Down on the Farm

Like the rest of the world, we wanted to visit a pumpkin patch now that the weather has officially turned into fall. My sister wanted to take the kiddos so we decided to meet in the middle. Like she later suggested, Google maps should really notify you when you'll be driving through the ghetto. More on that later.

Once we arrived, we noticed there were pumpkins but I wouldn't have considered it a full on pumpkin patch. But we sure had fun!

The Lime was instantly drawn to the tractors...big surprise. He and LaVor checked them all out and made lots of tractor sounds to go with the pretend driving.

They had an old Ford and an old John Deere. I threw around the idea of having The Lime's middle name be Ford and I still wish we had done it. I also can't see anything John Deere without singing, "In John Deere green, on a hot summer night!"

They had a few animals around, including this little goat that was just getting its horn nubbins. This little bunny sat so patiently and The Lime was surprisingly gentle with his petting. I wasn't so sure about the cat that they had on display.

When my sister and niece arrived, my niece ran straight to the pumpkin cutouts. She knew exactly what to do!

There was a decent sized sand box that the kiddos could have played all day in. There were shovels, rakes, hoes, tractors, buckets, anything you could think of. We even met a new friend, Austin. We thought it was odd that he was taking pomegranates off the tree and smashing the heck out of them. But then he told us that his Nana owned the farm so he could do those things. He was four and is going to be an astronaut for Halloween.

We squeezed our way onto the hay ride that took us around the walnut orchards. The Lime refused to sit down and had to stand on the very edge of the trailer, while I had my finger in his belt loop.

Omi and GrandPop were eating up two of their fifteen grand babies. And the two grand babies were eating up the attention.

We had a bit of a meltdown with a certain someone when we told him it was time to go. He could have spent the entire day there, sitting on the tractors. He's begged me to go back every day since. We might need to look into LaVor's dream of living in Montana sooner than later.

We had to finish the day off with a bang, literally! While driving to lunch, we had an EMT vehicle pass us. It pulled into the McDonalds parking lot, just up the road, where there were more cops and fire trucks. There was also a man being treated on the ground of the parking lot, for gunshot wounds. He ended up passing away at the hospital later that afternoon.

Not sure we'll be making a trip back to Stockton any time soon. But Countryside Farms was a delight!

A Whole Lot of Things

I wouldn't consider myself a goody goody but I like to follow the rules. While in school, I prided myself on never getting my name on the board (up until 5th grade...thanks, Mr. Stahr!), never having detention, not even getting yelled at on the playground for running. Then I went into the 6th grade and had the class from you know where. It actually wasn't the whole class, just three boys that wreaked havoc every.single.day! My poor teacher, Ms. Morgan, had reached her limit one day and broke down. She faced the board, with her head in her hands, as she took a moment to herself. We all sat there, in silence, wondering what in the heck was going on. She turned back around, her eyes glistening with tears and her face bright red, and announced that we would all have lunch detention the following day. "What?!" ran through my head. "Was I really facing the consequences for someone else's actions?!"

While browsing Facebook a few weeks ago, I came across a comment about Mitt Romney and his views on women's rights. I wasn't too sure about his views so I began reading. Apparently he would like to eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood. That turned my search into Planned Parenthood. My only knowledge of Planned Parenthood was that Dr. Drew would suggest callers visit their clinics, after calling into Loveline. According to their 2008-2009 annual report, Planned Parenthood received about a third of its funding from government grants and contracts.

Per their website, "Planned Parenthood offers services at low or no cost. Fees are determined on a sliding scale, based on your income and family size. All services are provided at the lowest cost possible, and you can call us anytime to discuss payment options."

My understanding is that they can offer procedures at little or no cost to the patient because of the funding they receive, whether government or private.

And that's where I have an issue.

I am all for the 1.5 million women that were screened in 2010 for cancer. I am not for the remaining 9.4 million patients that received treatment for STD testing, birth control, abortions, and pregnancy tests. I should note, PP supposedly does not use the government funds for abortions.

