The Beginning of the End

I was at the computer yesterday and Jack was playing on the floor behind me. I turned around to check on him and he wasn't there. Huh? Where could he have gone? He was on the other side of the room, having rolled there all by himself. I knew he could roll from his tummy to his back, but not the other way around. He must have figured it out in his sleep or something, because he's been rolling around all over the floor ever since. He's 4 months old.

Now you may be thinking this is a good thing, he's getting so big, blah, blah, blah. No! This is NOT a good thing!! I was enjoying the fact that I had one child that would stay where I put him. Now, they are both mobile. How is this a good thing? Not only do I have a whirling tornado to contend with, now I have to chase around after my little rolling tumbleweed, too.

But of course, I have to praise him when he does it. I mean, he looks so proud of himself and it is pretty cute to watch. And it's quite an accomplishment for a 4 month old, so I have to be a good mommy and show my appreciation. "Yay, Jack....." Oh well. It just means I get to burn more calories, right? Right.....

McCain or Obama?

The Presidential election is fast approaching. We all know that voting is important, but sometimes choosing a candidate can be confusing. It's hard to remember who stands where on what, and where you fit into all of it. Check out Vote Help. You answer a series of questions about the current issues and your opinions on them and then it will spell out how much you agree with the two candidates, issue by issue, and give you an overall rating. It's interesting to see it all spelled out, and it may make casting your vote in November a little easier. At least you'll be well-informed on where you stand!

Travelin' Tuesday - Roaring Bay

When I was seventeen, I packed my bags and went to New Zealand for 6 months. Seriously. I nannied for a family with 5 girls under the age of 9. As if that wasn't an adventure in and of itself, we traveled all around the country while I was there - 2 weeks on the North Island, 2 weeks on the South Island. These pictures are of Roaring Bay, in Kaka Point, which is on the very tip of the South Island of New Zealand. If you keep going, the next thing you'll hit is Antarctica. And one other thing, it's really cold. And I mean really cold. There are antarctic winds that blow off the waters, and I have never been so cold in my entire life.


The colors in this picture have not been altered in any way - the water really is this blue. It's absolutely beautiful.


As the sun was setting, we were treated to a rare sight - wild penguins. They are hard to see, but I've circled them in blue. These are Yellow-Tail penguins ( I think....) of which there are only 500 breeding pairs in the world. But this was 10 years ago, so maybe there are more now! It was totally weird to see penguins on the beach, very surreal.

If you ever have the chance to go to New Zealand, GO. In my humble opinion, it's the most beautiful country in the world.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

I came home yesterday afternoon after going out to lunch with my mom and my house felt really warm. I checked the thermostat and it read in the mid-eighties. Not good, since it was set at 76. Hmmm...I lowered the temperature to get the air to come on and nothing happened. My air conditioner went kaplooey. So I checked the breaker switch which was no help at all, and decided to give my home warranty company a call. Since it was Sunday I had to wait until Monday for them to send somebody out to look at it, so the kids and I picked up and went over my parent's house for the night. It was just too damn hot to stick it out here with no air conditioning! Alabama in the middle of August is probably the WORST time to have your air go out. The technician came out this morning and looked at it, and told me that the computer board in my air handler was bad. I have no idea what that means, but he managed to bypass it for the time being so I have air, but the fan is going to run 24/7 until they get the part in. Of course it has to be ordered, so it will be about a week before it's totally fixed. At least I have air conditioning now though. I'm just glad this happened now instead of 2 or 3 months from now when we have a tenant in here and we are on the other side of the country! Anyway, it's a nice, balmy 75 degrees in my house now, which is just the way I like it.

Growing Boy

Jack had his 4 month well-baby check-up today. He weighs 14 pounds, 7 ounces, which is over a pound more than Aiden weighed at this age. Since Aiden is big for his age, I shudder to think how big Jack's going to be! I really don't know where my kids are getting this from, since Chris and I aren't really big people....Anyway, the doctor says that he's pretty advanced for a 4 month-old (which of course, I already knew...) since he's already pulling himself up to a sitting position and loves to stand while holding your hands. He has a lot of strength in his legs, and is doing very well.
I started him on rice cereal last week, since he seemed to be hungrier than usual. He is not fond of rice cereal, he doesn't like it at all - not that I blame him. Have you tasted this stuff? Nasty. So I asked the doctor if I could go ahead and give him fruits and vegetables and he told me to go for it. So I went with the bananas first, since my doctor told me that they've disproved the notion that you should give veggies first, apparently it makes no difference. Here's a picture of Jack's first taste of bananas.


After a few bites, he was all about it. I guess bananas taste better than rice cereal. I think after a few days of bananas, I'll try mixing it with the cereal, see if he likes that better. Anyway, now that he's started on solids, I'm sure he's going to really start putting on that baby fat!!

Travelin' Tuesday - Flossenburg

Not every place I've visited was fun. Germany is a very beautiful country, but it has a very tragic past. About 45 minutes or so from where we lived in Vilseck sits the remains of Flossenburg Concentration Camp. I've always been a huge World War II buff, so I jumped at the chance to visit.

My first impression was that it's very quiet. The air is heavier there, the silence is almost physical. You can literally feel the sadness that surrounds the place like a thick fog. It's very eerie. Thousands of innocent men, women and children were slaughtered on the very ground I was standing on, and my soul felt heavy. It's hard to breathe.


Some of the buildings are still standing, you can walk through the barracks where they stacked prisoners - sometimes 4 or 5 to a single bunk. There's a section that used to be the hospital, where they performed experiments on pregnant women and their babies. When you see the evidence of what mankind is truly capable of, it makes you want to run home, and yet somehow, you can't turn away.


Yes, this is what you think it is - an oven. This is where they cremated the bodies of the prisoners that were killed. Either shot, worked to death, starved to death or those who simply gave up hope. It's very small. At first I wondered how they could fit the bodies in there, but then I realized that by the time they made it to the ovens, they were so emaciated that the adults were the size of children.
This display caught my attention more than the others. These are actual shoes that belonged to the prisoners. There were piles of them, as the guards stripped the prisoners of all their personal belongings. There were piles of shoes, clothing, luggage, even gold teeth. And they were literally stripped of their humanity when entering the camps, prisoners were considered a sub-human species.

I've studied World War II in depth, and I thought I was prepared to visit a camp, but nothing can prepare you for the impact that this kind of place has on you. And while visiting a site of mass slaughter is not exactly enjoyable, I think it's necessary. This happened because people forgot how to treat one another, forgot that we are all equal in the eyes of God, forgot that spilling innocent blood has consequences. I think that by visiting these places and feeling the horror, we can fight back and prevent it from happening again. If you ever have the chance to visit a concentration camp, I highly recommend it. It will truly open your eyes.

Sleepy Child

When you are a mom of small children, there is nothing better than a sleeping toddler. Except maybe a really big margarita. Last night around 7pm I was in the kitchen and I looked up to see what Aiden was doing, because he was awfully quiet. And if there is nothing better than a sleeping toddler, there is nothing worse than an abnormally quiet one. Luckily he was just on the couch enjoying his ritual Cars showing before bedtime, and at first I thought he was just sitting really still while watching the movie, but then I realized he had fallen asleep. Sitting straight up, even! I had to snap a picture, it was so funny. I carried him off to bed and he half woke up, rolled over and went back to sleep, and I didn't hear a peep out of him until 7 this morning. I'm not sure why, but he was one tired little boy....