Chi is so funny. He makes this "Oh" face just to make us laugh. He will do something surprising like roll off a cushion and make the face. It's very cute. And his newest thing is to pretend to be asleep. He lays down and makes this raspy fake snore sound. (It doesn't sound realistic at all!) He will do it on command and tonight he decided to lay down in the tub and fake sleep after the water had drained out. Of course we are encouraging his antics by laughing all the time.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Bloody nose and banged shins
Boys are wild. Nothing in my two, when they are together, is at all demure or restrained. This leads to lots of breath holding and cringing on my part as I witness many near misses and some minor collisions. But last night, they were taking turns hiding in the curtains and screaming, and not seeing each other, both charged forward and Gabe's rock hard forehead smashed into Malachi's nose. Chi was crying and carrying on. We weren't sure at first because the blood was slow in showing itself, but then we understood the crying was much more than hurt pride and fear. Oh, he was so upset. It is hard because there is so little you can do for a bloody nose.
Earlier in the day, Gabe ran to shut off the tv and accidentally skidded on the wood floor (only socks on his feet) and smashed into the tv stand. He was in pain, and we were a bit concerned about his knee, but after some ice and rest, he was okay.
And today, neither is any worse for wear. You'd never know that both had to have ice packs yesterday by looking. I do not like that this is never going to end. My white hair is showing. I'd better go get some hair color.
Earlier in the day, Gabe ran to shut off the tv and accidentally skidded on the wood floor (only socks on his feet) and smashed into the tv stand. He was in pain, and we were a bit concerned about his knee, but after some ice and rest, he was okay.
And today, neither is any worse for wear. You'd never know that both had to have ice packs yesterday by looking. I do not like that this is never going to end. My white hair is showing. I'd better go get some hair color.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Get down
Malachi can now say "get down" with relative consistency. We are still trying to convince him that he doesn't need to drive home the point by throwing his food too, but we are getting there. He also yells "get down" if he no longer wants to be in the car seat, but we can't help him there.
Gabe and Chi are now back in the same room. Chi hasn't been sleeping at night and Gabe keeps waking up and needing us too. Finally Gabe just asked if Chi could share his room again. Chi seems a little uncertain as to why he was moved, but I do think it is going to help both of them. Last night was the first night together again. Gabe slept like a log. Chi did wake up but not as much as he had been. So, hopefully it works. Now I have an extra room though. I am going to move my art supplies into there, but I don't have any furniture to spare, so it feels more like storage.
I have decided that people's problems with organization lie not in needing more space, but in having too much. I had that 900 sq. ft. apartment organized easily and well, but I can't seem to get things in place in my 1700 sq. ft. There is too much space for things to spread out in, then it starts to feel like there is no place to put things, but logically I know that isn't true. I am getting tired of losing things.
School doesn't start until Sept. 8 (after Labor Day), so Gabe is starting to drive me nuts. He is bouncing off the walls. We still don't know what his class is whether he is in am or pm. I should know by the end of the week. It would be nice to have that info so I can start deciding about schedules for Chi and I, things like library times or drop in kiddie gym times.
We are official Michiganites or Michiganders though. Here they don't make your license on the spot though, so we have temporary licenses while we wait on the real deal in the mail. Both cars have plates. The Beetle is always having drama, but I think Matt has everything in order to at least make it to school and back now. (Yesterday he lost a lug nut just around the corner and had to walk back to the house for tools.) And we are registered to vote. So things are getting settled. I think I am going to take the boys and check out the nature center today.
Gabe and Chi are now back in the same room. Chi hasn't been sleeping at night and Gabe keeps waking up and needing us too. Finally Gabe just asked if Chi could share his room again. Chi seems a little uncertain as to why he was moved, but I do think it is going to help both of them. Last night was the first night together again. Gabe slept like a log. Chi did wake up but not as much as he had been. So, hopefully it works. Now I have an extra room though. I am going to move my art supplies into there, but I don't have any furniture to spare, so it feels more like storage.
I have decided that people's problems with organization lie not in needing more space, but in having too much. I had that 900 sq. ft. apartment organized easily and well, but I can't seem to get things in place in my 1700 sq. ft. There is too much space for things to spread out in, then it starts to feel like there is no place to put things, but logically I know that isn't true. I am getting tired of losing things.
School doesn't start until Sept. 8 (after Labor Day), so Gabe is starting to drive me nuts. He is bouncing off the walls. We still don't know what his class is whether he is in am or pm. I should know by the end of the week. It would be nice to have that info so I can start deciding about schedules for Chi and I, things like library times or drop in kiddie gym times.
