Jamie's Conspiracy Theory and other fun thoughts on the current economic crisis and why Obama isn't helping...

Last night at McDonald's (we were killing time before our Ash Wednesday Service), Jamie and I ran into a friend who wanted to talk stocks w/Jamie. Well, he really wanted Jamie to tell him that his broker is an idiot and that BOA stock is a good buy right now, but Jamie wouldn't tell him that! Jamie instead said that he is now of the opinion that President Obama and the Dems in Congress are deliberately manipulating the market in a downward spiral in order to create economic panic and thereby make their social programs (nationalized health care, for example) and big government appealing to the masses. After all, the last time the country was in a depression was when era of big government got started under the New Deal.

I have a hard time disagreeing with Jamie here. Every single time the President speaks, the market tanks. If I were President and the market tanked every time I opened my mouth, I'd shut the hell up. Our President either (1) doesn't see that glaringly obvious correlation, or (2) he doesn't care. He seems to be a smart enough man, so my money is on #2. Common sense dictates that if the man cared about my 401K becoming a 201K, he'd stop making the market go down.

My dad called today in a kerfluffle because of some tax that is going to increase energy prices. Since the energy costs will be passed on to the consumer, the government is going to give up to $800 a year to poor families to cover that increased cost. Now, I'm all about charitable giving when people decide to give. I'm a sucker for charitable giving (Jamie would wholeheartedly agree with that, I ususally only own up to it at tax time when I have to give him my reciepts for the year and endure a harsh lecture about how much more we could give in the future if I'd stop spending it all now). What I do not like is when the government decides to take away my choices re: charitable giving by increasing my taxes to increase their spending on wasteful government programs. Moreover, Obama's current economic plans penalize success and take away incentives to do well. Why should I earn more than 249K a year when the government is going to take an ever increasing chunk of that income to support other Americans? The private sector is more effective than government. Capitalism works. It isn't perfect, but it generally rewards hard work, grit and determination. Look at the United States in the 80s under Reagan. Compare that with the Soviet Union. The US (a capitalist society) thrived. The USSR (a socialist state) collapsed. Even FDR's treasury secretary conceded that the New Deal was an enormous failure. Yet we have a democratic Congress and President currently pushing through a budget with a record deficit in the TRILLIONS to support more big government/socialist programs.

I think Congress and the President need a history lesson. And I think the country needs a new Ronald Reagan.

Random Stuff

So the economy sucks. Jamie still has a job, of course, but every so often will look at me, sigh and say, "We're in the worst economy since the Great Depression. Could you watch your spending?" I haven't had a pedicure since Christmas, and I don't remember exactly why, but I really deserved that last one. However, since we're in a recession, I'm saving my pedi money for doggy day care. I'm all about priorities.

Lest you think I'm as awful Paris Hilton as that sounds (I do re-read what I write), my major shopping vices are Target and Dierbergs. With Costco thrown in every other month or so. It is not like I'm dropping a wad at Saks frequently. Or really, ever. I'm buying groceries and Glade plug ins/detergent.

We are getting the hardwood floors screened this week. My neighbors' hardwoods look so much nicer than mine. Probably because the Clampetts didn't reside in their homes before they bought them (I'm sure the previous owners were very nice people, but good housekeepers? Not so much). Seriously, the hardwoods weren't so hot when we moved in. Five years later, they look like crap because they desperately need another coat of urethane. So I got a referral from a friend w/beautiful hardwoods and got a quote from her company. Then I got a second quote (b/c that's what responsible people do) from the company the refinished the church's hardwood floors. Unfortunately due to the fact that I used Orange Glo cleaner on my floors (I'm pretty sure Satan himself makes that stuff--ditto Murphy's Oil Soap, do NOT use that crap on your floors) they wouldn't screen the floors, they wanted to refinish him. Which costs three times as much and takes three times as long. Um, yeah--not so much when the Dow sinks lower every day and Jamie is sending me emails w/YouTube clips about some housewife buying a month of groceries for her family of four on $50. Seriously. He sent me that in an email. I didn't watch it. Like I have time for obsessive coupon clipping with my Facebook addiction. We're in a recession and I shopped at Aldi tonight ($.35 Mac and Cheese AND wine, I really like that place). I love Chase's age b/c he was fascinated by the pay-carts and off brands. Hey Mom, I found some Lucky Charms that aren't, can we get them? It was like a big fun adventure. Until Cass sneezed green snot and lost her paci...then, not such an adventure. And even though Chase was totally pissed that he didn't get to see the pay-cart in action, thank you Aldi shopper lady who gave me a quarter and saved me from taking my cranky toddler BACK to return my cart hell.

I need to think about something happy. Shermy's BFF was over TWICE today. He's been sacked out since Diesel left around 6pm. I haven't been walking him since Cass and I have both been feeling craptastic, hopefully tomorrow it will be decent walking weather after her nap b/c I'm feeling like a slug. But exercise is completely unappealing when you can't breathe...

