Philosophy

On my search for bilingual info, I found this:

Appiah: Well, you know, one of the things about the United States is that it is a country that is very self-consciously diverse now and that's good, but you have to remember that that diversity comes with a great deal of shared American stuff. For example, 99.something percent of Americans understand and
speak English. Now in the country I grew up in, in Ghana, there is no language that 99 percent of the people understand. Barely fifty percent of the population can communicate reliably in the government language, which is English. So we think of ourselves as very diverse, but in many ways, we're actually less diverse than we think we are.
What holds the United States together in many senses is the fact that, despite this acceptance of the diversity of identities, people are in fact, you know, remarkably similar. If you come from outside the United States, one of the first things that strikes you, I think, is, on the one hand, they all keep saying how different they are. On the other hand, they all seem, to the outsider, so American.
When Americans go abroad - and this is one of the reasons why I think Americans should go abroad more - one of the things they discover is that people who think of themselves as very different
here - African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans, for example - you put them both down in Nairobi and suddenly they recognize that they have a great deal in common. So it's good, I think, that we accept and celebrate our diversity, but we have to remember that it's sort of within a certain framework.
I'll give you another example. When religions settle in the United States, they tend to become Americans in a certain way. For example, Islam in the United States. The broad majority of Muslims in the United States believe in the separation of
church and state. The broad majority of Muslims in many other countries don't. They think that it would be better to have (unintelligible). Most American Muslims are not after that. They're like most American Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Buddhists. They think it's just fine to have religion be something that you do and make decisions about privately and the government not be religious at all.

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200602/20060210_appiah.html

Bilingual

So as the worrisome mother that I am, I am starting to get worried about Handsome still not being able to speak. I decided to do some research and found the site http://www.bilingualbabies.org/ which states:

"Do bear in mind that it isn’t unusual for multilingual children to reach their second birthday with four words in their vocabulary."

Grr.

But then there is this:

"Speech disorders do occur, however, in bilingual children as in monolingual children, so if you are truly worried that your child is not understanding you (in any of the languages) or able to carry out commands by age 2, you should ask a professional’s advice."

He is already able to carry out commands in both languages, so at least we have that going for us.

And then:

"By halfway through your child’s third year, you can expect to have heard a few first words at least, and in other children you may have as far as the two-word stage or the telegraphic stage. Next you can look forward to the development of grammar and structure – a new and exciting adventure that is fascinating in that it reveals so much about your child’s thought processes and hypothesis-building strategies in the world of language. Hang on tight – it’s a rollicking ride!"

Rollicking? Really? Sure doesn't feel that way right now.

New teeth, Scrapbooking, Handsome

Random stuff because I never have time to blog anymore.

Handsome now has two new teeth bringing the grand total to 10. Beautiful teeth - minus the chipped front tooth which I still have no idea how it happened - and stinky breath. We really need to stop feeding him food with garlic in it.

I finally started my scrapbook! I grappled my fears and now have nine pages done!! Yay!! Now that's only up to the time he was a month old, so I have quite a ways to go, but it's a start! And this one looks SOO much better than last year's already!

And yesterday I had to go buy new sleepers for Handsome. He has grown out of his 12 month clothes so I had to buy 18 month clothes. I'm so proud of him for growing. And the lady checking us out literally said when we were leaving, "Bye bye Handsome!" Seriously!! I was walking away and I kinda paused for a minute kinda taken aback. I was wondering how in the world she knew his nickname. It did actually take me a little bit to realize she didn't actually know what I called him and it was merely a common nickname for kids. Yes, sometimes I'm slow.

Oh, and I cut Handsome's hair even shorter last night. DH says it's uneven though so I'm going to redo it tonight.

Understanding Words

Handsome now understands words. These are what he knows so far in English:

Milk
Water
Sippy Cup
Grandma
Grandpa
Mommy
Daddy
Toes
Foot
Ears
Nose
Food
Hungry
Bye bye
Sit
Kiss
Stand
Goldfish
Hug

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones where I can say things like, "Where is your nose?" And he can point to it.

He knows a similar amount of words in Dagaare.

Now my question is, when will he actually start USING these words??

Poor Blog

My poor blog. DH's school is in full force so I never get the computer anymore. Boo.

