A Disclaimer

As you can see, I've been a busy little blogger this weekend, mostly political stuff. It's an understatement to say that I am quite vociferous in my opinion of who should be the next President of the United States.

I want to make one thing clear, though. I respect and value the right to vote as an individual sees fit. Americans are so fortunate to have this right and I don't want anyone to think I am telling them how to vote. Your vote is yours.

Voting comes with a responsibility and that responsibility is to educate oneself on the issues. Know your candidate and his stance on those issues. If someone has researched the issues and doesn't agree with me, I can respectfully agree to disagree. If one has not done that, well, I'm disappointed.

If you don't know your candidate's stance on the issues, please look it up. And I mean that for anyone, regardless of your choice in candidates.

(Obviously, if you're blindly voting for Obama, I'll be happy that you're voting for him. But once you know more about him, where he comes from and his vision for the future, you can't help but become passionate about your vote.)

And with that, I'm done with political blogging, for a few days anyway.

A Little Levity

In Other (Better) Words

McCain and Palin Are Playing With Fire
By Khaled Hosseini
Sunday, October 12, 2008

I prefer to discuss politics through my novels, but I am truly dismayed these days. Twice last week alone, speakers at McCain-Palin rallies have referred to Sen. Barack Obama, with unveiled scorn, as Barack Hussein Obama.

Never mind that this evokes -- and brazenly tries to resurrect -- the unsavory, cruel days of our past that we thought we had left behind. Never mind that such jeers are deeply offensive to millions of peaceful, law-abiding Muslim Americans who must bear the unveiled charge, made by some supporters of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, that Obama's middle name makes him someone to distrust -- and, judging by some of the crowd reactions at these rallies, someone to persecute or even kill. As a secular Muslim, I too was offended. Obama's middle name differs from my last name by only two vowels. Does the McCain-Palin campaign view me as a pariah too? Do McCain and Palin think there's something wrong with my name?

But never mind any of that.

The real affront is the lack of firm response from either McCain or Palin. Neither has had the moral courage, when taking the stage, to grasp the microphone, turn to the presenter and, right then and there, denounce the use of Obama's middle name as an insult. Instead, they have simply delivered their stump speeches, lacing into Obama as if nothing out-of-bounds had just happened. The McCain-Palin ticket has given toxic speeches accusing Obama of being a friend of terrorists, then released short, meek repudiations of some of the rough stuff, including McCain's call Friday to "be respectful." Back in February, the Arizona senator apologized for the "disparaging remarks" from a talk-radio host who sneered repeatedly about "Barack Hussein Obama" before a McCain rally. "We will have a respectful debate," McCain insisted afterward. But pretending to douse flames that you are busy fanning does not qualify as straight talk.

What I find most unconscionable is the refusal of the McCain-Palin tandem to publicly condemn the cries of "traitor," "liar," "terrorist" and (worst of all) "kill him!" that could be heard at recent rallies. McCain is perfectly capable of telling hecklers off. But not once did he or his running mate bother to admonish the people yelling these obscene -- and potentially dangerous -- words. They may not have been able to hear the slurs at the rallies, but surely they have had ample time since to get on camera and warn that this sort of ugliness has no place in an election season. But they have not. Simply calling Obama "a decent person" is not enough.

Is inaction tantamount to consent? The McCain campaign certainly thinks so when it comes to Obama and incendiary remarks from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. By their own inaction, then, are McCain and Palin condoning these slurs? Or worse, are they willfully inciting the angry and venomous response that we have been witnessing at their rallies? If not, then what reaction are they hoping to evoke by their relentless public suggestions that Obama is basically an anti-American liar who won't put "country first" and has an affection for terrorists? Do they not understand the kind of fire they are playing with?

I -- and, I suspect, millions of Americans like me, Republicans and Democrats alike -- couldn't care less about Obama's middle name or the ridiculous six-degrees-of-separation game that is the William Ayers non-issue. The Taliban are clawing their way back in Afghanistan, the country that I hope many of my fellow Americans have come to understand better through my novels. People are losing their homes and their jobs and are watching the future slip away from them. But instead of addressing these problems, the McCain-Palin ticket is doing its best to distract Americans by provoking fear, anxiety and hatred. Country first? Hardly.

And the link, of course: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002456.html

P.S. I apologize for the lack of click-able links in my recent posts. I'm having trouble getting the code to work. I am looking into it. In the mean time, should you want to follow a link, simply paste the address into your address bar.

Untitled

I started this post Friday morning with a sinking, sickening feeling in my stomach. I was coming here to lament the atrocious comments made about Barack Obama by some John McCain supporters in recent days; comments that are bigoted, racist and, simply put, untrue. Further, they were comments that have been largely ignored by the McCain camp. I was so disheartened that I couldn't gather my thoughts and I saved the post so I could come back and edit it later. I am continuing my post now with a better frame of mind.






For what it's worth, I don't believe for a minute that all of McCain's supporters espouse the beliefs of these few. I wouldn't even purport to believe that John McCain himself believes these things. But his refusal to address these comments is paramount to agreement with them. John McCain has now made a couple of statements to the effect that he does not condone this type of bashing. Whatever his motive, I am pleased that at least something has been said. I fear this is a case of 'too little, too late,' though.




I hope that more of the media pick up on the nastiness coming from people like those in the first two videos. Some have and they have reported on it. I hope they continue to do so. Refusal to condemn actions and words like these is reprehensible.

This country should be better than this. I hate that in the 21st century people can still let race, religion and something as insignificant as a middle name color their perceptions of another human being. It's sickening and I am so sad to be living in the middle of it.

Things like this make me feel more 'glass half-empty' than 'glass half-full'. I don't like feeling that way. My response to this negativity is to volunteer for the Barack Obama campaign. During the two weeks leading up to the presidential election I will be working the phone bank at a local campaign office when I get off work. To those bigoted, uneducated nasties -- congratulations! You've just campaigned for the man you hate.

Media Bias

The following article can be found at this address: http://mediamatters.org/items/200810100015?f=h_top"

I have pasted the article in its entirety for those that don't want to navigate away from my music play list. Ha ha! The article is quite lengthy, but also very enlightening. Please take a few minutes to skim it, at the very least.

Media Matters: The media's enduring pro-McCain double standard
by Jamison Foser

It isn't surprising that the conventional wisdom is that the news media have turned on Sen. John McCain. After all, decades of attacks from conservatives have conditioned reporters to believe that they are biased against Republicans -- even when there is scant evidence in the reporting to support such claims. And the McCain campaign has launched an all-out assault on the media, complaining relentlessly about the coverage its candidate has gotten.

On top of all that, McCain historically has been the recipient of the most favorable media coverage of any politician in modern American history. Reporters spent years all but offering to peel McCain a grape. So, just as the media judge a candidate to have "won" a debate if s/he "exceeds expectations," the fact that McCain's coverage hasn't been as hagiographic as expected has led many to conclude that it has actually been unfairly negative.

The truth is that when John McCain says "jump," the media still ask, "How high?" Think about this: When was the last time McCain or his campaign has wanted the news media to focus on something, and they have refused? From "lipstick on a pig" to Bill Ayers, the media have scampered after whatever mud McCain has flung, like a puppy dog chasing a stick thrown by its master. Sure, sometimes they have pointed out that McCain is lying -- and that's tremendous progress for a profession that has spent a decade flatly asserting McCain's honesty. But -- as I've explained in the past -- even as they've debunked McCain's claims, they've too often privileged the lie by allowing those claims to drive their coverage.

And, increasingly, they uncritically quote McCain campaign attacks on Sen. Barack Obama for things McCain himself has done. When a campaign does something like this, the media often point out the hypocrisy, and the attack backfires. But those rules don't apply to John McCain. So when John and Cindy McCain attack Barack Obama for what they describe as a vote to "cut off the funds for the troops," the news media dutifully repeat the charge -- without noting that, by the same logic, McCain also voted to cut off funds for the troops: Obama voted against a funding bill that did not include a timeline for withdrawal; McCain voted against a bill that did include a timeline for withdrawal.

The funding vote has been the subject of some of McCain's nastiest attacks recently. Cindy McCain, for example, claimed Obama's "vote to not fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body" and lectured: "I would suggest that Senator Obama change shoes with me for just one day. ... I suggest he take a day and go watch our fine young men and women deploy." You would think, then, that media reporting Cindy McCain's purported indignation would note that John McCain also voted against funding. They haven't. Indeed, some have falsely stated the opposite -- that McCain did not cast such a vote. You might even think reporters would ask the McCain campaign if Cindy McCain got a "cold chill" when her husband voted "to not fund [her] son." But there is no indication that any reporter has done so.

