Guess What Mum!!!

I REALLY NEED A HAIRCUT!!!!!!

the end

February Family Fun Trip

O chose the trip for the month of February and she wanted to go to the Baltimore Science Museum. It was a riot watching her ricochet from exhibit to display to show to anything that looked interesting. It was all a bit overwhelming and we didn't see a lot of the museum so I'm sure we'll go back some time.

Here is a glimpse of the Inner Harbor. 

The tall tower on the left was where we went for a field trip in the fall.

Check out the ice in the bay.

He's making rockets out of 3 liter bottles.

BEHOLD, the museum

Fun with liquid nitrogen.

This cool little geyser greets you as you enter.

You can see LT in the background.

O spent a lot of time running back and forth delivering messages. 

Aside from the water, I think this was her favorite exhibit.

One of her sweet love notes.

Happy mom and dad.

Family picture. 

It was hard to get O to stand still long enough to get this shot.

Giant press board. Whose face is this?

O put drops of "fuel" in the tubes, plugged them with rubber 

and then they shot in the air. 

It was all very exciting.

Our feet in Baltimore.

I saw a couple of these little guys on the street. 

I actually ran back into the road to snap this picture.

O was freaking out because cars were coming. 

Granted, they were two blocks away, but I need to be a better example. Oops.

I don't know what they are all about, but I like them.

They remind me a little bit of the moose in Park City.

March is my month to choose a trip. I'm not sure what I'll pick, but I'm sure you'll see pictures of it on here.

January Family Fun Trip

Each month, we try to do a Family Fun Trip.

In January, LT chose to go to Ft. McHenry. We had a nice time touring the bunker and watching the film. O was more into the trip than I thought she would be. (I wasn't really looking forward to going). It was cool to see her absorb the story and surroundings. Enjoy the pictures.

The drive over. O is prepared with all sorts of books

However, she would rather give me bunny ears than read.

A guy in the parking lot pointed out this bird.

 He was REALLY excited about it, so we took a picture.

Proof we were there.

O trying her hand with the camera.

Me trying to get LT to dance. 

"O, you can stop taking pictures now. Really, turn off the camera".

O was in a turdy mood and didn't really want to be in the picture.

Then she got happy again.

Hooray for our flag!!

We are trying to get a decent mommy daughter shot, but it's not happening.

I had to wrestle her to get a smile.

Ah, finally, a kiss.

Family picture!!!

The week in review

Work

I was hired to substitute TA at Monarch. Woot!! I'll work this Tuesday. I was talking with Os teacher during playtime and I told her about my application. My comment about skipping the interviewing process was, "Either my résumé was awesome, or they are really desperate". With out missing a beat, she said, "They are desperate". I laughed to myself about that. (Besides, my résumé was a bit sucky. I'm mad I left one bullet point off, suggested by an english major friend, and it made it look stupid). Part of the application process required watching some horrifying videos about blood born pathogens, bullying, and abuse. I had to look away repeatedly. It was HORRIBLE!!

DBSA

We had an AWESOME meeting this week. We had two new people and a lot of returning ones. Two of them connected when they were talking about their experiences with psychosis. There was a lot of compassion and healing in the room. My favorite part was the genuine laughter at the end of the meeting. It felt good to have people leave feeling uplifted. I am so blessed to facilitate this group. Our next meeting will be at our new permanent home in Severn. No more crazy library schedule. I know a regular meeting time will make it easier for more people to attend and benefit from the meetings.

Boob Talk

One friend thought of me when she saw this picture. It is from a list of commonly mispronounced words by toddlers.

Erica was transferring baby Alice to me and there was an accidental boob brush in the process. I apologized and she commented it's the most action she's had in a while. Her husband has been gone for weeks on a trip. I'm glad I could make her day like that. 

"Thank you for my boobies, thank you for my bum" Rapunzel/O during the evening prayer.

Brett Dennen

I don't know how, but some how, I ended up in the front row for the show. Proper front row concert etiquette requires yelling out requests. So, I yelled my favorite song. He actually played it for his solo song, and I'd like to think he played it just for me. His opening act was awesome, thank goodness. The one he had in Baltimore last October was terrible. The group of people I was with all agreed, they sucked. 

He ALWAYS goes barefoot on the stage.

I was this close. I didn't have to zoom for this picture.

Alice

I have loved playing with my adopted daughter Alice. I've seen her every week since she was born. I'm going for the title of Favorite Aunt. This is what I do to entertain myself when I get to play with Alice. 

Squishy Face

She's not so happy right now.

Her mom is SO MEAN. I keep telling her not to put the brain squisher on, but, she WON'T listen. This is how we found her when she got out of the car.

"NO, don't take my picture".

"I am humiliated".

