November 11, 2008

We have been invaded

My myspace blog was the victim of my immediate raw emotions. Now that I am somewhat more calm and collected (haa, yea right) I've decided to blog here as well. I don't feel as though I've gotten it all out yet (though, I probably never will, and I'm sure this post will be just as scattered as I start getting heated again!)

DSS is investigating our family right now!

Last Thursday, while the kids and I were enjoying an afternoon of cracker making and smoothie drinking, DSS came knocking at the door. Apparently someone called in a report against us. The allegations ... threat of harm to the children in the house by lack of education, lack of nutrition, and neglect.

The report specifically said that the children aren't in school, and they know for a fact that Melissa does not homeschool (yes, that's right, JUST Melissa. Not both Melissa and Nick ... just ME). It goes on to say that Melissa has a radical raw vegan diet that she is forcing upon her children, and because of that, Larson (the oldest) looks extremely malnourished.

If I weren't so well aware of many stories, JUST like this, not ending well ... I'd laugh at the pure absurdity of it!

The level of spite some people can have. The report was just sooo ... mean spirited and vindictive. Filled with details about our lives that some nosey neighbor wondering why our kids weren't in school (we just moved, so we have new neighbors) just wouldn't know. So, it's someone that knows us. Probably not personally, because anyone that has been around my family knows how completely ludicrous this is ... it has to be someone who follows my blogs, and that just makes my blood boil!!

I follow the homeschooling law in SC to the letter. We chose a method that isn't as "mainstream" as your typical homeschooler, but we ARE within the boundaries of the law. If someone had a concern, a real genuine concern for my children, I would have gladly tried to answer questions to put their mind at ease. If their concern was for my children, they should have tried to talk to us first. Perhaps get to know my kids to see if their fears of "educational neglect" were even founded, before sicking the wolves on us!

Same with the food situation. Everyone needs to eat to survive, simple as that, we just happen to chose to eat differently then the majority of Americans. THAT alone shouldn't be basis for a criminal investigation, and I find it completely and utterly ridiculous that it is!!! If our family ate meat, and this report happened to be filed by a Vegan, ridiculing our decision to eat chicken, and the harm that such a decision is having on our children ... you can bet your ass it never would have gone this far. Discrimination is astounding.

Again, if you have concern for one of my children, talk to us about. Get to KNOW Larson, and then try to tell me, or anyone else, that he looks or acts even slightly malnourished. Yes, he's skinny. Extremely skinny. He's a VERY TALL LANKY kid, just like I was when I was younger, just like his father was when he was younger (although, Dad wasn't nearly as tall and was actually much mroe skinny that Larson, haha)... it's just the way he's built right now!

I get concern. Really, I do. I'm glad there are people out there who are concerned for the well being of children. However, before you put a family through hell, before you scare the shit out of the children involved, before you start the process that could very well end in devastation (we all know how close-minded our country can be) ... why not make sure your allegations are valid!!!! Especially when you know there is no immediate harm being done - take the friggin time to try and talk to the family, get to know the kids, and then see if you still feel the same way.

The fact that this report was against JUST ME, along with the vindictive wording used ... it's very possible this was just someone trying to hurt me. I wish I could figure out who would do such a thing, but I keep coming up empty. When our case is ruled unfounded, since we have reason to believe the report was filed simply to hurt us, apparently there are steps we can take to "counter - attack" so to speak. They came into my home, looked through my fridge, my cabinets, my pantry, checked to see where the kids sleep, and then talked to Larson, outside, alone. Larson is going to have to undergo a physical with one of their Drs. All three of my children are afraid that DSS is going to try to take them away (I continue to try and reassure them. Telling them that the workers at DSS are wonderful people who do everything they can to help protect children that are being hurt. I tell them that we have nothing to worry about it, because we haven't done anything wrong" But they're smart kids, they know anything is possible. In their words " you never know what people are thinking, even if it's not true"! They are absolutely correct! Add even if the charges are unfounded, this will remain on my record for FIVE years!!! So, you bet we're going to take the steps to counter attack. If we can only get so far with DSS, will bring it to our lawyer and take it as high as we can.

Like I said, I am very well aware that a lot of these cases (families straying from mainstream America) do not end well. DSS has up to 60 days to investigate the charges against us, and determine whether they're indicated or unfounded. We wait, for up to 60 days, to find out what someones OPINION of our family will be, and what the ramifications of that opinion mean for us. An OPINION!!!

