Rite of Passage

Today was one of those days that made me think about my dad. He died when I was in college so fortunately I had him during my most pivotal years. I remember wanting to seek his advice at the end of college when I didn't know who I wanted to be or where I wanted to go. He wasn't there to give me wisdom on one of life's bigger decisions.

Since then 14 years have passed and I've learned to live without him. In fact, sometimes days or weeks will pass before I think of my father. I rarely wonder anymore what he would do in a certain situation. I've learned to move on. I feel like a totally different person at age 35 than I was when he was in my life. I can't even imagine him as a father-in-law to my husband or a grandfather to my kids. I guess that's normal, I don't know. You have to learn to move on.

Today, though, I couldn't stop thinking about my dad. I was teaching my daughter to ride a bike. Thankfully she's the kind that catches on quite quickly to things so we had a lot of fun on this venture. Today was no different. She was off and running (or riding in this case) in a matter of 15-30 minutes. As I was helping her, I kept having flashbacks to my 6 year old self learning to ride on ice and in snow.

You see, I received my bike for my 6th birthday which happens to fall in the beginning of December. Why my parents thought a bike would be appropriate, I have no idea. I was determined though and thankfully, my dad didn't let me down. He took me out to the street and right then and there I learned to ride my new bike. I was shivering and slipping on ice the whole way but thanks to my dad, I learned.

As I was showing Girl Wondertwin to push off the curb with one foot while pedaling with another, I was brought back to those hours out in the street with my dad. It was as clear as yesterday to me. It made me miss him. You see, he was the "teacher" of the family. I learned everything from my dad. Walking, skipping, reading, riding bikes, driving a car...it all came from my dad.

It's funny how parenthood helps you better understand (and appreciate) your parents. It's too late for me to thank my dad for all that he has given me but everything he gave to me, I can pass on to my 3 children. My kids and I thank you, dad.

How Long Must We Sing This Song...

I kid you not. For 22 straight minutes my youngest son, Little Dude, threw a conniption. I decided to time his fit because, well, why not. He was going to scream and cry anyway so why not have my own little experiment.

We ate lunch at a friend's house (a no nap day) and told the kids we'd go to the "bunny park" after lunch. It's a spray ground and we haven't been able to visit it yet since the warm weather arrived. Sadly, it was still kind of chilly after lunch so without telling the kids, we decided to forgo the bunny park. Apparently Little Dude didn't get the memo. He fell asleep on the way home from our friends' house and I had to wake him up and drag him out of his car seat.

Crabby, he stumbled into the house. Realizing that he was home and not at the bunny park, he threw himself to the ground and proceeded to SCREAM for 22 minutes. "Me go to Bunny Park" "Me want to go to Bunny Park"...over and over and over in a mind-numbing way.

Finally after 22 minutes, he picked himself up off the carpet and dragged his tired, fussy body up the stairs and away from me. With every step, he whimpered, "Me go to Bunny Park". Just shoot me now.

Make New Friends...

but keep the old. One is silver and the others gold. I must have sung that a million times in Brownies. For some reason it seemed to be the girl scout mantra. As I've blogged before, friendship is a crazy thing. Somehow over the course of 35 years, I've been blessed with a few great friends, each serving during a season of life. A couple have lasted the test of time. Those that have, I cling to because they are proven and true.

New friendships have me baffled too. Via my extroverted daughter, we've bonded with a fellow soccer family. They have a 5 year old daughter and a 3 year old son. Perfect ages for my daugher and Little Dude. We've played a couple of times now and not only has my daughter made a new friend, but I have too. We're still in that stage where everyone is prim and proper, houses are perfect. Well, her house is perfect. Mine is clean anyway. That's the most I can ask of myself these days.

How long does it take for a friendship to blossom...to go from that awkward "everyone's on their best behavior" to comfortable and collected? I guess I'll find out. Our kids played well together today and my daughter has been invited to her birthday party. Should be interesting.

