Merry Merry

We celebrated several days of Christmas this year. Ben sister came down from Seattle, and waited with us until Scooter flew into town. We all went to pick her up at the airport, and had a jolly afternoon opening presents, eating, and skyping with Ben's parents. Scooter got several crafty crafts (which she was very excited about), as well as a solar-powered garden light. Bubba received several pieces of track and Skarlowey for train fun. From us, they each got 3 gifts: a sleeping bag (mountain hardware bag that's actually rated better than mine), a pillow pet (dolphin for Scooter, frog for Bubba), and a child-specific gift. Scooter received a ski helmet that she can decorate to make her own. Right now, it's a plain black, but I'm sure she'll put some fun stickers on it. Bubba got a leapfrog alphabet game. It turns out, he's smarter at his letters than we had originally thought. I also opened several gifts including a new camera (HD video and clearer photos will surely follow), a sweater and scarf, and slippers to keep my tootsies warm. The slippers I got a couple of years ago had huge holes in the bottoms. My feet had been freezing this winter. Poor Ben had nothing to open. The kids and I got him a new camera body (and kit lens) for Christmas, but we let him open and use it early. So he's been enjoying his Christmas present for nearly a month, now. I think he's ok with that, but it sure made for an uneven gift pile on Christmas.

Yesterday, after we yanked the kids away from the gifts that Santa brought (MORE trains and track! Skis and boots!), we drove down to Ben's aunt and uncle's house for a wonderful day of family and fun. As always, they were wonderful hosts, and the kids (quite literally) tore their house apart. I always cringe a little when I mentally compare what their house looked like when we arrived vs what it looks like when we leave. Even after helping them pick up, it seems we manage to leave a tornado trail in our wake. Hopefully, my sister's kids will do the same for us someday. :)

Today, Ben and the kids took a trip over to the Columbia store. Based on the looks of the tree swaying outside my window at work, they went just in the nick of time. Bubba and Scooter each got some warm mittens (or gloves) which they will wear when we go skiing/sledding/hiking in the cold. Bubba also got a new hat that hopefully won't leave marks on his noggin. And because I have the most thoughtful husband around, they also picked me up some waterproof boots and a softshell jacket with a hood. I will now be the best dressed member of my family (up from worst-dressed just yesterday). For my next trick, I'll talk Ben into buying a new house! ha ha ha.

But really, I walk outside 2 miles (at least) per day 5 days per week. Luckily, it's been a really dry winter so far, but if it had been a normal December, my feet (and body) would have been soaking wet too often. I would have been sad. The forecast for this week (and the forseeable future) is wet. I'm happy to have dry feet and a warm torso. The fleece/jacket combo I currently wear is a combined 27 years old. It'll be nice to step out of the house into the 21st century, jacket-wise, tomorrow. I'll have to take pictures of my new gear with my new camera tonight. I still need to learn how to get the photos off the camera onto the computer. I'll have to learn that skill before we head to Canada this weekend. Can't wait!

Still Harping on the Working Mom thing...

I often wonder about our national, state and local policies surrounding children and families. I understand that the economy is important. The bottom line is important. Making money and controlling costs is important. I get all of that. But I don't think that taking care of families and children has to be exclusive of sound financial decisions. For one thing, let's think about what is good for the future of our country and our world.

 

1. A healthy population.

2. An educated population.

 

In my mind, those are the 2 really important things to think about. One might argue that national defense is up there, but I tend to disagree. There are a few countries out there that are fairly prosperous w/o huge defense budgets. Also, in an environment such as the one we find ourselves in today, a huge standing army with lots of tanks and planes is not necessarily going to protect us from the hijackers that crash planes into buildings. As it stands, Defense is a full 20% of our national budget. Medicare is 21%. Social security is 20%. 

 

 

 

Blah blah blah, bottom line is, does it bother anyone else that less is spent on education than is spent on benefits to current and former federal employees? It bothers me. A lot. Because every school district I know of is wrestling with how to do more on a smaller budget.

 

I'm not so naive as to think that we as a nation can magically come up with an answer where we all pay fewer taxes and get more from our government. Clearly, reform needs to be made. But why aren't we cutting the heavy hitters: defense, social security, medicare just as much as we are the things that will help our country maintain its standing in the world? I work at a place in which budgets for medicare can mean the difference between laying off employees or growing the organization, but I feel that the status quo is not working. After all of that spending, America is not healthier today than we were 20 years ago. So we need to focus our spending on ways to improve health - parks and recreation areas inside urban development sites, regulation on pollutants, infrastructure - with more mass transit opportunities, there is less of a need to rely on cars, etc.

 

And, last but not least, let's focus on families. Let's support families when they are making choices about their children and their lives. Let's not ding moms who choose to stay at home with their kids, and let's REALLY not ding moms who take an hour off here and there to spend time with their kids. Jobs are important - they give us the funds we need to live in today's society - but they aren't our kids. So in conclusion, go families!

