Political Parties

I'm starting to believe that I need to start a craft blog if I want to make money on blogging. But then I would have to start crafting. I'm not sure I would make enough money to subsidize crafting. Once I start a craft, I have to pay someone to make one that looks good. Perhaps one day I will post all of the quilts I have been starting. Then I will post them finished. It should be exciting. But until then...
Kevin and I recently went to the Montana Democrat Party Fundraiser. Yes. Democrat. The one with the donkey, not the elephant. The Montana Dental Society bought a table and then no dentists volunteered to go. The society pres had to go by default and then they asked Kevin. I guess somehow they found out that Kevin is slightly political. We needed to find another couple so the table would be full. We decided to invite the most Republican couple we know. The husband is more Libertarian, actually. He gave our 2 year old a Glen Beck book for his birthday. Seth has not read it yet.

We drove up to the fair grounds and past the protesters. I am assuming they were Republicans but they were not well dressed Republicans. I'm not sure they were told that Republicans are known to want, like, kill for money. Most of these guys (I don't remember any women) did not look as though they had shaved, showered, or changed clothes since Obama was elected. I did not understand many of the signs and I'm pretty sure I didn't wanna. One guy held a big chunk of ice with a sign about global warming. I wanted to tell him that I think all Montanans, whatever political preference, are for global warming because it is so bitingly cold here. But I didn't want to roll down the window.

We parked and as we walked in we walked by more protesters. These were well dressed and had plates with coal. We stopped and talked to them because we didn't get it. I guess the gov wants to use liquid coal as an alternative energy source and these people say it is too dirty. I wanted to point out that they didn't seem to have any on their clothes, or their hands so it seemed pretty clean to me, but I didn't want Kevin to have to get into a fist fight to protect my honor.

The first step we got inside, Kevin started working the room. We found our table and Kevin popped up every four minutes to say hi to someone else he knew. He finally sat down once the speakers came up to the podium. This is where it got interesting.

As each democrat in state gov't got up, they asked for a round of applause for other democrat state workers. We kept clapping for the people who had spoken or would speak. The next person would get up and instead of saying anything of substance, they would ask for a round of applause for other people. The worst was Senator Max Baucus. I started to think that he hadn't prepared anything to say and once we clapped for everyone who had just been clapped for, he would sit down. By the end of the fourth speaker, I was expecting a football team to come running out. I had not cheered so much for a team since our high school pep rally for homecoming. "We will break the homecoming losing streak started since this high school opened and we WILL WIN."

The evening ended with two guest speakers who spoke about how far Democrats have come in the west. Everyone spoke about how we need more women in gov't positions. I said I would take their spot if they stepped down and then there would be another woman in a gov't position. No one volunteered. Odd, that. It lasted 4 hours and then Kevin spoke to a few more people that I nodded at and pretended to know what their gov't position actually means and we came home.

Due to my sister in law getting married, we missed the Republican fund raiser. Awe shucks.
I am a fairly middle person when it comes to politics, but I was getting really sick of cheering for people. One lady wasn't getting much applause and she walked around waving until it got louder and then she started to speak. After making people clap louder for her, she told everyone to quiet down. I wanted to slap her.

I sat there, watching the festivities, thinking, there is no way I can be supportive of my spouse running for an office if I must attend more than one of these things in my lifetime. I would rather work at McDonald's to earn money for his campaign rather than pretend to like people I am clapping for. Everyone acted like they were all close friends because they belonged to the same political party. I knew, however, that if I just stopped by one of their homes, they would not allow me in. They might even call the police on me if I did it often enough. I don't understand what these pep rallys accomplish. If someone could please explain, I would be much appreciative. Until then, I refuse to get off any stage until people clap for me for at least two minutes. (This includes giving a talk in church.)

Run like the Wind

We needed to pick up James. It was a nice day out but I had waited too long to walk to school so I tried to get all the kids in the car. Seth had taken his pants off and put Katherine's hot pink shoes on. He started screaming that he wanted to run. I thought, sure. He can run in the neighborhood and when we get to the busy street, he will be tired and get in the car. So I let him start to run in a blue sweatshirt, diaper, and pink sneakers. He ran down our street. I put the hazards on and drove next to him. He got to the corner, crossed the street and ran two more blocks. We got to the busy street. He was adamant he would keep running. He started down the sidewalk on the busier road.

The sidewalk on this road is on the east side. I was heading south and so I was on the west side. There was no traffic, so I thought I would put my hazards on and drive on the opposite side of the street as he ran. A couple cars drove north. I started to notice that they were not seeing a blue mini-van with its hazards on driving 10 mph parallel to a little boy. They were only looking out their side window and saw a pantless two year old running down a busy street. I realized this may have been a bad idea.

I sped up to 25 mph to pull into the next street on the east side of the road. It was about half a block from where Seth was. The minute Seth saw me speed up, however, he stopped where he was and started to cry. So now there was a two year old pantless boy in pink shoes standing in the middle of a sidewalk crying. A couple cars stopped on the other side of the street. I was still in the van at this time until I realized what it looked like. I got out of the car, put my arms out, and Seth ran into them. The people who stopped got into their cars and drove off. I am still wondering the conversations they had around the dinner table that night. All because I was being a good mom and letting my son express himself by running in a diaper and pink shoes.

