Things I Want - Edited 8/9/10

In no particular order and for no particular reason...

This headache to pass. It did.

The Baby Jogger City Select. Decided against it for right now (but might change my mind later).

Someone to tell what the best decision for our family is going to be for the next two years of our lives, so I don't have to have mommy/wife guilt about whatever decision we make. That is what prayer is for...so, we keep praying.

A time machine, to tell the 2005 me that buying a house right then is a VERY bad idea... Still wish I could have done this, but will make it through okay anyhow.

More of these...there are never enough. I have 19...I'm probably good for now (besides, they don't make many more than I have in boy/neutrals).

A Ford Flex. Again, decided against it for now, but reserve the right to roll up in one in a couple of years.

A new baby that sleeps...I know, pipe dream. He's actually not a bad sleeper...in the swing.

New clothes (preferably without having to shop for them). I picked up a few things to get me through until I can fit into my pre-pregnancy stuff, but still get me out of maternity clothes and I feel better now.

An aircraft carrier stationed in Phoenix (no more far fetched than a sleeping newborn, I suppose). Really, just a pipe dream.

An In&Out Burger, Filibertos, Cucina Tagliani, Chick-Fil-A, and a Cool Cuts for Kids in Kitsap county. But then what would I do when I visit Phoenix?

More friends who live within 500 miles. I have good friends in WA, I should probably spend more time appreciating them and less time lamenting the distance between here and Phoenix...besides, the distance shrinks with Facebook, blogging, email, Skype and phones...I really shouldn't complain.

Okay, I think I'm done whining for today...maybe.

Our New Addition

On July 4, 2010 at 5:52a.m. our new addition, Alexander (Xander) Carl, joined our family. Bug weighed in at 7lbs 14oz and 19" long (almost two pounds smaller than Punk!, Bug is our "peanut").

Punk is a happy, excited, loving brother. Here are the first pictures of the boys together.

AZ SB1070

I'm sure you've heard the hoopla, I'll bet you even have an opinion, my question is: Have you actually read the bill?

Have you read it?

If you haven't read it and would like to have, not just an opinion but an informed one, you can find it here and it's really not very long...

Sling Recall...

You have probably seen this information regarding the Infantino Sling Recall.

If you know me you know that I am a babywearer. I think it is a great way to get more done, keep baby close and to get more exercise (after all, walking with a 10-20lbs weight on your front has to be better than walking without it). I am glad that Infantino has recalled their "bag carrier" and I wish that more companies would recall theirs as well. The truth is that MANY commercial carriers do not allow you to carry your baby in a proper safe position.

Lots of well meaning people have been running up to babywearers and letting them know that their carriers are unsafe (in all cases I have heard of this has been with people wearing their babies in ring slings, mei tais and wraps which are not unsafe). I found this information posted online that explains WHY bag carriers are inherently unsafe, please be nice to your babywearing friends the odds are that they already knew bag carriers are unsafe and would never use one. Their carriers are probably very different and hold the baby in a totally different and safe position. But, by all means, if you know someone who has the Infantino or another bag carrier, pass along this information to let them know that their carrier is potentially VERY unsafe.

Babywearing is near and dear to me, I want all of my friends to wear safely because I want all babies to BE safe.

RANT

Okay, Navy bases still require that vehicles have DoD tags in order to be driven on base...fine, stupid, but fine (Air Force Bases no longer require this and it's a stupid thing to require, I mean they require that the driver have military ID, do we authorize PEOPLE to have access to Navy bases or to be authorize vehicles, but I digress). If you are driving your vehicle you have to take your registration, insurance and driver's license in to get a DoD tag, if you are driving a rental they only need the rental agreement and your driver's license, if you are driving a borrowed vehicle (as I will be when I go to San Diego next week) they need some mysterious form, no one seems to be able to give me the number of the form so that I can try to find it online, so I call the phone number on the Naval Base Coronado website for Pass and Decal...it goes straight to voicemail for the supervisor (what are the odds that guy is really going to call me back), so I call the general information line...they give me a number for pass and decal, that number is not pass and decal BUT they know what I'm talking about, they give me a number for pass and decal, no one answers that number the first 10 times I call it (and there is no voicemail) when I finally get someone they are NOT pass and decal either and they have NO IDEA what I am talking about (in fact they tell me that I cannot get a temporary pass for ANY vehicle unless I am the military member, even though I am a dependent with a valid ID, but whatever) she does give me ANOTHER FREAKING NUMBER for pass and decal...which I call and I get a guy who knows what I'm talking about and has access to the form but acts like I am asking for him to email me his arm when I ask him to fax me the form so I can get it filled out and notarized before I get there...hopefully he faxed it (it's going to my mom's work and I don't have any idea if he actually got it to her yet or not)...ETA: The form was actually received by my mom...yay.