Ughhhhhhhhhh!!! I am feeling so completely hurt and betrayed.

November 5, 2008

Change is in the Air!!!

Can you feel it? Can you taste it?

Hopeful, optimistic, grateful, joyous, encouraged ... all great feelings to wake up with. I'm feeling so - sunny!!!

I am so very optimistic about the future of this country.

I cannot wait to get started, and see where we go.

Obama is a very inspiring man, with brilliant ideas, and a character that will work tirelessly to make those ideas become reality. I am proud to have supported him throughout his campaign. I am proud to have cast my vote for him. I am proud to call him my next President.

As soon as the race was called for Obama, my children all squealed and let out whoops of joy for Obama! What a wonderful memory for them to have.

For the McCain supporters, again, I'm sorry. I know how disappointed you must be feeling. I've felt it for the past 2 elections. I poured my heart into Gore, and wished beyond words for him be elected. I believe in that man so entirely, his vision, and to have that taken away - it hit me hard. I also supported Kerry. He wasn't the candidate I would have liked to have been chosen for our nominee, but once he won that position, and I got to know him, and his stance, I fully supported him, and again - that ended in utter disappointment. So I get it. And I'm sorry.

As for the bitterness that just doesn't seem to be dying down, only worsening, it's just not helpful to anyone. Jumping on a piss box, and spewing hate and disgust isn't helping this country that you claim to love so much, is it? Be disappointed, be unhappy, even be discouraged ... but also get to know Obama. So many of the things I hear nay sayers saying are just so completely inaccurate, or so skewed that they no longer hold any validity. So much speculation and uneducated guesses are being thrown around as fact, and the majority of them just aren't true. So that leads me to believe that many of you haven't fully researched Obama. Perhaps you completely disagree with one or two of his positions, and so you determined he wasn't your candidate, got behind McCain, and refused to learn anything else about Obama. Look into it, I am fairly certain you'll be able to find some common ground. Not 100% I'm sure, even I don't stand on 100% common ground with the man, but I would wager a bet that you'll find a piece there that you can agree on, and that's a start, right? You love this country, well here is your chance to not abandon it. You may not like the elected official, but you are still part of of our nation ... jump off the pissy soap box, and lets find a way to work together!

As to answer a few very specific grievances that I've been hearing/reading that sort of relate to me in one way or another.......

The first is that the vast majority of votes for Obama were cast for no reason other then he's black. I did not vote for Obama because he's black. That wasn't a factor in my decision whatsoever. He had my support and my vote in the primaries, but there were a few months before that where I was unsure if I would vote for him. I was up in the air between Obama and Clinton (and no, not because she is a woman). It wasn't until I found out exact where they stand on every issue, the ones important to me, as well as the ones that I didn't really care much about, that I got fully behind Obama. I support and voted for Obama because I agree with most of what he believes in. Because I admire, trust, and respect him, not only as a person, but also his politics. He is the man that I fully believe will bring respect back to our country. He's the man that will inspire pride to return to a lot of us. He is the man that will set us back on the road that we strayed so far from. I fully researched him, his position, his voting record, etc ... and THAT is where he earned my vote. The color of his skin is irrelevant to me. The color of ANYONES skin has always, and will always be irrelevant to me.

The second greivance is about military pay suffering. I am a military wife. My husband has served this country for almost 11 years, so this issue effects me directly! Although this is all just speculation, I'll play along and answer ... I really, and I do mean REALLY could not care less if we don't get the yearly pay raises that we were seeing with the Bush administration. Yes, more money was nice, and yes, I do think that on a whole, the pay system in the military is no where near sufficient enough for the sacrifices we have to make, but I would gladly have not accepted those pay raises if it had meant putting that money to alternative fuel and renewable energy. If it meant that the future of the polar bears, and every other living being on this planet would be protected by fiercely working to overcome the effects of global warming. If it meant funding for schools didn't have to drastically be cut, forcing many elective and art programs to be canceled. If it meant many programs within the military itself, for family support, didn't have to be cut because there was just no funding available. If it meant children didn't have to die of curable illness and disease simply because their parents didn't have health care available to them. To be living in an economy that is teetering on the edge of utter disaster, in a debt so huge it's hard to see a way out ... really, a steady pay raise is the last thing on my mind. I could go on and on, but I think I made my point.

