Doing grown-up things

In honor of black friday, Craig and I went shopping. Not at 5 in the morning, more like 5 at night. We've been wanting to get a van for a while and have been debating when the right time to get it would be. We've been saving for a down payment on a house and wanted to get that first, but after trying to squeeze 3 carseats in the back of our 97 Corolla, we decided it was time. And I am soooooooo glad we did. We started looking in Hemet (trying to spend our dollars in town, like a good citizen) but had no luck. They either had brand spankin' new ones and one really overpriced one. We had done a ton of research that morning and had found a 2009 Toyota Sienna down in Carlsbad, so we decided to take a trip down there and look at it. Let me tell you, it is AWESOME!! We were amazed at how smooth and quiet it was. I guess anything is after you drive a 13 year old car with bad shocks that only runs on 3 cylinders. We are in love with all the extra room and with the fact that the car runs like it should. I must say, I feel a little weird actually having a nice car. Most nice things I have are either destroyed or lost within a year. Lets hope that is not the case here. Anyhow, I'm really excited about the deal we got, because we only financed about 60% of the purchase price and at 2.9% at that!! The dealer had even knocked off $5000 off the purchase price. I feel pretty good about this investment. I think car shopping is my kind of black Friday shopping. And I didn't even have to get up at a ridiculous hour.

My political rant

I woke up at 5:30 this morning thinking about that lady that was just released from her home as a prisoner is Myanmar. She had been held as a prisoner in her own home for 7 years because of her pro-democracy views. I think I might have had a dream about her too. That's kind of weird, but it got me thinking. I had recently read an article about a man in China who had spoken out against the government and he was imprisoned also. People have such a warped view of freedom these days, and what it actually mean to live in this country. Freedom does not mean you are entitled to free stuff and the government's job is not to provide for you, but to protect you from any outside sources that threaten to take away your freedoms.

I'll cite one example. There was a man in Tennessee (I think) that lived in a rural area that had no fire protection available. A neighboring city offered the residents to protect their home in case of fire for something like $70 a year to help cover their costs. This man chose not to participate and later, his house caught on fire and burned to the ground because the fire dept of this neighboring city would not protect his home. While this is incredibly sad, and I feel bad for this man that just lost his home and everything in it, I do not believe he was entitled to the firefighters protection. The firefighters are paid through the taxes of the neighboring city and the cost of sending the trucks to outlying areas out of that city had to be covered someway. I know my belief, in this situation is an unpopular one. I don't think people are entitled to this kind of thing. Although it is very nice to have and we have grown accustomed to it, it does not mean that it is our basic right to have it. The woman in Myanmar is proof of my point. Her only crime was speaking in favor of democracy. The great thing about our country, is that I have the freedom to rant about what I think real freedom is and not worry about being imprisoned for it. Our basic rights are that we can speak our mind without fear and we can live our lives as we see fit.

The problem with government today, is that they are worrying about things that don't effect our freedom. I'm mostly thinking about healthcare when I say this. I don't believe it's the government's job to provide healthcare for everyone. If you really want healthcare, then you have to make sacrifices to get it. I am proof of that point. Here is my story. Since I've been married, we have been pretty dirt poor, up until about the last year. While Craig has been going to school, I have been the breadwinner for the family, working part time from home, so I could take care of my child. I was fortunate to be able to take part of the Medi-cal program during this time. I did not feel it was my RIGHT to have it, I just felt fortunate it was available. Soon after our first child was born, I was no longer eligible for the program, so I bought private insurance, with maternity coverage, because I knew there was a chance I would get pregnant again. We sacrificed a lot of things to pay for this coverage. We didn't buy new clothes, we cut back on our groceries. We only spent money on our basic needs. One of my biggest beefs with being on Medi-cal was going into the office for something and seeing the other participants with $100 cell phone and $100 shoes and yet saying that they need help from the government. This was so frustrating to me, because a lot of people felt they were entitled to this free healthcare coverage and did not make it a priority to take care of it themselves. I feel I can sit on my ivory tower of judgment because I have been in the same situation as these people.

I feel strongly that people are confusing what the governments job is. They are trying to replace their family with the government. Your family is who should be providing for your physical needs, including extended family. They are the ones who should be reaching out to help in times of need. If you have no family, I would hope that you had friends who would be willing to help. The government should be turned to as a last resort. The duty of family is being transferred to the duty of the government.

I'm sorry you had to be subject to this long political rant of mine, but I couldn't sleep anymore and thinking about it was getting me all worked up. I had to write it down and get it out of my system. Now, I think I'll go take a shower. (What?? A shower before 7am?? This is crazy!!)

What pie are you eating?

I should learn to trust my blog polls more. They are always right. And now it is time for me to eat my humble pie. I had my ultrasound and we are very much having a boy. No mistakes about it. I was so sure that I was having a girl, too. What's really embarrassing, is that I was talking to some people and saying I thought it was a girl and they were all saying: "You're probably right. I knew with all of mine. A mother just knows." Ha! I haven't known with any of mine. Well, I suspected Rex was a boy, just because I was sicker (more on that later) but I though Abby was a boy. I guess I am just not gifted with that kind of knowledge.

Craig and I have come up with a theory about sickness and pregnancy. We think, at least in my case, that how sick you are during your pregnancy is directly related to how strong and in shape you are. Here has been my experience. 1st pregnancy: mildly sick, threw up a couple times, mostly during the 1st trimester. I had been biking and running a lot, but not eating the best. 2nd pregnancy: More sick. One day of throwing up all day long. This lasted mostly during the 1st trimester. I started this pregnancy about 5 lbs heavier than with Abby. I had just done a triathlon, but had not done any strength training. 3rd pregnancy: Hardly sick at all. Was being trained by Craig, both strength training and running. Started the pregnancy 10 lb less than when I got pregnant with Abby. Other then being tired, I've felt pretty good and have continued to work out during the pregnancy.

Now I'm sure this isn't true for everybody, but for me, how in shape I am and how strong I am seems to be directly related to how my pregnancy's go.

Craig is really excited to have a boy. He is excited to build up our family football team. During the ultrasound, he insisted that this baby was really muscular and that he was going to be born with a six pack. I'm not so sure about that.

Now, I turn the time over to you for the "I told you so's." :)

How old were you?

Do you remember how old you were when you realized that your parents didn't know everything? I think, for me, it was when I had kids. I think I asked my mom a kid-related question and she didn't know. I was flabbergasted. After 6 kids you don't know?? Then I realized that most moms don't know anything, they just do the best they can.

When I was growing up, I had these idealistic views of adults that I knew and I thought they could do no wrong. As I grew up and returned to my hometown and saw these same people as adults, I realized that they were not, in fact, perfect and had their own flaws. It was an eye-opening experience, and one for the better for me. I realized that I didn't have to be perfect. Whew. And now I find it easier to accept people that don't see things the way I do.

I guess you never stop growing up.