Favorite Quote

"My baby has developed this back and forth head twitch the last week. Turns out the little turd has discovered "no", she's been telling me no all week...and so it begins" Eric Forrest

O

On Thursday, LT and I had meetings in the evening so we got a sitter for O. Well, true to form, O did everything she could to avoid going to bed. After reading book after book to her, the sitter told her to get something to read that would put her to sleep. So, O brought her The Economist. 

THIS makes me MAD

Everyone has "causes" they support. I pour my energy into mental health awareness and spreading the word about the hazards of GMOs. Just because I don't usually talk about other causes doesn't mean I don't have solid opinions about them. And, I usually don't comment on too many emotionally and politically charged topics, but this one has me fired up and I've had it. Seriously.

I HAVE HAD IT, PLEASE NO MORE!!!!!

I was talking with someone about a mutual friend from our hometown. At one point they said, "He still thinks he's gay". I was FLOORED!!  It took me a while to pick my jaw up off of the floor. I couldn't believe it! Fortunately, it was a phone conversation, I don't know how I would have reacted if it was in person. 

So, this leads me to say, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH folks.

There is too much hate and intolerance on both sides of this topic, hate begets hate and there is enough of that in the world already. Hate is ugly in all of its forms. Nothing good comes from hate, nothing. 

I have a lot to say about this and I could go on and on, but I want to keep this post brief. So, that means, I won't be as thorough as I would like. Consequently, I hope I'm not misunderstood.

First, the libertarian in me says, the government needs to get out of the marriage business. Period.

Next, I have no problem with people being gay. None, whatsoever. I get so infuriated when others make insensitive and degrading remarks about someone who is gay. I have a ton of friends and family members who are gay, and they aren't an inferior person because of it. It's just who they are. When I was at UCMT a ton of the faculty was gay and they weren't less capable of being effective in the classroom than a straight person. Being gay doesn't mean you're beneath anyone else.

A dearest friend of mine is gay. We've had a lot of conversations about what it was like for her being raised in a very conservative and religious home, and be gay. She was in her 30s when she came out to her parents. She felt there was something wrong with her for years and was actually frightened about it. It wasn't until she was in grad school that she let go of her fears and just... was. It was fascinating and enlightening to hear her story. I developed an even greater compassion for her and others like her who have lived for years hiding from what they feel. And, hearing her story didn't change how I viewed her or her abilities.

So, with that said, here is the thing that gets me in trouble with my liberal and gay friends. 

Why should someone who is morally opposed to making money offering a service to someone, who has a lifestyle they don't approve of, be legally forced to provide the service OR be sued/go out of business? (This has nothing to do with me.  I don't care if the person on my massage table is gay or straight).

The specific example that bothered me when I first heard of it occurred a year or so ago. A photographer in Annapolis was sued for refusing to photograph a gay couple. She is not the ONLY photographer in Annapolis. (This isn't an isolated incident either, it's happening all over the country). I don't think someone should be legally forced to do business with someone they feel morally opposed to doing business with.  

Let the market decide who stays in business. I'd rather a million people vote with their checkbooks than have ONE judge decide the fate of a small business owner.

(I do understand there is discrimination involved in this too, and that is a another blog post entirely).

I've read posts and articles and watched interviews and commentaries on gay rights for years. My observation is, over 90% of them are filled with anger, spite, name calling, fear, bullying, discounting, preaching, condescending remarks etc. Both sides are culpable for spewing hate about the other. It's sickening. 

It bothers me. 

All of it bothers me. 

I searched for what really troubled me, beyond the hate, and it had to do with "space". I don't like it when one group, of anyone, feels like they have to take space from another to have space for themselves. There is enough room for everyone. Why can't there be space for someone to live by their moral conscience? Why does someone have to be legally forced to do something that conflicts with their beliefs?

That is bothersome. 

Where is the liberty in that? 

It isn't there. 

Okay, this is getting long so, I'll finish with, I know there will always be hate in this world, it won't disappear. I can't change people, but I can hope to influence them. And I also know it's the "individual" that makes THE differences in the world. I don't expect hate to go away, but I do want others to look inside themselves and find the love and compassion that already exists within. 

Why can't we just love each other for being humans and not the irrelevant labels that get in the way of us seeing each other.....genuinely seeing each other? We have more in common with each other than we acknowledge or choose to see.

Okay, I've said my peace.

Odds and Ends

Let me start this post with, I am blessed to know some really remarkable people. I'm happy out here on the east coast. Happier than I thought I'd be, although I miss my mountains and clear water, I feel at home here. Living here is a thousand times better than the hell I endured in TX. I've spent time this week with people that make me laugh, people that make me want to be a better person and people that make me feel loved. 

Work?

