Sky requests prayers for his dad.

I request prayers for Sky, too.  

Please send your well wishes to Sky's dad and his family!

Been There, Done That (and you will too)!

I have a new project.  Come check it out!

http://beentheredonethat-youwilltoo.blogspot.com/

Notice to all germs, viruses, allergic reactions and "yuckies":

You are hereby banished from our family.  You are not welcome.  Ashley will have to wait and learn about you all some other time.  

In related news- I am offering a reward to anyone who can actually figure out how to build me a bubble.  One that I can put the whole family in, so as to keep germs out.  The catch is that we do need to function normally, so this will need to be a 1 way bubble.  Kids on the football field would think it odd if Skyler was in said bubble and the ball bounced off of it, seemingly from mid air.

Alex is over his fear of daycare, Skyler is on the mend!

Today was daycare day for Alex.  This used to be such a dreaded event.  Today, Sky wasn't going to school or daycare because he needed one more day to recover from a bout of strep throat.  So Dusty (who let me sleep in!) was planning on taking Alex to daycare around 10am.  Well...8am rolls around and Dusty says to Alex: "You go to daycare today".  Alex responded with "STACY???" (this is his favorite girl, and as a result, ANY childcare provider in Alex's world is now named Stacy).  Dusty assured him that, yes, he'd see Stacy.

At this point, Alex starts jumping up and down and screaming "STACY!" at the top of his lungs.  After a minute, he ran to his room and yelled for his dad to help him get dressed.  Alex then came in and woke me up, excitedly sharing the news that he was off to daycare.  He even brought his backpack in to show me he was all ready!  So, Alex went to daycare 1 1/2 hours before he would have...and apparently loves it there!

Skyler will be going back to school tomorrow, and is very excited to get back!  He had a good time going to work (a.k.a. Grandma's house) with me, but is ready to see his buddies again.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

A happy day, but a sad morning.

Ok, I try not to get too political on here, but right now I can't help myself.

First of all, I am thrilled that Obama will be our next president!  I honestly feel that he will be a great figure in our nation's politics.  I did not vote Obama because he was a democrat, or because he won the party's nomination.  I voted for him because I believe in Obama and what he stands for.  So, I couldn't be happier with last night's results.

I also felt that  McCain gave an amazing concession speech.  I think we saw that man who was labeled a "maverick".  I think he showed class, good will and genuine human spirit.  

But...all my election night elation is on the back burner for the moment.  I just checked in on CA's Prop. 8, and it put a damper on my mood.  Prop. 8 was a measure writing the definition of marriage as one man, one woman in to the state's CONSTITUTION.

I am appalled that on the same day I get to explain to Skyler that our country has overcome racism enough to elect a black man as President, I have to explain to him that our country discriminates against people for their sexual orientation.  It is just sickening.  

I have heard all the arguments FOR Prop. 8, and I'm sorry- you CANNOT give a valid argument FOR DISCRIMINATION.  It isn't possible.  People tried- remember the civil rights movement?  Slavery?  Women not being allowed to vote?  You can dress it up and call it "protecting marriage", or "protecting our children from being taught about gay marriage"- but it is still and always will be discrimination.

I am saying many, many prayers today.  Today, I am praying for the safety and emotional well being of our new president-elect Barack Obama and his family (I can't imagine the emtional roller coaster of his grandmother passing during this time).  I am praying that our country can come together to move forward, now that the vote has spoken.  I am praying for every CA couple that wakes up today to find out that they are no longer married, that their family isn't seen as "valid" in the eyes of CA voters.  And I am praying that some day, discrimination will not be something we can vote for.

I want my kids to live in a better world.  Isn't that all we want for our little ones?

(OK, done with politics- on this blog.  If you give me a glass of wine & invite me over, I'll discuss it all you want!)

Trick or Treat!!!

And another Halloween has come and gone.  Sugar highs and stomach aches are sure to follow!

SpiderMan and Peter Pan took to the streets in a quest to find some candy on a perfect night.  Mild temperatures, no rain, and Dusty getting off work were a great backdrop.  

The night began with a house down the street, where both the boys forgot to say "trick or treat", but the neighbor thought they were so cute that she gave them candy anyhow.  This got Alex really excited- he finally understood what we meant by "going on a walk to get some candy".  At the next house, they let the kids choose.  This was a big choice for Alex, who was finally given one of everything when the owner of the house got tired of waiting after a good 4 or 5 minutes of Alex touching every single candy, then putting it back.

Skyler was a great big brother, pushing the doorbells that were too tall for Alex and letting Alex push the ones he could reach.  The highlight for him was a neighbor who had an actual snake on their porch, along with numerous other decorations.  This, to a 5 year old, is REALLY cool.  After the older kids started coming out, we came home.  This was mostly because Alex was nervous about the big kids in scary costumes, which presented some problems when they tried to accompany him to the door.  After one last stop at our direct neighbor's house (she had saved some candy especially for them), we loaded up in the car and drove out to trick or treat at Grandpa Mike's house.   This was a great way to end the night!

As of 6pm last night, Dusty is on vacation.  We have a big week planned!  Today we all went to Skyler's football game (they WON!  Go Jets!), accompanied by Shane (who doesn't wake up that early but did it just for Sky).  Alex is still sick, so he'll be sleeping the day away and trying to get better in time for church tomorrow.  This week will be full of fishing, hunting (for Dusty), and birthday celebrations- as Dusty turns the big 26 on Wednesday!

Happy November!

Pumpkin Patch, continued.

Family Day at Liepold Farms.

What is that saying?  Better late than never?

Well, here is the run down on our family day at the pumpkin patch.  It was a marathon day!  First, Skyler and Dusty got up way before Alex and I care to, and went fishing.  They didn't catch anything, but it's more about the memories anyhow, right?  Then, they got home.  We ate lunch, dressed the kids in sweaters (after I wouldn't give up on that argument- I wanted them in sweaters for pics, Dusty thinks kids dressing up to go to a farm is nuts.  In Dusty's defense, he was right- but I can be REALLY stubborn!), and took off to the pumpkin patch.

At the pumpkin patch, they have a little play area with a ball pit, and a carosel.  This, of course, is heaven on earth to Alex.  They also had 2 mazes- 1 dark maze and one light maze.  Not only did Skyler rock the light maze, but he and I managed to get through the dark one.  If you know Skyler or myself, this is a big deal!  He earned a glow stick as a reward.  I earned another grey hair.  

Once we made it outside, Alex discovered a new love- stomping in mud puddles.  As of about 1:30 pm that afternoon, if there is a mud puddle within 1 mile, Alex will find it.  His new shoes (and his mom) are thrilled.  Dusty and I discovered that one bag of kettle corn isn't necessarily the best idea, and that Skyler is allergic to hay.  The boys learned how to fling pumpkins with a giant slingshot, and we spent a long time picking out the perfect pumpkins.

It was a very fun afternoon!  Afterwards, Grandma Val watched the boys and took them on a bike ride.  They slept well that night.  Yay!