Pictures!!!

Follow this link to see our newest pictures!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZs2bNu0ZNGYA&notag=1

A little side note though on the pictures. The Amazing Race ones were a birthday party we did for a friend. It was mostly fun until I (Ivy) took a nasty fall resulting in a sprained ankle and a busted knee that landed me on crutches for a week. Other than that, we had lots of fun.

Enjoy.

Oh and another post below, be sure to read to your heart's content....

Empty Nest Syndrome - literally

Baby bird in white circle
Getting bigger....

Last picture taken before they all flew away...

Because it's funny and pretty much true and I have no time to create an original post, but I will soon...Oh, and I am a union steward too!

Somebody needs a UNION---


OFFICE MEMO*To all Employees:**Effective on 20th June, 2007.
**Dress Code
*1. It is advised that you come to work dressed. According to your salary if we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a pay raise.
2. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a pay raise.
3. If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a pay raise.

*Sick Days
We will no longer accept a doctor's certificate as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

*Holiday Days
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year.They are called Saturday and Sunday.

*Compassionate Leave
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch break and subsequently leave one hour early.

*Toilet Use
1. Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls.
2. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and your picture will be taken.
3. After your second offence, your picture will be posted on the company notice board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.
4. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sanctioned under the company's mental health policy.

*Lunch Break
1. Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy.
2. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure.
3. Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. Remember we are an employer of choice and we are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.

Seth-ism

A week or so ago I was trying to get Seth to calm down. He was screeching something about something, I'm not sure what.

Anyway, I said to Seth (our almost 3 year old) - "Seth, STOP screeching!"

To which he replied "I'm NOT screeching, I'm whining!"

Yeah, well, can't argue with that...

We have BEAKS!!!

I'm proud to say (like I had a part in this) that we now have some baby birds in the nest. You can't see them from this picture but that is the nest in our carport.

Today, Laura went out to throw something away and heard the baby birds, then of course I had to check and sure enough I heard their tiny squawks. So being the city-girl I am, I convinced Laura to rig-up a mirror attached to the Swiffer handle and we checked and sure enough, there were at least 2 or 3 babies in the nest. I saw one head and a beak, the other(s) were curled around towards the back of the nest.

Next on the agenda is to figure out a way to take a picture of the babies without startling them or worse! Mama bird now just stares at me as I get into and out of my car, she no longer tries to kill me - or peck my eyes out.

Some new photos from today

So much to blog, so little time to do it.

My plan to blog about:

My job.

Our "goings-on".

New pic's.

House stuff.

Soon, soon, soon...

This is for Blogging for LGBT Families Day!!!!

Whew! I was hoping to be able to get this in today - on the day it's supposed to be in!

Not really sure what to blog about but I decided to try to make it positive. Let's see...as an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Family now with 3 kids we half-expected to be exposed to much more homophobia than we have, in fact, I really can't remember even one incident that we experienced. It was pretty much a non-issue when it was just Laura and I and no kids. Our friends and family knew we were a couple - whoever didn't like it - or didn't support us didn't make it known to us, and even if they did, I doubt it would have mattered much anyway. We are a couple, we are partners. Laura isn't my "roommate" or my "special friend" or even just "friend", we are partners in life. We were (still are) a couple and that's that.

Then we added kids to the mix and I expected some homophobia or stupid comments. Didn't get any, at least not to our faces. Our friends have been amazing (you know who you are!) since the birth of our kids. When our oldest son spends the night at his best friend's house, we feel 100% positive that they will treat him as their own and that they like us for who we are not what we are. The professionals we've met and dealt with including doctors, daycare providers, public school officials, etc. have been equally supportive. I recall meeting with our pediatrician before Foster was even born (our interview with her) and she stated she had no problems with us being a two-mom family - score! Not that we EXPECTED there to be an issue, but we were still relieved that there were none. And since then, every time we have come-out as a two-mom family to just about anyone, we've been met with nothing but acceptance. AGAIN, if there wasn't any acceptance, then it wasn't made clear to us.

Here in CA, both Laura and I are both the legal parents. Period. Therefore if something happened to me, the law is on Laura's side, as if we were opposite sex parents. There is NOBODY else on the planet that I'd want to parent our children more than my own partner if I wasn't around. NOBODY. They are OUR kids - plain and simple. She's been there since conception (okay, even before) and each and every day afterwards. And of course, I know that our kids wouldn't want ANYONE else than their own mommies to care for them. I feel protected here in this state - protected in the eyes of the law. Other states have to get with the program and extend the same protections to their same sex families that we enjoy here.

Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, homophobia - I know it exists, but in our personal lives we haven't experienced it in regards to our kids and isn't that what this day is all about -blogging for FAMILIES DAY. We are a family. One we made ourselves with a conscious effort. We didn't get pregnant by accident. It was planned every step of the way. I think that Laura and I have the responsibility to raise our children with the skills they need to start making some changes in the world - because I know there exists lots of homophobia in the world that they may be exposed to. That's an awesome responsibility. I hope to prepare them adequately. There needs to be change, both on the local and federal level. I have hopes that it will change - and one day ALL families - regardless of family make-up will be honored as such.