Here goes my political side again...

George Washington's Prayer for America

' Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.'

So I was reading a Newsweek article while, well let's just saying using the facilities, earlier today. I got the Newsweek subscription from some freebie online thing and I am enjoying it. Seriously. I look forward to it as much as I look forward to People coming every Monday (well or will when that freebie starts soon). Anyway, in the September 5th edition I read an article on Steve Jobs, learning more about the man than I ever knew. Sounds like an interesting fellow. I read another one on Muammar Gaddafi's son. I wouldn't call him interesting though. And I was introduced to Mohammed VI, the king of Morocco and learned what a kleptocracy was (a political regime whose members make flagrantly dishonest use of their official position for personal gain/A government characterized by rampant greed and corruption).

So why did I start this with George Washington's prayer for America? I don't know, I felt it needed reminding because of another article in that issue of Newsweek. It starts off as a review of a new Broadway play based on the life on Martin Luther King Jr. and it goes into the decline of the black middle class. What kills me is how people look to MLK's daughter, Bernice, for perspective from the offspring of the man. She says, "Daddy would be so dismayed with many of the things happening right now. We've lost our way as a people. We were meant to live at a higher standard, and we're not doing that." Interesting that she can speak for a dead man, no? Putting aside the fact of skin color how does she think she's qualified to speak to what her dead father would think when she was five years old at his death? Sure, people have taught her about MLK and she did spend that five years with him but come on, sister, don't push it.

That wasn't the only part of the article and Miss Bernice King that I take issue with. Somehow, of course, it turns around to President Obama. "Those who thought we as a country were a lot further along in race relations got a rude awakening with President Obama in office," she says. "He won, but they've fought him on everything. Race is still there." Uh, no. I don't give a hoot about whether the President can get a tan in the summer. I care about his politics. Who is the "they" that she's referring to? And using the word everything in an opinionated statement takes all validity away from what you're saying. No, "they" haven't fought him on "everything" because he's black. "They've" fought him on "everything" because he un-American, dishonest and doesn't care about the American's that chose him to lead them, he cares about his own agenda. Take away the racial crap and he wouldn't have been elected in the first place. The, "current state of frustration and apathy running through the African-American community," has very little to do with a civil-rights struggle and everything to do with the issues with our economy (thank you for that, President Obama) and issues with each individual in that community. I don't see a black man who got laid off, I see a man with a family to take care of that needs to find a job. Knock it off with the skin colored angle of entitlement and go out and make happen what you want to have happen! ARGH!

Okay, I'm done for now.

Marriage

(circa 1966)

The Fine Line Between Marriage & Divorce

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-krasnow/the-fine-line-between-mar_b_959372.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

I'm just coming off 200 interviews and two years of listening to mature wives reflect on -- or moan about -- how they are managing to stick it out in long marriages. Scenes from their relationships that range from 15 to 70 years are woven together in my new book, The Secret Lives of Wives: Women Share What It Really Takes To Stay Married coming out in early October.

I've been married for 23 years during which my husband and I have raised four sons, and have had plenty of rocking and rolling in our relationship. From my own experiences, and from the dozens of sagas unloaded into my tape recorder, I am constantly reminded of the eggshell-thin line that separates loving from loathing. I know that staying married can mean plates flying across kitchens, tears soaking pillows and emailing old boyfriends at 3 a.m.

I thought nothing could shock me about what really goes on behind closed doors between two people working hard to make it "til death do us part" -- without killing someone first. After all, I have heard every brand of twisted love story -- swinging, adultery, spouses coming out as gay after 30 years together, threesomes, fist fights in restaurants, even the tale of a husband discovered to be having sex with a sheep, documented in a photograph discovered by his wife in his nightstand drawer.