More thoughts on J&K

My friend lives in Lancaster County, PA, where the Goselins live. She says it's the talk of the county and I can't imagine the paparazzi in small town America.

Viv commented how fast this whole thing happened, ie. renewal of wedding vows last season. It is amazing to see this family unraveling so quickly. It made me wonder, how much the affluence aspect plays a role. It's almost as if they've won the lottery. Someone needs to a documentary on this reality documentary.

The Bible talks of $ being a root of evil (1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.)

We all want the easy life, where all our needs are met at our beckon call! I was just telling a friend that if I had money, I'd hire someone to do my grocery shopping. That would be such a treat for me. I detest the grocery store.

Maybe this show should be a lesson to all of us. Money is a root of all kinds of evil and as much as we want the "easy" life, maybe God has us where we are for a very good reason, that it is what is best for us.

Romans 8:28
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Jon and Kate Plus Eight

I have to write about this. I'm not a big fan of the show. I never have been. The very first special on them (or maybe the second) burned me. She was getting a tummy tuck (for FREE!!!...a dream of any mom who is finished having children...or at least a dream of THIS mom!) and she has the gall to ask for a free breast lift too. Seriously? Thankfully the doctor had the sense to say no.

Since then, I've rarely watched the show but when I do, it's only for 5-10 minutes at a time. I realize I only have twins and a singleton but please! I really have a hard time feeling sorry for Kate. They make 75,000 and episode and they are surrounded with PAID help all the time. And I'm supposed to believe that this is reality with 8 kids.

I totally feel for people who have problems with infertility. Besides a terminal illness, I can't imagine a more desperate struggle. I do have a hard time feeling sorry for someone who "accidentally" has more than 3 or 4 kids. How does that happen? Where are the doctors in scenarios like this one or in the case of the octomom. As a society, maybe we have learned our lesson regarding reality shows and multiples. Could it be that we as watchers of the highest rated show on TLC have driven this couple to the place they are in right now?

I was surprised to hear that more people watched the season premiere of J&K plus 8 than watched the season finale of Lost. That's saying something. I was even more shocked to see that Bill O'Reilly was covering the J&K story on the O'Reilly Factor last night (not that I watch it...my FIL was in town, remember?) We are seriously obsessed with the train that is wrecking in front of our eyes. I'm the first to criticize their choices but instead, this couple needs prayer. Imagine what this whole thing is doing to those 8 children. It's really sad. I commit to start praying for this couple, that they find their way back to each other and start making wise choices in light of their beautiful children.

Moral Dilemma Solved

I went. It was worth it, I guess. There were so many people there though and we have a big family so I don't know if it made any difference but it was good to be with my extended family.

On the bright side, I did make an IKEA stop (fastest stop EVER...should go in Guiness Book!) and got some major organizational tools for the kids's rooms. Ikea is so good for that kind of stuff. I even went through the store backward (in heels and funeral attire) which is a big no-no in Ikea world. You know how they have those yellow arrows that you have to follow. I went through the check outs and up the stairs to the kids' section. I found those mesh toy hangers that can hold up to 8 bazillion stuffed animals and such. My daughter has somehow collection a million dollars worth of doggies, kitties and bunnies. They are all going in the mesh toy hangars. I also got her one of those touille canopies that hang from the ceiling. Her room is starting to finally look decorated after 18 months in our house. Still a lot to do though. I might post pics soon.

Thanks for the advice on the funeral, blog friends.

Dilemma

So, I'm dealing with a situation here and I guess it's what you might call a moral dilemma. My uncle died 2 days ago of a massive aneurysm in his brain. He is my dad's sister's husband. I saw him once a month growing up but only here and there since then. I'm very close to his wife (my aunt) and she's really good to my kids, almost like a grandma.

