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Reason #26 to Have Kids
Reason #26 to have kids. You can raid their Halloween candy and they can’t do jack about it.
Highlight Reel
I walked into the room where my 4 year old was sitting on the couch. She looks at me with her index finger pointed and says “mommy, I have poop on my finger”. You would think this would be the point where I would gag or perhaps start some sort of interrogation on how fecal material ended up on her finger but no. I simply ask her to go wash her hands with soap and water.
That was my Monday. How was yours?
Response From Senator Larry Craig on Bill 1738
Dear Mrs. D’Ambrosio,
Thank you for contacting me about S.1738, the Combating Child Exploitation Act. I appreciated hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.
I share your concerns regarding child exploitation in the United States. This crime is unconscionable and devastating - not only to child victims and their families but to entire communities. Therefore, I have supported efforts in Congress to help law enforcement agencies root out, investigate, and prosecute offenders to the fullest extent possible.
S.1738, the Combating Child Exploitation Act, contains provisions to further these goals by establishing a national strategy against child exploitation and increasing federal resources available to local law enforcement for combating this problem. The bill was made part of a comprehensive child protection legislative package in the Senate; it was combined with provisions of H.R.3791, the Securing Adolescents from Exploitation-Online (SAFE) Act, which would expand the requirements for electronic service providers to report on-line child pornography. In addition, the SAFE Act complements S. 1738 by closing loopholes that hinder efforts to identify and collect valuable information about suspected sex offenders.
I joined a unanimous Senate in voting to pass this package on September 25. Two days later, it passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and it is now awaiting presidential approval. This legislation is expected to become law very soon.
Response from my Senator on Bill 1738, the Combating Child Exploitation Act
CALL TO ACTION – Help Pass Bill 1738 “The PROTECT Our Children Act”
You may be interested to know that the support you and others expressed for S.1738 was a factor in overcoming the partisan gridlock that had threatened to stop its progress through the legislative process. I hope you will continue to share your views on pending issues and bills with the Idaho Congressional Delegation in the future.
Dear Jesus and Trace Atkins
Nine months pregnant, two kids and my husband is hunting. It’s still a good day.
Nine months pregnant, two kids, my husband is hunting and my car is stolen. It’s still a good day.
Baby is nursing, spitting out bits of tissue and blood while she gnaws the life out of my nipples. It’s still a good day.
Husband’s sick…’clogged pore’ ‘down there‘….have to take the whole gaggle (due to stolen vehicle) along to the doctor, another doctor, then the surgeon…tears, screaming and more tears from us all. It’s still a good day.
Notice my incision is swollen and red. On call doc says it’s infected, need to get in ASAP. It’s still a good day.
In the waiting room an hour and a half with all of the chick-a-dees….tears screaming and more tears. It’s still a good day.
Then, to the lab to check the biliruben. Where am I? Where are my children?…in and out of deliria. It’s still a good day!
Why is it still a good day Mr. Atkins? Am I really ‘going to miss this’? Yes…Yes, I know I am. Even as it’s happening I find humor amidst the chaos and feel such love despite the tantrums. I am ‘going to want this back.’ I am going to ‘wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast.’ These are ‘the good times’ and I am going to savor the good with the bad knowing that it passes too quickly, I already see it flying by and am saddened. I look to the future as a light when I am too overwhelmed to focus on today but know I won’t get this back and I’d better stop to enjoy it, even during the worst of the worst. Jesus and Trace Atkins…they get me through the day.
-Megan in Idaho
CALL TO ACTION – Help Pass Bill 1738 “The PROTECT Our Children Act”
Yesterday I watched an episode of Oprah that I found so disturbing, so upsetting that I can not sit idly one more minute without attempting to help remedy an atrocity that is occurring in our country. Every day thousands of children are being exploited, molested, and raped in our great country and these horrible acts are being photographed/video taped and are published on the internet. Law enforcement has the capability to track and find these people that are exploiting children however there are so many cases and too little funding to make a dent in this growing epidemic. In fact, the statistics are staggering, as little as 2% of hundreds of thousands of violations to our innocence are prosecuted or even investigated.
What can you and I do? ACT NOW! Call, Write, Email, or Fax your U.S. Senator and tell them to “Vote YES on Senate Bill 1738- The PROTECT Our Children Act”. Do this today because they will be voting on this bill before September 26, 2008.
Go to www.senate.gov to find contact information for the senator in your state.
The PROTECT out Children Act will:
• Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitations.
• Mandated that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
• Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down internet predators.
These atrocities are happening to our most precious resources, our children. They are occurring every minute on babies, children, and adolescents. Please help rescue these precious little ones and help prevent future victims.
The Best Sex Life in My Dreams
As unusual as this may sound but being pregnant has given me the best sex life of my life. This isn’t a first time occurrence either. Every pregnancy I have had has triggered these fantastic hormones that have given rise to the best perk of being pregnant. The twist on what seems to be unusual in the first place is that this fantastic sex life is occurring in my dreams.
Everyone hears about teenage boys experiencing “wet dreams” but not a single person has ever mentioned to me that the same phenomena are experienced by pregnant women. So, I write this not to brag or to be some sort of voyeur rather I wanted other pregnant women out there to know that they are not alone. In fact, I thought I might be the only one until I had mentioned this to a girlfriend and she admitted that she herself had enjoyed this little benefit of being pregnant.
Men don’t think you are out in the cold on this equation. You can take advantage of your wife’s raging hormones too. Just don’t be afraid of her every changing form. Think of it as a new adventure for you both to experience.
