Ten on Tuesday- good and bad

1- I'm taking Brayden to Disneyland next week!! I'm going along with my sister's family. Her husband will be flying down for work and Nicki and I will drive down to meet him. Three kids in the backseat of a car for 12 hours- should be interesting, right? Really, though, I'm excited to have the opportunity to have another vacation this year inexpensively.

2- You all know I love me some Jon Stewart- Here's a clip showing how wrong some of the "reports" and "statistics" that are being said about Planned Parenthood are.

3-  Brayden is saying "uv you!" Only when he's prompted so far, but I still love it. He's my angel, he sure is.

4- I saw this story online and it makes me so mad. It is okay if a boy wants his nails painted. In fact, Brayden's nails are painted right now. He saw my blue nails and wanted his own. Let kids enjoy things without forbidding things because of gender stereotypes.
5- I'm still reading and loving Bossypants. I'm actually trying to read it slowly so I can enjoy it longer. Here's just a sample of Tina Fey's awesomeness- "Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes."

6- I follow Parenting magazine on Twitter, and today they quoted Jumpstart organization as saying that "Kindergarten teachers can predict with 90% accuracy which children will graduate." If this is true, and I don't doubt it... why on earth are we not putting more funding into early intervention and training for teachers?

7- This quote I found on Pinterest is so me. "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." I'm in no way saying that I'm in the same league as Einstein, but I do love my curiosity.

8- Parenting also mention this during the Mom Congress they are having this week- A child in an average family on welfare hears 62,000 words/week vs. 215,000 words for a professional family. This ties into education like #6. Parents need help too, especially low-income parents.

9- I love the lyrics to this song by Pink.
10- I'm not going to say anything specific, but a weird thing related to my new job happened this week. Someone broke the law, and I got to sit and listen to them talk about other people breaking the law and what their punishment should or should not be. I shouldn't be surprised, what with me writing government stories and all.

I did it!

I know today isn't a good day. The government is messed up, spring in Utah is playing hard to get, etc.

But... I finished my first issue with the Midvale Journal! It goes to the press tonight, and I should be able to see my name in print next week.

I know it's not a big deal, and the pay isn't that good, but I'm happy about this new opportunity. It's only about 10 hours a month away from Brayden (the rest I do on my own time). It's writing experience. It's something for my resume. And it helps me feel productive. I feel exactly like Kerri does: "There's even a chance that I work best and am happiest when I face a mental challenge." When I am busy, I am happy and stressed at the same time.

Randomalities:
-I just discovered Mom-In-A-Million's blog and I love it! She writes what I wish I could write about politics.
-Have you all heard of Pinterest? Such a beautiful, beautiful timesuck. Here's my profile. Let me know if you'd like an invite. I especially love my Recipes and Kiddo Ideas boards. There's some great recipes and ideas on there that I can't wait to try.
-I saw Limitless yesterday. It wasn't the best movie, but definitely entertaining. Especially the notion of a drug that allows you to access your whole brain. That would be pretty awesome.
-I'm reading Tina Fey's book Bossypants. So, so funny. I have such a girl crush on her. She's smart, funny, and pretty all at the same time.

365

3/21- We finally decided to fix up the kitchen with some of our tax refund money. Adam is starting by fixing a broken cupboard, so in this picture he's is cutting something he needs to stabilize the cupboard (I think).

3/22- And now he's actually fixing the cupboard. I'm sure Brayden was a HUGE help.

3/23- While Adam toiled away in the kitchen, Brayden and I escaped to the zoo for Jackson's 6th birthday.

3/24- The painting continues. In fact, it still isn't done. Adam will make final touch ups tomorrow and commence with putting new hardware on.

3/25- As you can see, Adam and I lived on Diet Dr. Pepper during this ordeal. Brayden got sick... but ended up hating the pedialyte drink.

3/26- Still feeling a little sick. He didn't want to wear clothes, but he wanted to wear his slipper boots.

3/27- I love these illustrations. I've thought of trying to frame this spread for Brayden's room somehow. The book is called Little Blue Truck and it's written by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Jill McElmurry.

3/28- I have a bit of an obsession with Carter's pajamas. I love them! I got these and the Mommy's Space Explorer ones he's wearing in the 3/22 pictures.

3/29- I'm on a Roswell kick thanks to the Barlows and instant streaming on Netflix. Please ignore the fingerprints in the lower left corner. Somebody likes to get up on the table and touch the tv.

3/30- Boys and their toys. We have a Wii again, and Brayden likes "playing" it with  his daddy.

3/31- On our way into the zoo. This smile makes my heart melt. Love, love, love.

4/1- We met a friend and her boy at the park today. It was a glorious day, and the first official shorts and sandals day of the day for Brayden.

4/2- Brayden loves putting his bunny ears on and saying "hop, hop, hop" while jumping around.

4/3- Snow. In April. After temperatures in the 70s and sandal day.