Sep. 1, 2008 - Lola's first egg!

We've been waiting for our favorite chicken Lola to lay her first egg.  Today it finally happened.  Another unknown hen has started giving up some eggs with dark speckles.  Here's a picture.  It's kind of hard to tell the color in this picture, but it's sort of a light mossy green.  Yay Lola!  We also got our hugest egg yet from one of our Australorps, she was really clucking and letting us know about it right before hand today.  It came after this group, making today's total 6 eggs from our faithful gals in the coop.

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Aug. 25, 2008 - First Day of School

We are officially back to school today!  Despite having a crazy mess thanks to a weekend camping trip, the day went well.  I'm a bit behind and this blog update is not going to help, but we'll get back into the swing of things soon!

Today we did our chicken chores which I'm counting as part of the day - he's learning a lot of great lessons on responsibility from them, as well as some harder lessons (we recently slaughtered a few of them).  A couple of the hens have begun to lay and they are pretty reliable at an egg a day.  I suppose it's possible that more than two are doing it, but judging by the looks of the eggs and placement in the nests (and under the slide)  we think it's just two.  They are brown eggs, and one of them lays speckled ones.

After the chickens we had a devotional.  We are learning Old Testament stories right now.  Today's lesson was on the pre existence and the battle in heaven.

We then moved onto math, which was pretty much a review from last year.  Then onto language lessons and happy phonics games.  I was surprised how easily Juan Carlos read the words when it was a "game" and can tell that our major problem last year was motivation.  I think he'll make incredible progress with Happy Phonics and some obnoxious reading material like Captain Underpants or something similar.

He had his karate lesson, sign language and history.  We learned what history is and different ways that we discover it.  He tried his hand at some archaeology by digging into a castle of pressed sand that had a treasure inside.  He really enjoyed that.

I wasn't as prepared as I'd like to have been for Luke, and he made a gigantic mess of the house while I helped Juan Carlos.  Hopefully as we get into our new schedule I'll get better about posting pictures up here.  For now, I'm very well prepared for Juan Carlos' curriculum, but limping along with everything else!

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Jul. 3, 2008 - Silly Boys

I'm holding Luke right now who is obviously hot.  It's his own fault though.  He has decided that he wants to wear superman pajamas all day, over his regular clothing.  He loves singing these days and one of his favorites has become Old MacDonald.  His version is something like this.

Donald ha a farm, E E Oooo!

On that farm had cows, E E Oooo!

Moo moo here, moo moo here

Moo moo Donald ha  a farm, E E Oooo!

He alternates between cows and chickens. 

His other favorites are The Itsy Bitsy "Bider" and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot tree.  His recent obsession with popcorn chicken (the only meat he will eat) has caused that song to morph into Popcorn Chicken Tree.

Carlos, who has recently viewed Kung Fu Panda, is practicing his martial arts skills.  For someone who has still not been able to get into a class, the moves he's invented are actually pretty decent.  I was watching him through th window the other day and he was in a fighting stance getting ready to fight with his friend Adrian.  Flexing his arms, I overheard him say, "I've been eating my vegetables!" 

Thankfully these two kids seem to be getting tough enough to handle each other.  The fight constantly.  They have an extremely dysfunctional best friend relationship.

Carlos is also obsessed with Speed Racer.  We got the old cartoon version and he will sit and watch it for hours if I let him.  He and Luke are certain they have what it takes to be racecar drivers.  Recently I had to console Luke who was distrought that I wouldn't let him drive the van home from the store.  He had climbed into the drivers seat and put the key in the ignition and I had to pry his little hands off the steering wheel.  There was no convincing him that he was too little.

My free bottle of excedrin is almost gone...

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Jul. 3, 2008 - The Goat in the Backyard

So a couple weeks ago I was awakened by a goat in our backyard.  I got out of bed to see where it was, but couldn't see anything.  Still, every so often I would hear clear as a bell that famous goaty "ehh" sound.  We went camping after that and the first morning back I heard it again.  I layed there and listened to it, and noticed that as our neighbors roosters would crow, the goat would often follow suit.  Ding!  The light went on and I realized that it was not a goat at all, but one of our roosters trying to figure out how to crow.  We haven't decided which one is doing it, but whichever one it is, obviously, is severely impaired.  Can it hear itself?  For the love of Pete! 

