Simple Thoughts

This is a test...

2011-06-13T01:44:00.001-08:00

This is only a test.

2010-08-29T04:55:00.002-08:00

Well I am up. I best write since there is now way I am falling back to sleep, not that I don't want to but just that I can't. My mind is awake and at times like this it is just best to indulge. Tomorrow is Sunday anyways and my demands a few so if I am a bit tired oh well maybe that makes a good excuse for a mid morning nap.
So what has me up this early? What has me up this early AND blogging? I had a dream. It was about someone in my past, one of the few people I really did not like. She was a girl I knew in high school. I know everyone has people they hated from high school and I am not sure why after all these years I awoke with a start from a dream about her, but I did.
I smoked part of cigarette while trying to remember the dream and I couldn't quite remember, so I thought about the conditions of our friendship and quite frankly the crap she put me and my friends through. I made some coffee and headed back to my computer, my feelings towards her haven't changed much and despite myself I was trying to find her on facebook and myspace. I was searching, freshly brewed coffee in hand for a girl I once hated and still really didn't like, hoping to not only find her account but not have it be set to private. I wanted a sneak peak into her life so I could maybe guess at who she had become.
It hits me that I am stalking this girl and I shut down the window. Maybe I will add her as a friend...maybe I won't, but I will not stalk her facebook at 5am in the morning.
For now I enjoy the coffee and the light produced by my computer while I type out this blog. If you also can't sleep here are some links to help you fall promptly asleep or keep you moderately enetertained!
All is fair at the Fair???
Ooops not again!
A penny saved...

2010-05-26T05:22:00.001-08:00

Summer Days

2010-05-25T04:55:00.003-08:00

2010-05-08T14:00:00.002-08:00

MOVING TO MEXICO

Dear Mr. President:

I'm planning to move my family and extended family into Mexico for my health, and I would like to ask you to assist me.

We're planning to simply walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico , and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements.

We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws.

I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Calderon, that I'm on my way over?

Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.

2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.

3. Please print all Mexican government forms in English.

4. I want my grandkids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bi-lingual) teachers.

5. Tell their schools they need to include classes on American culture and history.

6. I want my grandkids to see the American flag on one of the flag poles at their school.

7. Please plan to feed my grandkids at school for both breakfast and lunch.

8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.

9. I do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico but I don't plan to purchase car insurance, and I probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.

10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from their president to leave me alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.

11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put U. S. flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.

12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business I may start.

13. Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say critical things about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.

14. I want to receive free food stamps.

15. Naturally, I'll expect free rent subsidies.

16. I'll need Income tax credits so although I don't pay Mexican Taxes, I'll receive money from the government.

17. Please arrange it so that the Mexican Gov't pays $4,500 to help me buy a new car.
18. Oh yes, I almost forgot, please enroll me free into the Mexican Social Security program so that I'll get a monthly income in retirement.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all his people who walk over to the U.S. from Mexico . I am sure that President Calderon won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

Thank you so much for your kind help. You're the man!!!

2010-04-28T06:59:00.002-08:00

I posted this post the other day and somehow it ended up back on April 6th, not sure why but I am re posting it!

Today I have less than two month deadline till my feet touch the salty sands of AP beach and it hits me that I have like zero time left. This is my neurotic side kicking and trying to freak myself out. Well its working.
Some hard choices need to be made and made now as to avoid split decisions we will pay for for a long time. We have two dogs, two ferrets and one cat and we have to figure out what we are going to do with them all. Monty the cat is easy as my grandma can stop by at night and feed her but expecting or even asking my grandma to take care of Koda and Kenai again is not an option. Koda's future is uncertain and that weighs heavily on me, knowing that it will be I who makes the decision on whether we get him fixed and HOPE it works (even the vets aren't so sure this will curb his "attitude problem") or to put him down. Kenai on the other we are looking at finding her another home, one where she gets out in a yard more to run and her owners have more time for her.
The ferrets are joining us in our long trek up and we are excited for you all to meet them. Luna and Amy will soon go in for their shots and papers and they will be official! The vet visit for them should not be too bad as they count as one, we would have to pay extra for their shots. Still trying to figure out if I should stuff them both in one bag or should I go legit and go with two (75 vs 150 plus cost of extra kennel). I do not think the airlines is going to open it up and let them out to check but you never know.
I am also thinking of things like traveling for the first time with an infant. This has me a bit freaked out as I do not know how Shane will do since he is still breast fed and he LIKES his schedules. I am already accepting of the fact that I will be that parent with the whiny baby stuck on a plane for eight hours. I am not sure how we are going to work it out with the restrictions on what you can carry (formula and breast milk) so the airlines will be getting a weird call to have those questions answered.
I have already started to mentally pack and with the charges we will face at the ticket counter for our bags, I am thinking bare necessity. I am going to do the math tonight and see if it would be more cost effective to send things up with flat rate shipping or just pay the baggage fee.
If using the postal service is more cost effective you can look forward to seeing boxes marked for the moose den arriving soon!
Then after we leave I have to worry about my house. We are only leaving poor Monty and while she requires minimal attention but our house can not look like no one lives here. So now I am having to pay for yard service while I am gone which was supposed to be the land lord's job. I sure wish I had family I would trust to stay in my home while I was gone!
Rental car and hotel reservations, vet visits and long phone conversations with the airlines.
Bags for travel and kennels to be bought...
Appointments to be made...
House to be cleaned and secured so when I get back the end of July all I have to do is put on clean sheets...
All this and regular life going on, like a boy turning 9!
Really?
Is he really nine?
Wow, he is almost out of the single digits!
Well that has been my whiny unfocused post and now I will quit my complaining and start doing, as time is RUNNING out!
Just know that while I complain of the things to do I am SO looking forward to seeing the HITW recreation site and am looking forward to a glass of wine on my front porch!
Anyone care to join me?

2010-04-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

2010-04-21T05:54:00.001-08:00

2010-04-21T05:37:00.001-08:00

2010-04-16T05:52:00.001-08:00

2010-04-16T05:44:00.001-08:00

Ragged Old Flag

2010-04-09T05:06:00.003-08:00

I remember the ice cream. It was plain old Vanilla but it tasted so good and sweet on that hot day so good in fact I barely noticed the old man sit down next to me.
I sat there kicking my feet as fidgety kids often do and he smiled, a sad smile perhaps remembering a time long ago where he kicked his feet licking ice cream.
I looked at him sideways and started to investigate the old man next to me.
He must have been really old, his skin hung in folds and looked as though it was paper thin and if I touched it I was sure it would be feather soft. I looked at his hands they were in similar shape but were covered in brown spots and I imagined connecting those dots. His fingers were curled and gnarled and resembled more claws than fingers and in those "claws" I saw he was holding something.
At this point the old man looked over at me and smiled, noticing I was staring at him. He looked back out over the court square and even though I looked to see what he was looking at, I could see nothing.
The Nebraska wind blew and ruffled what ever he was holding and it drew my eyes back to his lap. His fingers uncurled even though it looked like it was painful he smoothed over the rough looking fabric with a proud look on his face. It was an old flag dirty, torn and frayed but still folded as neatly as possible.
He held that flag as gently as one would a baby as he sat on that bench and he looked back out into nothing remembering a time far off. I asked him where he got his flag and why was it so OLD looking. He looked at me and instead of being offended by my childish bluntness and naivety, he started to tell me a story. A story about how he had become to know the flag he now carried on his lap. I look back now and wish I could have that conversation again and I wish I could remember his story in it entirety but I have forgotten most of it. What I did not forget was that his story was sad, he had been through World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War and he watched many fall but he said "Our flag did not."
I am not sure if he told me where he got the flag but in my mind now I can imagine where each and every spot, rip and tear came form.

This was inspired by Johny Cash's "Ragged Old Flag"

Feeling a bit down? How about upside down?

2010-04-08T11:11:00.003-08:00

This issue was brought to my attention today as I looked at a few sites I support.
Groups who are against our current administrations decisions and policies are choosing to add pictures to their profiles depicting the US flag flown upside down.
Without looking up the actual causes that excuses hanging our country's flag upside down, I would have said that it was if you were in distress.
I then went on to look up the rules and regulations as to the proper display techniques for our nation's flag.
I do not agree that we as a country are at the point of hanging our flag upside down and to do so shows disrespect for the ones who have fought for what that flag stands for.
Some will argue that it is their right to express their dismay and displeasure with our current government officials by hanging this flag in the distress status.
What are you thoughts?

Angry, yes Racists, NO!

2010-04-07T05:15:00.002-08:00

I am an American citizen and I am angry.
I am a member of the Tea Party movement.
I am not ashamed of either facts.

Everyday I read, write, learn and act.
I read current and past events in an effort not only to keep up to date but also to relearn the things I missed in my education and youth.
I write blogs for our movement describing daily my journey of rediscovering America and my government.
I act by going to Tea Party meetings and supporting our local efforts when I can.

I do not however have "hostility towards diversity" as our current administration would have you believe.
I am not a part of a robe wearing group that discriminates against a gender, race or religion. Tea Party members have a common goal to bring America back to the people and put the power of the people back to work and we are not doing this by violent means but by using the rights given to us by our founding fathers many years ago.
I want the elected officials to speak for the people that voted them there not their special interests.
I need a government I can trust in that will not continue to run us so far in debt that we have a made in China sticker stamped on our butts.
The name calling and accusations only tell me they are getting worried.
They know that America is starting to wake up and it does nothing but confirm that we are making REAL change.

Good morning America, would you like some coffee or how about some TEA?

2010-04-04T14:31:00.005-08:00

2010-03-28T06:24:00.003-08:00

Morning blog land, how are you today?
I have been away and I wish I could say that I was doing something extremely important but no.
The weather is looking nice for the day and it shows to be promising throughout the week.
Been looking at the increasing daylight and really do not need the Farmer's Almanac to tell me as the birds outside my window are doing a great job.
Heath is home today from work even though there is plenty to do right in this area and from the looks of things it will only be getting busier but WE needed a day off.
We are thinking of packing some lunches and going for a walk with the kids the fresh air does them good including poor Shane who has not seen too much of the outside world due to the winter months.
While we go for the walk here are some interesting things I found while surfing the web today.
I wonder sometimes if it is all really news but then I remind myself it ended up on my blog so it HAS to be!

Really? Do we care?

Now this says a bit about a person's loyalty.

How do you know when it is the best day to do something? Ask the stars!

Been too long

2010-03-27T05:50:00.003-08:00

I have been absent and while I wish I could say I was doing something really important but I was not.
I will hopefully breath some life back into my blog and think of something witty to write about.
Eh...maybe tomorrow.
Today I think I will keep it simple.
The kids have been home over the last week and have been bored out of their minds...seems staying home everyday in the rain is not fun! They have had a few days to play outside with the weather improving enough to get my side and back yard raked and cleaned of winter poo and trash. Looks like now just in time for the rain but I suspect when it finally stops and the sun comes out we will have a full green lawn. There are patches of green grass already but for the most part my lawn is still brown and ugly.
I have been spending the time indoors learning how to sew and it is much harder than I thought but very full filling. I have bought one used sewing machine for $20 from Craigslist then found another a few days later for free and they came with everything one would need to start! They are both older machines but the older FREE one works the best and I prefer it over the newer one. I found a lady on craigslist that was giving away free fabric and I snagged it thinking i would get maybe a few good scraps only to find yards of fleece in many colors!
I made several sleepers for Shane, a couple of blankets, a bath robe set for a friends little boy and cloth diapers. I am also working on making a few dresses and have bought some cute material for Heather who would have thought I would have to wait over eleven years for my girl to wear dresses?
Heath is back at work full swing and we have all been adjusting after a very lazy winter. He has been working mostly in Nebraska but that will change as the fields every where start to thaw.
He has found two more deer antler in Kansas to add to his "shed" collection. They were found in two different spots but they are so similar in size that they could have been from the same deer!
The kids now have them in their rooms next to their beds.
Well I am going to bed and I will try to write in the morning!

2010-03-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

2010-03-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

2010-03-22T10:41:00.001-08:00

A renewal of vows

2010-03-20T18:57:00.002-08:00

This year marks Heath's and my tenth anniversary well actually November 27 of last year but still we have not reached eleven yet!
Heath and I have always talked about renewing our vows but never really put a specific time frame on it until now.
We are planning on doing a simple ceremony to mark the ten years of our marriage and then follow that ceremony with a reception in the HITW, inviting close friends and family.
We are thinking July 17th as that is one of the only weekend that does not have birthday, anniversary or baby due!
Let me know what you guys think!

Its beginning to look a lot like spring...

2010-03-15T05:26:00.002-08:00

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Springtime

(Sang to the tune its beginning to look a lot like Christmas)

Its beginning to look a lot like springtime
Ev'rywhere you go
Look in the back yard and then its covered with poop again
with little piles and puddles in a row!

