We are eating WHAT?!?

We stood talking in the kitchen as I prepared lunch. She watched intently, with a look of horror and disgust on her face as the can turned beneath my hands as I opened it with a manual can opener. With each turn, she was able to articulate a little more of what her mind was thinking and face was exclaiming.

Lou: "Mommy, there is a Mermaid on that can." "There is a mermaid holding a magic wand on that can."

I go over to the sink and drain the can's water content. She runs to the table and tells Rae that there is a mermaid on the can. As she turns to look at me, I ask her if she knows what is in the can? Again with horror, she pierces her lips together as to form the letter M, but before I allow her to belt out the word Mermaid.

I happily exclaim "TUNA FISH!"

Lou states with all the joy in the world: "I LOVE TUNA FISH!"

The look of relief was fully noticed in her body language and she was able to relax. I told her that Mermaids like to eat tuna fish so that is why the makers of this brand put a Mermaid on the front. Oh, that got her even more excited because she loves tuna fish also. She has something in common with a mermaid. How exciting is that!

She is very glad her reading skills are improving so she can read what is in a can, instead of trying to interpret what is in the can by the picture. But she did not understand why tuna was called chicken of the sea...

Do you wonder?

if there were some people that exercised their right to vote that possibly do not usually exercise that civil liberty just because because of the novelty of a candidate? Did they really listen? Do they really think he has enough experience to make the vague changes he referenced. Yes, he is an eloquent speaker, but I too can read and memorize a speech and tell people what they want to hear. What people needed to realize is that those band-aid words are going to come off in the wash and then the scabs will form. Then what? Will people revolt because those changes are not occurring? Do they teach different forms of government in school anymore? Do people know what socialism is? Does this not scare you?

I love being an American and having all the FREEDOMS we have. I am using my freedom of speech to say, I am not excited about our new leader. But I did teach my girls about him today and I told him that he is our first African-American President...that is history.

Let's pray that he will make good choices for ALL the people of the USA.

Are you anxious?

I am so incredibly anxious about election day this year. It is a very crucial election in my opinion. I keep praying that the right candidate will be elected. I partook in the early voting and have been anxiously awaiting some kind of results. I feel like a little kid and tomorrow (well technically today) is Christmas. At the same time, I feel like an agonizing adult worried about the future of our country.

What am I going to do? I feel like I am going to be glued to the TV all day just to torment myself with the closeness of it all. Am I going to be cheering or crying tomorrow? We will find out who wins tomorrow, right? I guess I still get confused over the year with the hanging chads. I do not know if I could handle another voting fiasco.

UGH! What will I do if the candidate I DON' T want to win, wins? This is so emotional. I feel silly for thinking that this is going to effect me, but hey this IS going to effect me, and you and you and you too.

GET OUT AND VOTE.

If you don't vote you do not have the right to complain about the results.

Our country will be different tomorrow...

God Bless America
In God We Trust
Let's keep it that way!

Cucumber Peels

Plung! Plung! Plung!

Dropped the cucumber peels into the metal dog food bowl. But hark, what do my ears hear?

Silence...

I did not hear the jingle of her collar as she so slowly lifted her tired, frail body from the floor.

Why?

Because Mayatuk went to Doggie Heaven that is why.

We miss her dearly. She was part of the family; we got her when she was 8 weeks old. Fred is lost without her, but we are now a one dog family. Mayatuk was 12 years old. Part wolf, German Shepard, and Alaskan Malamute. She traveled all over the United States, was a seasoned camper, howled a beautiful song, always new her way home, she loved a good drive thru and beer. Mayatuk, did not play ball or swim like a dog...she was more like a cat in a dog body. She did like to ride in a canoe and cried if we tried to make her swim. She loved to romp and run around, but she was terrified of thunder storms and fireworks. She was special and she will always be a treasured part of our family. She was graceful, peaceful, terribly shy, loved to snuggle with her "Daddy" and would eat most anything you put in front of her.

She loved cucumber peels!

So there they sat in that empty metal dog food bowl. Until Fred decided he was going to try one and then turned it into cucumber peel spitballs.

I never thought peeling cucumbers would make me sad...

Missing Mayatuk...and her sister Wahya who died of bone cancer in April 2005.

RideSafer Travel Vest

Before Princess P was born we knew we were outgrowing our car because three car seats were going to be TIGHT! But being the frugal people we are, we did not want to go buy a new car so we (well my husband) did some research on car seats to see what would fit in our Jetta TDI. We looked and measured and measured and looked but nothing seemed to be a good fit. Then Mister Researcher found the RideSafer Travel Vest. When he showed me I thought "NO WAY". But then I watched the crash test videos over and over again. I also read and reread the safety standards. I finally agreed to give it try, but insisted that if it did not work that we would return it immediately and figure something else out, even if it meant getting a bigger car. Needless to say we are still using the vest and we also got a little bigger car, but in our own style it is a used diesel :)

I really do like it and it keeps her safe.

The things I do not like about it:

It takes a few more minutes to put on and take off, which can be a nuisance with three children and in a hurry to run into the post office for two minutes just to turn around and get right back into the car and put the vest back on. Oh, I forgot to mention she will not wear it into a store even if for a few minutes.

She whines if she gets too hot. Remember we drive an older vehicle and the AC takes a few minutes to get cold. The vest does generate some body heat.

You have to make sure the seat belt is secure in all three of the hooks and that the between the leg strap is secure for maximum safety, but it is not a problem it just goes back to the time thing which I just need to get over.

She likes is that she is more like a big girl in the car by not being confined to a seat and she is more comfortable in the car.

I guess I should also mention she is a very tall 5 (almost 6) year old and according to the safety standards she was outgrowing the high back booster and could move just the booster seat, but we did not feel as safe with that. I really do think that in the few occassions I had to slam on my brakes, that my child in the booster seat flung forward more than the one in the RideSafer Vest. But of course I do not want to test that theory. If it happens again, I will try to remember who did what or if there was even a difference.

I would recommend the RiderSafer Travel Vest.

Life without the Internet

I cannot believe how much society has changed. Living without internet is so difficult! I seriously had to reminded to look up a phone number by using the phone book. Imagine that, using the phone book, what a concept.

I am sitting in a coffee shop (doing homework) and I am taking a moment to let everyone know that I have taken my internet for granted. Times have changed, we are living in the information highway of the internet age. I cannot believe how lost I feel without it. It is so easy to look something up online. There have been so many times that I just wanted to look something up and cannot not do it. The first three days were easy, but now it has been a week and a half...I think I am having withdrawals...

Hoping the internet is connected tomorrow. I have so much to blog!

Missing the internet.

Disney Fanatic

I am a huge Disney fan! There is just something so magical about Disney World. It is full of innocent fun, dreams come true, and daring excitement. So I find it my duty to lure others into the Wonderful World of Disney.

Today I applied to be a part of the Online Mom Panel.

If you love Disney as much as I do, you should submit too. They are taking applications until Sept. 19th or until they get 20,0000 applications...whichever comes first.

Here is the link http://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/recruiting/default.aspx

Best Wishes to you All and have a Magical Day.