So until this thing figures out how to sound like a bird, I will be awakened by the sound of the stray goat every morning.

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Jun. 13, 2008 - Taps

The Award - click to view

Who can forget the leg lamp from the movie A Christmas Story?  The love that he had for that lamp was unbelievable.  And then...

The scene - click to view

Didn't you feel a little sad for him?  I always remembered Ralphie's comments of the sad events which transpired after the lamp broke.  He buried the lamp in the yard and Ralphie thought he heard the sound of taps being played softly.

On Monday last, I too heard the sound of taps.  Mostly because I was humming taps to Seth when someone drove away on his motorcycle.  I almost cried.  Really.  He loved that thing.  He decided to sell it recently.  He had a cat run out in front of him and couldn't avoid it.  Then he watched a news story about a man who was close to our age with six kids who died in a motorcycle accident when he hit a deer.  I think he realized that not everything can be avoided by manueverability, skill and a good eye.  He's not getting the opportunity to ride much either, so he decided it was best.  I tried to talk him out of it a little because it's a stress reliever for him but he'd made up his mind.  Can the hole ever be filled again?

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Jun. 13, 2008 - Things that make you go... ew!

We were watching t.v. a couple days ago and for a minute they showed sumo wrestlers and little Luke shouted, Ew!  Dat's dross! 

This Link made me say the same thing!

Just thought everyone needed a little grossing out for the weekend!

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Jun. 6, 2008 - Almost done with lesson planning!

Yahoo!  I've been typing up all of our lesson plans (briefly) so that I can keep a record of all we're doing.  It seems more and more that the "conservatives" in Utah want to make my decisions for me from cradle to grave so it's really a matter of time before homeschooling becomes a real battle.  When that happens I want everything together for ammunition.

Now I just have to start making a bunch of worksheets so I don't have to bother with it during the school year.  I learned this year that as time goes by during the year my patience does too, and I tire of daily prep work.  The more of that I can avoid by getting it all done at once this summer, the better!

Carlos informed me today that he's practicing making up songs so that he can go to Hollywood.  I distracted him with other possible things he can become.  Some of his friends have told him they are rock stars and so of course that's what he wants to be!  Oh dear.

By the way, I put a link on my sidebar to the Pinching Your Pennies site.  Have fun!

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May. 27, 2008 - Pinching Your Pennies

I just wanted to make a quick entry about this.  We've started collecting coupons and using this site and I'm pretty excited about it.  Recently I got hooked when I got ten boxes of General Mills cereals for $2.95.  Albertson's had it ten for ten and then with my coupons I was able to get some free, and some discounted more.  I felt a little sore that I had to pay the whole dollar for the Cheerios.

Today I took some coupons over to Smith's and got $50 worth of stuff for $18.  I thought that was pretty decent for a beginner like myself.  My favorite was the nail polish - it was a two pack of Revlon colorstay polish and top coat which is normally about six or seven dollars.  It was on sale for $2.99 and I had a coupon for $2 off.  Good stuff for $.99!  Too bad I hadn't started getting multiple coupons yet or I'd have gotten five different colors at that price.  They had a promotion for five 12 packs of coke products and two free cheezits for $12 - which is already a good deal but I had coupons for the soda so I got it even cheaper! 

Anyway, I won't bore you with all the details, but PYP does the shopping around for you and all you do is print the list gather the coupons (they tell you where to find them) and go save a disgusting amount of money.  Every week there is something that ends up being free and plenty that is nearly so.  With the price of groceries I highly recommend the effort of clipping the coupons.  It's like a well paying part time job that the kids can help with.  Carlos helped me keep track of the coupons at the store (except the ones he dropped and lost!) and soon I'll trust him enough to cut some out for me.  It goes pretty quickly with a quilting mat and rotary blade.

