My little Republican in the making

The girls and I were on our way to my office the other day and took the Los Osos Valley Road exit. Like most times you take that exit, there is a bum with a sign on the corner. Of course the light is red and we are sitting right next to Mr. Bum. Kailee is getting pretty curious about the folks and usually asks, "Mommy, what are they doing?" I say, "Asking for money." She says, "Why don't we give them any?" I say, "Because they will buy things that aren't good for them." (drugs and alcohol) She says, "Why don't they have money?" I say, "Because they are lazy and don't go get a job." I know, harsh, but really, can't they get a job SOMEWHERE?? And I do explain to her that we give food, money and clothes to other charitable organizations that give help to the homeless, etc. So I don't feel like I am disobeying God's command to take care of our brothers.

Anyway, I digress... back to the exit, stopped next to Mr. Bum. Instead of giving her the same old answer, I gave her more. She says, "What does his sign say?" I read it to her, "Anything will help". Her, "What does that mean?" Me, "They want money, food or clothes... anything" Her, "Why don't we give him something?" Me, "Because we are Republicans" Her, "What's that?" Me, "Do you think you are a Republican or a Democrat" (I know she has no clue what either is, but thought I would ask) Her, "Democrat" Me, "So you would rather work hard and make $100 but have the President (she understands who he is, not so much for government), take $25 to give to that guy so he doen't have to work, but can still buy food, clothes, etc." Her, "Yes mommy, we are supposed to help people" Hmm... that's true, but... Me, "So, pretend there was a great big room full of people and everybody else had to work hard away from their families (pull her heartstrings) to make money so we could pay taxes to the president to buy that room full of people clothes and food. Would you want to work hard for your $100 and keep it ALL or pay taxes so those people don't have to work, but still get food and clothes." Her, "I don't want to pay taxes." YUP. Me, "Then, you are a Republican."

Disclaimer:
Before you all write scathing comments about how I am raising her to not care about others... we do give to others, I just feel that some people should try harder to make ends meet before utilizing gov't help and maybe 5 is a good age to start understanding that. Not to mention, I have been known to give a bum a granola bar, or whatever food I might have stashed in my car when I am stopped on an exit next to one.

Conclusion:
Next time you see Kailee ask her if she is a Republican or a Democrat... her answer will be, "Republican" then ask her why. She'll say, "I don't want to pay taxes." =) Happy Momma.

Spillage and other things

If one more kid spills a 1/2 full glass of milk or their cereal bowl right after that last bite of cereal, but just before they slurp the remaining milk.... I WILL LOSE IT!!! Seriously. My kids are not usually spillers. Lately..... let's just say, Sunday was a bowl of milk and today, Monday was the cup of milk that I had JUST set before the little unnamed princess to drink. Of course it spills right in the crack of the table and drips down between the legs of the table, the chairs, the ... you get the picture.

Anyway. We had a great weekend with Dad. He is doing great! The girls and I took off Saturday AM to go to dance/run errands and let Dad study. Then we relaxed a bit, played with our friend Rich and his daughter Isabella, delivered some Girl Scout Cookies... and went to a BBQ with our friend from church who is in the academy and one of Mike's roomies @ our OTHER friends from church who are retired CHP. They are truly an amazing blessing to us. Our CHP family if you will.

And that is a perfect time to give a little shout out to all of our other great friends who have had us girls over for dinner or picked the girls up when I run late at work or had us over just to hang out. THANK YOU!! We have a long road and I know, for myself at least, I won't be able to do it without your help and prayers!

Because there are other people in this family!

I have gotten some feedback from ya'll requesting that I say a word or 5 or 6 about us girls... so here is a pic from the previous post about Kailee and her new found skill to blow bubbles:

There she BLOWS!!! She is pretty cute.

Really we haven't been up to much else. The girls are in Awana @ a church in town. Kailee is a "Spark" and Addie Ray is a "Cubbie". They memorize Bible verses and play games.

They have a ballet/tap class, that is rather hilarious to watch. There is a little boy in class named Morgan. He is the exact same height as Addie Ray. He told her so. "You have to be my partner because we match". Little did he know what he was in for. The song they were practicing was "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid. Well, everytime it said "Kiss the Girl, Addie Kissed HIM!" Everyone was cracking up!

And then there is Daisy's. That is mini-Girl Scouts. Mom is the leader and we meet once a week at school. We just finished cookie sales and get to pick up the cookie orders SATURDAY!! I can't wait for Thin Mints. MMMMMMMMMMMMM YUMMY!!

Addie was actually asleep! This was at daycare. Kailee laid with her until she fell asleep. SISTERS! Too cute.


That's all for now. Mikey will be home tomorrow night, so I am sure I will have an update on the man in our life... well partly in our life =)

And I thought I hated my job????

well, whenever you have an 'I Hate My Job' day

[Even if you're retired, you sometimes have those days]

Try this out:On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section and purchase a rectal thermometer made by Johnson &JohnsonBe very sure you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the curtains and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed.Change into very comfortable clothing and sit in your favorite chair. Open the package and remove the thermometer. Now, carefully place it on a table or a surface so that it w ill not become chipped or broken.Now the fun part begins .

