Peanut and Gus have become good buddies. As Gus lays on his side, 'Nut will sit between the front and back legs and recline onto Gus' belly.
Meatball loves to play with Lizzy and throws her rope toy for her to chase. Of course, the six inch throwing distance does nothing to wear her out.
But, where they have all really bonded is over dinner and drinks. The boys are constantly throwing food onto the floor for the dogs to clean up, so we've had to ask the dogs to leave the kitchen during dinner time. That doesn't stop Meatball from hollering "LizzyGus" every three minutes.
Frequently during the day, Peanut can be found drinking (or preparing to drink) out of the dog's water dish - but only with Gus. Not to be out done, and because he is a healthy eater, Meatball can be found either grabbing handfuls of Lizzy's (and only Lizzy's) food from her bowl or just carrying it from room to room for future snacking purposes.
I wish I could have my best friends over for dinner and drinks as often!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
She's quite a piece of work
From a Yahoo news article:
"NEW YORK — Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin says she supports a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a break with John McCain, who has said he believes states should be left to define what marriage is.
In an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network, the Alaska governor said she had voted in 1998 for a state amendment banning same-sex marriage and hoped to see a federal ban on such unions. She said she believed traditional marriage is the foundation for strong families."
So, exactly what did she teach her daughter?
Before South Salt Lake (BN) blasts me, I understand that teenagers make mistakes. I've made my share as both a teen and an adult. But, really - what is she teaching her family? She doesn't believe in sex ed = pregnant teen daughter, and traditional marriage is the foundation for strong families = unwed pregnant teen daughter. I know, I know. They plan to get married. Well, that's good. But, the young man has QUIT high school to work full-time = Unwed pregnant teen daughter marrying a high-school drop out.
In the "real" world, these two kids wouldn't stand a chance. Even though Palin is somewhat of a celebrity now, they still may would struggle for years and years.
And, in the end, how is my union with Bub going to impact her marriage or her daughter's lack thereof? IT'S NOT. IT WON'T. How is her daughter's circumstance impacting me? Other than giving me something to write and talk about, it's not.
"NEW YORK — Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin says she supports a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a break with John McCain, who has said he believes states should be left to define what marriage is.
In an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network, the Alaska governor said she had voted in 1998 for a state amendment banning same-sex marriage and hoped to see a federal ban on such unions. She said she believed traditional marriage is the foundation for strong families."
So, exactly what did she teach her daughter?
Before South Salt Lake (BN) blasts me, I understand that teenagers make mistakes. I've made my share as both a teen and an adult. But, really - what is she teaching her family? She doesn't believe in sex ed = pregnant teen daughter, and traditional marriage is the foundation for strong families = unwed pregnant teen daughter. I know, I know. They plan to get married. Well, that's good. But, the young man has QUIT high school to work full-time = Unwed pregnant teen daughter marrying a high-school drop out.
In the "real" world, these two kids wouldn't stand a chance. Even though Palin is somewhat of a celebrity now, they still may would struggle for years and years.
And, in the end, how is my union with Bub going to impact her marriage or her daughter's lack thereof? IT'S NOT. IT WON'T. How is her daughter's circumstance impacting me? Other than giving me something to write and talk about, it's not.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Meet our new friend, Dylan.
Welcome to the world, cutie-pants little girl!
Congratulations to T & D on the addition to their family.
Monday, October 20, 2008
An Unexpected Turnout
Well, it looked unexpected to me as I stepped off the curb for my should-be-daily run!
In the 18 years that I've worked across the street from the Salt Lake County building, I've never seen a line of cars that stretch around two corners and down State Street to the 2100 South intersection - until today. No coincidence that today was the last day to register to vote....
So, what's the rush? What's the big deal? We live in Utah and know how the election is going to go, right? If you're an unregistered Republican, you can just count on your neighbor to vote for you. So, if you're anything other than a Republican, what's the point in registering? Right?!?!?
Unless...... UNLESS! UNLESS!!!!!
What if non-Republicans actually feel like they have a shot at being heard for a change (if not in the national election, but in the local races)? What if enough people really wanted to save the aviary and zoo, would it happen? What if more than enough people were sick-to-friggin-death of Buttars' hate mongering? What if fair-minded people were elected to city councils? What if even the staunchest of the Utah Republicans was just so sick of our current national fiascos that a ballot was cast for change? Wow.
