I'm BaaaAAACCCKKKK!!!

My God in heaven, I feel like I have been reborn. I finally have Internet, TV, and a home phone. Its a miracle, I tell you. A Christmas miracle (I can say that, because even though its November 10th, its Christmas in all the stores). I can't believe I've been down for a week and a half (thanks, AT&T and your crackerjack customer service... Yes, Rajeed, that was a thick layer of sarcasm). What's more, I cannot believe I have missed commenting on some major events both nationally, globally, and in my own life. So, in case you care, or more importantly because I care... I am going to provide some snippets now.

So, of course, the major announcement.... Barack Obama won! Sorry Laura, but HA HA! I ran around singing "We Are the Champions" until I realized that just because the guy I voted for won, doesn't mean that I am heading to the West Wing. I loved that show though, and continue to delude myself that I will be CJ Craig some day, although less tall and unfortunately much less skinny. But, I salute our new commander in chief and take pride in the fact that my kids will be raised in an era that never knew that an African American couldn't be President. That is pretty huge. I credit my parents and the way I was raised in that I never really considered that either. I went to a biracial wedding when I was young, and only learned later in life that it was significant. But, my children will never understand that part of life, and I say hooray for that. McCain or Obama supporter... this is one of those "I remember when" moments.

In my own life, other than fighting with AT&T for hours, I had a few moments, too. For one, Mark and I have been called to the Principal's office. OK, not really, but we are meeting with Tabbi's teacher and her school counselor because she is not putting forth any effort and is intentionally screwing up. So, "Failure as Parents, party of two.... please report to the elementary school." I am not getting into a Tabbi post right now, but I will just say this. I never knew how hard it would be to raise someone else's child. To be continued...

Not only are we failing the 9 year old, but we are also staying consistent by failing the 2 year old. We started potty training last Sunday. My little genius went pee pee on the potty several times Sunday and Monday. Then he decided he was done. So, the only stuff happening in the potty is dust collection at this point. I tried bribes, but the more cash I gave him, the less he understood why I was giving it to him. OK, so I didn't really bribe with cash, but the stickers, Hershey kisses and Matchbox cars did nothing. We are taking a week off and then we'll see if I can get him back up on the horse (or on Elmo, as the case may be).

Lastly, my brother was in town this weekend. He is so good with the kids that I would like to hire him as my manny. Of course, I don't work, so the job would pay poorly and have no benefits, so I am guessing he would pass. If not, my HR background would force me to advise him that it is a poor career move.

I did encounter something interesting this weekend that I wanted to blog about though. Mike, be ready... it involves you. I experienced two random acts of generosity this weekend and was pretty moved by both. My Aunt Barb and Uncle Rus sent Tabbi a laptop computer this week. They are very successful and have no children of their own, so their siblings' children and their siblings' children's children really benefit from their generosity. So, the gesture for Tabbi is totally amazing, right? I mean holy cow... I type on a crappy desk top. But, here's the really impressive thing. The computer is from the organization One Laptop per Child (visit www.laptop.org for more info). Their goal is to bring education and empowerment to children all over the globe, so with the purchase of one of their green laptops (environmentally friendly, not just the color) an equally cool and durable laptop is sent to a child in Africa. Wow, right? I applaud that group, my aunt and uncle for knowing about them, and anyone with the funds and desire to support them. So, that was act one. Act two comes from my brother. And, I don't just mean him taking care of Will all weekend, although that was pretty fab! My brother, who blogs at www.christianarchy.lifewithchrist.com (yeah, we're not all that alike) has a lot of charities on his blog. He supports ONE, Bono's org and recently added a child that needs to be adopted. And, I don't mean Angelina Jolie adoption, I mean those "For one dollar a day...." commercial adoptions. I thought that was pretty cool, but then he told me that he has one. First I thought, mazel tov, I'm an aunt. Then I thought, wow... impressive. He's always had impeccable moral character (blah blah blah...we can't all be saints), but its even bigger when you take into account he lives in a tiny crap shack. His term, not mine. He's getting a masters in divinity (again, we're not twins, OK) and works at a homeless mission in Podunk, Kansas (my term, not his). He has no money, or at least, very little... and yet he supports a whole human being somewhere. I used to work, and had money to burn and burned it well (which I kick myself for, now that I have no money period). And yet my brother, the better of us clearly, takes his meager wages and supports a child a world away. Wow. Words are not big enough.

So anyway, I feel like I've forgotten how to blog after so long. I promise, I'll get back to ranting about saggy boobs (both mine and the one I am married to), and complaining about parenthood and all its insanity. Thanks for staying with me during the black out!!!