What Did I Forget

All week I have been trying to figure out where this "what did I forget" feeling. It dawned on me this afternoon that we forgot free zoo day. I'm hoping that is all it was. I feel like a slacker when I drop the ball. I don't do it often, but once is enough right?.
And my question of the hour, why is it, that when you let you kids have friends over to play, they end up doing something they wouldn't do other wise. Every time my kids, no, boys, have a Friend come play, they end up building a fort out of yard scraps at the front of the yard. What is wrong with the back end of our yard, where every car that drives past our home doesn't look at our house and say, "wow, what a dump" Can you build your forts on the side yard, or in the back?Their forts consist of card board pulled out of the recycle can, sticks from the tree we cut down, pavers left over from the patio we pulled up the first year we lived here (we were going to use those to make a path through the herb garden I want to put in, but now they are broken because the kids have hauled them all over the yard. Or they are lost and scattered) and the Tera cotta pots and other planters from our patio. All hauled out to the front of our house and heaped into a big ugly pile. Why also, does it take them 1 hr to do this, then they are bored. And 6 hrs of nagging begging and threatening, then finally doing the rest myself, for it to get cleaned up. Why do you ask them to not do that, then the next time their friends come over, and they feel like doing it again, out everything comes again.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not mad. I let them do it because it keeps them busy, and I like that the neighbors think our yard is fun. I would rather kids here than my kids out running the neighborhood. But could you please not dig in the one spot of lawn we have, or in the dirt I am getting ready to put grass into this year. We have .5 and acre, pick someplace that i haven't put hrs into getting ready for plants or seeds. Or if you do go out and play in the mud, DO NOT COME INSIDE!. I will hose you off outside. That is the price for playing in the mud. Fun stuff always has a downside. If you don't want your children coming home muddy, let them know or me know before you send them. I usually will let them go roll in the mud. In my opinion, it's still too cold to even want to, but a 7 year doesn't seem to notice.
Will all of that change when we don't have mud and yard rubbish to scatter and play in? Maybe. Is mud ever a bad thing? Only when tracked into the house. Are sticks and cardboard really that bad? I guess not, it just looks like we have a few kids living here. Someday, we won't have those things, and I will miss it. I am grateful for a yard, and the dirty kids who enjoy it.
Now, I'm done complaining.

Something I Think About

This was writen by Lori Hickman. Posted by http://lilasmiraclelife.blogspot.com/

I thought it was beautiful, and wanted to share.

Someone I love relies on me in ways you will never understand. Someone I love endures pain and challenges that break my heart and renew my spirit at the same time. Someone I love is unable to advocate for themselves for things that most of us take for granted. Someone I love will never have the opportunities that every child should have.Someone I love will need unconditional love and support after I am gone-this frightens me to the core. Someone I love encounters pity,stereotyping responses, and prejudice at every turn,because they look,act,and/or learn differently than others. Someone I love has needs that require me to allow "outsiders" to have power and input in areas that should be mine alone to meet. Someone I love will continue to look to me for everything in life long after other children are able to assume a place as part of the world. Someone I love has needs that require more time and energy than I have to give. Someone I love has needs that mean I am not able to meet basic needs of my own. Someone I love has needs that have become the driving force behind major decisions my family makes. Someone I love has changed me in ways I will never be able to describe. Someone I love has taught me about love and about the really important things in life.......

We Have 3 Items of Business

Did you check the lost and found?
After a week missing, he who was lost, is found. Monster disappeared last Wed, no clue what happened. Sometimes he does that, but not for a week. a day or 2, maybe. So I'm out by the shed checking to see if my strawberries have started to come up (since the weeds have) and I hear this meow. He's in the shed. He got in, probably to take a nap, and husband shut and locked it. So, 5 lbs lighter, and very happy to see everyone. The cat is back.

AND I am in the middle of making these. http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2009/02/triple-chocolate-brownies.html

They look soooo good.

