Dear Butterfly...

A message from an anonymous reader:

Dear Butterfly,

How come you haven't posted any funny stories about your
son? Is there some favouritism going on there?



Dear Anonymous Reader,

No, no favouritism here. Jack, at not even a year and a half old, is too young to really 'do' anything comical just yet. His personality is just starting to flourish. So far he is a very quiet, mellow little chap who smiles and giggles alot - our happy Buddha! Seeing as he doesn't have any words other than "Alice" (said "Ayis") and "Sanjaya" (A-ya-ya!), he's not giving us much to post about...yet.

What is that? Why does he say "Sanjaya", you ask? Good question!

(Nice lead in huh? lol)

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I were watching the finale of American Idol on time shifting. Jack decided he wanted to have a little late night party and joined us. Ryan Seacrest came out to announce Sanjaya's performance and something about the way he said "Ladies and Gentlemen, here is Sanjaya" made Jack laugh hysterically. We liked the giggles it incited from him so we have started saying it in a gruff, low tone. "San-jay-a!" Jack thinks it's great and will repeat in the same tone, "A-ya-ya!!"

Sadly, that's the only tale I have to share for now. I hope this helps to satisfy your curiosity. Keep on reading!

Peace!

To the moon, Alice!

A short collection of some recent Alice funnies.

Alice decided recently that she wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. "I'm going to fly to the MOON!" she declared.

"Cool!" I said, "And what will you do when you get to the moon?"

"I'm going to bring home some Martians to be my friends." she replied.

"Hmm, don't Martians come from Mars though, Alice?" I asked.

Alice makes a dramatic pause, a sharp turn to face me, rolls her eyes and says, "Whatever, mommy... whatever."

Oops.

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Alice and Jack were taking a bath together one day. Alice looked at him and said, "Poor Jack...".

"Why is he 'poor Jack'?" I asked.

She pointed to his groin and said, "Because he has a penis!".

"So?" I questioned.

"So..", she said, "... if you have a penis, it means you're a boy, and that's too bad. Girls get things like toys and money because we have ja-jinas! It's better to be a girl!"

I didn't know whether to bust a gut laughing, or be scared.

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"Cows don't pee you know mommy...", Alice said one day. "Yes they do." I replied.

"No, they just spray milk out of their little antennaes here", she said matter of factly, pointing to a cow's udders.

"Those aren't antennae Alice. Those are called 'udders'.", I explained.

"Yes, mommy. They are 'udder antennaes' because they are udder the cow."

Oye.

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Alice: "Mommy... remember when Jack was still in your tummy?"

Me: "Yup."

Alice: "And I was here."

Me: "Yup. That's right. You were already born."

Alice stares at me for a minute.

Alice: "Mommy, I want to go back in your tummy."

Me: "Why?"

Alice: "Because I want to see all the food in there! That would be so cool!"

Hey, that one could have been worse. Phew.

Dear Poland...

Please tell me you are not serious? http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/entertainment_poland

Polish authorities probing if Teletubbies are gay

WARSAW (AFP) - Poland's child rights ombudsman said on Monday she was investigating whether "The Teletubbies," the British television show for infants, promotes homosexuality.

"It would be good for a group of psychologists to talk to children about this. We need to examine this. If inappropriate attitudes have been promoted, we need to react," said Ewa Sowinska.

Pssttt... I have a newsflash and possibly shocking revelation for the "Polish authorities" doing this investigation. The Teletubbies are not real. They are characters from a children's show!

*gasp, shock, horror*

And do they even have a gender? They walk around completely naked, but have no genitals of any sort showing. So how can we determine if they are male, female, gay or straight? And honestly, does it matter? Until I start hearing subliminal messages coming from the TV screen like, "You're a boy on the outside, but a girl inside! Tell the world! Be FREE! Cross over to the 'other' side little boy... Come play with us!", then I'm not going to worry too much.

Homosexuality is real, and it's here to stay. Banning Teletubbies isn't going to make Joe and Steve go back into the closet. Children need to be taught about homosexuality, and taught to accept it as a part of a normal, healthy society. We are in the year 2007 folks. If you're not comfortable with it yet, too bad. Time to get comfy because no matter what you do, it's not something that is just going to 'go away'.

I have two words in closing for the ombudsman who started this nonsense. To Ms. Sowinska: grow up.

In My Life....

"There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all..."
~The Beatles


That song runs through my head nearly every day lately, thanks to Facebook. Come on, I know you've heard about it. You probably have your own account just like me, and get a thrill to see an add request from a long lost friend. You giggle at the silly messages and memories people leave on your wall, and share your likes, dislikes, links and little snippets into your life for all your 'friends' to see. You have people on your list who you poke relentlessly, those you poke occasionally and others you don't poke at all. Yup, that's Facebook.

