'Tis the time of year for school pictures; the boys will be having them taken tomorrow (Friday) and we should have them the following week. Please let me know if you would like one, they have all kinds of fun stuff this year with photo magnets, photo stickers as well as the standard portraits. I always wind up buying too much, but I hate to not have them if I need them.
We're gearing up for the Super Bowl this weekend, and my cousin Lauren turns 18 next week so we're going to her party on Saturday. It's hard to believe she's 18, I still remember her as my little flower girl who admonished me as I was walking down the aisle, "don't step on the rose petals!"
Embarrassing for her I'm sure, but it's still one of my fondest memories and I know I'll never forget it. She was only 3 when she first met Allen, she looked him over, turned to me and said, "so this is the guy you're gonna marry?"
That means Allen and I have been together for almost 15 years! Yowza!
Jacob will be turning 9 and I'm racking my brain to think of something for his birthday this year. Last year was pretty out of hand with his whole class of kids, especially since they're so much older and more rambunctious. I'm thinking of boys only (oh yeah, that'll be less rambunctious!) or maybe he can invite 9 kids. I feel bad thinking about doing that though, we have always had a huge party with the whole class at some cool location; golf range, indoor soccer, aquarium. It's always around tax time, so we can usually afford to do something a little over the top, but I just don't know if we can handle that may kids anymore. The weather's always iffy, so doing it at a park doesn't seem logical...hmmm
Thoughts, suggestions, recommendations?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Woah, heavy man!
It's almost time for our February caucus. It's been such an interesting election season so far; I feel like this is a historical time, we are at such a crossroads and I am on one hand eager to participate, and on the other hand scared that no matter who gets elected there will be no real change. In Washington we moved our caucus up to February 9th, and it looks like this year we may impact the outcome of the Democratic nomination. I don't have a clear favorite as I have in years past, and I find it fascinating that the Republicans appear to be in the fractured position the Democrats always seem to be; they used to have one issue to rally around; gay marriage, abortion etc. and this year they all seem to be divided along religious lines which is always a divisive issue. You have a Mormon, a Baptist Minister, and a "Moderate" (oh, and Saint Rudy of 9/11) and I have a hard time envisioning their followers rallying for anyone outside their belief system. It's amazing to me that religion allegedly brings people together, but historically more people have been killed over faith than any other issue. Heck, look at what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I read an article in Vanity Fair last month by Sebastian Unger who was embedded with a unit in Afghanistan and one of his larger observations was how divided Afghanistan is; village by village belief systems are so different. Each sect has their own dialect which makes it virtually impossible for troops to find translators, or to create allies. All of these sects are wrestling each other for control of key areas, Afghani opium production provides 93% of the world's supply, and we're in the middle, allegedly looking for Osama Bin Laden, while our President makes an arms sale to the Saudis who are busy exchanging weapons to the Afghans for opium and the Pakistanis are exchanging weapons for Afghan timber (!), all to get the Americans out so they can continue to fight each other for territorial control.
It's just insane that domestically we're talking about illegal immigration, tax rebates and whether Hillary Clinton gave LBJ more credit for the civil rights movement than Martin Luther King, Jr.
Now we're back to; "It's the economy, stupid" and nobody is saying that if we weren't spending trillions of dollars at war that maybe there would be a real solution to bail out these sub-prime mortgages that have contributed so heavily to our economic decline. Nobody will talk about the fanatical dictator we call our President and the fact that he started his own "holy war" and that in his case, God is oil, or at least oil is the Holy Grail.
And what are we going to do for these men and women when they finally come home, limbs blown off, suffering from post-traumatic-stress-disorder and we have spent all of our money overseas and have nothing left to provide medical care, psychiatric care, housing, jobs or anything else that they so deserve? The VA put out a statistic that we have 200,000 homeless vets living on our streets (from all wars, not just current). Bill O'Reilly had the balls to go on tv and laugh this statistic off, saying "show me a homeless veteran and I'll find him a place to sleep tonight, there are no homeless vets." It's just so cruel that someone can accuse others of "not supporting the troops" but when it comes right down to providing the necessities once these soldiers come home they are ignored, or put in sub-par VA hospitals with peeling walls and rat infested rooms. Not enough medicine, not enough doctors, not enough mental health professionals, no housing assistance, employment transition, what kind of fucked up priorities do we have that we lionize these men and women while they serve and treat them like garbage, or worse like O'Reilly, treat them as if they are invisible after they come home? Who is really supporting these troops?
