The Election is Over

I decided early on I wasn't going to watch election news, but then I did.  I sat in bed and watched the poll numbers come in, read all the news articles, watched bits and pieces of election coverage on NPR, CNN, MSNBC, and even a little Fox News.  I came down and woke Dr. J up to tell him when the tide started to turn toward the President.  I came back down again to tell him when the election had been called.  He came upstairs with me and then I sat up even later to watch Mitt Romney's final speech and President Obama's victory speech.  I felt for Mitt Romney.  Years and years of working toward this goal, how difficult it must have been to see it slip through his fingers and then have to come out and congratulate the President.  I think most of us can agree we don't have that kind of class.  Four years ago Dr. J and I used to say Romney should come to the Democratic party because we actually believed he was a more electable candidate under that party.  Now I don't really know, but I can say when it is all said and done even though I didn't vote for him I truly do feel for him and his family.  It was a rough election, the primaries and then the general, and the amount of money put into politics trying to destroy the candidates on the other side is obscene.   Maybe he dodged a bullet, still hurts though I'm sure.  I felt for my friends who were so invested in Mitt Romney for this election.  For many Mormons the election was an incredibly big deal.  It of course had the hope of taking the white house back, and the fear for the future that politicians are so good at using to motivate, but it also had the added bonus of the opportunity of seeing a Mormon, a man from a religion that is still by many evangelicals considered a cult, thrust into the position of the most powerful person on earth.  It was exciting, and then it wasn't, and then it was just disappointing   I definitely understand that.  Since I was a small girl I have dreamed of the day when a woman would be the president of the United States.  When Hillary Clinton got so close I was nearly euphoric.  When she didn't make it, I was left with extremely bitter feelings.  Plus I had two elections with George Bush.  It can be a hard pill to swallow, the disappointment of losing an election.  That being said most of my friends were extremely nice.   A lot of them quoted scriptures about watching one's speech and praying for the leaders of the country.  Some people were a little more antagonistic.  It is kind of amazing how people feel free to be so much ruder online than they would be in person.  I hold you personally responsible Zuckerberg!  But hopefully those voices will begin to fade and the real work will begin.  I hope that the country will remember that for most of us the middle is the most comfortable place, even if we lean a little left or a little right.  I hope that politicians will stop signing packs to not pass legislation, and will instead make decisions based on what is best with each and every individual piece.  I hope the country can move forward rather than back.  Most of all I hope the leadership in the Republican Party can find its way back into the marriage.  This idea that compromise is always wrong is the mantra of my annoyingly stubborn three year old, not grown up people dealing with grown up problems.  I was listening to Norman Ornstein on NPR today.  He was talking about his article Let's Just Say It: The Republicans Are the Problem.   Really such an interesting guy with some really interesting research and work behind him.  He isn't calling out your Republican neighbors and friends, but instead the way the current Party Leadership and election process is functioning and how it's action are making it exceptional difficult for anyone to get anything done. He really had some amazing insights and definitely a call for moderate Republicans to claim their party back, because the truth is we all work better when we have checks and balances and can find compromises and we need better when it comes to tackling some of the huge issues we have before us.

Election 2012

A little after noon and the members of this family have already gone and voted.  Dr. J had to deal with a little bit of a line, I just walked right in, filled out my sheet and was done!  I don't plan on staying up all night to agonize over the electoral count.  Instead I hope to just wake up tomorrow and find out who won, fingers crossed that that information will be known tomorrow.  Before the outcome is known though, while I can't be accused of sour grapes or gloating can I just say here are things I wish for for future elections....

-Direct elections versus electoral college elections.  We have the ability to be informed now and the argument that candidates would just hang out in the big states just doesn't work for me because as is I was starting to forget there were any states out there besides Ohio, Iowa, Florida, and Colorado.  People they already don't move.  I just think people would actually be more excited about voting if they knew their actual vote counted even if they lived in a state like Utah or Illinois.
-Primaries all held on the same day.  I'm getting a little tired of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida getting to make the choice for most of the rest of us, plus the way the primaries are run it forces people to the extremes of their parties which is ridiculous because the truth is most of us live in the middle. 
-Less money spent on elections...and no more election ads.  They estimate that when it is all said and done something like 6 billion dollars will have been spent on this election.  What a waste!  I say have three debates, a couple of spots on public television where the candidates can introduce themselves and their plans, some amazing websites where you can read about the candidate and their "actual" plans, and that's it!  Make it easy to get the information but let's be realistic about the fact that campaign ads are not information!
The end....I've got nothing more to say, except if you haven't voted, get out there and vote.

