Why do kids throw everything in the trash?

Seriously, why do kids throw everything in the trash when they're little? I remember my mother telling me about how bowls and cups would disappear and she'd find them in the top of the trash....if at all! And I always laughed, but both of my boys throw things away too!! I remember my first big wake up call to start checking the trash cans came about 2 years ago. I was pregnant with my second and getting the house ready. My then 2 1/2 year old was helping me sort through his shoes. I came to a random shoe that didn't fit him anymore and sat it to the side. He asked me why that shoe wasn't going back in the box and I told him that it was because that was old shoe and he couldn't wear it anymore. Well, wouldn't you know, he picked that shoe up and walked straight to the kitchen trash can and dropped it in!! I went and retrieved it and explained that we were keeping the shoe for the next baby....as if he cared! This shoe incident has been followed by numerous bowls, utensils, cups, toys and other non-trash items. Of course in recent months my second, who's almost 2, has followed in his big brothers foot steps, throwing away all sorts of items! Today...two cups, his cup and his brother's cup, both at the same time! So if you're ever missing something and have small children.....check your trash can!

How many babies is too many??

A few days ago a mother in Southern California gave birth to octuplets..... 8 babies!! She had 6 boys and 2 girls, 9 weeks premature. I would be scared to death to have a baby at 30 weeks (which is right where I am right now with this pregnancy!!). But I would also be beside myself if I were having 8! Heck, I don't know if I could manage twins or triplets!

But the thing that really caught me off gaurd and made me stop and think was the fact that women who are carrying more than 3 babies are routinely recommended to go through "selective reduction" or aborting one or more babies so the number is increase to just one or two babies. I had never heard of this before and I was shocked! I guess I shouldn't have been...abortion has been around for a long time, and many girls and women have had abortions. But for a doctor to recommend reducing the number....it really threw me off. I started thinking, what would I do? What if I were carrying several babies? How could you ever make that decision?

But, how many are too many? In many of the cases in which women have gotten pregnant with large sets of multiples they have been on fertility treatments. I have to wonder if these women are told the risks of possibly having to kill some of their unborn before they try to get pregnant. I found an article online that said that the rate of survival for quadruplets was 70% and that 50% of these are likely to have some type of disibility. That in and of itself is scarey! I think it's wonderful that we have technology to help women get pregnant when they can't on their own, but shouldn't we have some way to help women get pregnant with just one or two babies? In my opinion, 8 is way too many. But I don't think I could ever abort any of my babies.

Our Horrible Economy...When will it get better?

Let's face it, our economy just keeps getting worse. Some companies are shutting down domestic locations and moving over seas where they can get the same work done cheaper. Meanwhile, other companies such as Circuit City, Lane Bryant, KB Toys and Linens N Things are just shutting down altogether. Many other large retailers like Target, Ann Taylor and Gap are closing up to 100s of locations.

But what does this really mean to the average American? Well I can tell you what it means to my family... stress, unsuccessful job hunts, questions as to how we'll pay our bills, late nights and early mornings filling out applications, stress, worry and did I mention stress?? I have been a stay at home mom for over 4 years while I went to college full time. During this time my husband has worked his way up the ladder from a warehouse boy to a manager at our local Circuit City. He has worked his butt off to get where he did in that company, and now it's all gone. Any day now he'll show up to work and the doors will be closed.

All I can think about is whether or not we'll get his next pay check. All he can think about is where else he can put an application in at. In just the last week since we heard the news about the company he has put in around 50 applications, dropped off around 20 resumes and had 2 job interviews. I can say the interviews went well, except that he was over qualified for the first position (we were under the impression it was a management position, but it was actually a supervisor position, making just a small fraction of what he makes now). The second interview was for a company that sells supplemental insurance to elderly and was all commissions and no health care. Great! Now what?

With all of these companies shutting their doors there are no new jobs and no one is leaving their current jobs. More and more Americans are becoming unemployed....and the unemployment that you can get from the government is not nearly enough to pay the monthly bills! It's outrageous! I never thought I would be in this situation. I always felt so bad for others that were losing their jobs but figured they could just go and get a new one..... I now realize that it's just not that easy! In my opinion, the worst part of it all is knowing that it will likely get a lot worse before it gets better. I just hope that we can make it through, financially and emotionally, until it does get better.

So What Exactly IS a Blogger??

Blogging has been around for quite some time. I remember writing my first "blog" about a year ago on myspace. But I never started an actual blog...though I always secretly wanted to. So a few months ago a great friend of mine started telling me about her blog that she does through busy-mommy.com and how much she LOVES blogging. She told me that I should check out and start one myself. So I did, last November. I wrote 7 blogs over the next few weeks and then stopped. I just didn't know what to write. I still don't know what to write. And to be honest, I'm still trying to figure out what in the world a "blogger" really is. I figure I should understand this concept before I really get myself into blogging...right? Well, so far this is what I've discovered:


According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, blogger is just a noun for blog, but here's their definition for blog:: "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer ; also : the contents of such a site". And blog is short for "Weblog" and became on official word in 1999.

Who came up with the word "Weblog"?? Eww...I like blog a lot better!

Ok, well according to Princeton University's website a blogger is "a person who keeps and updates a blog." For Princeton that is almost too easy to understand!

And of course, Blogger.com started all of this and here's what they have to say:

"What's a Blog?
A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.

Since Blogger was launched in 1999, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others.

And we're pretty sure the whole deal is just getting started."



Hmmmm... Sounds simple enough, right?? I guess that means that since I'm a human being and I know how to write, and type....I can be a blogger too. Now I just need to figure out what to write about.....should be interesting! :)