I've seen a few blogs recently about children and child behaviour, so I thought I'd share my thoughts and feelings about the 4 children my wonderful girlfiriend has. We're not married or living together at this point, but I love her and I treat her kids as if they were my own.

Barb has 3 boys aged 14(Torin),12(Bayne) and 8(Kienan), all from one guy( I won't use the term man, he doesn't earn that title) that she was with for almost 10 years. She also has a 3 year old girl(Rileigh).

Let me begin by saying that all her kids are amazing. The 3 boys are redheads like their mom(could you tell by their names that she's Irish?), and are very intelligent, good hearted and good natured. They are also a total riot, and so is Rileigh :) Barb the mom keeps all communication lines open and no subject is taboo or censored no matter what. A fun effect of this cause is that they are all foulmouthed, sassy and twisted! (did I say "fun"? Hell yes I meant it!). The latest theme song of the household is "Jizz in my pants" after 8 year old Kienan discovered it and downloaded it on his IPod. Now that is the response to everything, from chores to homework to everything else :) "I clean my room and I..........Jizz-in-my-pants!" One of Rileigh's first sentances was "change my bum, bitch!" hehehe
Now before any of you call Children's Aid, please read further. Their language and attitude in the house is accepted, but when we all go out it is a totally different story. They have all learned the "time and a place" philosophy very well. When we go to a restaurant they are say please and thank you when ordering, and when we are out anywhere else they are well mannered and behave with a maturity and attitude that many of today's parents and teachers believe to be extinct. I've never known any of them to yell, swear or throw a tantrum in public.
Torin the eldest has been the man of the house longer than his own father, and it was him and Barb that raised the other 3 kids. He's changed more diapers than most grown men, he's had a paper route for 4 years and just got accepted into a musical program for gifted students :)
Bayne has the heart of Mother Teresa and will have the strength of Beowulf. He is the male mirror image of his mother, which is possible the greatest compliment I could give anyone.
Kienan is insanely intelligent(perhaps even more than Torin) and has also inherited his mom's will and stubbornness. I can't wait for someone to tell him he's wrong about something :)
Rileigh.........the best word to describe her is "showstopper". She's like the energizer bunny on speed; videotaped and then played on FastForward!

We all had a family movie afternoon a couple of Sunday's ago which included the ultra violent "Machine Girl" and the pants-pissing hilarious classic "Zombie Strippers". Needless to say, we all spent the afternoon laughing our faces off :)

This blog is a tribute to Barb. She has done an amazing job as a mother, and without the support of a man for the most part. She has proven that channeling works much better than suppression when it comes to raising children. She has accepted that they will learn naughty words, learn how to push irritation buttons in each other and has redirected all that into their raising. Sure they are rebelling, but they are rebelling by growing up, doing well at school, completing their chores, making friends, having lots of laughs and all this sums up to "Fuck you deadbeat dad! We're doing just fine without you!"