Halloween 2009

Here are the kids right before we went out Trick or Treating.
The Notre Dame game was just about to start so Edward had to first torture us with setting up the VCR.

Cullen is dressed as Anakin Skywalker. I think the mask is rather freaky.
We have never let Cullen watch the end of the third Star Wars movie because it is so dark and violent. Anakin's transformation is pretty disillusioning. So he still romanticizes Anakin.
The "Lightsaver", as Cullen calls it, was a necessity for the costume. His grandmommy gave him $5.oo as part of his Halloween treat bag. He used the money to buy the weapon.

I don't think Avery had any real idea what she wanted to be though she tended towards any character that had royal blood. In the end she choice Cleopatra. Edward and I were so enthusiastic about it and we thought not many children would be dressed as her.
As you can see in the pictures there is not one pose she has chosen that is out of place for the Queen of Egypt. Not sure where she got her ideas but they are right on.

Connor chose a Transformer costume. It was his choice. He chose it fast. He is Optimus Prime, though I don't think he cares or knows who that is. But he will gladly tell anyone who asked, or doesn't ask that he is "going to be a TRANSformer." Stress on the "trans" part. As we were Trick or Treating his mask got in the way of him seeing steps, pot holes and sewer drains but he would not take it off. And though he got tired on those little legs he would not let anyone carry his candy. But carry him? Now that was ok.
This is Connor joking about trying to suck his thumb with the mask on.

Here is out action shot.
You might notice that Anakin 's trying to one shot Cleopatra.
Its funny how art imitates life.
Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

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Googles New Picaso Photography Software

Connor went to a birthday party for a little girl in his preschool class named Sydney. I took alot of pictures there of Connor and his "best buddy" John. I wanted so badly to get them onto the computer. I lost my Paint Shop Pro 9 with the computer that got fried by lightening. So I decided to go looking for a free graphics program online. Well it just so happens Google has a new program out there called Picaso. AND it is free, free, free! Here is what it can do.

This is the birthday girl Sydney. I tinted this picture of her. Her birthday color was pink. Girly girl all the way. In the picture below I did a focus only on her and let the other parts of the picture blur a bit.
Here is Connor and John. They were being very silly while they were eating. I took the picture when Connor was turning his head so it was kind of blurry on him. So I sharpened the picture dramatically to bring him into focus... then I added a film grain to hide the graininess of the sharpening.


Here is a picture of Connor's whole preschool class. They all made it to the party. Because i am so thrilled that Connor has a friend of his own I wanted to honor that in this picture so I did a focus black and white. I focused on the boys faces and everything else around it fades to black and white.

I really am in love with this program. It gives you lots of ways to not only correct your photos before saving them to your computer but you can also create collages, movies and other fun graphics. Its simple enough for the novice and gives enough added features for playing with color, texture, and fine tuning of images that you will want to give up the software that came with your camera. I promise. And did I mention that it is FREE!

My New Budgie Baby

This is Jethro. He is my new parakeet baby. He just left his nesting box a few days ago and has learned to climb the cage sides and sit on the perch with his mom.


This is his mommy. She is staying with us until Jethro can feed himself. Right now he is still begging for food. Avery wanted to call him Jeopardy which is a great name for a bird living in a house with three cats. But I liked Jethro. He is named after Mark Harmon's character in NCIS.


If you look closely you can see the resemblance. Salt and pepper hair and blue highlights. Of course, we have no idea if Jethro, the parakeet, is a male or female. We have a couple more weeks to make the distinction. But oh my goodness he is so cute. I can hardly stand it. Umm, the bird, I mean.

It's scary around here!

Avery and Connor after a visit to the Dollar Tree with their Grandmommy.

Daisy Girl Scouts

I am now a troop leader for Avery's Daisy Troop. We started this school year and there are 9 girls in the troop. Its been very fun so far. The girls have lots and lots of energy. We meet in one of the spare rooms at the Christus Victor Lutheran Church. They have been great about sharing their space.

Right now we are learning The GS Promise and The Girl Scout Law.

The Girl Scout Promise

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God* and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

The Girl Scout Law

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

The program is a wonderful way for girls to develop a sense of self while understanding their relationship to the community and the world around them. We will be doing some service programming to give them an idea of how they can make a difference to others. And we will be earning patches centered around the themes in the Law.

I am especially excited about the Ms President Patch. I think it will be a wonderful way for the girls to realize even at this young age that women can and have made a difference in the history of this country and more importantly so can they.

Barack Obama: I claim him too

I just finished reading Barack Obama's, Dreams from My Father.
I could not put it down. Not only because it gives great insight into a man I admire but also because he tackles the topic of personal identity and race. There were so many opportunities to both learn and identify from his story.

One of the reasons I have always liked Mr. Obama is that I sense in him a person who knew who he was. He had claims to a unique perspective of race. We all live in a society of black and white. And most of us only have one perspective. We have to deduce from a slanted view point the other sides. But Mr. Obama struggled personally from both sides. He could see the prejudices, short sightedness, ignorance and naivete from both perspectives that perpetuate racism, fear and distrust. And with this knowledge he had to figure out who he was. He is honest in his struggle to understand a father he hardly knew. He grew up in a white household, mother and grandparents who did their best at loving and teaching him well. But he grappled with his identity as a young black man. Claiming either extreme, black or white, would deny his family or his ancestry. And in the end he forms himself into a man to be admired and awed. His struggle for identity mirrors the struggle of every individual who grows from childhood to adulthood and must make sense of the hurts, ambiguities and scars of days gone by.

I am thrilled that he trusted his own voice in telling the story. Since I hear him often in news reels I know his voice. So it was easy for me to hear him telling the story in my head as he read. He let me right into his mind... to the grappling and tossing and turning of thoughts, beliefs and values. I am proud to live in a country where the story of a whole nation can be expressed in the reflections of this one man. He claims us as his own. Barack Obama, I claim you too.

Support Obama on health care reform

On Wednesday, President Obama reaffirmed his support for a public health insurance option--the key piece of health care reform that will provide coverage for all Americans and help bring costs down.

But as the health care fight heats up, right-wing lobbyists and conservatives in Congress are working hard to kill the public health insurance option.

I signed a petition today telling Congress I stand with Obama on health care reform. Can you join me at the link below?

http://pol.moveon.org/popetition/

For more information on health care reform visit Reality Check.

Thanks!

Health Care Reform? How bout Healthcare Compassion?

I get regular emails from MoveOn.org. They keep me abreast of the happening in the progressive political scene. A scene that I identify with even if I am not active in pursuing its agenda. But today I received an email about a woman with two brain tumors. One diagnosed in 2005 and another in 2007. CIGNA is her health care insurer. Well, what i mean is that she pays them money for coverage and they deny her claims.

As the country debates the need for healthcare reform and guarenteed healthcare for all, her story is more than relevant. For 2 years she was denied coverage for the treatment she needed for the treatable brain tumors. Move On. Org helped her force the company to agree to treatment but has never explained why she was denied for so long.

You can see Dawn's story on YouTube.

Visit her blog, It Could Happen To Anyone, to read about her story and her trip to the CIGNA headquarters to confront the CEO about her denial of coverage.