Its beginning to look a lot like springtime
Flowers in every store
The prettiest thing to see is the green grass that will be
Right out your own front door!

A pair of red rubber boots with and pot holes on your commute
Its the complaint of John and Jane
Melting snow brings squalls and dripping basement walls
Sump pumps are sold out or rented
And the kids can hardly wait for school time to come to and end!

Its beginning to look a lot like springtime
Ev'rywhere you go
There's piles of snow in the yard one in the front as well
Soon there will be flowers that need to grow

Its beginning to look a lot like springtime
Soon the birds will start
The thing that will make them sing is the bird seed that you bring
Spring is in your heart!
Enjoy!

That's what little kids do...

2010-03-13T06:18:00.002-09:00

Just another rainty day...

2010-03-10T04:49:00.002-09:00

Another rainy start to my day here in Lincoln Ne and I am left wondering what will I do?
Maybe I could learn to make cheese but I am hearing the main ingredient in the recipe I found can be considered a "bio hazardous" substance and if used as a weapon, I could be charged with a felony.
Does that mean I am a loaded and deadly weapon?
I gave up on the cheese idea to read some news and found out the Cory Haim died of a suspected drug overdose which marks the end of a life of another child star.
I think I will put on some music, watch the rain come down and drink my coffee.
What shall I use for creamer?

Key, Like Kilo

2010-03-09T07:11:00.004-09:00

What a character.
The first time I met Key he was wearing only a bath rob that read Huge Heffner over the left breast pocket. This is not too abnormal except he was standing in the middle of the Tackle Shop.
There would be many stories told when he would randomly show up dogs in tow.
You knew Key was in town when you could hear his diesel engine rev or the tap tap of him shooting at nothing on his property.
He was a nice enough guy even if he was a bit rough around the edges.
I remember a particular story that still brings a smile to my face.
One day while I was working at Ulmer's Key, Tom and few other guys came filing through the check out. They were very excited as they were going on a fishing trip to the Kvichak River. The place rang a bell as Heath had talked about it before. I chatted with the guys as I rang them up and bagged their purchases, teasing Tom and Key, telling them to not tell my husband as he would be jealous they were going.
A little while later I got a call from Tom telling me they had an extra seat if Heath wanted to go but they were leaving in an hour.
At the time Heath had no cell phone so I had to drive all the way home pick him up and have him back in Anchor Point in less than an hour. Needless to say he made it.
I can still remember my husband's face as I told him that they wanted him to go and it is still a trip my husband talks about often and we still don't know how a seat suddenly opened but Heath was thankful regardless!
The stories Key told were some of the most interesting stories I have ever heard and yes some were a bit disturbing but you could never really know if they were true or not.
One such story he told was of his original reason for coming to Alaska many years back and until we saw the framed and signed mugshot of Steve McQueen, we thought it was another tall tale. There in that picture frame was Steve McQueen and it was your typical mug shot but it meant something more than that to me. It brought up the possibility that some of his stories were true even if they were a bit far fetched.
Last night while Heath was looking on information on Key's property he came across an article about Key and while it was short it added more to the mysterious guy in his bath robe who enjoyed his guns.

2010-03-08T06:31:00.000-09:00

More Earthquakes...

Another earthquake hits, this time in Turkey
and it leaves one wondering:
Are earthquakes really on the increase?

Some are quoting scripture,
and some are talking end of days
I think I will go buy flea collars, its getting warm out there!
now all I need are some rays!

*in case you are wondering what "divers places" means, I looked it up.

Also I referenced a site above IMDb and I have to give a bit of a nod. If you have not already found this site I suggest a look through. Heath and I are movie buffs, (I feel comfortable saying that) and one of our favorite games is "guess that actor/what other movies have they been in" and now even our kids play it. This site is fun and has solved many a debate I use it almost everyday!
Enjoy!

2010-03-07T05:43:00.001-09:00

National Pig Day

Pork and Sweet Potato Wrapped in Bacon (My own recipe!)
Side Dish: Skewered Bacon Wrapped Halibut
Side Dish: Sauteed Asparagus

In honor of national pig day, even if I am 6 days off, I decided to make a dish that would help celebrate the March first holiday.

Here is the recipe and instructions. Be for warned there are probably easier ways to make this dish but it would not taste any better or be as much fun! Also it is not for anyone on a diet or a vegetarian!

First you start with THICK (1"-1 1/2in) boneless pork chops. Slice the pork chops in thin slices, making one slice per each serving you would like. I will not begin to give you exact measurements as there are none. I used two pork chops and made more than enough for my family of four (that eat big people food anyways)!

Once you have the pork chops sliced you trim the fat off the pork chops and save scraps. Place sliced meat on plate and place in fridge.

Mean while peel three or so sweet potatoes, again I used three and had just enough but you may want to bake some for a side dish although we used asparagus.
Once you have them peeled chop in thin slices. At this same time get a yellow onion and chop it into large pieces.
Heat a large sauce pan up with 6-7 pieces of bacon folded in half and chopped in one inch sections. Place entire onion in pan and slowly saute adding spices or your choice. I left mine plain and just added salt and pepper. Once you have the onions and the bacon cooked add the chopped up sweet potato and about 1/4th cup butter. Let vegetables and bacon saute slowly till sweet potato are soft but not burnt.

While that's sauteing pull out about a pound of halibut and chop into approximately inch sections. Cut one piece of bacon in half and wrap one piece of halibut sliding a skewer through it. Add other vegetables of your choice I just used onions to keep it simple. I used about 4-5 pieces which made about one serving.
Place in fridge.

Now that your vegetables are done they must cool off but you do not want to loose the bacon grease. Place strainer on a plate and let vegetables drip for about an hour. Works also because the vegetables and bacon need to cook down for you to handle them.

Once they are cooled down get out the rest of your bacon (I was already into the second pound of regular sliced bacon at this step)!
Lay a full bacon strip in the cutting board and place one slice of your pork chop at one end, place vegetables and bacon in pork chop wrap bacon to lock in veggies. Place carefully on broiler pan. Bake at 350 degrees till pork is cooked through.
*After eating the dish popular opinion was that the bacon around the pork could have been a bit more crisp. I recommend maybe lightly browning carefully on the sides an top as best you can. I did not use the broiler for this step, though I know I should have. The grease was thick and the meat was almost drowning in it!*

Take skewered halibut and saute in the bacon/sweet potato/onion grease till both sides are crispy then place on the broiler pan with the pieces of pork. I dusted my skewer with paprika for color and salt and pepper and it was perfect. Make sure that halibut is still moist but flaky and make sure bacon is cooked. I think mine took about 15 minutes on the broiler pan at 350 degrees.

While those are baking pull out your asparagus and then saute slowly in the left over grease, I added more onions.

By the time the vegetables are cook to taste (we like our firmish on the outside but soft on the inside) your food should all be done. I served as is with no sauce.
The pork came out juicy (not sure if it was the grease that pooled around the pork itself) and the sweet potatoes were the perfect veggie.
This was extremely rich dish and while it was in honor of celebrating the pig I think Igained a few pounds from this dish!

If you try it before summer let me know what you think but I do plan on making it this summer. The halibut skewers will work well on our fire pit and the wrapped pork, well it just good!
Enjoy!

2010-03-03T07:13:00.000-09:00

Junior High Already?

Heather and I went last night to the first of Heather's five orientations she will have before starting school on August 15th. Driving up to the school I noted that it did (thank goodness) have a parking lot, unfortunately I was still unable to find parking. That was amazing because it was just the 6th graders there and there are two other classes. Walking into the school it was hard to not be impressed by the schools brick exterior which it turns out has not been altered since it was built 83 years ago!
We were seated in the auditorium that features a balcony and the best acoustics I have ever heard without a microphone. The chairs were the old folding wood kind with wrought iron bases and their condition amazed me as they looked like they were installed yesterday.
The hour presentation was informative giving us the basics of the life of the average 6th grader at Irving. Heather is projected to attend school next year with an approximate head count of 850 students, with her class reaching 300. Irving is capable of holding 935 students without adding any additional buildings and has held as many as 1100 kids during one school year.
The school boasts three fully equipped computer labs with two newly added mobile labs with 60 lap tops. Each grade will be taught a language, though I am not sure if they learn one language a year or if they stick with one language through out their time there.

Heather is excited to start and even impressed she will get her own locker!
The only thing is the start date for school has caused a bit with our travel plans to the Alaska this summer.

2010-03-02T07:11:00.001-09:00

Pine Needle Bear

This was sent to me in an email and while I rarely forward things every once in awhile something more than a perverted joke or spam comes through that I feel is note worthy.
Today it was this bear. He is made from pine needles that a man collected, washed and trimmed then meticulously glued together to form this bear. From what I read it took the man 8 months to do this bear.
The detail is just beautiful!
I wonder if I could ask him to make a moose?

2010-03-01T06:01:00.000-09:00

Night Terrors and Night Hags

We always knew Hunter moved around in his sleep moving from one spot in the house to the next in a sleepy stupor. At first we thought he was waking up and looking for a more comfortable spot (he likes heater vents) but we soon began to realize he was not awake after a few incidents where he wakes up and does not remember. Stan can even attest to Hunter's nightly wanderings after an incident that occurred when they were staying here with us.
A month or so ago we moved Heather out of Hunter's room so she could have her own space and he his. That very night Hunter came out of his room in a panic and very upset claiming "something" held him down in his bed. He claimed that he could not scream for help or move and that "it" was sitting on top of him. He was so panicked I knew what ever happened it scared the heck out of him. What do you tell your child when they come to you with this? The old "you had a nightmare" just doesn't cut it but what else can you say? To him it was the most frightening thing ever and he was scared to sleep.
We decided he could sleep on Heather's floor till he was more comfortable sleeping in his room alone and maybe he just needed to get used to the arrangement.
I once again went to my trusted search engine and Googled Hunter's experience totally expecting to find information on poltergeists and demons and such only to find sleeping disorders as the number one cause of scenarios like the one Hunter had.
Turns out it is a common occurrence for people who sleep walk and they even have a term for it, Night hags or Night terrors.
I guess as a sleep walker they have the ability to wake up their mind before their body wakes up and therefor there mind is working but their bodies are not so a feeling of being held down and not being able to talk lead to panic and a feeling of something evil holding them down. A lot of people can mistake these episodes as demonic or evil manifestations but it is only the subconscious conjuring up an image to match the panic the person is feeling.

I am not sure what we have to do for this but what I found stress is the key and not being overly tired. I will be looking into more information and trying to figure out how to help him sleep better. We have moved him into his room and bought him a lamp that he keeps on at all times and when he roams around we always find him in the the light cast off by the lamps in the house sleeping soundly. We have not had another episode although I still find him wandering around the house in the middle of the night.

2010-02-24T04:33:00.001-09:00

Conspiracy theories, drug trafficking and terrorists.

What do these all ave in common with D. B. Cooper? Not much. I was watching a movie last night and they talked of the character D. B. Cooper and it sent me to the computer to learn a bit more about him. There really isn't much after he jumps from the plane except a few claims to have found his body, a parachute and a placard from the plane that fell when he jumped.
It was a short but interesting read and I learned that because of D. B. Cooper and several failed attempts to imitate his jump Boeing created the Cooper which prevent the stairs from being deployed after the plane has taken flight. I also found out that he was Dan Cooper and D. B. Cooper came from another man who was brought in solely on his initials. He was cleared but I guess the name stuck.

So you are probably wondering about the headline and what they all have to do with D.B.?
While researching the jumper I found a site that talks about information on the 9/11 hijackers. It is an eye brow raising read and it makes you wonder. I understand that sites can be biased but it was a good read non the less.

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2010-02-23T05:10:00.000-09:00

2010-02-20T04:44:00.000-09:00

Double Shot...
I had to post twice this morning due to some "cool" facts, I will blame it and all typing errors on the double shot of espresso!

• We've now had at least an inch of snow on the ground in Lincoln for 75 days, the second-longest duration, topped only by 92 days in 1975.
• Our half-inch of snow on Friday gave us a season total of 39.3 inches of snow. That puts us in 16th place among Lincoln's snowiest winters.
• We haven't seen 50 degrees since Dec. 1; we've seen 40 on four days since Dec. 1.... See More
Enough already?

It gets worse.

There's a winter storm watch for Sunday morning through Monday morning.

The National Weather Service says a winter storm system is expected to develop over the southern Rockies on Saturday and move onto the Plains Saturday night.

Forecasters say most places in the storm watch area, including all of Southeast Nebraska, are expected to receive between 3 and 5 inches of new snow, but the potential exists for more than 6 inches in some locations.