He died in Florida but the Memorial Mass is in Cincinnati, 2 hours from my home ( 4 plus hours of travel and at least 3 hours spent in Cincy.) My dilemma is whether or not to attend the funeral. My aunts and uncles will be there but only one of my cousins (there are 10 of us.) My in laws are in town which allows for babysitting but since they only visit twice a year, I feel bad leaving them.

Also the funeral is on Memorial Day and we had plans for that day which of course can be cancelled (or carried out without my presence.)

What do you think? Should I attend the funeral?

Tball

Yep. It's that time of year again. Soccer season just ended on Saturday and Tball started on Monday. They don't give you much of a break. I've become a taxi driver. Up until now I've been pretty good at lining things up that all 3 (or at least 2) of my kids can do together.

Tball seems to be a mostly boys sport and there are no girls on the team, much to my daughter's dismay. I really think we're asking a lot of these little people. Baseball takes so much coordination. It's gonna be a scary season, I think. Entertaining of course.

This post isn't as much about Tball as it is helping your child find their niche in life. Of course 5 might be a little early to find your calling but every person wants something that they are good at. Things come easy to my daughter and if she struggles with something, she sticks with it. Her twin brother is the opposite. If things don't go well the first time around, he won't try it again. Practice makes perfect is the mantra around here but he's isn't about to believe it.

He played (and I use that term loosely) soccer for 2 seasons before he decided to hang up his shin guards at the ripe old age of 5. No more soccer, according to him. As a parent, do you let them give up so early or push them, realizing that you may make things worse? I'm not stressing at this point. I'm sure he'll go back to soccer when he finds out he actually has to practice other sports too.

As a parent, I want my kids to be successful and I hate to see them be disappointed. Of course this is a part of life though so I guess we'll just keep trying til he find the sport, or instrument, or art or whatever it is that he is good at. My job is to see him grow up into a man who loves God, loves his wife/family, and serves his fellow man. Hopefully along the way he has some success and finds his niche in life. Either way, age 5 is probably a little too early to start worrying about it! =)

Baptism or Waterboarding

Last night my husband and I got to celebrate our 11 year anniversary...just 13 days late. Pretty good, considering. We went to dinner at On the Border (we love the Fajitas) and then we went to Columbus Fish Market for dessert. You may have one of these in your town. If so, check it out. I love that place. Their fish is amazing but their desserts are out of this world. My favorite is the Chocolate Java Lava Cup. It's chocolate cake oozing with hot fudge and ice cream. Heaven I tell you.

We actually had about 2 hours of uninterrupted conversation last night which might have been even better than the dessert. J is a funny guy and to be honest, after 11 years, I still don't know what is going to come out of his mouth. Take last night for instance. I'm pretty sure this came out of the clear blue sky but he said something like this, "So, what if Christian churches used water boarding as baptism instead of the traditional sprinkle or dunking. How many would actually follow through with Christ's commands?"

Like I said, I never know what might come out of his mouth on any given day. I've always been taught that the action of baptism is an outward symbol of our relationship with God. That He has cleansed us by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's a means of identifying ourselves with God and what He has done for us. While J's question was mostly humorous, it's premise stands. What if the profession of our faith cost us something? Would it strengthen us or cause us to cower?

Deep thoughts on my Wednesday.

Jon and Kate plus controversy...

So, from the very beginning I just knew something wasn't right with that couple. I won't speculate on the issues in the tabloids presently but just from what i see on tv, something is just not right. AOL ran a before and after picture of Kate. Whoosh, how does someone change that much in such a short period of time? If anything, I have atrophied in the 5 years since my twins were born. This woman has certainly improved...I guess that's what 75,000 dollars an episode does for you.

In the same article her before and after picture is posted. I'm thinking they found the absolute worst picture imaginable but still, she's made quite the change. Here's my question though...apparently her haircut is coveted by millions and her hairdresser is booked solid with women who want their hair just like hers. Before I read this I was trying to figure out what was going on with her head. Was it a bob? Was it a spiky do? I don't know. Seems odd to me. What do you think? Do you like her hair?