But the best indication that McCain has not yet truly "lost his 'base,' " as The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder put it this week, is the glaring media double standard in covering the two presidential candidates' controversial relationships.

Let's start with Bill Ayers, since the news media have spent much of the week obliging McCain's efforts to make him the focus of the campaign. As an activist in the 1960s -- when Barack Obama was a young child -- Bill Ayers was a member of the Weathermen, a group of radical activists who launched a series of violent demonstrations and bombings in protest of the Vietnam War. Ayers is now a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago and a school reform advocate. During Obama's first campaign, Ayers hosted a coffee for him, and the two men have served together on the board of a school reform effort funded by a foundation chaired by Leonore Annenberg, who has endorsed John McCain. The New York Times concluded that Obama and Ayers "do not appear to have been close," and Obama has denounced Ayers' actions as a member of the Weathermen.

A search* of the Nexis database found that more than 4,500 news reports so far this year have mentioned Obama and Ayers -- more than 1,800 this week alone.

Now: G. Gordon Liddy. Liddy served four and a half years in prison for his role in the break-ins at the Watergate and at Daniel Ellsberg's psychologist's office. He has acknowledged preparing to kill someone during the Ellsberg break-in "if necessary." He plotted to kill journalist Jack Anderson. He plotted with a "gangland figure" to murder Howard Hunt in order to thwart an investigation. He plotted to firebomb the Brookings Institution. He used Nazi terminology to outline a plan to kidnap "leftist guerillas" at the 1972 GOP convention. And Liddy's bad acts were not confined to the early 1970s. In the 1990s, he instructed his radio audience on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents ("Go for a head shot; they're going to be wearing bulletproof vests." In case anyone missed the subtlety of his point, Liddy also insisted: "Kill the sons of bitches.") During Bill Clinton's presidency, Liddy boasted that he named his shooting targets after the Clintons.

What does Liddy have to do with the presidential election? As Media Matters has noted:

Liddy has donated $5,000 to McCain's campaigns since 1998, including $1,000 in February 2008. In addition, McCain has appeared on Liddy's radio show during the presidential campaign, including as recently as May. An online video labeled, "John McCain On The G. Gordon Liddy Show 11/8/07," includes a discussion between Liddy and McCain, whom Liddy described as an "old friend." During the segment, McCain praised Liddy's "adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great," said he was "proud" of Liddy, and said that "it's always a pleasure for me to come on your program."

McCain even backed Liddy's son's congressional bid in 2000 -- a campaign that relied heavily on the elder Liddy's history.

To sum up: John McCain is "proud" of his "old friend" Gordon Liddy -- an old friend who plotted to kill one of the most respected journalists in American history, and who urged listeners to kill federal agents and advised them on how to do so. McCain campaigned for Liddy's son, and Liddy has even hosted a fundraiser for McCain at his home.

So McCain's relationship with Liddy is pretty much a direct parallel to Obama's relationship with Ayers. Except that McCain and Liddy have apparently spent time together more recently than Obama and Ayers. And Liddy's extremist activities continued well into the 1990s, at least. And Liddy says he and McCain are "old friends," while The New York Times says Obama and Ayers aren't close. And Obama has never said Ayers adheres to "the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great." Other than all that, it's a direct parallel.

Yet even as they obsess over Barack Obama and Bill Ayers -- just as the McCain campaign tells them to -- the news media have all but ignored John McCain's close ties to Gordon Liddy. A Nexis search** finds fewer than 100 news reports that have mentioned McCain and Liddy this year.

As Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman -- who has criticized Obama's relationship with Ayers -- has noted:

Liddy, now a conservative radio host, has never expressed regret for this attempt to subvert the Constitution. Nor has he developed any respect for the law. ... Yet none of this bothers McCain. Liddy has contributed thousands of dollars to his campaigns, held a fundraiser for McCain at his home and hosted the senator on his radio show, where McCain said, "I'm proud of you." Exactly which part of Liddy's record is McCain proud of?

While Obama has gotten lots of scrutiny for his connection to Ayers, McCain has never had to explain his association with Liddy. If he can't defend it, he should admit as much. And if he thinks he can defend it, let him.

To repeat:

* 2008 news reports that mention Obama and Ayers: more than 4,500.

* 2008 news reports that mention McCain and Liddy: fewer than 100.

Incredibly, The Atlantic's Ambinder today suggests that the media have not covered Ayers: "To truly drive Ayers into the public conversation, to trick what they consider an irredeemably biased press corps into biting, McCain has three vehicles gassed up and ready to go. ... So far, McCain has done none of those things." There are 1,800 Nexis hits for Barack Obama and Bill Ayers in the past week, and yet Marc Ambinder thinks the media have not bitten on the Ayers "story" -- and that McCain, who is running ads about Ayers, isn't "really serious" about pushing it, anyway. Even Steve Schmidt would likely be too embarrassed to try to claim that the media have not covered Bill Ayers.

Incidentally, Ambinder doesn't seem to have ever mentioned McCain's relationship to Liddy.

Not only have the media avoided stand-alone reports on McCain and Liddy, they consistently fail to bring up the connection when reporting on McCain's attacks on Obama's ties to Ayers, or in interviews with McCain staff who bring up Ayers. The McCain/Liddy relationship is such an obvious parallel -- except arguably much worse -- that it's hard to imagine how any evenhanded journalist could possibly justify ignoring it. Yet it happens again and again. And, needless to say, McCain aides do not get badgered about Liddy the way Time's Mark Halperin badgered Obama aide Robert Gibbs about Ayers.

Just this morning, NBC's Chuck Todd said he is "sure" Ayers will come up during the final presidential debate next week, adding that moderator Bob Schieffer "may feel no choice but to bring it up" in light of the "TV ads" the McCain campaign and Republican National Committee are running. Setting aside the absurdity of the suggestion that a debate moderator is compelled to bring up a topic simply because John McCain is running ads about it, if Schieffer does ask about Ayers, basic fairness demands that he ask McCain about Liddy as well.

OK ... moving on. How about controversial religious figures? Earlier this year, Media Matters showed that The New York Times and The Washington Post had published a total of 161 articles, editorials, and opinion pieces that mentioned Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright -- and only 12 that mentioned John McCain and John Hagee. That disparity wasn't unique to the Times and the Post -- and it hasn't evened out over time.

161 to 12.

Land deals? Barack Obama once bought a parcel of land from a controversial donor named Tony Rezko. Obama paid more than the land's assessed value -- but that hasn't stopped the news media from suggesting Obama had an improper relationship with Rezko.

Comparatively little attention has been paid to John McCain's relationship with real estate developer Donald Diamond. Diamond, a co-chair of McCain's campaign finance committee, has raised more than $250,000 for McCain's presidential bid and is a "close personal friend" and longtime political patron. For his part, McCain has sponsored two bills sought by Diamond that helped the developer gain what The New York Times described as "millions of dollars and thousands of acres" of land. And McCain helped Diamond buy another parcel of land from the U.S. Army -- a deal that helped Diamond turn a $20 million profit. The Washington Post and USA Today have identified other land deals McCain has facilitated as senator that have benefited some of his biggest donors and fundraisers.

Yet a Media Matters review last month found that five national newspapers had run a total of 39 articles, editorials, and opinion pieces that mentioned Obama and Rezko -- but only seven that mentioned McCain and his donors' land deals:

[S]ince The New York Times' initial April 22 article [about McCain and Diamond], the land deals have been mentioned in only six additional news articles, editorials, or opinion pieces in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, or The Washington Post, and have yet to be mentioned on any evening network news program. By contrast, during the same time period, 39 news articles, editorials, or opinion pieces in those papers have collectively mentioned Obama and Rezko; and the evening news broadcasts have collectively mentioned Obama and Rezko in five reports.

39 to 7.

And, of course, there's always Charles Keating. The news media have done their best to ignore McCain's involvement in the Keating Five -- and, when they have mentioned it, they've done so by parroting the McCain-friendly storyline that the scandal turned the Arizona senator into the World's Greatest Reformer. Even this week, after the Obama campaign drew attention to McCain's involvement in the Keating Five with a Web page and a 13-minute documentary featuring one of the regulators McCain pressured on behalf of his political benefactor, the media have paid far more attention to Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers than to McCain's relationship with Keating. And when they have mentioned Keating, they have often questioned the propriety of the Obama campaign's decision to bring up the subject.

Remember: Barack Obama didn't have anything to do with Bill Ayers' wrongdoing. He was a young child at the time. McCain did have something to do with Keating's wrongdoing -- without McCain, the scandal would have been called the Keating Four, not the Keating Five.