Happy shopping!

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May. 27, 2008 - No turning back!

Well, we are officially still homeschooling next year.  We ordered all of our curriculum.  It was pretty expensive but we're doing some really fun things.  We may not be able to squeeze everything into one year but we'll sure try!

For our devotionals this year we are reading the scripture stories put out by the distribution center that are in comic book style.  We'll read a story each day and won't quite get through all four books.  We will continue with Math U See since it worked well for us.  I'm still trying to see if I can get that used because I think the shipping is a rip!  For reading we are continuing Reading Made Easy during the summer and first of the net school year.  We are adding Happy Phonics which is several different games to teach and reinforce the sounds.  We are also going to supplement with Explode the Code books.  We will also continue with read alouds and easy readers.  I'm starting a language lesson each day also which is sort of a gentle abbreviated course on grammar.  We will be doing a critical thinking exercise each day with Mind Benders.  For writing I am just going to make our own worksheets that go with our studies.  I have Startwrite which is software that allows you to print traceable handwriting worksheets in different ways.  It's neato.

Hmmm... for science we have a lot of stuff and more than we can do I think.  We are going to start the year off with a study of the human body.  We'll read some magic schoolbus books that go along with it.  We will be making paper bodies and different paper crafts to learn about organs and things.  I have a book that has several printable things like brain hats and fun stuff like that.  I bought some 3D puzzles called Bitz that are of the body.  We also have a couple other books and resources we'll use for that.  I expect to spend the first half of the year on this.  For the second half of the year I have a curriculum from homeschoolscience.com that is all about microscopes and a little pocket microscope.  We will probably only get half of it done this year and save the rest of the lessons because this next spring we are going to build an incubator and hatch chicks while doing the 4H embryology curriculum.  It will be really fun for me at least (I'm not sure this one is for Carlos!).  I also ordered an entomology course from 4H which we'll do some of during this summer just for fun.

For history we have  The Story of the World which looks just fabulous!  We will be studying Ancient History.  There are several reasons that I like this curriculum.  Each lesson has hands on activities for reinforcement.  Each lesson has map work to learn geography which I stink at royally.  The activity guide also has other book resources listed so we can read picture books and things that we'll get from the library without me having to do a bunch of research - YAY!

I'm also doing signing time and some simple sign language stuff with him.  He will be doing soccer and karate and maybe swimming lessons for "P.E." and we'll continue with the same pfeiffer house music.  I'm looking for a way to spice the music up a bit because it's getting kind of boring.  We'll also still use the same art curriculum.

We have loved all the many field trips we've taken this year and will continue to aim for some type of field trip or free choice learning every friday.  That's all I can think of, but I think I may be forgetting something.

I ordered a few games and puzzles for Luke and will be doing preschool stuff with him.  He already knows all of his letter sounds and can count to eleven or twelve.  He tries counting higher but gets lost in the teens.  I'm trying to capitalize on this without pushing him at all (since he's only 2!), so I'm getting lots of toys and games that he can do while Carlos has school.  I think I'll just get a box and let him choose what he wants to work on.  He has some shapes and colors games, cards and lacing things.  He has letter and number puzzles and I think I'll get some counting bears and cups and that sort of thing.

It looks like we'll have a busy year! 

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May. 17, 2008 - Being a barren old lass will always be a part of me

That sounds crass doesn't it?  Well, I guess I grew up surrounded by too many boys. 

So there is no doubt now that we are back on this baby making journey.  It's a lot easier this time around because we have two boys who keep us busy (and drive us nuts) and we don't feel empty.  If things don't turn out in our favor it will be disappointing, but not devastating. 

When I became pregnant with Luke I made a list of the supplements and things I was taking.  I thought I would never forget why or how much of each thing I was taking because for so many years it consumed me.  I was happy to have that chapter of my life closed and put away.  I forgot.  Now I'm creaking that book open again and visiting old sites trying to remember how much of this and that I took and why.  Trying to recreate what worked with Luke, but not sure if it will work again.