I've had my fair share of more family drama - DHs family of course - but no time to post about it. I had a really good day on Sunday at Cox Farms with Amy! If I ever get a chance I'll post a few pictures.

But I have noticed that my comments have dropped significantly lately... :(

Chipped Teeth

I chipped my front teeth on my fork last night. Seriously? I made it almost 30 years and NOW I chip my teeth?!

I'm afraid to smile now.

I'm going to call my dentist and see what he can do. I can't afford much right now. Don't know if insurance pays for this.

Grr.

Chipped teeth. Not cool.

A friend's plea - Diabetes

A friend of mine found out she had diabetes when we were in the second grade. She always tested her blood and took her insulin shots like there was nothing out of the ordinary that she was doing. She never thought of herself as being sick or being different, and therefore neither did the rest of us. It's only recently that she has gotten married and desperately wants children that I am starting to realize that her juvenile diabetes is going to affect her.

We grew up in a very red state, and she still lives in that red state. She sent this email out yesterday and I thought I would pass it along. I never thought about these issues to the depth that she has, but they are obviously important to her. Please don't think I wrote this. Hopefully from the writing style alone you will see that it is not me.

Again this is political, so if it is going to cause a problem, then don't continue. It deals with the health care plans of those running for president:

------------

Friends and family, regardless of your political leanings (and I know
they are not the same as mine in many of your cases), please excuse this as my
ONE political email this election cycle. Those of you who disagree, fine. But
when you write me back with something inflammatory, remember that there are some issues on which more than a flag pin depend.

Please read this editorial describing the McCain / Palin healthcare reform plan: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/opinion/16herbert.html?th&emc=th

For those that doubt the legitimacy of the claims in Herbert's column,
please consult McCain's website here.

I have been denied individual private health insurance as a juvenile
diabetic throughout my adult life, regardless of my ability to pay. As a
self-employed private contractor, I relied on my parents' COBRA plan until it
kicked me off at a certain age and then had to look into the state risk pool for
the "medically uninsurable." (Only 34 states offer high risk pool insurance,
btw.) If it weren't for my husband's insurance through his job, I wouldn't be
able to afford the medical care I need. My prescriptions for 2 vials of insulin
and 400 test strips with insurance this month - $52.40. Without insurance? Over
$650. My doctor visits this month with insurance - $40. Without? $400. The list
goes on. Not to mention thousands of dollars a year in insulin pump supplies.
That's on top of the wage reduction my husband agreed to to get insurance
benefits through his contract company to begin with.

The Obama plan is not watertight either, you might argue, but it is not this. The McCain plan is to drive consumers into the individual private insurance market by taxing our employee benefits as INCOME - triple dipping, as it were. Once for the premiums you already pay to the health insurance company, twice for benefits-as-income, and really a third time for the right of the company to offer you less pay in
the first place for paying a larger portion of your health care contributions.
This is supposed to push us into the individual insurance market and drive
prices down. It's not that I don't understand Republican economic policy - take
restrictions off of businesses and the market will flourish and we will all bask
in the warm golden ooze of prosperity. It sounds great in theory - but I'm not a
business. I'm a consumer, an individual, a worker, a human. And I don't know
about you, but I don't see Exxon trickling any of their nice little windfall
profits to my corner of the market.

The "don't raise my taxes" crowd is going to tax me right off my
healthcare plan and then into a market where I am "medically uninsurable."
Natural selection brought to a new low. My husband is young and "healthy" by
conventional standards. He could probably find individual coverage at a high but
manageable rate. But some of us... McCain has said that his goal is "to restore
control over our healthcare system to the patients themselves." I sure hope the
a-hole sends me a first-aid kit and a flashlight.

~M

Height

Not quite tall enough.

Oh the stuggles of just not being tall enough. I suppose you learn how to make do with what you have though when you are just too little to do what everyone else does.

On Sunday morning we went to a playgroup. Handsome was shy around the people that I knew and was talking to, but as soon as they left - we were late, so we stayed late too - he was fine joking with the complete strangers. Odd little one. He was playing with a plastic rake and every time a child came near him he would try to give them the rake. One poor little girl, who was maybe 2 1/2, was terrified because Handsome kept following her around trying to give her that rake. She finally found an opening and ran to her father for dear life. Please explain to me how a 2 1/2 year old would be afraid of a 16 month old.