The combination of snow and gusty north to northwest winds could cause travel problems.

Much of the rest of the state also could get 3 to 5 inches of snow.

Friday's storm brought the most snow to far southeast and west-central Nebraska. The weather service said several areas in Keith, Garden and Lincoln counties reported receiving 5 inches or more, with an unofficial total of 6.5 inches near the Sutherland Reservoir west of North Platte.

In Southeast Nebraska, Nebraska City reported 4 inches, Auburn 3.4, Tecumseh 3, and Crete 1.7.

2010-02-20T03:43:00.000-09:00

So we are headed into another forecast of a snowy weekend and I am watching the state warnings and thankful that I am not driving anywhere! Seems of late that all we are seeing is one day of thaw and then several days of snow and it makes it hard to believe that soon there might be some green poking through the twice frozen poop soup in my back yard.

I was going through my pictures again trying to consolidate some of them and make them easier to manage (this has been a goal since I began taking pictures but I have never really accomplished it. Recently though I have managed to get them on one external hard drive now I just need to clean them up further.)

When I came upon this picture I first saw Hunter out numbered, gripping for his life, being drug to some unknown torture by his girl cousins. I remember the day this was taken and it was a good day. I know that despite the deceptive looks on the kid's faces they are all really enjoying them selves, even Hunter!
After staring at this picture I was reminded of a conversation I had a few days ago about the grand kids returning to the pit and how neat it would be. Then the full reality hit me.
This pit was built for our family but did any really know the impact this place would have on our family? A place was created that our kids and their kids could call home and always have something in common and something to come home to no matter how far they roam. This last year we saw the oldest bear cub leave home and we face the girlie Buffie leaving home soon as well and we are faced with them growing up despite our best efforts . We will start to see them dating guys we don't like and maybe a few we do, we will see their hearts break and spirits fly and we will watch them create families of their own. All I can hope for is that they to will bring their families back to the pit and they will have pictures like this to share.

*The girls in this picture are now much taller and much more grown up and the boy, well he still screams when his girl cousins gang up on him but even he has gotten a bit taller!
Here is a toast to many more memorable memories with this family that is growing even as you read this!

2010-02-16T14:15:00.000-09:00

Heath 8 days/ Shane 22 days

When we asked Stan and Terry for pictures of Heath as a baby to compare to Shane we KNEW Shane looked like Heath but were shocked when we looked through the photos and saw Shane starring back at us! After putting these two photos together I went on a search for some old pictures I have of Hunter because I know if I were to throw him in the mix he would add to the confusion! Now like I said we knew he was half Heath and half me but there is something to be said about seeing that much of a resemblance and likeness.
There are a few differences that I could see from this photo but then it could be the lighting. Looks like Heath might have been a bigger baby with darker hair and looks as though his eyes were dark in this picture. Terry was he born with brown eyes? Heather was born with brown eyes and they always stayed that pretty brown. Hunter was also born with blue but changed to green so Shane has blue so far so I am hoping they stay that way so I will have one brown, blue and green eye kids! Anyways it was a bit of fun and proves that Harrington genetics are running strong!

2010-02-16T03:14:00.000-09:00

Spring & Renewal

I am a big fan of Febreeze and when they came out with their air effects I was even happier. I like buying my scents according the holidays for example for Christmas we used ginger bread and fresh baked cookies smell sprays. Now that we have spring cleaned and the house is spotless I figures why not use the new spring collection.
I bought linen & sky and spring & renewal. They both smell amazing and fresh without being over powering like the air fresheners of days past that choked you out of the room recently sprayed.
As I sat this morning reading the back of the spray can (I won't mention where ;)) I started to think about the smells they have canned. The first smell linen & sky I could see them being able to bottle the sky but how do bottle renewal?
I went to the ingredients to see what the mixture was for renewal finding odor eliminator, water, fragrance, non-flammable natural propellant, quality control ingredients, no CFC's and no phosphates.
So that is chemical make up of renewal.
On to other, more important news.
I80 claimed several Nebraskan's lives over the last few days and many accidents including a 35 car pile up outside of Lincoln and a 14 car pile up near the Homestead National Monument on HWY 4 were the resilt of blowing snow and winds. Drivers not driving for the winter road conditions are also contributing factors and that low visibility and black ice have sent cars into the ditches and onto their tops. Unfortunately for a few Nebraskan's the roads conditions claimed their lives which prompted state officials to close I80. The cold temps in Lincoln are staying right about the low twenties during the days and dropping even lower at night but with the wind it feels like below zero.
Question?
How do you repair hundred year old sheet rock?
Well first you have to go online and figure out what kind of material was used. About the time our house was built (we were told the house was built in 1915) there were several types of ways to cover the walls and after working this summer with sheet rock I am glad times have changed! After reading few articles I found one I think properly describes my house so I am guessing I have lime plaster placed on wood lath. This is makes since below the windows that had air conditioners in them have water damage and after close examination the only thing keeping the plaster together anymore is the thin piece of wall paper. Lime does not handle water well. We learned another interesting thing while looking into the wall, we have no insulation! It is just an open space between the outside wall and the inside wall and when a chunk of the plaster fell we realized why our room is so cold on windy days!
I am thinking of just getting some mud and slapping it on the hole as this is not my house and I am afraid to put too much money into it and if we start to repair this then we would have to start a project I am not sure we should. As a side note the water damage was not from us. They used to keep the air conditioners in the window year round and during the winter with ice and snow its not a good idea. This winter we took them out!
Well it is time to wake the kids up and ready for school.
Question of the day.
Will Lincoln Nebraska still be colder than Alaska?

2010-02-15T17:25:00.000-09:00

2010-02-14T06:10:00.001-09:00

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

I could go into the history of Valentine's Day but who hasn't heard that story over and over. No, today I thought it would be interesting to look at some weird facts of Valentine's Day!

2010-02-13T03:57:00.000-09:00

Call Me Nob"Al"

Al Gore Pictures

As our country breaks record for the most states covered with snow in one single day (the only state left out was Hawaii), I am wondering where in the world is the melt down happening because I need a vacation!

On other news I got to thinking about my post yesterday and I thought of a few good points that I am even guilty of. When I talk about music I have my favorite female performer and my favorite male performer, even our awards ceremony breaks the two genders into separate categories. I know that when I do this I do not mean to say that a women or man cannot fairly compete against the opposite gender so there for they have to be separate, but I love seeing my favorite female singers Lita Ford, Janis Joplin, Joan Jett and P!nk just to name a few!). I have always liked the fact they are women and they can rock better than most men (or could anyways ;))
I have come to the realization that we are not yet at the point in our country or world for that matter where a person's gender or race will not be considered when speaking of what they have done or will do. Its a nice goal though!

The home front has been chugging along. The report cards have been brought home and both kids are doing really well. A few improvements over last report card. Heather Really buckled down and brought her math up and I am so proud of her she fought that battle on her own! Hunter has also turned round his reading and now he out reads his older sister! He finishes a book quicker than he can get a new one so we are always on a look out for good books. He has been reading The Diary Of A Whimpy Kid and he likes it so much he has read it more than a few times! I am ordering some older books about horses and cats for Heather so we can bump up her reading again as this is the first time in forever her grade was lower than her brother's in that area. Both kids are having the twins from across the alley (Sid and Meg) and they are going to have a Valentine's party tonight! It is kind of neat having the kids friends with twins as they all do stuff together!
Both kids got bed sets for their rooms and they look so cute! Heather moved in with Shane and now she has her room covered in posters and "girly" stuff, and now poor Shane gets to wake up to several posters of Edward Cullen! Hunter has taken over his room and now can properly display his 50+ Transformers ( I know this because he told a BUNCH yesterday)!
Both kids have been put a chore chart and now get an allowance once a week and so far it is going good. I think it really helps them see what they have to accomplish and since they can go see what they can do they can do it around their schedule. Heather is like me where she likes to do her chores in the morning Hunter on the other hand is a night owl and prefers to do his in the afternoon.
Shane has been eating cereal and fruits we started him out on prunes, squash and peas then we mix cereal into his food and he gobbles it up. We started noticing that he cried when we ate and he would want to eat to so we started to feed him as well and I have come to the realization he is a hungry boy so he eats real food three times a day. We use the Bumbo chair I mentioned earlier and what a great little invention! I just set on the floor since it is wide and has a low center of gravity and he enjoys being able to look around!
He now plays with his toys and everything goes in his mouth it is kind of neat seeing him start to really interact with us and the kids. He LOVES to stare at the kids especially if they are making lots of noise and they love watching him grow. At first he was kind of fun but he cried but now he smiles and plays with them and talks to them so no he is much more fun.
Well I am having coffee this morning with the older neighborhood ladies and my Grandma so I am off to jump in the shower and get Shane dressed.
Everyone in blog land have a great day!

2010-02-12T03:01:00.000-09:00

Too much coffee and Facebook

I am finding that I am enjoying my early mornings and there has to be something said about having the entire house to myself, even the cat does not bother me! My routine has been dishes, mocha and then computer time till the kids get up.
While doing my dishes I started thinking about a question that Glenn Beck recently asked Sarah Palin. "Do you think we as a nation are still racists?"
I would like to broaden that question a bit more.
"Do you think we as a nation are still prejudice?

I would like to feel in my heart that we are not a racist or prejudice society but I know we are still influenced by race and gender.
Let me first say that yes we have gotten better and when I say racist I do not mean the rebel flag carrying group in sheets, I mean it as whole nation. When I say racists please know I mean anyone who mentions race as an important part of one's accomplishments. Same can be said for anyone who makes a point of or brings importance to a person's gender in relevance to their achievements.
In 1848, 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments which would be the official start to the Woman's Rights Movement.
"Woman's suffrage is the right for women to vote, and historically includes the economical and political reform movement aimed at extending suffrage to women, on an equal basis to those men and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, taxes paid or marital status."
This is the Wikipedia definition of Women's suffrage. One section I feel is plained down and overall communicates the true definition "...aimed at extending suffrage to women on an equal basis with those men..."
What I take that to mean is that we will be equal as men and women, one is not greater than the other. Any women who wants to honestly see an equal nation believes in this line and they are called a feminist on the other hand the extreme feminist can be labeled fairly a feminazi. Do I think I am a feminist? I would say yes. I believe that we are equal and while physically I can not do all the things a man can do I know there are things I can do that a man can not. I also believe in a properly functioning family unit is where you will really see the best example of equality. It is no longer a "woman's job" or a "man's chore" but a family's responsibility. You will often find these days both parents are work it is not left to one or the other at home.
While we have worked towards making our country less gender biased I feel we have gone to the other extreme. Now we see women getting special privileges in the workforce and the home to the point of almost discriminating against men. I know this sounds weird but think about it. How many changes have you seen over just the last ten years leaning more towards women than men?
I am just wondering how far women will take it?
Will men soon have to go to the streets to rally for their rights?

Now women please do not get me wrong I do believe in women being strong and standing for our rights but I feel if we recognize gender, or race for that matter when it comes to jobs, the home and the government we are following the same ol biased path and it will lead us no where.
Stan posted "behind every successful man you will find a women" and I want to take that a little further in saying that also behind every successful women you will find a man.
This does not mean that a women must have a man to be successful but I truly believe that the values we teach our children help shape who they are going to be and who has more influence on a little girl than her daddy? The point is after all this rambling is that in this enlightened day and age we should no longer be making comments that point out one's gender or race because doing so would be like pointing out they have five toes. It is not important and who cares! Lets talk about the accomplishments made in History not whether they were made by a man or a women or black or white. Let's learn from such History the importance of equality and forgiveness.

2010-02-11T05:44:00.000-09:00

Captain Phil

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind ever be at your back,
May you find old friends waiting to greet you, there on the outside track
We're gathered together old times to remember, 'tis but for ourselves we would grieve,
So we'll sing you a chorus and bid you farewell - fair winds and a following sea.

We'll sing of 'The Leaf' and 'The Parting Glass', we'll raise up our voices in song,
No sadness today for the one who has passed, celebrate with a voice glad and strong.
A catch in the throat, a tear in the eye, but no funeral dirge will this be,
We'll roar 'Auld Lang Syne' as a victory song - fair winds and a following sea.

And those of us left here will miss a true friend, who shared with us good times and bad,
Raising a glass to your memory we'll say: “We've known you – why should be we sad?”
We honour a life that was lived to the full, we honour a spirit, now free.
You'll long be remembered, whenever we say: “Fair winds and a following sea!”
You'll long be remembered, whenever we say: “Fair winds and a following sea!”

2010-02-08T13:10:00.000-09:00

2010-02-07T03:45:00.000-09:00

Found these gems while going through my photos. The video brought many smiles to my kid's face and hopefully yours too! *By the way I had the new up loader installed and it seems like everyone was having issues with it so the solution was to return to my old editor to upload videos?