Walking that path again is stirring up all the old feelings I put away and I came across this site:

http://www.tearsandhope.com/emptyarms_video.html

It made me remember all those things I was happy to forget.  I thought it would be good to remind others that still so many people struggle with infertility.  It changes you forever.  It changes your priorities, it changes your perspective on life.  I don't think you ever get over the vulnerability, probably because you shouldn't... it's not a malady, it's a realization.  Some people never have the opportunity to feel so completely dependant on the Lord.  Our infertility was a blessing, and I hope that everyone who struggles with it benefits in the same ways that we did.

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May. 16, 2008 - Waistward De-Expansion Project Part Deux

Sigh.

I'm not sure what happened to the days when I could lose weight easily.  Those days are gone!  Seth and I have been on a diet and I've been trying to cook lean, given up drinks at Sonic.  I eat crappy diet food like weight watchers frozen lunches and zone bars.  So far in three weeks I have lost two pounds.  And that's hard earned too!  Last week I had lost two (to date), and then on Mother's day the Flitton men cooked for the moms and so I ate that meal which was chicken cordon bleu.  I didn't overeat but it was fattening.  I had a small portion of ice cream for dessert.  Just that cheating on mother's day negated my two weeks and two pounds.  So I've been really good this week, except for the day Seth got home and we went to Arby's - but still i didn't over eat, and didn't have soda.  At least I got my two pounds back off.  I guess I should be happy.  The only thing is, I'm not happy.  I remember when I was younger I could diet like this and expect 5-10 pounds in a week or two.  Certainly a good ten pounds in three weeks.  Seth hasn't been depriving himself nearly as much and he's lost 11 last I checked.  Darn men and their metabolisms!

Oh well.  I'll just have to resign myself to the fact that it's going to take me half a year to lose this blubber, and then it will be time for the holidays again.  Maybe I'll luck out and get pregnant.  With Luke my metabolism was fantastic and I ate like a pig to gain weight.  I'm all backwards - hoping to get pregnant to lose weight.  Oh yeah, and we decided to start trying to get pregnant for real now by the way which means I'm taking Metformin again and feeling sick.  I also am taking a quadrillion supplements that I was taking when I got pregnant with Luke.  I'm trying to gear myself up for doctors appointments again.  In a couple months we'll have to start follicle monitoring and oh so pleasant shots in the hiney.  I don't know how it's possible to get pregnant on accident.

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May. 16, 2008 - Ideas for getting kids to help clean up

I got these two ideas from our homeschool group, and I think I will try both of them

1- The black bag.  I'm sure you've all heard versions of this.  If the kids leave something on the floor after cleaning it's placed in the black bag.  If they don't love it enough to pick it up, then they don't love it enough to keep it.  I like this version because the bag is never opened and everything in it goes to the thrift store (or garbage if it's junk). 

2- Bribery with allowance.  No matter what the set amount is for their allowance, keep a jar of nickels with about $2 worth.  Label an "oops" jar with each of the kids names.  After each clean up time walk around looking for all of the things they missed.  Crayon on the floor, dirty clothes not put away, absolutely anything gets a nickel in the oops jar.  When allowance time comes subtract the nickels in the oops jar from the regular amount.  The lady who tried this said it took her kids about two paydays to realize how much they were losing and they got very good at seeing all those detailed things they pretend not to see otherwise.  I love that idea.  She said that for the other chores kids are expected to do them because they are part of the family and if they aren't done the kids lose privileges... like Saturday morning television.

So I think idea number 2 is way better than what I had been planning which was to pay Carlos for each chore.  I don't like that with my idea doing anything gets rewarded even if you've left other things undone.  Plus my idea requires a lot of nagging, "you didn't pick up..." but her idea can be done silently.  If you have to pick junk up, you silently take out a nickel and the kids get the idea pretty quickly and learn to see things on their own.  Personal responsibility, I like that!