And last, I feel GREAT, finally. I'm excited to go outside and put the peas in, till the ground that needs lawn. Clean up the garbage that has emerged since the snow melted. Spray some weeds, weed wack the tall ones in the front that we didn't get to before it started snowing. I'm ready. I know, it's not quite time to do some of those things, it's still winter. But, when your thermostat says 60, you get antsy.

Love/ Don't Love

I've been thinking a lot about moving. We have never been in a house for more than 2 years, and I start to get antsy after about a year into a new home. Moving has never been husbands idea, I have always been the initiator. It's never to get out of a situation, or because I don't like someone/thing, It's just because I get antsy. NO, we are not moving, I really feel like this is our home. I would change a lot of things about the neighborhood, (not the neighbors themselves) the ward boundaries, the location of our house, the noise level of our commercial neighbors ect ect. But this is our home. Although, my SIL just bought a home on the East Bench, for a really good price. I would be more than tempted if I thought there was a remote chance we could sell our house in this market, and be able to take our 15 yr 5% mortgage with us.
So I decided to show you my home. the good the bad and the really really ugly. 1st rule, keep in mind it was an abandoned HUD home, empty for 3 years. 2nd husband works full time, and is in the Bishopric. 3rd, I agreed to buy a "project" home. 4th, termites had been feasting on the house for at least 10 years, it was MUCH worse when we got here, 3 years ago, May. So here are a few pictures.
LOVE IT
These 2 pictures are the girls' room. It big enough for all 3 girls, maybe 4. Not a big fan of the tile. Eventually we will carpet. But, the tile matches. This was the first project when we moved in, there was a puddle of water in the middle of the floor, because the termites had eaten through the cement in the window well, causing the rain to come in the window. Notice the 2 full size closets.

LOVE IT.

Boys' room. Not quite as big, but if we have a boy, we could still fit him in here. Not a big fan of the color, but I think I will change that this summer.

Don't Love It

Utility room. Eventually it will be my canning kitchen. This room is pretty much what the whole house looked like when we moved in. It's one of those "close the door pretend it's not there" rooms

LOVE IT

Down Stairs family room. I love it because it has room for the TV, and the toys, and they can be separated. They don't stay that way, but when straightened, they are separate. I love that it has a fireplace, and for some reason, I love the oak stairwell at the West end of the room. It also has a large storage closet, and a storage space under the stairs.

LOVE IT.

Stairwell. I will love it even more when it gets paint and new carpet, but I love the big window, and the oak walls.

LOVE IT, and don't love it

Back yard. We have plenty of room, and a huge garden. But, grass is hard to grow, and the first year we were here, 4 of 5 was 11 months, then the next year I was pregnant, then the next year I had a new baby. So, it's been hard to get a handle on. It was Ferrel for years, and way over grown. This year, our goal is to get more fruit trees planted, and a productive garden established. We bought this house because of the yard, and it's many fruit trees. It will help us in our quest for self sufficience, and hopefully be able to grow enough to share with our neighbors. We decided that anywhere we don't plant grass this year, we will put in veggies of some sort. I'm hoping to start peas next week!

LOVE IT

Although, it won't stay like this, this is pre updating. Our living room is light and open. Eventually the clapboard wall will come down and the room will be as big as the the family room down stairs. The Wall of windows extends into the room next to it (you'll see that in a minute) and will come down to make smaller windows and french doors where the sliders are. (the big windows make me nervous)

Don't Love It

The room next to the living room. It's a mess. It has the kids computer, and husband is in the middle of putting in an HD antennae, so everything is pulled out. It is also where I stash my canning things during canning season, and anything else that doesn't have a place due to closets being unfinished. Oh well, it's on the list.

LOVE IT/ Don't Love It.

I love the size of the kitchen, and I love that it has a fire place in it. I don't love the floors, counter tops, and use of space. This is on our 10 year plan. Remodel, redesign, under mounted microwave, widow to the front yard. Open up entry way to kitchen. Huge list. But it is live able and usable.

LOVE IT

My room. The color isn't quite what it was before we put it on the walls, but it's got some space, and when it's clean, it actually looks clean. A huge plus in my book.

And #1 Don't love it

Upstairs bathroom.

