Happy Halloween

Hope you don't get any treats like this!!

*And for the record, I'm happy to say this isn't a self-portrait.

Celebrate With Badges!

When I went into labor for the first time, a friend reminded me that there was no merit badge to be gained by delivering without drugs. A smart women she is; however, I think anyone who delivers or raises a child deserves truck loads of merit badges.

Has UPS lost your address? Well have no fear, Merit Badge Day is here! We all need to pat ourselves on the shoulder every once in a while (even if you haven't delivered a child or aren't raising one right now--I'm sure you deserve one anyway). So Sunday is now going to be Merit Badge Day here at Mamma Loves...

Every Sunday, drop on by and let us know which merit badge you earned this week. Tell your friends, encourage them to do the same. We'll keep track and a running total of merit badges awarded.

Sound good? Okay, I'll start.

Mr 2. had a major meltdown morning (which seems to be happening quite a bit lately). When everyone else was out of solutions to tame the full on tatrum, Mamma solved it with a pile of coloring books and a basket of crayons. While I'm sure it won't work again next time, it worked this morning and there was peace this morning for fifteen whole minutes in a row. For this I award myself the Fire Fighting badge.

Your turn...

Talk With the Hand

When I am the benevolent ruler of the world to all (except to the few who have done me wrong for they will suffer by being duct taped to a chair naked and forced to listen to an endless loop of Rick Astley, Yanni and Kenny G), I will mandate the use of thank you waves when people let you cut in front of them in traffic. For there is nothing more annoying than kindly allowing a person to enter traffic in front of you only to have them drive away without so much as a wave.

Personally, I roll down my window to ensure that the wave is seen. The back windows of my car are tinted so I don't want to chance that my wave goes unnoticed.

I must feel so strongly about this small act of gratitude, because I actually dreamed about it the other night. I dreamt that I let some in and they gave me a wave and when I waved back they actually gave me another with a rotation of the wrist and pointed their index finger back at me as if to say "right back atchya."

I have no idea what this means. But I felt such a sense of satisfaction. Hand gestures of gratitude will definitely be one of my first executive orders.

Don't Fence Me In

Do you lock only your driver's side door when you want to prevent your car from being stolen? Would you spend say $2k to $8k to put an alarm system that worked on that door only?

Yeah, me either. But let's spend the money we don't have anyway. Our kids won't mind.

Ode to a Blog

I have been trying to blog for days
Thinking of funny things I might say
But my mind is in a fog
With no ideas for me to blog

I could write about my kids
Funny things today that they did
But my words must be lost in a bog
'Cause I cannot create this blog

So instead of writing something I might regret
And since nothing funny has come to my head yet
I will sit here like a bump on a log
And post this poem as my blog...

Beautiful Eyes

Last night I had a dream that I made out with Hugh Laurie...and he was a GOOOOD kisser. Don't my dreams know that I have a thing for Patrick Dempsey?

The closest I'm ever going to get to kissing PD will be in my dream (even if he IS on my list--and he is for the record Shakey). Unfortunately, my brain did not cooperate. Stupid brain. Though I guess old Hugh wasn't a bad understudy.

The Original Slim Shakey

Hubby actually came up with his own blog name, which will make it more difficult for him to complain about it later. He's selected Shakey. This is actually a moniker he picked up in college. Of course, when we started dating I became Mrs. Shakey to his friends...Frau Shakey. No one really shared the origin of the name until "Ger" came home for a visit.

Yeah, you SHOULD be thinking...Ger? What can I guy with a name like that be like? Well, apparently I met him after he reformed a bit, but he's very much the bull in the china shop who has studied so much latin that he can kick your ass at Scrabble when he's so drunk he doesn't know his own name.

So Ger was home for a visit and found out I didn't know the origin of "Shakey." He was so excited that he was going to be the one to get to tell me the story. The problem was that he was enjoying the story in his own head so much that he couldn't stop laughing long enough to get it out. He would get a few sentences into it and then fall back into this hysterical cackle and have to wipe the tears from his eyes. I was laughing so hard just watching him that when the entire story came out the it was like opening the most beautiful package on Christmas morning and finding underwear inside.

Stupid drunk college boys thought hubby was acting shady but got the word wrong and called him Shakey.

Of course you know the only name he'll answer to when the World Series is on...Shakey.

What's with that tunnel vision guys get when the TV is on?

