I don't really have anything new to say

but I'm delaying my cleaning and laundry and wasting time and it's been awhile since I blogged here anyway so......um.....yeah. LOL

KA is now about 6 1/2 mo old. She has her first two teeth (at least two months later than the rest of my kids), is sitting up and has become a mover. She's not actually crawling but she pushes herself with her toes while on her belly. Kind of a little army crawl. This means nothing is safe anymore and I have to start reminding the kids to keep things off the floor. She thinks food is the bestest thing in all the world and loves to drink out of a cup. She has started this funny little scrunchy face grin like she has to show off her new teeth to all the world.

JZ is using the potty again. He's still not really using it when he really needs to but only because it's a fun thing to do so I don't know if we are done with diapers yet but I can always be hopeful. Some days he only has one accident and others he seems to have way more misses than hits, but thats ok.

I'm feeling much, much better. Some of you know that I was dealing with Post Partum Depression. I finally gave in and got meds from the Dr and within a week I was noticing a big difference. I have energy all day again, I'm playing with my kids again and we are routinely doing school again. A few days ago I briefly, for just a few minutes, was feeling old feelings of being overwhelmed with pressures but I was able to quickly get past it. Before the meds that was happening 2-3 times a week and it would last for several days. Do the math and it means I had good upbeat minutes a few times a week. Now I'm just feeling normal.

Girl Scout Cookies!

MA is a Girl Scout and it's Cookie time! If you are interested in ordering from her let me know.

Also, we've decided we're going to have a fund raising (another!) garage sale to raise money for JA's Ireland trip. I'd like to have it around the end of March when it starts warming a bit. So the big thing we need from all of you is donations. Clean out your storage and closets and donate it to us! We'll take any amount, even little grocery bags. If you have DI stuff bring it our way instead. I'm considering making it a bake sale and craft sale too. I let you know if that is the plan.

I think

just about everyone in this family is sick! I think MA is the only that isn't. I started taking an herbal medicine on Saturday that a friend recommended to me. I thought it was working because Sunday night I was feeling nearly normal but this morning I woke up feeling terrible again. We ran out of the herbs so I need to get some more asap. I'm trying really hard to not go to the dr but when I know I will be feeling much better in a little more than 24 hours, it's really hard. This time I think I will get a big bottle since I've been giving it to everyone except baby.

Christmas and the end of the year

Christmas was awesome! Mostly because my sis was visiting from California for nearly a week! Even though they have lived there since my kids were tiny they are still very close to their cousins. It was lots a fun to watch JZ open his presents. He would get overwhelmed everyonce in a while and refuse to open something but would eventually come back to it. His favorite gift? KA's fish bowl that makes lots of noise and has lights! LOL Jk got the guitar he so desperately wanted and MA got lots of things to do her hair with. JA got the money he wanted for his trip but because Santa couldn't bare to see his not opening gifts he got some clothes and Wii games too. SR and MC got moon sand which is now mostly all over my house. Thank goodness it vacuums up easily.

Dh spent way too much money on me. He is so sweet. I've been wanting a nice big jewelry box for many years that I could hang my necklaces up in so they don't get bent and tangled and he bought me one this year. It's beautiful! He also bought me the new kind of thermometer that you just rub across your forehead to put in my midwife kit. He also bought me some new slippers and a bunch of other things. Santa brought me a Wii fit! I love it but it's also kicking my butt! LOL

I've been working hard this week on getting my video/games/gaming cabinet all cleaned out and organized! I took pics but you know how I am with getting them posted so maybe you will see it, maybe you won't. It's going to be soooo nice to have that done. Hopefully the kids can keep it neat for a while. It's one of 5 areas that fell apart when I was pregnant that I'm slowly trying to get to to organize.

New Years is now upon us! I don't like goals. I shy away from them. When I set them it just makes me discouraged, it feels like a heavy weight is over me, reminding me all the time what I should be doing but don't have time for. With that being said I do try to think of how I'd like the new year to be different. I think of how I'd like things to be different plus think of all the things that will change this year. One of the things that should change is that by the end of this year I should be a Midwife. For now, I plan on taking the NARM in August. I'd like to say I will have two clients by the end of this year but we will see how that works out. I have a bil that is willing to help me set up the business end and I plan on doing that in March. Beyond that I make no promises!

One thing that I know I can do because I've done it three or four times in the past is lose weight so that is something I plan on working on. Wii fit is fun and feels more like play so I'm planning on using that quite often. I also got a treadmill from a friend so when everyone else is hogging the Wii I will use it.

Another thing I'd like to get done this year is to paint the house. Probably not the entire thing but I have little projects planned. The lose goal is to get each childs room painted by their birthdays. I'd like to also get curtains on their windows. I also have an area in the kitchen I'd like to paint, maybe that will get done in January. I may also finally get sick of the counter the way it is and take it apart even though it will be several years before we can finish it. I also really need to get a new table this year, one way or another.