2010-02-06T13:13:00.000-09:00

Can not figure out how to get movies uploaded here without using you tube...I used to be able to do that???

2010-02-03T06:21:00.000-09:00

Our Cat

I can still remember the night as we drove in our over packed rental car through a state we had never been, the feeling of adventure with an undertone a fear. This was our first time away from home and each mile that we drove east put us even further from our family.

As we drove through Montana the day had been a beautiful winter wonderland full with moderate temps and rock walls jutting out of the mountain side. As we continued to drive the temps dropped with the sun and we headed into the night having to stop every once in a while to take potty breaks and smoke since the rental car was non smoking. At one stop I went in to go potty and when I came out Heath had the door open and the car running urging me to get in the car. Over the rumble of the sleeping semis I heard a faint meowing. There she was crouching down hiding in the shadows of the dark pavement. A skinny Siamese. We loaded her up in our already packed car and headed on our way. I know now that my husband heard the cries from the cat and knew I would too and knew what I would do, which is why I was met with a open door. I do not hold this against him as he has always had to have his guard up against me bringing home strays especially when we are in a rental car headed to the unknown with only the totes on the roof to our name. This cat must have known what I would do as well because she asked the right person that night. I will never forget the way she attacked her first can of food or how skinny she was, I honestly believe she would not have made it much longer as she had no claws and the temps were very low.

Montana

Monty

Montavious

Since then she has recovered is now a fat cat that has unfortunately never quite lost the fear of being outdoors. She had for awhile taken to hiding behind chairs but of late has taken to sitting on the arm of Heath's chair, I think she is saving it for Stan. She has begun to trust us after only a few short years and now roams the house as if it is her. Christmas really seemed to bring back the kitten in her and since then she has been more frisky!

Here is to our od luck charm Monty!

You may all meet her this summer as I think she got a little attached to Stan and while Mama cat and her would not get along they would eventually learn to stay in certain parts of te home say an office?

2010-02-02T16:22:00.000-09:00

2010-01-30T16:42:00.000-09:00

This morning's Lincoln Journal Star featured a article this morning titled "Detailing a gangs who who?"

Found it to be a interesting read while drinking my morning coffee.

2010-01-28T04:47:00.000-09:00

Bumbo?

2010-01-25T06:28:00.000-09:00

Another

"Remember When?"

Moment

Remember when all they had to play with was mud from a low spot in the pit and while you could not fault them for their frugality in time they did move on to bigger and better things.

Remember when the first little duck house was built we thought we were in heaven.

Just as the kids moved on to bigger and better things so did we. We now even have a friend to keep us company!

Spent the last couple of days going through some more pictures. I broke down and bought a 500GB portable hard drive in an effort to consolidate my photos and make room on my laptop. My hope is that I can just take it into the shop and have a few things fixed and then I can avoid having to ugrade to a newer one in the future.

I am already seeing the benefit of having all my pictures together and I am realizing that I have quite a collection. I am slowly going through each folder and deleting some and finding others.

2010-01-20T11:24:00.000-09:00

Just Checking in...

Got the ol' laptop up and running today and in preparation for consolidating my photos I have been going through and let me tell you there are some good ones.

I think what has impressed me more than the amount of pictures I have is the progression of our family, especially the kids. It blows my mind that it has been a little over twelve years that I have been hanging around and I have watched all these kids growing up but one does not notice how much they have grown when you are around them constanlty.

So here is to the "kids" who are far too quickly becoming adults and to their parents that still think of the day they had them and who will always think of them as their babies.

2010-01-17T08:14:00.000-09:00

Just Relaxing...

Remember when?

2010-01-15T16:04:00.000-09:00

2010-01-15T08:47:00.000-09:00

Conan or Leno?

The fight at NBC continues with another night of jabs from Conan and Leno it makes for good entertainment and I am sure Letterman is happy the attention is finally off him.

One rumor is that Conan will move to Fox where he will be able to have a bit more freedom but what ever he chooses I am I am sure it will make for good TV and NBC's rating might actually go up!

Today in Nebraska It will be released that our children will pay for their days off recently due to the weather. Over the next two weeks they will have to start school fifteen minutes early and will be dismissed 21 minutes late. This has no bearing on us as our kids walk to and from school but the parents that have to drive might find it more of a burden. After two weeks our kids will have made up the equivalent to one day of school which will put them right below the allowed missed days for weather.

The weather seems to be warming up but our snow is still holding out. I woke up this morning to a fog that was frosting everything in ice and I knew it was yet another day to stay inside.

I am thinking that today would be a good day to work on some pictures.

2010-01-13T19:02:00.000-09:00

Frito Pie

Version One

This is a recipe that my parents sort of passed down to me. It was onr of my faves growing up.

There are several ways to make Frito Pie and since it is easy, cheap and delicious you really can't go wrong.

Start with pre heating oven your oven to 350 degrees and get a 13x9 pan ready (I used a 13x9 to make lots because I like it best the next day for lunch but you can use what ever you have just adjust the ingredients to fit!)

You will need:

2 Onions, chopped

2 Bags of Fritos

2 Cans of refried beans

3 Cans of chili

2 Bags of cheese

Sour cream

You can really do this however you from this point but I will list how I did it.

One bag of Frito chips layered on the bottom of pan (You can use Chili Cheese Fritos or plain)

One bag of cheese

Three cans of chili spread evenly

A little over half the onions chopped

Two cans of the refied beans spread evenly

Second bag of chips covering top thoroughly

Layer second bag of cheese over chips

Then cover with remaining onions

Put it in the oven and bake for approximately 45 mins.

We used one bag of chip which was definitely not enough and we also used the original chips.

I normally make it with the chili cheese chips but it was good regardless.

By the way I like the new way to do pictures it is much easier for me.

2010-01-09T19:44:00.000-09:00

Colorful
Cast?

I am not sure WHY this picture has caught the many views that it has but it has by far accumulated the most views I have gotten on any of my photos...combined.
I posted this picture on Flickr on May 29, 2007 and since then it has jumped up to 1,194 views. Is it the word colorful or cast that is attracting the views?
Just to put it in perspective the second highest viewed picture had 302 views and the third had 201.
So Taylor, you have won my most viewed award!

2010-01-06T07:49:00.000-09:00

Another Snow Day?

We are on our third winter storm of the year and we sit holed up in our house awaiting the 4-6 inches they are calling for. Granted this snowfall is nothing compared to the snowfall in other areas but it is a lot compared to what we normally get so even the schools are shut down. I think we have had four or five days where they have shut the school down due to the weather. The strangest was the day where the temps dropped too low and they canceled school because it would cost the school too much too heat the school on those days.
The last snowfall we got was over Christmas and it was enough to shut our entire town down which was quite a site Christmas morning to wake up to freshly fallen deep snow and no traffic. Even if you had traveling plans you were not going due to the road conditions.
So now we are prepared for being stuck at home for the next couple of days as Heath's truck is two wheel drive and worthless in the snow and while the store is close it is not a fun walk in the bad weather. We have cable and movies, a couple of board games and my new espresso machine.
Since it is chilly outside it may be a good time to make a couple of really good mochas and play some games with the kids!

2010-01-05T04:38:00.000-09:00

Where has the Christmas spirit gone?
Woke the kids up for their second day back at school and I am faced with kids who are still suffering the ill effects of poor sleeping habits from Christmas break. I grumble to myself as I poor my second cup of coffee, "Where has the Christmas spirit gone?"
Is it out in the snow covered yard with the dead needle-less trees waiting to be burned? We have two.
Did it accidentally get thrown away with all the Christmas trash on Christmas morning? I know a story of earrings that got eaten by Christmas trash, they were Dana's from Grandma Mary I do believe, so who is to say it could not have been thrown away?
I do not remember seeing the Christmas spirit as I packed away the rest of my decorations but I did have help so it could have been wrapped in newspaper and tucked away in a box.

The kids are fighting again and we have no threat to hold over their heads like "you better be good or else..." implying that we would actually with hold presents from them. They know this not to be true but they do not take any risks so close to the big day.
Their toys and gifts have been consumed by the mass that is their bedrooms and now you would not be able to tell which is new and which is old.
They are back at school which seems to finalize the end of the holiday season.
We are on the second day of getting up for school and the grumpy growls tell me they might need to go to bed a bit earlier or maybe I need to invest in some shock collars.

Instead of researching too much into shock collars I decided to look through some of my recent photos and then I found it, Christmas spirit.
The Christmas spirit was in this photo of our Christmas tree.
From this picture you don't know this is tree number two. You can't tell that it is dead. You can't guess that the cat was taking the tinsel off and that half the ornaments had fallen off days earlier. It reminds me of the calm before the kids got up. Just heath and I up putting together the last minute things for the morning.
When I start to loose my Christmas spirit I will have to look back at this picture and remind myself of the excitement of knowing your kids are going to love those presents you got them and how much fun it was to torture them till Christmas morning!

Also now that I know shock collars are illegal to put on kids I will have to put them to bed earlier to fight the grumpies.
(Just a side note I would NEVER put a shock collar on any of my kids but I did buy one for our pitbull and Heath has been daring the kids to get shocked, now we know that may not be such a funny thing!)

2010-01-04T04:27:00.000-09:00

What a difference eight years can make.
Since Shane has been sleeping in his crib all through the night Santa decided to give im a cool mobile for his crib.
When my other two were little they had mobiles in their cribs as well but definitely not as fancy as this one. They were the hand wind up kind that would play tinkly music and spin till they wound down then mom or dad would have to go in an rewind the mobile.
This is the Fisher Price Precious Planet Projection Mobile.
As far as music goes you have your choice of a soft classical piece, soothing nature sounds or a comforting heartbeat. Shane prefers the classical music. The heartbeat would have been something I would have liked to try when he was younger but know it holds no interest so far.
The mobile spins just like every other mobile and even has the little animals hanging from it but it has one twist. It projects a cute colorful image on the underside of the mobile or as baby gets older it also can project the moving images on the ceiling. I thought this was a really neat addition to the mobile and my son loves it! A couple more feature of this mobile that sets it apart and shows some real thought went into its making. It comes with a remote so you do not have to enter baby's room to turn on mobile and this after about 20 minutes of run time. As it winds to the end the light slowly dims and the music plays till it slowly fades to a stop.
Now this thing is definitely a bit more than any one baby needs but it is fun and it doubles as a way to put him bed and he likes to play with it during the day as well.
I am so amazed at the difference a few years have made in the baby world but I enjoy finding all the new toys and things to play with!

2010-01-02T02:48:00.000-09:00

I was early today, even to early to blog and so I was forced to watch TV. Why is it we have so many channels but at 2:30 in the morning there was nothing on but infomercials. Now I am glad I tuned in because I got to watch these great products! Check them out!
The Jawhorse

I thought this was really cool and I know we could use a few in the HITW but if we are going to get this we might as well get a Dual Saw or two.
I know we were not supposed to "work this summer but both of these would be great for the finishing work on the cabins!

2010-01-01T03:58:00.000-09:00

GO
BIG
RED!

GO
BIG
SUH!

2009-12-31T03:44:00.000-09:00

Last Post of 2009

The Bra
After receiving an interesting package in the mail I decided to do some research and familiarize my self and of course others on the History of the Bra.
I found some interesting facts about the bra and its evolution through history and if you hit that link you will as well. For example in 1917 women were asked to quit buying corsets which were made out of metal to reduce the metal used to make them, and they were able to save enough metal to build two ships.
I am glad though that one was sent our way so I will not have to make one myself. Now lets see if there is any link on how drunk I would have to get my husband before he will try on the damn thing...he refuses even though I have told him it has become the newest fad!

By the way I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve!

2009-12-28T16:06:00.000-09:00

"Just as a fisherman cannot catch fish unless his line is in the water, a wildlife photographer cannot shoot great wildlife images unless he or she is out there with camera in hand and the knowledge of what to do then the 'magnificent moment' occurs."-George H. Harrison, in Magnificent Moments: The World's Greatest Wildlife Photographs
Stan, I thought of you when I came across this quote.
Hope you guys are having a GREAT time!