And yet the media are quick to dismiss the Keating matter. When the topic came up on MSNBC earlier this week, Andrea Mitchell dismissed it as having occurred 20 years ago. Well, sure. But McCain was involved in it 20 years ago, unlike Bill Ayers' controversial activities, which occurred closer to 40 years ago, and which Barack Obama didn't have anything to do with.

The American people have made clear that they think the most important consideration in deciding who to vote for is the economy. An astounding 52 percent of Americans call "the economy and jobs" the "most important" issue to them in this election, according to the latest CBS/New York Times poll. Terrorism and national security came in a distant second, with only 11 percent.

John McCain and his campaign have made clear that they do not want the last few weeks of this campaign to be about the economy, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, health care, the housing crisis, or the Constitution. They want it to be about personal associations.

Incredibly, much of the news media have sided with John McCain in treating Bill Ayers and ACORN as the most important topic facing the nation. Even worse, they are scrutinizing only Obama's relationships, not McCain's. It's bad enough that they're letting McCain, rather than the American people, set the parameters of the debate. The fact that they aren't applying those parameters to both candidates equally is an inexcusable double-standard.

And it's evidence that John McCain retains the support of his "base" -- the media.

* Conducted 10/9/08 using the search terms Barack Obama and ((Bill or William) w/2 Ayers

** Conducted 10/9/08 using the search terms John McCain and Gordon Liddy

Samuel, Vol. 2

So I met with Samuel's teacher on Friday morning. She showed me samples of his work. When he focuses, he does great work and gets it done in a timely manner. This doesn't happen often, though. She said he focuses more on peeling crayons or staring out the window or picking at the carpet or chewing on pencils or blowing in the ear of the kid next to him. She stopped just short of saying she thinks he has ADD. I actually think the law might forbid that.

The teacher talked about several ideas she has to help him focus. During Job Time, she has him sit at a desk very near her so she can remind him to keep working. She has an incentive chart and reward system going. She tried a timer for him and that worked -- for a day. She is working with the occupational therapist to develop more ideas that might help in the classroom.

She said lots of positive things about Samuel. He is cheerful and friendly. He doesn't disrupt class (other than blowing in the occasional ear). He is polite and follows the rules. He stays in his assigned place, whether it's a chair or the floor during circle time. He's very bright; that's obvious in the work that he does complete.

We talked about sensory issues, since he fixates on touching things or staring at things. I'm beginning to think Samuel might have the opposite of sensory integration disorder.* He is constantly touching things. A car in the parking lot. A brick on the house. He finds things that are special to him -- rocks, bottle caps, beads, paper clips, can tabs -- and he saves them in his pockets. Occasionally, these things find their way into his mouth. No amount of time outs or threats or scare tactics work to discourage this behavior. (Putting things in his mouth, that is. Collecting things doesn't bother me; putting them in his mouth is just plain dangerous and gross.) The occupational therapist noted this in her assessment. I don't know what the plan is for that, yet.

Samuel is so creative and imaginative. He comes up with great stories, tells me about his dreams in elaborate detail, invents his own games. He is determined. He recently spent 45 minutes tracing all the letters of the alphabet nearly perfectly because "I want to learn how, Mom!" I could tell he was tired, but he kept going. He observes things that I don't think I noticed until I was older than he is now. He's a wonderful kid.

I just don't know what to think. I understand the teacher's need to have him focus on work and get things completed. But I hate the push to complete so much Stuff in kindergarten. He's obviously a smart kid and he's learning more all the time. I know this because I do his homework with him and I can see how much he has absorbed in these first 6 weeks of school. I understand that he might have some greater problem that needs addressing and I'm all for that. I just hope we're not putting unnecessary pressure on him.

*SID is a condition in which one can't tolerate the feel of certain things, whether it's soft food or crunchy food or scratchy tags in clothes or clothes that are too tight or too loose. Absolutely cannot tolerate it.

Seen on a Bumper Sticker

Unless You're a Hemorrhoid,
Stay off My ASS!

Let's ignore, for a moment, the disgusting image this phrase brings to mind and focus on its message. Obviously, the point is that the guy doesn't want someone riding his bumper on the freeway. But does he really want hemorrhoids? Yuck.

As far as the mental image goes, it should go without saying that no one wants to think about a fellow driver's southern end and its status regarding that unfortunate condition. This bumper sticker never should have been printed, much less purchased and placed on a vehicle.

Thursday Thirteen: Movies I Want to See

1. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

2. The Dark Knight

3. Burn After Reading

4. Righteous Kill

5. Ghost Town

6. The Women

7. Sex and the City

8. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

9. The Duchess

10. La Misma Luna

11. Into the Wild

12. No Country for Old Men

13. There Will be Blood

Fun With Dry Ice

We got a shipment of varicella vaccine at work today. It has to remain frozen until used so it is shipped in dry ice. I love varicella days at work. I pour water over it at different times during the day to watch it vaporize. I am always a little sad that I can't do more with it, what with charting and making phone calls and taking patient histories and all.

Anyway, I decided that today was the day to introduce my children to the wonders of dry ice so I brought the styrofoam container home. We started by pouring water on it. The kids were appropriately impressed. Then we poured hot water on it and listened to it crack up in the container. We finally poured in so much water that it froze into a solid mass with a layer of bubbling water on the top.

We tipped the container so the vapor flowed over the side like water. I showed the kids how to wave a hand gently over the top of the container to form waves in the vapor. Finally, we dripped some food coloring in the container and poured water over that. Very, very cool.

Sometimes You Just Can't Win

Most of the patients I meet during the course of my day are courteous and appreciative. Sometimes though, I come across someone rude or inconsiderate. Some of them are just having a bad day and they take it out on me. I can handle it. The people I can't handle are the ones that aren't having a bad day; they're the ones that are jerks, pure and simple.

I met a jerk today. It started when he and his son arrived 10 minutes late for the child's physical. He signed in at the front desk and said to his son, "Come on. We'll have to wait 2 hours, even though they make us get here right on time." For the record, they sat in the waiting room for 10 minutes while I set up a breathing treatment for a wheezing baby.

When the exam ended I went into the room to give the father various paperwork and to administer the child's vaccinations. There is a questionnaire for parents to fill out regarding developmental mile stones. His appeared to be completed but not scored so I asked the father if the provider had looked over it with him. He replied, "No, it was pretty clear that she was in a big hurry to get out of here."

So which is it? Your appointment takes too long or it's too short? What do you want?! And you know what? If she rushed out of your exam room, it was probably because you are one of the most disagreeable creatures on the planet.

Between those two lovely little exchanges, came a variety of comments. Taken singly, they might be interpreted as bad jokes from someone with even worse taste. Collectively, they represent a jerk. A sampling of those comments:

Son, this is why you need to go into the medical field; so you can tell everyone what to do and charge them for all of it.

Scream really loud and we can call our lawyer, okay?

Of course you charge for extra shot records. You charge for everything.

Aren't you going to call in that prescription? I just don't have time to drop it off.

I feel sorry for anyone who has to spend time with him on a daily basis.

Celebrating October

I love the fall. I like those days that aren't exactly cold and definitely not hot. It's sunny and overcast by turns. There's some rain with the hope that it might turn to snow over night.

And the fall colors! Colorado is the perfect place to take advantage of changing leaves. The reflection of sunlight on all those beautiful trees changes the look of everything. The scent of the air changes. It makes me want to take deep breaths to the point of hyperventilation.

Fall food is the best. I like sipping hot chocolate, simmering chili and baking corn bread, making potato soup. And of course, all the best holidays are coming. Nothing beats the Thanksgiving menu.

I love long-sleeved t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts with jeans. I'm a comfort person; forget high fashion. Fall is the perfect excuse to bundle up in comfortable clothes and sneakers.

Can you tell that I'm happy about October?

I'm Just Sayin'

Samuel, Vol. 1

Samuel was evaluated a year ago for speech and other developmental delays. He definitely needed speech therapy, specifically articulation. The therapist made a few other observations: he hadn't decided on being left- or right-handed yet, was easily distracted and unusually fidgety. Since he was only 4 years old, we decided to focus on speech and let the other things work themselves out. He made huge progress in articulation and I was immensely relieved. You know it's bad when a child's mother cannot understand 75% of what he says.

Here we are a year later and it appears that Samuel still hasn't determined his handedness and is still very easily distracted. (The fidgeting has improved some, probably because he's matured a bit.) His teacher and I have talked about this to some degree on several occasions. I agreed to have an occupational therapy evaluation done. He can't hold a pencil firmly enough to write letters on a page. The teacher has also mentioned that he cannot stay focused on one task to finish it.