This makes me wonder why we don't get paid maternity in America

 

 

always a dull moment

I've been busy as all get out, and yet I really have nothing to show for it. Scooter's been gone since Saturday. She gets back on Sunday. We're way over half way there. I'm excited to see her again. I think we're planning on heading down to Ben's aunt and uncle's house for the Monday after Christmas. Hopefully, they'll let us do the cooking. I'm pretty sure I can do most of it ahead of time (we're having fiesta!), but I'm a little worried about the rice and chili. Fiesta is a meal that my mom used to make occasionally, when we would have a group of people over. It's a pretty easy meal, and if you actually eat it with all the ingredients included, it's surprisingly delicious. You pile it all on your plate in the following order. Be warned: if you make your base too big, you'll never be able to finish what ends up on your plate.

1. Fritos
2. Rice
3. Chili
4. Cheese
5. Lettuce
6. Tomatoes
7. Onions
8. Green Olives
9. Coconut
10. Walnuts
11. Hot Sauce

I always thought there were 12 ingredients (or maybe even 13), but the list I have has 11, and I can't remember what might be missing, so I guess it's 11. I'm thinking we'll make the chili ahead of time, but bring a crock pot to re-heat it in. Also, we'll be bringing the big rice cooker and the "good" rice. I hope it's not a disaster.

So anyway, I thought that with Ben having most of the week off, we'd get more done. I was wrong. Well...not really, I guess. It's just that other things are getting done, and Ben's been spending his days away from the house. So my routine is, sadly, the same as normal: up, ready, boy ready, breakfast, work, home, dishes, dinner, dishes, boy bed, veg out, me bed. At least I haven't had to worry about swim lessons and homework in there as well. Some day it'll all get easier. And more exciting. In the meantime, I'll continue to stress about appeals, potential shake up on the employment front, and the everyday nonsense of being me.

Dance-dance revolution

Not much going on these days. Ben and I are beginning to realize why Scooter sometimes gets sick of her little brother. Those two play together so well most days, but sometimes, she complains that he's demanding. After four days of him saying, "mommy/daddy! Play with me!!" I get it. Because you'll sit down to play with him, and he dictates the play down to what car you get, and what, exactly, you do with said car. Tonight, we had a dance party. We danced for about 15 minutes before I replaced the batteries in my camera to film. The only reason why we stopped was because Ben came home with some dinner for us.

Of all the things to get mad about

So, I probably did a bad thing today. I re-read the appellant brief that the ex's lawyer sent to the appeals court. I know it's ridiculous for me to do so, but I'm kind of obsessing over this. Today, I got notice of a hearing for Jan 9th. Not for the appeal, but for a stupid little thing that is basically a clerical error in the "original" modification order. The word, "plaintiff" was missing from the paragraph where the ex is supposed to mail me a copy when he submits to the clerk of court. Also, even though it's in the original order, we're placing more emphasis on his requirement to provide supporting documentation for his claims in his affidavit. Generally, one wouldn't think that it would be necessary, but considering he claimed over $1200 for October's travel when less than $750 is actually authorized, well, you get the idea. And yes, affidavits are sworn statements. So anyway, apparently their side is not approving the clerical correction, so we're actually going to have a hearing on the matter. And this time, we're asking for attorney's fees.

Ok. But what really is getting my panties in a bunch today is one sentence in the appellant brief. It goes like this: "Lori did testify that her employment in Omaha had a high rate of turnover, however, she had been at the company for six years; and had continued to receive yearly raises, even after taking 12 weeks off to have a baby (not at issue herein)." Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?! I shouldn't be allowed to look for new employment (or move out of state) because I should have been happy in a place that fired people every quarter? Let me break down the craptastickness of that sentence.

1. I took off 8 weeks, 4 of which were unpaid. During my 8 weeks "off," I was in semi-regular contact with the office.

2. 2 years of my "yearly raises" were not merit raises, but cost of living.

3. 1 acronym: FMLA. It's this little federal law, which kind of guarantees me the right to take up to 12 weeks off w/o fear of job loss.

And in case you missed it earlier, I DID NOT TAKE 12 weeks off. I fought tooth and nail for 8, and didn't really even get that. And since when am I to be penalized for being a good employee and a mom? Only when it's a custody dispute.

So, yeah, my dander's up. Sorry about that. I just think that it's totall BS that a man would point out that I took time off work to push a baby out of my uterus and then bond with it. On the one hand, I'm a terrible person for yanking her child away from her dad. On the other, I'm a terrible person for actually bonding with my children. Did YOU take a SINGLE DAY off when YOUR daughter was born? Maybe one. Does all of that working make you a better dad with a stronger bond with his kid? Probably not.

Yet another Evening Activity

So it just became harder for me to keep up my blog everyday. You see, I work in an IT shop. Therefore, the tools I use to do my job are on the verge of obsolescence. For example, my web browser. We JUST upgraded to IE 7. For those of you "in the know," there are currently 2 more recent versions out there, with IE 10 on the way. Long story short, my blog no longer supports the browser that I have at work. Also, I work in a majorly regulated environment. There are state and federal regulations surrounding pretty much everything I do. So, it's not like I can just download Chrome to my work computer and call it good. For now, I'm getting around this by emailing myself my blog text, in the hopes that I'll copy it over every night. Otherwise, I have a little journal right here in email. You see, I've pretty much quit journaling since I started blogging. Maybe this will be the wake up call I need to start hand-writing a journal, again.