We are official Michiganites or Michiganders though. Here they don't make your license on the spot though, so we have temporary licenses while we wait on the real deal in the mail. Both cars have plates. The Beetle is always having drama, but I think Matt has everything in order to at least make it to school and back now. (Yesterday he lost a lug nut just around the corner and had to walk back to the house for tools.) And we are registered to vote. So things are getting settled. I think I am going to take the boys and check out the nature center today.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Dress form
Does anyone have a dressmaker form that they don't need? Stuffed in an attic or something? I need one, and I am happy to take it off your hands for a reasonable price.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Fear of change
It is so hard for me to watch the way fear grips this country. The way fear has gripped this country since Sept. 11, 2001. Most humans don't handle change well. We tend to like things the way we have them, and often don't want to know if it could be better because it is easier just to keep things the way they are. But often, life doesn't give us a choice. Change is inevitable.
After 9/11 this country came to be ruled by fear-mongering. It turned out to be so effective that once immediate threats were dispelled, it was too good of a tool to stop using. It has been most effectively wielded by the far right, though nobody is blameless.
Those who are using scare tactics to try to stop healthcare reform are only hurting us because the system is broken. It needs reform. If the right doesn't participate, it only weakens the nation because change will come anyway. There are serious questions and reasons for debate and by not rising to the occasion of thoughtful discourse, but just choosing ignorance and shouting outright lies, all in the name of protecting the status quo, it is hurting and turning away from the very spirit of this nation.
I believe that people who don't think the system is broken have never experienced anything other than employer based healthcare that is basically good, or have never had to test how good their insurance really is. Those of us who have had different experiences (and we are multiplying, those who have bad insurance are becoming the majority), have the ability to see how poorly the system functions. I have had good employer based insurance and bad, I have had Medicaid, I have had independently purchased insurance. I have lived with the fear that if any of us get sick, it would bankrupt us. 40 million live with that fear everyday because they can afford nothing. There aren't any numbers on the people who have insurance but know it won't cover enough if they get sick. It is too much. This has to be fixed. We have a moral obligation to fix this problem. Not giving people the basic right to health care is far more expensive to a society than not. People are given access to police and fire departments because those things are necessary for a society to function. Healthcare is on the same level. It is time to start thinking of it in that light.
It is a misnomer that we are the wealthiest nation with the best healthcare. We are the wealthiest nation, but that implies many have access to that wealth. It isn't true. We also have some of the best doctors, schools, technology and research, but is merely pretending to believe that we have equal access to that. We say we do, but do nothing in practice to fight for that. And actually, we are in fact not the best when it comes to healthcare. We are sicker and have shorter lifespans than other nations. What we have is not the best. Let's face that reality because once we do, we have the ability to make it the best. We cannot continue with this head-in-the-sand attitude.
I don't think we are going to come up with a new system that will make everyone happy, but we have a responsibility to err on the side of doing the most good for the most people. And if all views are not discoursing, then we are at the table with one hand already tied behind our backs. And this is not socialism in some nasty dirty connotation of the word. It is in the very spirit of this nation who through it's history has always had the practice of taking care of people, of doctors who aid all who come to their care regardless of ability to pay, who nursed their neighbors because they were neighbors. Throughout our history, there are countless examples of a socialistic attitude, not the communist ideas of everyone having the same as everyone else, but of the idea that everyone does according to their ability to each according to their need. For those of you who are Christian, this is at the very heart of Christianity. You can't escape this whether you read the Old or New Testament.
Liberate yourself from fear. Do not be the one to choose ignorance over knowledge. Do not turn a blind eye to your neighbor. We have seen so much change in such a short time, and some people are reeling. Some don't even want to accept the world as it is. But we have real problems that need real solutions. "Here in America we are descended in blood and spirit from revolutionaries and rebels -- men and women who dared to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. " Dwight Eisnehower.
After 9/11 this country came to be ruled by fear-mongering. It turned out to be so effective that once immediate threats were dispelled, it was too good of a tool to stop using. It has been most effectively wielded by the far right, though nobody is blameless.
Those who are using scare tactics to try to stop healthcare reform are only hurting us because the system is broken. It needs reform. If the right doesn't participate, it only weakens the nation because change will come anyway. There are serious questions and reasons for debate and by not rising to the occasion of thoughtful discourse, but just choosing ignorance and shouting outright lies, all in the name of protecting the status quo, it is hurting and turning away from the very spirit of this nation.