It would be nice if Jaxon were out of diapers very soon. He's close but hasn't quite crossed over yet. Some days are really good and he will stay dry all day and others he couldn't be bothered to go potty at all. Kirstin will likely walk this year. Morgan will turn 12 and start Young Women's. Jordan will likely get his license to drive and Josh will get his learners permit. Josh will likely go to Ireland.

I know. It's been awhile

Mostly because I just didn't feel a need to say anything. I go through periods where either I feel super chatty or just want to hide away and not talk at all. I think I'm back for now but won't promise anything.

The good thing is that I'm getting things done on my list of things to do. It's not written down anywhere, just in my brain but as I get things done I check them off in my brain. Today I need to get my baby's birth certificate taken care of. Yes, she is almost 5 months old and no, I still haven't gotten it yet! LOL I think part of me feels like it will be reliving the old social security fiasco all over again and have not been ready to deal with it. Today I must, if for no other reason than to have a social security number so we can claim her on our taxes.

Thanksgiving was nice. JZ threw up that morning just before we ate breakfast, de ja vu from last year. Then he was happy and ate breakfast and was fine the rest of the day. Either he ate something bad and got it out of his system or he just doesn't like Thanksgiving! :~ We went to Village Inn that morning, then my inlaws for lunch and my parents for dinner.

My arms are now full of babies. Talk more later.

Josh has an announcement to make

http://pagesinsanity.blogspot.com/

Feel free to browse a bit. He's got some very strong opinions!

Want to know who I think runs this country?

The media! They are the ones that decide to make a big deal out of something or to hide it and cover it up. If the vast majority of the media and Hollywood are democrats, guess what they are going to do? They are going to hide what they don't want people to know about the Democrats and make it loud and clear what they don't like about Republicans. Below I've copied and pasted a speech that my JA has written, partly about how he feels about Obama being President and partly about the media. For what it's worth, Obama will be President whether I like it or not BUT that doesn't mean I have to stand by and allow him to turn this country into a communist country. Later, after I get permission from someone, I will post a speech on why I believe that Obama may do just that. On the other hand, he will be President and because of this he deserves my respect. I won't be standing out on the street corner when he visits protesting and booing him.

The letter he refers to can be found here- http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/081017light.html

In light of the recent election of President Obama, I decided it was time to get off my butt and do some research on the guy. Aside from what I had read on Yahoo.com, I didn’t know a thing. I consequently came across a letter from Orson Scott Card, the author of the Ender’s Series, addressed to any and all local newspapers in the United States. In this letter, he accuses the press of hiding the faults of the Democratic Party while magnifying the faults of the Republicans. He accuses them of wrongly blaming President Bush for our nation’s financial crisis. This led me to a endlessly tiring question: Are the American people so addicted to having everything handed them on a silver platter that they will agree with every opinion that the press states? I have continually tried to defend President Bush’s position while debating with my friends. It is downright impossible! They are so prejudiced against any sentence with the words “President Bush” in it that they refuse to listen to me at all. Why is this? Mirabeau stated in one of his speeches “For when the whole world is wrong, the whole world makes wrong right."

Patrick Henry suggested while trying to convince his people to rebel against their king that maybe his fellow politicians were refusing to see what was plainly in front of their eyes, Or, quoting him directly, “Having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not.” Do we emulate this situation today? Do the American people refuse to see and hear what is plainly set before them? Or, could it be that they are unable to see?

Bugs Bunny is a long beloved cartoon character. In one of his cartoons he was traveling by donkey. He lounged on the donkeys back while holding a fishing pole. Curiously enough, attached to the hook was a carrot. The donkey, being famished, or wanting to indulge itself, followed the carrot in a vain attempt to grab it. But no matter how much he walked, the carrot was still several inches away from his mouth. Could we be in the same situation? Are our elected leaders leading us along the path to destruction with a beautiful picture of luxurious excess on the end of their fishing poles? My answer: YES!

So how did we get in this situation? How do we get out? Do we want to get out? Who is the person on our backs? I ask: How do I answer these questions without offending people? I answer: Wake up and smell the roses, Joshua! We will not, and probably cannot, get out of a situation this deep without offending half the world. So, excuse me for delivering a blunt statement: The American people are stupid. Yes, I just said that. The American people are stupid. We have become so deluded with the idea of luxurious excess that we do not stop to consider the sacrifice of freedom that we must make to have it. When I state that somebody is stupid, they reply “I know what two plus two is.” So what!? If you cannot look around what the newspaper is saying, if you are so ignorant to believe every negative comment, you are not truly free. In one of Plato’s books, Titled “The Republic”, Book seven has an interesting allegory. Socrates is speaking with Glaucon about some prisoners in a cave. Each prisoner is bound by chains, and cannot turn his head around to see what is behind him. His vision is limited to the fire that has been lit for his convenience. Meanwhile, the world parades past in the background, oblivious to the prisoner’s sad state. Socrates then rhetorically asks Glaucon what would happen if these prisoners got free. He answers his own question by saying that the prisoners would feel pain upon leaving the cave, as he would not be accustomed to the sunlight. The prisoner would run back, and might not ever return. But if he did so, and became used to the light, he would be so much happier. Socrates then asks the thought provoking question: Do you think that the prisoner would ever freely choose to return to the cave? Socrates compares this to the ancient concept of an education. Nobody who has learned in the right way would ever go back. I have never met any adult who regretted getting an education. I have met many who bitterly regret the choice of dropping out of school.