Not totally unrelated: in my 4.5 mile run, I lost count of the number of Obama lawn signs/bumper stickers. I can clearly remember the number of McCain signs/bumper stickers that I saw: ZERO. Coincidence?
In the 18 years that I've worked across the street from the Salt Lake County building, I've never seen a line of cars that stretch around two corners and down State Street to the 2100 South intersection - until today. No coincidence that today was the last day to register to vote....
So, what's the rush? What's the big deal? We live in Utah and know how the election is going to go, right? If you're an unregistered Republican, you can just count on your neighbor to vote for you. So, if you're anything other than a Republican, what's the point in registering? Right?!?!?
Unless...... UNLESS! UNLESS!!!!!
What if non-Republicans actually feel like they have a shot at being heard for a change (if not in the national election, but in the local races)? What if enough people really wanted to save the aviary and zoo, would it happen? What if more than enough people were sick-to-friggin-death of Buttars' hate mongering? What if fair-minded people were elected to city councils? What if even the staunchest of the Utah Republicans was just so sick of our current national fiascos that a ballot was cast for change? Wow.
Not totally unrelated: in my 4.5 mile run, I lost count of the number of Obama lawn signs/bumper stickers. I can clearly remember the number of McCain signs/bumper stickers that I saw: ZERO. Coincidence?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Drink the punch.....
The following information is courtesy of the wonderful site, Pieces of Gray:
The Sacramento Bee has an article today about the “sacrifices” that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have made so that they can take away the right to marry from same-sex couples.
Rick and Pam Patterson gave $50,000. He drives a 10-year-old Honda Civic to his job at Intel. She is a stay-at home mom who makes most of the family meals and bakes her own bread. The couple, who have five sons between the ages of 3 and 12, live in a comfortable but modest three-bedroom home in Folsom.
David and Susan Nielson gave $35,000. The couple will forgo a vacation for the next two years and make other sacrifices to pay for their donation, he said.
Yes, they are faithful members of their church. And while the couples deny that they were pressured to contribute, both couples did so after the June 29 letter came out from the First Presidency and the church leadership requesting that Mormons “do what you can”.
However, this sacrifice seems not to have extended to the leaders actually contributing from their own personal funds. A search of the contribution database listing all contributors of $100 or more yields:
• President and Prophet Thomas Monson - $0.00
• 1st Counselor Henry Eyring - $0.00
• 2nd Counselor Dieter Uchtdorf - $0.00
• Apostle Boyd Packer - $0.00
• Apostle L. Tom Perry - $0.00
• Apostle Russell Nelson - $0.00
• Apostle Dallin Oaks - $0.00
• Apostle M. Russell Ballard - $0.00
• Apostle Joseph Wirthlin - $0.00
• Apostle Richard Scott - $0.00
• Apostle Robert D. Hales - $0.00
• Apostle Jeffery Holland - $0.00
• Apostle David Bednar - $0.00
• Apostle Quentin Cook - $0.00
• Apostle C. Todd Christofferson - $0.00
Perhaps “our best efforts” means something different to the leaders than it does to the followers. & perhaps you should ask your fellow “followers” if it matters to them that their “leaders” aren’t acting in the way they’re asking of there followers. Blech.
The Sacramento Bee has an article today about the “sacrifices” that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have made so that they can take away the right to marry from same-sex couples.
Rick and Pam Patterson gave $50,000. He drives a 10-year-old Honda Civic to his job at Intel. She is a stay-at home mom who makes most of the family meals and bakes her own bread. The couple, who have five sons between the ages of 3 and 12, live in a comfortable but modest three-bedroom home in Folsom.
David and Susan Nielson gave $35,000. The couple will forgo a vacation for the next two years and make other sacrifices to pay for their donation, he said.
Yes, they are faithful members of their church. And while the couples deny that they were pressured to contribute, both couples did so after the June 29 letter came out from the First Presidency and the church leadership requesting that Mormons “do what you can”.
However, this sacrifice seems not to have extended to the leaders actually contributing from their own personal funds. A search of the contribution database listing all contributors of $100 or more yields:
• President and Prophet Thomas Monson - $0.00
• 1st Counselor Henry Eyring - $0.00
• 2nd Counselor Dieter Uchtdorf - $0.00
• Apostle Boyd Packer - $0.00
• Apostle L. Tom Perry - $0.00
• Apostle Russell Nelson - $0.00
• Apostle Dallin Oaks - $0.00
• Apostle M. Russell Ballard - $0.00
• Apostle Joseph Wirthlin - $0.00
• Apostle Richard Scott - $0.00
• Apostle Robert D. Hales - $0.00
• Apostle Jeffery Holland - $0.00
• Apostle David Bednar - $0.00
• Apostle Quentin Cook - $0.00
• Apostle C. Todd Christofferson - $0.00
Perhaps “our best efforts” means something different to the leaders than it does to the followers. & perhaps you should ask your fellow “followers” if it matters to them that their “leaders” aren’t acting in the way they’re asking of there followers. Blech.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Play with me!!!!
Of course, the boys would NOT nap at the same time this weekend. So, today when Meatball was napping, the rest of us were hanging out in the TV room. The gate wasn't closed, so Peanut wandered out. Since I was sure that the bedroom doors were closed, I didn't rush. However, the doors were not closed. So, by the time I caught up with the little stinker, he had his hands on the slats of Meatball's crib and was rattling the entire thing back and forth and just laughing!!! Meatball, of course, woke up in a grumpy frame of mind.
First snow of the season
ON OCTOBER 11! Can you believe it? The boys and I watched it come down all day long while Bub was at work. I also managed to bottle some more applesauce, and I roasted a bunch of Anaheim peppers. Bub bottled a bunch of spaghetti sauce. Our pantry is looking pretty good. All of the tomatoes and peppers came from Malcolm, our next door neighbor.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Dinnertime Disasters
Oy vey! Dinnertime is so hard at our house.
The boys couldn't be more different. Meatball will eat just about anything placed in front of him. Peanut is practically force fed each night, and it seems like he consumes about as much as his nick-name sake - sans shell!
A few nights ago, I was puttering around the kitchen while Meatball was eating his corn and Peanut was trying to climb out of his chair. I walked past Meatball's chair, tapped on the tray and said "Eat your chicken" to which he replied with "Boc, boc, boc" (the chicken noise). Hysterical.
Last night, it a complete role reversal, Meatball pushed EVERY SINGLE BIT of lasagne off of his tray and onto the floor. I was not happy and said "Now everything is on the floor! What are we going to do about that?" He immediately shouted "GUUUUUSSSSSSSSS!!!!!" The dog came a-runnin' and cleaned it all up.
Peanut, on the other hand, does very few funny things at dinner. He doesn't have time because I'm usually right there shoving food into his mouth every time he opens it - which isn't often!
We do have some tricks that work for about three minutes each:
"Give mommy a bite" usually results in him opening his mouth at the same time mommy does and provides a great opportunity to input food
"Do you want some water" means that mommy gives him a trickle of water in a big boy cup and then shoves food in while he is lifting his glass - he swallows both at the same time
"Where is your mouth, teeth, bellybutton, etc." usually gets some laughs which - you got it - means that mommy gets food in somehow (AND, he knows a LOT of body parts)
Either way, it's a circus.
The boys couldn't be more different. Meatball will eat just about anything placed in front of him. Peanut is practically force fed each night, and it seems like he consumes about as much as his nick-name sake - sans shell!
A few nights ago, I was puttering around the kitchen while Meatball was eating his corn and Peanut was trying to climb out of his chair. I walked past Meatball's chair, tapped on the tray and said "Eat your chicken" to which he replied with "Boc, boc, boc" (the chicken noise). Hysterical.
Last night, it a complete role reversal, Meatball pushed EVERY SINGLE BIT of lasagne off of his tray and onto the floor. I was not happy and said "Now everything is on the floor! What are we going to do about that?" He immediately shouted "GUUUUUSSSSSSSSS!!!!!" The dog came a-runnin' and cleaned it all up.
Peanut, on the other hand, does very few funny things at dinner. He doesn't have time because I'm usually right there shoving food into his mouth every time he opens it - which isn't often!
We do have some tricks that work for about three minutes each:
"Give mommy a bite" usually results in him opening his mouth at the same time mommy does and provides a great opportunity to input food
"Do you want some water" means that mommy gives him a trickle of water in a big boy cup and then shoves food in while he is lifting his glass - he swallows both at the same time
"Where is your mouth, teeth, bellybutton, etc." usually gets some laughs which - you got it - means that mommy gets food in somehow (AND, he knows a LOT of body parts)
Either way, it's a circus.