I believe that people who don't think the system is broken have never experienced anything other than employer based healthcare that is basically good, or have never had to test how good their insurance really is. Those of us who have had different experiences (and we are multiplying, those who have bad insurance are becoming the majority), have the ability to see how poorly the system functions. I have had good employer based insurance and bad, I have had Medicaid, I have had independently purchased insurance. I have lived with the fear that if any of us get sick, it would bankrupt us. 40 million live with that fear everyday because they can afford nothing. There aren't any numbers on the people who have insurance but know it won't cover enough if they get sick. It is too much. This has to be fixed. We have a moral obligation to fix this problem. Not giving people the basic right to health care is far more expensive to a society than not. People are given access to police and fire departments because those things are necessary for a society to function. Healthcare is on the same level. It is time to start thinking of it in that light.
It is a misnomer that we are the wealthiest nation with the best healthcare. We are the wealthiest nation, but that implies many have access to that wealth. It isn't true. We also have some of the best doctors, schools, technology and research, but is merely pretending to believe that we have equal access to that. We say we do, but do nothing in practice to fight for that. And actually, we are in fact not the best when it comes to healthcare. We are sicker and have shorter lifespans than other nations. What we have is not the best. Let's face that reality because once we do, we have the ability to make it the best. We cannot continue with this head-in-the-sand attitude.
I don't think we are going to come up with a new system that will make everyone happy, but we have a responsibility to err on the side of doing the most good for the most people. And if all views are not discoursing, then we are at the table with one hand already tied behind our backs. And this is not socialism in some nasty dirty connotation of the word. It is in the very spirit of this nation who through it's history has always had the practice of taking care of people, of doctors who aid all who come to their care regardless of ability to pay, who nursed their neighbors because they were neighbors. Throughout our history, there are countless examples of a socialistic attitude, not the communist ideas of everyone having the same as everyone else, but of the idea that everyone does according to their ability to each according to their need. For those of you who are Christian, this is at the very heart of Christianity. You can't escape this whether you read the Old or New Testament.
Liberate yourself from fear. Do not be the one to choose ignorance over knowledge. Do not turn a blind eye to your neighbor. We have seen so much change in such a short time, and some people are reeling. Some don't even want to accept the world as it is. But we have real problems that need real solutions. "Here in America we are descended in blood and spirit from revolutionaries and rebels -- men and women who dared to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. " Dwight Eisnehower.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Still here, and in Michigan now
Well, this certainly has been a long hiatus. After we moved, we didn't have internet for awhile. The move has been a bit of a roller coaster. We have had several problems with the house, in fact, it seems like everytime we were done dealing with one problem, there would be a new one. Right after we got here we discovered that the tub that supposedly just needed a good cleaning was actually rusting, so the boys couldn't take baths. They finally agreed to fix it and put in a new tub, and as happy as that makes us, it's been a long week with the builders in and out and not being able to use that bathroom. It should be done this afternoon.
Other than issues with the house, overall we are happy with where we are living. It's nice having a back yard, the neighborhood is really nice, and next door are two little boys for Gabe to play with. Gabe is registered for school. Matt is preparing himself for the upcoming semester. They are both nervous and excited.
Chi seems to be going through a growth spurt. He keeps falling down and biting his tongue. I hope that stops soon, poor thing. He's also getting teeth and so nights have not been much fun the past week. He still doesn't talk, but he manages to communicate. He's also starting to approxtimate some words, so I think he will decide to talk soon. He seems to have trouble with "o" sounds, which is weird to me, but it is funny because he tries to sing "Old McDonald" and he says e-i-e-i and then waits for you to finish with the o for him.
Other than issues with the house, overall we are happy with where we are living. It's nice having a back yard, the neighborhood is really nice, and next door are two little boys for Gabe to play with. Gabe is registered for school. Matt is preparing himself for the upcoming semester. They are both nervous and excited.
Chi seems to be going through a growth spurt. He keeps falling down and biting his tongue. I hope that stops soon, poor thing. He's also getting teeth and so nights have not been much fun the past week. He still doesn't talk, but he manages to communicate. He's also starting to approxtimate some words, so I think he will decide to talk soon. He seems to have trouble with "o" sounds, which is weird to me, but it is funny because he tries to sing "Old McDonald" and he says e-i-e-i and then waits for you to finish with the o for him.
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