Political Ramblings and Rant

My first political memory is during the '84 election season. I was sitting in the back of the bus trying to explain to a friend why I would vote for Mondale/Ferraro. I remember saying that it was important that a women have the chance to be in the White House. I don't know how politicaly savvy I was then and I don't remember ever discussing politics with my parents. However, my parents taught me a lot in civics that I apply to my life today. (This is the rambling part, can you tell?) To the dismay of many people I know on both sides, I am a happy, fence sitter, who likes to vote for the best person, not necessarily for a certain party. I have voted Republican and Democrat, many times each. I try to do my homework, listen to what the candidates have to say and make an informed decision from there. I think that's what my parents have taught me, by teaching me history and through the every day civics lessons.

Fast forward 20+years to the election now. I've been in turmoil because neither candidate reflects what I personally believe to be important or necessary to have a strong, vibrant country, therefore, I've really been hashing out who I'm going to vote for--sometimes out loud in front of the kids. They have heard from me some history lessons that apply to what we are going through today and what the leaders did then and then how it relates to the people running for office now. They have heard me go through some of the civics lessons about what happens when people are in office, how they should handle certain situations and what we can expect from the leaders of our country. Never have I said I am voting for so and so because he's from this party (insert name and party--as a rule I never tell anyone who I have voted for and I've already voted:). I want them to learn that they eventually get to make their own choice and need to pick who will best lead our country, who is the most qualified and has what is needed to lead in whatever we are going through at the time. When they say they would vote for whoever, I ask them to back up their decision with facts, but never do I try to dissuade them if they can validate their choice. So there is my ramble and now on to my rant.

Ethan came home yesterday and said his entire class laughed at, made fun of and picked on him and one other student because they were the only ones that picked McCain in their mock election and this kind of ticked me off. I asked him what was done and it wasn't really nice, besides Ethan is one to usually brush that kind of stuff off. There was a sub, so the situation might have gotten a little out of hand due to that, but still I'm ticked. I'm not saying whether or not I agree with his choice, but I certainly don't agree with the idea that if someone disagrees with you politically, that it's okay to make fun of them. This is why we live in a democracy and have the right to choose our leaders. There will be differences of opinions and that is what makes it so great. This is also what is supposed to keep our leaders in line and working for the people. This election has been so divisive and I fear it has spilled over to the children, who hear their parents talking about the other candidate or whatever. The kids hear about who their parents would pick, but they never hear the reasons why and why the person is the best candidate. They hear them bash the other candidate, but never hear why he wouldn't be good for our country. This is a chance to teach our children the fundamentals of civics that make the process we go through in November so great. I actually fear, it is a lost subject and kids are only learning "I'm a Democrat" or "I'm a Republican", not really backing it up with facts. When I hear a kid say "McCain is lame" and I ask him why, I think if he is going to have the opinion that one candidate is lame then he should have a reason beyond "Because Obama is better". If not, his parents should sit him down and tell him to keep his view to himself until he can validate his opinion and not just repeat some silly slam on one person or the other (this goes for both sides, that was just the quickest example to type). So there's my rant.

I'm still not sure what to do about Ethan's class. I've thought I might mention something to the teacher, but haven't decided for sure. It could be her chance to teach a little civics. I guarantee that Ethan has thought his choice through and has reasons for it and that they make sense for a 2nd grader.

Life...

...It just keeps going. I went to download my pictures so that I could show some crafty friends the projects I've been up to, when I realized that we really haven't been up to much, not many pictures on the camera. But yet, life keeps going and we have been up to something. So I'll try to fill you in with pictures.Here's Clara doing her favorite thing--dumping out the toy basket. She's gotten really good at getting around. Phil laments that she isn't nearly as smiley now (still quick to give a smile though) that she has mobility. She has more serious things to concentrate on, like getting to any paper left on the floor.

Here's the bird mobile that I finally got hung. The idea came from here. It was really easy to do, but very hard to decide on the scraps to use, so I ended up with a lot of extra birds. Each kid now has two of their own and Clara loves hers. They must be just the right size for little hands and the right texture for sucking on, because she goes for her birds over other toys. Luckily they are washable. Some days I could probably wring out the spit.

Pumpkins, what more can I say.

Fun visit from Grandma who was passing through.After making do for 5 months(to the day) with taking two cars everywhere when Phil was going to the same place, not to mention the fact that we crammed 3 kids in car seats in our little Saturn to begin with, we have now officially entered middle-agehood. Yikes! We now feel old (sorry to all of you that have had mini vans much longer than us), but we really tried to avoid this step into the established realm. Here's our new one with a few more bells and whistles than we wanted, but no dvd player to the kids dismay (I refused to buy a car with one). My favorite thing about it: automatic doors and not having to bend over (usually over Sophia) to put Clara and her car seat in the middle. We have been kidding ourselves that we were still living the student life. No longer true.

What if?

Very unlikely, but still fun to think about and who we would cheer for? What if they both went undefeated or if BYU went undefeated and Vandy at the very least won the SEC playoffs? Very likely they would end up in a BCS game and could likely play one another. So the question is, who to cheer for. BYU=5 years, Vandy=10 years. BYU has a championship ('84), Vandy hasn't even had a season as good as they have had so far since '52. The kids all voted for Vandy, maybe they just like an underdog.

More Cousin Fun

Crazy Boys-Ethan and Sam!
The 3 girls each have pajamas made from the same pattern.

Two of the newest Budge grandkids, Laura and Clara. Starting with Sophia, there were 5 girls, then there were 5 boys. This time around starting with Clara it will go girl, boy, girl, boy, girl. As someone at the funeral noted, the Budges reproduce like rabbits. This year there will be 5 new ones alone. That will bring the count to 23. I have a feeling it will be slowing down though.

5 Little Princesses

Once upon a time there were 5 little princesses, who finally were all together for the first time. They knew of each other and had seen each other here and there, but never all 5 at once. There was something special about these princesses. Sure they were all about the same age-not quite 2 years between the oldest and youngest-and they were all about the same size, but they had something even more important in common. They each had a common bond with one another that brought them together at this time and this is what helped buoy one of the youngest of these princesses. They all came from a wonderful heritage, that helped them to know they were special and helped them out in this tough time. This gave them strength and because of that, they were able to laugh together, play together and truly enjoy one another and not be sad. So much so, that they never even disagreed much less argued, making the 5 days together truly magical.

Sophia, Alyssa, Eliza, Katelyn, HannahAlyssa, Hannah, Eliza and Sophia coloring on the couch and sharing so nicely.

May you all live happily ever after...