Thank Goodness!

I just read that the hospital is not likely to release the octuplets to their crazy mother. She spent all that money on invitro and couldn't give some to her parents (who she lives with) to help with their mortgage? She is reportedly going on the Dr. Phil Show. Can't wait to see what he has to say about this! Thank goodness the hospital has the sense to see that she cannot possibly care for and provide for 14 children! I do feel terrible for those babies though. They deserve so much better than what they have been born into. Who knows, maybe CPS will step in and some wonderful families will be able to adopt these babies and provide them with great homes. I also hope that for the well being of the other 6 children, this woman gets some much needed help!

What a week!

Colby started running a fever on Monday and continued to run fever until Friday. I originally thought it was the flu but when he still had a fever on Wednesday, I took him to the doctor. The doctor did a strep test (the three day one) but said he really thought it was just an upper respiratory infection. The doctor said that if we do not hear anything by Friday the results were negative. So, Friday comes and we haven't heard anything about the strep test so we assume it is negative. Colby's fever finally came down and I thought everything had worked itself out. Imagine my surprise when at 7 am today he comes into my room and says his ear hurts. So, I call to get authorization to take him to an urgent care clinic. We wait 2 hours at the urgent care clinic to find out that he had strep throat and it has moved to his ears! I am one hot momma! My poor kid had to miss a week of school and suffer through strep throat without antibiotics. The ear infection could have been prevented if 1.) they had done a rapid strep and 2.) they would have called with the results and gave him antibiotics. He is now on a hearty dose of amoxicillin twice a day. Here is to a better week next week!

Death by Taxes

Steven and I have spent our married life proving to all those people who said we were too young when we got married, that we could still achieve our dreams. So, here we are 11 years later. I will earn a Master's Degree in Criminal Justice Administration this summer and Steven is almost 12 years into his Air Force career. Steven has been, and continues to be, very sucessful in his Air Force career. As retirement gets closer, he has set his sights on getting his education and becoming a teacher. We have a wonderful child, who has taught us soooo much! Colby is healthy, happy (most of the time), smart, and a wonderful little hockey player. So, why is it that we will not be getting a tax refund this year? We have tried to be responsible by saving money for our "golden years" but we don't qualify for the Savers Credit. We make "too much money". We no longer qualify for the Earned Income Credit. Again, we make "too much money". We know that owning a home would help tremendously but we were trying to be responsible by not purchasing a home. It is too risky for us to get saddled with a mortgage when we know we will be moving. All this time we thought we were being responsible. And yet, those who got themselves into mortgages they knew they could not afford, got bailed out by the government. Why can't hard working Americans get a break? We are a middle class family, who pays our debts on time, work hard, and try to plan for the future. And yet it seems that everyone in America is getting a bailout except Middle Class Americans!

It is not like we absolutely need a tax refund, but it is nice to get a refund and be able to do something fun with that money! I am just absolutely bummed about this situation and wonder where we went wrong?

Ranting and Raving (Warning...long)

Okay, so I watch the Dugger's on TLC. I am both appalled and captivated by that show. It is like Howard Stern, you can't stand it but you can't stop listening! Last night they had the Very Dugger Wedding where Joshua, the oldest, got married. He and his wife courted and vowed not to kiss until their wedding day. There is something to be said for waiting until marriage to have sex but the whole kissing thing has me baffled. I kissed alot of frogs before I found my husband. There were guys I thought I was physically attracted to but when we kissed there was nothing there. I would be so scared that that chemistry would not be there and then it is too late. I also do not understand why you want to share your first kiss with 300 guests. I will ALWAYS remember my first kiss with Steven. I will remember that feeling forever. It was a very special moment that was shared with just the two of us.

I was also appalled that in their wedding vows they vowed to allow God to determine the number and spacing of children they would have. Great, just what we need more families having upteen million children. Even the Catholic church condones natural family planning! I think it is very irresponsible to have that many children. And exactly how is a used car salesman (that is what Joshua does) supposed to support those children? I do think it is great that the Dugger's on not on government assistance, I don't know how but they say they aren't. In one episode, the older girls went to Florida with Joshua so they could help with wedding plans. The parents said how hard it was with the little kids without the older girls there to help. THEN DON'T HAVE SO MANY KIDS!!! It should not be the older children's responsibility to raise the younger children. I also have issues with the homeschooling aspect but we can leave that for another post :)

Going back to the birth control issue. This morning on CNN they were discussing the new economic stimulus plan. Apparantly they have stuck in some legislation regarding funding for birth control programs. They were interviewing some right wing person who made a comment regarding providing birth control without parental permission. Well, guess what folks, these kids do not have parental permission when they decide to have sex! My thought is that if they are taking steps to be halfway responsible in preventing pregnancy, why would anyone want to stop that? I understand there are side effects from the pill and other birth control methods but it is not like they would be getting it from the black market. It still has to be prescribed by a physician and they still have to return to the doctor to get refills. In my line of work, I see so many teenagers who have babies and who have no business raising a child at this point in their lives. I also see families who have multiple children and cannot support them. And who pays for this? We do, thats who. I would rather pay for birth control to prevent pregnancy than pay for other services once the pregnancy has occured.

I don't want anyone to get me wrong. Children are a blessing but I am very jaded having worked at CPS and now at Juvenile Probation. You have to have a license to drive, a license to get married, a license to own a business or cut hair. You should have have a license to have children too.

Photo Tag

The rules are simple... 1. Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures. 2. Pick the 4th picture in that folder. 3. Explain the picture. 4.Tag 4 people to do the same.

This is a picture of Natural Bridge Caverns. For what it is worth, we didn't like it nearly as much as Carlsbad.

I tag April, Melanie, and Tory. I would tag a fourth but that would be Kelani and she tagged me :)

Two Wheeld Wonder

Today, I took the training off of Colby's bike. It took a few tries but he was off and riding with no training wheels in no time! I had to get it on video so I am posting them below. I can't believe he is riding on two wheels! The next thing I know I will be teaching him to drive a car! Dear Lord, please help me when that time comes!

Complaining...as usual!

So, yesterday as I was watching CNN getting ready for work I see this new multi million dollar recruiting center the Army has introduced in Philadelphia. The Army exceeded its recruitment goal last year but felt the need to construct this 13 million dollar recruiting center that uses virtual reality and video games to recruit soldiers. In these economic times, why would they opt to spend that amount of money? Especially when they are meeting their recruiting goals without it?! If the Army has that kind of money laying around, why not put it towards improving living conditions in base housing or developing better family support centers. In a time when many soldiers are away from their families for a year or more, wouldn't ensuring the well being of the families left behind be more of a priority? When families are well taken care of at home, soldiers have fewer worries and are safer while deployed. Rather than focusing on what is going on at home, they can rest assured their family is being taken care of and focus on their mission. I just don't understand such opulence.

On the same day, as I was driving to work, I hear a discussion on NPR regarding the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. I think this is a step in the right direction. Did we really think we could keep these people prisoner forever? It is a flagrant violation of the Constitution to continue to keep these people detained without charging them with a crime. Move them to federal prisons, allow them access to attorneys, and charge them with an crime or let them go. Americans would be outraged if Americans were being held in a detention camp for this period of time without access to an attorney and without being charged with a crime.

Okay, stepping down from my soapbox.