But in piecing together this latest book I have been surprised at some of the revelations. I'm not as ruffled by the tawdry tales of farm animals or one I heard from a 55-year-old wife about screwing a perfectly sculpted landscaper while her doctor husband was lecturing on vein surgery in another country. My biggest shock is how many outwardly cheerful women who have been married forever think about divorce if not weekly, at least once a month.

How's this for a statistic? Of the 200 plus women interviewed and woven into The Secret Lives of Wives , I can count on one hand those who have never considered splitting up. It was no surprise that Beth often considered leaving her husband. He routinely told her she was fat and ugly, and when they fought in the car he would pull over and shove her out the door. Who could blame Shauna for her many consults with a divorce lawyer? She's the wife of the traveling doctor, a man who hasn't initiated sex since their honeymoon 30 years ago. Her secret is that she has it both ways: an intact family and a ten-year affair with a hard-bodied lover, who does her landscaping for free.

The biggest shocker is the number of wives in stable unions who frequently contemplate fleeing their marriages. These are not abused wives; they are women with nice husbands who give them orgasms and jewelry and stability. Yet many of these settled midlife women admitted they were slightly jealous of Tipper Gore who gets to have a fresh start after 40 years of matrimony with the same guy. While many speculated about whether one of the Gores fell in love with someone else, my instincts without talking to either of them is that perhaps they are a lot like other couples portrayed in the book. Maybe they were simply sick of being around each other. And maybe one or both of them finally couldn't take it any more.

Who stays married and who doesn't is a question not always about commitment or deep abiding love -- it's about endurance.

I have found in my collection of wives who remain in long running marriages that the majority of them share these common traits: They have the guts and determination to stick it out, no matter what. And their laments about their marriages aren't because of anything serious. It's the subtle nuances of living with one person in one house for a very long time that grates at the soul, that causes a simmering malaise. It's the grind of the ordinary that drives people into thinking, "Is this all there is? I want more. I want adventure. I want change."

Who wouldn't want changes with the current statistics on lifespan? Women in their 80s and 90s are the fastest growing segment of the aging population which means that many of us wives could easily hit our 50th wedding anniversaries and beyond. That's a hell of a long time to sustain one love affair, particularly when empty nest hits and it's only you and the husband with no cushion of kids as a buffer.

There are three strategies that have worked the best with the women I interviewed. The happiest wives have a sense of purpose and passion in work and causes outside of the home. Wives who counted on a spouse for fulfillment and sustenance were often angry and lonely. And the happiest wives don't spend a whole lot of time with their husbands. My chapter called Separate Summers is filled with women who take their own vacations, take their own summers, take charge of their own lives. Couples who allow each other to grow separately are the ones with the best chance of growing together and staying together.

Finally, the wives with the highest marital satisfaction have a tight circle of wild women friends with whom to drink, travel and vent about their husbands.

Yes, my work on this book has been quite surprising and enlightening. I now know that acceptance of mediocrity in a marriage relationship is more prevalent that you would imagine. I know that sometimes the only reason women stay with a spouse is because they have divorced friends who may have more sex than them with new husbands but they also have cranky step-kids who hate them. Other women stay in lackluster marriages because they don't want to give up their swanky lifestyles, and divorce is expensive, really expensive. We know from our friends who are pushed to the edge and do call it quits that the grass isn't always greener, there are parched patches on both sides of the fence.

But most women told me they stay married simply because they like their marriages more than they dislike them, even if much of the time it's 51 percent "like" to 49 percent "dislike."

Iris Krasnow is a bestselling author and an assistant professor in the School of Communication at American University. Connect with her on: www.iriskrasnow.com

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Five Mistakes I Continue to Make in My Marriage

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/sex/5-mistakes-i-continue-to-make-in-my-marriage-2563655/

One of the main themes of my happiness project is marriage. For me, as with many people, my marriage is one of the most central elements in my life, my home, and my happiness.