I'm fully on board with the OT evaluation; I really think Samuel could benefit from some exercises in that area. What rubs me the wrong way is the push to get 5-year-olds to Focus. I think school has become so competitive that kids aren't getting to be kids any more. (For example, I referenced parts of speech in Samuel's homework in a recent post here and I wasn't kidding. More about that in a minute.)

I was scheduled to have a conference with Samuel's teacher this morning but we had to postpone it because her child is sick today. I hope I'm wrong about how the classroom is set up and how much work the students are expected to complete independently. I guess I will find out when we do get to meet.

Now, about the parts of speech. Samuel brought home a sentence diagram a few weeks ago. It consisted of a piece of paper with words glued onto it. The sentence read "The baby eats yogurt." Each word was cut in a different shape: circle, square, moon and triangle. The instructions were to review article, subject, verb and object. I asked Samuel about it and he correctly explained it all to me. I was very impressed and so proud but thought to myself that he wouldn't retain the information.

Two weeks later, Miriam's homework assignment was to change verbs from present tense to past tense. I was working on it with her and asked her what a verb was. She stared blankly at me for a few seconds and then Samuel piped up, "A verb is what the subject does!" I almost fell on the floor. (For the record, Miriam caught on very quickly once she remembered what a verb is.)

Since then, Samuel has demonstrated that he really does know his grammar. Obviously, he can retain information that he hears at school. I'm not concerned about that. What concerns me is that if this kind of thing is being taught in kindergarten, what will next year be? Will he be able to keep up then? What other subjects are advanced past a kindergarten level? I know I'm probably borrowing trouble from the future and I know I have to chill out on that. But he's already showing problems in the aforementioned areas so I can't help but be a bit worried.

Bleh. If you made it through that, bless you. I know I'm a tad paranoid. I'm also making what may be unfair assumptions about what is expected of my kindergartner. If I'm wrong -- and I so hope I am! -- I'll be happy to admit it.

Mocklate vs. Choxie

I like chocolate. I enjoy chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I do love fudge and hot fudge sundaes. But just a chocolate bar? Not so much. However, for a couple of years I've seen this stuff at Target called Choxie. The pictures on the box look really good and I've wanted to buy a box to try it. You want to know why I haven't? Well, I'll tell you.

Big dorks like myself, that know practically every Friends episode by heart, will remember an episode when Monica attempted to cook with some stuff called Mocklate. It was an artificial version of chocolate that was supposed to be healthier or something. All of Monica's Mocklate recipes were miserable failures. It was utter garbage. That's why I haven't tried Choxie -- I imagine it to be akin to Mocklate.

At least, I did. I finally broke down and bought a box of Choxie Truffles last week. Sweet mother of Buddha, they are awesome. They consist of a heavenly, light chocolate-ey, mousse-type filling surrounded by a layer of dark chocolate and sprinkled with shaved bits of white chocolate. The entire box is gone now and my mouth is still watering.

Moral of this story: don't let your favorite television shows -- entertaining as they may be -- color your perception of yummy confections. Or something like that. I don't really care, as I'm off to Target for more Choxie Truffles.

Thursday Thirteen: Memories from Early Childhood

1. Mom making my Cinderella birthday cake. age 2

2. Someone scrubbing my hands with stinky soap and putting a gown on me so I could see newborn Jennifer in the hospital. age 2

3. Dad singing me to sleep in the rocking chair. age 2

4. Tossing a balloon to my aunt over the shower curtain while I took a bath and she was babysitting. age 3

5. Making mud pies in the back yard with the kid that Mom babysat. He was so old, at least 5. age 3

6. Going on vacation with Grandma and Grandpa and being eaten up by mosquitoes. age 4

7. Wearing my favorite dress at least part of every day at Dover. It was red and covered with flowers. age 4

8. Watching Dad milk cows on the dairy and getting to feed bottles to the calves . age 5

9. Waiting for the kindergarten school bus by Granny and Paw Paw's honey suckle bush. age 5

10. Thinking that an 'E' should look like this: age 5

11. Lance being born and Dad telling Jennifer and me that he was a big baby; me thinking that meant he was already bigger than me. age 5

12. Playing dentist and pretending I had a loose tooth, only to realize I really did have my very first loose tooth. age 6

13. Trying to take my cat into the wading pool and getting the full benefit of his claws on my back as he scrambled away. age 6

And a bonus story because I can't leave it out --

A skunk spraying our front porch. While we were outside. With all the windows open. And box fans sitting on the window sills blowing into the house. age 6

Why I Cannot Wait for Thursday

And, the icing on the cake:

Selfishness

I feel bad for my boss. She fell while hiking last week and cracked her patella. Her left leg is in a brace and she can't flex her knee joint for the next 3 to 6 weeks. After that she will need several weeks of physical therapy. This is a very bad situation for anyone, but especially so for a nurse. One cannot effectively care for patients with in immobilized knee.

As bad as her injury is, I can't help feeling sorry for myself, too. I'm the only other full-time nurse in the office so I am picking up the slack. The old timer is lazy. Another sort-of old timer is slow. The fill-in nurses are good but they're fill-ins and they don't do the extra stuff like track down lab results and x-rays. They don't remember which nebulizers are accepted by which insurance companies or where the face masks are. They don't enter vaccine lot numbers or even know which vendor delivers insurance doses and which delivers VFC doses.

So, I'll be happy for my boss when her leg heals. I'll be really happy because she can go back to doing her job and I can pitch in when I have a chance. That might make me sound selfish but I can't help that.

Thursday Thirteen: To Do List

1. Cut the kids' hair. Both the boys need to be buzzed and Miriam's hair desperately needs a trim.

2. Take Solomon to the doctor. He swears that there is something "stuck to the thing that makes me be able to hear."

3. Wash the car. And vacuum it. And throw out the accumulated junk in it. And clean the fingerprints off the inside of the windows.

4. Stay on top of the laundry. I'm caught up and I want it to last as long as possible.

5. Call the apartment manager about the lights being out in the breezeway. Remember to tell them the kids' bathroom doorknob is jamming up.

6. Take the kids out for ice cream. They've worked hard this week and they deserve it.

7. Sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

8. Make lasagna to use up all the extra marinara I made this week.

9. Watch the season finale of 'Swingtown.' And hope that it comes back to CBS instead of going to HBO.

10. Plan an outdoor activity for this weekend. Biking? Kites? Hiking?

11. Play trains with Samuel. He asked me tonight while I was busy with something and then we both forgot about it later.

12. Catch up on my Sim families. I haven't played in almost 3 weeks. I'm a little ashamed to say this, but I miss playing dolls.

13. Unwind. The last two work weeks have knocked the wind out of me.

Someone Should Call CPS

I am starving my child. He won't have energy to eat the food on his plate at dinner if I don't give him a snack at 6:15. He's going to keel over and die rightthisminute. He needs food, and he needs it now, darn it! The two peanut butter and cracker sandwiches weren't enough and he needs cheese -- lots of cheese. I don't care about him at all.

/facetious

What I Did Last Night

I work with someone who always asks me what I did 'last night.' She asks this in the same leisurely, half-interested way that people with no responsibilities ask each other what they Did Over the Weekend. If it were anyone else, it probably wouldn't bother me but she annoys me in lots of other ways so this is just one more straw.

(This same woman commented on my children being with their father for a month this summer and said, "Man, I wish I had had a set up like that when my kids were little." Really? You wish you didn't see your kids for a month and that during the school year, they missed their dad constantly? Really? You wish you had had that? She's also the same one that thinks everyone with state-funded insurance is lazy. She's a real gem.)

Plus, she's really out of touch with what it's actually like to have young children. She has 2 grown children and she seems to have forgotten what it's like to have them constantly needing something. For example, last week I walked into the office at 8:28, gulping down the rest of my lukewarm coffee from a travel mug with my first patient already in the waiting room. She breezed past me and said, "You have more time than I do in the mornings if you've already had your coffee." My jaw dropped. She had no clue that my morning started at 5:30 with a child's wet bed, a 5-minute shower and make up put on at red lights. I kind of wanted to kick her in the shin, just a little bit.

Later that day she stretched lazily and asked me, "So what did you do last night, besides go home and crash?" I was already ticked at her for the earlier comment about my morning and I didn't trust myself to answer nicely. So I didn't answer her. But if I had, I might have said something like this:

Well, I left here at 5:25 at a dead run to avoid paying $5 per minute per child for missing the 6:00 pm pick up deadline for the after care program. I barely made it there in time due to the horrendous traffic.

By the time we got home it was after 6 and all the kids had homework so I simultaneously signed homework folders, read homework instructions, cooked dinner, unloaded the dishwasher and moved more clean laundry to the ever-growing pile of clean laundry. We had dinner and finished most of the kids' homework.

