For Monday

I have a question...well this week I have two.  And they have absolutely nothing to do with each other.  Let's begin...

Last night we had a power failure.  Our whole street was dark.  Ryan kind of freaked out.  We lit candles, which I found out in CA is a no-no.  Why?  Because this is earthquake country people.  Makes sense.  I digress.  My question is this:  is it just me, or do you turn on the light when you go to the bathroom?  There is no power.  What possess the mind to think it will turn on?  We played improv games and had snacks.  It was then I remembered....duh we have a fireplace.  So I had Rich open the flue and get it going.  At the very second the fire lit (it's a gas fireplace) the lights came on.  I kept the fire place ablaze.  It was nice and toasty.  We survived without TV and computers for over an hour!  The family of geeks!!

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Last week, I took Kristin and Emily to the doctor.  In the waiting room, I found a magazine to entertain me.  It was mostly fluff.  Articles and pictures of celebrity "fashion."  Some of them have fantastic taste, while others...well if you or I wore something like that we would be on the website known as: People of Wal-Mart. 

In this magazine, I saw an article for a TV show on MTV, yeah I know this should have been my first clue.  Anyone besides me, who remembers this:  I want my MTV!  And they played MUSIC ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT???  I digress(again) This show is called:  Teen Mother.  Yes...TEEN MOTHER.  The featured "mother" a young girl with her daughter.  Mom was looking so beautiful.  Hair all nice, made up nice, nice clothes etc.  Baby was also looking sweet as ever in a cute baby girl outfit.  I wasn't sure how I felt about this.  My thoughts whirled around dismay.  What better way to glamorize teen pregnancy than to make a documentary on MTV!? 

All right, you can't judge a book by its cover.  But this IS MTV.  So I did what any (somewhat) computer savvy mom would do.  I googled it.  Google is good and bad.  This time it was good.  I was led right to the source, complete with episodes and clips.  I watched an episode.  You can watch it here, if you like.  Here is my humble opinion. 

First of all, maybe it was just me, but it was boring.  It dragged on too much.  It chronicles 4 girls and their struggle to put their life back in order.  It really focused more on them and what THEY are doing.  The babies were with them, and they showed concern and love for them.  Only one I actually found to be getting it together.  I think her name is Amber.  She loves her daughter, cares for her and is showing an effort to make it work. 

But all this is doing is telling girls, see, it's okay.  You can do things to make it work.  So go ahead and get pregnant.  That is MY opinion.  These are little girls.  My daughter is THREE years away from the youngest in the batch.  It scares the HELL out of me.  What is your take on this?  Does it glamorize it?  Or does it make it a harsh reality.  Should we make our own documentary of teen mothers who have toddlers, preschoolers, and school age children.  Who are still so very young, but have children while their friends have graduated high school and college and are just starting their lives?  Am I being over dramatic here?  Speak your mind. I really want to know.

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Pictures from the Weekend






Our time for tots(and big kids too) a la Emmy!


Rice Krispy Treats!  Yum.



Be sure and check out Metabolism Blues!!  Click my button on the right.

Comments

mormonhermitmom said…
hMmm. Stupid MTV. Argh! I can't. No I aint going there! the language....
Laura said…
I don't know why but I have watch several of episodes of that show and it makes me SICK!! I totally agree with you, it does NOT make it seem like it's "bad" or "hard" yeah sure they have some struggles but mostly they make it look pretty simple. Ugh I could go on and on about this...but I won't! :) But I agree, not a good show, I would not want my teenage daughter watching it.
Trina said…
When hurricane Ike hit, we were without power for days. And you best believe everytime we went to the bathroom we turned on the light...lol. for me everytime I went into another room I turned on the light. I told my mom when the electricty finally comes back on, every light in her house will be on:-)

As for MTV, I watched another show like that one called 16 and pregnant. To me it didn't seem like it was glorified. On the couple of episodes I saw, the girls spent most of their time crying about the fact they couldn't hang out and go with their freinds like they used to. As I watched, I spent most of time screaming, "You should have thought about that before you got pregnanat!" at the TV.
I remember when MTV played music too. Now it is just there to scare the he.. out of me. I have teenage daughters and I know how impressionable kids are, I don't want them to think it is ok or easy or they can just go on TV and make money for having a baby. I think more people should take a stand with some of the junk on TV these days... ok off the soap box now.

I too flip on the light when the power is out, our home cause a power surge when the power does finally come back on because every light in the house has been turned on.
Emmy said…
Glad you all had fun doing the Time For Tots activities :)

And I too am so scared for what lies ahead. It is insane how much the world has just come to accept teen pregnancies and sexuality. It is used to be a bad/shameful thing if a teenage girl got pregnant..
Now while people shouldn't be shamed, they should be glamorized and praised for mistakes that they make.
And well I am just going to stop before I really get going.
elzimmy said…
Hmm, I don't know - I've seen both 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom and I'm not sure I'd specifically say that the shows make being a teen parent glamorous.

Then again, I wouldn't really want my kids to see the show, so maybe I'm not as okay with it as I think.
Lee said…
Congrats on making it without electricity! Of course you turn the light on...habit. I hate that show. I agree, go ahead and tell all the teens that watch MTV like a religion that they can make it work. Have sex, have babies and it will all work out in the end.
KK said…
So you can have a fireplace, but not a candle? And furthermore, do you even need fireplaces there? They are pretty much for decoration here!

I don't watch MTV, but what I have seen is not fit to watch and not encouraging me to watch more. I think publicity is publicity good or bad, and I'm guessing it's not a great idea, but again I haven't seen it.
Anonymous said…
No MTV in our house cause there is no television! So I watched in online and had the same feeling as you. While I don't expect them to have a show with young girls living in the street barely able to eat with their babies in rags I did expect a more balanced approach. Then I remember it was on MTV thanked my husband for the no tv thing yet again and had a glass of wine.
Christina Lee said…
Maybe my brain needs coffee but I don't get the candle thing--I'll probably get it as soon as I leave here-duh!

Yeah there are some interesting reality shows going on...
Carolynn said…
The world is getting desensitized to the point that almost everything is okay. Sad. Makes it harder and harder to teach our children moral lessons.
I think that show opens a unique Super Nanny parenting oppertunity. Let me explain.

It is great to sit down with youngsters watch the brats on TV be horrible and take the opportunity to say, "WOW do we act like that, what do you think would be a better way to act, how do you think they should get in trouble for acting that way, are the parents being mean to the kids when they put them in time out, etc. . ."

The answers from my child surprise me. she easily recognizes the poor behavior, AND is also able to see how the punishment fits the crime.

I like having an easy opportunity to discuss difficult topics in a non abbrasive/accusitory way.

I don't know if I would let a young teenager watch the show to use the same technique, but I do know I rather her watch it with me than with her friends.
Holly Lefevre said…
We had no power for two nights, couple of hours each night...it is actually refreshing...no blogging!

I have not caught much of teen mom, but I did watch an MTV special (Yes, I am out of their demographic now) about teen pregnancy and I think these are some of the girls that were in that. And, yes I like train wreck reality TV!
Vee said…
Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest!

There is nothing more challenging or rewarding than being a stay-at-home mom....
I'll be checking back in soon!

Check out my blog:
www.veronking2003.blogspot.com

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