When I started my happiness project, and I reflected about the changes I wanted to make, I realized I had five particular problem areas in my marriage. Here they are, along with the strategies I try to use to address them, though they remain challenging:

1. Demanding gold stars. Oh, how I crave appreciation and recognition! I always want that gold star stuck to my homework. But my husband just isn’t very good at handing out gold stars, and that makes me feel angry and unappreciated.

In response, I now think more about doing things for myself. I used to tell myself I was doing nice things for him – “He’ll be so happy to see that I put all the books away,” “He’ll be so pleased that I finally got the trunk packed for camp” etc. – then I’d be mad when he wasn’t appreciative. Now I tell myself that I’m doing these things because I want to do them. “Wow, the kitchen cabinets look great!” “I’m so organized to have bought all the supplies in advance!” Because I do things for myself, I don't expect him to respond in any particular way.

2. Using a snappish tone. I have a very short fuse and become irritable extremely easily – but my husband really doesn’t like it when I snap at him (big surprise). I’ve done a lot to try to keep my temper in check. I don’t let myself get too hungry or too cold (I fall into these states very easily); I try to keep our apartment in reasonable order, because a mess makes me crabby; when he tries to make a joke out of my temper, I try to laugh along; I try to control my voice to keep it light and cheery instead of accusatory and impatient. Confession: I've worked on this issue relentlessly for years, and still have a really tough time with it. For instance, I spoke in a snappish tone just last night.

3. Not showing enough consideration. . Studies show that married people treat each other with less civility than they show to other people -- and I do this with my husband, I know. I'm working hard on basic consideration, such as giving him warm greetings and farewells, not reading my emails while talking to him on the phone, etc. Very basic, I know.

4. Score-keeping. I’m a score-keeper, always calculating who has done what. “I cleaned up the kitchen, so you have to run to the store” -- that sort of thing. I’ve found two ways to try to deal with this tendency.

First, I remind myself of the phenomenon of unconscious over-claiming; i.e., we unconsciously overestimate our contributions or skills relative to other people’s. This makes sense, because of course we’re far more aware of what we do than what other people do. According to Jonathan Haidt’s The Happiness Hypothesis, “when husbands and wives estimate the percentage of housework each does, their estimates total more than 120 percent.” I complain about the time I spend paying bills, but I overlook the time my husband spends dealing with our our car. It’s easy to see that over-claiming leads to resentment and an inflated sense of entitlement. So now when I find myself thinking, “I’m the only one around here who bothers to…” or “Why do I always have to be the one who…?” I remind myself of all the tasks I don’t do.

Second, I remind myself of the words of my spiritual master, St. Therese of Lisieux: “When one loves, one does not calculate.” That precept is the basis for my 11th Personal Commandment: No calculation.

5. Taking my husband for granted. Just as I find it easy to overlook the chores done by my husband (see #4), it’s easy for me to forget to appreciate his many virtues and instead focus on his flaws. For example, although I find it hard to resist using an irritable tone, my husband almost never speaks harshly, and that's really a wonderful trait. I’m trying to stay alert to all the things I love about him, and let go of my petty annoyances. This is easier said than done.

I’ve found that working to keep my resolution to Kiss more, hug more, touch more is an effective way to help me stay in loving, appreciative frame of mind, with my husband and my daughters, too. KMHMTM is one of my very favorite resolutions! It doesn't take any extra time, energy, or money, and it makes a real difference in the atmosphere of my home.

What are some mistakes you make in your marriage or long-term relationship? Have you found any useful strategies for addressing them?

RIP Charlotte the fishy

22 days

Well, as I suspected, she didn't last long. She's seemed a little lethargic for a little while now but today I found her floating on her side. She was still breathing and all that but I could poke her or pick her up, etc. without her trying to get away from me. I asked E what to do. Do we use this as a learning/teaching experience with G or do I just get rid of the evidence and we'll see what happens? He told me to flush her while they were outside playing so I did.