Take out the literature from the box and read it carefully . You will notice that in small print there is a statement:' Every Rectal Thermometer made by Johnson &Johnson is personally tested and then sanitized . 'Now, close your eyes and repeat out loud five times, 'I am so glad I do not work in the thermometer quality control department at Johnson &Johnson ..'

Um... I think I'll take getting told everything I do is wrong everyday over a J&J testing lab.

Test results are in!

After a little too much "Personal Attention" Friday, Mike started the week off with some excellent news! They had Presidents Physical Testing last week (think jr. high: how many push-ups, sit ups, etc can you do in a minute). He is one of 4 guys tied for 3rd Place out of his whole Company - that's 76 guys! He was very happy to see his pre-Academy training pay off. He also got the results from his first test (Academic part). A 96.67%!!! Woo Hoo! I think he needed that little boost. Hard work is paying off.



Today they had a "POP QUIZ: Brass check" That means that they stood at attention while the Sargent inspected the brass on their equipment, pins, etc. Mike and his roomies happened to do a quick polishing this morning and passed with flying colors. Apparently several "Blue Cards" (naughty cards) were handed out, but not to Michael =)

In case you were wondering what the personal attention was about, let me explain. They were in "PT" (Personal Training) and they had to hold up their mats above their heads with their partner ("Beat Partner"). Mike couldn't feel his arms so he put one arm down to rest. The Sargent saw and came over and threw the mat off of them. As he threw the mat, Mike stumbled a bit. When he stood up he was right front of the Sargent and the guy was only chest high to Mike. Game on. The guy starts yelling at Mike saying "Do you think you are intimidating b/c you are tall... yada yada" Mike, now dubbed "Cadet Attitude" had to go in the middle of the gym and do a million push-ups, mountain climbers, etc while the rest of his Company walked around the gym saying "Thank you Cadet Hamilton for strengthening our body and our minds". Hmmm... wouldn't you have liked to be there??? Then they went out to do their run and apparently couldn't get their little formation together and had to do a death march: 4 guys, arms around each others' shoulders, and do walking lunges. As if that wasn't enough fun for the day, they had to squat down, butt almost to the ground, flash light in front and WADDLE along QUACKING!!!! An actual duck walk. How the Sargent's kept a straight face with 76 grown men QUACKING??????? I would have been peeing in my pants. I mean... aww poor babies!! (SNICKER SNICKER=)

Anyhoo... Mike was no longer Cadet Attitude when PT rolled around Monday. He was glad to have that behind him.

On a family note... Kailee learned to blow a bubble with gum yesterday. Very exciting. She is also working on perfecting her snapping. "Did you hear it? Did you hear it Momma???"

Keep the prayers coming!!

More of an update

All of you who are new to this adventure, Mike left for California Highway Patrol Academy February 2. The Academy is in Sacramento and lasts until August 7. He comes home on the weekend. They have a dorm, mess hall, etc. See below:


Study Desks

Bathroom shared by the "Quad". 12 guys, 2 toilets, 2 showers. Doesn't that sound fun??

Bunk beds. Not so fun when you're 30 years old and 6'6". They are so worn out by the end of the day I don't think it really matters. Mike is on the bottom, in case you were imagining him doing flips off of the top bunk =)

Mess Hall. They have approx 6 minuntes to eat their food. They had their body fat tested and anyone above 16% is put at the "Training Table", otherwise known as the "Fat Table". Mike is NOT there. Woo hoo!

Assembly line...

We are 2 weeks in. Weekends aren't so much weekends as there is homework, memos, and rest. The typical day at the academy ends around 11 (2300) and they have to report to PT (Physical Training) at 0445. Yes, that's 4:45 AM. For any of you who know Michael, or me for that matter, we ARE NOT morning people. Apparently the fear of extra "Personal Attention" does a good job of getting him out of bed and on time... which by the way, on time is "late" and early is "on time" at the Academy.

It is very strict, military style. The have something like 1200 hours of classroom/academic stuff. Intermixed is PT 3 days a week, shooting, driving, etc. They definintley make sure they are prepared for the job, which as a wife who likes the idea of my husband coming home from work every night, can appreciate.

That's all for now. I'll keep you "posted" =)

Blog numero uno

For those of you who I told... "No, I'm not a blogger, I have nothing to say." You can now say I told you so. But, really I am just starting this blog because of the latest Hamilton Family adventure. There are many of you who will be reading this who know that Mike is away at the California Highway Patrol Academy. And ya'll keep calling, the sweet things you are, to check on his progress/emotional status/my sanity level/the girls/etc. That is why I am blogging. Although my husband is now away, I still have lots to do. As much as I would love to chat it up each evening, I really just can't do it anymore. By the time I return all calls and talk to everyone, I can't get anything done, kids go to bed late, etc. Solution: Blog. Really, I'm not trying to be rude. I am eternally grateful for the support I have from all of you and I know that I could never get through this without each and every one of you. But, I think it will be great to have a place everyone can go to check out what's happening. SOOO... Here is our blog. This is the starter post. Tomorrow, I will say more...

I love you all and am so grateful for your support and prayers!