William says, "Let the government compete!"

I am sick and tired of all the doomsayers out there. I don't know how many Facebook status updates I read in the last two days that warned of the impending doom because the House passed the Health Care Reform Bill. Additionally, I keep hearing people over and over again warning of the disasters of the government sticking its nose into the private sector and destroying the free market. In answer to this, I cite an example of the government's involvement in one highly competitive segment of the private sector: package delivery. Despite all the competition out there, the USPS remains highly competitive, keeps other companies' prices honest, and manages to stand as the sole government organization that operates in the black. Yet the doomsayers persist, and not only that, they are actually badmouthing the men and women who struggle to provide for their families yet cannot afford health coverage. Are people really that ignorant? Is it really such a bad thing to provide a way for people to have health insurance or to make the care that they need affordable? One person I know said,

"To those who read this and think I am insensitive, All I can say is there is a group for you. It is the GOYA group! Stands for get off your a$$. I made it happen for me and my wife so I'm sure IF and that is a big IF you have a will you can find a way..."

What the heck is all that supposed to mean? Is this person really suggesting that people without health insurance don't have it because they're lazy? I know so many people who are off their a$$es and probably working harder than this person just to make ends meet. Now, how are they supposed to pay for insurance on top of that? Again, I am so sick of the ignorant, ridiculous, and heartless arguments against taking care of our fellow men and women. As for me, I AM my brother's keeper.

It's all about the boy.

This is gonna be a post about John, that has no pictures. I know that's insane, but one thing as led to another with us not having wireless internet in our hotel room, and I'm on William's computer. Pictures of John are on my computer.

I'm gonna brag about his skills and abilities and attributes anyway. He's 10 and half months now (roughly). He's almost 30 inches and weighs almost 24 lbs. His head is abnormally large. (Seriously. It was at the 96th percentile at his 9 month check up.) He's mostly just a big boy all around. Still just two teeth (bottom front).

He has been crawling for several months now. And he starting standing up and walking along the furniture pretty the day after he figured out crawling. He can also stand on his own, with no support from anyone or anything, but has not been brave enough yet to get those feet moving if he's not holding onto something. We try to encourage this and he just sits down.

He's using all kinds of syllables and vowels - and we're sure that he knows that William is "Dada". No such luck with me and "Mama". He says the "Ma" syllable often, which gets me excited, so he'll say it more... but he hasn't put two and two together yet.

He L.O.V.E.S. books. Cries when a good one ends and will pick it up and start "reading it to himself". (All of the right syllables - not in the right order.) Its the cutest thing ever.

Around 6 months I started to feel like he was picking something new up every day. I love it. I love it when he does something and I'm thinking, "I've never seen that before!". And I think he loves it too because I get all excited.

He's also a laugher. Pretty much everything is funny to this kid. AND he has the incredible ability to cry and laugh at the same time. We learn this when he's letting us know he's hungry, and we're trying to distract him while we prepare his food. "I'm starving to death and I'm really upset about it, but what you're doing right now is hysterical." Good times.

He's still not a great sleeper, but its way better than it used to be. Some nights he'll still stir two or three times (more if something like a diaper rash or teething comes up) but some nights he goes a 7 hour stretch. We mostly just never know what we're going to get. But I'm not waking up every two hours all night long every night anymore, which is awesome.

Okay, that's all for now. Pictures (and perhaps video) to come later.

William says, "What else can we eat?"

It has been a good weekend for food. Highly recommended in Atlanta: Mary Mac's Tea Room (the sides are EPIC!), Atlanta Cupcake Company, and our favorite Mexican food (which we first had almost three years ago) Mama Ninfa's. We're looking forward to another find. We also went to the Georgia Aquarium today. It was really cool, especially walking under the ocean and watching sharks swim above us.

Must... Blog...

So, I'm in a hotel and I can't get on the Internet on my laptop. But for some reason I can on my iPod. Blogging from my iPod is kinda painful. I'm doing it anyway. I have goals to acheive. And since it's way more likely that I'll fail nanowrimo than nablopomo, I gotta do this at all costs. (so far I'm on target for nanowrimo-I'm just saying...)

William says, "At least the drive was nice"

So here I am, standing in front of the elevators of the hotel I am staying in in Atlanta because it is the only place in the whole Midtown area where I can connect to the internet. The hotel charges to use it in the room, but get this, it doesn't work in our room. Not that we would pay for it anyway, not when I can stand in front of the elevators and get it from their bar for free . . . Suckers! Anyway, I am not liking this conference experience so far. It's costing a lot of money, and the hotel is crap for the price, even the conference price. But I will say this, it has been a fun trip. The drive in our new car was smooth. The best part was stopping in Montezuma, GA at Yoder's Deitsch Haus for lunch. This place is EPIC!!! It is run by local Mennonites. Yes, a whole colony of Mennonites it seems in the middle of no where Georgia. The food was excellent, especially this funky dish that is best described a "pulled" ham. ABSOLUTELY A-MA-ZING!!! Even better, there is a bakery in the restaurant where they sell all sorts of fresh baked goods like bread, pies, cakes, cookies, even fresh doughnuts (or donuts, if you prefer). And you know I am going to have a Mennonite doughnut. THE. BEST. DOUGHNUT. EVER!!! And the peanut butter cookies? YOWZA!!!! We bought a TON of baked goods, including a dozen cookies and two loaves of bread for around $10. The place is worth driving from anywhere! I cannot wait to eat there again. I will be dreaming about those doughnuts. So glad we bought a half dozen. :-)

The Ride

So, since having a baby William and I had been feeling pretty cramped in our little Ford Focus. It was a nice car, but the back seat and trunk were both pretty small. The car seat barely fit in one and the stroller barely fit in the other (guess which we put in which). So, we've been shopping around for something new, but we've been pretty picky about it. We didn't have a car payment, and were loathe to pick one up. So, we were basically holding out for something bigger, something cheap, and someone who would offer us a good trade in on the ford focus.

As fate would have it, William found just that when he was out searching last Saturday. (Did you know that on the last day of the month dealers are desperate to get cars off the lot?) We got a GREAT deal on this:

(not actually vehicle. just like actual vehicle.)

We L.O.V.E. it. Mock me if you will for having a mini-van - but I can fit your car in my car. And watch DVDs. It pretty much rocks.

William says, "Gunpowder is bad for you."

Every year, Guy Fawkes Day sneaks up on me. It's funny because I virtually live in the 17th century these days, and the Gunpowder Plot was a huge historical "event." There are a lot of literary references to it and a lot of prominent men involved, including Father Henry Garnet, head of the clandestine Jesuit mission in England at the time. His mission was to spread anti-Protestant propaganda and seek others sympathetic to the Catholic cause. He's also famous for the publication A Treatise of Equivocation, a book that essentially taught Jesuits how to lie without actually lying if they were captured and questioned. On a mission from God, they figured they better keep their souls clean even under torture. As for the art of equivocation, see the scene in Shrek III, where Prince Charming questions Pinocchio on the whereabouts of Shrek and Pinocchio begins with, "I don't know where he's not." It's classic, and the perfect example of Henry Garnet's teachings on the matter.