Happy Birthday Garrett

I can barely believe it.

Garrett is 3! In a lot of ways he seems MUCH older. He gets along so well with all of his siblings. He has a very old soul. He understands so much. He doesn't seem like a toddler in a lot of ways.

But then, it all seems to have gone by so quickly. I can't believe he's already three.

One thing I am sure of is that Garrett is a very very important part of our family.

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby boy.

When Batman and Barbie collide

Hannah was home sick today. It seems just like a bit of a moderate cold. Her nose is runny and she has a barky cough and she has a sore throat. Garrett has a pinch of stuffy nose too. (I'm hoping he's all better by Friday for his birthday.)

Anyway, this is what happened when Hannah stayed home. Garrett was SO excited to have his playmate home with him all day. From the second he woke up it was, "Hannah! Play with me!" He pulled out his Batcave and Barbie decided to move in. It certainly looks more homey with the woman's touch. Although, I am wondering what the Littlest Pet Shop pets did. They look a little incarcerated.

More evidence of warm weather

Even though it is cloudy now, it was gorgeous towards the end of the week last week and over the weekend. The kids spent as much time as possible outside playing. Here's McKay...doin' what he does best.

Garrett surveys his kingdom on the borrowed firetruck scooter.

I can feel the kids excitement for the warm weather. I am pretty excited too. We've had a more than the usual amount of sickness, so I am ready for warm!

Hope

Crocus and Hyacinth peeking through the soil...it won't be long now!

Ella's fingers at about 2.5 weeks out

I think we might escape without scarring. Once the pigment returns to normal, I don't think anyone will notice unless it is pointed out and hopefully with time there will be no trace.

McKay's dream blanket

My sweet friend gave McKay a Teletubby toddler bed set about 5 years ago. He has loved that set to pieces, pretty much literally. Except for the flat sheet. That always got kicked off the bed and thus, it was spared.

So my awesome mother-in-law used her sewing magic and whipped it into a big boy quilt for McKay. We tied it last Friday and voila! Many happy wrapped up hours for McKay!

Yay for Grandma R!

Overheard

Me: You get to stay home with me tomorrow.

McKay: Okay!

Me: Do you know why? (I was planning to explain President's Day.)

McKay: Because I deserve a Bowling Day!

Google Tag

This is a Google Tag... I saw it on Eileen's post and decided to try a few and well... it's hilarious!

Go to Google and type in your first name and the phrase given. Copy and paste the first sentence/phrase you get that makes sense.

1. Type in "[your name] needs" in Google search

Result: "During all stages of application development, Rachel needs to refer to Web sites, manuals, and a variety of documentation"
(Ok then...)

2. Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search

Result: "Rachel looks like she’s just swallowed a matzo ball whole."
(Um, wow.)

3. Type in "[your name] says" in Google search.

Result: "Rachel Says So. And she means it too."
(Yeah, I mean it!)

4. Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search

Result: "Rachel wants a cracker."
(Yes, Ritz, please. Caw, caw.)

5. Type in "[your name] does" in Google search

Result: "While I'm not a fan of patchwork prints on dresses, Rachel does make it look sexy on her."
(Why, thank you)

6. Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search

Result: "Rachel hates anything near her eye, so she won't do her eyedrops."
(Yeah, I do hate things near my eyes.)

7. Type in "[your name] asks" in Google search

Result: "Rachel asks if the US Attorney is in on a conspiracy."
(Well...is he?)

8. Type in "[your name] goes" in Google search

Result:"Wow, Rachel goes to Washington!"
(Really? Cool. I love Washington.)

9. Type in "[your name] likes " in Google search.

Result: "Rachel Likes Explosions."
(Boom! Ha ha.)

10. Type in "[your name] eats " in Google search

Result: "Rachel eats Wasabi chunk."
(That sounds icky.)

11. Type in "[your name] wears " in Google search

Result: "Rachel wears Prada."
(Does that mean I am the devil?)

12. Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in Google Search

Result: "The irony is that Rachel was arrested for singing a song about never forgetting the thousands who have died for democracy in Burma."
(Is my singing THAT bad?)

That was fun! Hope you enjoyed it. I tag you, and you, and you! Try it! It's fun!

A Guest Post by Darwin about Clay's Law

(Note from Rachel: Yesterday Clay's Law or HB 43--which would mandate insurance coverage for children with autism--passed through committee with a vote of 5 for it and 1 against. It would cover children 0-9 at $50K and children 9-17 at $25K (YAY!). It is now going to be debated on the floor and put up for a vote.)

What Are the Proper Roles of Insurance and Governments for Free People, and How Do They Relate to Clay's Law?

What is the proper role of insurance?

Insurance's role is to allow people to pay a reasonable amount on a regular basis and then receive money for their needed medical expenses. Since insurance has a price tag to it, in addition to what is paid out at the time of service by the insurer and insured, it is most important for those expenses to cover basic quality of life issues and those that cost so much that the people who are affected by them could not or would be very hard pressed to pay for them entirely out-of-pocket.

Clay's Law makes it so insurance does what it is supposed to do--pay for a needed medical expense to maintain a basic quality of life with a minimal affect on regular insurance payments. Clay's Law does have an expense, but all treatments do. No one would buy insurance if it were almost free, but didn't cover anything. Insurance does mean you will have to share in expenses that affect other people. (Everyone shares in the costs for diabetics, high blood pressure, cancer, obesity, etc.) If someone only wants to pay for their own medical expenses, then they can avoid buying insurance and pay the doctors directly. It is a risk you can take. And it might pay off. Maybe you will have fewer dollars spent on medical treatments than you would have spent on insurance and copayments, etc. (Hopefully those who do not have insurance, have a lot of money in case unforeseen expenses occur.) For the rest of us there is insurance. It is there to mitigate risk.

What is the proper role of a government in maintaining a free people?

A government that maintains a free people is one where the government avoids being an Anarchy or a Tyranny, and disallowing their widespread existence.

Tyranny-Where the strong crush the weak. Anarchy--Where the weak band together and crush the strong.

Instead the government should seek to be just and equitable, and oversee businesses and the general population ensuring are not acting in anarchical or tyrannical fashions which will spread between the government, business or general population and then oscillate between tryanny and anarchy.

How does this relate to Clay's Law?

Clay's Law acts to remove a tyrannical clause from the insurance contract (as many of the children with autism have parents who pay for insurance), where the powerful insurance companies are crushing the weak autistic children, and replace it with a just and equitable clause where both the children and the companies can survive for now and into the future. The insurance companies should have done this on their own, but since they have failed to, the government needs to step in and pass Clay's Law for the maintenance of a free people.

(Rachel Again: If you are so inclined, a phone call or email to your State Representative or Senator would be great. For those in the ward, our state senator is the one who sponsored this bill, and our representative is Kenneth Sumsion.)

Would you like to take a survey?

1) Five names you go by: That seems like a lot. Um, Rachel. Rach. Mom. Honey. Sweetie.

2) Three things you are wearing right now: Yoga pants, t-shirt, socks.

3) Two things you want very badly at the moment: I've been saving for a long time and I *nervous chuckle* preordered a new camera. I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival.

4) Two people who will probably fill this out: Hmmmm, Maureen? Melanie?

5) Two things you did last night: Watched some Photoshop training videos. Mopped the kitchen.

6) Two things you ate today: My favorite blueberry and pomegranate trail mix, and ginger and soy chicken stir-fry.

7) Two people you last talked to on the phone: Darwin and um...I do not remember. Oh, American Express. Since I preordered my camera, ala #3, they were calling to make sure it was not a fradulent charge.

8) Two things you are going to do tomorrow: Go to the post office and laundry. Always laundry.

9) Two longest car rides: Utah to California. And either Nebraska to Utah, or Washington DC to New York, back to Washington DC in one day.

