Yes! We! Did!

I am not a politician or a pundit, so who am I to say anything. I mean, I know right now the blogosphere is exploding with posts just like this little post on my little blog. And many people have more insight than I and a better way of saying what needs to be said. I also know there are an equal number of blog posts expressing disappointment at this outcome, and I really don't want to rub it in any one's face that my guy won. But I am a mom and I can't let this monumental accomplishment in our nation's history occur without celebrating what this election result means for my kids; without celebrating the fact that my children will grow up during the "Obama Years!"

Before today, I avoided thinking about what either outcome would mean, how any outcome would make me feel. There is no way that I would have believed, before today, that I would go to bed last night knowing, without any room for the slightest doubt, who our president would be. (You know, after having lived through the last two presidential elections.) And I dared not let myself have a glimmer of hope that I would know with such certainty that our president would be Barack Obama. Because I didn't want to be disappointed. I didn't want to have to think about how we would make it through the next four years as we have trudged through the last eight, let alone how I would face today if the outcome had been different.

But it wasn't a different outcome. It was this one and I don't have to go to that dark place of wondering. We did what needed to be done to get our country, the country that I chose to bring children into and that I will one day leave behind to their generation, back on track. And what I have to say about it as little Mom Blogger me (if I can stop getting choked up and teary every time I start replaying the speech, or reading articles or blog posts, or listening to talk radio, or even just thinking OMG this country just elected Barack Obama president) is that OMG this country just elected Barack Obama president!!

I am not going to get all historical perspectivy here because that's just not me. I know it is important for much grander reasons than the reasons it is important to me in my little life. I am a stay at home mom. I live and breathe every need and desire of my children 24/7. My sole purpose, at this stage of our family and my life, is caring for them and doing my best each day to help them become amazing people. It is difficult sometimes to feel like I matter outside of my own household, and dammit, I even feel selfish for wanting to matter outside of the lives of my kids. But this election result means that a mom, just doing what she has to do to take care of her family, can have a hope that the world will be just a little bit better for her kids. That she can put a voice to that hope, and take action and vote. And that vote counts for something. It matters to my family, and it matters so far beyond the four walls of my home, beyond the four people in my little family. And as far reaching as that hope is, it comes down to me getting through the day being the best mom that I can be to my kids today because I hope. And that matters.

Now that it is today and I am no longer afraid of being disappointed, of hoping beyond what seemed possible, I have no words to express the elation that I feel, so I will simply say that I am grateful. It is gratifying to be in a place to be able to celebrate the outcome of this monumental election. If you are celebrating with me, thank you.


In the midst of the joy I have been feeling since the result was announced last night, it saddens me to have to say this: Congratulations, all you narrow minded zealots! Way to go on passing that "Yes for Marriage" amendment. I'm sure we straight, happily married, one-man-one-woman couples will all be so much safer now, civil rights be damned!

Post Halloween Post

It is way too hot here for November! I remember when growing up, beginning to feel the crisp air of our Arizona autumn settling in as Halloween approached. We had to trick-or-treat in sweaters. Can you say "Global Warming," anyone?

Holiday festivities started for Dylan and Sadie this week by going to Grandpa's to pick the pumpkins that he grew for them in his garden. The kids wore their costumes to show off for Grandpa. (Also because Sadie wasn't too keen on dressing up and we wanted to get lots of practice in before the big night.) It was 90+ degrees that day! Dylan was soaked in sweat by the time he got out of his jacket and helmet.

Getting ready to carve Jack-o-Lanterns; they were both very grossed out by the pumpkin slime!

On Thursday at school, the kids wore costumes, had a parade, and got to do some trick-or-treating from room to room. This is the only shot I got of the two of them together in their costumes. Dylan was a fire fighter last year and wanted to be one again this year. At first, I tried to talk him out of it but then we thought, "duh!" Why put out for a whole new costume when we already have one that he wants to wear? He doesn't know any better yet. Plus we had acquired a very cute dalmatian outfit for Sadie, so she got to be his sidekick firehouse dog.