It looks like an out house. It was where the termites lived the longest. When we moved in, there was a big hole in the floor where you could see the basement. Husband has promised this is first on the list this year.

One of the other things I really like about this house is that it has tons of closets and closet space. Most of them are unfinished, but the potential, right? If any of you saw the last house, we didn't have a pantry, or a linen closet, so 3 closets would have made me happy.

Sometimes I need to remind my self, that I like my house, and someday it will be done. And, someday everything I do, won't be undone. And, I agreed to a project!

Let's see your house, tell me what you love/ don't love!

On My Mind Monday

I am a huge fan of talk radio. I don't listen as much as I used to, because I enjoy silence, so any chance I get for silence..... I take it. But in the car, my station is on 570 am or 102.7 fm.
So, I'm in the car last week, and I'm listening to Rush, and I hear him say that he hopes this stimulus bill fails. I'm thinking, What? that is a horrible thing to say. I mean, I know he's a republican, and all the talk show hosts are in an uproar because the rep. didn't will, but come on. If you know more than a handful of people that are unemployed and loosing their homes due to loss of income, I would think you would hope ANYTHING works. No matter what party came up with the idea. I have to admit, I was so against the first stimulus package. But that was Bush. I still am against the first one. But this one is aimed at creating much needed jobs. And even if it meant that all of us, who have employment, pay higher taxes, in order for that to work, I am for it.
I also don't know if I agree with lowering interest rates. I mean, 4-5% home loans are nice. But I'm not convinced that is going to help people stay in their homes. Or make it so people buy homes.
This mess was not created over night, nor will it fix that quickly. I heard them say that last month was the first time in 10 years that people actually saved money. For the past 10 years people were spending more than they made. At a rate of almost 25%!!!! Last month there was a savings rate of 3.8% Not huge, but it's something. I'm thinking, no wonder the economy was looking so good. We were feeding it with false profits. I think when we get things back at a savings rate of 10%, and hold it there, we will see a more accurate result. And we will rebound, and we will be able to take care of our own.
And on one last note. I have been hearing a lot of buzz again about being prepared. Get your years supply started. Our preparedness specialist has started putting "what to buy this week, to get your years supply together" in our ward bulletin. This weeks item. 6 lbs of salt.

3 of 5

At 4

at 5

At 2

At 1

1 month
Today my 3 of 5 is six. I can't believe he's been around for 6 years. So, in honor of his 6th birthday, 6 things about him you may or may not know.

6. He can work just as well on 3 hrs of sleep as 12. Although he rarely gets 12, he's the 1st one awake, and the last one asleep.

5. He has no volume control. It's always turned to loud. We had his hearing checked when he was 2, because he didn't talk yet, and he always yelled. Everything checked out okay.

4. He got to come home from the hospital for 3 days, then had to go back. He had such severe reflux that it was interfering with his ability to breathe. This caused him to not be able to eat to get rid of the bili rubin and he turned jaundice. His jaundice level was 24, they usually do a transfusion at 25.

3. He LOVED 4 of 5 when we had her. If she would cry, he would say, "go get my baby, she's crying" Or "my baby is hungry" one day I had her in my arms and my church books in her car seat, and he freaked out "where's my baby"?

2. He sucked his thumb until he was 3. I told him a week before his 3rd birthday that big boys didn't suck there thumb, and I would help him when he was ready to stop. That night he asked me to put a band aid on his thumb, and he hasn't done it since.

1. The majority of his friends are girls. When I was trying to put together his party for tonight, all he could give me was girls names. I had to pry 4 boy names out of him. As a matter of fact, i have had a few moms tell me their daughters have told them they want to marry him.

I could go on, there are tons of stories, but I won't. Happy Birthday.

Seems after talking to a few moms, 20th of Feb was a big baby day. I know 3 other moms with boys born on the same day with the same name!

