It's so cute to watch daddy take care of Lucas--because he says funny things that don't always make sense, and in a funny voice and Lucas always loves it. Even when he's singing songs totally wrong and out of tune! I really hope we have a girl so we can see how he spoils her lol.
Lucas is eating more and more everyday. He already had squash today, so we decided to give him a little cereal. It's so funny though-- sometimes he's distracted and looking around and fidgeting when I am trying to feed him, (and he whines in between each bite like I am not doing it fast enough!) so yesterday I pulled his high chair to the computer and put on his old favorite, "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney, the video on youtube. Well, I wish I would've got it on camera, because for pretty much the whole 5 minutes of the song, he just stared at the screen, in a trance, while still opening his mouth every few seconds for the spoon. It's so odd how that song calms him!
Bork with President Gerald Ford, under whom he served as the 35th United States Solicitor General
I picked up that Robert Bork book "Slouching Towards Gommorah" again, and had to write down some more favorite quotes. This book, published in 1996, is full of accurate lessons and predictions for what our country is turning into. It's sometimes hard to read, but it seems every page is full of very well-thought succinct explanations of the illogical 'philosophies' of the left. It's so unfortunate that this genius was cheated out of a position on the Supreme Court because he is conservative. He actually made a really good suggestion on his chapter, "The Supreme Court as an Agent of Modern Liberalism', which may be seen as extremist, only because it threatens the monopoly the left has over the fate of the country. He says,
"Culture is made by the fiat of a majority of nine lawyers and forced upon the nation."
I agree that there is a problem with that kind of life-long power. His solution:
"There appears to be only one means by which the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, can be brought back to constitutional legitimacy. That would be a constitutional amendment making any federal or state court decision subject to being overruled by a majority vote of each House of Congress."
He defends it:
"There is no reason to suppose that representatives and senators would be skilled interpreters of the Constitution, but then the Court isn't either--or rather chooses not to be. If constitutional jurisprudence remained a mess, at least it would be a mess arrived at democratically...There is no reason to regard this proposal as at odds with constitutionalism. When Congress proposed the original Constitution and the various amendments, it did so by laying them before the states for democratic decision. The Supreme Court changes the Constitution without any such ratifying process. The clearest equivalent would be laying judicial changes of the Constitution before Congress for ratification or rejection."
That won't happen until the justices start veering right, or anywhere but sharply left, but it would make case decisions a lot more representative with what Americans want. I understand that the justices need to serve lifelong terms, because if they had to be elected, they wouldn't be objective in their decisions. But the system is still flawed, as the majority of the justices are heavily influenced by civil liberties whackos and the like. Plus, it will give Congress a job to do finally, so they can quit taking their weekly vacations.
My mom requested that I learn this song, by Dinah Washington. After listening to it, I realized there was no way I could do her version--i don't have her crazy vibrato. Luckily, I found this bossa nova version on youtube by a user named guitaress1 and learned the chords last night by watching her. It fits me better, but sorry if it's not what you wanted mom! I played it acoustic so I wouldn't wake up Lucas, but it didn't work- he woke up lol.
Lucas just tried sweet peas for the first time, and was resistant at first, when he realized they weren't the same as sweet potatoes, but he ate them all! Then he did something else new-he started pushing forward in his walker finally, instead of just backward. He takes some steps, but mostly scoots with both feet. It's still exciting because you can see he is happy that he can control where he goes and move toward something he wants (in this video, his motivation was to get to the camera!).
