IMPEACH GEORGE BUSH!! <$BlogRSDUrl$>
Life Is Sweet

I have so much to blog about, but will have to let it out in little bursts. First let me say that my Thanksgiving was not dominated by the carcass of a dead bird, but by keeping my sister from exploding at my mother, and chasing my toddler away from expensive glass antiques. I was so spent after those activities I couldn't have cared less about the dead bird. Oh well.

In other news, one of my dreams since I was a pre-teen was to meet Tamora Pierce, my favorite author of all time. Imagine an impressionable young girl having her mind rocked in 6th grade by the most incredible book series ever...about a girl disguising herself as a boy to become a knight. She whacks stuff, has magical powers, protects the prince AND takes him to bed. Way cool. So cool that it had already been determined even before I met Tamora Pierce that I would name a daughter after the main character in this series...Alanna. Well, I met Tamora Pierce at a cool convention, and got to bring my niece who was as crazy about these books as I am. She told me that meeting her and going to the convention with me was one of the best days of her life. Does it get much cooler?

I'll leave you tonight with a mental picture of motherhood as it should be. Unlike the usual toddler standing in his crib jumping up and down for a half hour after I put him to bed, this is what I got: Connor was so ready to go to bed that he just lay in his crib where I put him and was smiling and quietly babbling at me. He let me gently stoke his cheeks while I whispered "I love you" over and over, he grabbed my hands and held them, looking serene. I told him "night, night" and walked out. Not a peep. How cute.


Thanksgiving Joy!

Here is a festive picture of Connor and his very first hand turkey!



AND a great military thanksgiving story. Enjoy!

From AIM News

HARTLAND, Mich. (AP) - Yvette Boulton wants her son to get a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal before he's deployed to Iraq - so she's trucking the feast 761 miles to Fort Bragg, N.C.

Boulton will be on the road 13 hours so she can feed her son, Army Cpl. Jordan Keilman, 22, and 14 of his friends.

The soldiers must remain within an hour of base so they could be called to Iraq, where many already have served once. Keilman fought in Iraq from September to February.

``I said `I'll cook, and you boys sit around and watch the football game. Just pretend you're at home,''' said Boulton, 47, who is an assistant for a law firm.


On Tuesday night, Boulton packed pots and pans, turkey-shaped plates and napkins, serving dishes, homemade ravioli, freshly baked breads and cookies into the bed of a red Ford F-150 pickup lent to her by a cousin.


Boulton and daughters Kristen Keilman, 20, and Charlene Boulton, 9, planned to be on their way before dawn Wednesday.


The Fort Bragg holiday dinner was conceived a few weeks ago when Boulton called her son to tell him she would be bringing him dinner. She suggested he ``invite a few friends.''


``He was so excited,'' Boulton said.


After word spread among his buddies in the 82nd Airborne Division, a ``few'' friends became 15 hungry soldiers. In all, Boulton plans to feed about 20 people.


She said she was taken aback when she first heard the dinner party had expanded, but then she was moved by the opportunity ``to give the boys a touch of home.''


``It's kind of like you're honored that he wants you to cook for all his friends,'' she said. ``And it may be the last home-cooked meal they have for a long time.''


He said he will have two turkeys waiting, and he and his friends have rounded up tables.


``We'll set it all up and make it nice,'' Boulton said.
Hey, great war we are having. Did you have it catered or did you do it yourself?

taken from MSNBC, Altercation by Eric Alterman

Acute malnutrition among young children in Iraq has nearly doubled since the United States led an invasion of the country 20 months ago, according to surveys by the United Nations, aid agencies and the interim Iraqi government. After the rate of acute malnutrition among children younger than 5 steadily declined to 4 percent two years ago, it shot up to 7.7 percent this year, according to a study conducted by Iraq's Health Ministry in cooperation with Norway's Institute for Applied International Studies and the U.N. Development Program. The new figure translates to roughly 400,000 Iraqi children suffering from ‘wasting,’ a condition characterized by chronic diarrhea and dangerous deficiencies of protein.

So the next time some one asks you if you’re glad that we’ve removed Saddam Hussein from power, you might want to ask them if they’re glad that, after we’ve spent 200 billion dollars and killed tens of thousands of people, 400,000 Iraqi children are now suffering from acute malnutrition. That and oh yeah, the world hates us and the pool of Al Qaeda recruits has been vastly increased.