Look at Adele trying to photobomb our picture.  So rude...I mean just because you have more facebook likes than either candidate....:)

Flu Mist

I'm always a little skeptical about what to do when it comes to the flu shot.  I mean I hate the flu as much as the next person and if there really is a way to prevent it I sure would like to, but I just am not a 100% sure the flu shot actually does that.  The kids hate shots as well, which is why three years ago we got our kids the mist.  It was just a few days later that Captain E had the full fledged flu.  Dr. J and I thought it was rather unfortunate he happened to catch the flu right before he got the mist and decided it must have just been a coincidence.  Two months later Captain E got his second dose of the mist.  He got sick again, and this time he missed seven days of school.  Dr. J and I decided we were never going to do flu mist again with him.  Three days ago though I found myself once again having to contemplate this decision.  I was at the doctor's office with Peach and Cheetah and the doctor was going over the list of shots.  The doctor mentioned that the whole family should get the flu shot to reduce the chance of us getting it because as a preemie Cheetah is especially susceptible to respiratory problems, so much so that the insurance company is still willing to pay the over $12000 that four doses of Synagis (an antibody that helps decrease the affects of RSV) would cost.  So the doctor says to me, "you know you should all get the flu shot."  At that Peach perks up because this girl does not want a shot.  The doctor says, "Well why don't you try flu mist."  So against my better judgement we went with the mist again.  Guess who didn't want to go to preschool today, who is now running warm, and who know has a runny nose....  Sure maybe Peach just happened to pick something up around the same time, but my money is on the mist!

Surprise...I'm a Democrat

I was at a play group this week with a group of woman from my ward.  I'm assuming pretty much the only people who read this blog are my family, but if by chance someone has stumbled upon it who doesn't know me, I'm a Mormon and a ward is the congregation you meet with each Sunday.  The woman were all standing around the table while the kids sacked the house (sorry Erin).  We were talking about Hurricane Sandy and one of the woman said, "Did you know that the federal government has the power to delay the election, and that means it would go in favor of the other party."  Mentally I knew exactly where this was going.  You see, something like 59% of Mormons identify as Republican while only 14% identify as Democrat.  The other 27% are split someway between these four groups.  You have the true Independents like Dr. J or people who belong to other parties like the Greenparty.  You have the Independents who are just sick of both parties and don't know what to do.  You have the apolitical (I'm talking to you sister who didn't bother to register before the cut off...how could you not register!  I mean SERIOUSLY!).  Then you have people claiming to be Independent because they feel like it brings them more legitimacy in an argument but who when you talk to them it becomes pretty obvious they actually belong to one side or the other.  You aren't fooling me neighbor down the street so just declare yourself already!  But in this particular group I was with on Tuesday almost all of them are registered Republican and so I was completely surrounded.

The truth is I'm pretty use to it by now.  I grew up in Arizona, a state that all my childhood stood solidly in the red.  I've heard rumblings that by 2016 it might be a swing state, but for this year at least be assured it will still go Republican.  I grew up in a religion where I've actually heard people say you can't be a Democrat and still hold a temple recommend.  With a few notable exceptions my extended family is an Arizona, Mormon, Republican family.  When I was a child my grandfather introduced me to Law and Order, C-Span, and Rush Limbaugh.  Law and Order was the only thing that stuck.  I've known the Republican Party my whole life and when I was 16 years old realized I wasn't a Republican and checked that Bill Clinton box in my Civic Class Vote. When I was twenty years old I told my grandfather I was going to vote for Al Gore.  He told me I was throwing my vote away, just like he'd tossed my Nana's absentee ballot because he knew she had done the same.  I told him luckily I didn't need his approval to know what was right for me.  I've been a Democrat ever since and it has been easy for me.  I know who I am and what I believe and I've just found the group I most closely align with.  I've had a few compadres along the way.  My Uncle Jim has been arguing the Democratic side since before I could understand why my uncles were arguing at family events.  My Nana often voted as a Democrat before her death and I have one cousin Nyline who takes the brunt of our family displeasure when she post things on Facebook.  And then there is my immediate family and with the exception of my one slightly apolitical sister we've all found ourselves leaning liberal after leaving the nest.  It wasn't planned in any way but I think our shared family experiences and the fact that our mother has always encouraged us to look at all sides of an argument (even when it drove us nuts!) allowed us to really think through the issues without feeling the family pressures to conform.  It also probably helped that she was an Independent all my growing up and I knew her to vote both Republican and Democrat.  In fact even though I'm a Democrat I still feel the need to vote person rather than party and with policies I align with rather then those who proposed them.  It just happens that my alignment is most often left.  Every once in a great while I'll tune in to Sean Hannity or Fox news to see where I stand and yup, sure as rain I'm still a Democrat.