I wish I had any answers, but it always seems like I have more questions than anything. I want to see the candidates talking about this issue, because once we do come to our senses and bring these brave soldiers home we are going to have an epidemic on our hands and we need a leader who can provide some answers, not just a sound bite for the 5:00 news. I don't know who can best address these issues at this point, I just know the Republicans have had 8 years to fuck this all up and unfortunately, our Democratic leaders in the House and Senate haven't shown the backbone to push these issues either. "Throw the bums out" was a rallying cry at one point and I think it applies once again. It's as if they are so beholden to special interests, on both sides of the aisle, that they are so insulated in their wealthy enclaves that rescuing the middle class, let alone the lower class is beyond their scope of capabilities. I know there is so much fear of a "socialist" government that we are overlooking the fact that the top 3% control so much that we are more an oligarchical society than anything. Really, which is worse?
I read an article in Vanity Fair last month by Sebastian Unger who was embedded with a unit in Afghanistan and one of his larger observations was how divided Afghanistan is; village by village belief systems are so different. Each sect has their own dialect which makes it virtually impossible for troops to find translators, or to create allies. All of these sects are wrestling each other for control of key areas, Afghani opium production provides 93% of the world's supply, and we're in the middle, allegedly looking for Osama Bin Laden, while our President makes an arms sale to the Saudis who are busy exchanging weapons to the Afghans for opium and the Pakistanis are exchanging weapons for Afghan timber (!), all to get the Americans out so they can continue to fight each other for territorial control.
It's just insane that domestically we're talking about illegal immigration, tax rebates and whether Hillary Clinton gave LBJ more credit for the civil rights movement than Martin Luther King, Jr.
Now we're back to; "It's the economy, stupid" and nobody is saying that if we weren't spending trillions of dollars at war that maybe there would be a real solution to bail out these sub-prime mortgages that have contributed so heavily to our economic decline. Nobody will talk about the fanatical dictator we call our President and the fact that he started his own "holy war" and that in his case, God is oil, or at least oil is the Holy Grail.
And what are we going to do for these men and women when they finally come home, limbs blown off, suffering from post-traumatic-stress-disorder and we have spent all of our money overseas and have nothing left to provide medical care, psychiatric care, housing, jobs or anything else that they so deserve? The VA put out a statistic that we have 200,000 homeless vets living on our streets (from all wars, not just current). Bill O'Reilly had the balls to go on tv and laugh this statistic off, saying "show me a homeless veteran and I'll find him a place to sleep tonight, there are no homeless vets." It's just so cruel that someone can accuse others of "not supporting the troops" but when it comes right down to providing the necessities once these soldiers come home they are ignored, or put in sub-par VA hospitals with peeling walls and rat infested rooms. Not enough medicine, not enough doctors, not enough mental health professionals, no housing assistance, employment transition, what kind of fucked up priorities do we have that we lionize these men and women while they serve and treat them like garbage, or worse like O'Reilly, treat them as if they are invisible after they come home? Who is really supporting these troops?
I wish I had any answers, but it always seems like I have more questions than anything. I want to see the candidates talking about this issue, because once we do come to our senses and bring these brave soldiers home we are going to have an epidemic on our hands and we need a leader who can provide some answers, not just a sound bite for the 5:00 news. I don't know who can best address these issues at this point, I just know the Republicans have had 8 years to fuck this all up and unfortunately, our Democratic leaders in the House and Senate haven't shown the backbone to push these issues either. "Throw the bums out" was a rallying cry at one point and I think it applies once again. It's as if they are so beholden to special interests, on both sides of the aisle, that they are so insulated in their wealthy enclaves that rescuing the middle class, let alone the lower class is beyond their scope of capabilities. I know there is so much fear of a "socialist" government that we are overlooking the fact that the top 3% control so much that we are more an oligarchical society than anything. Really, which is worse?
