Brother Blues

I found out yesterday that my brother has been released from the TDCJ (Texas Department of Criminal Justice). He is staying in a half-way house near Houston. He began calling Kalin and I yesterday evening, but because we only have cell phones, we were not able to talk to him - He can only call collect, and it won't bill through Cingular, so we have to give a credit card number for the company to bill us. So I called my dad and asked if he had heard from him. He told me he had, and in order for my brother to be released from the half-way house, he needed a permanent address that he would be released to. He was calling us to see if he could use our address. I feel that if they are asking for a permanent address, they want it so that they know where to find him to check on him, but he says that he doesn't have to live there. He says that once he's released, they will come check the property and then he will do a change of address once he finds a place to live. But to me, they want him to have a place to live before they release him. If we give him our address to use, and they come to our house looking for him and he's not here, won't we get into trouble? I want to help him, but I don't know how.

My other dilemma is that if my mother, who is disabled from a stroke in 2004 and lives with her parents, found out that he was out and just needed a permanent address to move back to town, she would want to move back to her old house (which is being rented to pay for her medical bills and such) so that she could give her son a place to live. But if her parents let her move back into that house, she won't be able to pay for her medicine, doctor's visits, food, etc. and my brother will wreck the house again, and won't take care of my mom the way she needs to be cared for. So do I tell her that he's been released to a half-way house, or do I just keep it to myself until he does come back to town and has a place to live?

I just don't know what to do...

The San Antonio Zoo

This past Friday, January 23, Kalin took me and the boys to the San Antonio Zoo. We received a membership to the zoo as a Christmas present from his parents, and this was the first chance we got to go this year. We had a wonderful time! I got to use my Sit-N-Stand stroller, and Micah really enjoyed seeing all the animals, especially the fish and the goats in the petting zoo. We also stopped by Sunken Gardnes. Here are a few pictures.

Yoga/Pilates

So I've been doing yoga lately and I really enjoy it. But I think I would be more motivated to do it daily if I had a group to do it with. I would like to start a yoga/pilates group, but I don't know where we would meet, because my house just isn't big enough -- it's hardly big enough for me to do it by myself. I would also like to figure out something for childcare, but I need some help brainstorming. Any ideas would be very helpful.

New President

I don't know about y'all, but I am very concerned about the new president. I know that all government leaders are chosen by God, so it's all in his plan, but that doesn't make me any less concerned. The way he wants to "spread the wealth" is the same thing that Hitler said when he first started out. And as I was watching the Inauguration yesterday, I realized that most of the people who voted for him probably just voted for him because he's black. They don't care about what he stands for or any of that, just that he's a black man and he's now president, commander-in-chief. And that proves the "American Dream" -- that anyone can do anything they set their mind to. And I love that about America. But when people vote for a president just because he's black, that's wrong. It's not about race -- I'm not racist and I never will be. But our leaders should be chosen based on values, morals, experience, and the issues at hand. I don't believe that people really paid attention to that because they just wanted an African American to be president. If another black man were to run for president that had the morals, values, etc that I believe in, I would have absolutely no problem voting for him.

I believe that if I were to do a study in which there were two candidates for president -- Candidate A and Candidate B -- that stood for the things McCain and Obama stood for, but not say which is which, and just make people vote based on the candidates' ideals and morals, I doubt that Obama would have won. I think that if you were to take away the race, age, religion, etc. factors that we would have had a much fairer election. This presidential election turned into a popularity contest -- most people just didn't care about the facts, and what Obama planned to do once he got into office -- they just knew that if they could get a black man into office, it would change the world. And I think they're going to find out very soon the kind of "change" they voted for.

I also don't understand the correlation between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack Obama. Yes they're both black men, and yes Jr. dreamed that one day all men and women would be equal, but Martin Luther King, Jr. did not believe in the same things that Obama does. They are on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as beliefs and morals go, so I'm not sure I believe that King, Jr. would be so excited to see Obama as president. I think he would be glad that a black man was the commander-in-chief, but I don't think he would be happy to see that that black man is Obama.

But that's just my opinion. Feel free to leave me your two cents about it!

I've been tagged...

Laci tagged me in her blog, so I guess it's my turn... the only problem is I don't know anyone else that has a blogger account to tag... so I guess just check out Laci's blog:

www.thestammfam.blogspot.com





These are pictures we took today at Subway. Elijah and his first cookie! He was drooling all over that poor cookie! It was so cute!

Thinking

So I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I spend all day, every day at home with my two boys, and I love it. But I can't remember the last time that I went out with my 'girlfriends'. The last time I went out without Kalin or the kids was for my 21st birthday, and I went with 1 friend. So really, I've never had a "Girls Night Out" and I think it's about time I had one. I'm still nursing my youngest, so I can't drink but I sure would love to just get out and go hang with some girls anywhere except home. Bowling, dinner and a movie, put-put golf, or dancing; doesn't really matter to me, I just need to get out and get away from the kids and the husband for a little while. I need to be a woman for once instead of a wife and mother all the time. Maybe this could turn into a once a month thing or something like that. Maybe it'll just be every once in a while. Whatever it is, I sure would like some input on who might be interested and any ideas you might have as to where to go, what to do etc.

Thanks so much!

New

Hey everyone! I'm brand new to this blogging thing - I mean, I've done some on myspace, but nothing on a site specifically for blogging. I don't know if anyone will actually read this, but I like to write just to get things off my chest so even if no one reads it but me it will be worth it.

Today is the first day of 2009. I spend New Year's Eve at home with my 2 year old Micah and my 3 month old Elijah, both of whom were asleep by midnight. I got my midnight kiss over the phone with one of my hubby's co-worker's listening in via speakerphone. I haven't really made any New Year's resolutions. I know that I want to drop all this extra baby weight, get Micah potty trained, and spend more time with the boys and my hubby (if work allows). Also this year I would like to buy a car - whether it be used or new. We currently own 3cars -- a blue 1994 Chevy Cavalier, a red 1991 Mazda Protege, and a black 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix. The red one spent a year and a half in the shop, and when I got it back in October 2008, I was able to use it for about a month before something else broke on it and it's back in the shop again. The blue one is the one my hubby uses, and it's just fine for him. It tends to not start in the mornings if he hasn't driven it for a few days. Not sure why, but usually after a jump and a few minutes on the charger it works just fine. The black one has been in a few accidents and is still (miraculously) running. The axle is bent, the windshield is cracked, the heater doesn't blow hot, the interior is falling apart, literally, and it's only a two door, so it's very difficult to get two car seats into it. I want a four door SUV type something or other. I'm not really concerned with what brand or anything like that, as long as it has 4 doors and gets at least 20 MPG it'll work for me.

I would also like to buy a sewing machine. My grandma spent 26 years of her life as the owner of Seguin Bridal & Formal, and taught herself how to sew. I have been getting very interested in that sort of thing, so I think it's time I bought my own sewing machine so I don't always have to use hers.

Well, I think that's about it for today. Be back tomorrow!