Toolio was fat

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

We haven't done any Christmas shopping yet; except for ourselves, that is.  Today we bought our joint Christmas gift and it rocks:

Panasonic 50" Plasma HDTV w/Built-In Tuner

We're dorks.

However, I'm now pretty sure that means I am NOT getting this:

Wustof Cheese Knife Gift Set

or this:

KitchenAid Red Artisan Mixer

And I can guarantee that it will be a long time before he even considers these:

Tiffany Diamond Studs

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But still...the TV does rock. 

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God - I'm either a very supportive wife or a very stupid one. 

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uuuuh.  Yeah.

Catching Up

We've been away for awhile; Hubby was in Boston, then the whole Fam in California for Thanksgiving.  There is too much to say, so I think I'll just cover the Headlines:

Frist won't run for president in 2008.  Oh Damn.  Now who do I vote for?!  Oh yeah - I heard that the actual Devil or Hitler's ghost may run.  Phew~  thought I was out of options.

Britney's 8-point comeback plan:   Does it involve underwear?  Jeez I hope so.  Poor girl...

Pam and Kid: What went wrong:  One more reason to love Borat - and I still haven't seen the actual movie.

One more storm to get through:  Yes- It has been cold. as. hell here in SeaTown.  We haven't had school all week.  The baby is sick.  People are ice skating without the skates!  It's mayhem!!

That's all for now.  hopefully we'll get back to some regular blogging soon.  Happy almost Friday, y'all~

WHAT'S UP THIS WEEK?

So this week has been a little...let's say...different?

Not that I'm complaining.  I mean, the last time Hubby tried to go on a business trip for a week, I landed myself in the hospital for emergency surgery.  And of course he didn't go. 

Okay so - no one could have predicted that we'd all be sick this time, (well, maybe for this family, yes) or that we'd be getting the worst storm in years, or that Grandma C would also be sick, or that the baby would have stopped sleeping through the night, or that Hubby wouldn't get back until the day before our trip to California. 

So yeah; it's been a challenge being a single mom this week with sick kids and feeling like crap.  We are all on antibiotics except for Grandma C.  Hubby has been in Boston all week and getting daily nosebleeds from the horrendous sinus problems he's enduring. Deso finally stopped tugging at his poor infected ear.  Bubby has been amazing all week.  I have been irritated, short tempered, tired, stuffy, sore and coughing.  Heaven, right?

I keep thinking this would all be okay if I could only get some sleep.  For some reason, Deso does not want that to happen.  It's nice that he wants to share every moment with his momma, but it is getting a little old; the whole not sleeping thing.  My sympathetic doctor understood my need for a cure that did not require rest, so I am now on a super-duper antibiotic at the maximum dose.  We shall see.

And, of course, Hubby gets an earful from me every time he calls to check in.  When I feel sick, I give an Oscar worthy performance with the woe-is-me monologue.  At least I know my years of acting and stage training is good for something...

Truth be told, I do see a light of glimmer in this situation.  We are all just a little better than yesterday and Deso has slept through one of the nights this week.  He didn't complain about the ear all day today and my throat has only been sore half the day, not all day like earlier this week. 

Hubby will be home tomorrow night and my goal is to be in a good mood and have a semi-clean house.  Is this possible with one (sick) parent and 2 small kids?  I think so; we've been doing pretty well on the cleaning thing and the attitudes so far. 

But the whole single mom thing?  Not liking it.  Not liking it one bit. Props to my mom for doing it for 20 years.  Ack~

A LITTLE ON IMMIGRATION

I'm not sure where I stand on the immigration issue.  I mean, I've always supported the idea of people coming here to make a better life.   My family did.  Your family did.  We all came here from somewhere (most of us).

I also understand the major problems caused by too many people coming into this country illegally.  It sucks and US citizens pay for it.  My family pays.  Your family pays.  We all pay for them (most of us).

So I won't pretend that I know how to fix the problem.  I don't know who is right when it comes to the politics about all of this.  I just want people who are trying to better their lives to be given a chance...just like my ancestors were.  Isn't that fair?

And to be honest, I have no idea how hard or easy it is to become a US citizen.  I want everyone to try, though.  I think if a person wants to be a permanent resident, then they should learn the national language and pay taxes.  That's fair, too...right? 

I also think it's possible that the US could have more than one national language.  Lots of countries have more than one national language.  We don't think they're weird.  Or maybe you do, but I don't.

ANYWAY - This is all leading to a story I just read that makes me very sad.  Seems GW and his buddies announced last week that the US is stopping emergency Medicaid for babies born to low-income illegal immigrants.  So right now, newborns (to illegal immigrants) get emergency medical assistance for their first year and then the parents have to figure out what to do.  Now, these parents will first have to prove that their baby was, indeed, born in the US and then wait for approval of funding. 

