Police Officers in Trouble

(Forgive me because I am going to go in two completely different directions here.)

Being a stay at home mom is one of the greatest joys of my life, but I realize that it is not for every woman. This was the case for two police officers in Great Britain. Both women wanted to return to work after having children, so they arranged to swap off keeping each others' children.

Apparently, that is considered law breaking in Great Britain. Anyone who keeps kids more than two hours must register as a "childminder." You can read more about their story here. It is just one of the most unbelievable things to me! That would mean any time we wanted to go on a date, whoever watched the boy would have to be a registered "childminder" (babysitter) because there are no "date worthy" places near us. What the heck is wrong with friends baby sitting for friends? My sneaking suspicion is that this is a law designed solely for the purpose of squeezing tax dollars out of parents. Do you pay tax on child care? Whatever. I could be wrong.

However, this, my friends, is a really good example of how Government can be too involved in the every day lives of the citizens. This is a good example of why many conservative Americans are so resistant to what our president is attempting to do with health care. It is just one small door to walk through before more and more of our rights and privileges are taken over by the government. Not that I could come up with a working solution, myself. But there has to be a better one out there. It can not be by taking all control of these decisions away from the citizens.

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

If you want to know why Jeff rocks you will have to click this link here for Atlanta News Channel 2 and read the article and/or watch the video. He is one of the two "unnamed" firefighters that the news anchor mentions. Also, the young boy, Corbin, and his dad rock! And, so does the victim for all that she has survived in life. I have a feeling she wasn't about to let any flood take her out, anyway!

One

One week and one day until my one little boy turns one! How'd that happen?!

Why I Love Dolly!

Parton, that is. And here's the reason!



















Jude received a BRAND NEW copy of The Little Engine That Could from Dolly's Imagination Library. And he will continue to receive a brand new book every month until his 5th birthday. This is a program in partnership with the United Way here in our area (and many other areas!) that is open to every child from birth to age 5. It takes a few months to get the ball rolling. I registered him months ago and we just got his first book. But I am SO excited because it's his first NEW book. I do a lot of used book shopping and some friends have given us some of their hand me downs, but nothing beats a shiny new book.

I know what we'll be reading for story time tonight!

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down. . .

This is us right now:
(for some reason it is only posted in Swedish!)



It has been raining for more than two weeks now. A great way to bust the drought; a great way for summer to go out with a bang; but now it's getting bad. Here's the little grocer three blocks down the road from my house:




















We've had 6 inches of rain since last night. The GA weather service has said that some areas have had 9 - 15 inches in the last 24 hours.
Keep in mind that it is still raining. This is a shot of where Jeff works. It is Interstate 85 through Atlanta.
















And here's my friend Faith's farm. All of their soy is under water.
















This morning they closed all the schools. A man is missing in Chattanooga because he decided to prove to his friends that he could swim. The flood waters swept him off. A toddler in Atlanta is missing due to the flooding there, and in Trion, where a levy was breached on the Chatooga River, a teenager was swept off. Pray that they are all found safely.

On a lighter note, one of the school that was closed this morning because of this flooding was Noah's Ark Learning Center;-)

Hahahahahahahaha!!!!

Best for Babes is kicking off a clever but provocative new campaign for the promotion of breastfeeding. This poster has me rolling on the floor, it's so funny!



















You can check out more at Best for Babes.

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

Time for another edition of My Husband Rocks, hosted by the fabulous Katy Lin at The Great Adventure.

Anyone who knows Jeff probably knows that he has a real problem with tests. He can study for hours and not pull off a really high score. I know because I have watched him do the studying.
Well, this week Jeff rocks because while he has been gone ALL week (and all next week and we miss him terribly!) at relief driver training, he has been calling me every day giving me reports on his accomplishments. Every test he took this week, he scored 100%. And, he only hit a few cones with the fire truck on the driving course test.

So, if he has to drive to your house to put out a fire, you might only have to hide, say, your trash can, not your mailbox and all your lawn ornaments:-)

Good job deary!

A Big Year of Change

Birth Day through 11 months. He was sleeping in the first three photos because that is all he did for the first two months!












I can't wait to see what changes the next 11 months bring.

(If you click on the picture, you can get a bigger view.)

Body After Baby

It is no big secret that I gained a lot of weight when I was pregnant with Jude. A LOT. I was steadily losing some of that weight when Jude was diagnosed with acid reflux. I spent the next 3 months basically sitting down holding him in an upright position to help with the problem. And stress eating. Along came some more weight.

Coming after three years of sustained healthy weight, this is a big struggle for me. So, when I read Samantha's Body Before Baby challenge on MamaNotes, I was stoked. Nothing like a little competition to get things going again.

The competition doesn't start until Sept. 27, but I have already taken off 7 pounds in the two weeks since I have been back from our family visit in Florida. My goal for the 8 weeks is 16 pounds. I am afraid to go any faster than that because Jude still nurses and I wouldn't want anything to interfere in the production department.