Shi... Shi... Shi...
Well, it finally happened. Meatball has cursed.
It happened while Bub was driving with them and swearing at the other drivers on the road. Meatball (or more recently, we should call him the Parrot) repeated the word that she was saying a LOT: Shit! He said it over and over and over. And, yes - I realize that it could have been much worse. Anyone who has driven with Bub knows that this is the tamest word that she uses when speaking to other drivers!
She was mortified when she finally told me because I've been trying to get us both to stop cursing since the moment we found out we were pregnant.
He proceeded to use the word frequently for a couple of days. While horrified each time he said it, we often had to turn away to hide a smile or giggle because it's just a little bit funny, too.
So, to repair the damage before any of the grandparents noticed, we launched into a concerted campaign of similar words like Sit, Shut, Shoe, Sock and Shirt. This has been good because now both boys know the difference between Open and Shut and will shut a drawer/cupboard/door when asked. (This has come in handy since they open EVERY SINGLE DRAWER and CUPBOARD that doesn't have a safety lock and pull EVERY SINGLE THING out of it.) They will also retrieve their shoes and socks correctly.
This distraction technique worked for a while, and the offending word wasn't muttered for quite some time. However, this week, there was a resurgence AT GRANDMA's! [Gasp!] Now, mommies have been very careful NOT to repeat the original S-word, but apparently GRANDMA needs her mouth washed out with soap!
It happened while Bub was driving with them and swearing at the other drivers on the road. Meatball (or more recently, we should call him the Parrot) repeated the word that she was saying a LOT: Shit! He said it over and over and over. And, yes - I realize that it could have been much worse. Anyone who has driven with Bub knows that this is the tamest word that she uses when speaking to other drivers!
She was mortified when she finally told me because I've been trying to get us both to stop cursing since the moment we found out we were pregnant.
He proceeded to use the word frequently for a couple of days. While horrified each time he said it, we often had to turn away to hide a smile or giggle because it's just a little bit funny, too.
So, to repair the damage before any of the grandparents noticed, we launched into a concerted campaign of similar words like Sit, Shut, Shoe, Sock and Shirt. This has been good because now both boys know the difference between Open and Shut and will shut a drawer/cupboard/door when asked. (This has come in handy since they open EVERY SINGLE DRAWER and CUPBOARD that doesn't have a safety lock and pull EVERY SINGLE THING out of it.) They will also retrieve their shoes and socks correctly.
This distraction technique worked for a while, and the offending word wasn't muttered for quite some time. However, this week, there was a resurgence AT GRANDMA's! [Gasp!] Now, mommies have been very careful NOT to repeat the original S-word, but apparently GRANDMA needs her mouth washed out with soap!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Everyone's Favorite Farmer
Mama: Old MacDonald had a farm.
Peanut: E-I-E-I-E-I-E-I-E-I
Mama: And on that farm he had a..... (waiting for someone to insert something).. duck
Peanut: Duck! Duck! Duck! Duck!
Mama: With a quack, quack here
Peanut: Duck! Duck! Duck! Duck!
Mama: And a quack, quack there. Here a quack (and on it goes....)
Peanut: Duck! Duck!
Mama: Old MacDonald had a farm.
Meatball: Ih-yah-yo (say it fast and it really is E-I-E-I-O)
Mama: And on that farm he had a..... (waiting for someone to insert something).. cow
Meatball: boooooo, booooo, booooo, booooo
Mama: With a
Meatball: boooooo, booooo, ih-yah-yo, ih-yah-yo, (louder and louder) ih-yah-yo, ih-yah-yo! IH-YAH-YO! IH-YAH-YO!!!!!!!!!!!
Peanut: E-I-E-I-E-I-E-I-E-I
Mama: And on that farm he had a..... (waiting for someone to insert something).. duck
Peanut: Duck! Duck! Duck! Duck!
Mama: With a quack, quack here
Peanut: Duck! Duck! Duck! Duck!
Mama: And a quack, quack there. Here a quack (and on it goes....)
Peanut: Duck! Duck!
Mama: Old MacDonald had a farm.