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Blurg
Ok, so I stole that from Tina Fey on 30 Rock but that's my word of the week and it sums up how I've been feeling lately. I haven't even had the energy to write my blog, let alone think I had anything "worthy" to say. I don't know if I'm just vitamin deprived, getting off the pain meds or what, but I feel so lethargic this week. I called the doctor about it and she told me that I had major surgery through minor incisions and that I should still be "pampering myself". I don't know that lazing around in bed and watching tv all day constitutes pampering but it's all I can do to get the kids out the door in the morning.
I feel bad bitching about it, considering if I were in a position where I HAD to work that I would definitely be back to work by now and there are so many out there who don't have the luxury of lazing around in bed, eating bon bon's and watching soaps : ) All right, maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit, but I am getting tired of being winded from walking halfway up the steps, and I'm not THAT fat!
I don't understand how I was feeling better last week than this week. Ok, the percocet probably had a lot to do with my feeling good, and having the narcotic withdrawl headache all this week hasn't helped either.
Kids are good, Austin had a horrible case of hives last week. We're not sure if it was from food or environment, but I changed just about everything he was eating and switched laundry soap too, so after 4 days of him having unbelievable welts all over his body he's finally stopped itching! He was a sight to behold though...he had no fewer than 100 welts all over his body, literally from head to toe and he was MISERABLE. Glad for that to be over.
Wah wah wah, time to stop bitching and go be a mom...
I feel bad bitching about it, considering if I were in a position where I HAD to work that I would definitely be back to work by now and there are so many out there who don't have the luxury of lazing around in bed, eating bon bon's and watching soaps : ) All right, maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit, but I am getting tired of being winded from walking halfway up the steps, and I'm not THAT fat!
I don't understand how I was feeling better last week than this week. Ok, the percocet probably had a lot to do with my feeling good, and having the narcotic withdrawl headache all this week hasn't helped either.
Kids are good, Austin had a horrible case of hives last week. We're not sure if it was from food or environment, but I changed just about everything he was eating and switched laundry soap too, so after 4 days of him having unbelievable welts all over his body he's finally stopped itching! He was a sight to behold though...he had no fewer than 100 welts all over his body, literally from head to toe and he was MISERABLE. Glad for that to be over.
Wah wah wah, time to stop bitching and go be a mom...
Monday, January 7, 2008
Slayed
Oh my how easy it is for an innocent child to destroy you! Austin looked up at me tonight and said, "mom, why are you so fat?".
Ugh, dagger through the heart.
Then to pile it on, Jacob says, "yeah mom, you look pregnant, you're not pregnant are you?"
Aaack!
Tonight I started exercising again... : )
Ugh, dagger through the heart.
Then to pile it on, Jacob says, "yeah mom, you look pregnant, you're not pregnant are you?"
Aaack!
Tonight I started exercising again... : )
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Update
Just wanted to say that I am recovering well; not quite up to snuff but certainly on the mend. My belly looks disgusting; I have this ugly purple bruise-she went straight through my belly button and my tummy is all swollen. I'm almost off the pain meds, which should make my doctor happy. I went to see her on Thursday to make sure I was healing since I was still having so much pain and not sleeping. She doled out muscle relaxers and reluctantly gave me more Percocet which she said she really didn't want to give me-but did...
I felt well enough to do a little shopping over the weekend. I got to pick up my new wedding ring, which is just gorgeous. Allen drove me downtown to buy me some new pants-depressing to buy maternity pants and not be pregnant! Everything I have has a tight waistband and I just can't have any pressure on my belly at this point. I had been living in Allen's sweatpants, so I found some maternity jeans that were on sale so I could at least be comfortable and presentable. They were super cheap so I didn't feel too bad about spending the money, more just self conscious about being so big now. I've never weighed so much before, so I'm hoping after I get better I can start a rigorous workout routine so I'll be bikini ready when we go to Mexico this spring.
I also did some baby clothes shopping for Baby Girl Gottschlich-my friends Tracy & Adam found out last week that they are having a girl. I'm so excited to be able to shop for a baby girl! I've never gotten to shop for girl baby clothes before and oh my god do they have some cute stuff. I am so excited for them, and I'm glad they are having a girl-I think they will both dote on her and I can totally see her being a "daddy's girl". Her brother and his girlfriend just had a baby boy, so it will be nice for their mom to have one of each. I know none of my 3 brothers will have kids, and I know my mom wishes she had a little granddaughter. She loves my boys so much, but I know it's not the same.