I'm off to finish my bible study for Wednesday. I'm the geek who reads ahead. Why wasn't I like that in school when I was getting grades? Maybe I will finish my Masters just for fun...

Febrile Seizure

My sister's latest blog talks about Bomber's ruptured eardrums. She got a phone call today from me saying, "If motherhood were a poker game, I'd take your two ruptured eardrums and raise you a febrile seizure." Yes, it's a warped sense of humor, but like my mom's friend Pat used to say, "Laughing about it is better than crying about it."

So yes, Cassie had a febrile seizure this afternoon. It was absolutely horrifying and scary but I held it together because that's what you do when you're a mom. the ped gave me "Mom of the Year" b/c I was so calm. I was freaking out on the inside, but totally freaking out and melting down was not going to help Cassie. There is a 60-70% chance it won't happen again, and a 99.5% chance that she won't have any seizure issues as an adult. I'm good with those odds, and will prep all future caregivers what to do if another one happens, just in case. Just in case you ever wondered: in the event of a seizure, turn the person on their side (to prevent choking) and try to keep them from hurting themselves (protect their head from the floor). If it happens again--there will be testing. But hopefully we won't have to go there.

She's on antibiotics--the ped suspects either a sinus infection or the start of pneumonia. Knowing how sick Chase was with pneumonia in '07, my money is on a sinus infection or influenza, but she's the dr and I trust her.

I would have gone to the bar once Cass went to bed (Mama deserves a martini), but Jamie brought me an ice cream cone after Chase's batting practice. Ice cream is just as good as a martini and my clothes don't smell like bar. Mad props as usual to my Dad who was here to meet Chase when he got off the bus so I could rush Cass to the ped (he was coming anyway, but after the seizure, I rushed out of here so fast that she didn't even have shoes on). My dad is a lifesaver.

Any prayers you could send Cassie's way for quick healing are much appreciated. Ditto Brady (because I've heard ruptured eardrums are comparable to natural childbirth in terms of pain and my tasteless poker joke is in no way attempting to minimize the abject misery of that) and Brewer (ear infection, too and he's only 5 mths old) and Hayden (clearly when one of my sister's kids are sick, they're all sick). Apparently my sister and I passed on our puny genes...

So it IS possible to have a lower approval rating than Bush when he left office and NOT be a member of Congress...

If your name is Timothy Geithner, your approval rating is around 17% right now. So much for HOPE and CHANGE. I'm hoping for a change in 2012 (and hoping the country survives until then). Despite better than expected retail sales news for the month of January, the market tanked again today, only to recover when Obama talked about giving my tax dollars to people who can't afford their house payments. Awesome! Really, what were we thinking five years ago when we bought a house we could afford anyway. Silly us and our financial responsibility. We should have doubled our square footage (and mortgage) and bought a house we couldn't afford and let the government bail us out. Because apparently our "living, breathing Constitution" not only provides for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness but also houses we can't afford and (God help us) socialized medicine for all. Yay! Seriously, when did documents become living things anyway? I must have slept through that whole paper breathing thing in biology class...

I've got more, but I need to go to bed, lest I prove my Dad's snarky comment of "you're on the Internet 20 hours a day and only sleep like five hours a night to feed your addiction" true. How does he know that, anyway?

I just can't keep my mouth shut...

which shouldn't surprise any of you!

I've been reading a bit about the California mother of six who recently became a mother of 14 after giving birth to octuplets. We spent three years trying to conceive Cassie. Six months of Clomid courtesy of Dr. B. When that didn't work (hey--it was how we got Chase), she sent us to Dr. P for "ovarian hyperstimulation." We started on clomid, a slightly higher dosage than Dr. B's. I did another six or eight months on clomid (not consecutive because there were months I had to take off for testing and other things) and then I had a laparoscopy. Endometriosis was discovered and removed. I did three more months of clomid and still no pregnancy. So we moved on to the big guns--I started injectible meds and intrauterine insemination. I did six months of injectibles and had three IUIs. Cass was conceived on our third (and final) round of IUI. Praise God! If the IUI hadn't worked, we'd have taken two months off and started IVF in January 2007. Three of my injectible cycles were cancelled because I developed too many follicles (more than four) and my risk of multiples was too high. Since I said from the get go that selective reduction was NOT an option for us, conceiving higher order multiples was also NOT an option from my dr's perspective. During each of my three IUI cycles, I had four eggs release and approximately 180 million sperm deposited. 12 eggs + 540 million sperm = 1 Cassie. Really, how many people can say that? The bright side of infertility.

I had more vaginal ultrasounds and blood draws than I can count. Not to mention injecting myself w/pergonal. On good days I felt like a pincushion and on bad days--a science project gone bad. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, without a second thought, for our Cassie. But I'd never do it again. Jamie and I love our kids and if God surprises us with a third, we'd be over the moon. But I can't imagine subjecting myself and my body to the hell that is fertility treatment again when I've been blessed with two beautiful, healthy, and perfect children. That just seems so greedy, selfish and wrong to me.

