Kids don't appreciate election night

I know that it has been said before, but I have to say that I resent this whole projection tradition the news stations have. How can anyone say that projecting the results in the eastern states before the polls have closed on the west coast doesn't affect the outcome in the west?

Projections are stupid. I also tend to think that the electoral college is stupid, but I know there are things I don't know or understand about the alleged logic behind our system.

It's just frustrating to see that currently Obama and McCain both have 50% of the popular vote, but that they are miles apart in terms of the electoral college.

Back to parenting.

Another Election Day Post

An Election Day Post

Clinton Speaks Against Proposition 8

SACRAMENTO – In a telephone call to California voters, President Clinton delivers the following message regarding the unfairness of Proposition 8:

"This is Bill Clinton calling to ask you to vote NO on Proposition 8 on Tuesday, November 4th. Proposition 8 would use state law to single out one group of Californians to be treated differently -- discriminating against members of our family, our friends and our co-workers.

"If I know one thing about California, I know that is not what you're about. That is not what America is about. Please vote NO on 8. It's unfair and it's wrong. Thank you."

The calls from President Clinton went to millions of registered California voters overnight.

Parents Pissed Over Ad - Kids Had Permission To Attend Gay Wedding

SACRAMENTO – The parents of the two children most prominently featured in the latest multi-million dollar Prop 8 political spot today termed those ads “distasteful and exploitative” and demanded that the ads be taken off the air immediately. Both sets of parents – Laura Hodder and Matt Alexander and Jen Press and James Moore, sent two hand-delivered letters this morning. The first letter is to the Prop 8 Campaign demanding the ad be removed from its television and its Web site where it is being used as a fund raising tool. The second letter to the San Francisco Chronicle asks them to intervene on their behalf. The Prop 8 campaign manipulated video that the Chronicle has posted on its Web site.

In their letter to the Prop 8 campaign, the parents wrote: “We are absolutely outraged that you have chosen, without permission, to shamelessly hijack the images of our innocent children to promote a cause that we in no way, shape or form support. It is even more maddening that you have willfully and calculatingly edited the images of our children, with menacing music in the background, in a way that is completely contrary to their nature and harmful to them.”

The footage manipulated by the Yes campaign, without authorization from either the parents or the Chronicle, was originally captured on Oct. 10 when the children took a field trip with their classmates and several parents to share the moment of their teacher’s wedding to her longtime partner. All parents were notified well in advance of the trip which was organized by some parents, and, in fact, two families chose to have their children not participate under California’s broad opt out law.

“I’m a school principal so I know something about education and parents’ rights,” said Matt Alexander whose son, Ben, is featured in the ad. “And the opt out law is something we readily apply all the time. So, let me join every other educator in the state and ask Prop 8 to also stop lying about the opt out law.”

“This field trip was about sharing a special moment with a teacher these kids love,” said Jen Press whose daughter, Lucy, is prominently featured in the political ad. “To turn around and distort images of our children is outrageous. We’re opposed to Prop 8, but irrespective of our position, it’s wrong to use any image of children without their parents’ permission. And we think every parent in California would agree with us.”

In the letter to the San Francisco Chronicle, the parents wrote, in part:

“Our children are being exploited and used as pawns to further a political cause…We ask that you intervene immediately on our behalf and issue a cease and desist letter to the Yes on 8 campaign. If the campaign does not remove the ad, we ask that you pursue legal action against them.”

Added Jen Press: “Prop 8 claims to be about families, but we’re here to say you can’t be for families by attacking our families. You can’t be for families and take these children’s innocent images and flash them not only on television statewide, but on your fund raising page. This must stop right now.”

Baby Aiden

A little three-month-old baby passed away today. His mother went to his crib and he was gone. SIDS, apparently. This baby was my third cousin on the same branch of the family as my cousin Luann who recently passed - only days before the baby was born, actually.

The only solace I feel is knowing that Luann is holding Baby Aiden close in Heaven, loving him and laughing with him.

I know we aren't meant to understand everything that God does, but really...

This is so sad.

If you would say a prayer for this family, it would mean so much. The pain of losing Luann was only just barely starting to dim.

Thanks.

Looking for a ray of hope... just one. That's all I'm asking...

What is going on????

People are trying to raise children and pay mortgages and have babies and keep food in their refrigerators and hours are getting cut, hard working people are getting laid off, and there is a general consensus of hopelessness all around.

We aren't losers. We aren't unwilling to work, we aren't looking for hand-outs, we aren't sitting around doing drugs while our children cry in their cribs.

STOP SELLING YOUR STOCK, PEOPLE! Wait it out! If you keep selling, you're not going to get enough for it anyway and you're just making the stock market fall farther and farther. This economy is CRAP and we are paying for it.

This is getting seriously scary. Please help out those who need it if you find yourself in the position to do so.

God Bless America

This is so totally random

A Decade Later

My ten-year high school reunion was last weekend. TEN YEARS, MAN!

((Didn't anyone besides me see Grosse Pointe Blank??))

So, anyway... wow! I cannot believe how much has changed since high school. There are the obvious things: husband, kids, moving, working, not working. Then there are some less obvious things relating to my personal experiences... I was baptized, I've been through agony and elation, I've dealt with the California Family Court system, I've gotten to know my grandmother better, I've become closer with my mother and my sister, I've learned to appreciate what is good about California, I've missed the Midwest, and I've really figured out who I am.

I'm inspired to write

Top Ten Things I've Learned In The Last Ten Years

10. Diaper Smell will permeate any container the diapers are in.

9. Declaw your cat the day you find out you're pregnant.

8. You will become your parents and that's okay. Deal.

7. Grocery shopping is harder than it looks.

6. Take pictures.

5. Send thank you cards.

4. Cherish your siblings.

3. Make "I love you" a common phrase in your home and always say it like you mean it.

2. Family before friends. Friends before work.

1. God is knocking. Open Up.

Here's to the Grayslake Community High School Class of 1998! Go Rams!

((I feel compelled to disclose that I did not actually attend my reunion because it was six states away, but I wanted to be there and have still been profoundly impacted by its occurrence))