So exactly how long can a newborn baby go without being given any kind of medical treatment?  No one month check up?  No weight checks or blood tests or anything?  Not unless the application is approved.  By then, the year will most likely be up and the poor baby who might have really needed medical help, gets nothing.

And, of course, any condition that goes unchecked during those first fragile months of life, could potentially lead to life-long problems and even death.  So won't it end up costing more if these low-income kids need more assistance later on in life?  Duh.

And these are babies born here.  They are citizens.  Poor citizens born to illegal immigrants, but they are citizens. They won't get help because the Bushies think this brilliant idea will keep people from crossing the border to have their babies.  Nope.  It'll just make the problem worse.  Instead of a bunch of illegal immigrants, we'll have a bunch of illegal immigrants with very sick and dying children.

..and they say they're "pro-life".  What a f----n' joke.

THE DAY AFTER

It's a good day. 

The sun was out this morning.

The baby finally fell asleep at 2:00 AM.

There is justice in this world (your vote counted).

We are All Blue.  All Blue.

aujourd'hui est le jour

That's right; Today is The Day.

So there's already an investigation by the FBI into voter intimidation in Virginia or Vermont or somewhere.  Could be anywhere, USA.  Last election, entire states were lost in the vote count.  And with the Good Ol' Petrol dudes saying that they'll definitely win...do they know something we don't?  Cheating much?  Hmmm?

I know it sounds far-fetched, but Hubby was right when he said we should have taken a photo of our ballots.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Meanies remained in power after today.  At least there would some consistency.  And then, in total irony, I would have some faith again in the American people because I'd know for sure that we didn't vote the Morons into office, they just cheated and stole the votes.

Kind of like in the 90's when Fidel Castro finally had elections in Cuba and by coincidence, he got 100% of the vote.

Do I need to defect to Canada??

In other news:  My county is the only one NOT on flood alert in my state.  We will get 8-10 inches of rain by tomorrow.  Gee, nice.

Deso and Bubby are both pretty sick now.  Both have ear infections (i think) and there was almost no sleeping happening here last night.

So regardless of how the elections turn out, we will be on medication, 7up and chicken soup tonight.  Much more important focus, IMO.

AND GO VOTE, DAMMIT!

- except you, LB, you get a free pass

hehehe...

YES I'M PRO CHOICE

If there's anyone out there from California (my home state) reading this blog, please do something about this anti-choice issue appearing on your ballot next week.  My sister-in-law and professional blogger, Citymama (Stefania) is doing something great to spread the word about prop 85 in California.  If you care about the seriousness of abortion rights or birth control, please read her post here:

Something Worth Blogging - Proposition 85

Citymama has quite the following and I don't, but I believe in this just as strongly and I will do whatever I can to help.  I am a member of NARAL and the ACLU and I'm seriously concerned about this issue.

If you are in California, please think about this and vote no on 85.

now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

HALLOWEEN 2006

What is it that makes little children so sweet on Halloween?  Is it because it's one of the few days when everything is legal?  Must be.  Candy?  Fine.  Dress Up?  Fine.  Stay up late?  Fine.  Go outside when it's dark?  Fine.

Halloween is very sweet in my little town.  We dressed the boys in the costumes and headed first for the Halloween Fun House at the local community center.  This event is sponsored by Kiwanis and is free for everyone.  The boys played carnival games, went through a maze and left with a good start on filling the treat bag.

Next we went trick-or-treating at the local shops downtown.  Our neighborhood is very spread out (not great for treating) so we decided to try and hit up the downtown merchants for candy.  It worked.  Bubby had to empty his treat bag because it had already filled up after one hour of begging.

After we grabbed something from the store deli to eat, we headed to the night's premiere event...The Hootenanny.  Oh yes.  A 4-year-old's dream come true.  This is a big party in a huge barn with carnival games, cake walks, music, rides and, yes, CANDY. 

The best part, though, was Bubby getting over his fear of those inflated rides last night.  His little buddy, "Benner" was at the Hootenanny, too  See, Benner is Bubby's other half.  They are so different, but absolutely adore eachother.  Benner is Bubby's first best friend and his protector.  He hits back when someone hits Bubby.  He finds Bubby's lost toys.  He argues right along side Bubby for one more ride or 10 more minutes to play.  They make a good team.   

So Benner helped Bubby navigate those big, giant inflatable rides at the Hooter last night.  He kept saying, "You can do it, come on!".  Benner held Bubby's hand several times until Bubby was ready to run/slide/bounce/flip all by himself.  And that he did.  By the end of the night, they were racing through the rides and they couldn't be stopped.  Suddenly, my son was brave.

All the way home Bubby couldn't stop talking about the candy and the rides and the coolest Halloween ever.  He was a little disappointed that it was over.  So was I.  It was the coolest Halloween ever!