More pay is nice, yes, but at what cost? For me, the sacrifice was far, far too great. I am grateful that my family has a steady job and a constant income, if it means our income will not be going up at the rate it once was - that's fine with me. Really, it is. There are real huge problems in this country that need to be addressed, and the cost to ignore those problem because there is no funding available is just way to great!

I know that concept is probably hard for a lot of Republicans to understand. I know one of your biggest platforms is to lower taxes, and raise pay. Sure, in theory, that all sounds nice. Make more money, sweet! Not have to pay as many taxes, friggin awesome! But once those dollar signs leave your eyes, and you actually see the impact of decisions such as those, it's just not worth it! Again, the sacrifices to make that happen are far too great, and I will be the first to say I'll be HAPPY to restructure our family's budget without those pay raises in order to help our country take care of itself, to give my children a world that is thriving, not dying.

November 4, 2008

We have spoken!!! We have been heard!!!

We are ready for Change! And damnit, we are going to get it!!!

GO OBAMA! The next President of the United States!

I am so unbelievably excited and hopeful. What a great night in our history. One that even my children are relishing.
Yes!!



** it really is a shame that all the nasty bitterness is already flooding the web (we're watching the live coverage online). Even Rylan, my 6 yr old is noticing it, and wondering why people were being so mean spirited.
Pretty sad!


An edit really quickly to add a response I left to address the people who have read this blog, and have told me they ARE disappointed, upset, and bitter, and feel they have every right to express it, just as they are sure I would if the results went the other way. I want to post my response to that here in order to clarify, and possibly end the msgs I've been getting, haha ...

You are absolutely correct, I would have been very disappointed if Obama had lost. And you are also absolutely correct, you have every right to feel and say whatever you please, that's the biggest reason I love this country as much as I do. I share my very opinionated voice all the friggin time, haa.

I would like to think if Obama had lost, I would have been disappointed, yes. And disappointment doesn't even seem like a strong enough word for what I'm sure I would have been feeling, but I honestly don't think I'd go off on the McCain supporters, saying things like "you people just sent us all to hell", or "way to go, liberals (like that's a bad word or something), you just took my military pay with you on this wave of change, good luck with that". Etc...

That's where it gets sad to me. McCain showed a whole lot of class. For the most part, I respect him as a person, I always have, I just don't respect his politics - he wasn't the candidate for me. So, I don't think I would have gone on to throw personal attacks around on the people who support him.

I'm truly am sorry for the McCain supporters. I truly did feel heartache during McCains speech. I know he loves this country. I know he wants nothing but the best for America. It just isn't the image that the majority of the people in the US want, and that's ok. They were both very different, and only one could win.

All of that to say, being disappointed, of course that is entirely understandable (even if it drags on longer then just tonight ... I'm sure I would have had a deflated sail for a while) ... but the constant hate and meanness is something that I just don't appreciate.

ELECTION DAY

My children are almost excited as I am about Election Day. If you ask them, they see no reason why people their age aren't allowed to vote. According to them 'We're part of this world, too. We should be able to pick who we want to take care of us, right?"


While they weren't allowed to legally vote in this election, they did throw their support to Obama, and quietly wispered their hope that everyone else in line was going to vote for him, too.


While in line, Larson was reading one of his new Magic Tree House books. He brought it with because, in his words "this voting thing will probably take a while". Once he was finished reading it, Owen quickly grabbed it, upside down of course, and started laughing hysterically. Apprently he opened up to a very funny section of the book. Haa, everyone in line got a good chuckle out of that. Rylan was quite content to hang by myside and take it all in. He knew the enormity of the day, of the outcome, and he was just as in awe as I was.


At some point I stepped in a glob of paint - where it came from, I have no idea. It was all over the bottom of my shoe, shoved up into the arch and everything. Ugh. Critical Thinking to the rescue ... "Mom, go stick your shoe in that puddle over there". Great idea! It worked to get some of it off. Rylan advised that I use one of the pinecone to scrape of the thick glob. What another great idea. It actually worked to get most of it off, and then back to the puddle I went to rinse off the rest. Ahhh, my thoughtful children saved the sidewalk from becoming speckled with white paint.