You look up old friends and send them messages. Some with a little trepidation, others freely and excitedly. Some to whom you send a message will reply, others won't reply at all. And although you may feel slightly snubbed, it's okay. You remind yourself, "This isn't high school anymore. People change, and I'm okay with that."

I have had my share of random pokes and messages that have made me go, "Hmm..." and wonder why they poked or messaged me. Others have sent shivers down my spine. Those are the ones from those people you lose contact with, one way or another, and always wonder about but never seem to cross paths with. Then suddenly, you see their name on your Facebook homepage, and they have poked you! Hooray!

It's fun! Admit it. If you're not "hooked" on Facebook already, you will be. And if you're lucky enough not to have an addictive personality causing you to check your Facebook at least once a day, well then my hat is off to you! I love to make my daily check in and see what has occurred since I last peeked. I love browsing my friend's pages, looking at their photographs and reading their notes. It's nice to be able to reconnect with some, and stay connected with others.

By the same token, Facebook makes me kind of 'sad'. For me it's felt a bit like an episode of, "This Is Your Life!". While it's been great to connect with so many "lost" friends, you wonder what will happen when the fad is over. Right now we are just familiar faces and names who type words on a screen with promises to get together, keep in touch more, and "hang out one of these days". We hope that these promises will come true, but will they? Everyone seems so busy in their lives that they talk a lot about it, but don't act often enough. And eventually the Facebook fad will pass, we will move on once again and perhaps reconnect another 10 years down the road.

Regardless of what happens to this "fad" called Facebook, I will always recall this small moment in time, where I reconnected with long lost friends, fondly. It's another chapter in my life. Another moment in time to remember people, places and things from the past. A time to examine who I was, who I am and who I hope to be.


"But of all these friends and lovers there is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more."

Compassion: A Dying Art

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~ Dalai Lama


I saw the most disturbing thing at the park last week. A little boy, about 3 years old, was running on the cement surrounding the playground and fell. Hard. He toppled forward on to his knees, and scraped his nose and chin as his face hit the ground. My 'mother's instinct' caused me to run to him. I picked him up off the ground, asked him if he was okay and gently checked his scraped knees and face. He, naturally, called out for his mommy.

His mother sat on the bench looking angrily at him and said, "I have no sympathy for you. I've told you a million times before not to run, so it's your own fault." She did not move to assist him, and when he ran over to her crying she pushed him aside and said, "You're fine. No, don't come to me. I've told you before not to run. I have no sympathy for you. Go on."

My heart broke for him as he sat there crying and hurt. I tightened my jaw so as not to give the mother a piece of my mind, and gave the little boy a sympathetic glance. I wanted so badly to run to him and hug him, but in today's age you just can't do that... Internally I yelled at the mother, "Where is your compassion?!?!"

Where has compassion gone?

The mother was angry because she had "told him a million times" it would happen. She failed to realize however that this little man only has 3 years of life experience compared to her 30. We can tell them these things will happen, but little minds don't quite get it until it does. And when it does happen, it's fine I suppose to say "... I told you so...", but temper it with compassion.

Where was the harm in that mother putting aside her anger to console her injured son and say, "It's okay... I know it hurts. That's what I was trying to tell you when I told you not to run." The lesson of falling is hard enough on a child, but to not receive the comfort and compassion he needs from his mother ... That is truly heart breaking.

Compassion seems to have almost completely disappeared from our society today. Take for example the newspapers and tabloid media who run stories of stars who have fallen from grace in one way or another. They yelled at their child, drove drunk or cut off all their hair, to give a few recent examples. The backlash these stars receive from the public can be so cutting and cruel.

"I have no sympathy for them. They knew what they were getting into when they chose stardom!" Or, "What a pathetic loser. She brought this all on herself." While there may be truth in the fact that they "knew what they were getting into", why not have just a little sympathy or empathy for them? After all, they are human and humans are fallible.

People seem to forget that regardless of who they 'are', what choices they have made and will make in the future, first and foremost these people are human beings. They live, breath and bleed the same colour blood that we all do. They are deserving of our compassion if for no other reason than that. Open your heart, put yourself in their shoes for one moment and ask yourself: wouldn't you hope if you were in the same situation, that people would accept you for who you are? A person with faults?

(It's a fact! We are not perfect! I hope that statement doesn't shock anyone. If it does, it's time to do a little more soul searching!)

It shocks me how many people would (and will) continue to stick their noses in the air and scoff at the idea. "Compassion?? Bah, humbug! Not me." They will hold firm that in no way does a person who "brings something on them self" - whether it be a Hollywood star or child who falls on the playground - deserve their compassion. And therein, I believe, lies the root problem in our society today. It's a case of every man for himself. Survival of the fittest! Eat or be eaten. "...and I'm not going to feel a thing for you when you become some one's lunch." It's sad, and frightening.