Getting ready for the big night out.

Dylan looked like a "real" firefighter with smoky special effects smeared on his face.

We trick-or-treated up and down our street. Dylan was exhausted when we got back home, but Sadie, as her usual party-girl self was rarin' to keep going. Hot and tired won out, much to her dismay.

"I'm hot! Can I have some candy now, please?" (Look at his poor sweaty little head!)

Forget how hot it was. It's all about the candy!

Um, progress?

Because I know you are dying to ask, this is how potty training is progressing in our household. As the polls stand now, staying in diapers and waging the changing battle multiple times a day while continuing to polute the earth is up about 15 gazillion points to nothing for continuing potty training.

Argh!

Um, help?

Another Political Post

Scott is voting by mail-in ballot because he will be travelling on the 4th. We were discussing election issues and the ballot when Dylan chimed in, curious about what we meant by "vote."

DYLAN: What are you guys talking about?

SCOTT: We're talking about voting. It's when we choose who is going to be the next president. You know, like we talk about when we are watching the news and we see those people giving speeches.

Which we do daily in small doses between dinner prep and kid entertaining. (Countdown with Keith Olbermann, in case you were wondering.) Whenever they show clips of Obama giving a speech, Dylan says, "That's Bram-O-Bom-Bom. He's going to be the President." (Absolutely no coaching involved.)

So I add: In about a week, I am going to go vote, on election day. You can come with me and help me vote. Who should we vote for for President?

DYLAN: (thinking) Hmmmmmm.... Daddy!

SCOTT: laughs

ME: Okay then. Our job here is done.

It didn't bother me until I was thinking about it later that his dad was the obvious choice, and he'd answered without much hesitation. And then it bothered me that it hadn't bothered me until later. So I thought I would explore the issue a little further.

ME: So Dylan, if Daddy doesn't want to be the President, who would you vote for? Could you vote for me? Could Mommy be the President?

DYLAN: Heh heh. NOOOOO! You can't be the President!

ME: Humph. Why not?

DYLAN: (a little whiny, obviously distraught, and even beginning to sob a little bit) Because you caaaan't be the Presideeeeent.

We finally got out of him some semblance of an explanation along the lines of that I can't be President because then I would be gone and he would miss me and who would take care of him. So sweet. It has nothing to do with my gender. It's about me being a mom. Humph!

Job here? Clearly not done.

Now some moms might take this as their chance to prove a point to their children. To show them that a woman could be a Mom and the President. Hypothetically, a win for the McCain ticket could prove that point in Sarah Palin.

This mom? Well, I would rather prove to my children that there are much more important things at stake in this election. Hope and change transcend the gender issue this election. (Well, hopefully all elections. I mean, I hope they never vote for someone based on their gender. But especially this election.) Maybe that means they will have to wait a few more years to see the first woman president. But in the long run I think they will thank me for casting my vote for Hope this election, and changing the future of our country, their future, for the better this election.

(You got that I'm voting for Obama, right?)

There are not enough clothes in the world

Let's just say my optimism on project PT 2.0 is waning quickly. Last night I washed 7 pairs of underwear and 6 pairs of pants. And that was with half of the day spent naked as the day she was born. We're already on our 4th pair of undies for the day and it's only 9:00am.

So much for the reducing our carbon footprint part of the plan. The amount of laundry is more than erasing the lack of impact from not disposing of diapers.

Getting to unroll the toilet paper is no longer fun and stickers have lost their charm. It's time to break out the heavy artillery (otherwise known as M&Ms).

We're donning pull-ups so we can head out to Target for reinforcements (more undies and treats). It's either that or duct tape her to the toilet. I think I'll try to avoid a visit from a CPS case worker and we'll venture out in pull-ups. Wish us luck!

Potty Training 2.0

We potty trained Dylan about a year ago. He was two and a half. When it was over, Scott and I both commented that is was far less traumatic than we had expected and that we should start Sadie earlier than we had started Dylan. So here she is, almost a year younger than he was and we are going for it. I know she's little. I know she won't be quite as independent about the potty associated tasks as Dylan was because of the being 10 months younger. But according to the wisdom of mothers of my mom's generation, everyone potty trained their kids by the age of 18 months. And I think we all turned out okay.