While playing a video game the other day, I surprisingly came across a really good quote. It reads: “Remember, you are the only one who can open the door to your heart. But will you open it? Open it and your sleep ends. Open it, and take the first step toward the truth. But know this: The truth will bring you pain. Will you still go? There can be no returning to the sweet security of sleep.” A bit cheesy, but it still gets my point across. Reiterating a statement: Remember, you are the only one who can open the door to your heart. This essentially means that the only person who can give you an education is you. Don’t get all offended. Is it my fault that people are stupid? No! They must open the door to truth. I cannot, your mother cannot, and the politicians and newspapers cannot, unless you are willing to absorb and pursue the knowledge presented. Not only must you be willing, but you must pursue it! Why does the donkey continue to follow the carrot he sees mile after mile? Because he is too ignorant to see any other choice. Thus: How did we come to let someone drape a blindfold over our eyes? I will answer: We either cannot, or will not see the blindfold over our eyes. We cannot, or will not bring ourselves to face the pain and effort it will take to dodge around the traps ahead of us. Why? Because we don’t know how, or are not willing to act! How do we find out? Pursue the truth as it is, and not how it is given to us!

“How do we get out?” you might ask. I ask: How do we get out of anything? I was watching the Fox and the Hound the other day, and one part stuck out to me. The hunter, while trying to shoot a bear, gets stuck in a foothold trap that he himself he set. Footholds are similar to a mousetrap, where it is triggered by an animal stepping on a lever or switch, which releases some spring loaded jaws, trapping the animal’s leg while the hunter approaches. To set the trap, the hunter simply forces the jaws back into position. He observes which way he must put pressure on the jaws, and then acts on his observation. We can get out of this trap, or avoid it altogether, by observing how the trap is sprung, and either avoiding it or reversing it. Therefore, the first thing we must do is identify the trap.

As this essay is full of questions, I don’t see that one more will harm it. How do we identify the trap? While I was taking the course for the First Aid Scouting merit badge, the section on poison councils you to capture or at least identify the animal or plant that did the poisoning. They then compare the situation to past experience, and give the victim an antidote that best worked in previous cases dealing with the same type of poison. Thus: To identify the trap, we must study previous traps that have been set. Every governmental body in the past probably had a ruler. Rulers can conceivably lead to politics, Politics mean corruption, and corruption leads to traps. Therefore, conceivably every government in the history of men had somebody trying to set traps for the people. The Pharisees in the Bible were constantly trying to outwit Jesus and catch him in ignorance. What did Jesus do in return? He nearly always answered with some parable or scripture. How did Jesus know how to create parables and quote scriptures right off the tip of his tongue? He was educated. Rome had Brutus and Caesar. Why did Caesar die? Because he didn’t know that so much power would create enemies. He was not educated. I hope you are starting to see a pattern.

My point is that it’s not that hard to find traps set in the past. But, in order to find those, we must study. Studying will bring pain and frustration, but tell me: Hours of sitting in front of a desk, studying and taking notes, or years and lives taken in the war that it would take to reverse a corrupt politician’s past actions. Which would you choose? It’s pretty easy for me. Once again I quote Mirabeau, who said while trying to convince his fellow legislators to pass a bill during a dire situation, stated: “Without the assent of public opinion the greatest minds could not triumph over such circumstances.” Guess what? The press knows this. Nobody can triumph without the assent of public opinion. So how do they gain public opinion? They inflate the faults of the good, and minimize the faults of the bad. They know that if they can catch the majority in ignorance, they can easily sway their opinion, and gain prophet from it. How do we avoid this trap? By gaining an education, gosh dang it! There are no excuses. People have provided many resources for their own and your convenience. The internet, the library, and our eyes are among them. Patrick Henry didn’t have the internet; He didn’t have a public Library to check books out of! And he still managed to escape the chains of slavery that were being forged around him and his country.

I challenge you to no longer be caught in ignorance! Many have said “Ignorance is Bliss.” Many others have stated “Knowledge is power.” Do you choose Power over your situation, or do you choose bliss until the knowledgeable people lead you off a cliff? I quote Mirabeau once again: “In refusing to pay, do you think you will cease to owe?” The price is the pain of learning. You will learn, in this life or the next. So, my final question is: Willingly now, or grudgingly later?