For the most part this election I've tried to stay out of the arguments.  When most of your friends are Republican and most of them declared they were going to vote for Mitt Romney a year ago there just didn't seem to be a point in arguing all the time.  Early on in the election cycle I hid anyone on Facebook who was posting a lot of political stuff.  It was just to tempting to argue and the few times I did nothing was accomplished but people feeling angry about each other.  I figured it would probably be better for friendships to just unhide them come January, because I do love people and I think we can be friends/family even if we don't vote for the same person.  For the most part I've limited my political comments in person as well.  And it works for me.  Sure every once in a while I have to have a purge to my sister, or my husband, or my one local friend who I know is a Democrat, but for the most part I think I've managed to stay civil and friendly.  But this was a time I just couldn't keep my mouth shut.  And so when the woman said it would go in favor of the "other party", something switched on in my brain that said, "Wait that is my party.  I'm voting in that party and to be honest it would be better for my friendships if I didn't have to bite my tongue while I listened to people dis on it."  And so I said, "Oh, so you mean it would be in favor of my party."  And to be honest folks, that pretty much ended the conversation right there.

Fall Is My Favorite Season

Fall is definitely my favorite season.  By the time Fall rolls around I'm always ready for the cool down.  Growing up in Arizona it wasn't a season I had much experience with but since moving to Utah and then to the Midwest I've definitely enjoyed my fair share.  What is there not to love?  The leaves change into non leaf colors Red, Orange, Yellow.  Hello beautiful!  The leaves fall to the ground.  Hello perfect place for kids to play and a great background for pictures.  The temperature drops and you get to pull out all your sweaters and boots.  Wardrobe changes are the BEST!  Some of my favorite Holidays are in the Fall.  It starts with my mother's birthday, then mine, then Cheetahs, next Halloween, the anniversary of when Dr. J and I started to date, Dr. J's birthday, and then Thanksgiving.  Before you know it Christmas is here and I weigh ten pounds more.  It is three months of "Let them eat cake!"  I love it!!!!  So pretty much Fall rocks, with the one exception that Fall means winter is right around the corner, and pretty much the only thing I like about winter is Christmas :(  Oh well, just have to enjoy these pictures while I can!

 What is with this girls hair.  "Mom I can't see!"  Then here we go with eight pictures of the kids and not a single one has all four looking and smiling!  I have four beautiful children with tons of personality but capturing that in one single picture...almost impossible :)

You Don't Have That Lead on Correctly

So anyone who reads my Facebook post knows I've been complaining about Dr. J's current schedule a lot.  It's a rough one, 30+ hour calls every forth day where he gets no sleep at all, all weekends working, and only getting four days off in the whole month.  Today is one of those days.  But when you only get four days off a month you really have to pack a lot of stuff into those days off.  Today he had an appointment with the medical company filing the report for the underwriter for life and disability insurance he is applying for and a dentist appointment.  The medical tech showed up at our house at 6:30 this morning.  (I'm going to clarify this right now by saying this is my perception of how this whole thing went...so Dr. J if the ordering is a little wrong or the wording is a little off, give me a break :)  The appointment started off bad because he went pee when he first got up.  The first thing she needed, a pee sample.  Unfortunately that well was dry.  "Well," she told him, "you can drive up to our medical lab today at noon."  "Great," he said, but he didn't mean it.  Then he comes up to ask me if I know where he blood pressure cuff is.  "Should I know where it is?" I ask with scrunched up eyes.  It's still only 6:45 and I'm desperately clinging to those last 15 minutes I should be allowed to sleep.  "No," he says, "but the techs cuff isn't working very well.  I was just hoping she could use mine."  Five minutes later he was back upstairs to grab our scale, "Hers is measuring really light," he tells me.  By then I'm starting to get up anyways.  I put my gym clothes on, wake my two oldest up, and grab clothes for the two youngest that have been up with dad since six.  I drag myself down the stairs.  The technician is gone and my husband tells me this story...