Then I sent the eldest to the shower, bathed the middle child and put off the youngest's bath until this morning. I supervised the kids' teeth brushing, called their father so they could tell him about their day, picked up some toys, straightened beds, turned on night lights and music and finally turned out the light. I tucked in all 3 children and barely resisted the urge to pass out in their beds with them.

After that I cleaned up the dinner dishes, put away leftovers, swept the floor, reminded myself to take out the trash this morning, started another load of laundry and wiped up pee splatters around the toilets. I debated whether or not to watch television and decided to go to bed instead. And I forgot to brush my teeth.

Thursday Thirteen: Pet Peeves

I've been testy lately. I attribute that to a hormone surge and the fact that we aren't adjusted to the routine of the school year yet. In an effort to get it all out of my system, I'm posting a list of thirteen pet peeves.

1. Mouth noises: breathing, chewing, smacking, even certain sneezes.

2. Talking with one's mouth full: this is technically a mouth noise but it's so entirely gross that I have to list it separately (plus, I work with a bunch of people who do this all. the. time.).

3. Parents that smile dumbly at me instead of helping me wrangle their child onto the exam table.

4. People that invade my personal space; seriously, the 18 inches surrounding me in all directions should not be entered unless we share DNA or you have been expressly invited.

5. DJs talking over each other or music. Yes, I know you get paid to talk, but you don't get paid by the word, so chill.

6. Laziness. Pure and simple. I hate it.

7. Waste. Another simple one.

8. Parents who get more worked up about their kid's shots than the kid does.

9. After care program workers who can't explain to me the payment rate for my children and why my statement reads that I have a $60 credit but insist that I have to fork over another check for $112 for next week.

10. Kindergarten homework instructions that take too long to decipher so I end up doing whatever I think the kindergartner needs to do for homework. Come on, it's kindergarten. Does he really need to know the subject, verb and object parts of a sentence yet?

11. Cashiers who act like it's a huge chore to load up my reusable shopping bags as opposed to their cheap, wasteful plastic bags.

12. Parents who think that everything their kid does is cute, including grabbing at expensive medical equipment, slamming drawers and ripping table paper to shreds.

13. Whining. Oh, how I hate whining.

Well now, that's that. I'll take a deep breath and sleep better now. I hope.

Well Now She's Just Bragging

My daughter is a wonderful student. She works hard, listens well and is eager to please her teachers. She's too afraid to call attention to herself so she doesn't speak out of turn in class. She's usually at the top of the behavior mountain peak.

I suspected this would be the case before she even started school and the last 3 years have confirmed those suspicions. But tonight took the cake. We were talking about our favorite and least favorite parts of the day. Her least favorite part of today -- I only got one Scholar Dollar today.

As it turns out, Scholar Dollars are play money that the teacher hands out to students who make good choices. When a student accumulates a certain number of Scholar Dollars they can choose a prize from the treasure box and buy it with their well-earned monies.

So Miriam's bummer is when she fails to garner multiple Scholar Dollars in a single school day. I asked her how many she got yesterday and she wasn't sure. I asked how many she has total and she shrugged and said, "I don't know. A lot."

Now, my sons are very different stories. More about them in future posts. And, lest you think I play favorites, it's not bad stuff. They are all different kids, therefore they present me with different challenges.

A New Favorite Book

Girl With A Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier, is the story of young Griet who is hired as a maid in the home of Johannes Vermeer. Forced away from her loving family after tragedy has struck, Griet attempts to adjust to a new lifestyle of unending labor and servitude. She is overwhelmed by the changes but manages to work diligently for her employer. The one benefit to her position is the opportunity to work with Vermeer and, in her own way, influence his works. Faced with an impossible choice, Griet sacrifices her own pride and a work of art is born.

The inner turmoil Griet experiences is palpable. She comes from a society in which class lines are distinct and never crossed. Yet when the time comes for her to cross a line, she feels as if she has no choice. Ironically, her choice is forced by the fact that she is from the lower class. This choice ultimately leads her into a better life, but at what cost?

This was an enjoyable, quick read; almost too quick, as I'm still digesting the story and the slighter nuances involved. The writer's descriptions of every day life, scenes to be painted, paint colors and light are breath-taking. Often during my reading, I felt like I hadn't done the words justice and I went back to read passages again and absorb them. Chevalier is a gifted writer.

I enjoy historical fiction immensely and I especially enjoy stories that are actually plausible. This is one of those stories. It may sound strange, but I feel as if I know the girl in the painting now.

On My Window

This morning I was getting ready for church and saw the unmistakable silhouette of a praying mantis through the curtain on my bedroom window. The insect was on the outside of the screen and the kids and I watched it for several minutes. We were actually late for church because of it.



Funny story, I actually looked up 'praying mantis' at Merriam-Webster.com because I couldn't decide if I should spell it 'preying' or 'praying'. The former makes more sense to me because it's a carnivorous insect and preys on other insects. But I could see it being the latter also since it sits in the traditional position for prayer. Anyway, it's definitely 'praying mantis.'

I find it a tad ironic that I saw a praying mantis on Sunday morning while getting ready for church. It's even more so, since my church is not known for prayer in the traditional sense. Ha!

The Past Three Days

Friday afternoon, the kids and I witnessed a car accident. A head-on collision right in front of us. Both drivers were alone and were up and walking around afterward but they went to the hospital as a precaution. It was pretty scary.

I babysat Noah and Adam last night while Jennifer and Caleb went out. The kids and I had a lot of fun. I will never understand how kids can play so hard and stay up so late but still get up so early, though.

We went swimming this afternoon for what is probably the last time until next summer. The weather is consistently cooling off and we are so busy with school and work that I doubt we'll fit it in again.

Samuel stepped on a bee at the pool. He is such a tough kid and there is not much that phases him, but he cried solidly for 20 minutes. Hard. My poor baby. We came home immediately and put baking soda on it. He's had two doses of Benadryl and he let me put an ice pack on it. He is sleeping now. I hope it doesn't wake him up tonight and that he feels alright tomorrow.

Two tornadoes touched down 10 minutes south of here this evening. It doesn't seem like there was much damage so far. Several co-workers live in that area and I'm hoping everyone is okay. The storm blew past us pretty quickly. We had a bit of thunder and a lot of wind but no rain or hail. Now we are covered by some pretty awesome looking clouds.

I am tired.

Thursday Thirteen: Stuff in My Shower

I was going to post this last night, but my internet connection was down. Poo. It's not much but here it is anyway.

1. Burt's Bees Rosemary shampoo

2. Burt's Bees Rosemary conditioner

3. Tub of baking soda for exfoliating and occasional hair washes

4. Pumice stone for serious exfoliating

5. Bottle of apple cider vinegar, water and lavender oil for occasional hair rinses

6. Razor

7. Bar of Ivory soap

8. Tube of oatmeal and avocado mask, rarely used

9. Kids' strawberry shampoo -- for when they bathe there and don't like the other options

10. Bottle of baby shampoo for face washing

11. Washcloth drying from last night's shower

12. Wall hanging rack to hold it all -- only it holds about half of everything

13. 32-ounce cup for rinsing children's heads

I Was on the Radio Today

I don't know what got into me; I never do stuff like this. I called a morning talk show during my commute to work and they actually put me on the air. It was cool.

The discussion was about high school students using the internet for research papers. One of the hosts heard about a teacher who has banned the internet as a source for all papers in a class for a semester. She thought it was absurd and unreasonable that a teacher would do this "in this day and age." Her co-host thought it was perfectly acceptable because students should know how to use other research methods, too.

Anyone who knows me can probably guess which stance I took. I am firmly in the 'perfectly acceptable to ban internet use for a time' camp. I am of the opinion that knowing how to get around a library and use the card catalog (which is online itself) are valuable skills that everyone should have. The internet is a wonderful tool but it's not the only one available, therefore shouldn't be the only one relied upon.

There were a lot of reasons tossed around in support of both points of view. Someone mentioned the widespread plagiarism since the advent of the internet. Someone else brought up software that searches out pieces of papers and alerts teachers to possible plagiarism. Someone said that not everyone has a computer and someone else said that there are computers in libraries which brought the library back into the discussion. I brought up the fact that there are an ever increasing number of functional illiterates in our society and I think our lack of actual reading and writing has something to do with that. The woman host said flat-out, "I don't believe that." I laughed at her.

Like any discussion with no definite answer, this one traced itself in many circles. But it was fun to listen and discuss. And I was on the freakin' radio. :grin:

Religion and My Kids

A few choice quotes from my children in the last week, mostly unrelated and from vastly different conversations, either with me or with each other. The first two need no explanation. The last two were overheard during their live action game of Age of Mythology on Saturday.

