Scarecrow Festival

Grandma and Grandpa Hoffman got me the year-long Thanksgiving Point membership as a gift, and so we took advantage of it for the scarecrow festival! Rock wall (Maggie made it 7 feet high with Dad's help until panic took over.) The bouncy castles and games were the favorites.

Who's raising these kids???

It's not the TV. It's not a sitter. I can't figure it out if it's someone other than me! But...

Questionable situation 1:

[Background - whenever #2 has an accident of the poop kind, he takes a shower. #2 equates showers with punishment. Baths are good, showers bad.]

David made lunch today after his flag football game while I worked on sharing time. After we sat down, we talked about our afternoon plans. David said the first thing he needed to do was take a shower. #2 innocently asked him, "Dad did you have an accident and get poop on your bum during the football game?"

I shoved food into my month to keep from losing it completely.

Questionable situation 2:

[Background - they haven't seen this with us or at our home on TV!]

As David came out of the bedroom after his shower, #2 ran to excited report to me the latest game he and #1 had come up with. "Mom! #1 and I are playing with our tongues together! We're touching them back and forth."

I couldn't contain it, so David stepped in and informed them that "the only thing we touch our tongues to is food, and unless you are going to eat each others ears, you better not use the tongues"...

After talking with them, he looked up at me with that, "What in the world" type of look. All I could do was respond:

"Who's raising these kids anyway?"

He turned around, walked off rubbing his head in disbelief.

More Injury to the Insult to Injury (update)

David went in for surgery today to have his tumor (large marble-size cyst) removed from his left arm. He handles medical procedures somewhat like snails handle salt.

The procedure is fairly simple: the doctor takes a star-shaped cookie cutter, approximately 1 cm, and cuts through the layers of skin, after which they insert needles and remove the material.

After recognizing David's love of surgery, and what was about to happen, the nurses gathered around and popped popcorn or something. David made the mistake of looking up soon after the cookie cutter part and seeing the wound. He was instantly nauseous, bringing about laughter from onlookers.

After the procedure came the real pain--David got his first stitches ever (2). He is paranoid of stitches.

What made the nurses and doctor laugh until they couldn't breathe was his final question: "What are the post-op recovery procedures?" The doctor tried to keep a straight face. That failed.

He just grabbed a gi-joe-esque-blue-camouflage-run-of-the-mill-normal-sized-band-aid and slapped in on. David nearly decked the doctor into next week for the mockery. He was... annoyed...But, to make him feel better they wrapped his arm in Coban (stuff like after blood donations).

They also offered him a sucker, if looks could kill there would have been a homicide.

I think if David ever gets cancer, he probably won't go to the doctor.

Oh well, it could have been a lot worse.

NEVER SAY 'IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE because... IT GOT WORSE

David went into get the stitches removed, and the nurse, after removing them said that the skin looked a little weak. So she called in the nurse practitioner type guy. He looked close, and pushed on the skin on one side. The wound, as David put it, "ripped open to the sound of my own tearing flesh". He almost fainted, and then they gave him a couple of new stitches to replace the old two.

Kung Fu

If you like actual Kung Fu movies with legitimate martial arts, we highly recommend "The Forbidden Kingdom". Though Kung Fu Panda may be more suitable for children...

Revised - cooking... on the bus?

Woke up in the middle of the night to #2 screaming. Went in to figure out...

"What's wrong?"
*sobbing* "I can't make this!"
"Make what?"
"This recipe!"
"What recipe?"
"A recipe for a peacemaker."
"Do you know what a peacemaker is?"
"No" (Proving our FHE's are completely ineffective...)
"Well, let's work on it tomorrow, can you go to bed now?"
"Okay."

Two days later when I was at volleyball, David had a similar experience...

"What's the deal bud?"
*terrified shaking*
"The bus!"
"What bus?"
"The BUS!"
"What's going on with the bus?"
"It isn't leaving, it won't go away."
"Do you think it will be gone by tomorrow?"
"Yes?"
"I think so, if you go to sleep, I don't think the bus will bother you in the morning, would you like to try going back to sleep?"
"Okay."