10) Two of your favorite things to drink: Grape juice and water

11) Three favorite shows on TV: Lost! Lost! and...um....LOST! (Oh, ok. I watch Dancing with the Stars when it is on.) That is pretty much all I watch.

Overheard

Scene--Darwin is working on the downstairs computer doing the taxes. McKay is itching to get on and play PBSkids.org. He has been wheedling for about a half and hour. Finally....

McKay: It's McKay's turn! PBSkids.org, please.

Darwin: No, I need to finish this.

McKay: Aww, but I love to play TurboTax!

I think he was encouraging Darwin to *share* with him. And hey, don't we ALL love TurboTax, when the numbers are going our way?

xoxo, love Ella

Hee, Kathryn was right. It DOES make a cute Valentine. :D

What a weekend!

Weekends are really great things, so I am not knocking them. We just had a kind of crazy one.

It started out fairly well, although we knew we had to take the big van into the shop. (I use the term BIG van, because we actually have two minivans. The one I drive is an '04 8-seater Toyota Sienna--hence big. The one Darwin drives is our old '97 Honda Odyssey, a 6-seater. Hence small. ;).)

The big van had been having issues with power being drained from the battery mysteriously. And when I say mysteriously, it is not the kind of mysteriously that has to do with a 2-year-old going out and playing "daddy" in the van when the doors are left unlocked and turning the wheel and bouncing up and down in the drivers seat with glee--and then leaving the lights on. Because yes, that mysteriously happens around here a lot. It has lost a lot of it's mystery, in fact.

No this was the kind of mystery where I go to watch McKay sing at his monthly "Singing Time for Parents" in Harris' class, and I go out to the van and it won't start at all, but it will jump (Luckily Darwin was there too, with the little van! Blessings!) and then as soon as I get home and turn the car off...it won't go again. So, we took it in. And found out they will have the van until Thursday since it is a fuse box that is completely ruined. Darn. But, the timing is good, as we just did a grocery shop and there is money in the bank to fix it. So, again, blessings!

But, yes, we are a little trapped for now, since we can't all fit in the little van. We go out in shifts. ;)

It was also the day to do all of the cleaning of the corners of the room, particularly around the computers. So much junk accumulates around the computers. Oy. Anyway, I was vacuuming with the hose along the side of the computer when I heard the saddest, most pained cry. Ella had crawled up alongside the vacuum behind me and stuck her hand under the still-revolving bristles. Those harsh, fast-spinning bristles just ripped most of the skin right off of the top her little fingers. (I am including a picture...which is mostly scabbed over, but still SO sad...and it is at the end, so be warned.)

We called a wonderful nurse-neighbor over and he checked her out. We cleaned her up and have her slathered with polysporin. We've been swabbing her with iodine and more polysporin every few hours, so it looks good on the infection front. We were keeping it covered with a (new, clean!) sock over her hand, but her fresh baby skin was healing so fast over the areas that it caught some of the skin and I had to dislodge it...so I am keeping it very clean and moist and open. Still, I am wondering if I should ask for a plastic surgeon consult, since I am a bit worried about scarring. Mostly about tight scars forming on an area that needs to bend and move so much. (I hate going to the doctor during sick-season unless I KNOW there is something that can be gained from it. Especially with Ella, since she seems to pick up all the little things and then get ear infections.)

So that was our craaaaazy weekend.

Oh and to Jenny, in the midst of all of this, during the downtimes, I have been watching training videos for my new toy...Photoshop CS4. So that has been a big, but interesting, time suck. So less blogging and honestly *sigh* less laundry and less dishes and less cooking. Oops. ;) Oh! And I was at church, but we had to rush back home before it started, since we *gasp* forgot the Aquadoodles. (Best church toy ever. We are actually quiet all meeting long now!)

Warning for those of queasy stomachs. Ella's poor finger picture coming. (It isn't gory or bloody, it just looks very painful.)