The Bible says we shouldn't eat pepperoni or bacon so I'm not going to. Daddy doesn't eat pepperoni or bacon.

We have that movie at Daddy's house. We rented it and Daddy made a copy and took the other one back to the store.

All hail, Gaia!!

You didn't give enough favor to Kronos. You should do it again.

Too Creative for His Own Good

Solomon and I had a difficult bedtime last night. He pushed all the wrong buttons and by the time I turned out the light, I was too tense to tuck him in nicely. So I did what I do in that situation and told him that I'd be back in a few minutes to tuck him in.

I left the room to straighten up a few things and cool myself off. As I was organizing my desk, Solomon came out of the room and stood by my elbow. I ignored him for a few seconds, thinking that he might think better of it and go back to bed. He didn't so I turned to look at him.

I heard a sound.

A deep sigh. Go. Back. To. Bed.

He turned, stomped into the bedroom and threw himself on to the bed. It was a very hard landing and I heard creaking from the bunk bed. The kids have had drilled into their heads "Do Not Jump On The Beds" since I made that purchase more than two years ago. It's an automatic time out. I can't believe I am putting a child into time out after bed time, but so be it.

He goes to the spot in the hallway and I start his timer. He was appropriately meek and served his time well.

When the timer beeped, we had the very brief discussion about why he had a time out and why it's not okay to jump on the bed or throw oneself on to the bed. I don't feel the need to belabor this point because it's not a matter of him not understanding by now. But whatever.

I should know better than to ask, but I asked him why he had done it. He thought carefully before responding, "It's because I want to be in the Olympics and I need to practice so I can jump over those hurdles."

Yeah, I laughed, too.

Random Stuff

My post yesterday was the 100th post to be published on my blog. I have a total of 105 posts but 4 of those are in the editing process. Some of them might never be posted if I can't get them right.

It has rained almost non-stop since 7:00 pm on Thursday night. I've loved every minute. Most of it has been a very light rain but some was heavier. This is one of the only times I wish I was on the third floor of this building; then I could hear rain instead of Bigfoot. We had an amazing round of thunder and lightning this afternoon. One thunder roll lasted a full minute. It went on so long I actually became concerned that it wasn't thunder. Here is what the kids splashed in once the rain let up. Sorry for the bad quality -- it's a cell phone picture.



I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had seen 4 rainbows in one week. We've seen 3 or 4 more since then. The summer weather in Denver is perfect for rainbows. There is a brief, light rain shower almost every afternoon about 2 hours before sunset. This makes for the perfect angle of sunlight against clouds and dissipating rain. I captured one on my phone.



I think I might be developing a latex allergy. I've been at this job for over 4 months and I use latex gloves at least half a dozen times per day. Latex allergies can show up after repeated exposure and I think it's happening to me. My hands itch a lot at work. I put two and two together on Wednesday last week and started carrying nitrile gloves in my pocket. I noticed a little difference so I'll keep it up and see what happens.

We see quite a bit of wildlife around here. Rabbits are every where. Prairie dogs are every where and then some. There is a stretch of empty road near here with barren fields on both sides. Cresting the hill there can be a bit surreal because occasionally the prairie dogs seem as if they have taken over the road as well as the fields. I haven't hit one yet but I have a bad feeling that it's only a matter of time. Speaking of wildlife, here's a snake we saw one afternoon at Jennifer and Caleb's apartment. Can you see it?



Dinner is an interesting affair here some nights. We discuss our favorite and least favorite parts of the day. Sometimes we talk about the funniest parts of our day, which inevitably includes someone's experience with a fart. Kids. Sometimes we find funny things in our food. These conjoined carrots, for example.



We've been enjoying the Olympics as a family almost every night since the opening ceremonies. I get such a kick out of watching the kids cheer for the athletes. This is the first time they are really big enough to get anything out of the Games. And still, they don't grasp the enormity of it. Solomon asked me tonight if Uncle Jonathan has been in the Olympics. (According to Solomon, Uncle Jonathan hung the moon.)

Their favorite event is 'gernastics' and they keep asking me where the next 'Ulumpics' will be. I've tried correcting the pronunciation but it's not sticking. It's okay, though; by the time the next Olympics rolls around they'll be saying it correctly and I'll miss these mispronunciations. I tried to explain to the kids that the Summer Olympics are every 4 years and the Winter Olympics are every 4 years and that they are evenly spaced. That was a little too much to comprehend, though.

I feel as if there was something else I wanted to say here but I'm drawing a blank now. I guess that means I should wrap this up and go scrub a toilet. Don't you wish you were here?

Conflict

I've spent today being annoyed and happy, by turns.

Annoyed that I couldn't sleep in longer after staying up too late. Happy that at least I didn't have to get up for work.

Annoyed that the kids are bickering with each other. Happy that they are here and not in Albuquerque.

Annoyed that the Olympics are on so late at night. Happy that the Olympics are on.

Annoyed that there is so much school shopping still to do. Happy that I did find everything we need. (And grateful that a lot was provided.)

Annoyed that the boys insist on playing loud 'battle' games. Happy that they are playing together.

Annoyed that my eldest finds it perfectly acceptable to burst out in ear-splitting shouts of joy at the drop of a hat. Happy that he is so happy.

Annoyed that the summer break isn't longer. Happy that the school is such a good one.

All this conflict has given me a headache. I'm annoyed by that. I'm happy that it's bed time.

Beware the Talking Toys

So I'm hooked on The Sims. I could play this game all day if pesky things like work and children didn't get in the way. You think I'm kidding, don't you? I'm not.

The game is pretty interesting. For example, if a Sim leaves his or her child alone in the house, even for 5 minutes, the Sims version of Child Protective Services takes the child away and another Sim family can adopt him. Sims can have fights with each other and apologize afterwards -- or not. Some Sims don't get along simply because their personalities don't mesh well. Child Sims can play with toys. And here's where it gets freaky: they have a talking toy.

Talking toys have always sort of freaked me out. My children have had their fair share and I am less than pleased when they get a new one. They are loud and obnoxious. And they never cease to scare the living daylights out of me at various inopportune moments. Ever stepped on a baby doll in the dark and had it squawk "Ma-ma!" in an otherwise silent house? What about when the batteries run down and the "Ma-ma!" begins to sound like a demon? And my personal favorite are the toys that sense not only when a person is close enough to be engaged in play but hasn't peed her pants in quite some time. That's loads of fun. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of the talking toys.

When I saw that my Sim's child had a talking teddy bear I was intrigued but not necessarily freaked out. After all, the toy is safely ensconced within the parameters of the game; I'm not going to step on it in my children's room at night and it's not going to talk to me in a demon voice. Little did I know what was to happen.

The first time I noticed the talking teddy bear, nothing untoward happened to to my Sim family, or to me for that matter. In the second game I played, I purchased a few toys, including a talking teddy bear, for my Sims' unborn child. One night, while my Sim couple was sleeping peacefully, a burglar broke into their home. Fortunately, my Sim family had an alarm system and the Sim police were summoned to apprehend the criminal. Insurance covered their losses. (See, just like real life, right?)

During the ensuing chaos the pregnant mother was awakened and decided that she would like a bubble bath to calm her nerves. Her poor husband, feeling a little rattled himself, picked up the talking teddy bear from the baby's room and took it to the bathroom to entertain his wife during her bath. She was not amused and her husband left the teddy bear on the floor of the bathroom and went back to bed.

Being a benevolent controller, I noticed that my pregnant Sim mother was beginning to get hungry but she made no move to leave the bathtub. I waited for her hygiene indicator to move all the way to green and she still did not get out of the tub. I told her to leave the tub and get some food. She didn't. Then I noticed that her bladder indicator was nearing a dangerous shade of orange and tried to get her to use the toilet. She remained in her bubble bath.

She sat there for hours until her husband awoke and went to check on her. He attempted to talk her out of the bath and was unsuccessful. Despairing, he went to the kitchen for his own breakfast and I had him call to her again to see if she could be bribed from the tub with food. Nothing. Her poor husband went to work, no doubt hoping she'd be out of the bathtub by the time he came home.

By this time, most personal indicators were in the red zone. Her bladder was dangerously near exploding and her poor stomach was completely empty. Both her social and fun indicators were maxed out in the negative. Somehow, her comfort and environment levels were in the prime green level, though. She was starving and needed to pee in the worst way, but darn it! She was still enjoying the bubble bath.

I was perplexed as to why she would stay in the tub so long when she obviously had other needs and had been told to fulfill them. I watched her for most of the day, hoping that she would move but she didn't. Finally, it occurred to me that maybe she couldn't move. I switched my view of the bathroom and saw that the sink and -- you guessed it -- the talking teddy bear were blocking her way out of the bathtub. I deleted the teddy bear.

