Eve

IMG_1699

Originally uploaded by staciplonsky

This is Eve at the top of our stairs. She's being a very good dog!

AJ

My poor guy has been a running a fever since Sunday afternoon. He seems to have some kind of a stomach virus. Well, I've been monitoring his temperature every few hours during the day. He hates the thermometer.

I just put it under his arm, and you'd thinkit was the end of the world. This morning, he got a hold of the thermometer and has been taking all of his stuffed animals' temperatures. He won't relinquish it. thankfully, his temp is back to normal anyhow. But I DO have a backup thermometer. Wouldn't he be surprised?

Seriously, being home with him every morning while Grace is in school is rather fun. We're reading books and playing boy stuff, which is quite novel for me. Usually he plays with his sister. So far, we're having a pretty good time together!!

He's getting a sense of humor. And he likes to pretend that he is "Uncle Kyle."

Angel's Literary Appetite

When we leave our home, Eve always goes in her crate and we put up baby gates in our hallway to keep Angel corraled. I followed Standard operating procedure when we left for church yesterday. We came home and discovered that Angel had stuck her head (we think) under the gate, twisted and grabbed a big pile of books neatly stacked next to our bookcase in our living room.

She left most intact. But she did enjoy three very special books: The sleeve to a hardbound book about Angels and Demons that I'd borrowed from church to teach Sunday School (so do I replace it? It's just the cover. . .. the book is still readable. . . but so embarrassing to return a book w/out the sleeve);  Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason; and A Tale of Two Cities (Didn't really like that book anyways).

Apparently she has a taste for British lit.

Candidate bashing.

I'm sick and tired of the emails I get with mean jokes about various political candidates. Even the candidates that I don't plan on supporting!! I don't think it's okay. It's not funny. It's mean spirited. Someone's gender, race, or hometown is irrelevant to their ability to succeed in any office. When Hilary was a potential candidate, I was inundated with asinine jokes about her being a "b*tch* and "wearing the pants in HER family" etc. etc. Just because she's a successful female! If you don't like her policies, fine. Say so. Don't disparage her character. And no, I was not planning on voting for her.

And the whole bipartisan system literally splits our country.  Instead of looking at issues, people vote "Democrat" or "Republican" because that's the way they've always voted. I've heard people say, "Democrats are just rich people who want to raise taxes and give everything to the poor and the immigrants." I've heard people say, "I will never vote democrat  because they support gay marriage." (oh yeah, people who love each other and want a legal commitment--THAT is what is going to derail our country!)

I've heard people say, "Republicans are just rich people who want to keep all of their wealth to themselves." I've heard comments on Republicans picking and choosing their morals and ethics.

And I'm just sick of it. How many nasty emails and jokes does it takes  before an uneducated voter begins to believe these things? After the 100th Hilary Clinton email joke, does it plant a negative impression in someone's mind? As in, they're not sure why they don't like her but they just don't?

If you want to discuss politics, discuss them. Just stop emailing me mean spirited jokes!

Kindergarten(!)

My baby started kindergarten today. It's hard to believe. There was a "Boo Hoo Breakfast" for the kindergarten parents. It's so silly to feel this bittersweet--she's going half days every day, instead of half days 3x's a week like for preschool, and she even uses the same door as last year to get to her room!

The moms at the breakfast were very nice. I met someone who's only lived here a week. I invited her to Alpine Church. Those of us whose oldest children were beginning kindergarten were all a bit sad, and some cried. (I cried at home this morning. . . and again when AJ and I left and saw Grace playing on the playground.) The moms whose youngest were beginning kindergarten were pretty excited. They finally have free time!!

Anyhow, it's a short day today so Grace is only there from 8:05 until 10:10. I think we'll still go to the gym. I didn't want to overwhelm her, but I think consistency is good for her. And for me, too! It's Wednesday--CORE ab training day.

Here's Grace before leaving this morning:

Vegas

This is the "autoedited" version of our video and pics in Vegas. I'm trying to put my own together, but lost tape 1. So until tape 1 shows up, here's the auto-edit:

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2125645159890797919]

Post office Blues

So three times in as many months, bills that I have sent out have not made it to their recipient. I've kept careful records of the checks, and then I get a phone call that a particular bill is overdue,  even though it was sent weeks ago. And when I write checks, I usually do them in batches. So the OTHER checks all cleared, which tells me that I DID mail them. THis is going to kill our credit. It's so frustrating. I had Grace make a card for my dad and I sent a check to cover something that he had taken care of so that I wouldn't have to do it from long-distance. When I got to Florida, I commented on the card and check and he gave me a blank look. He'd never gotten it.

What the heck?