Reality Bites My Ass

Ok, so these tests say I am pregnant, how can they be sure? I think I need to take a few more. See we had only been trying since October 29th, I found out I was pregnant on November 16th. Sheesh! Not even a month! Do I tell the child one day that Mommy and Daddy were drinking some beer and watching the Howard Stern movie Private Parts on HBO, saw the scene where Howard and his wife try to make a baby, giggled and ran upstairs? Yea, probably not.

So since this is so soon I am having nightmares about these tests being wrong and then having to tell everyone I am not, then I am having anxiety about the fact that we are doing this AGAIN! Why? I love my little boy, don't get me wrong, but the circumstances of his birth were rather traumatic.

After the three regular ultrasounds and a normal pregnancy, it came as quite a shock to everyone that Connor had a severe bi-lateral cleft lip and palate and was missing two fingers on each hand and two toes on each foot. Ultrasounds are supposed to detect that stuff. Needless to say the doctors FREAKED OUT, ran him out of the room even though his APGARs were both 9s and we did not know if he was going to live or die that night...that was how bad they made it for us.

I think I am over the shock of that night, but I am crying as I type this. It still hurts.

The genetic experts say that this was a "spontaneous chromosomal anomaly" and that it was not hereditary, there was nothing Jason or I did to cause it. Apparently the average pregnancy has a four percent chance of a congenital abnormality, we were only given a two percent higher chance next go around. So a 94% chance of having everything turn out normal is pretty good right?

Just pray, ok?


Um...Guess What?



Tee Hee :)

And I thought it was time to cheer up

After four years of Bush even people in the government are tired of him. Everone is bailing. Check this out: Colin Powell resigns 11/12, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham resigened 11/15, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman resigned 11/15, Education Secretary Rod Paige 11/15, Commerce Secretary Donald Evans resigned 11/09, Attorney General John Ashcroft resigned 11/02, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge is expected to leave soon. Two of the top spies in the CIA quit amidst a larger shakeup that is thinning the top brass there. They are like rats jumping off a sinking ship!

Is this normal every four years? Am I understanding this? Fifteen are expected to jump ship when this is all done, citing "burnout".

Does this signal that Jerry Fallwall and a host of evangelical right-wing morons are going to replace them? Is that a plague of locusts out the window?

Condoleezza Rice is named the new Secretary of State, don't get me wrong, go woman power, go minority woman power (does secret woman power gang sign), but could Bush have his hand up her rear any more than he already does? I guess that is part of the job, but sheesh, if you asked her to tell you about herself she's give you a bunch of "talking points" about the war.

I'll create some joy later, I have a poopy diaper to attend to.
Sleepy Day

I had a busy weekend. On Friday I picked up two of my sister's kids for a weekend stay, then cooked dinner and had our friends over for dinner. We had four kids under 11, one toddler and four adults. I made vegetarian sheperds pie, margaritas, oatmeal butterscotch cookies, cherry pie, ice cream...gluttony. It was great, the kids played, the adults got tipsy, then we played Cranium.

On Saturday we made the nearly two hours each way trek to Jason's Mom's house for his sister's son's birthday. Confused? Well the whole day was about a little fat baby turning one year-old and Connor stealing his toys. Tee Hee. Connor not only stole them from Henry right after he opened them, he took them to another room so he could play with them undisturbed.

On Sunday I had to take the little nippers back home. My sister confided in me that with the two big kids gone, she and her husband "did it" on her oldest daughter's bed, while the youngest daughter slept in their bed. Glad I could help, LOL. Ewwww. Then I came home and watched Alexander The Great on the History Channel. Cool, It ended just in time for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Awesome as always. Funny thing though, Jason and I came up with an idea of what we would say for our own audition tape...