We need to change it. You need to change it. The next time you see somebody pan handling for money, don't walk by and say, "What a bum... get lost". Show some compassion. Drop a dollar in their hat.

The next time someone does something that results in them getting injured, don't just say, "It's your own fault!". Show some compassion. Ask them if they are okay.

The next time a big story runs in the news about a star who has made a "mistake" don't say, "He brought it on himself!". You've got it ... show some compassion. Don't judge them too harshly just because of "who they are". Understand that despite fame, 'stars' are no different than you or I.

It all comes down to realizing that despite our differing beliefs, physical exteriors and life experiences, we are all human beings. And one thing that humans cannot survive without is compassion.

Compassion, you've got it in you to give!

Peace.

"All human beings come from a mother's womb. We are all the same part of one human family. We should have a clear realization of the oneness of all humanity." ~ Dalai Lama

The Pwotest

(Originally posted Janaury 2007 - A favourite story!)

Just before Christmas Alice asked if she could make a sign. No problem. I'm all for creativity! I got her some paper and a pen and she started scribbling away.


I asked her, "What are you writing there, Alice?" She said, "It's a pwotest!"


"Oh," I said, "... what are you protesting?"


"You don't have any chocolate milk!" she exclaimed.


With that, she taped the sign she had made to the back of an empty wrapping paper tube and started marching around the room chanting, "We want chocolate milk! We want chocolate milk!"

It's not a cause that is going to change the world, but hey, you've gotta start somewhere right?

Only my kid...

Why we have children

Originally posted Sunday, January 7, 2007


I swear many of us - especially those of us who are babies of the family - just have children to inflict the torment on them that was inflicted on us in our childhood. Alice sets herself up for it constantly. I love it. I can't help it! Hey, it's a good life lesson.

Anyway, today...

We were driving in the car and she started in on "poop" talk again. Something she's learned from a little girl at school (who is the sweetest little thing) who says, "Poop on a stick!" when she's mad.

I told Alice, "Hey, I'm not big on the 'poop' talk. Can we cut it out?" Alice giggled and continued with, "Poopy pants. Poopy cat. Poopy dog..." Well, you know the old saying. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

I said, "Hey Alice. Do you like POOPeroni on your pizza?"

"Eww, no. I only like pepperoni!"

"Hey, Alice... do you want to have a POOPsicle when we get home?"

"Eww, no! I only like popsicles!"

"What about POOPsi? Do you want a sip of my soda POOP?", I asked. To which she replied, "Okay mommy. Enough of the poop talk now."

I haven't heard the word poop since. Agitate or be agitated, that's my new motto!

It's been a while...

My poor blog. I think it feels lost, lonely, betrayed...

I found my inspiration at the beginning of the year and vowed to blog my little heart out. I had aspirations of posting my deepest thoughts on world issues, the media, and quirky little stories about my family. Then, *kaboom!*. Out of no where life dealt me a blow (which I have not and will not blog about, due to personal reasons) that rocked my world and sent me into a slight "seclusion". However, all is right in the world again and I am back!

I also had ambitions to keep up two blogs - one personal and one political/social. I realize now that that was a little over ambitious of me and will contain my posts all to one blog now - "The Kamikaze Butterfly". Someone asked me recently, "What is a 'Kamikaze Butterfly' anyway?" The explanation isn't overly glamorous, but it recalls a nice memory for me.

First off, the word 'kamikaze' is a Japanese word meaning "divine wind", and usually refers to the suicide attacks made by Japanese pilots during WWII. These attacks saw Japanese pilots deliberately crashing their planes into naval vessels. No, I'm not planning on becoming a suicidal kamikaze pilot anytime soon, but I do plan on making some wind. Divine...? Likely not, but definitely wind!

I need not define "butterfly" for you, as I'm sure you all know what it is - a slender bodied insect with four broad wings and two antennae. While I haven't suddenly morphed into such an insect, I always have been a bit of a "social butterfly", and I float on imaginary wings.

While in South Carolina visiting a friend several years ago, I think it was around August or September, we were driving in her car and being dive bombed left and right by Monarch butterflies who were migrating South for the winter. There were literally thousands of them falling out of the sky. I referred to them as "kamikaze butterflies" and we laughed. Whenever the Monarch's visit my yard in the summer I think about that trip and those crazy butterflies, and it makes me smile.

I always thought it would make a good name for a band, and decided that for blogging purposes that is who I would be. The "Kamikaze Butterfly". The social butterfly, dive bombing my friends and readers with sometimes opinionated, sometimes nonsensical and sometimes funny stories of life, love and the world around us. Stories that I hope will make you laugh, cry, think, realize and do.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." I hope you will see my wishes for this world through my words, and exact change in yourself and the world around you. The Butterfly is back, and more opinionated than ever! (Okay, well, not really... but I am ready to write. Are you ready to read?)

Until next time, peace! :o)