"So she gave me a EKG, but she had the leads on wrong.  I look down at the print out and said to her, "You know you don't have that lead on correctly."  "What do you mean?" she says, "This is how I was trained."  "Well it's not on right.  It should be here."  "Well I've been doing EKGs for a year like this an no other doctors have said anything" (she's been doing the medical test for the underwriters of the AMA life and disability insurance).  "Well I don't know anything about that," he says, "but it should be like this."  And he shows her the correct placement.  Well she looks it over and then pulls up the box/instructions and sure enough there is a picture right on it showing the way he connected the leads.  "Oh," she says.  But then she puts the tape with the incorrect lead placement into his file.  So at noon today after I'd run at the gym, Dr. J had gone to the dentist, and we'd picked Peach up from preschool we drove up to the north side to the lab for Dr. J to do his drug test.  "Didn't she offer to come back to your house?" the girl at the front desk asked when Dr. J told him why she was there.  "Nope," he said, "And just so you know she didn't know how to use the EKG machine.  She does now but she put the incorrect strip in my folder, and she said shes been doing them wrong like that for a year." "Um, OK, well I'm going to talk to my supervisor about that," the girl says.  Fabulous!  So what I'm wondering is why did it take a year of these test before someone realized she hasn't been doing it right.  Have the other doctors just been spacing out during the exam.  Has the insurance company been denying these people with the abnormal EKGs or using them to insist on higher premiums.  Have they just been ignoring them and if so why are they even doing it.  Just a few questions I'm never going to get any answers to....

Preemie Life - Cheetah Turned 1 - 9 1/2 months Adjusted

So once again we have reached the month of November, the month of NaBloPoMo, or blog everyday in November.  This will probably be the fifth year I've followed Bridget off this ridiculous cliff.  Considering I'm now only averaging about four post a month I predict I'll only make it the first week but here goes nothing.  Darn you Bridget, why do you have to be so cool!  DARN YOU!!!!

Anyway this is a good opportunity to get caught up on a few family post.  Three days ago we celebrated the birth of my third daughter, Cheetah, aka, Sweetie Petite, Sweet Pea, Rose, Rosie, Tiny Tornado, or TT for short.  Last year her birth 2 1/2 months early spiraled me into the worst year of my life.  It started when my water broke at 27 weeks on my birthday when I was home alone with three kids and couldn't remember the last time I felt her move.  I ended up on mandatory hospital bed rest praying my body would hold out 7 weeks so she could be born at 34 weeks, but being told I had only a 20% chance of not having her within two weeks.  Dr. J couldn't take any time off unless he took family leave which would put his residency back two months and would have resulted in two months of no pay.  Luckily my mother-in-law flew in to save the day.  She was amazing and the only thing keeping my life from becoming a complete disaster.  I sat in my bed for two weeks feeling like a ticking time bomb.  Finally something happened, only it wasn't what I'd mentally prepared for.  After a day of a terrible back ache (hello I always have back labor, why didn't I realize what was happening), my body went into labor and my sweet baby girl entered the world only three quarters cooked.  She was three pounds and rushed almost immediately to the NICU.  We didn't get to hold her until day three.  It would be months before she could come home.  It would take another six weeks after that before I could finally nurse her and wean her off the NG tube.  She scarred my heart with her separation, with her Bradys and Apnea, and her aspirations while eating.  I put more miles on my car then I ever had before.  I was more sleep deprived and in the end I yelled at doctors, something that for months I'd been able to avoid.  Since then she has grown and hit every mile stone necessary.  At her nine month appointment (61/2 month adjusted) the developmental pediatrician said she didn't have to see her anymore because she was amazing.  She is AMAZING!  We love this little baby so much.  She is our little miracle!  We are so thankful for all the blessings we saw with her birth and all the people that made it possible for us to take care of her.  Happy birthday Cheetah!  You are our heart!

(Prepare now mentally for picture overload.  I cut about half of these out but the kids are so cute I had to include so many!)