I've added a picture of our latest wild kingdom adventure-one of our kitties ran away about a month ago and we've been leaving food on the porch hoping he'll come back around. The other night our other two cats were freaking out at the front door and we were sure Harpo kitty was on the porch, so imagine my surprise when I opened the door and there was a gigantic raccoon eating out of the dish! He looked up at me, put out his paw and pulled the dish of food toward his body and kept right on eating. Little devil : )
I felt well enough to do a little shopping over the weekend. I got to pick up my new wedding ring, which is just gorgeous. Allen drove me downtown to buy me some new pants-depressing to buy maternity pants and not be pregnant! Everything I have has a tight waistband and I just can't have any pressure on my belly at this point. I had been living in Allen's sweatpants, so I found some maternity jeans that were on sale so I could at least be comfortable and presentable. They were super cheap so I didn't feel too bad about spending the money, more just self conscious about being so big now. I've never weighed so much before, so I'm hoping after I get better I can start a rigorous workout routine so I'll be bikini ready when we go to Mexico this spring.
I also did some baby clothes shopping for Baby Girl Gottschlich-my friends Tracy & Adam found out last week that they are having a girl. I'm so excited to be able to shop for a baby girl! I've never gotten to shop for girl baby clothes before and oh my god do they have some cute stuff. I am so excited for them, and I'm glad they are having a girl-I think they will both dote on her and I can totally see her being a "daddy's girl". Her brother and his girlfriend just had a baby boy, so it will be nice for their mom to have one of each. I know none of my 3 brothers will have kids, and I know my mom wishes she had a little granddaughter. She loves my boys so much, but I know it's not the same.
I've added a picture of our latest wild kingdom adventure-one of our kitties ran away about a month ago and we've been leaving food on the porch hoping he'll come back around. The other night our other two cats were freaking out at the front door and we were sure Harpo kitty was on the porch, so imagine my surprise when I opened the door and there was a gigantic raccoon eating out of the dish! He looked up at me, put out his paw and pulled the dish of food toward his body and kept right on eating. Little devil : )
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Oh, and Happy New Year!
Can't type anymore but I wanted to attach this great newspaper clipping found in this last week Seattle Times NW life section; where they do a "rant and "rave" segment which I don't generally read because I feel like there's enough bitching in my own life, I don't need to hear someone else's complaints too! This was a rave though, and for those of you who don't know both Jacob & Austin attend The Lake and Park School located on the top floor of the Mt. Baker Presbyterian Church.
Bravo indeed!
T
Bravo indeed!
T
Back Home
So here I am in my bed; propped up on all sides with pillows, an ice pack on my belly, a heating pad on my back and finding it almost impossible to write! It's as if I'm in a remedial typing class as I've so far had to re-write almost every word. Apparently I am not operating on all four cylinders yet and it's too frustrating to write, since I have so much to say. I'll save the bulk of it for later, but want to say now thank you to everyone who has been so supportive.
I got to come home around noon yesterday and had a surprising about of zip but with the meds I am finding it almost impossible to spell and focus on the screen, so I will close for now with the message to you all that it went very well, very quickly and she only had to perform the minimal amount she had hoped.
Oh, and of course I got some lovely souvenir photographs-bummer my cards have already been mailed, maybe next year I can send some revolting picture of what endometriosis looks like! Mmm
Why do doctors think you want that crap? People like my sick dad, who watched his knee surgery. Sicko!
Ok, officially too frustrating now, more later, promise.
T
I got to come home around noon yesterday and had a surprising about of zip but with the meds I am finding it almost impossible to spell and focus on the screen, so I will close for now with the message to you all that it went very well, very quickly and she only had to perform the minimal amount she had hoped.
Oh, and of course I got some lovely souvenir photographs-bummer my cards have already been mailed, maybe next year I can send some revolting picture of what endometriosis looks like! Mmm
Why do doctors think you want that crap? People like my sick dad, who watched his knee surgery. Sicko!
Ok, officially too frustrating now, more later, promise.
T
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