"Hi, the Air Force said they are gonna tear down this house in two years anyway, if their funding does not run out, so you could rebuild it for them! Then we wouldn't have to move! We are a sad family. My husband is a doctor and works crazy hours, which does not help if you are trying to make a baby. Could you make it so that we could see each other at all times of the day? The two block drive to the hospital is too much. It would be really great if I could have some sort of husband-stand-in while we try to make a baby, could Ty Pennington be the stand-in? Also, our poor little son only has three fingers, could you design a special room for him and his needs. You could consult a panel of three-fingered experts and design an Eeyore-themed room. Also, we'd like a hot tub. Thanks"

Ok, well it was funny at the time. See why I need to re-charge. I think I will try to sleep a lot today. ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz.



Laugh for the Day
This site made me laugh a lot. Enjoy!

Cyber Sex Gone Wrong

bloodninja: Baby, I been havin a tough night so treat me nice aight?
BritneySpears14: Aight.
bloodninja: Slip out of those pants baby, yeah.
BritneySpears14: I slip out of my pants, just for you, bloodninja.
bloodninja: Oh yeah, aight. Aight, I put on my robe and wizard hat.
BritneySpears14: Oh, I like to play dress up.
bloodninja: Me too baby.
BritneySpears14: I kiss you softly on your chest.
bloodninja: I cast Lvl. 3 Eroticism. You turn into a real beautiful woman.
BritneySpears14: Hey...
bloodninja: I meditate to regain my mana, before casting Lvl. 8 Cock of the Infinite.
BritneySpears14: Funny I still don't see it.
bloodninja: I spend my mana reserves to cast Mighty F*ck of the Beyondness.
BritneySpears14: You are the worst cyber partner ever. This is ridiculous.
bloodninja: Don't f*ck with me bitch, I'm the mightiest sorcerer of the lands.
bloodninja: I steal yo soul and cast Lightning Lvl. 1,000,000 Your body explodes into a fine bloody mist, because you are only a Lvl. 2 Druid.
BritneySpears14: Don't ever message me again you piece of shit.
bloodninja: Robots are trying to drill my brain but my lightning shield inflicts DOA attack, leaving the robots as flaming piles of metal.
bloodninja: King Arthur congratulates me for destroying Dr. Robotnik's evil army of Robot Socialist Republics. The cold war ends. Reagan steals my accomplishments and makes like it was cause of him.
bloodninja: You still there baby? I think it's getting hard now.
bloodninja: Baby?

See more funny stuff here


Tears of Joy

Rarely does TV harness it's power for the purpose of doing good, one of the few exceptions is a show called Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Each Sunday they feature a really deserving family and basically build them a new house. Tonight's edition just blew me away. The mom and dad were deaf, and they were raising one normal child, and one child that was blind and autistic. They challenges they faced, from raising a son that needed language input they didn't have, to having to deal with an out of control child that's can't see them use sign language, and they can't hear him break out of the house, were just mind boggling.

The modifications they made to the house were amazing, with state-of-the-art technology to let the family be able to sign to each other via monitors in every room, a transmitter they can put in the autistic child's pajamas to help the police track him down if he runs amuck, a surveillance camera in every room so that the parents can always see him, and a playroom for him designed by autistic specialists. Wow. But the best part about it was to see him enjoy his new GIANT swing and laugh with excitement. Then they presented the child who could see and hear with a $50,000 college scholarship! What a present for the kid that holds the family together.

Now granted, the companies who donated their time and products got great promotional time, but what a wonderful use of mass media for the power of GOOD.

I was crying. They were crying. It was beautiful, and so was the host, Ty Pennington (le row).

As a mom of a child with special concerns, this stuff just gets to me ya know? Connor will have a life that will know almost no limits, fortunately (kind of a blessing that he will never give someone the finger), but my heart goes out to the parents of kids with special issues.

And just for fun, here are Connor's top three-fingered role models:

#3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

#2 Nightcrawler from The X-men

#1 YODA from Star Wars


Rant

There is a reason I have not told my family about this blog...so I can blog about them cause they drive me nuts!

We'll start with my dear sweet little niece, Summer. I turned Summer on to my favorite author, Tamora Pierce who writes kick ass books for young girls and boys. I told her about a chance for us to meet her and spend some time together by going to this sci-fi convention where Tamora Pierce will be the guest of honor. Sounds like I am a pretty cool aunt huh? So we have had these plans in place since January. I have the hotel room booked for two nights and all. Then my sister Heather calls me and tells me that she has to go to the wedding of her husband's co-worker that Friday, so she can't watch Connor.