Once up to the machine, all three of them were eager to be involved. Rylan and Owen went with dad, and Larson came with me. He was reading the screen right along with me, and let out an excited gasp when he finally got to Obama/Biden. "There he is, Mom, there he is, push that one". I did. He and I went through the rest of the ballot, and then very carefully looked over the review screen. He checked, double checked, and then triple checked to make sure that it was infact OBAMA we were voting for. "You never know when those machines might mess up, so it's always best to look a lot of times, Mom". He's absolutely right! We hit the cast ballot button, smiled, gave eachother a fist bump, and went to wait outside with the other two.


What a wonderful process to share with them.


The rest of the afternoon, after Dad had to return to work, was spent making election day cookies (all three of them helped with ingredient ideas (we didn't use a recipe), measurements, blending, seperating into even balls, and dehydrating), talking about past presidents, talking about the changes we hope come to this country when and if Obama becomes elected, and coloring our own US Flags.


We don't have tv programming in the house, so we watched the election coverage through cnn/live online. I had printed out a US map for us to color the states either red or blue as they were called, but in the excitement I completely forgot about that. Hmmph! Will have to remember to use that in another 4 years, haha. As soon as Obama was the projected winner, they all let out a squeal of excitement. "We DID it! WE DID IT"!!!


An absolutely amazing night in our country's history, and my children were able to be a part of it.

Jesus was a Left-Wing Radical Jew, Murdered by People like you

I'm not a Christian and I don't believe in God. I'm agnostic, so I'm not denying the possibility that one may exist, it's just not something I really choose to believe in. I am, however, very schooled on Christianity and the Bible, and while on a whole I completely and utterly disagree with the teachings, there are a few stories (and yes, I do think the Bible is nothing more then a compilation of fictional stories, much like Harry Potter or the Sneetches) that really resonate with me. This song describes the version of Christianity that see when I read the stories in the Bible, or when I hear people talking about God, Jesus, Religion, Etc ....

Listen to it (I have almost nonstop since it was released, haha, I love it!) And I mean really listen to it, hear the words.

Jesus Was a Democrat, by Everclear



Jesus Christ didn't have blue eyes or blond hair
He looked just like all those people that you want to kill
You can spin your hell into a heaven you can sell
Make it look like California with a bible belt
Jesus didn't look like the boy next door
Unless you lived in Palestine
I wonder what you mean by the golden rule
I think it is a scary play on words
I wonder what they taught you back in Sunday school

I bet you think of him
As a nice clean long haired Republican, nah
He'd be all locked up in Guantanamo Bay
If he were alive today
He'd be a revolutionary
Wanted by the CIA

I picture him in all the wrong places
Finding diamonds in the dirt
A star of David tattoo
And a Che t-shirt
Jesus was a left wing radical Jew
Murdered by people like you

If Jesus was a Democrat
Like the bible says he was
I don't think he'd take the blame
For the awful things you people do and say in his name

If Jesus was alive today
He would be sad to see it's no different then it used to be
He is going to call you out
I'm pretty god damned sure .....
That he's going to be angry
He's going to be angry

You want to know what I think?.......

I think Jesus would have been a card carrying liberal
If he were a young man born in the USA

Wouldn't be "fiscally conservative"
And he wouldn't vote for John McCain
All those so called Christians that you see on TV
Maybe they scare Jesus like they scare me
Kick em the hell out of my temple too
Too many elephants in the room

If Jesus was a Democrat
Like the bible says he was
I don't think he'd take the blame
For the awful things you people do and say in his name

If Jesus was alive today
He would be sad to see it is no different than it used to be
He is going to call you out
I'm pretty god damned sure......
That he's going to be....mad
I think he's going to be....angry
I think he's going to be....mad
I think he's going to be....mad

You say Jesus loved the little children
And I say I know that's true
I say he loved all the Muslims and the Jews
All the addicts and the porn stars too
You say Jesus died to save us all from a fiery hell
I say Jesus died to save us
Save us from ourselves
Will you save me from myself?

If Jesus was a liberal
Like the red letters say he was
I know that he'd have big love for all the killers and the racists
And the bullies in this world

If Jesus was alive today
And you had a chance to meet him face to face
I am God-damned sure that you and your friends
Would find some way to kill him all over again
I think you'd kill him all over again
Again and again and again
Just like you always do
You do just what you always do