2009-12-26T06:12:00.000-09:00

Well the glimmer and warmth of the Christmas season seems to already be fading. The presents are gone the only evidence that remains of their existence is the left over rolls of wrapping paper that still lay on the floor in my room. The tree still stands but it has also died as quickly as the last and so the floor beneath it is covered in needles and yesterday while cleaning I almost decided to remove it but figured that was a bit too soon.
The kids enjoyed their gifts and even though we were woke up at 3:30 in the morning it was well worth it. We did have our revenge as the process was dragged out to postpone the end. Open stockings then coffee and smoke break, open three more presents, and then "Oh, look my coffee is empty again!". I think it would have been different had Shane not woken up sick which then woke everyone in the house up.
Each kid got what they wanted and Mom and Dad even got a bit as well and then the house was picked up by 10 am and the kids had disappeared while Heath made an early dinner and I made coffee.
The day was actually the perfect Christmas day with the wind howling outside leaving piles of snow every where, to the point it had shut down Lincoln. Inside it was warm and cozy. My Grandma and uncle came over Christmas eve and were supposed to come over Christmas day but the weather was so bad they could not make it. They only live about two blocks down from us so that should tell you how bad it was. Today we are expected to get more snow and this after getting eight inches or so over the last 24 hours but where the wind has blown there are drifts that are three feet deep.
Today we are getting over the interrupted sleep pattern and it almost feels like we are all recovering from a hang over. It is another good day to do absolutely nothing and just watch the snow come down. I think I am going to snuggle with the baby while we all watch a movie. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I look forward to the time when we can all spend Christmas together!

2009-12-19T13:34:00.000-09:00

Merry Christmas

From the
Harringtons

Heath
Erica
Heather
Hunter
Shane

Well we have made it to that time of year where we once again get drawn into a world of Christmas cheer and spirit. I always try to think of something witty to fill my Christmas letters or stories of the family from that past year. I have tried to do Christmas cards and letters to post full of pictures. This year I thought I would try something a bit different.Heath

Movie: 10th and Wolf and Monster Vs Aliens 3D
TV Show: Big Bang Theory
A few things I did this year that I will always remember: Building my cabin, fishing with the kids and meeting my second son.

Erica

Movie: Seven Pounds, 10 and Wolf and Inglorious Bastards
Song: Where I am going, Spring Wind by Greg Brown and
TV Show: Accidentally on Purpose
A few things I did this year that I will never forget: Watching my cabin being built, doing the wiring for my cabin, and having my son!
My New Years Resolution: I am doing the standard resolution to loose some weight and I want to become a bit more educated in our country's history and the way our government was formed and how the founding fathers envisioned the future of our country.

HeatherMovie: Pokemon 12
Song: Let it Rock
TV Show: Pokemon
One thing I did this year that I will never forget: Having a new baby brother and going to Alaska for the summer!
My new Year's Resolution: Stop hitting my brother!

Hunter

Movie: Transformers
Song: Green Day 21 Guns
TV Show: Phineas and Pherb

One thing I did this year that I will never forget: Catching my BIG fish.
My New Year's Resolution: Brush my teeth every night.

Shane
My new Year's Resolution:
Learn how to do a lot of things that will annoy my brother and sister!

2009-12-18T20:32:00.000-09:00

Well it only took me several months and several thousand photos to put this together but in the end it was so worth it. I gave a loud yell of victory yesterday when I was finally able to save it for the first time! This is the first draft as there are some faults I have found that need to be corrected. Please feel free to leave suggestions or point out errors in the comment section so I can fix them! The one thing I have not messed with too much is the video quality and it bums me out that the video quality is so low once it goes through movie maker. I am going to try to see if I can find a setting that will improve it for me.
I found myself really diving into this slide show going an entire 18 minutes and even designing a logo for Loud Mouth Productions with a picture of a fish that I had taken on the beach this last summer. A little history about the Loud Mouth Productions. When I was younger me and my sister would do weekly newspapers that we would pass out to our friends in the neighborhood. Each one was hand made and had "local news", games and even advertisements. I even made a company that was my publication and production company and I have tried to put that label on "things" that I create.
This video is the best of what I have made and I am very proud of it but mostly I jusr want everyone to enjoy it!

BoReD ThOuGhTs

2009-12-12T04:56:00.000-09:00

Just a few shots from the last couple of days!
Enjoy!

I am up with Shane this morning. We have just finished our breakfast and he is playing on his play gym. Things have been going here as we gear for another Christmas season.
Heather has been a huge help over the last couple of weeks enjoying spending time with her brother. I think she will make a good mommy when it is her time (which won't be until she is at least 25 she says!). She helped put up the Christmas tree and even helped decorate the house since I was laid up! Heather and I did go to watch New Moon which we absolutely LOVED! We brought Hunter along but he is not too into the story.
Hunter has been growing like crazy. I am afraid to buy ANY clothes for him because of how much taller he is getting. A few weeks ago I would have guessed that Hunter was not going to get much taller than me and take the short side of my family or the Epperson side but now I am starting to wonder if the Harrington side is going to win. He has been keeping up with his reading and it makes me happy that it was not just a phase so thank you Terry! Hunter has also been getting used to his little brother as well.
At first I think Hunter was a little put off because all Shane did was cry and poop but now that Shane is interacting more he has become more cool!
Shane is finally on a good schedule and he has grown soooo much! I know it seems like so much cause I am home with him every day! He now holds his head up really well and he follows voices and faces and loves to play in his play gym. He loves music from his glo worm and the frog that hangs from his play gym. He smiles a lot and Dad can even get him to giggle!
It has been hard for me for the last couple of weeks. What started out as a twinge of numbness in my hip had turned into a debilitating pain that ran down my leg. At first I thought that it would go away and my doc confirmed that after time it would. I was given Vicodin which I did not like taking and it did nothing for the pain, and I was sent home and told to rest. Turns out it is my Sciatic nerve was pinched when my hips went back together after having Shane which is VERY common with women after child birth. I had been told by my doc that it would just go away but after I could not even stand for more than 1 minute and had to walk like a hunch back, I knew I had to do something because it was just getting worse. I finally went to my chiropractor and just in one visit I was able to stand up straight again! I have gone twice now and I still have some pain but now we have unpinched the nerve so I just have to work out the muscles I made angry by walking so messed up for over two weeks! I would have gone in sooner but my doc had told me not to go and that a chiropractor would not help. After talking to my chiropractor he said I should have been in sooner even when I was pregnant and he could have helped with the hip pain I had! Oh well I will not be going back to my doc again. YAY!

Both Heather and Hunter are counting down the days till Christmas break and their lists have been written and submitted. I am starting to wonder if this year is the year we talk to the kids about Santa. I think Heather is already suspicous but Hunter still holds the faith. How do you do it? Do you wait for them to ask you about it or is it better if the new comes from mom and dad instead of some kid on the play ground? I have a feeling that Heather does it more for our sake now because we make such a big deal about it. This year her letter to Santa was not addressed to Santa like it usually is so it makes me wonder. I just don't want the magic to go. Maybe we can stress the importance of keeping it alive for Shane?
We finished most of our shopping yesterday and now all we have to do is let the kids go shopping for each other and for us. I still have some little things to pick up for the stockings (which is my favorite thig to do!) and today Heather and I are going to bake goodies that we are hopefully going to send out...(I really am going to try to send out boxes! I swear!). I asked Walmart about our Christmas tree which is so dead our ornaments will not even stay on. Walmart said that they would exchange it but we had to bring the old tree in.
?
So now we have to take all the decorations and lights off this tree and load it up in our truck and then bring it in to customer service. This tree will be bare before we get there and I am not sure I would ask my husband to carry a dead tree through Walmart! I have to wonder if it is worth it at this point. It was a 30 dollar tree that only lasted less than a week.
I finally got my camsera back from being repaired and I have missed it sooo much. I ended up denting the ring that the lense screws into and it would only read error so I had to have that replaced. So NOW I can finally take some good pictures! Also I have been working on the slide show for everyone. I am having to redo the entire show as it will not save into a movie or slide show. I have had this problem before and it was on this computer but I can not remember how I fixed it. I can make slideshows on my laptop with no problem which leads me to belive it is my desk top. My laptop does not have enough memory to hold all the pictures I am putting on it or I would just do it on there. I will get a copy to everyone as soon as I figure out what I am doing wrong!
Well I am going to post some more pictures of the kids hope all of you are having good times with your families and enjoy getting ready for Christmas!

2009-12-07T13:57:00.000-09:00

Just a few shots...

It looks like he is mad but he is smiling at Daddy!

Again he is smiling at Daddy.

"Are you talking to me?"

Another good one of him in his Husker gear, in this one I see a lot of his dad in this picture!

2009-12-06T10:50:00.000-09:00

GO BIG RED!

Scoring Summary (Final)
  Big 12 Football
 #3 Texas vs #21 Nebraska
zaa(Dec 05, 2009 at Arlington, Texas)

 Texas (13-0) vs. Nebraska (9-4)
Date: Dec 05, 2009  Site: Arlington, Texas      Stadium: Dallas Cowboys
Attendance: 76211

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Texas...............  0  7  3  3  - 13
Nebraska............  6  0  0  6  - 12

Just some more pictures!

2009-11-28T06:42:00.000-09:00

SAY CHEESE!

2009-11-28T06:07:00.001-09:00

This was an actual laugh (not gas or a picture that looks like a laugh)! Over the last week Shane has started to interact a bit more and we find our house is slowly being over run with baby toys of all sizes and colors. I think there are certain things that are instinctual for parents and you never forget those things but then there are things one does forget. Like how often you really need to buy diapers and wipes and how expensive everything is. Of course you can always REMIND your self of these forgotten things like how the nights with little sleep might cause you do little things like burn the potatoes or misplace the debit card, but you never truly REMEMBER until it hits you at three o clock in the morning! Even simple things like going to the store for a loaf of bread require some planning as the diaper bag needs to be packed, baby needs to be fed and then changed before going into the car seat (hopefully before he either gets very angry cause he hates the car seat or he poops again!).
There are things one may take for granted when thinking of having a child and while there are changes that will occur most will happen without you even realizing it.
Your routine and schedule mean nothing to a hungry baby so even tasks like housework and making dinner have to be planned around his eating schedule.
My flat iron has remained unplugged and unused since Shane came along and the standard hair style has become a pony tail so my hair is out of the way of his tiny fingers.
Even though some nights I am tired and I have not gotten more than three hours of uninterrupted sleep since he came along I truly would not trade it for anything.
My schedule has just been adapted and while it may take me longer to do the chores that I have around the house I can still get them done.
And you know what, sometimes I just sit and rock him and play with him because the one thing I do remember as a parent is they don't stay this little or this cute for very long.

2009-11-26T13:11:00.000-09:00

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Starting early this morning we arrived at a long time family tradition of dinner at the park. This is something I do remember fondly as a kid. We would load up in the car and head to rented shelter and eat food and visit with family. Us kids would dive into the mass pile of board games and fun things to do while our parents and and family prepared the last part of the dinner and gossip.
The last two Thanksgivings I have had the pleasure to repeat one of my few favorites holiday memories as a child. Not only that I do get to share it with my children! Now I will admit that it is just a shadow of what it used to be as children have grown and family has moved.
As I look at this picture of my kids I smile and think about over twenty years ago I sat on that same fire place!

Uncle Richard and Shane

Daddy and Shane

Siblings!

2009-11-05T06:44:00.000-09:00

Happy One Week Shane!

So today Shane is one week old! Yay! The last week has blown by with Stan and Terry leaving the kids in school and adjusting to Shane being home.
He has been doing really well since coming home and we have only had one really bad night due to some gas. He has been eating well and impressing doctors with his weight gain. They said a breastfed baby is not expected to get close to his birth weight until about week two!
Here are some pictures that we have taken over the last week!

Baby Belly @ 38 Weeks!

2009-10-04T10:41:00.000-08:00

2009-08-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

SO woke up today and realized it was almost time to go home. The thought is scary for several reasons. I feel like where did the summer go? I dread the flight back since it will be about 8 hours in the air not to mention the lay over in Seattle. Once I get home I will be in the final stretches of my pregnancy and have to get ready for the baby and the kids out fitted for school. *sigh*
I have already gotten as ready as I can with the option of internet shopping buying most of the kid's clothes and school supplies and having them shipped for about the time we get home. I have also registered at Target for the baby which means I can buy and be bought for easily and it all can be delivered to my front door!
This is all done in the hopes to make my life easier so I hope it all does work since there are a few negatives about shopping on line. Oh well things I can only really worry about when I get home!
Yesterday I tried a recipe for Fire weed jelly and while it did not turn into jelly it did turn into really great tasting syrup!
I am going to make another batch today and see if I can't get it to turn out better if I follow the directions more closely!

2009-06-28T06:57:00.000-08:00

So I wake up this morning with pent up energy after sleeping the last two days away. The morning has started out feeling weird due to the silence outside my camper. I awoke I could faintly hear the pop and crackle of the wood but no voices or movement at all. I finally ventured out to go pee, again, and grab the makings of a pot of coffee, this being the first I have made on my own and I am not sure if it will work. Walking around the camp I was met with strange signs, twisted and placed in strange places. As I grab my coffee I try to remember if the signs were there before or had they come from some twisted rampage by the dwellers of this place. Either way I am thinking about going out and snapping some pictures of them because somebody put some effort in putting them around camp.
Meanwhile my first attempt in making coffee is done and while the result is bitter it is warm and it helps shake the strange vibes this morning. I am searching for some sign of life but the only thing I find are signs!

