So what does a stranger look like?

This was the topic of tonight's karate class. And boy did the mommies & daddies learn some interesting things!

Sifu Helana asked the children "So what does a stranger look like?"

Answers:

• Someone who wears a black shirt & a black hat.
• Someone who wears a black mask.
• What's a stranger?
• I don't know.

Yikes! These answers were from the elementary school aged children. The middle schoolers gave appropriate answers. Thank G-d.

There have been some pretty bad things going on around the country with strange people driving through neighborhoods & adults in schools doing inappropriate things. These are definitely scary times. Erin is not allowed to play outside without an adult being present. Period. Don't ask. In fact, don't even think about asking. Yes. I've put my foot down on this topic.

Unfortunately, the "bad things" aren't happening just around town. They're happening in our neighborhoods, at the stores & in the schools. The children played a game with Sifu where she asked if an action was "okay" or "not okay." I'm worried by how many actions the children got wrong. And, yes, Erin got too many wrong for me to take this sitting down. We'll be having a talk with her in the next day or two.

When I was about 8 or 9, there were some bad things going down in the town I lived in. And this was back in the 70s! I can clearly remember my mom asking me what I would do if someone came upto me & asked for help or what I would do if someone drove up & asked me for "directions." I think that was the turning point for my mom. She finally realized just how naive I was & made sure that I knew better from that point on.

One of the things that we use is a code word. When someone is picking Erin up from school or camp, they are required to have the code word. And I didn't make it easy either!

PLEASE! Don't wait for something to G-d forbid happen. Cut it off before it even starts. Have that talk with your child(ren) today.

Ultimate Blog Party 2009 is here!!

My friend Viv invited me to take part in "Ultimate Blog Party 2009." I must tell you all that I'm not as computer savvy as I would like to be so please bear with me. This party is being run by the ladies over at 5MinutesforMom. Lots of prizes & tons of fun! Go on over & take a peek 'cause they have some neat stuff!

If you haven't stopped by here before this, let me introduce myself. My name is Tamme, & I am one happy mommy to a super 6 year old named Erin. My husband & I adopted Erin at 10 months old from China. It was a heck of a journey that truly has ony just begun.

We're a pretty busy bunch over. Erin is enjoying 1st grade & loves her school. She is a purple belt in karate & well on her way to wowing the instructors of her martial arts school. This is one focused child. We call her "The Powerhouse."

I'm pretty active myself between 2 jobs, raising my daughter, 2 cats, 1 dog, 1 fish & a husband. In my spare time, I'm an active member of our local chapter of Families with Children from China. I enjoy reading, scrapbooking & playing on my very own Nintendo DS. (That thing is pretty darn addictive!) Blogging has become central to our family. I have found it to be a great way to keep in touch with family & friends across the States. I'm also addicted FaceBook - much to my husband's chagrin. (Not that he's any better mind you!)

If chosen for a prize, my top 3 choices would be:

1. #47 - Choice of pink or green Fuzzy Monkey Headphones (in pink)
2. INTL 23 - Blog Makeover BLOGGER platform only
3. #58 - Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Our Pets

Winsong Arwen Evenstar

a/k/a Star

Deanna Troi

a/k/a Troi

William T. Riker

a/k/a Riker

Are you sensing a theme here? Yes. You're right. The dogs in our family are all named for characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The cats are all named for characters from the Star Trek series. The fish you ask? Who are they named after? Why Nemo of course!

We are definitely a consistently odd bunch in our household.

We did it for the first time

Yup. We did it. Our first time ever.

Huh? What? You did what?

We went out last night for the first time. Without Erin. (She's been home since she was 10 months old & is now 6 1/2.) And boy was I scared.

Now, mind you, we don't leave Erin with "just anyone." Originally we were going to have our friend Debbie keep Erin while we went out. Unfortunately, Debbie is sick. Not "ugh I have a cold" sick, but losing her stomach sick. This flu is going around, & it is no fun. At least that's what Debbie has been telling us. And I have no intentions of finding out either.

When I told Lisa that we were going to cancel going to David's reunion because Debbie was so sick, she just about busted a gut. She insisted that we drop Erin off at her house for the evening. Lisa has been offering to watch Erin so we could have a night out forever. David was so happy to be able to leave Erin with someone we trust as implicitly as we trust Lisa.

We dropped Erin off around 6:45, & Lisa barely let me in to say good-bye. That was it. Erin was hers for the night. And the spoiling began! Apparently Erin's in a growth spurt. She gobbled down the chicken nuggets Lisa had bought for dinner. Then she had a special desert - strawberries with whipped cream. Later on it was pound cake - something she's never had before but is now asking me to buy.

We got to Lisa's house really late - about 11:30. Erin was so sleepy but couldn't wait to tell us all about her special play date with Dante & Olivia. And she was so happy to inform us that she ate all of her chicken nuggets. All 4 of them.

Lisa, thanks for taking such good care of our princess! She had a blast at your house & never complained once that she didn't get to come with us to her daddy's party. On top of that, no sleep issues.

Where have all the years gone?

Growing up, both David & I were members of the B'nai Brith Youth Organization. It's a wonderful group & has given us a lifetime of memories along with amazing friends. While we both belonged to BBYO, I belonged to the NSR Region (Nassau-Suffolk) in NY & David belonged to the Gold Coast Council in FL.

FaceBook has given me the opportunity to reunite online with my friends from BBG. It was wonderful to hear from Adrian, Ellie, Niki & Meryl. Time & distance have changed but we still seem to be basically the same. During the course of finding my pals, I found out that there was going to be a BIG reunion. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend. It's not as easy to just pick up & go as I'd like. We have a group on FB so I got to see the pics & video clips. It looks like everyone had a blast.

David, on the other hand, is still friendly with a few of the people from that era. Or rather, I'm friendly with some of them. Let's face it. My husband is the love of my life, but he is no social butterfly. One of our close friends is actually his very first girlfriend. Faith lives seconds away from us. She got on a kick a few months ago about wanting to find the people from this era.

We all thought she was nuts, but we all should have known better. Faith on a mission is undeterred. She found almost everyone!

Last night we had a reunion of the L'Atid & Exodus BBYO chapters at a local restaurant. I've known some of these people in one way or another since 1982 - the year I met David. My husband usually goes nowhere. I was really proud of him for making the decision to go last night. Watching him meet up with his old friends & reminisce was great. There is nothing that makes me happier than watching him smile & hearing him laugh. Last night I had a glimpse of the 19 year old boy I fell in love with. He was one of the key people in his chapter. According to Faith, many people just wanted to know if Dave was going to be at the reunion. He was really concerned because he isn't who he used to be. I reminded him that none of us are who we used to be. Thank G-d!

For the first time in about 20 years, I was the one on the outside looking in. It was sort of odd since I'm the social butterfly in this relationship. I was thrilled though. He got to see his old friends, chit chat & have a good time.

Many of us in the group have children in college. Then there are those of us (David & I) who will have children in college & be using walkers. ;-) Some of the people realized that our children are older now than when they were all palling around "back then."

It was a great night. Thanks to Faith for putting this all together.

Pics later!

The Infamous Jump Split

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

David wasn't able to be in class when Erin got her gold star for a perfect split. This is what he missed.