesson that we have to learn over and over again as different issues arise in our parenting journey. I faced issues of guilt over going to work when the twins were two to help with bills, and again when I quit my job to stay home full time and homeschool. You just cannot win with some people and there is always someone to say "You aren't doing it right" but you just have to be secure enough with your own values not to let those people bother you. I still get negative comments about the homeschooling. Most of the time it isn't even worth responding to, LOL!

Stay-at-Home-Mom Says Record Game Show Win "Lessens Guilt" - Blog Entry

05 Sep 2008 02:38 PM

See, this is what burns me up about our society! Women have fought long and hard for generations to be able to have choices about how to raise their families. That means choice to stay at home and be a full time mom just as much as it means choice to go to work and pursue a career! It is a matter of personal choice for each woman! There is no one "right way" to be a woman or to be a mom. 200 years ago a woman would have been made to feel guilty if she wanted to pursue interests outside the home. That is an archaic point of view. So why should any stay at home mom feel guilty for her choices now in 2008? Is that a modern ideology? I don't thinks so, I just think it is ill informed.

Who knows, maybe she feels guilty about her choices because she sits around all day watching Deal or No Deal and figuring out how to win a million bucks while ignoring her parental duties? LOL

Sarah Palin: Supermom or In Way Over Her Head? - Blog Entry

05 Sep 2008 01:57 PM

I disagree that she has "bitten off more than she can chew" She is poised and confident in the political arena and she is a very competent and effecient woman. Women can certainly be mothers and have careers. This is 2008 after all, not 1908!

Parents, Kids and Nicknames - Blog Entry

29 Aug 2008 10:03 AM

My son Alex has a nickname, Squigly. He is 10. My husband is "Alex" so my son is "Sguigly." Squigly has mentioned that he could be called "Alexander" to avoid confusion, but "Squigly" just seems to roll off the tongue. I am afraid it is going to become an issue here shortly.

Dora the Explorer is Getting a Makeover: What's a Parent to do? - Blog Entry

29 Aug 2008 09:51 AM

I wish they would leave Dora alone! It is bad enough that my little girls only want to play with toys manufactured for boys because the manufacturers of toys can't get it together and figure out that little girls are smart enough to enjoy more than freaky big headed Bratz dolls and freaky big chested Barbie dolls. My girls are a little old for Dora but making her look like a Brat or giving her a shallow dialogue is not going to change that. On the other hand, if she had looked and acted like that 3 years ago when they did watch her I think they would have stuck with Barney the dinosaur, their other favorite during the preschool years.

A Mother's View from the Pool-Bikinis on Babies? - Blog Entry

29 Aug 2008 09:45 AM

My daughter is 15 and it is very frustrating to try to find a swimsuit for her. She will try on a suit that looks perfectly modest on the hanger and come out of the dressing room looking far too provacative for 15!! We actually found a tankini for her that was far more modest than any one piece she had tried on and she is comfortable in it, so that is what she wears to swim. She has the same suit in two different colors while the 6 year old twin girls each have 4 or 5 different suits a piece. It just doesn't seem fair.

I hope this "if you've got it flaunt it" trend goes away by next summer when she needs a new suit, but somehow I don't think it is going anywhere!

Update on Loss of Accredition of Clayton County GA Schools - Blog Entry

29 Aug 2008 09:20 AM

I am so sorry to hear this. This is going to be a difficult and heartwrenching ordeal for Clayton County parents and students. When Kansas City MO school district lost their accreditation way back in 1999 I didn't pull my daughter out right away. I thought, "She is only in kindergarten, by the time she reaches the higher grades they will have earned it back!" Nope, she is 15 now and in high school and they still don't have it back. After the district lost their accreditation there was a huge decline in enrollment due to parents moving their children to charter schools, private schools, and eventually a mass movement to homeschooling in the area. Parents for the most part are removing their children from the district because the education it offers gets worse and worse each year, not necessarily because they are unaccredited, however that is just one more reason to remove children. After all, when you can do better by them at home, and the diploma they will receive if they stay is not worth the paper it is printed on, what is the incentive to stay?

As a result of loss of enrollment, the district recieves less money each year and they blame that for their inability to meet the standards they need to meet to regain accreditation. It has absolutely nothing to do with the millions of dollars they squander each year paying the superintendent and the school board members, that has nothing to do with the fact that they can't come up with a few thousand bucks a year to pay qualified teachers a living wage and purchase current textbooks. Then last year 7 schools in the district moved out of the district into a nearby district and that means more loss of revenue for KCMSD. Honestly I don't think they are any closer to getting reaccredited now than they were in 1999 and parents just have to act accordingly. I think it is going to take a huge and horrifying event or realization to get this district back on track and force them to start thinking about Kansas City's children again. I don't want to see a catastrophe in my home city, but on the other hand, something has got to give.

I hope that Georgia's problems do not spiral out of control like Kansas City's did. I will be very interested in seeing whether they are able to handle this any better than KC did. Maybe they will be able to overcome and get back on track. I will hope for that.