And just like that, he was asleep again.

But I thought teachers were just psycho recluses...

#1 had her star day at school today. She made her star book all by herself, and drew pictures, read it to the whole class.

She then became a little confused when she turned in her Halloween doll.

(Background) She decided on her own she wanted to make Princess Leia for her doll's costume.

She was shocked when she gave it to the teacher who recognized it immediately. She could not understand how her teacher knew about Star Wars. I mean - come on - teachers don't do anything other than teach, and be at school... right?

You would think she should know better. Oh well...

The trains run on time…

I've been asked by a few readers to post on the government bailout. The left is erroneously pointing to the current economy as evidence that conservative fiscal measures and philosophies do not work.

The problem is not with the program, it is with the implementation. By meddling in the private sector's failures, our congress and the government have prevented the fundamental ideals from succeeding.

The private sector is set up to self-correct. A business has a board of trustees that each have a fiscal involvement/investment in the business but are not part of the day-to-day functions of such. They act as the regulatory branch of business. When the business is honest and practical, these board members, in theory, should make money. When it is dishonest, they are supposed to be hit the hardest, and thereby bring about change in the corrupt practices. This built-in regulatory measure does not function when the government bails out CEOs, CFOs, and board members for corrupt practices. Doing so sets a massive precedent for widespread corruption benefiting politicians and these in wealthy circles while the middle class bear the burden. Bailing out by the government institutes a type of slavery of the middle class to the wealthy.

Does America take a major hit if we do not bail them out? Absolutely. Such that our entitlement economy would be rocked for years to come and people would have to manage their finances and debt! Would this then create again the need for honest business practices? Yes. Would this solve the problem of golden parachutes and corrupt boards? It should... in theory.

The core problem is the darkness that lies in the hearts of some men who believe they are the exception to the rule, are exempt from discipline, or can get away with crime.

The liberal groups specialize in exploiting the weakness of the conservative without offering proven sustainable philosophies that result in stable change. They feed on fear. Notice that the fundamental difference between (every?) conservative or liberal position is the belief on the nature and agency of man. Does a person believe that we should let people use their agency to succeed or fail of their own choice? They choose the right. Do they believe all people are corrupt (except themselves) or stupid and must be managed "for their own good"? They choose the left.

The more intriguing questions is: If the tables are turned, what do the democrats offer? More taxes, more government programs, which means more wasted money on bureaucracy for poorer services!?! But hey, if the government provides trains that run on time, isn’t that what’s important?

Tag - I'll try something like this once...

What are the last three things you purchased?
1. Clothes for #2
2. Fabric for Halloween costumes
3. Gas

What are the last three songs you downloaded?
1. Enchanted soundtrack
2. Little Mermaid Broadway soundtrack (highly recommended!)
3. Tarzan Broadway soundtrack

What are your three favorite movies?
1. Madagascar Penguin's Christmas Caper
2. Enchanted
3. (I'll deny it but) The Wedding Singer

What are three things you have not done yet?
1. Gotten serious with road cycling.
2. Gone on a cruise.
3. Had a fourth child (no plans... stop starting rumors)

What are three things you cannot live without (excluding people)?
1. Scriptures (and other spiritual stuff answers)
2. My mountain bike (Even though it's David's, I've now claimed it)
3. My blender... it also grinds my wheat...

What are your three favorite dishes?
1. Salmon
2. Any Tex-mex food.
3. Anything David makes (he can make great meals even with just about anything)

What are your favorite T.V. shows?
1. Psych
2. The Office
3. BYU football?

What are the last three places you traveled to that were more than one-hundred miles away?
1. Yellowstone
2. California
3. Idaho

What are your three favorite desserts?
1. Is "all" an answer?

What are three things you would buy if money were not an issue?
1. A Zero-gravity chair from the relax the back store
2. BMWs
3. A home with a large library for David (with a fish tank) and a monstrous sewing room for me... drool

Three people I tag:
1. Lisa
2. Pam (That's right, it's time to start a blog)
3. Sherry (Your one-post blog is weak young skywalker...)