When I switched back to the active view, my pregnant Sim mother got out of the tub, dressed herself and was visited by the Grim Reaper. She collapsed on to the floor and an urn appeared in her place.

I was shocked. The diabolical talking teddy bear killed her! She was too freaked out by the stinking thing to get out of the bathtub. And so she starved to death. The senseless devastation!

And then I was alerted to her husband coming home from work. If I was this torn up, imagine his sadness at seeing the remains of his wife and baby in an urn on the bathroom floor!! I didn't think he could handle it. First the robbery, then this?! He'd never recover.

I did the only logical thing I could do. I quit the game without saving before he came upstairs.

Seen on a T-shirt Today

Jesus Loves You
But I'm His Favorite

Really? Really? I don't think there was anything in Jesus' message that suggested he was out to play favorites. In fact, most stories about Jesus point out his fairness and equality.

I could see this t-shirt being somewhat sarcastic in a ridiculing manner if it were worn by someone who is anti-Christian. But the woman wearing this t-shirt today is an acquaintance of mine and I know she calls herself a Christian. I am confused.

Children See. Children Do.

This video actually moved me to tears.

Thursday Thirteen: Reasons to Smile This Week

1. The kids have wanted to sleep with me every night since they came home.

2. One of the doctors brought a "That Was Easy" button to work today. He told me to drop something and ask him to pick it up. I dropped my pen and he picked it up, pushed the button in his lab coat pocket and laughed hysterically.

3. The little girl that yelled "I just farted on the doctor's chair!"

4. The other little girl that swore up and down that there was nothing wrong with her stomach. Or her ears. Or her eyes. Or her throat. Or anything else.

5. The boy that looked at me after I put on his band-aid and said, with utmost sincerity, "I'll take care of this because it's a boo-boo."

6. Samuel saying "I'm sleepy. Can we go somewhere else fun now?" as we were headed home.

7. The thrilled "Mommy!" (complete with neck-breaking hugs) I get when I pick up the kids every day after work.

8. Solomon offering to let Samuel play the new video game first even though he was dying to play. I didn't even prompt him to do it.

9. The picture Miriam drew for me yesterday just because she missed me while I was at work.

10. Thanks to a community organization, all the kids' school supplies are packed up and ready to go in two weeks. Dang it! Make that one week!

11. Brownies.

12. The long, slow, soaking rain yesterday and today's much cooler temperatures.

13. My new guaranteed 3-day weekends every week.

Generalizations Are Not Your Friends

Generalizations irk me. They don't fit, they're judgemental and when a person uses them they come off looking uneducated and irrational. Yeah, that's a generalization there. Sue me.

I get particularly peeved when generalizations are used with regards to poverty, race, health, culture and family size. These particular issues bother me for several reasons: I am a mother to biracial children, daughter to parents of 8 children, a nurse and my most desired career is in public service to the poverty-stricken. So yeah, it bugs me. Sue me again.

This week I had a hard time remaining civil at work. I was dealing with a difficult mother and her large family. To be fair, she was being unreasonable and causing a lot of extra work for me, my supervising doctor and another provider. But she is not the reason I became so angry.

Another nurse saw fit to butt in and say, "Oh, they're Medicaid - lazy." I looked her straight in the eye and said, "My children have Medicaid," and added silently, "And I work 10 times harder than you do any day of the week." She stuttered and back-pedaled. An uncomfortable pause ensued. I guess she thought she could lighten the situation so she ate her foot again. "How can somebody even have that many kids? And still be sane?" I took a deep breath, looked at her again and said, "My parents have 8 children and are quite sane." She shut up then.

I will be the first to admit that I get more than frustrated with people who are difficult or irrational. But I pride myself on being very particular about my frustration. I'm not irritated with someone because of their medical coverage, their family planning choices, their choice of names for their children or anything else unrelated.

Jerks come in all shapes, sizes, colors and socio-economic divisions. Trying to pinpoint their origins is close-minded and useless.

It Is What It Is?

There is a sign on a bus stop near here that says:

Oatmeal Stout
Pale Ale
BEER

It is what it is.

Underneath all of that there is a picture of Grape Nuts cereal. I think the ad executives want to emphasize how simple and natural Grape Nuts cereal is, but they're failing in that goal. I look at the sign and think, "How is Grape Nuts cereal really grapes and nuts?" There are no grapes and there are no nuts so this slogan does not work.

If the sign is going to work, there needs to be a picture of Grape Nuts with a red line through it and text reading "Sand and pea gravel to tear up the inside of your mouth. Oh, and it tastes like cardboard." I suppose that wouldn't be a successful ad campaign, though.

I Wish I Didn't Know This

I checked in a patient recently and her mother had a certain look about her. It's a look that I have learned to associate with meth addicts. It usually accompanies nervous chattering and the inability to stay on subject. Obviously it's disconcerting for a number of reasons, the worst of which is that this woman is responsible for a child.

The thing that saddened me is that I didn't consciously think 'meth addict' while checking them in. But later I saw a notation in the chart by a provider that said the parents have a history of meth use and realized that it didn't suprise me. I have seen it too often now.

More Raling Against Society

Our kids are normal kids and that means they are plugged in 24 hours a day.

There is a commercial on television now that says that. I cringe every time I hear it because being "plugged in" is normal now. And it shouldn't be. Electronic devices are great and useful and we couldn't live our lives without a lot of them. But it shouldn't be normal to be "plugged in" 24 hours a day.

Sigh. I am glad to be abnormal if this is the new normal.

Thursday Thirteen: Things I Did in the Last Week

1. Decorated my patio with plants, mini-lanterns and an outdoor carpet. I love sitting out there now.

2. Worked on some more scrap booking. This is going to be a never-ending project but I really like it.

3. Had a needle stick at work. I still can't believe it actually happened.

4. Had blood drawn for tests after the needle stick. I have to go back in 6 months for the follow up blood work.

5. Saw 4 rainbows. Really, 4.

6. Ate half of a chocolate mousse cheesecake and I still want more.

7. Failed at playing the Sims 2. My Sim is an aged penniless peon. The game actually said that to me.

8. Taught myself how to use a big drill.

9. Opened a new savings account.

10. Rode the Light Rail downtown and back. There are some interesting people using public transportation.

11. Got a new haircut. I'm still playing with it and trying to figure out what to do with it.

12. Got completely soaked in a 5 minute thunderstorm. I wish it had lasted longer.

13. Had an amazing dinner at Carraba’s. It’s my new favorite restaurant. The sangria is really, really good.

Common Sense: Blood Cell Reproduction

We can do a quick urinalysis in the office at work. It takes less than 2 minutes and tells if there are red blood cells, white blood cells, ketones, bilirubin, protein, nitrites, glucose and a few other things present in the urine. Understandably, the sooner we do the test after the sample is given, the more accurate it is. However, if there are things like RBCs and WBCs present in the sample when it's given, they will be there in the same numbers even if the test is run later. RBCs and WBCs cannot reproduce spontaneously in a cup of urine. They just can't. Someone I work with does not understand this. I do not understand how she does not understand it.

P.S. -- Happy birthday, Jennifer!

Thursday Thirteen: the Internet

I forgot. Oops. So I'm pretending today is Thursday.

Thirteen things I like about the internet:

1. I can find out anything I want to know. And even some things I didn't want to know.

2. I can (and do) talk with people all over the world.

3. Myspace and Facebook have let me catch up with old friends that I otherwise wouldn't know anything about now.

4. Blogging.

5. Online banking.

6. Google Maps.

7. Picture hosting, slide shows, photo editing.

8. Sites like Post Secret, Overheard in New York and I Can Haz Cheezburger that make me laugh until my stomach hurts.

9. Yellow Pages. They're so much easier than the real Yellow Pages.

10. Requesting library books in my pajamas.

11. My kids can play pretty cool games and watch videos of their favorite shows.

12. Online classes. I definitely prefer real classrooms to virtual ones, but without virtual ones I couldn't have gone back to school.

13. Office webisodes.

My Birthday

I was thinking about my past birthdays this morning. Most have been relatively uneventful but still memorable in their own way. Others have consisted of elaborate plans and lots of memories.

I don't remember my first birthday, but I've seen the pictures. I sat on the table in a diaper and smeared myself with chocolate frosting from my very own cake. That's been a big family tradition.

I do remember my second birthday. Most people don't believe me when I say that. They think it's because I've seen the pictures of it and I only think I remember it. But they're wrong. Mom made me a castle cake with Cinderella sitting outside it. It was pink. Very pink. All of that is in the pictures. What does not show are the Pringles cans that made up the castle towers. I remember watching Mom cover them in icing. It seemed to take forever.

