Topsy Turvy

We had a beautiful weekend here! Sunny skies and warm weather. What a treat.

Friday night we had dinner with the Kenny's - Chris, my friend from college, her husband Peter and their four kids: Caitlyn, Rachel, Michael and Sean. They are a lively bunch and we enjoyed every minute. I spilled the roast in the car so we'll see how that smells in a couple of weeks. It's OK now but I don't know what will happen when it warms up.

On Saturday Max and I went on a walk around Baker Park on Saturday with Havers and my friend Jan. The park was full of people just enjoying the sun and having fun. Kids building sand castles, swinging and chasing each other around. People watching the ducks and geese. Dogs a plenty! Jan was kind enough to drive Havers and I pushed Max in the stroller.

We stopped at the playland area for a little bit and Max stood in the sand though he was not too impressed with it. He did enjoy watching all the kids with their sand castles. Mostly he just wanted to wander around and swing. He loves the swing. It always gets him to smile and giggle. If only he would hold on...scares me to death that he just hangs out in the bucket with no apparent care toward self-preservation. Alas, there were no pictures of the park BUT lots of other pictures on Saturday.

the morning was very relaxing. It was so warm in the house that Max was wandering around in his drawers and t-shirt which he seemed to enjoy. He was up and down on the ottoman with Havers. She was just minding her own business trying to take a nap and he was not going to let that happen. She's so good with him and just lets him poke, prod, pet, pick and even bang her on the head with a spoon.



We also had fun with the top from his Grandma and Grandpa Z. He was finishing his breakfast and brought it out of the bathroom to play with. That sounds awful, doesn't it? Ah well, it was only toast and he kept it in his hand the whole time. It's impressive to watch him use the top. He concentrates so hard but he can get it to go. Imagine a top that spins without batteries. So rare these days.




The other great pleasure of the weekend was riding the zebra. Our friends loaned it to us and he loves it. Took him a little while to get used to it but now he loves to get on and jump up and down.



Here he is galloping with his cookie just before our walk.



Finally, a picture from a couple of weeks ago that I had to post. I think he looks a little like a 17 magazine centerfold here with his leaning pose. Remember Claire Danes talking about Jordan Catilano on "My So Called Life"? "I love the way he leans." That's our Max. How hilarious!

Is it really that hard to pay your taxes?

I can't stand it one second longer. Why can't people, who profess to be public servants, do their part and hand the requisite number of pesos over to the gubment?

Not only have these people shirked their financial responsibility to our nation but they don't seem to have any real regret. It's all excuses and I didn't realize. Call me old fashioned but if you can't get your own house in order, I'm not sure you should try to right mine. A United States Senator cannot figure out how to pay his own taxes to pay for the legislation which he lobbies for and votes into existence. He doesn't even do his duty as a citizen to pay for the very social programs which he hopes to administer.

He says it was a mistake. He did not realize his car service was income and not a gift from a good friend. We should all be so lucky to be in this position - divorced from the reality of day to day life. Does he even have a clue as to the issues facing the population which he is nominated to serve? Somehow I don't think so.

I've become so disillusioned with our national government. Doing what's right has gone out the window for too many. I know that corruption has always been there as has the grab for power and influence. Is it just that they were so much better at hiding it?

It's difficult for me to watch an administration that I so badly want to succeed make choices that seem so business as usual. Where is the change? I did not get all caught up in the hype during the election cycle and I don't believe that any person is "the one". Even when I didn't hear a tremendous amount of sustance in the message, I had faith that it would come. I really hoped we would see change in the way things are done. I began to believe. I still believe because I need to but my faith is fading.

I miss Teddy Roosevelt. Not perfect by any means but a genuine reformer.

Max is up now so my rant is over. Here's a few recent pics of Max and one of Lyle.