Gay Marriage Coming Soon to California

Apparently they will be starting to have same sex marriages(or gay marriages for the search engines;) in California on June 17, 2008. According to this article, the state said that the date is set that far in the future to give the state Supreme Court time to step in. It seems all that will stop it in the near future is for the Supreme Court to issue a stay.

The new procedure isn't really all that shocking. The paperwork that the county clerks will have with not say bride and groom. Also if registered domestic partners are marrying the same person, they don't have to dissolve the partnership first.

I am interested in seeing how this all shakes out.

Deaths in Entertainment

Dick Martin of Laugh-In died on May 24th of Respiratory Complications in Santa Monica. Sydney Pollack also passed away from cancer on May 26th. He was well renowned for directing and producing some wonderful movies such as The Firm and Tootsie.

Food Network Giveaway!!!!

I just wanted to let all my readers here know about a Food Network Giveaway that is currently running on my food blog, Nerd Family Food. Just go over and get registered for a great prize pack in honor of the Next Food Network Star!

Indiana Jones Theme

I found this over at Dream Scholar Pragmatist. The NerdDad and I thought it was cute.

Technorati Tags: Indiana Jones Spoof

Deep Tragedy and Deep Sympathy

I was just alerted over at Rocks in My Dryer that Steven Curtis Chapman's youngest daughter, Maria, was killed in a car accident. This is a double tragedy for the Chapman family because she was run over by her older brother.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.

“It appears to be a terrible accident,’’ McPherson said.

No charges are expected, she said. The accident was witnessed by two other children; the entire family was home at the time, McPherson said.

My deepest sympathy and prayers go out to this entire family and all those who know and love them.

Should I be all a Twitter?

So everyone seems to be on Twitter. A couple of the bloggers I read have recently begun it (Randy and Shannon). On one hand it just seems a bit silly but at the same time it is interesting to see what everyone else is doing. I have many people ask what I do all day (or how I actually get life done) with 4 kids and homeschooling and church and blogging. So the real question is, if I Twitter will anyone (or you) read it?

Tell me what ya'all think.


Technorati Tags: Twitter

Exciting New Addition to the NerdFamily!

The Nerd Family got a Wii! I was out a Costco and had an opportunity to get the last one they had. This (other than the normal computer desires) was the only thing NerdDad had wanted for Christmas and Valentine's Day. Now we couldn't find one or justify the expense for those holidays but... Obviously I seized this opportunity when it appeared. The Wii is so much fun, we love it. Something we didn't know that is cool is that you can play Gamecube games also! What I don't know is if there is an adapter to play GameBoy games. So any of you know? If so leave me the details.

Are You Striving for Merely Average?

While many people in my area would never in a million years homeschool, a lot of them want to say how great it is that I do. Then they give you the reasons that they can't do it with their kids. So I am going to start address those reasons here. Let me preface all this with while I think it would be great for our society, I don't think everyone needs to homeschool. But people start talking like they feel guilty and have to justify their decision. They are not my kids, it is none of my business! But, if you are going to use these silly reasons I need to start addressing them.

The first one is this fear that their kids will not be "normal" or fit in. What does that even mean? I have heard that academically they would be very advanced so they could no longer fit in with their peers. How is this a problem people? So people want their kids to just be "normal"? Isn't that the same thing as average? Average, the median, a C? You want to make sure that your kids can play all the social manipulation games to survive in a children's society? That is all your hopes and dreams are for your kids?

To me this is a mentality that "I will sell out my kids future so they can have more friends today". Talk about shortsighted. My children are very bright but they get along with many types of people. But even at almost 7 and 5, my kids are already losing patience with some issues that are considered normal for their age group. Things like when kids "decide" one day that they like 1 kid but you can't talk to that other kid. So my kids can't play that game, yes I am a failure as a parent;). Just imagine how great the world would be if we all refused to play.

I don't think there is a single parent who would admit that average is all they hope for but I wonder if that is truly what they mean. The soap box if being put away for the afternoon;).

Update: Here are a couple (not all) of the definitions of Normal from Dictionary.com.
-the average or mean: Production may fall below normal.
-the standard or type.

Meal Plan Monday

I was so sick last weekend that I never got around to doing a meal plan which meant the week was crazy. So let us get this week off to a better start.

Monday: Roast, Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli, Strawberry Spinach Salad
Tuesday: Cube Steak, Broccoli, Beer Bread
Wednesday: Steak, Broccoli, Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Chili Beans
Thursday: Pasta Alfredo Bake, Strawberry Spinach Salad
Friday: Pork Loin Chops, Fried Potatoes, Broccoli

Watching the Democratic Party is Fun!

This just illustrates 1 way the Obama/Hillary race is fun!

Step Off Freak Show

So today I was out shopping with the Nerdlings running errands as we have a habit of doing. I had the NerdPud forward facing in my wrap and the other 3 kids walking. As we got a cart this older woman walked up to us. She started talking about how cute my kids were and started touching all of them, the older ones on the head and the baby's arm's, head and hands.

Back to the story in a minute but, what is up with all the touching? As I tell my kids, keep your hands to yourself people. I have no idea who you are and where your hands have been but I can tell you that my baby's hands are probably going in her mouth. So keep your cooties to yourself!