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May. 13, 2008 - Animals for meat

I've been learning a lot about meat chickens.  Our chickens are primarily around for eggs, but we do plan on processing extra roosters or hens that maybe stop laying or for whatever reason.  Next year we may raise some broilers for the freezer.  The thought of killing and cleaning our chickens isn't very pleasant but I think it's an important lesson to learn.  I think if you aren't willing to at least consider the fact that your McNuggets are meat from a once living creature of God, that you shouldn't be eating meat.

I'm not a vegetarian obviously.  I think PETA is nutty.  Animals are not our equals.  I have been thoroughly disgusted though in my research to find the least painful method of killing our birds when the time comes.  I buy my chicken in a nice big bag of large skinless breast pieces.  The breed which creates the meat I buy (and probably that you buy) is a cornish cross.  This bird is bred to do nothing but sit and eat itself to death.  Many backyard chicken owners who raise this breed report that even given the opportunity to free range, most will not stray far from the feeder.  Some would sleep there given the choice.  It's not a happy life for these birds in the factory.  Many of them die of heart attacks from their rapid growth.  Many of the rest suffer leg and joint problems because they grow so rapidly and they cannot support the weight from those large breast pieces they are bred to produce.  After they are several weeks old, the mortality rate is extremely high.  They are meant to have a life span of 5-8 weeks.  In the factory they are typically slaughtered at six weeks.  By this time many are bald on their bellies for a variety of reasons including suffering ammonia burns from being raised in their own filth - and the cornish cross produces that more rapidly than any other bird because of the volume of food they put away.  I don't want to get too graphic, so I won't.  I realize these farms need to turn a profit, and that's not easy when the grocery store sells that grown bird back to you for five bucks a pop.  They have to automate their system, and unfortunately for the birds, this can mean undue suffering  when the machines don't work properly.

I think it's important to understand this and never to be wasteful with meat.  The way most of us buy it now removes us from this reality.  As I've pondered on this recently, I've realized that taking responsibility for our own food isn't a reality for everyone, but it's a blessing for those of us with the opportunity to do it.  I am thankful that my children have the opportunity to witness the process with our own flock of chickens.  Not only will they appreciate and have more respect for the life that passed to fill our plates, but they will also understand that animals were given to man for our use.  They are not fuzzy people.  I hope that the next time we sit down to our meals, we can all remember and be thankful for the blessing of these animals.  I know i will be grateful when our first roaster is placed on the table, knowing that at least that one had an enjoyable existence before it's death.  I wish I had the opportunity to be more self sufficient and to be able to say that for all of our meat.

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Apr. 30, 2008 - How to can a chicken

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I went outside this morning to change the chickens water and food.  I unscrewed the mason jar from the waterer and layed it on the ground while I replaced it with a new one.  Not a second later one of the buff orpington hens came over looking for a treat and walked right inside the narrow mouth jar!  She could just fit in the opening, but was too big to turn around.  We were a sight I'm sure, with her squawking as I tried to gently tug at her feet and get her out.  This struggle lasted about ten minutes before she spazzed out and managed to back out of the jar.

Where was my camera!?!

Anyway, Carlos and I had a rough school day today but we got most of it done.  In our study of pioneers we've so far made hardtack (yuck!) and we "churned" butter (really we shook it in a jar).

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Apr. 28, 2008 - The Waistward De-Expansion Project

Because we are studying pioneers, the Oregon trail and westward expansion in the next couple weeks of school, I decided to title my quest to finding my body under all this blubber, the waistward de-expansion project.  At least I think I'm pretty funny even if you don't.

I'm not really sure what happened.  I was in the 120's (where I'd like to be again) two weeks after Luke was born, so I can't blame him.  Except that I can blame him... and Carlos... and Sonic... and winter.  Cooped up in the house with Luke stuck on me like velcro (he usually sits on my lap while I'm on the computer) and Juan Carlos throwing tantrum after tantrum and making mess after mess.  The fighting, the screaming, the crying... and happy hour at Sonic where I know those noisy lips will be stuck to a straw for a while as I enjoy the bliss of a fountain coke and a lap to myself... well... what was a girl to do anyway?  I'll tell you what I did... about three times a week all winter, I went to sonic.  Hard to believe that honest choice led to gaining 15 pounds, but it did.  I ustacould get away with stuff like that.  Now I can't.  Now I'm old.  And fluffy.  Now I know why moms of small children look like me.  We're tired - and on the cusp of insanity.  We deserve happy hour at sonic!  Dang it!

