Wordless Wednesday

Gamer

Like father,like son.

David and the dentist

I saw this on talk soup and laughed so hard. Check it out.

The trees are confused

With all the hot weather around here lately the trees seem to be confused. Is it fall, winter, spring, summer. These pics were taken a couple weeks ago but everything seems to be trying to bloom already. Yesterday it was in the 80's and today it is pouring rain and cold. I love it though. Who can beat California.

Here is the buzz from ETSY

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

Finding Nemo

Last week we took the kids to the Aquarium. It is one of their favorite places to go. Asher loved running around and seeing all the fish.

Wordless Wednesday

YES WE CAN

What a day in history.

Papas Birthday

Nana and Papa came for a visit right after Christmas and stayed through Papas birthday. We had so much fun having them here with us. We miss them so much. It was hard to say goodbye. We love you, Nana and Papa.

Christmas Pictures

Here are a couple more Christmas pics.

A fun day with clay

Elmo by me, Cookie Monster by Riley.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

The stockings are hung and the kids are all fast asleep. They are so excited for Christmas morning they could hardly wait to go to bed tonight. I think I am headed there right now too.
Merry Christmas To All, And To All A Good Night!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pepermint Pinwheels

These little lollipop cookies are so much fun to make. It is a great project to do with the kids. I would have had them help me, but they were asleep at midnight. Next time I will have to plan better. I made 46 of them to share at their classroom Christmas parties.

Happy Days Are Here Again

Asher is feeling so much better and we are all much happier. I now have a sore throat and feel a little sick so I guess this has to be what he felt like. It has not helped much that I have been staying up until midnight getting stuff done for the holidays. Today we took Asher to the mall to get his picture with Santa. He was so scared. He screamed and arched his back. Luckily Santa held on to him. They said I could take my own picture with my camera, but when I was about to snap one the girls working behind their camera yelled "stop, you can't take a picture" and she jumped in front of Santa blocking my shot. It was so crazy. I can't believe that she did that. In all that chaos she managed to get a shot of Asher screaming. I didn't buy the $20 3x5. I just wanted something to email and post. We will just have to find Santa somewhere else that is not so money hungry. But then I will have to freak out our little guy again and Daddy hates it when I do that to him. So we will just have to see if we get our picture this year. Baylee and Riley don't want to do it either. I am not even going to press the issue with them.

Holiday Pictures

It was just about impossible to get a great picture of all three kids together. Asher is very non compliant recently. I have no idea what is going on with him but he is just stuck in this horrible mood. We get glimpses of our old Asher which is nice. I just wish he could tell us what is wrong and how he feels. I think it was a little case of the flu. It all started 5 days after his immunizations and flu shot. He got a fever for two days and now he is just so irritable. So getting him to sit for a picture was just not going to happen. I ended up doing a separate shot of all three. Luckily costco makes a card with room for three pictures. Hopefully this will all pass. I just wish he felt better.

BAYLEE FLYING HIGH

Yesterday we took the day off and went to Knott's Berry Farm. I won tickets on the radio last week so it was free for all of us. Pretty cool. Baylee conquered some of her fears and went on rides she never would before. This was their first time to Knott's. They said that it was the best day ever and they like it more than Disneyland. I don't agree with that too much, but it was a really great day, probubly our funnest day at an amusement park. The best part was, no lines. There was hardly anyone else there. As you can see in the picture Baylee had the whole ride to almost herself. I even got to ride all the roller coasters while the kids waited with Jeff ( they were too short to ride ). Anything you wanted to ride you just got right on. You never, never see that at Disneyland. And we should know considering we have got about 100 times.

Teething Sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's What A Milkshakes All About

Asher had his first In And Out milkshake. Well let me make that more clear, he had a few sips of my milkshake before I had to pry it out of his hands. Can a baby transition from all natural organic, no sugar added, straight to milkshake? He sure seemed to think so.

My New Etsy Shop 3 Cupcakes

Come by and check out my new shop at etsy.
New stuff to come. Hope you enjoy, let me know.

Who will get the drumstick? Yummy-yummy yum stick

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. All of our extended family were traveling out of town so it was just our family. It felt sort of strange, but we made the best of it and had a really great feast. The kids helped to prepare the food and we even baked a pumpkin pie.

Asher is now walking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally at 15 months Asher is walking. Everyone keeps telling me "just wait till he is walking", like it is going to be a bad thing. I am really ready for him to get on his two feet and run. It is just so hard having a little one who crawls and wants to get down and explore their world everywhere you go. Now at least we will have a little cleaner knees and hands to deal with. He is so excited with his new found talent. Every time he walks across the room his eyes light up and he gets this cute little smile on his face. I am so very proud of him.

Halloween 08

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The kids had a great Halloween. The best part was, no school. They had a teacher prep day so the kids had the whole day off. We went to a birthday-Halloween party at a friends house and then met up with them later for trick or treating. On Thursday they got to parade at school in their costumes. Baylee won the costume contest for "Most Original". She was a mom dog in a box of puppies. She made the whole thing herself. Riley was "Dexter" and Asher was a black ninja. They all looked so cute.