So far, sitting on the potty is all fun and games, in stark contrast to waging the diaper changing battle at least 6 times a day. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon, but not before she has gained some sense of control and prefers to use the toilet over wetting/soiling herself. And we will never have to change another diaper. Ever. Again. (Plus toilet paper is way cheaper than diapers. Just doing our part to cut spending in a tough economy. Not to mention the environmental impact.)

Ask me tomorrow if I am still this optimistic. She has actually only pee'd in the potty once all day. But it's nice outside and running around the backyard naked and peeing in the grass is hurting no one! She's already figuring out how to stop midstream and let us know that she is going! And the doggie pooper scooper has gained a new purpose. (Again, just doing our part. You're welcome.)

Any endeavor undertaken on a day that begins with orange frosted donuts from Dunkin' can't go that terribly wrong, can it?

Fear and Hate in Arizona

I've said before that this isn't a political blog. I am not opposed to writing about politics. I just think that there are a lot of people out there who are a lot more informed than I am who do a much better job of it than I could. But I read a blog post today about Proposition 8 in California, and I considered it a personal call to action about our similar Prop 102 in Arizona. So I'm not going to write about politics. I am going to tell you, as a parent, how I feel about Prop 102 and you can like what I have to say, or not like it, but be a grown up and go vote on the issues based on what you really and truly value in your life, not out of fear and hate.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that these propositions have to do with same-sex marriage. In Arizona, we already defeated this proposed amendment to the state's constitution in 2006. But it is back this election cycle with a vengeance. It is now being called the "Yes for Marriage" proposition. This initiative, if passed, would add a provision to our constitution stating: "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." A provision which our forebears didn't deem necessary to define. This is an amendment to the constitution, people! (BTW, we already have a law in Arizona, which has been upheld in court, prohibiting same-sex marriages. I'm not saying I support this law, but simply asking, "what's the point?" Is there really no better way to spend our resources than attempting, once again, to constitutionalize discrimination?)

So let's look at this "Yes for Marriage" amendment from the perspective a parent thinking about the values she wishes to instill in her young children as they grow up. Yes, let's pass an amendment protecting marriage in our state. Here is what I propose: That marriage be a choice between two people who are choosing to be together, who love each other and are mutually committed to support each other throughout their lives. That marriage not be entered into lightly, because it might be fun to jaunt off to Vegas and do it on a whim. Obviously, there are a lot of things I could say here about what marriage should mean. Simply defining marriage as between a man and a woman certainly isn't going to protect the values that should be inherent in a good marriage.

Think about what a constitutional amendment would take away from same-sex couples who are in a loving, committed relationship raising a family together. If passed, it would trigger lawsuits to take away all domestic partner benefits for state, county, and city employees, including public university faculty and staff. It will also negatively impact private businesses that provide these benefits to their employees. Whether or not you agree with same-sex unions, would you really propose to take away these benefits, not just from domestic partners, but also their children? Benefits that you are entitled to with your spouse to whom you are legally married, regardless of whether or not you have a loving, committed relationship with him or her?

When I think about what I want my children to learn to value, fear and hate aren't on that list. But that is all that I see when I look at those Yes for Marriage signs up all over town. Because they're not at all about Yes to Marriage. They're about Yes to Fear what is different than us, and Yes to Hate a lifestyle that is not of our choosing.

I don't know what lies ahead for my children. They may become doctors, or teachers, musicians or circus acts. They may choose to marry or be single. They may be straight or gay. Will any of these life paths, should my children take them, make me love them any less or be disappointed in them? Absolutely not. Do I want for them to look back on this moment in our state's history and think for one second that I was lured by the fear and hate, and the empty promise of protecting everything that this one woman who chose to marry one man holds dear in the sanctity of her marriage? Absolutely not! On November 4, I will cast a vote to protect everything that I value most in my life. I will vote no on Prop. 102.