So now the question is how do I explain this to him? He knows the word dead/died but I doubt he really grasps the entire context of it. I can tell him that Charlotte ran away (or swam away if you want to get technical) but I don't think he'd "get" that anymore than the whole death concept. I can be "mean" and tell him that because he wouldn't leave her alone she went back to the store/ran away/died since we were having to constantly tell him to get off the counter and quit putting water in her fishbowl. That might help if E relents to another fish (you know, to kill off since that is my track record). Hm, decisions, decisions.

Usually G climbs up on a stool and tells Charlotte goodnight but tonight I took him to his room and we hung out reading books and watching part of Milo & Otis on the little portable DVD player. He fell asleep. So crisis averted for now but eventually he's going to notice that A. there's no water in the fishbowl and B. there's no fish in the fishbowl. Good thing E will get up with him in the morning and not me. I wonder if I should prep him on what's appropriate and what's not? Otherwise I might end up with G telling me something about how Charlotte went to swim with the fishes...

Love in the home

If I live in a house of spotless beauty
With everything in its place,
But have not love,
I am a housekeeper -- not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing,
And decorative achievements,
But have not love,
My children learn cleanliness -- not Godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints
On a newly cleaned glass.

Love wipes away the tears before
It wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before
It picks up the toys.

Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler,
Runs with the child, then stands beside
To guide the youths walk into adulthood.
Love is the key that opens
Salvation's message to a child's heart.

Before I became a mother
I took glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.

Author Unknown

18 things I love about my day today...

1. That my toenails are painted red. It just makes me feel girly.

2. The smell of G's bucket of crayons as he's coloring behind me.

3. The sound of the band saw outside because E is taking care of some items on the honey do list.

4. The fact that if I take any jobs today I'll have until Monday to get them done.

5. The emails I'm getting from work begging me to take some more jobs, and completely ignoring them and leaving them to figure out something else because they've been jerks to me lately and I intend to be one back to them.

6. Keeping my Kindle in the bathroom and reading a few "pages" every time I go in there.

7. Having a free set of gloves show up in the mail today.

8. Flipping through pics of G from the last year because I'm making his 3rd year book today. I have to be done tonight though because my free coupon code expires at midnight!

9. Seeing a dragonfly land right on G's hand.

10. Watching G "help" Daddy mow the lawn.

11. Having to dope myself up on benedryl thanks to the aforementioned lawn mowing.

12. Seeing Charlotte the fish floating kind of funky and not moving much, freaking out and then tapping on the fish bowl and seeing her dart away. Phew! Crises averted for now...

13. Having an advertisement come in the mail and having it give me an idea of a Christmas present for a very hard to buy for grandson!

14. Having a new recipe brewing in the crockpot.

15. Sticking it to a telemarketer who called on the phone, again, asking for Ed...something about fire insurance. What the heck?

16. Having to act goofy and be loud, etc. to try and keep G awake until a decent bedtime. Otherwise he would have been asleep at 5:30!

17. Hearing G yell, "BLESS YOU" from whatever room he's in when he hears one of us sneeze.

18. G fell asleep before 8 pm, leaving the entire evening for me to spend with E!!!

I am evil

Want to know something fun? Tell your 3 year old that if he wants his sippy of milk he has to do a "job" for you. Then tell him to go punch daddy in the wiener and say, "I want a baby brother."

Then sit back and laugh when he does it.

Rights

To have a right to do something is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.

Hm, interesting, no? The funny part is that I could say this to someone who is doing something that I don't agree with and then that person could turn around and say it right back to me about my feeling the need to not like what the person is doing. I love our cyclical world.

Good parenting "advice" is to not listen to the advice of others!