2009-05-31T08:23:00.000-08:00

So I tried holding my breath till some one posted but I soon learned THAT wasn't going to work.
I just thought I would let everyone know I check daily for some type of up date or photo from the Weekend! I understand that some are still "vacationing" in the HITW and do not have the electronics to post their pictures but I am sure someone somewhere got some pictures!!! *hint* *hint* LOL!

2009-05-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been awhile since I have posted but in my defense my laptop key board was having some issues. The sound on it quit awhile ago and then a couple of weeks ago the o, l, 9 and . quit on me. I priced getting mine fixed versus replacing it and found that neither of them were options i could afford! I decided a USB key board would be the cheapest route! Thanks Mom!
You never realize the amount of O's and L's that are in commonly used words until you have to copy and paste each one!
SO life has been interesting over the last few weeks. Heath was in South Dakota for a week and got to see some pretty neat flooding and during that time we saw some weather that had me turning on my air conditioner!
Lincoln is in full bloom and the trees are now covered in green leaves and bunches of flowers are in bloom! The weather has been so nice that water gun fights are common after school and the kids are leaving their jackets at home!
This has to be my favorite time of year due to the fact that the weather is just perfect. It is hot enough that you have to dress down but not so bad that you are constantly sweating. It rains mostly at night leaving everything bright and green all day! We have these trees, and honestly I do not know the name but they produce little white or purple flowers that when the wind blows you are hit with a soft flower smell. They are now getting full with green leafs and the ground is dusted with the little petals, it is very pretty! In another month we have to worry about humidity which makes every thing hotter!
Heath has been off work this week and while it is stretching us tight we are doing all right. He has work this next week now that the farmers have started planting and things should take off from there. I have to get used to him being gone because that is where the work is but I will say I am jealous because the guy is getting to see some country!
I have gotten to go one day with him and it was a blast it was a nice day and we got to go into Kansas to a little town I have previously posted about! Look it up if you can it is a pretty little town, Marys Ville Kansas! It is one of the original pony express stations. I got to meet Heath's main boss, the owner of the company he works for. He drove through Nebraska just so he could meet Heath. Now I have to describe this guy. He is in his late seventies and had started this company on his own before he had four wheelers and GPS to help him sample. This guy did it all by hand and grew his company to the size it is today coverig seral states. Heath has only met him once before and really anything he knows he has heard from stories that are told among the guys he works with. I guess if he meets up with you he will go through your company rig to make sure you are keeping it cleaned and in shape and will chew your ass if you are not taking care of his stuff.
Well we had the pleasure to meet him and he actually was a really nice guy! He just wanted to thank Heath personally for the job he did in South Dakota! I guess the boss Heath worked for while up there is not easy to please and he was VERY happy with Heath. His head boss never even went through Heath's work truck. I also want to point out that this guy called every one of his employees to wish them a Merry Christmas!

The kids are getting stir crazy with all this nice weather as I am sure all of their friends are. Heather and Hunter have established quite the pack of neighborhood kids. Heather has a devoted follower that goes everywhere she does and even waits outside patiently until she can come play. He is a nice kid and has even gone on nightly walks with us although he is a terror on the fauna, there was a trail all the way home!
Hunter on the other hand has picked to hang out with the 12 year old next door, his parents are the next door neighbors and are really nice. They have two little white fluffy dogs that Koda is intent on eating! He has also made friends with a little Mexican boy and his entire family!
Both kids have done really well this year in school and Heather has been given the option to test ahead in certain areas next year so she is actually challenged. Hunter has surprised everyone by kicking butt in all of his classes, especially Math because he started a little shaky.
The kids both had concerts recently. Poor Hunter even had a solo but ended up with a bad stomach bug and had to miss school! Every year Prescott has a Grandparents Day concert and the kids sing songs to the attending grandparents and parents and then you are given juice and cookies and asked to visit your child's class! It is a nice way to visit the school without actually scheduling parent teacher conference! Stan and Terry, the kids wish you guys were there! They make the farthest traveled grandparents stand up and get applause!
Heather also had her final cello concert and she has improved so much since her Christmas concert! I am not sure if she will choose to do the cello again next year but I know she at least tried it out for a full year!
We have been recovering from a persistent stomach bug here it has attacked Hunter twice and Heather and I once. The only person who seems immune to it is Heath but he was gone when we all started to get sick! Heather and I recovered quickly but poor Hunter fought for days with a high fever and throwing up. Hopefully this is the last round of stomach flu!
We also had our female go into heat earlier than expected which has turned our house upside down. We have decided already that we were going to get Koda neutered but we thought we had a month before we had to even worry about her going into heat. We are also getting her fixed as we are done with the puppy thing. Now we have a bleeding female who has to wear diapers everywhere and a 160 pound male who has lost his mind, literally. We have to keep them separated by kennels at all times and we rotate their outside schedules so they both get outside time. Also we have to water our lawn down everywhere she goes pee because Koda looses his mind if he smells her smell. It has gotten so bad that it is causing issues with him peeing. If he smells her he can't pee then he will get inside where he can't smell her and he will pee himself because his bladder is so full. If she is outside we have to stand on constant attention so she does not attract unwanted stray males! She also has to have daily baths because of her odor.
This is something we THOUGHT we knew we were going to face at least once but I can say we were not prepared for the work it takes to keep them separated! I can not wait until they are both fixed!!!
Well that was a long post but it has been a while since I posted!
We are having another beautiful day and more yard work needs to be done! We have large trees that loose their branches in the spring storms now we have to pick them all up! Maybe even a water fight sounds fun right now!

2009-05-01T09:30:00.001-08:00

Hey just posted a new post on my other blog, Oh Baby. So go check it out!! I actually put pictures up!

2009-03-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

Hey just posted a new post on my other blog, Oh Baby. So go check it out!!

2009-02-22T08:33:00.000-09:00

Hunter S. Harrington

Sometimes they just open up, a bright smile to let
you know they are happy. It is incredible!

2009-02-18T06:44:00.000-09:00

Just some stories that made it in my news today. Both of these stories have blown my mind.
The first is about 16 illegal immigrants who are suing an American farmer for violating their rights.
So really do they deserve the same rights as a US citizen? What about the legal immigrants who have struggled to become citizens? If they want to use the "system" they should have used it to legally come into our country. What do you think?

Oh no they didn't!

The second story is about a 15 year old chimp who attacked his owners friend. Do the same laws apply for an owner who gives her chimp a prescription that was not prescribed for him?
What the Hell?

Random

2009-02-15T09:42:00.001-09:00

Just some random photos for fun!

Heather with her present from Dad and Mom.

Hunter asleep after a chocolate overload...bear planted by Dad

Now I know this picture is blurry but what i was trying to show was not Hunter's shooting skills but the growth spurt the kid is going through!

And yes with that growth spurt has come BAD teeth!

Huba Huba

2009-02-14T11:32:00.001-09:00

The other night we walked to the book fair at the kid's school and on the way home we took the route they take each day. Heather and Hunter started talking about Huba Huba. Now at first all I caught was the name Huba Huba and he lived in the alley. As a parent my curiosity was peaked. Why would my kid's call someone who lived in the alley Huba Huba? The kids explained that Huba Huba was this old dog who was chained up in a yard near the alley. I asked why they called him Huba Huba and they said because he barks at them and when he does he sounds like he is saying Huba Huba. I asked the kids if they tease him when they walk by causing him to bark and they said no.
We came to the section of alley that met his backyard when we finally saw Huba Huba. He was an old dog laying in his yard and he looked completely oblivious to anyone. I started to wonder if the kids were being truthful. As we passed his yard Huba Huba jumped into life and came bardging towards us only stopping just short of the gravel because of the cable he was attached to. Huba Huba barked at us as if yelling at us the things he would do if he could get off that leash, the entire time though it did sound like Huba Huba Huba...Huba Huba Huba.
As we walked home we could still hear Huba Huba barking and I felt bad for the dog. The alley his yards faces is a big shortcut for the kids walking home and it keeps them off the streets but I am sure over the years that dog has been teased and taunted. My only fear would be what he would do once he was off that cable because they do not hold forever.

2009-02-13T18:14:00.000-09:00

Taken By Heather Harrington
12/26

Snow Day

2009-02-13T10:08:00.000-09:00

Since moving to Nebraska there has been several things we have had to get used to like hamburger on pizza instead sausage and cinnamon rolls covered in chilli. One thing that thing that we have had a hard time getting used to is Snow days.
In Alaska snow days just mean you put your car in four wheel drive, here it means you stay home from school. Oh well the kids are enjoying it because this will make it a four day weekend for them.
This last week has been beautiful with temps in the mid sixties and the sun shining but we knew deep down it would not last. This morning about 9 am it started to snow and it has not let up since. It is very pretty to watch but I miss the beautiful sunny days so I will post some pictures of them!

Eight Too Many?

2009-02-10T04:41:00.000-09:00

I have had a rocky past for pregnancies and in the past ten years I have had several miscarriages. After our last miscarriage the doctor suggested fertility drugs which I knew I did not want to do because of the side effects. My hormones would be increased along with my ability to conceive multiples, both risks I am not willing to take and I am not looking just after myself here. I am looking out for my family who should not have to deal with an even more emotional me and realistically we do not need more than one.
This is a realistic approach.
What is an unrealistic approach?
A women and her doctor implanting her with six embryos after already having 6 healthy children. This story bugged me even before it blew wide open. I have a pet peeve against parents who use these fertility treatments and end up with multiples and then want to talk about how rough life is for them. I most definitely understand the desire to want to be pregnant but I can logically look at the risks not only to me and my family but the impact of carrying more than one fetus.
So here are some statistics.

1 out of 80 natural births will result in twins.
1 out of 4 IVF pregnancies will result in twins or triplets.
Risks to the babies of just twins and triplets, as the number of babies increase so does the chance of complications.
About 126 IVF children die each year as a consequence of being in a multiple birth.
51 deaths due to still birth
42 deaths in the first week of life
33 deaths in the first year of life
Low birth weight is 50% greater for twins and 90% greater with triplets.
Death in the first week is increased 5x higher for twins and 9x higher for triplets
Chances for the baby developing Cerebral Palsy 4x higher for twins and 18x higher for triplets
pre-eclampsia is then 3x higher in mothers expecting twins and 9x higher in mothers expecting triplets.
Those statistics are scary even just for twins and triplets, this lady had eight, granted they were only trying for six. I could fine no information on how the statistics would increase with eight fetuses.

So what will their life look like once all her children come home?
She had six children previously although I am not sure if they are all IVF babies.
She will have a total of 14 children in her home all under the age of 7.
Now I know most reading this post have been parents before and know the amount of time each child needs but I thought the math would paint the unrealistic picture more vividly.

So for this example I am admitting right off that it is hypothetical. My numbers are mostly all for the new 8 babies she will be bringing home so as you read remember she still has six other children to add to the equation two of which are disabled.

I broke it down in 24 hour days split between 14 children leaves her about 2 hours per child.
8 of the children will eat on average every one-two hours which will add up to about 96 feedings per 24 hour period which does not include the time it will take her to make food for the older 6 children in her home.
She is claiming she is going to breast feed these babies so she will have to breast feed about 96 times in a 24 hour period and lets say about a half an hour per baby, 15 per side. 30min * 96 feedings she will be doing in a 24 hour period will add up to 48 hours to feed all eight babies. Every child should eat about 1-2 ounces per feeding meaning 96-192 ounces per 24 hour period. That means she will have to make 12-24 cups or 6 pints to over a gallon of breast milk per 24 hour period. Over the next month she could have to produce about 30 gallons of breast milk.
Now what about waste? Again I am going on the average and a new born can poop every time it eats so based on the earlier math that would be about 96 diapers per 24 hour period. If you times 96 diapers by 30 for the month it would come up to 2880 diapers per month.
88 diapers sell for about 26 dollars. 2880/88=33 packages*26=858 dollars per month in diapers.
While the math is easy to add up it may be the division that is that hardest. How does a mother of 14 children divide her time fairly between them. While I believe single moms can be strong this is more than any one person should have to deal with. Normally in these situations at least there is two parents running around passing tasks onto each other to even out the burden. She talks of loving these children but even the largest amount of love will not create a way for her to spread herself out for these 14 children.
You must also look at the financial aspect of her situation. She does not have a job. She has admitted to bringing in 490 dollars per month plus food stamps. The amount of things she will have to buy is astronomical ranging from clothes to a way to transport that many children.
She had even made a complaint to the media that she was not receiving the gifts and donations that other families with multiples had.
Then we get onto a doctor who implanted her with those six eggs KNOWING she had six children at home all or some of which were conceived through the same procedure.
So really it comes down to a couple of questions after all that rambling.
Did this women do this for the attention and the money?
If she did is she in the right frame of mind considering the risks she took to purposefully have six kids and the lack of consideration into the burden of all her children?
Where did a mom on welfare with six kids get the money to do this procedure?
Why would a reputable doctor agree to this procedure and what consequences should he face?
Should strict requirements be in place for potential parents of IVF treatments eliminating parents who already have a set number of children or a poor financial situation?