Oh, and I was 20 minutes late picking James up. He actually called me from the office. When we got to our neighborhood, James and Seth ran hand in hand all the way home. I noticed people looking fondly on the sight now. They still didn't notice the blue mini van driving 10 mph with its hazards on next to them.

I did it.

(our future view, sort of... ok not really. but you get the idea.)

You will be the first to know. I haven't even told my husband my decision. I feel as though his input into this is minimal now. I really just need money. And then it would be nice if he disappeared for a few months and had no input whatsoever.

I am going to build the house I want. We found a house that is 6600 sq ft with a tennis court and tree house and garden with a deer fence and it is gorgeous. I hemmed and hawed over it and although the decision is not 100%, I'm pretty sure we are going to buy a lot on the side of a mountain and build the house I really want. The kids bedrooms will be upstairs and there will be a laundry shoot leading to the laundry room. There will be lockers for every member of the family and a desk in the mudroom for all the family papers that seem to grow and grow and grow. I will have a study with a fireplace so that I can write my best seller with the crackling of a fire. It will be a wood fireplace. We will have glass doors on the study so although our kids will think they have privacy, I can always see what is on the computer. Ha Ha Ha.

James will change schools and he is not happy about that. We haven't really told him but he is not stupid and we are looking at houses and lots and they are not by our house. We are moving to another county, although it is 10 minutes away, so we can't keep him in the same school. I have felt so guilty about this. Let us develop this thought.

I have felt guilty about wanting a new house. I have felt guilty about how much it will cost. I have felt guilty I will be transplanting my kids. I have felt guilty about changing congregations. I have felt guilty about changing schools. I think the general idea is that I have felt guilty. I asked my friend why I feel guilty and she said she didn't know and that I should have a party. I said, it is expensive and she said then have a big party. I asked another friend and she said, that we are so giving with what we do have, we should build a house so everyone can benefit. So then I started wondering how much a birthing room would cost.

So... I am going to buy the land and build a road and have a nice laundry room and a fire in my study. It took four months to make this decision. I now have to buy the land and find a builder. I should have a new house by 2020. We should be able to pay cash by then.

Land ho

When I made a wish for my birthday cake, I asked the kids to guess what it was and Katherine said, "You wished for a new house." I then realized that maybe I have discussed this too much. I keep taking the kids on "drives" looking for new lots. I keep finding places and a little thing is wrong. It has not felt right. I felt really good about one lot and it was sold to someone who was willing to spend more. Then our designer has land, but it is on the opposite side of Helena and on the side of a mountain. I worry that I will build too big a house because there is so much space, but there are virtually no covenants or neighbors so how great is that? But then I have to change schools and counties, even though it is only a block over the county line. I found a decent lot near our house but the back is on a major road so how loud will that be? I found a nice sloped lot but it is really small. So now I have found a lot a block from our house and I think the conclusion I have is to low ball the offer and if they accept it then it is meant to be... It doesn't face the right direction but then we will get more sun in the back. I really hate this. It has been easier to find a floorplan that I like rather than a lot.

And if I move a block a way, nothing much changes except for the floorplan. We would go to the same congregation which I have mixed feelings about. We have great people in our congregation, but sometimes the completely and utterly insane people outshine them. We have a woman who is convinced she is allergic to scents. ANY scents. So on sunday I guess we are supposed to wash with unscented soap and shampoo and wash our clothes with unscented soap. I think she is a nutcase and the only thing keeping my kids from not smelling like scum is lavendar scented Gain. Plus, the lavendar scent is supposed to relax you and I NEED TO RELAX. So does the nutcase. Two weeks ago she let us all know we were going to Hell for wearing scents. I'm just glad to know that Hell will be lavendar scented. It will relax me.

But we will be in the same school which has pro's and cons. I think James will do great in our grade school but I would like him to do jr high in mt city and Kath doesn't matter where she goes but it will be easier for me to stay where we are and we would save over $100,000 if we don't buy 5 acres. But wouldn't it be great to own the side of a mountain? But then I will be 15 minutes late for everything instead of 5 because our house would be 10 minutes away. And my kids would never walk to school. And we would need a new car because Kevin will never shovel the drive and it would be .5 miles long and I would need a car that could drive through a foot or two of snow to get to the street. And we would then have to buy a four wheeler with a snow plow to plow our street. And I would have to figure out how to keep a sceptic system working. I dunno. Kevin told me not to talk to him about it for a week. That is why I think this is a good week to make an offer. Not my fault if he doesn't know about it because he made the rule not to talk to him about it.

All is fair in love and land.

