Parenting Chat Thread #2 (toys, travelling, maternity, babies)

[maciesmom]

Morning guys! What is on the agenda today?

I'm going through a bunch of paperwork and starting taxes!

The sun is out and I think the temps should be in the 50s....so lots of melting going on.

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I've got a question for those of you down in Colorado and Arizona.

I'm writing a paper on multiculturalism in Europe. As a comparison, I want to briefly touch on the problem in your areas with illegal immigrants.

Is poverty high amoung Mexican immigrants in your areas? Do you feel the crime problem is related to poverty?

Hi Hopes, The area we moved to is, probably, 98% white. Which I'm still adjusting to after living in CA which is very mixed. But I know the barrios of CA pretty well. The Mexicans immigrants are poor. Most of them have menial jobs, but they live differently. Very often a group of men will share a house. Like 8-10 even more. If they are working they send money back home. But they also pool their money for things like a TV. So they live communally. Most families live with the grandparents, parents and kids all in one house. (An immigrant has "made it" when he can send for his family.)

Compared to a white American with a white collar job, yes, Mexican immigrants are poor. Compared to their families in the village back in Mexico they are not. Many manage to buy homes which, in So Cal, is no easy deal.

Crime linked to poverty? I knew an awful lot of law abiding, church going Mexican immigrants. There are gangs but there are also Black gangs, skinhead gangs, biker gangs. Outsiders are usually shocked to go to a place like Watts or Compton, expecting a ghetto, and see nicely kept, single family homes.

The housing projects are different. Nickerson Gardens. High crime, low income. A lot of the gang problems in places like East L.A., Boyle Heights is because of the lack of jobs.

How deep are you researching this? Look into Father Greg Boyle's work working with the gangs in Boyle Heights. He's the founder (and a Catholic priest) of Homeboy Industries.

Latin Mass: I used to go to a church that had a Latin Mass. It was in Hawaiian Gardens (psr is rolling her eyes) which is neither Hawaiian or a Garden. Strictly gang territory. Never had a single problem (though I never went there at night.)

Hope everyone has a good day!

[DewDropInn]

txt: All joking aside (sorry, sometimes I just can't resist) how did your date go? I hope he took you some place nice.

[Kibbiekat]

In my experience, illegal immigrants are on their best behavior so they don't get sent back to Mexico. There are exceptions, of course.

I took the kids to see a sensory friendly showing of Gnomeo and Juliet. Cute movie, and I enjoyed the lower volume. It is meant for kids with autism, which we don't have. But DS7 had some sensory procession issues, so I thought I'd try it out. Autism or not, it was a more kid friendly experience than a regular showing. I'd do it again. The volume was lower, the lights were up higher, and there were no previews to sit through.

[maciesmom]

Taking a break....I hate shredding. I am getting a bunch of stuff organized that has needed it for quite some time. I know I will feel better when it's done. I need to go get a file cabinet. I currently have all these manila envelopes with warranties and all kinds of stuff. Now that we truly have a room that is mostly an office, I can get a file cabinet for all that instead of a box of manila envelopes stored on a closet shelf.

[DewDropInn]

One more word on crime and illegal immigrants. They used to come regularly to our Neighborhood Watch meetings. They were as protective of their property as anybody else. Maybe more so.

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by maciesmom

Taking a break....I hate shredding. I am getting a bunch of stuff organized that has needed it for quite some time. I know I will feel better when it's done. I need to go get a file cabinet. I currently have all these manila envelopes with warranties and all kinds of stuff. Now that we truly have a room that is mostly an office, I can get a file cabinet for all that instead of a box of manila envelopes stored on a closet shelf.

I'm organizing today too. Not getting very far because I keep getting sidetracked. I told DH I was going to work on the books (reading material books) while he was out this morning. We need more shelving and book cases. Shredding: When we moved I literally spent hours shredding. Wore a shredder out. I had our papers and my parent's papers. How's your weather? We have a 75 degree day and new neighbors moving in down the block. Wow! They have fabulous stuff! (Window monitor hard at work, here.)

[maciesmom]

Dew....I have so much crap. I am shredding old backup CDs from DD's high school years! I can't stand it and having it all just adds to my stress level. Now that DD is more or less gone, and DS is pretty self sufficient, I have a lot more time and energy to go through all of this. Plus, the less stuff you have, the easier it is to keep clean and organized. Every year, I get a rid of more and more "stuff"....By the time we're ready/able to sell this house and move on (guessing in the next 5-10 years), it won't be a huge chore.

Bookcases. My dream room is full of built in bookcases! Currently our "living room" (front room) is too small to be the kind of formal living room I grew up with - which is fine by me because that's not how we really live anyway. A number of years ago we just threw up our hands, got rid of the sofa and chairs that never quite fit (brought from another house), bought 2 comfy leather club chairs, some bookcases and called it a day. The room gets much more use now - with less seating.

Don't you love watching people move in?

Our weather is nice...it was sunny this morning, now a bit of cloud cover but still not bad. I think it is in the low 50s. Not bad for Feb. Snow is melting.

[Hopes]

Thanks for your insights into poverty and crime connection everyone! Your insights helped me figure out which direction to take. I'm going to exclude the Mexican angle for this particular paper since it sounds like it's not a good comparison to what's happening in Europe. I'll save the Mexican angle for a future research topic. It deserves a paper of its own.

Maciesmom---Love that you transformed your livingroom into a study! Sound wonderful!

Organizing---I have an entire attic that I need to empty out. I'm not looking forward to that task, but I want to reclaim the space for another use.

[maciesmom]

Hopes - thought of you. My goal is to get my taxes done and submitted by the end of this month!