Meatball: Ih-yah-yo (say it fast and it really is E-I-E-I-O)
Mama: And on that farm he had a..... (waiting for someone to insert something).. cow
Meatball: boooooo, booooo, booooo, booooo
Mama: With a
Meatball: boooooo, booooo, ih-yah-yo, ih-yah-yo, (louder and louder) ih-yah-yo, ih-yah-yo! IH-YAH-YO! IH-YAH-YO!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Humble Pie
As a kid and teenager, I watched my mom accept help from many sources on several occasions, and I never faulted her for it. After all, she had five kids, we lived in an area where jobs are hard to come by and the largest employer is seasonal, she was occasionally/often a single parent because sometimes my dad's job took him hundreds of miles away and because - sometimes - he just went away.
I always just KNEW, though, that I never wanted to be in that position. We never talked about it, but I believe that it was hard - and probably humiliating - for her to accept the help because she was a strong woman, a strong-willed woman, an independent woman, a smart woman, and she believed in a woman's ability to do ANYTHING (which, she did on a regular basis). And, I was positive that I would never find myself there; I was too proud to find myself there.
Until recently.
About a month ago, we did accept some help. And, I was right. It was hard. It was humiliating. It was humbling. Bub did all of the leg work, and it was probably harder for her than me, but it was humbling nonetheless.
At the end of the day, I thought a lot about what mom did to raise us. There were probably 10,000 things that she did to keep us fed, clothed, warm, and happy that none of us even knew about. As always happens when I think about her, my heart ached for the chance to just talk to her again - this time about the internal conflict that I experienced while accepting the help, how she managed to do such a good job with each of us, how she seemed able to get everything done and still have enough room in her heart and house to take in wayward kids, run a toy drive, be the PTA president, sew halloween costumes (sometimes for the wayward kids), be a host parent for transcontinental exchange students (3 times!), fix dinner, ride her horse, do the chores, read stories, help with homework, be an EMT, teach kids to ride/bake/draw/craft, etc. etc. etc.
At the end of the day, as I surveyed the results of the help (in tears, of course), I decided that Humble Pie is best served with a nice, tall, cool glass of Gratitude to those who helped, and she who came before me.
I think that if she were here and I actually had a chance to talk to her about it, she would just tell me to get over it and do something useful. I don't think that she ever actually drank from her tall, cool glass of Gratitude. I think that she just took more glasses out of the cupboard and divvied that Gratitude up between the glasses and gave it out to those around her.
Ahhhh..... I think I see the lesson that I'm supposed to learn.
I always just KNEW, though, that I never wanted to be in that position. We never talked about it, but I believe that it was hard - and probably humiliating - for her to accept the help because she was a strong woman, a strong-willed woman, an independent woman, a smart woman, and she believed in a woman's ability to do ANYTHING (which, she did on a regular basis). And, I was positive that I would never find myself there; I was too proud to find myself there.
Until recently.
About a month ago, we did accept some help. And, I was right. It was hard. It was humiliating. It was humbling. Bub did all of the leg work, and it was probably harder for her than me, but it was humbling nonetheless.
At the end of the day, I thought a lot about what mom did to raise us. There were probably 10,000 things that she did to keep us fed, clothed, warm, and happy that none of us even knew about. As always happens when I think about her, my heart ached for the chance to just talk to her again - this time about the internal conflict that I experienced while accepting the help, how she managed to do such a good job with each of us, how she seemed able to get everything done and still have enough room in her heart and house to take in wayward kids, run a toy drive, be the PTA president, sew halloween costumes (sometimes for the wayward kids), be a host parent for transcontinental exchange students (3 times!), fix dinner, ride her horse, do the chores, read stories, help with homework, be an EMT, teach kids to ride/bake/draw/craft, etc. etc. etc.
At the end of the day, as I surveyed the results of the help (in tears, of course), I decided that Humble Pie is best served with a nice, tall, cool glass of Gratitude to those who helped, and she who came before me.
I think that if she were here and I actually had a chance to talk to her about it, she would just tell me to get over it and do something useful. I don't think that she ever actually drank from her tall, cool glass of Gratitude. I think that she just took more glasses out of the cupboard and divvied that Gratitude up between the glasses and gave it out to those around her.
Ahhhh..... I think I see the lesson that I'm supposed to learn.
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