On the hair note, there was a child at our tball practice today who had a tail. Yes, a 1985 tail at the nape of his neck and it went to his shoulders. I wasn't sure if I was in the right suburb...or decade for that matter. It's gotta be the first tail I've seen in 25 years. Goodness, I'm old.

12 Days

My in laws are in town. For 12 days. 12 days. Should be interesting. The bright side? I'll have a lot of good blog material...that I can't post. Yea.
Okay, another bright side? My dishwasher is running and I didn't load it. Yep, gotta love it when my mother in law is here.

Out of Practice?

Keep in mind I've been married for 11 years now so I could be wrong on this one but I think I accidentally hit on someone today.

I was in Lowe's (yes, I brought all 3 banschees with me but I bribed them with candy so we all survived the trip) and we passed the tractors. Of course my kids were enthralled and had to climb on every last one of them. I called ahead to my daughter to get down. Oddly she listened...a rare occasion indeed.

I winked at her to let her know of my approval but somehow, my wink didn't end up where I intended it. Instead, a man passing us gave me a nice, somewhat interested smile. I booked it to the register for fear that he might think I was hitting on him. Yep, it's been 11 years but I'm pretty sure winking at random men in the home improvement store is still NOT appropriate...especially when you're happily married.

To my sister and Yaya: If you are reading this, I've found a way for you to meet men! =)

New Friends

My daughter (GWT) finally had her playdate with her new soccer friend today. It was planned for last week but unfortunately GWT came down with a nasty cold. It was the kind where I still would have sent her to school but felt guilty sending her to a house to pass it on to an entire family. Colds are weird like that. It's so hard to know whether to send a kid to school or not when they have a cold.
I digress.

I knew today would be difficult. As excited as GWT was about this new friend and her new playdate (she's never really done one before since we always play in groups with moms present...everyone I know has multiples) her brother was just as bummed that he didn't have a playdate himself. Being inexperienced at separating my twins (b/c seriously, why would I? Just to make life complicated I guess) I didn't know enough to plan a playdate for my son. I figured his little brother would be enough of a playfriend. WRONG!

We headed to our favorite park, stopping at Wendy's first for a little lunch. This didn't suffice initially. I called everyone we know, no one being able to play on such short notice. So we went to the park. Generally when I'm out with my 3, they are so entertained with each other that I can make phone calls or read a book. Today I knew would be different. BWT was so bummed that his sister was on a playdate that I made a conscious decision to...drumroll please....play with my kids! Yep, we played dinosaur chase (is that a real game? BWT taught it to me but he seemed to be making it up) at the park, we all swang (swang? Is it no longer swing, swang, swung?) on the tire swing (yes, me too!) and I pushed them both on the swings for what seemed like EVER.

Now this may seem like commonplace to most good moms. I've been so spoiled with having twins first (in some ways...although having twins is the hardest thing I've ever done in most ways...don't get me wrong) because they have so much fun together and have a constant playmate. They don't ever ask me to play superheroes or ponies with them. Instead, they play superhero ponies. Whatever that is. It's the beauty of twins I guess. Age 5 is where the gender thing is starting to take it's toll. Soon and very soon they will have their own set of friends, playdates and birthday parties. It's going to get very complicated.

And then there is Little Dude who will totally get left out of the loop. He has yet to find a friend of his own and he is 3 years old. That's next on my to do list...find a friend for Little Dude.

What?

I had to post this. I'm watching TLC right now. It's a show called "I didn't know I was pregnant". Generally the women on this show are overweight and nearing menopause so it's possibly somewhat understandable (I guess???)that they might have mistaken a pregnancy for some other sickness or disease. But, this last woman is unbelievable!

She had no idea she was pregnant. She came to the hospital because of abdominal pains. After being admitted, she went to the bathroom, thinking she had to urinate. Instead, a baby slid into the toilet. She didn't even know what happened. The baby wasn't breathing but the doctors were able to resuscitate the baby.