A Margarita Birthday

My birthday is this Friday. A week from today. I told Kevin that for my birthday I would like him to take the kids to his parents cabin and instead of a cake I would like 2 ambien. He thought this was an odd request. I asked him if he remembered Wednesday when he had come home from Boy Scouts and I was yelling at him to get his butt over to the bathroom. Katherine had clogged the toilet because she wanted to see what happened when a roll of toilet paper was used to wipe. I told her and Seth to not move while I got the plunger. Seth decided to flush the toilet. Water went everywhere and I had to wade in and plunge and plunge then start to clean up the water. Seth ran to the other bathroom yelling that he pooped, took his diaper off and then ran back to me. Kevin walked in as Seth started to scoot on his butt and leave a poop streak in the hall. Kevin cleaned Seth up and said he would clean the floor but I told him to just get the kid to bed and out of sight. Then Kevin paused and looked at me, with my soaked feet and feces on my hand and said, "I haven't kissed you yet today." He went in for the kill, I turned my head and he got my cheek.

Or Thursday when I took the kids to Science Night and had a balloon blow up from carbon dioxide build up in a soda bottle. Two people commented how I brought evil latex into the school and the kids stayed at our experiment for two minutes. They made Gak at another place and Seth got pink and Kath got purple but she wanted pink so she threw a fit and Seth for some reason traded with her (very uncharacteric of him) and then 25 minutes later she wanted purple again. Then Seth ran out of the gym down the hall while Kath was crying about purple or pink or maybe blue and when he came back, his diaper was off centered and he had pee all down his leg. He was in his spiderman pjs, by the way because he decided he was spiderman that day and put his pj's on in the morning and walked around saying, "I am Seth Spiderman." We left and got rid of our evil latex.

So I do not think that after two such days, the only gift that I really desire is peace, quiet, and sleep. Drug induced lovely guaranteed 8 hours of sleep. And maybe a Margarita.

Olympics

I love the Olympics. I love watching people who have trained their whole lives be the best in their sport. I love watching countries that have never won a medal get a gold. Of course many of these countries haven't been countries for very many Olympics so maybe that doesn't really count as extremely exciting. It doesn't help that I don't know where many of these countries are, either. Three initial abbreviations don't help much either. Neither do the flags. During the luge, I saw at least three different flags for Germany. I think all the uniforms should now be a map of the world with the country highlighted and enlarged. Most of the uniforms they wear are ugly anyhow, so a giant map won't take away too much from the fashion.

I also love watching the Olympics in bed. With hot chocolate. And popcorn. Or a sundae (if it is summer). It is gratifying to watching people killing themselves cross-country skiing, puking at the end of the race, while I am sitting next to a fire stuffing my face. I just have to remember to swallow before I cheer or sigh from someone falling so I don't spew cookie all over the floor. The Olympics would be better, however, if they coordinated the dates with the delivering of Girl Scout cookies. I think the bobsled would be better with thin mints.

If I drank, I think I would start a game where I take a shot every time an Olympic themed commercial came on. I tried to eat a Hershey kiss every time, but I got really sick and ran out of kisses. I need to think of something else.

I've been trying to watch it with my kids as well. I tried to talk to James about how he could be in the Olympics in downhill skiing if he just tried. We discussed it a little and he developed some interest. I said we could start now with ski team at the local mountain. He would have to ski every Saturday for 8 weeks. We would have to leave here at 7:30am to get him to the mountain in time and pick him up at 2pm. We would have to travel a few times to meets and it would get worse every year. I contemplated what I would have to do for my son to be an Olympian and decided it would just be easier to share my Hershey kisses with him. If he really wants a gold medal, I'll buy him one for his 18th birthday.

Ok. I must go. They are at the finish line for cross country skiing. The women do not look pretty. I believe Sweden (I know where that is) is neck to neck with Estonia (I know which continent that is). Sweden won. Then she lied down and puked. Time to open a new bag of M&M's.

Birth is a beautiful thing

My husband volunteers us for things. He used to just offer things without asking me. Now he asks me if it is ok AFTER he tells the other person, "I'm sure it is no problem, let me just ask my wife." Which still gives me no true say in the matter. Perhaps one day, he will ask me BEFORE he actually offers something. 80% of the time these offers end in disaster or he offers and I do everything. People are probably thinking, "but his heart is in the right place and he is so giving." Then you come here and put on parties for 40 people every month during the summer and buy an overpriced raft which turns out to have a hole in it for a private Catholic school that our children DO NOT go to...

There is a family in our congregation who were renting a home. It was sold and they were given three weeks to move. The mom is pregnant and due in a couple weeks. Kevin told her that they could use our condo until they found a place, "but let me just double check with my wife." So I spent 8 hours packing and Kevin spent 2 and the other family moved in. It is a really nice thing and we are great people. Then her due date started getting closer and we started talking.
"Susie is due soon."
"Yeah."
"Her husband is a naturalpathic doctor. Do you think he will deliver the baby?"
"Probably. I wonder if they will use drugs."
Kevin then says, "I believe she has home births."
Quiet prevails.

They are a really nice family and very clean, but when you walk into your condo to look for your passport that you have lost and last had it in the condo when packing and are leaving the country in a few weeks and see a couple rather large boxes with the words, "Birthing Kit" on them, you start to question what is about to happen. And then you stop questioning because you don't want to know. You don't want to think about it and you just want to enter the happy little field the pregnant lady is probably imagining once she enters labor.

I am in that field right now.