"You know your child and you know what works. Good, bad or indifferent, these are our choices to make for it is we who suffer the consequences and reap the rewards. It’s all about practical, livable parenting within the confines of the values your family personally holds dear. Your parenting choices are for no one else to judge so stand true to what works for you and thank everyone else for their concern."

http://blogs.babble.com/toddler-times/2011/09/08/never-apologize-for-the-parent-you-are/

So I shared this article with my 24 year old sister who is affectionately known as "Aunty Wheels" since she's in a wheelchair. And these are her thoughts on the matter:

“why do i care how you parent your child, cause they might grow up, go postal and murder me”

and
“well…..”but its me who has to live with my parenting choices” yeah for a while. til you release them into the real world and they kill me
then i have to live with your parenting choices
or not live with them, cause im dead
cause your kid killed me”

Paranoid much there Aunty Wheels?

No more Dawwett

Today I worked with G on his G sounds. And I was able to get him to say Garrett. I clapped and cheered and he thought that was great so he'd say Garrett and then clap and cheer too. Usually when I clap and cheer he looks at me like I should be waiting outside to be picked up by the short bus.

It sounds so strange to hear him say his name correctly, instead of in that baby fashion of speech. I had him call Aunty Wheels so she could hear it too. I think she was pretty impressed.

My favorite part of it is that when he does say it clearly he smiles at me and claps his hands and says, "Hooray!"

Firsts

Nut Cup Necessity
Poor kid, he hasn't ever paid much attention to his twig and berries but the other day he took a pretty good hit to them (by his own accord, mind you) and he cried. He was in my car and I went to get him out and he bailed over the backseat into the cargo area, taking a nice shot to the nuts in the process. He was in the back area crying and holding onto himself and I said, "Did you break your wiener?" And he nodded and said, "Yeah, big ouch my wiener." Don't worry, I didn't laugh but mostly because I do want grandkids someday.

Stupid, Bastard, Butthead and Damnit

G now has an array of insulting words in his vocabulary. Oh yay. I've noticed that stupid comes from a multitude of movies and tv shows that he watches so I can't blame just one of them. Bastard I'm not really sure where that came from, it's not a word that I can remember using in front of him, ever. Damnit I'm sure came from his father or me. And butthead? Yeah, that's from the movie Babe since he just came out with that one today. Where Babe runs up to the sheep and tells them to move by calling them buttheads. How in the crap does he pick these words out of all the words that he's exposed to in a day? Is it some kind of super power?

Dog Bite

E had to say something to our dear friends and neighbors because their male shepherd bit G not once but twice yesterday. He's kind of play nipped G before and he's been disciplined by his owners for that but it's becoming a much more regular occurrence. This time, like the times before, G wasn't doing anything to provoke the dog, he wasn't playing or even talking to the dog, the dog just approached him or walked by him and bit G's arm, leaving bruises. When E said something to our neighbor the neighbor was pissed. I was worried that we were going to offend them since their dogs are like their babies but he was pissed at the dog and said if he did it again he'd put the dog down, period. I told G that if the dog hurt him again that he needed to kick the dog and come tell momma or daddy.

Self done Haircut

When I woke up today I looked at G, shook my head and then said to E, "So how did he cut his own hair?" "Huh?" was the response I got. I showed E and he just said, "Oh, he had some scissors this morning." Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. G is now sporting one of those infamous, "I gave myself a haircut" gaps right on the front of his hair.

Call to Poison Control

And today I made my first ever call to Poison Control. I was hesitant to give them my name and phone number, etc. because I didn't need them sending CPS to my house to take G away from his obviously incapable parents. Although maybe a day or so off from momma duty might make me a better mom. Or maybe a day off from us might make G realize how good he really does have it.

When I was in G's room getting out some clothes for him for the day, he went into the office and got my Humira pen (Biologic auto immune subcutaneous injectible) that I had just taken out of the fridge to warm up a little. He then took off cap #1, then flipped it over and took off cap #2 and injected it. E was walking in the door (I didn't know that E wasn't in the office) and he said he heard the snap of the injection pen and then G said, "OUCH!" Oh crap.