Without knowing she'd delivered a baby (in a toilet) she returned to her bed not feeling well. A resident examined her and realized that there was another baby to deliver. This woman carried TWINS for 30 weeks without knowing that she was pregnant.

I'm sorry. I carried twins for 33 weeks and 5 days. I'm hardly convinced that she (or anyone) could endure a twin pregnancy and not know it. I did not eat for 8 months, I threw up constantly and continually popped anti-nausea pills like a druggie. I BARELY survived a shortened twin pregnancy with weekly visits to different types of high-risk doctor.

Lucky her I guess but I just don't believe it. And imagine taking twins home from the hospital, not knowing you were even pregnant! Goodness!

Overheard in the bathtub....

So I'm hiding out on my blog while my 3 children "bathe themselves". Keep in mind the twins are 5 (aka GWT and BWT) and 3 (aka Little Dude) so really no cleaning is going on. More like making a mess, I'm sure. I'll regret my absence in 10 minutes but right now the computer feels like a much safer place to be.

As I'm typing I hear,
Girl WonderTwin (GWT): Little Dude, can you do me a favor?
Little Dude: Uh Huh!
GWT: Can you stop peeing in the bathtub?
Little Dude: Uh Huh!
GWT: Thanks.

Then they went about their business of making a mess...I mean getting clean.
Odd.
I better get in there.

Uh...yea.

Spiritual conversations abound in our home but not usually on my clock. It comes up when I least expect it. Here's an excerpt from today in the car.

Girl Wondertwin: Mom, how many people are in Heaven?
Me: As many as God will allow, I guess.
Boy Wondertwin: Well there are definitely no gardeners in heaven.
Me: What? Why? What's wrong with gardeners?
Boy Wondertwin: Well, they are in jail because they did bad things, they stole things, that's why they can't come to heaven.
Me: BWT, I think you mean robbers.

Remind me to follow up with him on that conversation!

Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Little Dude's Black Eye

I heard SCREAMING coming from outside our home. I stepped outside onto the deck to see BoyWondertwin with a plastic Little Tykes chair in his hands, raised above his head. He was about to take ANOTHER swing at Little Dude. I stepped in just in time before possible tragedy struck.

Poor Little Dude! He was visibly disturbed and I wasn't sure my ear drums would be the same after this incident as he wailed in my ear. I brought him inside to see what happened. The poor dude has a black eye, his very first. Not bad considering he's 3 and has a big brother, right? Since black eyes take a few days to reach their ultimate potential, I'm waiting a day or two for good pictures. I'll post soon but if you scroll down to the crib post, you can see that his left eye has a little color to it.

Mother's Day

So, it was my 6th Mother's Day and I have to say that I'm still not used to it. As with most years, our anniversary landed side by side with Mother's Day. Too bad it wasn't my birthday too...J could have really gotten off easy!

The kids greeted me Sunday morning with a Mother's Day card and silver necklace. J did a great job of coaching the kids and training them to honor me that day! After church and lunch, he took them to the childcare center at the athletic club while I got some work done and cleaned our home, readying it for our Mother's Day celebration with my mom.

Right there is the irony of Mother's Day. To think it's a day off for mom is not quite accurate. As long as the mom has a mom of her own to honor, it's never a day off. For the past 6 Mothers Days, I've made dinner and treated my mom to a day "off". The least I can do I guess considering all that she has done for me all of these years. Maybe one day it will fit in the budget to head out to a nice restaurant and we can treat my mom to a Mother's Day that we both can enjoy.

I can't complain too much though as she did bring an ice cream cake from our favorite ice cream shoppe, Graeter's. I've had 2 pieces today in order to make up for having to cook dinner on Mother's Day. I plan to eat 2 more tomorrow...and then work out every day this week to make up for it.

Happy Mother's Day to you and yours!

No More Babies Here!