Later that day we went to mass. I went without DH because he has a test today. I went to make sure that I prayed for him and his mother who is once again very sick. Handsome did well during mass. He played with the women who were sitting behind us.

Handsome also got his very first chocolate milk today. The first sip shocked him, but he drank the rest of it so fast I'm not sure he tasted it.

Oops

Does Oops count as a first word?

DH said Handsome was repeating Oops with him on Tuesday and even said it after he fell. So does that count?

When I got home and DH told me this, I of course had to try it out. I said Oops to see if he would copy. He just smiled at me. Later on in the car though, I repeated it. "Oops." And he said "Tsss" :) So we kept going and he finally said "ootss" That's darn close if you ask me.

We're at least making progress.

Intimidation

I'm intimidated. I admit it. I'm intimidated by scrapbooking.

I keep meaning to make a scrapbook (digital) of Handsome's first year. So far I've just listed the pictures that I want to include. Beyond that I don't know where to start. I've downloaded a few scrapbooking kits.

Math is easy. You can use whatever path you want, but there is only one right answer.

Creativity is daunting. There are so many different paths and so many different answers. It's the infinity that scares me.

Corn popper

You remember those old school toys, the Corn Poppers? Handsome has one and he LOVES it! But when he leaves it and goes for another toy he HAS to leave it standing up. To where it balances on the two wheels and the white spherical part. I have no idea where this obsession came from. If he can't get it to stand up, he will cry until he can get it to stand. He's not a crier for the most part, but if he is determined to do something and can't quite do it, then he gets upset.

Learning Timeout

I mentioned before that I am stating timeouts. I wasn't sure if he understood what timeout meant yet, but last night he showed he at least knew part of what it meant. He was spreading water on the coffee table from his sippy cup. I told him he wasn't supposed to spread water on the table (remember he does this often and out of his maybe five times in timeout so far probably three or four were for spreading water or milk on the coffee table. So after told him he wasn't supposed to spread water on the coffee table, as his warning, he got a very sad look on his face and walked himself to the timeout spot and sat on his little butt and started to cry. I did not tell him to go, he just seemed to understand that when he gets in trouble he goess to that spot and sits.

That understanding happened much more quickly than I had anticipated. Perhaps the next lesson should be what a warning means.

Stepping stools

Handsome likes to climb. I guess it's the boy in him. He will find boxes, and toys, and really anything he thinks he can stand on, bring them to a table where he wants something he can't reach, and commence climbing. It's smart and an annoyance all at the same time. We try to put things like glasses of water and school papers out of his reach, but as soon as he finds his box, nothing is safe.

Palin brings out the contradictions in me.

WARNING: If you are easily offended about political stuff, please do not read.

All the talk about Palin brings out all the contradictions in me. She is a walking contradiction herself. She is purported to be a conservative and yet she is living the life of a liberal. I'm not sure what my opinion is of her just yet. I really shouldn't have an opinion about her, but as this is my blog, I'm going to.

I won't vote for her. She represents so many things that I don't want in our government and in our families.

1. First hot button is that she is pro-life even in terrible situations. Here's my stance on pro-life. For me, as it affects my life, I am pro-life. I hate abortion and if I could I would save every baby - fetus - that I could. I don't think any woman should go thru the pain that it causes and I always want to save the baby. I would raise them all if I could. For my children I will raise them to follow through with pregnancies and if they feel they can't raise the child, then consider adoption (though I will be first in line to adopt the child). If any friend asks me whether they should get an abortion, I will always say no, and help them work through any issues they are facing. I think there should be programs teaching women about adoption and valuing life.

But politically? Politically I am pro-choice. I do not think that the government should make medical decisions on whether someone should be able to get an abortion. I don't think men or women with college degrees in political science should be making a medical decision about my life and my children's life. I think that any debate about the life and soul of the unborn fetus should remain in the realm of religion and steer clear of the political arena. Although my religious beliefs tell me that my tiny fetus has a soul, I don't want my government to dictate that. It has also been proven over the years that even if government prohibits abortion, abortions still happen. They happen illegally and not only are they successful at killing the fetus, they often kill the mother. I can't understand why so many people believe this is a better system.

