I'm not sure why they look so serious. They each put together their own outfits. We were dancing to Shady Tree. They were having lots of fun - honest!

Tandem Trike-ing!

Wow - is that what I really sound like? Yeesh.

Available lap anyone?

Daniel wanted Tuan to sit on his lap. He let him sit there for at least 30 seconds! hee!



Then Emma wanted me to sit on her lap! I think I lasted for about 50 sec. lol

Are you registered to vote? Part 1

Take 3 minutes and find out if you are registered to vote. If you aren't - register! The deadline is coming up in a matter of mere weeks!

http://www.voteforchange.com/index_obama.php#

**UPDATE**

Dale brought up a good point in his comment on Part 2.
I felt a bit embarrased that I hadn't ever heard of "vote caging" before and needed to look it up. But this article "What the Heck is Vote Caging" states that "Last week was the first time most of us heard about vote caging. It shouldn't be the last."

So - what is this voter caging stuff?

"Vote caging is an illegal trick to suppress minority voters (who tend to vote Democrat) by getting them knocked off the voter rolls if they fail to answer registered mail sent to homes they aren't living at."

"The Bush-Cheney operatives sent hundreds of thousands of letters marked "Do not forward" to voters' homes. Letters returned ("caged") were used as evidence to block these voters' right to cast a ballot on grounds they were registered at phony addresses. Who were the evil fakers? Homeless men, students on vacation and—you got to love this—American soldiers. Oh yeah: most of them are Black voters.

Why weren't these African-American voters home when the Republican letters arrived? The homeless men were on park benches, the students were on vacation—and the soldiers were overseas."

This info was used to block/contest absentee ballots - actions that can have quite an affect on an election's result.

Now - I'm not sure if by following the link I provided above could lead to vote caging. Yes, you provide your mailing address. But you also must enter your driver's liscence number or the last 4 didgets of your social security number. So there should be no letters sent unrequested or to faulty addresses.

To avoid all of this just grab your phone book - look under the "quick reference guide" for the heading "voter registration". Walk, ride, drive, call or mail your information to the address provided and voila! You can vote for whichever candidate you feel best represents your views!

Are you registered to vote? Part 2

WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE
(paraphrased from a forward I received)

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago.

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.


The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

(Lucy Burns)
And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'
They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

(Dora Lewis)
They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging,
beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote.

For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

(Alice Paul)
When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because - why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

HBO's movie 'Iron Jawed Angels' is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say.

I am ashamed to say the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.

What would those women think of the way that I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now. It's not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.

HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum. I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather.

It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

technology

My, I seem to be enjoying this walk down memory lane! lol

This is Emma (11 mos) multi-tasking on the potty.


This is Daniel (22 mos) multi-tasking on the potty.


I guess technology has changed a bit?

And what good is a movie w/out cookies and a sister to share it with?

Craft desk

We were using a wooden board stacked quite precariously on two plastic drawer sets (you can see them stacked to the left there) for a craft desk. Any time Emma or Daniel would climb on the board it would tilt and fall off. Once Em was left dangling from that ledge behind her! Needless to say, this arrangement was less than satisfactory. We have a really nice neighbor who mentioned that he had a desk in his house that wasn't being used and would we like it! Well, of course! Heck yeah! (is that my Okie roots showing? lol) We moved it one door down and are LOVING it! It is a great, well used, mark-able desk that holds both the kiddos weight great!

In fact - just the other day Em and D wanted to make a dinosaur craft. Tuan and I were helping them and by the end of the project Tuan and I were making the dragon while Daniel had coaxed Emma into jumping off of the desk onto beanbags! So I think the desk is a hit!

Some beanbag jumping - just for fun!

(I have a better clip that I''ll get up just as soon as I figure out how to rotate it.)

Just chillin'

Daniel does the Funky Chicken Dance!

Does it get any cuter than this?



















psssst - The correct answer is no. :oP

How time flies

Wow - I got rather emotional when I looked at these pics side by side. I just can't believe how much my kids are growing up!

This first pic was taken Dec 2007.

This pic was taken Aug 2008.

I didn't plan to match blankets and poses (more or less) it just turned out that way. Off to sniffle over a brownie. Or two! lol

Unfortunately it is the children who suffer

Artificial baby milk found tainted by the banned industrial chemical melamine

So sad on so many levels.

I wonder if these dangerous attempts to cut corners with products and produce would be greatly reduced if we as consumers demanded fair trade conditions from our suppliers. Not only voiced it but backed it up with our spending money.

The quoted mother wonders what she will feed her child - "they (artificial baby milks) all have problems".