I've been putting it off for a long time now. My 3rd (Little Dude) turned 3 in April and I knew it was time (past time) to move him to a "big boy" bed. 2 problems. 1. It was hades when I moved my 22 month old twins to big beds. 2. A new bed for Little Dude is not in the budget right now.

10 days ago Little Dude stopped asking to have the door of his crib let down so he could get out. He was jumping from the top of his crib to a pillow on the floor. It was either pay for his cast and a hospital visit or figure out a way to budget a new bed for Little Dude.

Well, today being Mother's Day, I've finally taken the leap. We took the crib down and it's in the garage now, waiting to be sold (hopefully!!) Little Dude is taking his first nap on his crib mattress, on the floor. This will do for a little while until I find a good deal on a bed for him OR maybe I can convince the in-laws to splurge on a new bed while they are in town. We'll see.

I guess I should feel guilty that all our money has gone into house renovations leaving little left over for furniture. In the long run though, the renovations will pay off when we sell the home. He will only outgrow the furniture we buy, or so I tell myself.

The hardest part though is that my baby is no longer in a crib. It's like a rite of passage or something and it's hardest with the last one somehow. I'm celebrating when my twins graduate to something new but when Little Dude moves up in the world, there is something sad and bitter about it, like I'm aging somehow every time he accomplishes something new. Don't get me wrong! I want him to grow into a strong, independent man who can provide for himself and a family someday but I'm just trying to slow down the clock just a little. It's not working yet...I'll keep you posted.

Oddy and Me

Rarely does a movie come along that really hits the spot. Possibly once every 5 to 10 is there one that I can watch more than once. Just days after Christmas I took my kids and my mother in law to see Marley and Me. It's quite possibly one of the saddest movies ever.

My husband and I were quite transient for the first 4 years of our marriage. We lived in 2 different states and 3 different cities during that time. When we finally settled (or so we thought) in the North suburbs of Dallas we did took the next logical step. We got a dog, of course.

We were determined to get a rescue dog. One day we happened to pass a Petsmart and they were adopting out rescue dogs. One thing led to another and somehow we left that day with a DOG! We knew we wanted a large dog, one that could run with us and keep up with our active lifestyle. We chose a 6 month old black lab. He was 60 pounds at the time and we guessed he would get to 80 pounds, maybe 90 at the most.

We took him home and he seemed to be totally comfortable with our abode. He was a dream dog for the first 24 hours. And then the doorbell rang. You would have thought there were 100 bad guys outside our house, trying to kill us the way he reacted. He was a total Jekyll and Hyde. Our guests were mortified by the behavior or our dog and we had to put him outside. He barked and howled the ENTIRE time! It was disturbing to say the least.

His behavior continued over the next 2 weeks. He would hear the doorbell, or someone walking on the sidewalk outside our home and he would FREAK. Our sweet Labrador would turn to is "Hyde" self, which happened to be his Chow Chow personality. After having him for a few days we found black spots on his tongue and with a little research we found that this was characteristic of a Chow. Chows are also known to be extremely loyal and don't adapt well to non-owners. News to us.

After 2 weeks, we invited his "rescuer" to our home, telling her we may not be able to follow through with the adoption. We took a walk with the rescuer to demonstrate the dog's disposition. Understanding that she knew a lot more about dogs than we did, we listened to her explanation of how some dogs need to be socialized and schooled. Taking her advice we decided to keep the dog and began investing all kinds of time, energy, effort and MONEY into this Chow/Lab.

Throughout our time in Dallas the dog made progress although we still could not expose him to most guests that entered our home. It was just too risky. He had never bit anyone before but there is a first time for everything.

It was our move to Ohio though that did it for us. We moved from a 1700 square foot, open ranch to a 1200 square foot cape cod. In Dallas we had good weather and miles of bike paths where we would walk every single night. Some nights we walked as far as 6 miles. In Columbus the weather only allowed about 6 months of walking per year and the addition of our twins put an end to our long held tradition.