I swear, if I get to San Diego and they give me a hard time about getting a pass for the stupid truck after all the crap I went through to get their stupid form (why isn't this form just available on the website???) I am probably going to loose any semblance of cool I ever had and get banned from Navy bases forever...

Oh, and in case you ever need to talk to an actual person at Naval Base Coronado Pass and Decal...save yourself the telephone runaround and call them here: 619-545-7413!

An Answer to Prayer

So, we had a big difficult wonderful change happen in our family this week...Sirius has found a new home! I know there are plenty of people who think that rehoming a dog FOR ANY REASON is just evil, but with the amount of travel that we have been doing the past year and half and how little time we have for Sirius even when we are home we decided last July it was time to start to look for a new home for our "little" Sirius. I have been scanning craigslist pets wanted adds, checking into programs through our vet, local rescues and even the humane society through which we originally adopted Sirius...I just haven't been able to find the perfect fit for Sirius until this week.

This week I got an email from Troy. A longtime dog owner who recently got out of the Navy and was looking for a large breed adult dog to be his first pet since he got out of the Navy. He is single, lives on 4.5 acres in a house that he rents from his parents (also dog owners), he was looking for a dog to take on hikes and runs with him and to spoil rotten. Troy and I "talked" via email for a couple of days, he told me about himself, I told him about us and Sirius and we agreed to have Bobby go out and check out Troy's place and bring Sirius along for an introduction. The introduction went well, Bobby showed Tory all of Sirius' commands and Sirius sniffed out Troy's house and helped himself to a spot on the lawn. Troy LOVED Sirius and Sirius loved Troy. It went so well that they decided to do a one night trial run and see how things went. The next day I got an email from Troy where he sang Sirius' praises ("he is such a lovable good dog!"). That day Bobby also got a call saying Troy would love to keep Sirius and asking if Bobby could bring over Sirius' toys. Bobby got all of Sirius' toys, food and treats together and took them over to Troy. The first thing Troy said to Bobby when he got there was "So, Sirius snores," Bobby said, "Oh, yeah?", to which Troy replied, "Yeah, he slept in the bed with me last night". Troy is loving having Sirius, we are loving knowing that Sirius is in a happy loving home with someone who has all the time and energy that Sirius needs.

Bobby will take Sirius' igloo and inside bed over to Troy on Sunday and Troy is happy to have us check in with Sirius via email every month or so. It's just been such an answer to our prayers and I am so glad to say that I think this placement is going to be an exception to all of those that say rehoming NEVER works...

Thank you so much Troy!

Are you kidding me?

I belong to a webgroup, a community of military wives and girlfriends mostly, lately we've been talking a lot about homeless people and giving to charity. I'm going to quote a post made their today and a couple of the responses...

If you are going to come up to me asking for money...do it sober!

This lady was walking around the King Soopers parking lot asking for money. I could tell she was on her way to me, and I got out all of the change I had (didn't have any bills) to give to her.

Then she gets within speaking/smelling distance.

She proceeded to tell me how hungry she is because she has been homeless for 2 months and hasn't eaten in days. Slurring her words. She reaked of booze. Obviously toasted. I put the money back in my pocket.

1. I'm not sure where this new trend is coming from, but the recent public
   judgements of the homeless turns my stomach. Of course we all have the
   right to do what we please with our money. But the direction and
   implications of posting about it makes me uncomfortable, "but for the grace
   of God go I," and all that.
2. WOW! What a way to bring that holiday spirit of giving and being judgemental!!

The thread goes on for two pages, and it's mostly people talking about how judgemental the original poster is and how she should have just given this drunk lady her change (or how she should have gone out of her way to get her a meal or something).

I don't get it. I just don't get it. We pay tithing and we give fast offerings. I don't often (like almost never) give money to people on the street corner and I never give to anyone who is smoking a cigarette or reaks of alcohol.

I honestly think that with the current state of the economy that more people are trying to be better stewards of their own money. I think that people know, now maybe more than they ever have before, how easily they could be on the other side and I think that people are doing the best they can to handle their money in the best possible way. If that means not enabling another person's addiction, then so be it. I don't think that anyone should tell another person how they aught to handle their own money. I mean, if YOU want to buy a drink for every beggar you see, that's okay, it's your money, but I don't understand faulting someone for being a good steward of their own family's money. I guess I just feel like charitable giving is a personal decision and that no one should feel obligated to give, especially in a situation that makes you uncomfortable.