9-11-2001: The day that forever changed America, and the day that forever changed me

I was barely 26 years old at the time.  I remember watching the news before I left for work.  Ray was supposed to fly to Salt Lake that day for work.  It was reported on the news,  I was watching the Today Show, about the first plane hitting the towers.  I thought it was some horrible freak plane wreck.  Then the second plane hit, I saw people jumping from the highest floors of the world trade center, a plane hit the pentagon,  flight 93 crashed.  My country was under attack.  My view of the world began to shift.  Ray wasn't going anywhere that day, after all flights were grounded.  I left for work with my little portable radio to keep up on what was happening.  I got to work and everyone was talking about it.  An older lady I worked with said that she was sure it was the work of Osama Bin Laden.  I didn't even know who Osama Bin Laden was.  I was blissfully unaware and uniformed.  

I was shockingly ignorant.  

I had voted for Al Gore in the presidential election the previous year.  I had been so proud of myself for voting at all, exercising my rights as an American.  I had no clue what that really meant.  I voted for Al Gore based on sound bites I had heard on the network news and my liberal leanings, which were aided and abetted by my bleeding heart.  That is the day I changed.  My idea of a safe world was shattered.  I could not believe that something like that could happen in my country.  Before then, a terrorist was some abstract idea about someone who perpetrates a plane-jacking in some foreign place that was not America.  Terrorism was an idea that I had never given much thought.  I began to realize everything I had taken for granted up to that point in my life.  Every freedom.  I began to understand that there are people in the world, through some perverted idea of God, who hated me because I was an American, and they would never rest  in their attempts to destroy everything I had taken for granted.  

I began to realize that I deeply love my country.  Up to this point, with the help of my shiny new college education,  I had kind of been an America basher.   Big Bad America, was how I saw it.  Always trying to get one over on the little guy.  Breathtakingly Ignorant.  As I said, my view of the world shifted on that day.  I began to see America clearly for the  first time.  Being an American means being one of the lucky ones.  The hope and opportunity that America gives is unparalleled in the world.  The idea of America was inspired by God.  I will never take that for granted again.  I began to love my country.  I still can't hear the national anthem without getting teary eyed.

Say what you will about President George W. Bush, and I have given him a fair share of criticism, I am forever grateful for his leadership in the days after 9-11.  He led this country in the worst crisis it has ever known, he united us, and he took the threat seriously, to the detriment of his eventual political career.  I am also grateful to President Bush for keeping us safe for the next 7 years, something for which he gets virtually no credit.  In fact, because we have enjoyed such safety, people have become comfortable and have started to forget the unreal horror we all felt in the days after 9-11.  

Something positive came out of this horrible tragedy, for me.  I figured out who I really am.  Who I am became crystalized.  I am an AMERICAN!   I am a citizen of this country that is Divinely Inspired.   I began to pay more attention to the world around me.  I got control of my bleeding heart.  I have tried to become more thoughtful and informed about the country in which I live.  I will never take my freedom and liberty for granted again.

I will never forget.

The Political Equivalent of Chucky Cheese...

I have been watching so much politics that I feel like my head is going to explode!!  This is a really funny video of Andrea Mitchell after John McCain's speech at the Republican National Convention.  A little humor in this crazy political race... I ALMOST felt sorry for her!  Keith Olberman called it the "political equivalent of Chucky Cheese".  I really don't like him but I have to give credit where credit is due!!

Also, on the potty training front, we didn't have the potty party this last weekend because the anatomically correct peeing doll I ordered hadn't gotten here.  Apparently the child is supposed to teach the doll how to use the potty, and that is a big part of the training method.  We are going to Idaho this next weekend, so it won't happen until after that.  However, I am seeing small victories...for example, Elliot will go into the bathroom, lift up the toilet seat, pull down his pants and underwear, go pee, pull up his pants and underwear, and wash his hands all by himself (but only when I tell him to go, I don't know if he would do this all on his own because he actually felt the urge to pee).  Also, he gives me no resistance, usually, when I ask him to go.  He hardly ever has peeing accidents.  However, he still has not pooped on the potty, no matter how much I try to coax it out of him.  He still goes in his pull up every time.  I'm really frustrated with this and am at a loss about what to do.  I'm really trying to act like it isn't a big deal, but still impress upon him how important it is not to poop in your pants.  I don't think I am getting anywhere...

The Definition of Insanity

I love the cheeto face, he is holding a little frog we found.

