thanksgiving

I hosted my first thanksgiving this year. I am told I hosted one before. I vaguely remember nausea and vomiting...pretty sure I blocked the rest out. Did we eat any turkey? Sorry guys. Hopefully I made up for it this year.
I soaked the turkey in a brine before I cooked it (recipe here). I was skeptical, but it turned out very moist. We had a dairy-free dinner (lots o allergies on the scoville side). It wasn't super great, but everyone could eat it. That's what counts, right? I'll work on finding better recipes.
We lounged around, went to the movies, played at the park, chatted, played games, went to see the Mesa temple lights, and ate lots of food. Thanks to my mother-in-law and sisters-in law for all their help. We had a great time. You can check out pics on flickr.

p.s. I had lofty thanksgiving decorating plans (I think I have come down with seasonal decorating disorder), but due to some unexpected events most of them did not come to fruition. I did manage to finish my turkey silhouette...just in the nick of time. Check it out here.

ode to eanie

Ian is a year old. How did this happen? There is no slowing down this growing up process, despite my concerted efforts. He seems to be hastening the process by meeting milestones much faster than Max did. He has a completely different personality than Max, yet shares one important scoville trait: he is a HUGE tease. He balances Max's fears with his fearlessness and is the perfect addition to our family.

One year stats:

height: 31 3/4 inches (93%)
weight: 21 lbs 7 oz (26%)
head: 18 1/4 (47%)

Special skills: Walking, running, talking, climbing, dancing, teasing, taking off poopy diapers, opening child locks, biting, nodding yes and no, and more.

Nicknames (include but are not limited to): eanie, baby, "E", baby "E", eanie bean, beanie wean, beanie, bubba chubs, E.B., bambino chino, gubs, chubs,

Interests:

playing with Max

taking a bath with max

unloading the dishwasher

riding his truck

His first word(s): "whats that?" (same as max, i suppose curiosity is in our blood...). He also loves to push his cars and say "vroom...vroom". Other words he has used (not with phonetic perfection, but definitely audible) are "yeah", "ma-ma", "ball", "bath", "book", "this", "what's this?". A few weeks ago I looked at him and said "Eanie, do you want a banana?" "Yeah", he quickly replied while nodding his head up and down. He's basically a genius. Takes after his mom.

frustration

It's amazing how polarized our nation is becoming. Maybe it has always been this way and I'm just starting to pay attention. Who knows. This is getting out of control. Interesting that foxnews.com is the only site that has posted the story. CBS, on the other hand, is giving the prop 8 opposition free advertising with this article. The bias in the mainstream media is sickening. I don't understand how the prop 8 opposition can demand "tolerance" when they obviously have zero tolerance for the opposing viewpoint and no respect for the democratic process. After reading about all the vandalism, fires, attacks, boycotts, vulgarity, etc. I find it extremely ironic that they accuse us of hate.

What kind of world will my children grow up in? What happened to good old-fashioned family values? Scares me to death. I wish I could turn back time.

keep calm and carry on

I recently purchased this World War II reproduction poster. It is hanging on my wall as a reminder to 'keep calm and carry on'... it's my new motto.

When Max

draws an eyeliner mural on my bedroom door...
dumps out two boxes of cereal in 5 seconds flat...
takes a blue marker to the chair i reupholstered (in dry-clean-only fabric)
slams Ian's hand/head/foot in the door...
takes off his diaper and pees on me...
rips out my garden plants...
dumps soup on his head...
rips all the pages out of his books...
climbs up the pantry and dumps the honey out...

I take a deep breath and glance at my poster. Words are powerful. I think every mother of a two-year-old boy should have this poster hanging in their house. I'm telling you, it helps. I wish I could channel all of Max's spontaneity and creativity in a constructive (and not destructive) way.

In addition to documenting his naughtiness, I also wanted to jot down a few funny things he has said lately:

"I'll mow the lawn mommy...someday, somehow." (as he was pushing his toy mower)
"Watch out dude!" (when a truck almost his us the other day)
"Take care!" (as I was saying goodbye to a former student that checked us out at Old Navy)
"The garbage truck comes Wednesday and Saturday mommy, NOT Thursday." (this is only funny because he says it every 1.5 minutes...just in case I forget. It's amazing that he has learned the days of the week just so he can figure out when the garbage truck will come.)

policital unrest

I thought that after the elections were over I would be able to relax. I thought the election hoopla would end. I thought the vandalism would end. We would accept the will of the people, put our differences aside, and move forward. Simple as that. That's what I was planning to do.

I didn't see the backlash coming. At all.

Now that it is in full force, I can't seem to pull myself away from the news coverage. I need to check myself into news junkie rehab. Seriously, I go to bed WAY too late. After hearing lots of horrible things, it's refreshing to read things like this. This was also interesting. The worst that has happened (that i know of) in our neighborhood is someone setting fire to the dumpster next to our chapel during church. I am regretting not pulling Max out of nursery to see the fire truck. He would have loved it.

Mitt Romney 2012 anyone?

p.s. the church's official statement is here

Prop 102 passed!

I was scared to death to go hold my sign yesterday. I was sure I would be egged, punched, harassed, or that my vehicle would be vandalized. You see, that's what these "seekers of tolerance" are doing to the supporters of prop 8 and 102. I decided to take Ian with me. I figured nobody would hurt a woman with a baby. I was right. We survived unscathed.

Why am I putting myself in the face of such heated opposition? Is it because I hate gays? Is it because I have nothing else to do and want to go have people yell at me? No. Not at all. I am fighting for the right to practice my religion. I am fighting for the rights of my children and unborn children to do the same. I am asking for my religious views to be tolerated. We do not oppose same-sex couples having similar rights to married couples. We oppose the legal redefinition of the spiritual and sacred term of marriage. We oppose judges who would tell us to redefine marriage and include homosexual marriage into our religious practice. We oppose judges who would force public school teachers to include homosexuality into the curriculum, or force anyone to condone homosexuality against their will.

This country was founded "under God" by wise, deeply religious people seeking religious liberty. The first amendment of the constitution "prohibits the United States Congress from making laws that prohibit the free exercise of religion". The United states is a very religious country (about 80 % Christian, with only 15% of the population in the no religion/atheist/agnostic category). Proposition 8 and 102 have nothing to do with intolerance or discrimination. Legalizing same-sex marriage infringes upon the religious liberties of the majority(don't believe me, read this). Changing the laws to favor a very small minority, and subsequently taking away the rights of a very large majority makes no sense at all.

My religious convictions run very deep. My religion provides purpose and direction in my life. As a result of living by its tenets, I am blissfully happy. My only hope is that all citizens would have the liberty to pursue a belief system that makes them equally as happy.

Oh, and I would like to publicly thank Barack Obama for helping prop 8 to pass in California. He inspired record African American turnout at the polls, and they (7 out of 10) voted yes on prop 8 in California.

p.s. here is a video that shows how "tolerant" the opposition has been...most of the violence has not been publicized. you would not believe some of the things that have happened.

Proposition 102

J-P and I are ardent supporters of proposition 102 (and prop. 8 in CA). J-P has spent a night in the call center and I will be at an undisclosed polling location tomorrow holding my "Yes on 102" sign.

PLEASE JOIN US IN VOTING YES ON 102.

There are many misconceptions about proposition 102 and 8. For clarification, please visit preservingmarriage.org and watch the videos. I'm serious. Do it. Right now. When you are finished read this article. It's long, but explains exactly how we feel.

p.s. for the Orson Scott Card fans, here is another article...