Hear is some food for thought. What would we feed our baby's if there was no artificial baby milk?

Puzzles Galore!

Emma loves puzzles. I don't talk much about unschooling, but this fits into that category. Emma always finds the puzzles in the piles of toys where ever we go. And since I know that she loves to put them together, I'm always on the lookout for ones I think she would enjoy.



The bunny pic is one of three wooden puzzles we got her for her 2nd birthday.
The spiderman puzzle (are you surprised at the subject?) is one she snagged at a garage sale.
The fairy is actually 6 cubes for a 6-in-one puzzle she found at a local toy shop. I thought it would be too hard for her but, silly Momma, she puts them together with and without my help!
The space puzzle is a 3-d picture and she found it at a craft store.
She helped me choose the fish floor puzzle.

I took that pic right before we acquired another puzzle -



Yep - Emma loves puzzles! lol

New Couch

We got a new couch! We were waaaaaay overdue for a new one as I had already re-covered it once. The movers got it set up (did you guys know that you're supposed to tip furniture delivery persons? - oops!) and this is the first thing Em and D did to test it out. I was worried that D and I may react to the micro-fiber (100% synthetic fabric) but our (or at least my) days of itchy reactions are over - yay for gluten-free! And I lurve that it is so very easy to clean!

Wordless Wednesday

I keep seeing these posts in the blogsphere. Since there doesn't seem to be any particular reason for this pic other than I love it I figured I try this WW stuff out.


Although - it's not wordless anymore, is it? ;o)

LMAO!! I just realized it's not Wednesday either! It's too funny - I have to leave it!

A friend comes to visit

One of my very best friends (and fellow musician) from college rearranged his whole schedule to drop by and see us! Emma started off shy but very soon was his best friend.




Thanks for visiting KC! Hope your summer went great!

Organic pork - 150 lbs of it!

My sis found a great organic pig farm. She and her dh generously offered to load and transport our pig to the slaughter house. It was a deal we couldn't refuse! So we scoured garage sales for chest freezers and ordered a pig. When we got the boxes we enlisted the kids for help catalouging the cuts and getting the frozen meat into the freezer. Did I mention that it was frozen? Yep - very cold on little hands. So I quickly scrounged through our box of misc. cold weather stuff. Poor D had two colors of mittens because that's all I could find.


"Daddy, this meat is heavy!!"


"Is that my bacon Mommy?"

Then we got D and Em to "flex" their muscles. Enjoy!

I love how the last flex turns into him scratching his nose. lol

Cool kids

Trampoline + glow sticks + warm late summer evenings =



TONS of fun!

Turkey legs and trains

Every July our town holds a "Western Days" parade with local bands and vendors in the city park. We happen to live a 5 min walk from city park (yes - we're spoiled!) so we stayed for lunch. I have always wanted to get a turkey leg and it was pretty much the only option that our food allergies allowed. Emma dug right in - D wasn't so sure about this object we were eating! LOL


I love this pic of D on Tuans lap watching the parade together.

Emma and Daniel loved - LOVED! riding the train. This guy charged $2 per ride. He is at nearly all big functions at the park - he makes a killing w/ his train!

Daddy Rocks!

Literally!


Emma and Daniel painted this rock and I added the words. It was such a fun way to show Tuan how much he means to them.

Every day when he walks in the door they run and hug his legs with cries of Daddy!

We all love you, Tuan!

hmmmmm

Well - I tried to be all fancy-schmancy and have my blog post scheduled posts. But it didn't work. Bummer. Anyway - I'll just post them manually!

Not happening!

I made some baked tortilla chips. Emma really liked them. She didn't want to share them.

But you may not have gotten that from her expression. Or maybe you did! LOL

Crochet

Several of us crafty moms got together a swap of playfood items. Every thing was handmade out of natural materials (no acrylic). It has been a big hit! So much so that I have joined another swap which will be over soon. You should see the looks that I get when I tell people who ask that I am crocheting a hotdog! LOL


I got carried away looking for cute clothes to crochet for Em and found tons of patterns. This one went together pretty fast but the flowers (which I added, they were not originally on the pattern) took some tweaking. At first the yarn was too heavy and the brown center looked silly.


This skirt pattern didn't call for any color changes, but i was running out of rust colored yarn. I think the result turned out rather nice! And Em loves how the skirt twirls!

I originally made this purse to carry clothespins in while hanging laundry. While I was making it, Em asked me to make her a bag.


So she chose the colors she wanted and I made one for her.


An interesting side note - Em's favorite color is black! When she has the option, she will always choose the black one. I love it!