Really?

I have been in shock over several things that I’ve either read about or seen on the news lately. I guess the main 2 things have been that woman in California with the octuplets and of course, the economy.

First and foremost, what is up with this woman in California?? She already has 6 kids and then signs up for more infertility treatments?? I honestly do not know of ANYONE that can take care of 8 infants with 6 small children already in tow. I think she’s mentally insane. She’s not married and is supporting all these kids on her student loans. REALLY? I wonder how she is planning on picking up the 8 babies from the hospital. Between Joe’s truck and my Jeep, we could fit 8 infant car seats though we would have to put one in each of our front passenger seats. Those other 6 kids would have to be in the bed of the truck. I read that the hospital costs were going to be around $1.3 million just for the care of the babies until they get home. Congratulations to the State of California! You’ll probably be picking up that tab.

Then there’s our lovely economy. Ok, so the main cause of the problem was mortgage companies and banks over lending to people that could NOT afford the homes they were purchasing. So, now these over-spenders are facing foreclosure. We had dinner with friends last night, and this was a major topic of the conversation. Why should our tax dollars bail out the $30K/year millionaire that has to live in the Mac Mansion on the hill? Everyone at the table was hardworking and responsible and didn’t see why we should be punished for a choice we did not make.

Of course, some people’s homes are being foreclosed on by circumstances out of their control….. like a major illness that causes them to stop working and therefore stops their income. I work with a lady whose husband had a heart attack between jobs (and insurance). Unfortunately, they were left with the astronomical bill from the hospital. They tried to work out a payment plan, but the hospital would not budge. They were left with no choice but to file for bankruptcy.

People have just been living beyond their means for way too long! If you can’t afford 14 kids, then get your tubes tied and quit having children. If you can’t afford that, use a condom or some other means of birth control. In the case of the nut in California, stop going to the fertility clinic!!! As far as people spending beyond their means, stop. You don’t have to live in a 3,000 square foot home that you can’t afford. Unfortunately, a lot of these people are stuck. Homes aren’t selling right now, and values are dropping.

The icing on the cake was this article I read this morning about a woman that has been out of the military for a few years and has been called back. Her husband works full time and travels a lot. She is now a stay at home mom. There is no one to take care of their 2 children. Read the story if you have time: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29441874/?GT1=43001

Anyway, I’ll stop ranting and raving now and give you all an update on Scarlett (probably the main reason most of you stop in to read my blog anyway….).

Scarlett is doing GREAT! She turned 10 months old yesterday. She’s got 2 bottom teeth and 3 coming in up top. She’s crawling everywhere and pulls up on everything. She now will let go of what’s she holding on to while standing and works on balancing. We all think she will be walking VERY SOON. She’s also holding her own bottle and even crawled up 2-3 stairs this morning! Coming back down isn’t so great. It looks like she’s going to roll (head first) while coming down. I think we may be getting another gate soon…

Speaking of gates, we had to purchase a pool safety fence last week. Of course, we aren’t thrilled with how this makes our backyard look, but when you see things like Scarlett sticking her hand out the dog door, you know it’s very necessary.

Baby #2 is doing great too! He’ll be here in exactly 3 months from today (if not sooner!). We’re both very excited about meeting him and completing our family. Unlike the nut in California, we know when to draw the line. I have another sonogram in a week. This time the sono tech is going to take a very close look at his kidneys to see if there is kidney reflux. There is a 40% chance that he could have kidney reflux too, and we are praying that he doesn’t. Finding this out early and via a sonogram is so much better than waiting on a high fever that sends us racing to the ER or a lot of testing after he is born.

Other than that, work is busy for both of us. Joe is working on several new groups, and I am tying up loose ends on several projects that I have been working on. All in all, everything is going great!