Our dog, who never was an easy part of our life, became a burden. We feared his presence around the twins so we'd have to block him from many family moments. He resented this of course and as the twins became more mobile, he got more nervous. The house was not big enough for him to release energy like he could in Dallas. He became more and more disturbed as time went on.

The ultimate mobility of the twins made us realize that neither we nor our dog could live like this any long. We started searching for someone who would want a 105 pound, black as night, hairy, barking Lab/Chow. Every family's dream dog, right? Well, my husband and I agree that this might be the biggest answer to prayer in our entire marriage. We prayed and prayed for an answer that would not include putting this poor dog to sleep. After several months the answer came.

A student from the Vet school at Ohio State had a friend whose parents were looking for a guard dog for their family farm. They wanted a very large, intimidating dog who barks. We had the perfect dog for them.

On the 10th of December, 2005 (while I was 5 months pregnant with Little Dude) we drove Odyssey up to the farm in Upper Sandusky Ohio. Initially the family (an older couple with grandchildren) had a bed set up in their garage where Oddy would reside. Being a suburban girl, it concerned me that he'd be living in the garage. Well, as it turns out, Odyssey sleeps in the couples' bed most nights and has a run of the house now. He still barks every time a car goes past their farm. The neighbors are not big fans of Oddy but thankfully they are many acres away instead of right next door. Thankfully God provided a perfect answer for our dear canine. While we miss him tremendously, it ended better than we can ever imagine. We still visit him once a year and it's always good to see him. (And by the way, he's now 120+ pounds!)

While our story didn't end the way it did for Marley, we see our lives in Marley and Me, not just in the story of the dog but the story of our lives. A couple growing up together, going from Newlyweds to an older, more mature couple with school aged children. With our anniversary yesterday, it seemed appropriate to remember all that God has done in our lives and the way He has blessed us. I couldn't be more thankful for the good and the bad that has happened. It's been a good 11 years and I look forward to many more...no more dogs though!

Another Controversial Post

Let me start out by saying my laptop is not functioning due to a dead battery. This means I have to venture into the lower level to work or blog. Lately I've been waiting til my husband returns home with his laptop. I hate it when technology doesn't function properly. That explains my sporadic posting as of late.

Now on to the controversy. Gay marriage. It's all over the news right now as state after state denies gay marriage or amends it. I've been trying to figure out where I stand on this issue. Around 60% of Americans reportedly oppose it, even liberal Obama opposes it so I suppose it's still culturally acceptable to be against it.

Here is my issue. I know that as a "Christian" I'm supposed to fight gay marriage because it is not condoned in the Bible. In fact men with men/women with women is literally an abomination as Romans chapter one calls it "unnatural". I tend to agree with the unnatural part. There would be nothing natural about it for me. I don't even know how that works...that's for another post though. And not one posted by me!

So, I toil with "I'm supposed to be against it" morally and culturally. I'm not sure I am though. I believe that a true marriage is between one man and one woman forever. Seriously though, how many people embrace that view these days? The "new" phenomenon is 7 year marriages. That means you sign a contract that you will be together for X amount of time with an option to re-sign after a certain number of years. Like an apartment lease I guess.

My point is that our culture does not honor marriage in any form. We no longer see it as sacred but convenient. If heterosexual couples are not honoring their vows why do we recognize their marriage? I've seen a few people get married where I thought, "Someone stop them RIGHT now. This is not going to end well." And guess what? It didn't.

So why do we act all high and mighty and decide who can and cannot get married? Do I want to explain to my children what a husband and husband is? No, not really. Do I want to explain what a divorce is? No. Sin is hard to explain, especially to a child. I guess I'm somewhat indifferent to this subject. Our culture is not living up to God's standards in any way, shape or form so why impose these cultural morals on people who don't want to live as others want them to? Really, if we're not going to use the Bible as our moral compass (which our culture does not) then why live by a cultural compass?