Anyway, let me tell you about my weekend. It was interesting. Kind of.

Saturday, Scooter was scheduled to fly back to Omaha to spend a week with her dad. Since we're terrible procrastinators, we needed to run to the Adidas store to get her cousin's Christmas present before her flight. So...we got up, ate waffles and sausage, and headed out to the store while Ben went to jiujitsu. Although Bubba is perfectly capable of walking for hours on end, we opted to use a stroller - more for child restraint and mother sanity than anything else. We went into the store, picked out a present for Gunnar, a couple of pairs of shorts, a couple of shirts, and then headed over to the shoe department in order to shod my children's feet. On the way there, I ran into someone I know from work. We chatted a minute, then continued onto the shoes.

1st stop: Bubba's size. Think of a capital H. The front entry-way is the lower leg on the right. The men's is up that way, the women's is the whole top of the H, the kids' and some men's is the horizontal line, and the shoes is the lower left leg of the H. The children's shoes are the inside wall of the lower leg on the left. Bubba (of course) wanted the exact same shoes that he already has (just a little bigger). Mom was pushing for some shoes with velcro. It's about time he start learning to put on and take off his own shoes. I won out. The velcro shoes had yellow on them. Bubba will opt for yellow every time. I let him get out of his stroller to measure his foot and try on his shoes.

Last stop: Scooter's sized shoes. The very bottom of the left leg of the H. Between Bubba's size and Scooter's size along the wall is a door. It leads out to the entry-way on the bottom right leg of the H. It has one of those long door knobs that toddlers love. You know...the ones that turn a door-knob, but they actually have a handle. So if you're too short/have small hands, you can still kind of hang off of it to open it? Yeah. That one. The other thing that door had was a sign that read, "Warning: This door is alarmed. Only open door in case of emergency." Bubba is learning his letters, but he doesn't know how to read. Refusing to get back into his stroller, I was struggling with measuring Scooter's foot and picking out shoes, but so far, we were managing. Scooter was just trying on her first shoe, when I saw Bubba out of the corner of my eye heading for the door. I stopped him. I looked him in the eye and said, "No, Bubba. That is not our door. It will make a loud sound, and you will be in trouble if you touch that door. Do you understand?" I've been adding the "do you understand?" part to the end of a lot of what I tell Bubba lately. It worked like a charm when Scooter was that age. If she acknowledged that she understood what I was saying, she wouldn't do it. Bubba is still learning.

Scooter's shoe was slightly too small. I turned to look for the next size, when I heard the alarm. Panic and horror filled my body. I looked at the door, which was open. I wondered if Bubba had run through the door and whether I'd have to retrieve him. My eyes scanned around, and I found him inside the door, looking at me. When he caught my eye, he knew he was in trouble. He sat on the floor, and put his head down on his legs. I pulled the door shut, and the alarm stopped a second later. I was mortified!!! Bubba was pretty embarrassed as well. I told him that he'd have to get into his stroller for check out. He agreed. Nobody in the store even batted an eye. No sales person came over to make sure we weren't running out of the building with all of our merchandise, no parent gave us dirty looks for disrupting their otherwise peaceful shopping experience (actually, that place is always a madhouse...people might not have noticed).  Whew! We ran up to the check out line, caught the next open register, and got the heck out of there. I'd like to say never to return, but who am I kidding? With deals like those, I'll be back soon. Maybe even before this current pass expires.

weekend post

I don't know if you've noticed, but I never (and by "never," I mean rarely) blog on the weekends. Not because they're particularly busy (although they are), but mostly because I don't have my computer on much during the weekend. I'm on a computer all week for my job. It's nice to "unplug" for a moment on the weekends. This weekend, I've already been "on" to skype with my mom, and I promised a much delayed post with videos from Scooter's Christmas program. Scooter is, at this moment, flying high over the Rockies on her way to Omaha, I assume. Actually, she might be in Denver right now. But she's got quite a layover in Denver - she doesn't leave to continue onto Omaha until 7:55 mountain time. She was excited about this trip. I hope she has a good time.

Anyway, below is a video of Scooter's school program. She stayed in for a month's worth of recesses to rehearse for the Hanukkah song dance. Midway through, she wanted to quit, but I wouldn't let her. All's well. She was glad she stuck it out and got to perform. She might be painfully shy and quiet, but she does love giving a good performance when she thinks she's anonymous out there.

 The only other video I took that night was of my favorite Christmas song ever, Carol of the Bells. I hope that one loads a little quicker.

Also, Mom made the kids some pillow cases for Christmas. They are AWESOME!! Big enough to actually fit a pillow, and soft while still feeling sturdier than a normal pillow case that comes with kids sheets. Plus, as an added bonus, the kids loved them.