And for the million years it's been around, the only update they've made is adding little balls to the inside of the top ring. Lucas immediately liked it, and of course tried to shove all the rings in his mouth. Here's Johnny introducing it to him:
I have noticed my allergies have been so much worse, despite taking singulair, and replacing our air filters. I realized the dogs are making it worse--especially Shmoopy's long hair with all the pollen. It was urgent enough since when I have sneeze attacks (although Lucas is very entertained by them) I end up peeing myself ever since I had Lucas...:( So we took them and had them bathed, trimmed, teeth cleaned, and nails trimmed. Shmoopy also got shaved down a bit which will cool him off outside now. He looks so cute and lively again! The only downside is that dumb Tyrone thinks Shmoopy is a pretty new dog and keeps trying to hump him. It's really angering Shmoopy--who has lots of patience. Here they are:
I was considered to be 10 weeks, according to the last measurements at 5 weeks. Well, John went with me and Lucas today to get an ultrasound and I am now technically 11 weeks! It was so cool to see the ultrasound---so clear and that baby is LIVELY! She/he was jumping around and it was an amazing reminder of the life in me making me so sick. I say this everytime I see an ultrasound, but how can anyone deny this is life?! John was so glad and surprised to be there for all of this and all the measurements and heart rate are healthy. Too early to tell the sex, but I think it's a girl. :) Since I am only 11 weeks, they are having me come back next wednesday for another ultrasound at 12 weeks, which is when they have you do some bloodwork to check for things like down syndrome. My doctors know I would never kill my baby, but since this test is only a blood test, and not invasive, I opted to allow it. If there happens to be something wrong, we will have time to learn about it and make the best of things. I am excited to go back next week- hopefully we can get some video next time.
Funny thing to note--the ultrasound technician said since the new estimate for my due date is 1/9/2010, and my old due date was 1/15/2010...she said to cut it in half...well, what's in between 9 and 15? 12....another January 12th Hodge! For now, here are some cool pictures:
John, Susan and I took Lucas bowling for the first time. It was expensive (since we didn't know about the $5 deal after 9pm ...) but we had fun for a couple of games before Lucas tired of it all. The good news is that I almost beat John in a game, lost by 17 points. Neither of us are that great, but I usually suck hard at bowling--and am a baby about it! Susan wasn't even close, but what do you expect when the ball weighs half her weight?
Both of my boys have new comfortable chairs now--we just bought Lucas a high chair finally, so he won't have to sit in the little bumbo thing anymore. He likes the high chair, and is learning about gravity--he loves dropping things for us to pick up! And for Father's day, Johnny got a nice new Serta Executive desk chair--here he is putting it together. We had the same cheap computer chair for the 5 years we have been married, so this was a nice upgrade.
It was nice that John had the weekend off with us, although we didn't get too much done. I cleaned out the fridge and we stocked it after going to Costco, but we have yet to take the weinerdogs to the groomer, and there is so much cleaning needing to be done. We went to Water Country on Saturday and Lucas enjoyed being with daddy there--he didn't cry when we took him in the wave pool since it was so hot outside. We visited Lina in Queens Lake and saw her huge new house--she made Lumpia for us, and Loly made a cake--yum! We also took a lot of family naps, and Lucas is now sleeping in his crib in his room like a big boy at night--he sleeps pretty well, and wakes up 2 to 4 times for a bottle, depending on how much he slept that day. It's nice not to have to worry about waking him up if I move when I'm sleeping though--or John's snoring. Plus, we better get Lucas used to sleeping in his room before this new one comes! My next prenatal appt is on wednesday--John got the day off to go with me. We both discussed how it is a little overwhelming to think about having another newborn so soon--not to mention go through labor again. But we are still excited and we picked a girl's name and a boy's name. We like Olivia, and Julian. I am anxious to find out the sex, and just be done with the first trimester already!
While the protestors in Iran continue to risk their lives to stand for freedom, they are being beat, gassed and helicopters are dumping acid on them too. All of their means of communicating with the outside world have been shut down, but a few grainy videos have made it through websites like twitter and youtube. This video shows a young beautiful girl who was beat by the Iranian police, and then shot in the chest for protesting. She died soon after the video was taken. Her name is not known, but she has taken on the name of "Neda" meaning voice, and is seen as a martyr for their cause. And while this craziness goes on, Obama, the supposed champion of human rights, sits idly by enjoying his celebrity and media-ass-kissing over his fly swatting skills. The administration doesn't want to get into it about Iran, because they wanted to wait for the 'recount' and since it revealed that Ahmadinejad 'won', it's all fair right? First of all, how could they have expected the Khameini to do a fair recount, and secondly, it doesn't matter who won, when citizens are being burned, beat, shot and killed-he needs to at least support them verbally---you know, as a "citizen of the world," that he says he is. This is what "president" Ahmadinejad has to say about the protests,:
“Some people are sentimental and become excited," the Iranian president said. “I compared it to a soccer match. Their team has not won. I don't think we’ll have any serious challenges.”
This is the man that denies the Holocaust ever happened, while wishing it currently would. This is the man that liberal universities in this country, like Columbia, respect and invite to speak. And while North Korea continues to threaten WWIII, isn't it ironic that we have sent the U.S.S. John Mccain (honoring Senator Mccain's father/grandfather) to intercept the North Korean ship, Kang Nam leaving the coast of China with what is probably weapons of war. I hope Obama sees that not everything is negotiable. These people are evil and hate us no matter who is president. Please stop worrying about socializing health care, and worry about protecting our country. Whatcha think about that, Gibbs?
UPDATE: Good job Obama, after a week of 'no comment' he finally issued a statement condemning the violence in Iran. He reminds Ahmadinejad that the world is watching and, "it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion."
We already established that Lucas likes sweet potatoes, but he's so funny and impatient about them it's cute. He really enjoyed himself because he loves food, and he loves the camera on him!
I was sent this by a friend MaryAnn--I tag Brianne, Sarah, Jenny, Jess, and Iris. USING ONLY ONE WORD
Not as easy as you might think! It's really hard to only use one word answers.
Where is your cell phone? huh? Your significant other? perfect Your hair? clean Your mother? struggling Your father? missed Your favorite thing? family Your dream last night? terrifying... Your favorite drink? Root Your dream/goal? soon What room are you in? office Your hobby? Music Your fear? deployments! Where do you want to be in 6 Yrs? Missouri Where were you last night? Target Something that you aren't? infertile! Muffins? poppyseed Wish list item? VACATION! Last thing you did? diaper What are you wearing? t-shirt TV? Fox! Your pets? neurotic Friends? Good Your life? Fortunate Your mood? Excited Missing someone? Always! Drinking? Water Smoking? gun? Your car? SOON!!! Something you're not wearing? Makeup.. Your favorite store? Ukrops Your favorite color? Green When is the last time you cried? May Who will do this? YOU Where do you go to over and over? Bathroom Five people who email me regularly? Twenty! My favorite place to eat? lobster Favorite place I'd like to be at right now? john :) Four people I think will respond pshh!
Okay, yeah mine were kinda boring, but lets see yours!
So I was fortunate enough to find this Julie London CD at our library, and I immediately wanted to learn all the songs. Upon trying to, I realized how hard it is to figure out these odd jazz chords on your own; most of them were 13th or 9th, which are my favorite, but then there are little variations of them that you have to learn string by string. So again, the focus was not totally on my singing. I got up this morning and recorded this while Lucas was asleep on the couch :) Here's my attempt at "Say it isn't so" by Julie London:
A little over a year ago I also played her version of "Cry me a River". (that one I learned from some tabs I found online--difficult as well) Here is that video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAhfEu4xr7M
Lucas was excited to see daddy home, but I didn't get the first reaction on camera so I kinda told John to do it over...but Lucas is still excited and kicking, stickin his tongue out and smiling. John passed his weigh in, and so we had taco bell--he thoroughly enjoyed it. Then Susan volunteered to take care of Lucas for the night since she had today off, so we both had the night off :). John slept very comfortably! He had duty today so he won't be back until tomorrow, but I think I will videotape when he sees Lucas then because Lucas is beginning to understand that he is the 'dada' I keep talking about! :)
I finally heard from John today- and I am picking him up tomorrow. He is over his cold, (i guess it wasn't the flu...) and is excited to come home to me, lucas, the new baby and even the weiner dogs. He never fails to mention the doggies it's funny. He is doing his weigh in and physical aptitude test thingy tomorrow, so we get to eat out afterward yay! I am sure I have gained the weight he has lost lol. Our yard was manicured by our neighbors again- even weedwhacked lol. I felt bad because after mowing our lawn my neighbor said, "hey, I know what deployments are like." Well, this guy is in the Army so he has experienced year long deployments in Iraq and other horrid places so this month long thing was probably like a Carnival cruise in comparison. It may have only been a month, but it felt like forever. I am excited to see Lucas' reaction to daddy- i will try and videotape lots. Here's a cute pictures of Lucas with Uncle Normie the other morning:
Why would a dictator ever truly put himself in danger of being replaced? Iran had elections last week, with both candidates claiming victory. But for some reason, I just dont think this guy Ahmadinejad can be trusted..hmm. (why doesn't he just pass laws that allow him to stay in power indefinitely like Huge Chavez?) Here is video of the riots and brave protestors who no longer want to live under a dictatorship:
Well, Sarah requested that I do another singing video, but I am sure this song is not whats expected...I don't even remember how I heard this song, but I thought it was kinda funny and cute (albeit mean) so I learned it today. BUT just in case this isn't your taste, I am learning some Julie London songs which is I think more typical of the songs I cover. Those songs are gonna take a little more effort because the chords are like so odd and complicated and I am learning them by ear. Anyway, here's a cover of "Ugly Girl" by a group called Fleming & John..dont know any of their other stuff.
It's not the best recording, but I don't have time to redo them anymore...I was doing this in between Lucas rants...and then I found out why he was crying..he just pooped. He is clean, happy and sleeping now. :)
I decided to look up the health benefits of lemons and they are very useful! Besides helping with kidney stones and cholesterol, here are just some of the uses I found--not including all of their sanitizing uses (there are many sites devoted to lemons!): -healing scurvy (duh) -oral diseases -throat disorders -burning soles and heels, corns -digestive problems -fever -hemorhage -obesity -cholera -beauty aid (youth restorative) -relieves asthma, heartburn, athritis -even "excessive menstruation"!?
I couldn't get any good pictures of him during the ceremony, but here's a cute one after with Lucas. By the way, everyone had to come over and tell me how cute Lucas is-he's so popular! I can't believe Norman is starting high school-- apparently he is taking a lot of difficult honors classes so I look forward to (trying) to help him study. He will be going to Lafayette High School, and hopefully play on the varsity tennis team. Lafayette has been around since 1973, and many NFL greats went to high school there. Good luck Norman!
Lucas' "filipina aunts" (as they call themselves :) invited us to St. Bede's to see this Filipino choir that was touring out here. They were really good and are on their way to New York next week. They were led by Professor Fidel Calalang Jr. and sang a mix of english and tagalog songs. Here is a little of what we got to hear and see:
We didn't stay for all of it though, because I was an idiot and brought a bottle with a cap and no nipple...Susan mostly pushed Lucas around outside in the garden.
Today I am 9 weeks along, and definitely feeling pregnant. I have 3 more weeks of taking the progesterone, and hopefully no more nausea. Unfortunately, I am having that same flank back pain, and I think it's my kidney again. Towards the end of my last pregnancy, I was diagnosed with hydronephrosis due to a kidney stone. I don't think that stone ever passed, and now that I am pregnant again, and my body is demanding more fluids, it is causing me that pain again. And from what I've read, there really is nothing I can do for it during the pregnancy but pain medication. So I am making fresh lemon juice which is supposed to help break it down. So remind me whenever I am not pregnant, to get an ultrasound and get this kidney stone out. Also, Lucas is 5 months old today! On monday when John comes home, I am sure he will seem so much bigger. I had to show you all this video of what a pervert Lucas is. Whenever he sees a girl he likes he does this--he must get it from John. This was when Susan came home from work the other day(he also did it for Shawna!):
My friend Kirsten who also just had a baby, is getting ready to move to Colorado, so she gave me a bunch of girl baby stuff she doesn't need, just in case we have a girl :). I said between me and Shawna, one of us has to have a girl--looks like it's on me now to have a girl. John and I already think it may be a boy, and we have decided on a name we both like: Julian. I can't wait to see John, but the last I heard he was very sick. He said he feels like he has "throat AIDS." I am worried it may be the swine flu since there was an outbreak on the Iwo Jima, which is stationed in Norfolk also. It's very dangerous to be around Lucas, or myself being pregnant so I hope he gets checked out and gets better. Just 3 more days!
Free Abortions in Honor of Tiller? Written by Operation Rescue Posted at 2:15 pm
Philadelphia, PA – Operation Rescue is appalled to learn that Philadelphia Women’s Center gave away free abortions on Tuesday as a means of “honoring” slain late-term abortions George Tiller.
“There seems to be no comprehension of the value of human life with these people. Killing babies for free to honor someone who was murdered can only be described as sick,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
The abortion clinic told the media that an unspecified number of abortions were done free of charge, but there are no further plans to offer additional free abortions.
“There is no such thing as a ‘free abortion,’” said Newman. “It costs the life of an innocent baby and puts the women at risk for increased problems in their lives. The loss of each innocent life diminishes us all.”
Studies show that women who have received abortions are more at risk for problems such as suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental illness.
“If the people running that abortion clinic really wanted to help women, they would follow the Tiller family’s example and close their clinic for good,” said Newman.
I have really bad seasonal allergies, and I don't know if it's exacerbated by this pregnancy, but my eyes have been really itchy and red and puffy for the past few weeks. The only thing I could put on them without burning, was vaseline. Well, I was desperate and dumb and put hydrocortisone on my eyelid today, and it reacted...a lot. Lucas was even looking at me funny because my eye was so swollen.lol. I went to the doctor today, and then they referred me to an opthamologist. They checked my eyes out and gave me 2 different prescriptions (basically steroids) to clear them up. I had to go to 3 different pharmacies to get them all filled, and hopefully they will work.That was the bulk of my day. I miss John. Here's a picture similar to what my eye looked like this morning:
I took Lucas for a walk at New Quarter Park while Susan ran the other day. It wasn't too hot yet, and the park was pretty. There were no cool endangered species sightings, but Lucas enjoyed the scenery, the birds and the squirrels. And here's my sister Susan mid-run; she runs ~7 miles everyday. Crazy. The next day, which was Tuesday, we went to Water Country. It was the hottest day of the week, with record highs for this time of year. It was in the 90's and very humid. The water at the park was not cold enough to truly be refreshing and the worst part is always getting back in the hot car when we leave, but at least we live 5 minutes away. I took Lucas on the lazy river a few times and he cried a little at first, but again, ended up falling asleep. I can't wait for John to come home and go with us too. Shawna, Amy and I took our boys again yesterday for a few hours in the morning. We are all getting tan/burnt. But Lucas still has his pale white baby skin so the sunscreen is working. At Amy's advice I bought Coppertone's "Pure & Simple" brand, because most other sunscreens's have harsh chemicals in them; usually the first ingredient is Aluminum. Amy is the expert on toxins! I didn't get any photos/video, but Lucas and Tyce were playing with each other in the pool yesterday and it was so cute. Lucas just smiled as Tyce grabbed Lucas' toes, poked his belly button and squished his face. Very cute. I think Lucas is beginning to remember this little boy!
John actually got the whole weekend home and it was wonderful. He was so happy to be home and see Lucas and eat good (meaning bad) foods. Lucas has been eating some solids, mostly rice/oat cereal and organic baby applesauce..hence, his poop has changed. Very dark and stinky! I let John take care of one this weekend and videotaped it for all of you to enjoy without the stench. Lucas thoroughly enjoyed letting daddy wipe his poopy butt!
John is gone for another 2 weeks, and will be home on June 15th. The ship will be moving back up here, so he will be on a regular schedule again and we can once again be a family. He even gets to go with me to our next prenatal appointment. This weekend was so refreshing for all of us. Sometimes when I hear about friend's difficulties in their marital relationships, (the non-military ones) I wonder how much their marriage might improve with a simple underway like this to make them truly miss and value each other. And not like a little vacation/separation, but something mandatory where they can't always contact each other. It makes you really grateful for what you have. Makes you behave like you did when you were dating before--excitement over emails/letters written etc. We have been so fortunate to have spent all our marriage together, without deployments, so I can't even say I truly know how it feels to be separated for a full deployment, much less, one in a dangerous area. But these 2 weeks apart really reignite everything we feel for each other. Having Lucas to love and take care of has bonded us in yet another way, and I can't wait for us to get to know the new one--girl or boy! John if you're reading this, I love you and appreciate you so much. And to answer your question, everyone keeps telling me how much Lucas looks like his daddy!
