We are all very sick. I don’t want you to think that we have fallen off the face of the earth. Nope! We wish we could at this point rather than be as sick as we all are.
Take care. Stay healthy everyone.

When I was young we had a neighbor that I did not get along with. The little girl next door was MEAN. She was younger than me. I could not understand that the “kill them with kindness” never seemed to melt her ice cold heart. I tried EVERYTHING I could think of. I asked her over to play knowing that she would be mean. I made tea parties and games so that she would just smile and say something nice. I was a glutton for punishment.
I would cry to my mother and tell her my woes. She would say to me, “Sweetie, live a day in her shoes and you might be the same way.” I never really knew what that meant. All I knew is that I was not allowed to play at her house. That and everyday I heard her mom yelling at her. I just figured she was as rotten to her mother as she was to me. She moved when I was 14 and I had not seen her for years until last week. Last week changed my perception on what my mother meant when she told me to live in her shoes.
I was at the mall shopping for a birthday gift. I took a look at this woman that looked older than me but she looked familiar. She looked at me and instantly knew me. She came over and hugged me. I was still in a little shock and could not place her. She then told me who she was and instantly I felt rocketed back to my younger years. I find it amazing that still to this day a smell, a person, a picture can awaken my deeply hidden feelings. I was taken back that she smiled and hugged me. We started talking about our childhood and she revealed her heart.
When she was 3 her brother was born. Their family was happy. Or at least her feelings thought they were happy. At 4 her mother went into her brother’s room and found him dead from S.I.D.S. Her mother was mortified and mourned in a terrifying way. She bottled up her hurt and took it out on their family. Her mom became pregnant again with another boy. Meanwhile the father could not take the abuse and left her with the two children.
The trauma of those years were written deep in the crevasses on her face. The smoking, the anger, the drinking, se*, the drugs, had not taken away the hurt little girl inside. She was se*ually active at 9 years old. 9 YEARS OLD. She just wanted to be loved and taken care of.
She then revealed how me doting over her made her feel important to someone. She always felt love in our home. The reason they moved away was not because they wanted to move. It was because my mother approached her mother about taking care of her children. My mom wanted to raise those two children with us. She wanted to rescue them from the devastating life that they had. The final straw was when my mother called social services because of the marks on her face and back. Her mom could not handle the meddling.
My mother taking a stand against the abuse cause a ripple effect. At 14 the neighbor girl was shipped off to her father’s house. She had been into all sorts of drugs and alcohol up to that point that she was kicked out of school and sent away. She revealed that it was the best thing that ever happened to her.
At first she bucked the system. She tried to commit suicide. She did everything to rebel. Her father seeing the hurt on his daughter started her into counseling and into a local church. That’s where her life began according to her. She still lives with the abuse her body suffered from the first 16 years of her life but her spirit is healthy.
My mother never revealed any of her story to me. To me she was a child that had no heart. My mother did not tell me because she was fearful I would pity her and be pitiful friendly to her. That’s not what she needed. She needed someone to fight in her court. Someone to really want to be her friend. That someone was me.
She has gone on and is a social worker. She fights for the rights of abused children. She knows their fight. She knows their road. She herself has been there.
I am amazed that to this day I am learning lessons of life from my mother. I would not have wanted to live in my neighbor girl’s shoes. I grew up in a happy home. I see now that a day in her shoes would have given me insight to looking beyond the person and seeing their circumstances. It would have revealed that she was a sad little girl. One in desperate need of love and hope. She found that hope in a neighbor mom that was willing to stand up and take notice.

We are starting into the stage where Hula Boy says things like, “YOU’RE MEAN” OR “I DON’T LIKE YOU!” We did not have this with Hula Girl. She had issues of her own. This is our three year old issue with HB. The accusation happens when you go against what he wants you to say or do. It is very frustrating. Normally I am the one being accused.
Today was a first when he accused Hula Hubby of being the meanest in the world. I had to giggle. Is that wrong that I took such pleasure in the fact that he thinks that someone else is mean besides me? Oh for shame. I should be ashamed. But there’s that little part of me that is still giggling.

It’s official. The holiday season with grumpy shoppers has started. (insert BAH HUMBUG) Don’t get me wrong. I love this time of the year. I just don’t like people this time of the year. It seems to bring out the ugly in people.
Example number one…I went to the grocery store the other day, loaded my cart, checked out, loaded everything in the car and left. I finally got out of my spot (because I had to park in land of the lost way out) and tried to move forward. This lady was parked in the middle of the isle. Finally I got around her. She had no blinker…nothing. She was just sitting there. My phone rang and I pulled into an available spot to answer it. It was just my sister telling me that mmy brother in law was there at the store and I needed to give him back the disk of “The Lost”. No problem. Right as I got off the phone I heard a BASH BASH at my window. (never bang on the window of a woman that has had two children!!)
Anyway…she started screaming and yelling that I took her spot and she was going to call the police. IDIOT! She did not have her blinker on. I am not a mind reader. That parking spot (which I never parked…I was still in drive) was rightfully anyones spot. She wasn’t claiming it.
What would have been a 2 second stop turned into a 10 minute yelling match. I was being a witch and wouldn’t move until she apologized. So…I didn’t move. She didn’t apologize. She found another spot. I left. Simple as that.
I normally roll over and play dead when confrontation comes but you know what…I am getting sick and tired of being mowed down. She was only in her early 20’s. Witch.
Anyway…what happened to respecting your elders? GEESH!

We want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful here in the Hula Household. Happy Holidays to everyone.