We checked out every little piece of him and neither of us could see any kind of injection site but the pen was empty, meaning the medication came out of the needle. Every time one of us asked him where he got the ouch, or where he shot himself, etc. he gave us a different answer (i.e. his belly, his arm, his hand, his foot, his belly button and he even said his mouth). The problem is we also didn't find any liquid where he was when DH found him with it in his hand.

You have to hold the pen pressed against something for it to inject for starters. So obviously he did that so what did he old it against? (I'm talking kind of how you have to depress your brake pedal in order to put your car in gear). And you have to hold it in that position for the medication to finish coming out and the pen was emptied. Now, if he had pushed it up against his belly (which is where I inject it) it hurts so I don't see him holding it there. And like I said, there is no injection site. He said OUCH but I always say OUCH when I do it because, well, it hurts and I'm a giant weenie. I immediately have a red area at the injection site and a little bit of blood. There is NOTHING on him, I'm still that mom that checks out her kids body and notices every new scrape, bruise, etc.

I called Poison Control and after they researched it they said no big deal, just watch him and if he starts acting odd then call us back, etc. The danger, according to them, with the biologics is overdose based on exposure over time. But still, this is not medication I want running through his system. I thanked them and then called my rheumatologist and spoke with the nurse who kind of hemmed and hawed and said he'd be okay. I don't see how it's possible that he'll be just fine but that's the worrying side of me I suppose.

Dangit. I've always been really careful and even try not to do my shots around him. He did all of that in less than 20-30 seconds. I swear to you, by 1 pm I am going to have to duct tape him to a chair.

Randomness

Sometimes it hurts instead.

Adele - Someone Like You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qemWRToNYJY&feature=share

Just listen to the voice, then play it again and listen to the lyrics. Am I the only one who can relate? I doubt it.

"Nevermind I'll find someone like you.

I wish nothing but the best, for you too.

Don't forget me, I beg, I remember you said:-

Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.

Nothing compares, no worries or cares.

Regret's and mistakes, they are memories made.

Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?"

I've been listening to Adele for awhile now and she's amazing. I'm glad that others have finally caught on! Her voice sends shivers up my spine. The only other artist that has ever done that is Garth Brooks (stop your laughing, he is gritty and soulful and beautiful). And strangely enough here she is doing a cover of a song that Garth did too (from the Hope Floats soundtrack), which is another great song - To Make You Feel My Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0put0_a--Ng&feature=related. I hear that her next album is going to be country, which should work out just fine for her considering there probably isn't anything this girl can't belt out.

He remembers!!!

If you're not a breastfeeding advocate or at least breastfeeding friendly then stop reading this now because you're probably not going to like what I'm about to post.

G wet the bed last night. There's a first time for everything, right? Not that it was anyone's fault but he had come into our room and woke up E, who promptly took G back to bed and back to sleep. E didn't think to take G potty. When I got up this morning G helped me strip his bed linens and get them in the washer.

I had G just hop in the shower with me because my uuber sensitive nose smelled urine all over him. As we were standing in the shower G pointed at my belly button and asked, "What's that?" I told him it was a belly button, he repeated that word. I then told him about my belly button ring. Well, G pointed to my boob and said, "What's that?" I asked him to tell me what it was, since we've been working on the names of lesser known body parts (he has known the major, outside of your clothing ones). He said, "Dat a booby." I said, "Yep! It is a booby. Where is G's booby?" He pointed to his chest. Then he looked at me and said, "I have a drink of dat?"

Hahahahahahaha! It's been 15 months since he weaned and he still remembers. I love it. He wasn't very verbal when he was weaned and he had never really flat out asked to have booby, so this is why I was surprised. We had a chat about how booby milk is just for babies and not for big kids and then our shower was over.

I hope he always remembers so that when he has children he can encourage and be supportive of his wife breastfeeding their children. :)

Charlotte the fish

I'm such a sucker for this kid. We were at Walmart yesterday and he asked to see the fish, since we'd "driven" right by them with our cart, on the way to the garden center (hello, summer clearance sale). Next thing I know I'm letting G pick out a fish, buying a little tank and asking him what his new fishies name is.