Waiting to have sex until I was married was a personal choice and one that I'm glad I made. It is a very intimate, emotional act that comes with a huge responsibility. It is a choice, not a privilege, that also comes with consequences. I do not believe that I should have to pay the consequences, literally and figuratively, for someone else's actions.

My husband works hard to provide for our needs. I wish I could stay home every day with The Lime but bills have to be paid. In order to prevent more Limes from joining our family right now, I pay for a little pill. That pill was costing me $90 per month, while I was nursing. Why is it that we are a hard working family that is willing to take responsibility for our actions and are paying up the wazoo for health insurance, yet we are still paying an outrageous amount, out of pocket, for benefits? The only conclusion that I can come to is someone has to pay for the free or discounted services offered at facilities like Planned Parenthood and it isn't the patient.

So if Mitt Romney eliminating funds for Planned Parenthood is considered "against women's rights", I must be, too.

The Home Show

I was watching the news on Saturday night, when they announced that Gary Collins had passed away. I let out a little, "Awwww!" and was taken back to 1988.

All of my siblings were in school so it was my mom and I together all day. I liked what she liked and I watched what she watched, including The Home Show. "Decorating and craft segments were frequently presented by Sally Marshall, Dian Thomas, Carol Duvall and Kitty Bartholomew. Marc Summers and Wil Shriner presented segments on the latest in technology (computers, home gaming, etc.)."

Why did a four year old know who Kitty Bartholomew was and why did I have a huge crush on the show's host, Robb Weller? Such a huge crush that when my sister went down to L.A. for a beauty pageant, she and my mom went to a taping of The Home Show and brought me back an autographed photo of Robb. I kept that thing for years. In fact, I'm shocked that I still don't have it and the pink folder I kept it in.

I remember Dian Thomas as if I saw the show yesterday. She's a member of the church and shared a recipe she had made at girls camp (banana boats made in tin foil over the fire). I can't look at that recipe on Pinterest without thinking of that episode.

Robb Weller was the co-host for the first season and then came Gary Collins, who rounded out the show until it was canceled in 1994.

I started Kindergarten at that point and don't remember much about mid-morning television.

But ask me anything about Saved by the Bell!

It's Over

Yowseirs! What a season!

After a good, hard fight, the A's are officially done. We had lots of highs and many lows but we played our buns off and made it farther than many people thought we would. (Why am I talking like I'm part of the team?)

As LaVor and I bit our nails through the entire game last night, I thought about the history we have together.

I didn't grow up in a sport watching family (only NASCAR) but we did attend a baseball game here and there. Then LaVor and I met and things changed.

Baseball has been something fun and exciting that we can enjoy together.

This has been an emotional season and I'm genuinely happy for the team. When they were down, going into the 9th inning last night, but came back to win the game, I cried! I was so excited and proud and happy of their determination and hard work. And even tonight, despite losing, I have the same emotions. They had fun, held their heads high, and did an amazing job.

I'm not nearly as sad that they aren't moving on as I am that baseball is over, at least for us. It's like when your kid is in a dance recital and they've already performed. You'll stay and watch the rest of the show but it's not as interesting. That's how I feel.

But at least I have 11 years worth of memories and pictures to enjoy until Spring Training!

Just a Reminder

I suppose it's human nature that we know what we need to do, yet we still need gentle reminders to encourage us to follow through.

That's how I feel about General Conference.

I know what I need to do and say to be happy and how I need to treat people and what thoughts should be in my mind. But that doesn't mean I do it. So I'm grateful for the nudge I get when the Church leaders speak to us every six months.

I felt like I went into conference with a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" as I had a lot of questions on my plate that I was seeking answers to. I needed peace with the smorgasbord of thoughts and feelings I was dealing with and felt like each speaker was directing their talk straight to me.

In a talk from October 2007, Bruce D. Porter of the Seventy said, "Those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them". I knew that my way of doing things was not working and I needed a spiritual intervention.