Why are we so reluctant to talk about these wonderful dreams? Maybe it’s hard to think of ourselves as sexual beings while we are growing a baby in our belly? Maybe we don’t want to wound our husband’s fragile male ego? We happily talk about all the downsides to being pregnant so I would like to propose that we open up the forum to talk about the upsides as well. What perks has everyone else experienced?
Cheap Nutritional Treats for Summer
It seems like we are bombarded with sugar filled frozen treats during the summer and like most parents I am constantly trying to limit my children’s sugar intake. Here are a few cheap nutritional frozen treat options for you and your family.
Frozen Grapes: I buy grapes in bulk when I find them on sale ($.99 or less). I will wash them (fruit and veggie cleaner) and divide some up for eating fresh and the rest goes into the freezer. They freeze beautifully and taste like fruit sorbet. Everyone loves these! I cut them into little pieces for my 1 year old and this is a tasty snack that gives him some relief with teething.
Frozen Yogurt: I buy the lite fruit yogurt and freeze it. It makes a yummy after dinner treat. My 4 year old thinks she’s having ice-cream and provides some relief for my teething 1 year old.
Fruit Smoothies - Again, I buy whatever fruit is on sale in the bulk. What I don’t use immediately I freeze for later. I just blend fruit with yogurt and/or milk and ice.
For other bargains for your family check out:
Kid’s Eat Free
8 Cheap to Free Childcare Options When You Need a Little “me time”
Cheap Tricks My Mother Taught Me
FREE DVD Rentals
Going Green: Before it was cool
Going Green - How to make your own non-toxic cleaners
Budget Family Vacations by Exploring Your Own Backyard
Recycle, Reuse, and Replace Bad Plastic Containers
Cheap and Easy Baby-Proofing Solution
Budget Family Vacations by Exploring Your Own Backyard
With the cost of fuel, food and everything else this summer going up you may think you can’t afford to take your family on vacation. If you haven’t considered it before you should take a good look now because there are great family vacations right in your own backyard.
We live in an amazing country with thousands of State parks and rivers to explore. One of the cheapest places to visit that that houses more miles of untouched rivers and more square miles of public land than any State in the U.S. besides Alaska is Idaho.
Rafting trips provide the ultimate outdoor experience by combining all your favorite activities into one. Camping, fishing, hiking, visits to natural history sites, swimming, kayaking, and star gazing, along with some Class III & IV white water on the side. Guided excursions allow you the luxury to just show up with your clothes and toothbrush. They bring the food, drinks, tents, pads, chairs, and all that gear that you normally would spend 2 days packing into the car and a month cleaning up later. First class food and service, all on the bank of a river. You will be just a swim away from escaping the heat, and no more than a couple steps away from a cold beverage. So many families that do these trips go back for more year after year and won’t hesitate to tell you it’s the best family vacation they’ve ever taken.
“The families that join us on the river come in all shapes and sizes,” says owner/guide of North Star River Expeditions, Tricia Warren, “In the last few years we’ve seen the patriarchs and matriarchs of the family (in their 70’s & 80’s) join their sons, daughters and grandkids on a family vacation on the river. These trips allow the less adventurous family members the opportunity to witness the action–while the more adventurous are in the middle of the wave train, or hauling in a champion small-mouth bass in full view of the rest of the group. No one misses out, and yet there is no end to levels of participation in everything from the white water to the side hikes. Even the little kids can get down and dirty. Everyone has a first hand account to share at the end of the day over dinner.”
It may be time to get our families outside and get started on our kids’ education in the art of the outdoors. Build some memories, do it without the stress of hectic travel schedules, and do it safely with an experienced outfitter. These rivers are in our own back yard.
North Star River Expeditions is a small owner operated rafting company based out of McCall, Idaho. They run 3 to 6 day trips on the Snake River in Hells Canyon and the Lower Main Salmon River. Youth prices are available for kids 18 and under. Group discounts are available as well. Visit their website at www.northstar-rafting.com or call Tricia or Jacob Warren toll free at 877-610-3200 for pricing, available dates, and more information.
Its not too late to book your family vacation this year and there are last minutes deals to snag all you have to do is just take a look in your own backyard. For other vacation deals in Idaho visit http://www.visitidaho.org/vacationideas/
Beauty Secrets from my Mother-n-law‘s Vault
My mother-n-law was a great woman but she was also crazy. I have a treasure trove of real life stories that she is the main character and if I didn’t live through them I wouldn’t believe them to be true. At times I found her very frustrating but now 3 years since she has passed I find her idiosyncrasy’s hilarious and I look forward to the opportunity to tell my children about their grandma.
In addition to being a little crazy she was also vain and would do and say outrageous things on behalf of beauty. I thought I’d share a few of these beauty secrets with you and let you decide if these tips are more than just entertainment.
Preparation-H naught just for hemorrhoids – My mother-n-law would buy an industrial size container of the stuff so that she could slather it all over her face. Apparently it tightens your face up and diminishes wrinkles.
Staying fat makes your wrinkles smooth - She told me once that she was glad that she was fatter than her sister because having a fat face smoothes out wrinkles.
Grease your face and neck with Vaseline and perfume – At all times her face was properly lubricated with Vaseline (or something like it) and perfume. Every time she gave you one of her famous bear hugs you would walk away smelling like cheap perfume and have a generous grease mark across your face and clothes.
Gold lame is very slimming – For our wedding she wore a floor length gold lame dress because according to her it was “very slimming”. I have to admit, it did look slimming.
Colored reading glasses highlight your eyes without the use of makeup – My mother-n-law had the most beautiful blue eyes but she would wear colored glasses (instead of clear) because she thought colored reading glasses enabled you to forgo putting on makeup.