Feel that breeze? Its the wind of change

I spent yesterday morning watching the inauguration with my mom. It is kind of interesting because we have watched a number of important events together. 9-11. We got up at 2 a.m. to watch Princess Diana's funeral and drink tea. So yesterday, we drank a glass of champagne while watching the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama, the first African-American president of the United States.

But I found yesterday moving for reasons beyond the incredible historical nature of the moment. I was moved because I truly believe that this is a turning point in the direction of our country. I believe that it is crucial for the leader of our country to put the needs of America first, but to have a global perspective as well. Our world is becoming increasingly smaller. Our economies depend upon each other. Instability in one region creates instability worldwide. (Check out The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman.) It is essential that our leaders know, understand and respect other cultures, countries and leaders in order to create a successful foreign policy.

In short, I thought that Obama's speech was great (didn't expect less). I look forward to the good he will do; I recognize that, as with any administration, there will be mistakes, and there will be decisions made that I don't agree with. But I am proud of our choice and am excited about the next four years.

I also think that we need to recognize George W. Bush for his service. While many take issue with the actions of his administration, you cannot deny that he faced many situations that other presidents have not, including 9-11. Whether or not I agree with all of the decisions made during his presidency, I know that he made tough choices and that he truly felt like he was making the right decisions with the information he had.

Here's to hope.

I'm fine-d

As I touched on in my post a few days ago, Corbin is a bit like Monica and does not like to admit he is sick. He will never tell me if something doesn't feel good. Twice I've taken him to the doctor with a fever (after asking him if his stomach, throat, ears, head, etc. hurt) only to have him diagnosed with strep.

So this week he has started sneezing a little. Not often, but once in a while. But when I ask if he is getting cold, you would think I asked him if he wants to start wearing dresses to school. He acts like it is ridiculous for me to insinuate that he could possibly be getting a cold. "Mom, I was just looking at the light and it made me sneeze." I've heard that about twelve times.

But when he had the flu a few weeks ago, he looked at me over the toilet as he was puking and said, "So I don't have to go to school tomorrow, right?" I guess it all depends on what he could possibly be missing out on being sick.

I heard today that another one of my friends got laid off yesterday. Scary times.

Finally...

Had a good first date! Well, technically it was a second date - we went out a couple of years ago, but I was focused on a different person - but we shall see! I'm just happy when I don't spend a date picturing the Lifetime movie that could result from the relationship. :)

Sickly

I have had sinus issues for the past week, and got a sore throat over the weekend. So this morning I went to the Take Care Clinic at Walgreens. I love this concept. You can simply walk in to see a nurse practitioner - no appointment, no hassle. And the copay is just a regular doctors visit. In the past year, Corbin has had strep throat twice and an ear infection once. This is the child who NEVER gets sick. The first time he had strep, he woke up with it on a Sunday, so we went to the Urgent Care Center. I kept wondering what we were picking up in the waiting room. It was disgusting. Then a few weeks after that, we were driving to KC, and I looked in the mirror and saw Corbin holding his ear. Once we got there, we went to the CVS MinuteClinic and were in and out with perscription in hand in 35 minutes. When we were in Florida, Corbin got strep throat again. Basically, my point is that since I have a child who tends to get sick outside of normal office hours or out of state, these clinics are enormously helpful. And it just doesn't feel as icky as the urgent care center.

So I have an ear infection and sinus infection. I will go take my horse pill, eat some chicken noodle soup and rest.

Really...

So I am playing Amy Poehler...REALLY

I now know two thirty-year-old men who have been diagnosed with cancer in the past month. While they both should have great outcomes, all I have to say is REALLY.

I am thankful that they should both make full recoveries, but I hate when people I care about go through tough times. Please pray that they will be perfectly healthy for years to come after this. I wish I could put everybody in a bubble right now to keep them safe.

Christmas Morning

We had a really great Christmas Day. Corbin woke up around 7:30. Typically, my parents come down to watch him open Santa presents, but he usually sleeps until 8:30, so they weren't here yet. But I let him go ahead and open gifts. He has such a sweet spirit and truly appreciates everything he gets.

First he goes through his stocking. Every year Santa and the Easter Bunny bring new toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. It balances out the candy nicely and is something we need anyway.
Corbin got some Tony Hawk Tech Deck SK8 Park pieces...
Battleship...

And some art supplies among other things. Then my brother and sister-in-law came over to check out the loot for a bit. We went to my parents house and had fried turkey and played Guitar Hero.

Catching up

I know I have been MIA. The holidays were crazy and it seems like we were hardly ever home. Then I had to give my dad's laptop back to him and FINALLY got mine back from Best Buy. It needed a new motherboard, but all was covered by warranty so it is cool for now. So now I will attempt to catch up from the holidays...

Christmas Eve

Corbin and I spent the morning cleaning and making cookies:

Then we went to my parents house and everyone started unloading their presents:

Took some family pictures:

And we went to mass. Corbin's class carried the baby Jesus and sheep up to the nativity. They did a great job. I am not sure that I can do late night mass again as I still had to wrap presents when we got home and was up until 2 a.m.! Christmas morning came very early.

Here is Corbin in front of the nativity:

My heart is heavy right now, as I just read that one of my former employers had to lay off 27 people in their headquarters. I know some of the people affected and am very sad for them. I also know that this must have been a very tough decision for the leadership of the company. They are really good people and I know they would have liked to avoid this if they could. Just a sign of the times.

On an even more serious note, I found out yesterday that one of my friends from high school is in the hospital right now. He was taken to the ER on Wednesday night with chest pains; they ruled out a heart attack but found that his lymph nodes are enlarged. They are doing a biopsy this morning, but are pretty sure that it is one of two types of cancer (but I guess both have a high cure rate). I don't know more specifics because I am hearing all this through another one of my guy friends, and you know how men can be with details. Anyway, I hope that whatever this turns out to be, it is treatable without too much suffering. He is a very good person and is getting married this summer.

We need some good news now!!!