One of the General Conference talks that really stuck out to me was from Elder Shayne M. Bowen of the Seventy, from Saturday morning. He spoke of losing his son when he was eight months old, and the pain and anguish he felt.

This has been a fear of mine since I found out I was pregnant with The Lime. I spotted every day of my first trimester and was constantly on edge, wondering if I would lose the baby. A sense of relief came over me on the first day of the second trimester, when the spotting suddenly stopped. Then he was born and I made sure to keep any "extras" out of his crib and to always lay him on his back, to prevent SIDS. I've always been paranoid but having kids has made it worse.

Which is why I am terrified to have another child. I have too many friends and acquaintances that have lost their children either in utero, shortly after birth, or well into their childhood.

This is selfish of me, I know, trust me. Yet it's still something that really scares me and if I can prevent myself from hurting, I try to.

But what else would I be preventing? A sweet little spirit to gain a body? A family from growing? A testimony from strengthening?

My favorite quote from the talk was, "I was reminded of the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who taught this comforting doctrine: “The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again".

I.love.this!

I'm sitting here, bawling, because it has completely changed my thoughts on the situation. What a beautiful way to think about a tragic loss. To realize that this life isn't it, that there's more to look forward to, is something that I know.

I just needed a reminder.

Who Am I?

For weeks, I had been debating on sticking with my usual hairstyle or to try something a little different. I had two pictures on my iPad that I could have showed my stylist and I decided to switch things up and go with something new.

It's always a great feeling to have a new haircut and I was feeling cute when I got home from the salon. My hair was slightly curled and I loved it!

Then I woke up the next day and attempted to re-create what had been done the day before but completely failed. When I got to work, everyone noticed my hair was shorter but could tell that I was feeling down. I expressed my concern that I resembled Dorothy Hamill but was told I was completely wrong.

I tried for a second time to fix my hair but felt more like a middle-aged housewife.

I surely thought the third time would be better! I went to work and someone said, "You know who you look like? Dorothy Hamill!" I buried my head in my hands and said, "That's exactly who I didn't want to look like!" Clearly my styling tricks were not working.

With much hesitation, I tried to take things into my own hands and get rid of The Dorothy.

And I did.

But now I look like the woman from Kindergarten Cop.

I think I'll just stick to cutting my bangs and leave the parts that I can't see to the professionals.

United We...Stand?

We went to the A's game yesterday and had a rousing time!

We've only been to two day games since we've been together and both times were extremely uncomfortable. So I shyly suggested we forego our desire to sit as close to the dugout as possible, and enjoy the game in the shade this time. I'm glad LaVor agreed with me because it made the experience so much nicer! I didn't have to worry about re-applying sunscreen or my ranch dressing for my popcorn chicken going bad.

All three of us stood, two of us removed our hats, as we sang the National Anthem. I noticed another lady singing along, just like I do. Then I looked down and saw this...

As the song says, "O'er the land of the free..." so these people had every right to not stand and remove their hat to show respect. But boy, did it irk me!

The game started out slow for us, only scoring one run while the Mariners had four. After the 7th inning stretch, people started leaving and LaVor said, "It ain't over yet!" He was right.

We tied the game in the bottom of the 9th and won it in the bottom of the 10th. I loved that even though we didn't start the game with everyone standing, we finished with everyone on their feet. People were giving strangers high fives left and right, security guards were excited, the fans were on fire.

It reminded me when I went to the Coldplay concert and my sister and I were talking about the unity of a concert. Everyone checks their personal views at the door and for a couple hours, we are all united. Fun's "We Are Young" was just starting to become popular and I told her I could envision a crowd singing the chorus together and it gave me goosebumps. Almost a spiritual feeling, in fact. And it just so happened that "We Are Young" was the song that played in the coliseum as we were leaving the game.

We took a risk going to the day game since it would interrupt The Lime's nap but he was awesome (another nod to the shade). It didn't take him long to fall asleep once we got in the car, though. He was speaking jibberish one minute and I turned around the next, and he was out.

I'm hoping for another positive post after Wednesday's game!