I once heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  So goes the potty training saga of Elliot.  I tried potty training him back in February, right after his 3rd birthday.  It did not go well.  It didn't help that shortly after Ray got offered this job in Spokane and we put our house on the market.  A stressed out mom does not a good potty trainer make.  So, after about a month of not much luck (that resulted in me cleaning about 3 pairs of poopy underwear a day), I gave up and put him back in diapers.  Well, we have now been in Spokane for 3 months (and I signed Elliot up for preschool which required him to be potty trained), and we have been working for about 3 weeks on potty training, with much the same results.  I haven't changed my methods, if you can call them that, but I figured that Elliot was much more ready now.  Ha Ha.  He is supposed to start preschool tomorrow.  I called the director today and explained my predicament and she said to still bring him (it is only 2 hrs/15 min twice a week) and we will see how it goes.  He goes #1 every time I take him to go, the problem is trying to get him to go #2.  But I have a plan...

I have been reading this book and I am going to try it on Saturday.  I sort of used this method with Grace and she was potty trained really quickly, but that could just be Grace.  So, on Saturday the potty party will ensue....I will let you know how it goes!

There Goes My Girl...

The conversation between Grace and I when I picked her up from the bus...

Grace: "Mom, are you going to pick me up from the bus EVERY day?"

Me: "Yes"

Grace: "But I don't want you to, I know how to get home"

Me: "I know, but I still need to meet you at the bus when you get off."

Grace: "How about you just meet me for a week."

I have to admit, I had a huge lump in my throat when Grace got on the bus without a backward look, even as I was telling her goodbye, and that I loved her!  Okay, so I was just following the bus to school, but still!  When I met her at school, I tried to hold her hand and tell her that she was going to have to walk into school every day and find her class by herself.  She shook my hand off and said, walking quickly in front of me, "I just want to try it myself".  Well, she is who she is!  She has always been very independent, it shouldn't surprise me but I was feeling a little melancholy this morning.  But, I am glad that she was so excited and this isn't hard for her.  She is such a smart girl, I know she is just going to fly!!

Outside our house as we were walking to the bus.

Waiting for the bus.

Notice how she is sort of waiving without turning around, she was very excited to ride the bus!

Getting off the bus at school.

She sits by a little girl named Zoe, and another little girl named Grace.  She told me that she sat by Grace on the bus ride home. :-)

The Culprit...

Oh yeah, she looks so sweet and innocent!

So, Maggie had a stomach bug on Saturday.  I had run into the store while Ray waited in the car with the kids.  I came out and knew immediately from the look on Ray's face that Maggie had thrown up.  He does not do well with throw up.  I had to go home and clean her car seat (BTW, I love Britax car seats, but I hate that you can't remove the straps because nothing gets the smell of puke out except a washing machine).  She proceeded to throw up for the rest of the night, even in her crib once-yes, even more cleaning for mom!!  She seemed to be over it in the morning, but Ray stayed home from church with her because I had to teach primary.   Well, Ray had an emergency with work and had to leave about 1 yesterday (his assist. manager was doing a fumigation and almost blew up the building- lots of messy stuff for Ray to work out-eventually the DEQ was called by haz mat and was told that it was a meth lab :), but that is a whole other story!) and didn't get home until almost midnight.  I wasn't feeling very well all night, but when he got home I started throwing up- I will spare you the gory details but it lasted ALL night.  Grace came up a few minutes after my sickness began and she started throwing up.  There is nothing sadder than your child throwing up and crying at the same time!!  Luckily she is old enough to understand throwing up where you are supposed to.  About an hour later Ray starts throwing up!!!  Needless to say, it was a very long night.  I am praying that Elliot doesn't get it, but he probably will!

Poor Grace!

It's a Girl!!!

Well, there is going to be a lot of estrogen flowing at our house...we went to the ultrasound today and found out that we are having another girl!! I was really hoping for a boy so Elliot could have a brother, but now I am wondering how I could've ever not wanted a girl! When I told Grace, she said, "not again!". I think she was a little confused because she said, "can I sit by my new baby sister in the car?". I must be superwoman, having a baby and being back to pick her up in 1 hour!! But we are really excited, I'm going to have to shop for all new girl clothes, I'm really sad about that :) (Grace and Maggie were born in the spring). Ray and Elliot will get to spend lots of father-son time together. I was thinking about it and I decided that there need to be more girls born in this world with dads like Ray, so it is just fine that we are having 3 girls :)

She was not shy at all, her gender was discovered in the first 3 seconds!!

This is her profile, she has her hand in her mouth :)

This is a shot of her alien baby face :)

I LOVE THE OFFICE!!

One reason I am so excited about it being September is that The Office, my favorite show, will start again!!