So, I am happy that Palin decided to have her son when she knew he was going to have difficulties. I am happy that Palin's daughter is choosing to have her child and that their family is supportive of that. I am not happy that she would want to impose her beliefs on the rest of the nation.

2. My second issue with her is the question of why she would want to leave her family and run for VP. It feels to me like she is running away from her family. She returned to work when her son was three or four days old. While this shows a great dedication to her job, it also shows a lack of dedication to her own family. I do have my old fashioned ways, and I do believe that if you have the ability, then you should put your family first. Make financial and personal sacrifices in order to provide the best for your family. And then she chose to run for a national office where everyone in the United States of America who listens to the news now knows that her daughter is 17, pregnant, and unwed. If I were that daughter I would be devastated. I would feel betrayed by my own mother.

3. And in my book, I don't think McCain should have even asked her. It's hard to turn down the VP job, and I get that, but McCain, knowing her family situation should have let her be. She could very well be ready for office in about ten years. By that time her son will be older and her daughter will be more settled. McCain wanted to gain and so he put himself before her family. No, he has no obligation to her family, but in my world, people consider others before themselves. And children first and foremost.

4. And then the news that Palin attended meetings supporting Alaska's secession from the USA. If her reason for accepting the VP position is patriotism, I think that reason just flew out the window.

5. And then there are questions as to whether she was chosen because she was qualified, or chosen because she was female. I am an electrical engineer and went to classes full of males and maybe one or two other females. People tried to give me extra opportunities because I was female or hold me back because I was female. I had different expectations because I was female. I hated it. Hated every minute of it. I wanted my opportunities because I deserved them. I wanted to get an A when I deserved an A and fail when I deserved to fail. While it would be grand to see a female as president or vice president, I would like her to be there because she worked hard and deserved to be there. I would like her to be there because she is just better at getting things done than the rest of us. I do not want her to be there because McCain wants the stubborn female Clinton voters.

6. And McCain is no spring chicken. Though he is going strong now, no one can deny that he is 72. I want his back up to be ready for anything. Ready for if McCain has to go to the hospital for a night or if he has an unexpected clot or any of the many ailments that start hitting when you get up in years.

7. And then there is her speech. She is a wonderful speaker. Her speaking can make a person become mesmerized. But.... do you know what the first half of her speech was focused on? On her family. She focused on the one thing the rest of us were not supposed to focus on. She has decided that in order for us to vote on her we need to know about her wonderful family and how they all act and how she interacts with them. But as soon as someone else focuses on her family they are being sexist. So apparently we are supposed to fixate on the great things about her family and sweep everything else under the rug. When anyone is running for one of the highest offices in America they are going to be investigated. It comes with the territory. And as has been found out by almost every news network is the majority of information she gave about her political career or Obama's stances is wrong. Not just stretching the truth, but untruths. Her speech has gathered great numbers of followers too. And being a good speaker is not a qualification for presidency - yes the same can be said about Obama. It is important, but so is being knowledgeable and having a good education and experiences.

I know politicians stretch the truth. I know it's normal. I don't do well with blatant lies though.

I'm pretty sure I could babble on about this for a long time. There are just so many things about this that bother me. I know it is her choice to run, and I would never try to take that away from her. Even so, my heart hurts for her and her family.


http://www.slate.com/id/2199131/

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13098.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-elisberg/the-worst-vice-presidenti_b_122491.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/2/163035/8405/137/583631 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hjGaAjQoUCE3VQ4N3M852LEdOVtwD9304JE80

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_popmachine/2008/09/heart-to-republ.html

http://www.crosscut.com/whitehouse/17341/

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Sexism_complaints_no_longer_whining.html?showall

Not Shy

My son is not shy. For a while he would act like he was shy, but he's done with that now. When we go to the grocery store he will smile and wave at every person that walks by. He's the biggest flirt I've seen.

Last night we went to Bitter's house to play Rock Band and Guitar Hero. There were around ten people there at a time - Handsome being the only person under let's say 27 years old. Handsome ran around that place like he owned it. He smiled at everyone and picked up every remote he wasn't supposed to have. He followed the dog around with the dog toys and constantly tried to steal the dog food.

I'm glad he seems to have the confidence to go to people without holding our hands. I would prefer that he holds our hands, but it's good to know he has a little bit of independence.