Cold Cold and seriously, turn up the thermostat!

That has been the phrase of the year so far in 2009. It just doesn't seem like I am ever warm. Maybe it is due to being prego but I don't think that it is too much to ask to crank it up to 72? Right, Erin says wrong. Our heating bill last month was $200! Yikes, I just got done watching an infomercial from LES giving me tips to save on heating and still be warm. Lets just say that I didn't get anything out of it. Not only do I have to put up with a cold house, when I work the two days that I do, one of my menopausal coworkers turns the FRICKIN AIR CONDITIONER on! The thermostat for that has read below 60 Degrees. Seriously. Enough complaining about the AC and the Heat. There are people in this world without either.

Life on Bison Dr. is good. Home valuation is down 12K from last year(protest soon coming), Erin sucessfully had some skin cancer taken off of his face (NOT the bad kind but the kind you want to have if you get it), the baby is on rapid fire all the time and Henry doesn't eat worth a crap. YOu know, the typical things in life.

We are still trying to grasp this whole, "we are having a baby" thing. It just seems like I am getting fatter and that my bowels are a little more active than normal. I do NOT feel like I am prego. The only thing that confirms it for us are our 4 week appointments where we get to go see the little bugger on the Docs ultrasound machine. We are still trying to decide where everyone is going to crash and take up residence for the evenings and naptime. I think that Henry and the baby will have to share a room. That is the only logical thing that I can think of right now. Henry is too little to move all the way upstairs and too little for us to move all the way upstairs. So we will probably all stay down and be crammed for a while. If you are wondering what a while means, it means until all student loans are paid off and we can move to a bigger house. Donations are being accepted at all Union Bank locations.

I have been trying to wrap my hands around some new regulations being forced upon me by the government. In Aug. 2008, congress passed a bill that would regulate children's toys, clothing, books, cribs, anything a child ages 12 and under would handle and certify that these products are lead free and phlatlate free. While I am all about making this world safer for kids, It is causing some serious disruption in my side business. For me to continue making all of the things that I make which ranges from clothing to room accessories, I would have to have each individual product tested and certified. Testing starts at around $300-$4000 depending on how many materials that you use in one product. I have dutifully written to my congressmen and senators for them to tell me that once a bill passes in congress it is up to the regulatory agencies to enact the rules and regulations as they see fit. Hmmmm...
Good news:
1) I can still sell within Nebraska without complying (that is if the local venue doesn't require me to have certified products)
2) America's Favorite Person has the opportunity to review this on inaguration day and help out the small businesses that will be affected. Vote for it here

Erin is good. I am so thankful that he went to the dermatologist to get his spots checked out. His first guess that there was something fishy was that there was this little spot under his nose that just never seemed to heal. It looked like a zit after popping it and was just always red and a little crusty. So, if you have anything suspicious, get your butt into the dermatologist and have it removed. AND wear sunscreen. This was a good lesson for me, Miss Iodine Baby Oil Tanner.

Henry continues to give us much joy except when he eats. I am sick of feeding him the same ol stuff. He eats, ham, grilled cheese and ham, cheese, chicken nuggets, carrots, pear, apple, and "treats" (5 mini M&M's if he eats good). There are other things but it seems like he never eats what we are eating. We always have to make something special for him. This week I have started to feed him what we are eating and so far he hasn't liked it. So...we will see how starved a little boy can get. I might just have to start my meals in reverse. Dinner for breakfast, lunch and then breakfast for dinner. Maybe.

Well, I have rambled much too much. Thank you for all of your thoughts for my Dad. Not only is his body behaving amazingly, God is too and all of you for remembering him constantly.

Much love. No photos this time.

Kaitlyn