The slippery slope effect is an interesting argument. If a man can marry another man then why not marry a tree? Apparently this is happening. A woman was on CNN marrying the Eiffel Tower. She said she loved it. In 2009 we would think about having this woman committed but possibly in 30 years this might be acceptable? It's an interesting world we live in.

School Levies

So, those of you out of Ohio might wonder what the heck I'm talking about. Here in the Buckeye state, a proposal is placed on the ballot and the community votes on whether or not they should pay more money for the schools.

Today our community had a levy. I live in the same town I grew up in. I'm able to do this because I left Ohio for 7 years, experienced other parts of the country and world, and then returned to raise my children. I can't imagine a better place to raise children...besides Hawaii maybe. But that's for me. Summer all the time! I could handle that! =)

When we moved here I knew which suburbs to stay away from and which ones to pursue. We looked at a lot of houses in our "rival" suburb but my husband was partial to the town where I grew up (even though he is from Texas.)

So, we found a small cape cod on the edge of the suburb. When the housing market began to tumble we came across a steal of a deal in a neighborhood we could never afford under other circumstances. We pursued this house and somehow, it fell in our laps. We are currently renting out the other house until the housing market picks up again.

Anyway, I could tell that things had changed here some. The town had grown much older. It's such a great place to live that the old people die off instead of moving to a different suburb. In fact, a good portion of the folks on our street spend their winters in Florida or Hilton Head. Must be nice. Anyway, all of this to say, these "older" people are less prone to support the schools because they are past that stage of life. With the maturing of the suburb, the schools are changing too. The district is in a decline mode for the upper grades while the early elementary grades are on the upswing. That's a good sign but not in time to pass the school levy today. It wasn't an easy decision for my husband and I to vote FOR this. We have 2 houses in the suburb so that's a double whammy for us but honestly, we moved here FOR our kids. It's one major reason why we AREN'T in Texas. I'll vent on TX schools in another post but I was convinced that this move would be the best thing for our children.

The failure of this levy has me doubting this assumption. I know the economy is in no shape for a venture like this but I fear for the direction of this country and this suburb. In no way is our district in the shape of some in our area and for that I should be thankful but I can't even begin to imagine what this world will be like when my grandchildren are in school. We live in scary times.

Have I told you lately...

how much I love Elmo? My kids can be consumed by Elmo all day if PBS would air it all day. What is it about that little red furry guy? He totally beats the pants off all the other little creatures on Sesame. I was always a Snuffy fan when I was a kid but how come he can be seen by everyone now? Wasn't he an imaginary friend to Big Bird? I'm confused by that. Did Snuffy "come out" somewhere along the way?

When I was pregnant with Little Dude my twins were 16 to 25 months old. EVERY day we would watch Elmo. EVERY day I would fall asleep as soon as he came on and I'd wake up somewhere in the middle of Mr. Rogers. His neighborhood could never keep my duo entertained so I guess their stirring would wake me up. Looking back, I can't believe that I'd fall asleep with 2 tiny people wandering around but Elmo is like a drug...better than any Ambien on the market.

What will I do when they outgrow Elmo? Already they'd rather watch Transformers or something masculine like that. I continue to steer them toward Elmo. I want to keep them young and innocent for as long as possible. Somehow, I see their babyhood fading on a daily basis. There's something mournful about that but then again, I love their independence. I love that I rarely have to wipe a bottom anymore. Gotta look at the brightside because time is not stopping and the little people are growing up!

Hmm...

Today is one of those days where I have a lot to write about and I just can't post. Sometimes there are things going on about which I'd love to vent but out of fear that a person involved could be reading my blog, I choose not to post. It's frustrating because this is much like a public journal. For the most part I'm an open book in life so a blog is a natural fit for me. I have a few things to say today though that might be misunderstood or hurtful for certain folks who might happen to read today. For that reason I'll have to just fume I guess.

Fuming...