January 2010
[I started this last night, then got sidetracked by dinner prep. I may just post it as-is and write more later ...]
It's snowing outside my window. It's nice that it has warmed up enough to snow. Yesterday was downright brutal in terms of low temps.
A friend of mine posted a January de-brief not long ago and it reminded that I haven't posted much of anything lately. I've just been reading camillofan's posts and wishing fpb would post more. Oh, and hanging out of Facebook (something I swore years ago I would never do), which has an entirely different feel.
Let me start with Alexander. He's learned to turn the TV on by himself, which I am not thrilled about. So now we're working on setting limits: asking before you turn it and only turning it on to watch something specific (not as background noise). It's slow going. I find myself turning it off dozens of a times a day. He's a rather independent child. My mom was impressed over Christmas with how readily he finds things to entertain himself. He's also stubborn. I sure he knows the word "cat", but he insists are refering to cats as "meows." We went to the zoo last Saturday and he even called the tiger we saw a "meow." He's also a rather polite child, using "please" and "you" (short for "thank you") readily, although he's more inclined to sign those words. The other day he came into the kitchen with a huge 'I'm a good boy' grin on face, signing and saying "please." "Please, what?" I asked him. He considered this for a moment and then signed "Please Thank You." It is a bit frustrating that he seems to be refusing to use words sometimes, prefering just to point to things. One word he does use consistently however is "cheese." Another is "teeth." Maybe he just likes the "ee" sound.
Speaking of the cats, we've had a cat hiatus for the past three months - they were on vacation at theagentx's parents house. But they came home with us Sunday evening. So far so good as far as Beo is concerned, but Loki apparently has a bladder infection. He's only been home a day and has already cost us $300. Oh, and Beo did try to jump in my lap while I was talking to my mother on the phone, causing me to spill my tea all over me and the sofa. Le Sigh. Alexander loves them, though. He is beyond delighted to have them home. (The jumping I believed was precipitated by a small boy trying to hug a rather large cat).
And speaking of Facebook, one of the things that has struck me is just how divergent the views of some of my friends are. It's made me realize that I haven't been paying enough attention lately and camps have subtly shifted in ways that sometimes surprise me and sometime vex me. Yes, I'm talking about American politics. In doing some surfing earlier, trying to get a better handle on viewpoints, I came across this observation:
"There is very little fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans in practice. In general (theoretically) today, Republicans support less social freedom and more economic freedom, while Democrats support less economic freedom and more social freedom. Democrats are known as the "big government" party and Republicans as the "limited government" party, but in reality both parties support big government. Government has consistently grown under the power of both parties. Their foreign policies are very similar (interventionist), but each party seems to only support these policies when their administrations are administering them. The root of the Republican Party is limited government, but they generally do not execute this well. Also, what many Republicans defend as "capitalism" and "free markets" is really government-aided corporatism, which is not economic freedom at all. There has however been a backlash in the Republican Party to return to limited government roots, including both economic and social freedoms and a non-interventionist foreign policy."
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_Republicans_and_Democrats
"Little fundamental difference" Aye, there's the rub. But to hear folks write, you'd think the other party (and it really doesn't matter which party you start with) is hell-bent on destroying America.
[Thus endeth my thoughts from last night. An abrupt ending I know. Sorry about that.]
It's snowing outside my window. It's nice that it has warmed up enough to snow. Yesterday was downright brutal in terms of low temps.
A friend of mine posted a January de-brief not long ago and it reminded that I haven't posted much of anything lately. I've just been reading camillofan's posts and wishing fpb would post more. Oh, and hanging out of Facebook (something I swore years ago I would never do), which has an entirely different feel.
Let me start with Alexander. He's learned to turn the TV on by himself, which I am not thrilled about. So now we're working on setting limits: asking before you turn it and only turning it on to watch something specific (not as background noise). It's slow going. I find myself turning it off dozens of a times a day. He's a rather independent child. My mom was impressed over Christmas with how readily he finds things to entertain himself. He's also stubborn. I sure he knows the word "cat", but he insists are refering to cats as "meows." We went to the zoo last Saturday and he even called the tiger we saw a "meow." He's also a rather polite child, using "please" and "you" (short for "thank you") readily, although he's more inclined to sign those words. The other day he came into the kitchen with a huge 'I'm a good boy' grin on face, signing and saying "please." "Please, what?" I asked him. He considered this for a moment and then signed "Please Thank You." It is a bit frustrating that he seems to be refusing to use words sometimes, prefering just to point to things. One word he does use consistently however is "cheese." Another is "teeth." Maybe he just likes the "ee" sound.
Speaking of the cats, we've had a cat hiatus for the past three months - they were on vacation at theagentx's parents house. But they came home with us Sunday evening. So far so good as far as Beo is concerned, but Loki apparently has a bladder infection. He's only been home a day and has already cost us $300. Oh, and Beo did try to jump in my lap while I was talking to my mother on the phone, causing me to spill my tea all over me and the sofa. Le Sigh. Alexander loves them, though. He is beyond delighted to have them home. (The jumping I believed was precipitated by a small boy trying to hug a rather large cat).
And speaking of Facebook, one of the things that has struck me is just how divergent the views of some of my friends are. It's made me realize that I haven't been paying enough attention lately and camps have subtly shifted in ways that sometimes surprise me and sometime vex me. Yes, I'm talking about American politics. In doing some surfing earlier, trying to get a better handle on viewpoints, I came across this observation:
"There is very little fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans in practice. In general (theoretically) today, Republicans support less social freedom and more economic freedom, while Democrats support less economic freedom and more social freedom. Democrats are known as the "big government" party and Republicans as the "limited government" party, but in reality both parties support big government. Government has consistently grown under the power of both parties. Their foreign policies are very similar (interventionist), but each party seems to only support these policies when their administrations are administering them. The root of the Republican Party is limited government, but they generally do not execute this well. Also, what many Republicans defend as "capitalism" and "free markets" is really government-aided corporatism, which is not economic freedom at all. There has however been a backlash in the Republican Party to return to limited government roots, including both economic and social freedoms and a non-interventionist foreign policy."
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_Republicans_and_Democrats
"Little fundamental difference" Aye, there's the rub. But to hear folks write, you'd think the other party (and it really doesn't matter which party you start with) is hell-bent on destroying America.
[Thus endeth my thoughts from last night. An abrupt ending I know. Sorry about that.]