I call around to my limited supply of over-night babysitters and no one can do it. Jason works insane hours for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday, he is out of the picture.

We will continue the rant now starring Heather. For as long as Summer and Bryce have been alive (ten years for Summer, seven years for Bryce) I have bent over backwards to take care of these kids. I gave Heather money for a date and baby sat the kids so she could go out with her husband. I took off a week of work to drive 45 minutes each way to a hotel to take care of them so that Heather could attend a conference for work. I hired a babysitter to take care of them one night that I HAD PLANS FOR OUR FATHER'S 60TH BIRTHDAY PARTY, so I could watch them the rest of the weekend while she went to a friend's wedding. There are countless times I have taken her kids to get them out of her hair including trips to Disney World, Six Flags and the MD renaissance Festival three years in a row. I have been there for her. Now she screws up an important event for her daughter and me and then puts guilt on ME!

She raved about how this special weekend between Summer and I was not high on her priority list and that she has two other kids to worry about, two classes to teach and grade, and is dealing with a dark depression and how dare I put guilt on her like this. How I am being part of the problem not part of the solution. It comes down to this: we miss Friday night of the convention, but get to be there for Saturday-Sunday afternoon. Not the end of the world by any means, but just really lame that here again is another example of how I have to bend over backwards to her needs.

I am getting really sick and tired of it. She is a complete drama queen (and that is something for ME to call someone that) and has some new ailment or bodily malfunction every frigging day. I have to walk on eggshells around her all the time for fear that she might fall apart, both mentally and physically.

Jason has watched me be hurt by her time and time again and his answer is to tell her to screw herself and cancel the trip all together, telling Summer that it is her mom's fault because she is so selfish. He does not live on this planet though sometimes. That sounds really good until you think about the damage to the family dynamics THAT would cause.

Sisters suck. I mean I love her because she is my sister, but she drives me nuts, she knows how to dig into me like no other. Man I miss Florida right now. We were isolated from the families of dsyfunction for four blissful years...and people wonder why we want to go back. I'll face a hurricane rather than my sister any day.

Don't even get me started on Thanksgiving. What about Thanksgiving you say? Well fine, here it is: we are vegetarians, and Thanksgiving is so centered around the carcass of a dead bird that it grosses us out. Again, after four blissful vegetarian Thanksgiving dinners in Florida, this is just POOPY to have to face this crap again. Jason is, of course working like 14 hours delivering babies that day so he is out of the picture. Connor and I have to go to my mom's and dad's house, the most child unfriendly place ever built! Imagine a place so filled with antique glass and expensive doo-dads that you have to breathe gently so as not to disturb anything, then add a wood-burning stove with no fence around it, and to top it off, there are my parents who only slightly tolerate children. Then again think about an animal rights vegetarian there to visit with her toddler on a day dedicated to football (don't even get me started on how much I hate football, that will be it's own rant close to my birthday) and the eating of a dead bird. Oh, then put my sister, her husband and the three kids on top of THAT.

It is 74 degrees in Ft. Lauderdale right now, partly cloudy with no chance of my relatives being there.


Ok I can find very few happy thoughts today, Bush won and the rain is cold and nasty. Therefore I will Create Some Joy! I will take Connor to the Disney store to entertain us. For you, enjoy a picture that will make you smile!



Smile dammit! Connor is still cute! Bush can't take that way from him!



Please God Tell Me This Is Just Some Cruel Joke!

I went to bed with Bush at 208 electoral votes and Kerry at 199, then this morning they were saying that 99% of the votes are in and Bush is the President. I am in shock. I am dumbfounded. If we were not in the military I'd say let's pack up and move to Europe. This is terrible, it is nauseating. I feel sick.

One of the worst presidents this country has ever had, a man who invents reasons to attack other countries at his whim...is reelected? Everyone worked so hard to get the vote out. Where was it? STUPID FREACKING YOUTH SLACKERS! I lay this at your feet. If you don't speak up for yourself to vote against the Ant-Christ, he stays in power.

Some people from other countries forgave us as individual citizens because WE didn't make the policies that Bush enforced, but now there is no excuse. The people have spoken, let the world hate us for the self-centered capitalist pigs we are. Just let it be known that at least 48% of us tried to stop this madness!