I know I'm in the minority and have been able to be home with O prior to school. Once she started kindergarten, I exhaled and took time for myself. I do a lot of service during the week, but I'm not satisfied with it anymore. I've been volunteering in Os classroom since the beginning of the year and I love it. It reminds me of how much I love being in the classroom . So, I applied to be a TA. I don't know if I'll be hired, but I would REALLY like to work there. I've been sent to get all the paperwork done with the county so I can substitute TA. It's a start, right?

Bowling

Thursday after school we went bowling with some friends and somehow O got her ball stuck in between the bumper and gutter. 

Look, it's a slide.

The kids beat the adults. They DID have the bumpers though.

Boob Talk

O was explaining puberty to me and she said when you get boobs you get red tubey, sucky thingies. I told her they were nipples. "Nibbles? Do the babies nibble on them"?

Last night O put on my bra over her pajamas and tried to go to bed. We were trying to get if off of her while she was yelling, "Don't touch my BOO-ZUM, let go of my boobies"! After it was over LT said, "I never thought I'd have to take your bra off my daughter". 

I ended up with these "Hot Booties" at my white elephant party, I had to fight for them too. When O saw them she asked if they said, "Hot Boobies". I told her yes. That was in December. She saw them again this week on my feet and said, "Those aren't hot boobies, you lied to me. They don't warm up your boobs". ha ha ha.

On Saturday mornings, O usually comes into our bed to wake us up and snuggle. It always turns into something goofy. Well, this morning she tried to clamp a hair claw on my chest. Punk!

Catching up with O

Me - "I want to have Lasik".

O - "Mom, have I told you, without your glasses, you look kind of creepy"?

O - "Whenever I see a full moon, I bark".

O - "Dad, let me kiss your forehead, you're kind of shavey". To LT when he hasn't shaved.

O - "Make way for my fancy hair"

On the Nightstand

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

LT was given this trilogy as a gift a couple of years ago and he was dysfunctional for several weeks while he read it. He keeps telling me I should read it and the time has arrived. I started. I'm 100 plus pages in and it has potential. I already know I like the author. He finished up the Wheel of Time series when Robert Jordan died. I loved the shift in the writing style. Mr. Jordan was a gifted storyteller, but wow, he was too verbose for my liking.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I was 186 in the queue at the library but, Laurie came to the rescue. It looks like a quick read. I plan to be done by the time I see the movie.

Kid Quotes

"I don't want to back in the cage"! K to her mom when she was told they were getting into the car.

"I'm not a terrorist! I'm not a terrorist", K in the airplane when it was time to buckle up. Her mom was worried they'd be detained. To put this into context, you need to know, when she is acting up her dad will say, "K, don't be a terrorist", to which she responds, "I'm not a terrorist, I'm a big girl". 

Clearly, K does NOT like being buckled into anything. K is 2.

Heavy Heart

Two things are weighing on my heart, the first has to do with my daughter and the second has to do with a dear, dear friend of mine.

To begin, O frequently tells me she doesn't have any friends at school. Anytime she is having a meltdown, that surfaces. I know it is stressing her out and I know she wants friends. She can play with A and J for hours without an issue. She is an intense kid and can overwhelm others and I think that gets in the way. She's been bullied on the bus. The first time it happened, I wasn't too sure of the story, but the second time it happened I filed a report right away. The school called me that day and let me know what was done to resolve it. 

I see her when I volunteer and some of the kids are pretty mean to her. I set up some play dates to help out. The first one ended early. B wanted to go home after an hour. The following day at school, she told O she never wanted to have a play date again. (I talked to her dad about it and all he knew from B was that they fought over a toy or something). We had a play date with one of her friends from Kindergarten and it went well, her friend didn't want to go home. When her friend did leave, O said, "Please don't run away from me at school." My heart broke. My wonderful girl is being overlooked.

I wish so badly this wasn't happening to her. I know she will have to navigate the social ups and downs of life, but I just didn't expect it to start so early. I worry the most about her self-esteem. She is an amazing girl and I don't want the actions and words of others to send the message that she is anything else. LT and I are being pretty deliberate with spending time as a family and trying to make our home a secure and happy place. I know we can't change how others will treat her, but if she is at least loved completely at home, she can know for herself she is just fine. 

The second thing that is weighing on me is the news that my Ladybug has leukemia. She has a lot of fight in her and I know she won't give up. AND, I'm sad to know she's going to have a tough and miserable battle. I've known her for about 20 years. I worked with her daughter at Oakcrest. We hiked Timpanogos and I thought she was going to die sliding down the glacier. When a serious, long-term relationship of mine ended, she was there to listen. There is a special little place in my heart that belongs only to her. I just love this woman. I can't imagine her... gone.