2009-02-06T18:48:00.000-09:00

Tonight our car quit on us.
We were on our way out of town to Beatrice when we noticed the car loosing power. Heath gave the car one last engine rev and as we crested a small hill and turned onto a side road the car's engine quit. It has blown two cylinders.
I write this and I think logically I should be angry or upset that the car has died but I am not.
I feel like that little car has served us well.
I bought it with almost 200 thousand miles on it but did not know about the oil leak until later. We tried to find the leak but we couldn't we could just smell the oil burning off the engine if we were driving for awhile.
I will not mention the price tag but I will say this we had that car paid off by October, it barely used any gas and it got me and my family to Colorado and back.
Out of all the cars we have owned this little Mitsubishi will hold a soft spot in my heart. That car was our second stepping stone when we moved south it was our independence. I also didn't want a CAR but I had to shop within my budget and this little fit it.
Even in this car's last moments it made sure that we were not far from home and it gave just enough to get us off the highway safely.
We were able to call the tow truck thanks to roadside assistance and a friend was able to pick us up and take us home. We were only thirteen miles from Lincoln.
So tonight I was looking at engines. Oh yes. After researching it I found that the rebuilt engines for my car were fairly cheap,
why not get an engine for it and put it in?
It would be a fun project for maybe the entire family!
I mean we really can't make it worse!

2009-01-18T13:06:00.000-09:00

"…So I wanted the ocean.  I wanted to hear it roll along the beach moving each rock and piece of sand.  I wanted to smell the salt in the air.  I wanted Alaska to be somehow different because of how different I felt…"

  


As I started my journey it was a good feeling.  Once I came to terms that I was really in no hurry I was able to enjoy the scenery that I was passing, long flat hills covered in short brush and weeds.  I drove with a mix of anticipation and trepidation.  The storm that was ahead of me in the early miles of my trip now was behind me, serving as a constant show of my emotions.  I felt as the dark skies rolled on behind they were somehow chasing me leaving me with this constant need to keep driving.  I forced myself to stop a few times to charge the phone and stretch my legs.  At one stop I laid in my car behind the wheel and slept for just a bit, the car turned off to save on gas and the windows rolled up for safety.  I only got about a half hour before the choking heat and the desire to get on the road again woke me up.
   Back on the road I started to allow the thoughts of my car come back in to my head having been to afraid to think about it, fearing I might jinx it.  The day before I left I did the responsible thing and took my car in to get it checked and oil changed since I have a bad oil leak.  I took the car in very early and they had asked if I wanted my anti freeze flushed and I had declined.  That entire day I was running around Lincoln trying to get the last minute things accomplished which also included me retrieving my camera.  I put quite a bit of miles on my poor car that day driving in 90 degree weather.  All day I drove and after awhile I could swear I smelled antifreeze but anyone who was in my car would say they couldn’t so I thought I was imagining it.  Turns out the guy at the shop had forgotten to put back on my radiator cap.  Luckily for me it was still stuck in the front of my engine and even though my car did start bellowing steam it had ran just fine after I replaced the lost anti freeze.  As I drove this little car at 75-90 depending on traffic I started to get impressed with its performance.  I definitely do not have the pep that other cars do but I was able to keep the constant pace and the car didn’t mind and it ran beautifully using very little gas.  The only thing that scared me was when I drove behind a semi, its draft was strong enough to sway my car side to side one reason I had a hard time passing them!  I ran that little car hard and in return that car not only got me there but got me and my family back.
   As night began to fall I just drove, knowing that I was close had pumped up my reserve energy.  I definitely do see how driving at night on the interstates could cause one to get sucked in to the flow of the traffic and the lull of the reflectors in the headlights.  One can drift in and out thinking of other things or falling asleep and I was determined to not do either.  I was tired since I did not sleep well the night before but the burst of energy got me all the way to the outskirts of Denver.  One other thing hit me as a I drew near.  The fear of Denver.  I was so afraid of missing my turn and ending up in downtown Denver.  The fear kept my eyes glued to the road watching every sign I passed until I finally saw my exit.
   As I rounded the off ramp towards the airport I watched over my shoulder at the huge city to my left, its was amazing!  I have to say that I grew up a very sheltered driver just recently learning about turn a bouts and  city driving.  As I drove through to the airport I hit some of the most confusing road I have ever found.  I drove past several toll exits second guessing each time if I had actually seen the number or name on that sign only to finally find the right one.  I was greeted by an illuminated stallion with red glowing eyes which at night seemed strangely twisted and evil and I am not sure this the type of reaction they were going for but maybe.  All of the sudden the road split and divided into several more lanes and I had to make sure I was in the right lane and watch for other drivers.  The traffic merged and switched lanes with little thought to the others around them.  I again found my exit and branched off to the airport and parking.   I was surprised that I found a space close to the front and quickly grabbed my bags.
   I made sure everything I needed was in my luggage with one last look and a thank you I left my car the boost of energy in getting there safely pushed me with all my awkward luggage to the front doors.  I rushed through the doors flustered and sweating only to be met with closed counters.  My plan to get to the airport and get on an earlier flight out because mine was not till 8 in the morning was foiled.  It was 10:00 pm and I was sleeping in the airport.  I staked out a spot in the airport that had a plug in to charge my phone and laptop.  I was disappointed to find that the chairs had arm rest in each seat making it impossible to lay down so it was the floor for me.  I loaded my bags on to a cart to push around easily and free my hands and went out for my first smoke since getting there.  I sat out there on the cold cement and smoked that cigarette watching the people come and go trying to prepare myself for sleeping on the airport floor.
   I made a makeshift pillow out of my laptop bag which I had turned into my purse as well and my large suitcase was on the cart next to my head.  All of this was assuming I would fall asleep long and hard enough that someone might actually have the chance to steal my stuff little did I know I would not.
   All night long I changed positions to get comfortable and when I found that position for a few minutes it was interrupted by the floor cleaner and loud speaker.  I felt relatively safe due to the old people who had staked out the spot next to me and the family to the other side but it was cold and what sleep I did get was not good.  I woke early unable to lay there anymore due to more people and employees filtering and shops opening up.  I decided to weigh my bags to make sure I had not gone over and a good thing to since the large amount of corn that I was carrying had put me over by 14 pounds!  With a bag from a gift shop I ran to the bathroom and shifted some of my stuff to the gift bag and dropped off some of my corn.  As I repacked things I began to realize that I had a huge pile of corn sitting on a counter in the bathroom.  As I sat there thinking of the shame it was to leave this perfectly good, freshly picked corn an old lady came out of the bathroom stall.  I asked her if she was just getting on an airplane or off she indicated off and I offered up my extra corn which really did not even dent the pile I still had!
   I got on the plane with no troubles at all.  Once on I let myself get the excitement of finally going home.  I was going home.  So I wanted the ocean.  I wanted to hear it roll along the beach moving each rock and piece of sand.  I wanted to smell the salt in the air.  I wanted Alaska to be somehow different because of how different I felt.  Little did I know that it would be the same and so would I and that was ok.

2009-01-07T19:47:00.000-09:00

Just a thought...

I have had plenty of time to just sit and ponder. In these these time of reflection I start to think of these things I thought I would be doing and done. Some of these things were things I wanted to do for myself and some were things Heath and I have dreamed of doing. The more I thought about these things the more I started to realize I wanted and yes needed to do and really there was nothing holding me back from putting these goals and dreams down and start planning them even if they will not be something we do right away.
The one thing Heath and I have always talked about was making a road trip. When we flew into Seattle last year (that sounds so funny) and drove to Lincoln and despite the fear of being so far away and the strict time limit it was a blast! We really enjoyed ourselves. As long as the price of gas holds out it should not be too bad at least the same as flying but definitely a lot more fun.
We have been discussing the possibility of driving up to Alaska this summer.
We are thinking about the beginning of June. We are not certain yet if this is doable there are a lot things that would have to fall into place. We have always wanted to make a trip like this since we got together.
When I started thinking of the trip and the possibility of actually going I started thinking of the book I have been wanting to write and the perfect opportunity. If we go I could write the rough draft on the way there and finish on the way back.
I spoke of this book a few years back and it mostly has been a nice day dream. I honestly think the ideas I have for this book are really neat and I honestly feel if done right it would be a desired book for the entire family.
The main focus of the book will be our road trip, family and camping with a few extras thrown in.
These things are just a dream right now but we will continue to think it over and work it out. Next it will be setting goals to get where we need to be to do this and that really will be the hard part because as everyone knows we have not had a great track record for setting and obtaining our goals. If we could actually pull this off what a great reward for all our hard work!
Well thinks reading while I ramble. Leave some comments on your thoughts/suggestions!

2009-01-06T09:32:00.000-09:00

Kenai

We have a new addition to our family and her name is Kenai.
She was named Kenai for our love of our State and because it went with our theme from the movie Brother Bear, which is where we also got the name Koda.
She has been a good girl so far as far as puppies go anyways!
Kenai has to sit on Koda and the funny thing is he does not mind!

She is not the brightest dog, if you enlarge the picture you will see that she has her collar in her mouth and she has gotten it stuck while in her cage.

If she can not lay on something then she has to be at least laying next to somebody. She usually sits next to Heath though.

Again Kenai sitting on Koda!

She has been potty trained for the most part only having accidents when we forget to let her out or when she is mad. Luckily we have wood floors so it is really easy to clean up.
From the first night we got her she slept in her kennel all night long with out whining once. We have let her sleep with us three times and while at first I though she stayed in bed only because she could not jump in and out it turns out she can so she chooses to stay in bed with us.
When we got her I was the one who wanted her hoping to get a companion but she has decided that she has little need for me but can not get enough of Heath. Oh well he does have that effect on animals even more so on cats!
Well we are glad we got her and she seems to fit into our family well!

2009-01-01T08:07:00.000-09:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Woke up this morning to a bright new year! 2009! WOW! Still find it hard to believe that a year has passed. I know a lot of people say that but a lot has happened over the last year. I could put it all in words but picture are worth so much more!
I have taken three pictures from each month to represent that month.

January

A trip to the museum!

The great elephant statue out side the museum.

Heather at a Diner outside of Lincoln

February

A statue at the park

Lunar Eclipse

The kids at the park

March

My new car

The kids hanging out

Happy Easter!

April

The Sea of RED

Heath the snake charmer

Happy Birthday Hunter!

MAY

Heather getting splashed at the park

Heather and her friends at the Zoo, eating lunch

Playing with the world!

June

Huge storm front that was our first Tornado experience

Hunter swimming at the lake

Hunter playing soldier

July

Me and Heath my first night back in Alaska

The pit

The mess tent

August

Hunter being silly

The hole in the wall

September

Happy Birthday Heather

Tae Kwon Do

Hunter at the Capitol

November

New specs

December

Our Christmas Dinner!

Heather with all her loot!

A picture taken by Heather on her new camera

Hunter celebrating the New Year!

Happy New Years!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!

2008-12-27T06:25:00.000-09:00

Well Christmas has come and gone.
We definitely missed our family while celebrating but still it was a very nice Christmas.
It was quiet and we got to focus on just us.
Everyone got what they wanted for Christmas.
Each of the kids got their PSPs, Heath got his Tom Tom and I got a digital photo frame.
Heath made dinner and desert. We had Ham, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, jello salad and two pies! All I had to do was make the devil eggs! Christmas eve he made an amazing chili that we ate again last night and it was even better.
Yesterday him and the kids went to shoot his new gun and even Hunter shot it. Heather is going to shoot it today so she can go hunting with Heath on Monday. I am surprised that she is showing interest in it!

Well just wanted to leave a quick post and hope everyone's Christmas was as wonderful as ours!
Love always,
Harringtons

Hmmm...