Other birthdays run together in a blur. There were several that Jennifer and I celebrated together since our birthdays are 6 days apart. We had a birthday party in the big red caboose at McDonald's one year. Another year, we had a party at Granny and Paw Paw's house. We had two cakes; one was yellow with pink decorations and the other was pink with yellow decorations. I don't remember which was mine and which was Jennifer's.

I got a bike for my fifth birthday. I picked it out from the models at the store and Dad said we needed to find the actual box so we could take it home and put it together. The thought of waiting on it to be put together so disappointed me that the sales person said we could take the floor model. I was thrilled.

There was the year that Mom and Dad let Jennifer and me point out a few things in the toy department that we wanted. I thought we were giving specific instructions so I was a little pouty when I opened my presents and they were slightly different. I still feel bad about that.

Jennifer and I got new bikes when we were 7 and 9, respectively. They were identical 10-speeds and we thought we were hot stuff. We rode those bikes every where. Someone tried to steal them once. I'm a little foggy on the details but Jennifer remembers it better than I do.

On my thirteenth birthday, Mom told me she would make any dinner I wanted. I found some recipes in a magazine and she did it. We had roast beef sandwiches, cucumber salad and a dessert that I can't remember now. I also got my ears pierced on my thirteenth birthday.

My sixteenth birthday was a lot of fun. I had a sleepover with my best friend. We stayed up all night and watched all 4 Jaws movies. Then we scared ourselves silly in her pool. I left for a mission trip in Birmingham on my actual birthday.

My eighteenth birthday was notable because we were awaiting the arrival of my youngest sister, Elizabeth. I also learned to drive that summer.

I spent my twenty-first birthday nursing my 6-week-old baby and marveling at how much my life had changed in just a year. Not the typical American twenty-first birthday, was it?

My twenty-fifth birthday was the last day of our family trip to Disneyland. We missed a flight to Phoenix (not our fault), got re-routed to Las Vegas and grounded in Las Vegas due to 114 F temperatures. We got a free room at the Monte Carlo and spent 48 hours taking in Vegas. If it weren't for the divorce clouds looming overhead, it would have been a fantastic detour.

I was at Lake Tahoe for my twenty-sixth birthday. A boyfriend (ex) and I had a helicopter ride over the lake, a cruise around the lake and saw a Rascal Flatts concert. Definitely a memorable birthday.

Last year, another boyfriend (ex) and I had a good time. There were flowers, dinner, a movie and some wine. The wine wasn't so great, but it was a fun night. The wine was actually kind of funny.

This year has been a good birthday, too. I had to work today, but it wasn't so bad. I went to lunch with some co-workers and was completely embarrassed when the servers chanted the Happy Birthday song and brought ice cream and balloons. I'm eating dinner with Jennifer and Caleb (homemade pizza!). This weekend we are headed to a music festival downtown. I am looking forward to some great music, great laughs, great drinks, a great time in general.

And I am not dreading being 29, either. I'm not even dreading being 30 in 364 days. I don't feel much different than I did at 19 so I'm good with this age thing.

Personality and Cars

Since I decided to make the addition of bumper stickers to my vehicle, I've begun paying close attention to the decoration on other cars. I've seen ones that made me laugh out loud, others that made me mad and some that are just lame. What I find interesting is that you can sometimes tell what kind of person owns the car if they have a couple of bumper stickers plastered on it. At least, I like to pretend I can.

The other thing I find interesting is that I often see the same cars on my route to work every morning. Traffic here is extremely heavy and one would think that I'd never see the same car twice and know it. But when someone has bumper stickers or personalized vanity plates, it's easy to pick them out if you pay a little attention.

There is one car, for example, driven by a matronly grandmother-type. She drives an older Oldsmobile with two stickers on it. One says "Honor Mother Nature" and the other says "It's our turn to nurture the earth." I picture her living in a small cottage house with a vegetable garden fed by her own compost pile. She recycles and conserves water as much as she can. She may or may not have a cat.

There is another car that I see turning into the hospital parking lot with me almost every morning. It's a new Corvette driven by a woman who appears to be in her mid-forties with bleached blond hair. She has eight Pink Ribbon magnets on the sides of her car, all in different sizes. I'm not sure what the story is there. Is she that committed to a cure? Has she known eight women with breast cancer? Does she have breast cancer? Maybe she just likes pink. Whatever it is, I'd like to know her story.

I often see a Mercedes with a vanity plate that clearly identifies the driver as a proud plastic surgeon. He's always on his phone, trying to drive at least 10 miles per hour over the speed limit, weaving in and out of traffic. I've seen him attempt to pass people on the right shoulder. He kind of scares me. I imagine him living in a huge house with a pool or maybe a tennis court and no time to enjoy any of it.

While driving between here and Raton I've seen a lot of interesting stickers. Granted, I don't see those vehicles again, but they are still interesting.

Last time I saw a Jeep with a particularly funny sticker. The sticker said "Get a taste of religion: Lick a witch." It also had a couple of other stickers with pagan symbols on it. It was driven by a heavy-set man with a long beard and long hair. I couldn't tell where his hair ended and his beard began.

On my way back to Denver I passed a Subaru with a sticker that said "Bark less, wag more." I've seen this sticker before. It's usually chosen by dog lovers who believe we should correlate more in our life with those things in a dog's life. I tend to agree. Most dogs are loveable, playful, simple in their wants and needs, eager to please. Maybe our world would be a better place if we lived more like that.

I also saw an RV with a sticker that simply said "Be nice." I couldn't agree more. Being nice is simple and good. One rarely goes wrong by being nice. Thus ends my philosophical ramblings on personal vehicular expression.

The Worst Thing on Television

I came across a reality show last night that made me angrier than any television show really has a right to. It's about 16-year-old girls and their Super Sweet Sixteen parties, complete with tiaras and rhinestones and, in some cases apparently, 7 carat diamonds. With these girls, the sky is the limit. Costume changes, rap artists, $5,000 gowns, $100,000 cars. All for one party. Seriously.

I don't know where to start, so I'll just start with the beginning. The show I watched centered around a girl that describes herself as "the pretty, rich girl that always gets what she wants." I'm sorry, but if my child ever describes herself this way, I will consider myself a pathetic failure as a parent.

The opening clips of the show include Miss Sweet Sixteen shopping for a mink coat. The sales person states the cost of the coat at $27,000. The girl's father says, "Whatever you want. It's your world, we just live in it." My jaw hit the floor. The show then moves on to show the girl giving orders to her party planner and saying that she wants all her friends to "know what it's like to be me, for just one day. Because I have an awesome life."

Just to invite her friends to her sixteenth birthday party, she invited them all to her house and had a helicopter drop keys to treasure boxes on the lawn. Each of her friends had their own treasure box with their invitation locked inside. I'd like to know what scheme she cooked up for inviting them all to the pre-party invitation party. If it didn't include hand-delivered invitations in gold leaf, I'll be disappointed.

Later on, she goes shopping for her main party dress. She tries on countless outfits, each shorter than the last and all covered in sparkles. Apparently the sparkles were the key. I lost track of how many times she gushed, "Oooh, I just love all the sparkles." Finally, it comes time to choose one party dress: the sparkly green one or the sparkly beige one. She agonizes, "This is the hardest decision of my life!" before deciding on the beige one. Her mother forks over a credit card to the tune of $6270. Miss Sweet Sixteen pronounces it a 'good number.' I'm still trying to figure out exactly what she meant by that.

On the day of the party, tragedy struck. The party planner announced that the costume for her grand entrance might not work if she's going to ride on the elephant. I am not kidding. Something about sparkles and the contraption on the elephant's back. Miss Sweet Sixteen laments, "If this costume doesn't work out, the whole party is going to be a disaster. It has to work. I'm wearing it." Later on, I laughed my butt off when her costume headdress clotheslined her on the streamers over the entrance walk.

The rest of the party went off like you probably expect by now. Hundreds of kids screaming that this is the best party of their young lives, even future parties. Miss Sweet Sixteen doing the bump and grind with half a dozen hungry-for-the-spotlight teen boys. A 6-layer cake that scared Miss Sweet Sixteen half to death with the sparklers and fireworks coming from it. One of the final shots of the party is a boy screaming, "Miss Sweet Sixteen is the most generous girl ever!" Uh, sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not called generosity. It's called attention whoring.

I can't believe the example this television show is encouraging America's teens to emulate. Do we really need to encourage kids to be more selfish? What a waste. I wonder what's going to happen to Miss Sweet Sixteen when the gravy train is gone? I wonder if she'll still think she has "an awesome life?"