Down Syndrome; A Modern Day Death Sentence

I know I have posted quite a few times on this subject. But It is a subject very near and dear to my heart. I feel a well up of out rage when I read articles like this. I guess it's not the article per se, But the view some people have of these children. OUR children. these people have obviously never seen the value that every person brings. Never love a child with a disability, Never felt love from a child with a disability, Never given birth to a child with a disability, and loved them more, for the things they will have to help them overcome.Do these people, have the children that hate our children, and learn that destroying "some lives" you know the ones that are not worth anything, is okay given the right circumstances.
My problem with this, we know from day 1, who are children with DS are, and can see a majority of what their struggles will be. What about those children who's disabilities are birth related. Or, who's autism will not show until a little later. What about one who's disability is an addictive personality, and becomes a drug addict. Or the one's who are abused as a child, and becomes the abuser. Will we make sure that we find an easy noninvasive test for those things? That way everyone will have an equal opportunity to be extinguished.
Thank you to all of you who willingly and joyfully bring these children into the world. Thank you to all of those who love 4 of 5's because of, or in spite of her disabilities. You will never know what that means to us.

I found this article in the Deseret News on Sunday FEb. 15th, then saw it on a friends blog, and it reminded me that I wanted to post it.

Claire will never read these words. But at least she is alive and brings joy to her many friends and family members. You see, Claire is a survivor. She survived one of the most ruthlessly effective extermination programs in modern times.
Claire has Down syndrome.
Most of her Down syndrome brothers and sisters never got to be born. In the United States, more than 90 percent of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. (In some other countries this number reaches 95 percent.) But apparently this isn't enough for those who would eradicate these defective persons. The problem is that the current methods for diagnosing the Down defect are ultrasound, biochemical exams or amniocentesis. But amniocentesis is expensive, invasive and potentially harmful to mothers and ultrasound may not be accurate.
Not to worry, Lenetix, a diagnostic technology company, has developed a new maternal blood test for the detection of Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities. With no irony, Lenetix CEO Leonard H. Kellner tells us "we take deep pride in the technology we have developed because it has the potential to impact the lives of millions of women and their unborn children." Lenetix medical director, Steve Brown, M.D., tells us that "pregnant women and their physicians are clamoring for an improved, noninvasive prenatal test because they fear the risks of amniocentesis."



Sounds wonderful, like describing a new life-saving wonder drug or technology. But the sad, stark fact, well-known to anyone in this field, is that virtually every diagnosis of Down syndrome lends to the abortion of that unborn child. This is eugenics with a vengeance.
While the folks at Lenetix may simply be doing their best to advance science, other voices are more sinister when it comes to aborting children with Down syndrome.
"Like many," notes Libertarian commentator Nicholas Provenzo, "I am troubled by the implications of . . . Sarah Palin's decision to knowingly give birth to a child disabled with Down syndrome. Given that Palin's decision is being celebrated in some quarters, it is crucial to reaffirm the morality of aborting a fetus diagnosed with Down syndrome." This is necessary, Provenzo informs us, "because a person afflicted with Down syndrome is only capable of being marginally productive."
Dr. Rahul K. Parikh, writing in Salon.com, takes a slightly more compassionate approach. While "greatly" admiring Palin's decision to "knowingly" give birth to a child with Down syndrome, it is critical that her decision not be imposed on other women. Parikh comes down hard on "rabid anti-choice activists who have called [aborting Down syndrome children] eugenics via medicine." Yet it is hard to see how this isn't "eugenics via medicine."

George Will defines "the pernicious quest for a disability-free society" as "respectable eugenics."
We are now quickly sliding down the slippery slope. What about people who are only "marginally productive" after they are born or when they get old? Are their lives worth preserving? And what does "marginally productive" mean anyway? In the literature "marginally productive" very often edges into "merely inconvenient."
In case you think these are red herring questions, hear Princeton professor Peter Singer. "Killing a defective infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person. Sometimes it is not wrong at all. That doesn't mean that it is not almost always a terrible thing to do." Not because there is anything inherently wrong with killing an infant but because "to kill an infant is usually to do a great wrong to its parents."
The ease with which we disregard the idea of life in its beginning and how we increasingly diminish restraints on voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide as life winds down, illuminates how far we have fallen from our founder's declaration that we are endowed by our Creator with the unalienable right of life.