So, now it's spring.  We're getting out again.  Sanity is making a slight comeback.  I think I can replace that bad habit for a while and whip myself into shape.  Next winter remind me to sign the boys up for some things to do so I don't feel the need to glue their lips to straws of peach sprites again for a moment of peace.

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Apr. 22, 2008 - They're in!

Well, here it is... the new home for our chicks:

And here's a chick considering his options:

And because my boys are driving me nuts, here are some pictures of them enjoying the day today, and being cute.  Not so cute in timeout right now...

Carlos with a neighbor friend:

And Luke:

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Apr. 22, 2008 - Caregivers...

I am a caregiver.  I'm not sure what that means except that I have to wash my hands a lot. 

• I handle raw meat and turn it into something wonderful.  Well, on the days I don't burn it because I'm too busy caretaking...
• I handle dirty dishes with rotten milk from the sippy cup I found under the couch that's been missing for a week.
• I have been known to wipe and/or pick my children's noses with my bare hands when a tissue isn't handy but a sink is nearby.
• I clean my children's ears
• I clean my children's rears
• I bandage cuts, and clean up bloody noses and the resultant bloody sheets, pillows, and blankets.
• I clean up vomit
• I wash the cat poop from my children's shoes and the neighbor kids hands and coat when they dig it up in the dirt pile.
• I wipe up macaroni and cheese, yogurt, pudding and anything else that happens to be stuck to the table chairs and floor.
• I pick playdough off the carpet, and boogers off the couch.
• I clip fingernails and toenails that aren't mine, and then hunt for the wayward clippings that fall on the carpet.
• I wipe pee and poop from the toilet
• I plunge the toilet frequently when my son plugs it
• I scrape toothpaste and who knows what else from the bathroom counter and sink
• I'm fairly certain that my shirt has a white smear on the shoulder practically every day from picking up my son who promptly wipes his nose on me.

Add to these duties lately the care of nineteen baby chicks and now my duties also include:

• Rinsing and carefully picking off chicken poop from chicken feet
• Rinsing and carefully picking off chicken poop from chicken butts
• Rinsing and scraping off chicken poop from chicken feeders, waterers, boxes and any place a pooping chicken has been standing.
• Dumping dirty chicken water several times a day
• Dumping chicken food that's become contaminated with poop and poopy shavings twice a day.
• Removing poopy chicken litter, washing the plastic tub that is now their home, and refilling it with litter

SIGH.........

Add to this regular cleaning, painting a chicken coop, fastening chicken wire to the coop floor, shoveling decomposing straw from the coop into the yard and replacing it with fresh pine shavings, and whatever else, and it's no wonder my hands are dry and cracking despite lotioning them a dozen times a day.

Yes, I'm pretty sure the definition of caregiver should be : A person who frequently washes her hands.

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Apr. 22, 2008 - FLDS

I had to blog about this topic because I could spit nails over it.  I am so completely disgusted at how far out of line the Texas authorities seem to be.

I'm not privileged to all of the information, but the primary reasons for this state sponsored kidnapping are:

• Distressed phone calls from a girl in the compound claiming widespread abuse
• The occasional practice of young marriages and pregnancies
• Some reports of forced marriage

So, these things sound pretty ****ing and dispicable, let's explore them shall we?

First, the distressed phone calls from a girl in the compound actually came from an anti polygamy activist in Colorado last I heard.  So we can just knock that one right off our list.

Second, yes it seems common practice to allow teenagers to wed among the FLDS.  What horrible people marrying off sixteen and seventeen year olds!  But wait.  I was raised in mainstream society.  I had friends who married at these ages and younger because they were pregnant.  I had friends who were sexually active much younger.  No one seemed up in arms over it all. 