At first he said pica. You know, that word he uses when he doesn't know what word to use. I briefly considered letting him name it Pica simply so that when I ask G something and he answers with, "Pica!" I'll actually have something to reference it to. But as we got to talking he changed his mind and decided that fishy's name was Milo, you know, like the dog. Well naturally then he changed his mind and called fishy Otis. By the end of our time in Walmart he had settled on the name Charlotte. Like Charlotte from Charlotte's Web.
He tried to be very careful with Charlotte but careful and G are not synonymous. She made it home in one piece and we got her all set up in her new home. That's when G decided that he needed to turn on the led light on the lid of her fish bowl. On, off, on, off, on, off, on, off. I tried to tell him that he was going to give poor Charlotte seizures but he didn't really seem to care since he was having too much fun naming all the colors as he pushed the button.
I tried not to let him see me feeding Charlotte because the last thing I want is him deciding to feed her for me. I've had to clean up spilled fish flakes before. Gag.

So, as terrible as it is to say, we'll see how long Charlotte lasts. I think he's already forgotten about her because he hasn't said a word about her this morning. He was loving getting to watch her swim around and breathe last night so I hope he rediscovers her sometime today and that he gets to watch and be fascinated by her for a long time to come. Well, a long time in fish years I mean.

A clue! A clue!!!

Oh Blue's Clues, you clever little preschool child drawer-inner, you.

G and I went up to the top of the Pass in hopes of seeing and photographing something to do with the Mineral Ridge fire. We didn't find anything accessible so I decided to get out at the Visitor's Center and wander around. I knew there were trails of some kind because it is very popular with snowshoers and cross country skiers in the winter. We took off over a paved trailer that led us over a few footbridges. But that was about all there was to it.

What made it fun, you wonder? Out of the blue G said to me, "Momma, wook! A clue! A clue!" It took me a second to understand what he was saying since clue doesn't come out all that clearly. When I finally understood him I said, "O0h, where's the clue?" He pointed to a rock. I said, "What does the clue say?" G replied, "I a rock." Well, thanks for that kiddo. We had several clues along our walk and I loved seeing him get so excited by them. There was one open spot with a footbridge over it and the dragonflies there were cah.razy! They were dive bombing us, getting right in our faces as if trying to determine friend or foe. We loved sitting and watching them. But you know G, he can't sit for very long. He is the definition of ants in the pants.

G laid himself down on the little boardwalk going over some water that could hardly be called a stream. He was on his belly looking down in the water and he said, "Momma, wook, it's a picture a me!" Thanks for that Bob the Builder. :)

I'm trying my darndest to teach G about conservation. Don't get me wrong, I'm no hippy freaky granola nutso or anything. I'm teaching him that he doesn't need to pick every flower he comes upon so that there will be one for "tomorrow." And I'm trying to work with him about staying on trails and not tromping on the grass so that the trail is there for other people someday, etc. I can say with a lot of certainty that he doesn't get it now but I think if I start talking about it early with him it'll seem normal/natural to always be conscious of how each of our steps affects the future. Is that too lofty a goal?

I'm no environmentalist but I have a problem with people who can't pick up after themselves (campers or even just passersby). I really don't think it's asking too much to not see garbage as I'm driving down the highway. Have these people never heard of garbage bags? Have they never shopped at Walmart because Walmart will give you like 5000 plastic bags that make great in the car garbage bags.

I think the state needs to set up a special position just for me, "Littering Nazi." And yes, they should pay me to do it. I don't think that it's a crime for people to not appreciate the nature they live in and around, I think it's a crime for people to molest/dismember the nature they live in so that it ruins the environment for other people. And on that note, no I still haven't gotten E to make me a laundry line outside because he doesn't like his sheets and towels "crusty." Oy.