Well, wish me luck:-)

P.S. My current starting weight is 220. Are you kidding. Is that really the smallest font?!

Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

Fall is just around the corner and soon it will be time to break out the comfort food. (O.k. Who am I kidding? I eat comfort food all year long!)As I read through this month's Kraft Food and Family magazine, I came across a simple, yummy way to have lasagna waiting for you when you get home from work in the evening! You, too, can receive this magazine, for FREE by clicking the link and registering. Sure, it is a lot of advertising for Kraft Foods, but there are always some really nice recipes in there.

So, here's the slow-cooker lasagna:

1 lb. ground beef
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1 pk (7 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp chopped parsley
6 lasagna noodles

Brown and drain the meat. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water.

Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 tbsp Parmesan, egg, and parsley.

Spoon 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker. Top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit, and cheese mixture. cover with 2 cups remaining meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, birken to fit, cheese mixture, and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

Cook on LOW 4 - 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let stand covered 10 min or until cheese is melted.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

"My Husband Rocks!" preempted for 9/11

Jeff is on his way to a memorial ceremony this morning honoring those rescue workers who gave their lives eight years ago this morning. Today, I am taking a break from MHR to remember those rescue workers, and other victims as well. If all goes right with blogger, this post will show up on my blog at 8:45, the time of the first attack.


“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. “
- President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

I was getting ready for my first evaluation as a student teacher when my supervising teacher came to me and said, "They've got the Pentagon." I didn't understand what was going on. Then my supervising professor came and asked me if I had heard about the attacks and if I was still able to go ahead with my lesson to be evaluated. Still really clueless to what was going on, I did.

It wasn't until after the kids were gone and I called Jeff at planning, that I truly understood what was going on. I think that we, like everyone else, were glued to the television for the remainder of the day. I was certain that this was the beginning of the end of the world. But, we woke up the next day. And the next, and the next after that, and so on.

The victims of the plane crashes, while I definitely consider them true American heroes, had no choice in the matter, but there was a group of men and women who did. The firefighters, police officers, and EMS workers who lost their lives that day could see the destruction before them, and they went into those buildings anyway.

So, today I hope that you will remember the memories of those people. May their memories live on with us all the days of our lives. Pray for the survivors and the family members and friends who lost people that day. And please (!) pray for peace and a resolution on the two war-fronts where our troops have been for entirely too long.

CNN's comprehensive time line of the events of September 11, 2001

Pumpkin Pie

I know that it's still several weeks until Halloween, but when we had a morning that was only 60 I just couldn't resist showing off the cutest pumpkin in the patch! Not that I am in any way biased:-)








































We looked at real Halloween costumes, but I think that the stores count on shoppers to be absolutely out of their minds with what they charge for infant costumes! So, when I saw this sweat suit at Babies R Us for less than $10, I couldn't resist. He'll be able to wear it all fall long and part of the winter if he doesn't grow out of it by then.

P.S. As much as I hate endorsing them, Wal-mart has some really cute sleeper costumes for babies, too.

Got Ants?

Need a natural, easy way to rid your kitchen (or any other room for that matter)? Visit Lindsay at Passionate Home for two super-duper (ooper-schmooper - who can tell me were that comes from? If you have kids under 5 and watch PBS, I bet you can!) ideas about how to get rid of fruit flies and ants.

Another one gone

I almost felt like I was suffocating as I read this article in today's news. Early last year I posted this entry about all the factories that have shut their doors since I have moved here and the toll it was taking on the families of several of my students.
Even though I am not teaching anymore, my heart is aching for the 430 families who will be affected by this Shaw plant closing. I do not know what is going to be left for people by the time this recession ends. Will LaFayette become a ghost town?

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

Remember to check out Katy Lin at The Great Adventure if you would like to participate in My Husband Rocks!

The reason Jeff rocks this week has to do with fish, but I am having some trouble getting good pictures of them. You see, we had these two mutant fish in our back yard. I mean it. I was successful at killing off all the other fish in the pond (indirectly: not cleaning the filter, not remembering to feed them, etc) except these two. As Jude began crawling and we anticipate his soon to be walking, I decided I REALLY want that pond gone. But, I didn't want to just off the fish, so I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for these freaks to die. I haven't fed them since November!

Finally, Jeff gets the brain child that maybe we can put them in an aquarium in the house. Two fish; 5 gallon tank, right? So he gets the thing all set up and brings in the first goldfish. Um, the thing takes up nearly the whole tank! What the hey happened to the two inch goldfish that were in that pond when we bought the house?!!!

MMM-kay. Dump the fish back in the pond and head to wally-world for a bigger aquarium. So, now we have two MASSIVE, mutant goldfish in the house. They prefer to be called X-fish:-)

And Jeff rocks because not only did he set up the aquarium twice, but now he has to dig up the pond and fill in the hole!

Jude checking out the fish in the too small tank: (you REALLY can't tell how big it is here.)
















Here's a better picture of Fish-zilla:
















And, here we have Bill and Ted in their permanent (until they kick the bucket) home: