He's a wild and crazy guy......

must be the albuterol

Not Back to School Potluck

Known around here as the NBTS Potluck. The NBTS Potluck was last night at our home. This is our third year hosting it, and by far the largest turnout. I didn't make a final head count but including our crew it was over 50 people, children outnumbering adults about 3-1. Everyone seemed to have a great time, at least I know I did :-)

First, the cake that says it all, made by Amy C. Didn't she do an awesome job?!

It was a potluck so there was eating.


With 30 kids running about there was lots of playing, goofing and well, running until well past sunset.



Tweens and young teens doing what they do best.




Dads held babies and moms got to talk. My friend, Diane, is due in February with her fourth, isn't she beautiful?






The teens migrated out to the shed where John hooked up his guitar and amp. Not long after Chris went out to join them and John and Chris played for hours.

It's fun to be 5!!!

Ben turns 5 today! Wow, that went by fast!
We had a few of his little friends over and they had great fun with light sabers. Two of them have big sisters that are friends with Emma so she was also quite happy. Tonight we'll have his little family party.

I don't like Ike.

Friday afternoon update: Ike will barely impact us at all here in Wilson County. We may get some rain and wind but it is possible for us to get nothing. A little farther east and they will get 6+ inches of rain so if the storm moves a little farther west we could get more severe weather, we'll just wait and see. Galveston and Houston though are going to be devastated. Much of Galveston is already flooded and landfall is still 12 hours away. Pray!! They are needed.
We are happy to have my friend Dana and her family staying with us. They live in a mandatory evacuation zone in Pasadena.

Sarah Palin

I cannot recall a VP candidate that caused as much of a stir as Sarah Palin. Many people are questioning her decision to pursue the office with a baby, a special needs baby no less. I admit it gives me pause too. I know *I* could never do it, just like I couldn't go back to work 14 days after my baby is born as my dentist is doing. But I am not Sarah Palin nor Dr R.
A decision like this is never taken lightly and I am sure she and her husband talked and prayed about it for a very, very long time. I can't imagine being faced with such a sacrifice and such an opportunity to work for what I believe in. A large part of me is being selfish. I like the idea of a mom of a special needs child in a high office. The country will watch Trig grow and develop and special needs children won't be as invisible as many people wish they were. At what sacrifice is this for Trig though? I am sure that he will have the best therapists in DC working with him and his father and siblings will be very available to him but what his Mom?
I won't address her daughter's situation more than this; teen pregnancy can happen to any family whether the mother works at home or is a SAHM no matter what religion, what beliefs they hold..young women of all backgrounds find themselves in this situation. The Palin's seem to be handling it with as much grace and dignity as possible and I pray that Bristol has a healthy pregnancy and baby. As Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."
Politically, I agree with Sarah Palin's positions on just about everything. On a less important side but one that I will admit to, I just like her. I can't see myself having anything to say to Cindy McCain or Michelle Obama (I can't recall Joe Biden's wife) but Sarah Palin comes off as a regular woman, a hockey mom, not a fashionista.
Some may say that I'm just falling for the Republican ploy, they want the hockey mom vote, fine, maybe I am.

To end this post on a light note. I nominate myself for President of the Piper Palin Fan Club. That little girl won my heart tonight. She is so sweet and innocent and obviously loves her baby brother very much.

Adding some more thoughts:
Todd Palin is a stay at home dad. It seems he is referred to in Alaska as the 'First Dude'. As 'Second Gentleman' in DC I don't believe he would have too many public duties. Just how often do we see Lynn Cheney making appearances and honestly, if she never did, would we miss her? Nothing against Lynn Cheney but the VP's spouse isn't really in the public spotlight. How many of you reading this even knew Mrs. Cheney's first name?
Contrast that to the duties of the First Lady. The modern First Lady is not Dolly Madison hanging her laundry to dry in the Oval Office. She is a public figure with a grueling schedule of public appearances here at home and abroad. She commands her own staff and has her own causes and platform. For all intents and purposes the FLoftheUS is a working mom. Just as busy, if not more so, than a CEO. All that said, no one has ever wondered if Chelsea Clinton or Malia and Maya Obama will have adequate time with their mothers and their fathers were POTUS and certainly not as available to them as Todd Palin will presumably be to his children. Just a thought.
Now if McCain dies or becomes too ill to fulfill his duties as POTUS and Sarah Palin becomes POTUS, well, then obviously things will be different. I do believe that this country wouldn't be looking for the First Gentlemen (that sounds so strange) to be as much of a public figure as the First Lady. I have a hard time picturing Todd Palin, a former fisherman and snowmobile champion wearing Chanel suits (well, I guess we wouldn't make him wear Chanel suits :D ) opening Children's hospitals and campaigning against colon cancer or what have you.... Maybe any readers from Alaska would chime in. He just doesn't seem the public type.

Wordless Wednesday

Identify:

Like, ya know?

In the early 80's I had a wonderful social studies teacher named Ms. Douglass.
She was quite the character. One of her 'teaching tools' was a "Like-jar". Any time a student was caught using the word 'like' incorrectly they owed her a nickel. We did something fun with the money at the end of the year but I don't recall what. This is the same teacher that made us rub her back during class and would have students push her down the hall in a rolling chair while she whacked students with a pointer to get out of of her way (never hurting anyone). She was a fabulous teacher but....unique. I digress.
The new 'like' is 'ya know'. It has become punctuation and a pause filler. It drives me NUTS! Michael P*h*e*l*p*s said it constantly in his interviews. I decided to count how many times. So next interview I started counting and timing. M.P. said 'ya know' 38 times in 3 minutes.
You can barely speak to anyone under 25 without hearing 'ya know' at the end of every 3rd or 4th sentence or in extreme cases, EVERY sentence. I don't believe most people who do it even realize they are saying "ya know" so often. I hope that is the excuse at least.
So, like ya know, that is my opinion, ya know, on the sorry state of English grammar, ya know, in the US today, ya know.