My doctor cancelled all cycles (clomid & injectible) if there were more than 4 follicles large enough to release. Did I ever resent his conservatism? You bet. I wanted a baby more than anything and I knew my chances of conceiving were higher w/a truckload of eggs shooting out. But we never tried "the fun way" during those cycles. Maybe it's because I'm a twin, or because I know my limitations as a mother, or because I'm vain and know my belly would never recover, but multiples scared the bejeezus out of me. I'll never forget freaking out on the phone during one injectible cycle to my mom and having her say to me, "Christi, if I could handle it, you could too." Thankfully, God blessed us with the singleton pregnancy I wanted! But the thought of multiples was on my mind with every needle stick and probe I endured.

Given the time I put in at the RE's office (that would be Reproductive Endocrinologist for those of you lucky enough to get pregnant w/o help), I think I'm qualified to say that California mother is crazy. And if she isn't certifiable now, she will be in a few years. Do you WATCH Jon and Kate plus 8? Because her life just became that plus 6 minus the husband part of the equation. Even more than that, there is a team of medical professionals who violated simple common sense and every single medical guideline for reproductive endocrinology with this pregnancy. More than the mother's lack of common sense (which bothers me a lot--because really, if you're bankrupt, you probably shouldn't be pursing fertility treatment to expand your brood of six), I'm bothered by the medical professionals who encouraged this. The whole situation is just really very sad and wrong to me.

The Good, The Bad, the Ugly

Good news first: At 10:05 tomorrow evening, Chase will be seven years old. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? I remember I stopped pushing (TMI?) just to see the lead story on KSDK's 10pm news--would it be Trent Green or Kurt Warner starting in the Super Bowl for the Rams? Chase came home with a Super Bowl onesie from St. John's, the Rams lost that Super Bowl and well into the throes of breastfeeding hell, postpartum depression, and new motherhood, I really didn't care. Seven amazing years later, Kurt Warner is starting in another Super Bowl for the Arizona Cardinals, and we're rooting for him again! And Chase has been a greater source of joy (and frustration sometimes) that we could have ever imagined. So a very Happy Birthday to our big boy!

The kind of good: my pinched nerve is improved to the point where I no longer need pharmaceuticals to function, although I'm long overdue for another chiropractic adjustment (hopefully tomorrow).

The bad: We missed my nephew Brady's bday party last Saturday because Chase woke up with pinkeye. And Sherman woke up w/an infected hot spot on his neck b/c Jamie forgot to take the e-collar off before he put him to bed. So countless loads of laundry and antibiotic eyedrops (Chase) and oral antibiotics & cream (Sherm) later, I think we're on the other side of this. Sherm's been w/o his e-collar or pinch collar the better part of the week and his behavior has been really very wonderful! I did use the e-collar when we went down to the common ground to sled yesterday, but didn't need to use it. He loves the snow more than the kids, I think! He is really maturing into a great dog and all that training is REALLY paying off!

The ugly: Approximately 54-56 weeks ago I blogged about my then-three-year-old dishwasher needing repairs nearly equal to the cost of the dishwasher. I'm sure you can find the post (there may be more than one) under January 2008. My now-four-year-old Maytag stopped working yesterday afternoon. I spoke to Maytag/Whirlpool, clarified what would be covered under the manufacturer's warranty, and decided that we should do our part to stimulate the economy and get my third dishwasher (fourth if you count the one I had to buy for the rental house last year--I don't) in five years. I had to replace a five year old Maytag a year after we moved into this house. I wanted to get a Kenmore, stupid Sears saleslady talked me into another Maytag. Yesterday I got a Kenmore Elite from the same salesguy who sold me the oven in October. I probably should have asked for a frequent shopper discount since he actually remembered me!

I could do a long, huge rant about Maytag but I did that a year ago. Suffice to say, the parts that Maytag replaced a year ago failed again. The original cost of the machine, plus the repair last year, plus this repair would = a top of the line dishwasher and probably part of my new stove as well. Or the front loading HE washer I covet. But shhhhh on that. We've now replaced every appliance we bought with this house (the microwave, range & two dishwashers have died, & the water heater is on its last legs) and the house is only nine years old! Of the appliances that we bought when we married, the 12 year old fridge and 12 year old washer are still kicking (both Kenmore). And they need to kick a little longer or Jamie is going to make me work at Sears for an appliance discount...

Bottom line? Whirlpool owns Maytag. My sister replaced her four year old Whirlpool dishwasher this month and I had to replace my four year old Maytag dishwasher. Maybe I had a lemon, but I'm not testing my luck with another Maytag/Whirlpool appliance again! They just don't make them like they used to.

All in all though, more good than bad. And my new dishwasher is being installed tomorrow. YAY that! A happy, happy day tomorrow will be!

Ouch

So I pinched a nerve in my neck sleeping funny Monday night. Getting old sucks. I may be a bit scarce until I'm feeling better...