Also, who determines at what age a person reaches the maturity level necessary for marriage and all that comes with it?  These FLDS kids seem pretty mature to me. Their childhood has been dedicated to family, work and religion - not the ipod, wii and cell phone text messaging.  I know forty year olds who are too immature for marriage.  I was in love with my own husband at seventeen.  We didn't marry until I was twenty.  It would have been tough marrying at seventeen, but I can say in confidence that we would have been okay.  I realize there are laws on the books and that's fine.  There are also exceptions to most laws on the books with parental consent.  I'm not sure what they are in Texas.

Now - onto forced marriage.  This one is in my opinion the most condemning practice of the FLDS.  How common is it though?  What evidence supports it?  Is it encouraged over the pulpit, or is it a few crooked members who force their daughters to marry uncles?  I don't know the answer to this one, and certainly these allegations should be investigated. 

Does knowing that there have been some reported cases of abuse and forced marriage justify the taking of over four hundred children from their homes without warning and without a goodbye?  By the way, what is the exact number?  Last I heard Texas didn't even know all of the children they had because "sometimes they weren't all present for a head count"  - yes, that is correct.  Texas, who supposedly provided these children with attorneys to properly defend them, did not even know how many kids they had in custody.  Do they believe that all of these children are being abused?  Please, let's be rational about this!  It seems certain that there have been some abuses.  It also seems certain that Obama's pastor is a racist, but no one is willing to say that everyone who attended his sermons is also racist.  Certainly if we can condemn an entire religious group because of some reports of abuse which they certainly weren't present for, we should be able to condemn the entire congregation of Obamas church.  After all, they were present - and they came back.

The Constitution is being shredded.  The Bill of Rights barely exists anymore.  The state can take your children without cause, without evidence.  You can practice your religion as long as it's socially acceptable.  A judge in California apparently considers homeschooling to be abusive.  Many people consider mormonism a cult.  I feel like I'm not too far down the list for the chopping block. 

So, you want to keep your kids?  Then do what is socially acceptable!  Raise them as atheists or agnostics - it's abuse to force religion and morals on a child who cannot yet reason.  Send them to public school no matter the demographic or content of the curriculum - because they need to associate with other agnostics of their same age to teach them about bodily functions, sex and disobedience so that they can become well rounded adults who know how to socialize.  Buy your daughter a thong when she's five so she'll fit in.  Make sure her pants are low enough to show it.  But be sure to protect her from pedophiles though - because thankfully, that is one moral value we still believe in.  Make certain that your child has all the latest toys and gadgets, it would be so abusive not to do that!  After all, they need something to do after school and three more hours of homework, and it certainly should not be time with family! 

Whatever you do, make sure that if you do have a religion and it contradicts the above, you keep your mouth shut and your head down.  People are after you and it will only get worse from here.  When we allow small groups to be violated and denied constitutional rights, none of our rights are safe.

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Apr. 14, 2008 - More Chicks Pix

Here are a few more from yesterday.  It was so warm we took a couple out to discover.

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Apr. 11, 2008 - Why you should strap furniture to the wall...

I took this picture this morning.  The blood is barely starting to drop under his eye, so I imagine tomorrow it will look even more pathetic.  We are so lucky that the table hit his brow bone and not directly on his eye, nose, or neck. It's a pretty heavy table.  It's just a narrow sofa table but it's fairly stout.  I never thought a thing about it because it's sturdy, but I guess a book got caught in the drawer and he yanked hard enough!  Now I'm wondering how to really secure narrow tables and shelves, and for the life of me cannot remember if we've already anchored the bookshelf, because either we did, or we tried and it didn't work.  Now he's giving me anxiety because he's trying to learn somersaults, and I can't stand watching him tweak his neck around, or rolling on his cut where it's glued.  I never thought of myself as an anxious person and either I've always been one and not realized it, or the boys have pushed me to the brink.  It will be a miracle if they survive boyhood with all their wildness, and a greater miracle if I do.

I told Chris that the same reasons that I don't have a pet monkey are the very reasons that being a mom is an exhausting job.

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