HG is out of school tomorrow through Monday! HB is being his normal boyish self! Will I survive this holiday? Stay tuned!

Who would have thought that Thanksgiving would have been an all weekend affair?! We had my family Thanksgiving on Saturday. We do that because I have cousins and uncles that can not get off work so it works to have it early. Actually there is a bigger reason. My mother refuses to compete.
When my sister and I got married (we were married 6 months apart) my mother sat us both down and gave us a few new ground rules.
#1 Please do not come over and not ring the doorbell to let them know you are they. There’s no telling what kind of sin may be happening or who may be naked (ick ick ick!!)
#2 We would do most holidays on another day. She was always having to split time between families. The only two she did not want to do on another day was Christmas Eve and Easter. Thank heavens that works out with HH’s family
#3 We were going to be married now. It was more important to have a working and good relationship with our in laws. If there was a conflict in schedule, my parents would seek a different date period.

As a new bride and a new mother I felt my mother and father were short changing our children and ourselves by not being insistent we have holidays when they are suppose to be. Then the deeper meaning came as the years have rolled on. She wanted these things because most of her life she felt torn. She felt torn between two places. She could not enjoy the holidays because they were spent in turmoil and frustration with the schedule. Everyone wanted their way and when it didn’t happen the guilt of being a new bride and wanting to have a good relationship weighed heavy.
Understanding that as an adult makes me respect my parentsr a whole lot more. Have I mentioned that I adore them?

When I was in Europe for a month last August and a month in February I remember thinking I just wish that I had American TV. I could not understand a lick of what was being said in French, but I noticed the atmosphere of their tv was different than here in the US. I noticed steamy love scenes but on the other hand I noticed for the most part they did not have violence on TV. The violence I did see was generally American movies that had been translated into French or Dutch late at night.
Granted this is a generalization based on my experience when I was there. So for those of you that live overseas please do not take offense. It was merely my personal observation.
When I asked a friend that lives there why this is the case I was told that the reason for this is because they don’t allow guns in the general public. It’s not like here where they are running amok!
Violence makes me absolutely sick. I was taken to see Nightmare On Elm Street when I was a teen on a date. The guy did not know that I have a retching experience to violence. Since I did not have a TV I did not know what the movie was about. I think I made it through the first scene only to throw up in the popcorn he got for us. I can not comprehend any form of hate. Throughout the years I can say that I have desensitized. Not much but still some.
I wonder if our children that view these types of things can differentiate between reality and fiction? This scares me. I would not want my child to see a violent act (God forbid) and feel as if they are in a movie and not react.
I know what the studies say. I also know that some studies are skewed. (having been in one that was)
Mostly this post is about opinion. Asking your opinion. Where you live and in your culture what is your experience with TV and violence?

My nephew and my son are a bit of trouble when they get together. They think of things that go beyond my capacity to understand. My sister’s son is 7 and HB is 3. What a 7 and 3 year old have in common is generally just the fact that they are kids. These two share a bond. We tend to call it the Destructo/Let’s Get Into Trouble Bond. Hula Nephew can get HB laughing so hard sometimes that completed potty training goes out the window!
The other day we went to get pictures taken of the whole group. I was watching the two like a hawk. There was nothing in the hall that could get them in trouble so I relaxed only to see them start a spitting contest. EEEEEWWWWWW. Everytime HB would spit he would yell, “EEEEEEEEWWWWWW that’s RUDE” and giggles would erupt into horseplay. It all happened in slow motion. HB got in one big spit before I could head it off. Unfortunately Hula Nephew was the target. Time outs and lectures on germs were in order and were received on deaf ears!
Hula Girl and Hula Niece were prancing dancing princesses that would stop only long enough to force me to watch yet another show they created in the two second talk behind their hands. My palms were red from clapping.
We finally finished the spitting, dancing and the pictures and were getting ready to leave. Hula Boy had to go potty of course and check out the facilities. So off he went with Hula Nephew. I stood outside the bathroom like a snake ready to strike. Any form of foolishness I was prepared to enter the forbidden boys bathroom and crash the party. Nothing. I heard nothing. Never a good sign. I listened closer. Then I heard it…gobs of boy giggles. AAAACHHHHHHH. I rushed in to see Hula Boy attempting to pee in a urinal way too big for him. He had taken his shoes, pants and underwear completely off and was in essance peeing on them. They were the clothes that were from the shoot. They check out those clothes to you. You return those clothes in very good order.
I blushed as I gave them back the clothing and explained the predicament. She took one look at HB and said, “I bet that one keeps you on your toes!” My response…”You have no idea.”

Dear McDo*alds,
I have a small “beef” with your current advertising. Your current slogan is, “i’m lovin’ it!” I am all for love that is for sure. There is one technicality that my 8 year old daughter pointed out and I wanted to pass it on.
According to your track record in the past you have always been big on education for children. There are many ways that you are supportive and I acknowledge that. The current campaign may be appeals to the teen hip crowd but it only causes confusion for the younger children. One of the basic grammar rules that children learn is that capitalization is important and how it is used. When you start a sentence the first letter is always capital. There is not an exception to this rule that I know of.
I found it interesting that my 8 year old was correcting English in an add campaign. Her response to your ad was simply, ” I love McDonalds but I’m not lovin’ their advertising. I just want to get my red pen out and mark it up every time I see it!”
Your advertising reached people that is for sure. Although I am not sure that it was positive. If you stand for education then show it in what you say, do and advertise!
Sincerely,

A proud mom of an 8 year old girl