Back to the story: So she goes on about how cute and wonderful they are and then she says that NerdBug (6 year old) must not be one of my gang. I say of course he is mine, then she points out that he has brown eyes. I just say that his eyes are like his dad's while the rest are like mine. She went on to say about her grandkids all being older (17 and 20). Then she reiterates how cute they are. Then she says that she just came from the library where she saw a woman with 4 boys and a baby girl, with one of the boys holding the baby. So she said that she asked if she could hold this baby and the mom was shocked and said "No Way!". She asked if I could believe that the mom said no. I said yes and nothing else while silently thanking the Lord that I chose to put NerdPud in the wrap instead of the basket. The lady went on to say how she told that woman that if she was afraid of germs that the library was the wrong place to go. I politely smiled and said if she missed holding babies that Valley Children's Hospital was always looking for people. I then went into the store where she followed me around the produce department. Luckily that was all I was getting.

I was so shocked. There is no way I would let some stranger somewhere hold my kid of any age much less a baby. Am I just paranoid? I just can't imagine. So now I have vented and I am off to make a bottle for the baby.

Great Family Find

So there is a local blogger that I read, Jacinda, and she does awesome weekly Family Nights. This last one she posted about was an Under the Sea night complete with pictures, food suggestions and activities. Go check it out and tell her NerdMom sent you!

Great Internet Find

For those of you who don't know, I love tea. Well, today I was checking out a commenter's blog(Lisa) and she had a great post on tea houses. She linked to this great resource, TeaMap.com. You just enter you zipcode or state and they list tearooms in your area. It even shows you reviews. I already found a place to try here in town. Such a deal!

Around the Nerdosphere

So now that I am back from a couple of crazy weeks of event and illness I have done a little blogging. I just thought I would let you all know what is up around the nerdosphere.

Nerd Family Food has an awesome recipe that is a dead ringer for those yummy Red Lobster Biscuits. And even better is that they are easy! Nerd Family Things has a great, nerdy, gift worthy craft. Making Money Keeping Money has some great coupons to some online women's clothing stores. While you are over there don't forget to look at some of the great restaurant birthday freebies I found. Over at Blog Fresno I have posted about a couple opportunities to get all your shredding done by someone else for free. I have also heard that one of the contributors is planning on writing a cool movie review. So keep your eyes open on all the blogs to see what great stuff is coming up next!

Stores That Suck

So I have been doing a little online shopping lately and have had some not-so-good experiences with at least one being my own fault because I should have known better. So I am sharing so a)I can vent and b)you out there in the blogosphere can be warned.

First up is Walmart. I was looking to buy a specific stroller for the NerdPud, Jeep All-Weather Umbrella Stroller - Ice Pink. I looked around and the cheapest brick and mortar was Walmart. Well, none of them actually had it so I decided to order it. Now I should have gotten it from Amazon (since it was $2 bucks cheaper). I assumed that Amazon was going to charge shipping and handling but come to find out (at least now) that would have been free. So I decided to do Walmart's Site to Store. I have used this a Best Buy and it is always faster since you are going distributing center to store. The website said 7-10 days but usually those are worst case scenarios. Well, apparently it takes a Walmart truck 9 days to drive what takes the rest of us less than an hour and half. According to their website my order was on a truck to be delivered at the local store on 4/27 and it didn't get delivered until 5/5. That was for a trip from Porterville to Sanger. When I called the Sanger store to ask if they had it (you actually have to wait for the system to email you before you can get your package) I was told that they couldn't help me and couldn't give me any other number where I could get help or information. I will never use the Site to Store again if I have any other option.

The second store is Drugstore.com. I shop there regularly to get NerdDad's lactose intolerance pills. While I am there I always see what else they have on sale in order to get the free shipping. So I found this great deal (Buy 1 Get 1 Free) on a Clairol temporary hair coloring product. So I put them in my shopping cart and had to get up and do some things. You know how it goes, dinner and bedtime for the kids, but that is the beauty of online shopping. Well, I come back to finish my order and my cart has been changed. They were now (versus before when I checked) charging me for each hair coloring kit. So I drop them out of my cart and went back to the coupon page. Well apparently while I had gotten up the coupon expired (I assume). There was nothing about expirations on the page at all and I had no warning. I would have finished shopping earlier if I had been given any warning. So I dropped all the hair coloring and the conditioner that I had added. I ordered only the medication I needed. I am extremely annoyed!

Technorati Tags: drugstore.com, walmart.com

Swtichfoot Cover Beyonce

So NerdDad had been watching the Switchfoot Awakenings video with the kiddos and this was on the side of YouTube. It is great! You have to watch.

Preschoolers and Pedicures

Over at Silicon Valley Moms Blog there is quite a discussion going on about preschoolers and pedicures. Is it appropriate for a kid who is still sucking her thumb to be getting a pedicure? My gut says no way in the world but... Now the NerdPie (4) would love for me to paint her toe nails but NerdDad and I have always agreed that she isn't old enough. But some of the commenters had some great points. How is this different than getting a toy as a reward? Or ice cream? But on the other hand, girls who start things this young start to feel entitled to certain treatment and I don't want to have to deal with that issue. So what do you all think? Chime in here and let me know!

Meal Plan Monday

Here is this week's schedule. With someone going out every night this week it has to be quick and easy!
Monday:Freezer Friday: No Boil, Ready for the Freezer, Spinach Lasagna
Tuesday: Roasted Chicken, Beer Bread, Broccoli
Wednesday: Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Cube Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

Kids and Their Questions

Scienceray has a great post called 8 Questions About the Human Body That Kids Always Ask. I totally think it is worth the read. It reminds me of many of the questions I had as a kid!

Tetris, The Movie

(HT: VideoSift)