Odds and ends....

Sydney decided to join us girls and hack her hair off.  Now we all have bobs.  She loves it and mommy didn't cry.  She looks beautiful and can now brush her hair all by herself.... and no tangles!

 

And I actually got a good picture of BOTH of them. Shock!

 

Sydney told me (finally) that she loves living here.  Mainly because of all the baby lizards and bunnies that share our property.  I like the lizards but the bunnies, not so much.  GO away and stop killing our lawn.  I wonder  if they have sticky traps for rabbits as well as mice?  Sigh.  No, I wouldn't do that.  Not really.  Ok, maybe.  :-)  Although, after cleaning out the entire garage last week and finding all the mice droppings, I no longer cry when I find a mouse in the traps.  I actually do a dance and say "gotcha!".  Not very vegetarian of me, I know.  Now, when the cat gets stuck to one, that's a different word and a different dance.  Dumb cat.

  

  

My garden is starting to produce some (small) odds and ends.  We have cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, a few watermelons, the  most pathetic zucchini's I've ever seen, and some strange weed that we thought may have been a plant that we forgot about.  It's been pampered and fed until last weekend when I told Tim to yank it.  Sorry little guy.  You almost had me fooled.  :-)

  

  

  

Things that make me go hmmmm....

Link on article about Miss California:

http://www.popeater.com/2009/08/31/ex-miss-california-sues-for-slander-religious-discrimination/


I debate this one with myself quite often.  On the one hand, she was asked a question and gave her honest opinion.  That's how she feels.  And I'm all for freedom of religion, freedom of choice, freedom of speech, and all that jazz.  But if someone asked her if she agreed with mixed marriage and she said no, that would be an unacceptable answer and she would have been labeled a racist, right?  But because of her religious beliefs it's supposed to be ok.  Even I tried to justify her answer somehow.  It's how she feels, right?  Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer, right?  She started off good - she said "I think it's great that we live in a land where you can choose - same sex marriage or opposite marriage".  (which is not true - although it should be) And then she veered off and ended with "In my country, and in my family, I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman." 


Really, not that bad.  That's what she believes, right?  That's what her religion teaches her.  But those words - remember - those few words and beliefs are the seeds that are blossoming into people actually going out of their way to take away someone's rights.  Those words hurt us all.  Most likely someone you know is being discriminated against because of that one sentence.  It isn't even about tolerance - because you shouldn't have to tolerate someone's rights.  It's about acceptance.  We need to accept that regardless of your religious beliefs - there is still the issue of rights. We live in a country that prides itself on equal rights.  Freedom of choice.  And yes, freedom of speech.  You have every right to voice your opinion, to speak your mind.  But when you go into that voting booth and vote to take away your neighbor's rights - I believe that you are crossing a line.  You are taking a step backwards.  And you are hurting our children - our future. 


Ideally, she would have said - "it's not what I would choose for myself but I believe in equal rights". Instead, she "spoke her truth".  Sigh... No, really heavy sigh...  So how do we get back to moving forward?  How do we inspire equal rights to be priority again?  I'm still in shock over California.  We moved too soon.  :-(  Maybe my vote would have made a difference.  You never know.

2nd grade picture

This will be a quick post - but here is Sydney's 2nd grade picture. She wants to cut her hair off so it's good we got a good one! I have to keep checking myself as I write 2nd grade. It doesn't look right!! :sob: She's so grown up.

2 months and counting...

until I need to wear a swimsuit. Two months. T-W-O M-O-N-T-H-S!!! I've been hinting, begging, and bribing my husband - "if you want me to get into shape, take me to Hawaii!". Nope, can't afford it. Not this year. 2011 - we'll go for our 10 year anniversary. Sigh. So over the weekend, our friends were visiting, talking about another friend's wedding in Maui. And they oh-so-graciously offered for us to stay with them if we came!! Whoo hoo!! Don't have to ask me twice. I found tickets that night and bought them the next day. But now - only two months to undo 2 years of maybe 2 hours of yoga? Yikes. I had 8 months prep time last time. In two months though.... maybe I'll go buy one of those skirted swimsuits. :-) Aloha!!

Stressing over the heat...

102 temperatures are something new in this house. Sore throat, coughing, body aches, constant fever, headache - every symptom of the flu - she has it (I do NOT recommend googling "swine flu" in the middle of the night, by the way). I believe this is the first time Sydney has had the flu. And this is the first year we skipped the flu shot. I am definitely switching back to a pediatrician. I thought a family doctor would be easier and less "germie" in the waiting room - but our doctor doesn't keep vaccinations in her office. Which means we have to go to some clinic to get shots. Which means we didn't go. That and Sam is apparently behind on HER vaccinations that she should have had last year - but I wasn't informed of - I only found out in CA when I had to take her to the ER for an ear infection.. I've NEVER missed a vax on either of these girls. Bad mom. Bad. I especially thought about this as I comforted my feverish and miserable daughter in the middle of the night - contemplating whether or not she had the swine flu and fighting the urge to take her to the ER in the middle of the night. Every time I went in to check on her - which was every 30 minutes it seems - she was awake. Which is unheard of for Sydney. That girl falls asleep 5 minutes after her head hits the pillow and is unwakable until morning. She's like daddy. Sam on the other hand - wakes up if I sneak her door open - she's like mommy. Sigh.

Back to Sydney - she sounds better this morning and her fever is down for now. Let's hope this was the worst of it. There's nothing more humbling than watching your child suffer - with nothing to do but feel helpless. I'm definitely getting that flu shot this year. Definitely. And Sam's vax - next week. Fingers and toes are crossed that this passes her by. I need sleep.