2008-12-14T12:45:00.002-09:00

In light of the recent events I started wondering if there was still Christmas spirit in the world. I started but soon realized that it was up to me to make sure that it does live on in my kids. I was bummed and even for several days I was just a breath away from tears. Every thing that was taken was just material and could over time be replaced. Unfortunately with my camera it was more the sentimental value.
As I came to terms with the loss of the camera I was drawn back to its beginning. I remember the day we bought it. It was not my idea to buy a camera that day, Heath had decided he wanted a camera. I remember being very impatient as Heath looked over every camera several times over and then being insistent on a cute little camera.
Some how I did adopt the camera and began to use and over time I called it mine.
That camera went every where with me and I have captured some of my favorite people with.
Out of anger and frustration I posted on Craigslist a rant about my stolen items. I had several people respond offering their sympathy and advise. These were people that did not know me! I was amazed by their concern.
Shortly there after I was browsing Craigslist, which I do about every day, and I saw a post that I had been looking for. The headline read "Canon Powershot S2IS...$75". At first I thought it was MY camera and it was now being placed on Craigslist for sale. I clicked on the link with my heart beating since it had been there since the morning so the odds were slim. One of the ladies that had sent me a response to my original had sent me another email letting me know it was there if I had not already found it.
I waited all night to hear a reply and when by morning I had heard nothing I figured it had been sold.
We purcahsed a couple of other things through Craigslist for the kids (shhhhhh...) and had to drive to another town to pick up the items. On our way back we decided to run to Toys R Us because we are looking for a specific transformer. (I know now as kids get older it gets harder to shop for them. Their list gets more specific and more expensive!)
On our way into the parking lot I got a email telling me she still had a camera available! I arrange a pick up time.
Unfortunately it was not MY camera but it was my camera model!
I quickly checked it over. It was my camera minus the dents scratches, wear marks and memory card. It had definitely seen less abuse than mine but it did come with the manual and the RCA cables that I had lost for mine.
I bought it.
Then a couple of days later I found a lady who was selling a new memory card for 10 dollars and I bought it as well.
So my Christmas present from Heath and the kids was my camera back. He was looking into getting me a camera for Christmas but as I told him I did not want or need a new camera especially when I could mine for so cheap!
It works just fine for what I need.

These are just a few of the pictures I have taken with it.
I am So happy that I will have my camera to capture Christmas morning!
As for life we are all doing good. We did hit a little road bump at the start of the month but we have made it though a little wiser and closer for it. As I am sure everyone has heard my sister was living with us and she took us for all of dvds, music cds and my camera along with diong drugs in our home. At first I was so angry and in disbelief. I wanted my stuff back and I wanted an apology. I soon realized that neither were coming any time soon. I think finally letting go of those silly wishes is what allowed me to get over it.
The pain that still lingers is the fact that she ran to my family here and turned them against us making us out to be the bad guys because we put her out of our house. As for me I really could care less if someone thinks I am a bad guy but I am ashamed that my family got the chance to meet my husband and kids and they pull the stuff they are pulling. They act like we over reacted and had no right to throw her out. The thing that bothers me is I did not ask any of them to take our side I respected that they wanted to remain neutral, or so I thought. I guess the fact that she stole and did drugs in our home and was mean to our kids means nothing.
When everything happened I panicked a little. I was scared that the bills she had left us with would overwhelm us and we would be back at square one especially with Christmas right around the corner. We were fine. This Christmas is our first REAL Christmas here and we are done shopping and the kids will want for nothing. I guess the whole "saving" thing works. :) We are going into Christmas and the New Year with our bills paid and while we lost some possesions we still have two healthy wonderful kids and a roof over their heads. Ah the simple things.
Hunter will be going in for surgery on the 30th to repair his hernia. It sounds simple enough. A two incut in his lower right abdomen poke the intestines back in adn then sew him back up. The hardest part will be keeping him from being rowdy was the pain goes away.
This will be the first time one of my kids has undergone surgery and while it is minor I still worry.
Heather is doing well. She grows up a little more every day. Her hormones get the best of her most days and we are learning that we should be careful how we look at her because it could be the wrong way and either she gets mad or cries. Some days she just can't decide which. I feel for her. She is in the akward phase where she is trying to determine if she is a little girl or a big girl.
We are thinking of getting her into to some kind of class for target shooting due to her amazing skills. We got a game when we bought our Wii called Link Cross Bow Training. Well Heath has taking a liking to it and came home the other day to discover that his best score was beat severly by Heather. For example, Heath's high score would be 3,000 points which was really good but Heather's would be 20,000. Heath was so convinced that Heather was cheating that he brought her down to play in front of us all. She kicked but!
Her aim is amazing and Heath was blown away!
Today we finished up the last of our shopping for Christmas day dinner which I am glad it was the last shopping we had to do! The crowds were horrible as were the attitudes.
I am on crutches now and you would think people would be a little more compasionate but no. I have gotten pushed cut off and laughed at the last couple of days.
I went into the doctors again yesterday and the news on my knee is worse. I am sceduled to see a surgeon on the 29th for what they think is a severe meniscus tear. I am on crutches and painkillers which is not a good combo!
So our stockings are hung and the presents are all wrapped. Heath has started chilli and the ham for tomorrows dinner is in the fridge. We are stocked up on soda, beer and even a bottle of wine. Cookies will be made later for Santa and the kids will get showers and warm glasses of milk before bed.
We are looking forward to not having to leave the house for the next two days. It will be not just a time for presents but a time for family and while not all our family is here in person you will all be here in our hearts and thoughts!

Ps:
Yesterday while waiting in the Dr's office I found this article and I wanted to share it.
It read...
I gave up on christmas when I was 16. It wasn't Christmas' fault: In the throes of puberty, a series of disappointments had lef t me in existential despair. Awkward and acutley self-concious, I measured myself against my peers and found myself wanting. My friends had done some mesuring of their own, and their repeated small rejections broke my heart. On Christmas Eve, with the mocking lights of the house across the street twinkling through my window, I lay in bed recalling with bitterness the simple joy that this night used to bring, before my belief in magic withered and I saw the world as it truly was. Life, it was now abundantly clear, was full of suffering and injustice. In desperation, you could pray for help and no help would come. We were all ultimately alone.
I was wrong about most of that, or at least about the conclusions I drew from the hard realities. Paradoxically, it wasn't just wonderful experiences that gradually transformed my perspective, but also the most painful ones: loving and losing. Enduring the death of my brother some years ago and of my father this year. Witnessing my teenage daughter's own encounter with despair. It was through these and other struggles that I came to understand-was taught, somehow-that despite its cruelties and suffering, life is ahrdly pointless, but rich with meaning. Our bonds with each other, I learned, are stronger that our isolation, stronger even than death. I came to appreciate the heroism and nobility of every individual life, and and of the light humanity chooses to shine even in the darkest hour.
Merry Christmas Christmas my friends and family.
William Falk

2008-12-07T15:24:00.000-09:00

Presenting
Heather Harrington
Playing the Cello

2008-12-05T22:02:00.000-09:00

150 DVDs
$3000.00

50 music CDs
800.00

Camera that has been with me for the past three years
400.00

Learning a lesson

Priceless.

2008-11-30T17:15:00.000-09:00

Oh Christmas Tree...

Yes we did put it up early this year...
Tonight we had another full Turkey dinner made by Heath and I for Heath's birthday. We had turkey, potatoes, salad, stuffing, corn, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, and rolls. One of the girls I work with and her boyfriend came over and helped us eat!
The day was filled with shopping for Christmas decorations and food for dinner. I found most of the decorations at the dollar store which saved us a ton of money and the rest was found at Walmart. I have a theory that the reason we have so many "good willed"and "peace on Earth" songs is because of the crappy attitude had by most. I think those songs are played to keep people who are getting irritated at the other shoppers from going crazy.
Well it wasnt really that bad but still I am shocked that it is not even December yet and the stores are all packed.
We found our tree at WalMart for 30 bucks and Heath even got it tied on the roof of my little car! The hard part will be keeeping the ferrets and cats out of the tree!

'Tis the Season!

2008-11-23T06:54:00.000-09:00

Here they are!
We got them Thursday night. The kids have been waiting all week to get them. We were told they would be here Monday afternoon but because they had to remeasure Hunter's bifocals it delayed them.
They both look so cute with them but it will be interesting to see how hard it will be to keep them on after the newness wears off

This was taken by my sister the night she took the kids to Boo at the Zoo. I did not get any pictures of them Halloween night though so sorry!

Stan I knew you would know what flag that was that is!!!

2008-11-22T20:01:00.000-09:00

The Simple Woman Me Me...from Erratic Howling

Outside My Window...

It is dark and cold. The leaves are hitting the air conditioner that is STILL in the window. (Not because it is hot!)

I am thinking...

If I were to invest in a certain company would it be a conflict of interest with work.

I am thankful for...

Glasses. 8)

From the kitchen...
Silence. Dark.

I am wearing...

Jammie pants and my Sweatshirt from AK. I wear it a lot...

I am creating...

A light studio.

I am going...

To play poker for a little bit then it is probably time for bed.

I am reading...
Tae Kwon Do.

I am hoping...
....

I am hearing...
The humm of the heater blowing air upstairs.

Around the house...

Heather and Hunter are in bed...Heath is asleep on the couch.

One of my favorite things...

I have several.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Work...Thanksgiving...Annivesary..

A picture or two to share...

These were taken on our way back from Alaska.

2008-11-13T06:37:00.000-09:00

Where do I start?
I made it back to Nebraska with no trouble at all. The only thing I kept thinking was how the hell did I make it through as sick and delirious I was on my way up? I do not remember the Minneapolis airport that much at all but on my way I realized how far I had to walk between gates.
The kids were happy to have me home and missed me very much. That night we got dressed up and went trick or treating. What an experience! It was warm enough that I was sweating with just my sweatshirt on! The kids walked around the neighbor hood and got lots of candy. It was a entirely new thing for them to go out and not have to wear a jacket! Unfortunately I realized to late that the batteries in my camera were dead so not pictures were taken. Heather was a cat again but this time we did really cool makeup and she had these foam clip on whiskers that were so cute. Hunter chose to be Bumblebee from Transformers. The out fit was cute but it made him look really skinny!
The kids made out with several pounds of candy so they had a blast. I am thinking on what to do with the remaining portions as I am getting tired of finding wrappers everywhere (Hunter).
Both kids brought home excellent report cards and I am proud of them both. Despite our struggles with Hunter he has done really well and for the most part exceeded his teacher's expectations. He has a few areas to work on focus being the main one.
Heather has again had an amazing report card. This girl works her butt off to get these grades. She was a little bummed this year with the amount of homework she has to bring home. Her books got bigger and the tests got harder.
We took them to the eye doctor and they should be receiving their new glasses on Monday! Yeah! The eye doctor said he was surprised and amazed that Heather is doing so well in school because her eyesight is so bad. She has to wear her glasses all the time so we picked an amazing pair for her. We picked out Dolce & Gabbana pink frames with silver around the glasses part. It was the first pair she picked out and she looked amazing in them! Even the lady helping us pick them out was shocked they looked so good on her. She had to shop in the womens section to get her glasses and she thought that was really cool. Hunter on the other hand did not like any of the kids glasses and it took him half an hour to pick his out. He kept wanting glasses that were way to big for him! Finally he settled on a pair of Tommy Hillfigure glasses after we convinced him they were not girl glasses!
I am a little frustrated that the last eye doctor I saw 6 months ago said Hunter's eyes were worse than Heather's and I actually paid full price for the exam. Oh well.
Heath and the kids are now finally covered fe themmy insurance. I am really relieved!
Other than that not much else is going on.
I had a bunch of doctor's appointments last week. Turns out I was pregnant. We are bummed but we have been through this before so it is nothing new. Being patient is the only thing to do.
The other day we had to buy the kids their winter jackets! It has gotten so cold here and literally over night. When I first got home it was warm enough for shorts and tank tops. Woke up a few days later and realized it was REALLY cold. YUCKY!
We have not gotten real snow yet although I did see flakes but nothing stuck. Mostly we have been hit with rain and drizzly cold weather.
Heath has been working close to home which has been nice. His boss is amazing and has tried to keep near home for a littel while. It will come to a point where he will have to go to where the work is. Hopefully not for a little while!
He still likes working for them and they were understnading of him being gone. They even gave him overtime when he only worked 40 hours this last pay period. Very nice!
Well I am going to sign off I have an entire day of being lazy ahead of me!
Ps...Terry Heather is working on a letter for you! we also are sending up other stuff as well!

2008-09-27T10:46:00.000-08:00

Hunter after his first day of TaeKwonDo. I am really impressed with the instructors and what they have planned for teaching the kids. They teach focus, discipline and respect which will really benefit Hunter. They also teach stranger awareness and defense. Hunter is very happy and seems really into it (could be the spiffy new uniform he got today!)

On a side note saw this lady in Omaha last weekend and at first glance she reminded me of Terry but once she turned around it was not even close and she was smoking! I think terry even has a green tank top just like that one!

Well gonna go find something to do the kids are bored and need to get out of the house before they go crazy!