Hubby Needs a Blog Name

I need a blog name for the husband. I've seen so many good ones used by other blogging chicas, but to use theirs' feels less like flattery and more like highway robbery. My particular favorite may be First Husband. There is also hubs and Spousal.

When we were first dating PFunky added -oire to the end of his name and that stuck. After we became engaged he became the fiancoire (soft c). The problem is that husbandoire doesn't work. Maybe husboire? Sort of sounds like boudoir. He might like that!! Probably better than Geek Boy. Hmm...we might be on to something.

Thoughts?

PS--Do you know how easy it is to eat 8 servings of Goldfish while you're reading blogs? Yeah--an entire bag. Damn Target and their $1 sale on Goldfish!!

PFunky In The House

Everyone, this is PFunky. PFunky, this is everyone.

I'm a terrible host for making introductions after you've already joined us. What would Amy Vanderbilt say?!

PFunky is mamma's best friend...has been for more than a decade. We went to college together, we took on DC together, we've supported each other through misguided love, her years of lawschool, marriage and kids. PFunky is my sister in my heart. And she might be the most entertaining person I've ever met.

Now I know she'll be upset that I'm setting her up like this. But I know she won't disappoint.

Oh! Did I mention that she loves 80's music as much as I do? We're a force to be reckoned with in the game Songburst.

Join me in welcoming PFunky to the Mamma Loves...family. I'm sure she'll keep us ROFL.

oh, how I wish I were a solid gold dancer...

Here is my life-long fantasy...it has nothing to do with another man, more money or finding god, I have always wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer. You remember the show from the 80s, "Solid Gold". I remember when the Solid gold dancers would perform the "Top Ten" songs in some sort of interpretive dance that doubled as G-Rated pole dancing...sometimes they would dance with partners, the black woman with the long braided hair ALWAYS got solo dances. Man, was she goooood! They could make any 80s song, from "Endless Love" to "Superfreak" into the most expressive dancing I've ever seen. Okay, I'm kidding. It was the absolute CHEASIEST thing on tv at the time...or was that Great American Hero? I digress. I have spent my life emulating those solid gold dances for friends and family.

I can be anywhere and hear a good song and want to break out into dance. In my head, I have the most awesome dance moves...standing on the seat of a chair and walking down the back of it onto the floor (done that in reality), writhed on the floor and crawled towards my husband (he used to get embarrassed when I would do that in front of our friends, but now he just has another beer and lets me perform). I tried swinging around a streetlamp in New Orleans a few years ago, but that feat was kind of hard and I ended up getting bruises on my inner arm (war wounds). I can hear a Def Leppard song and want to do that in the middle of the gym at the JCC...but I think people would just think I was off my rocker. Aren't I???

I keep thinking in my head, "I have got to make a dance video for stay-at-home moms (like myself) so they could crack up as much as I do when I start dancing and also get into shape. I think about turning up the radio and dancing like a fool. Right now Beyonce is singing "Crazy in Love" on my ipod...who doesn't want to shake every body part to this song and walk up and down the hallway like a runway model??? That's what I'm talkin' about! Would anyone watch a video of a woman making a fool of herself and do the same thing in her own home??? I dunno, but if I could do some solid gold dancing moves and help some woman stuck in the house all the time to lose her post-partum weight, I would do it!

Okay, this is my first time trying to blog. I just wish I could use this computer to find a picture of Solid Gold dancers so you knew what I was talking about. I gotta go dance to this music and shed a few pounds myself!

Oh, to be in my 20s again dancing at dance clubs until the sweat was dripping off my big white schruncy socks and too short shorts and my awful magenta lipstick that my friends finally made me give up for neutral tones...I guess I won't be able to show off my smooth moves at my children's bar and bat mitzvah...but shouldn't they know the real me????

And why can't I find anyone in the 'burbs who wants to dance like a fool and not care what anyone else thought of them? Why does everyone seem so caught up about what people think about them? Why can't someone just put on Def Leppard's "Animal" (ipod song right now) and freakin' rock it out??? I have GOT to start a class or make a video for people called, "Get Loose" or maybe "Foot Loose" (yeah, that one wouldn't work) and do something with this talent? Well, I hope Mamma Loves would agree that it is some weird talent and not a curse I have to bear the rest of my life...

Uncool is so HOT!

I had the shuffle set to random, I fired up the iPod and I listened for four and half hours straight. Below is the result of my second experiment with the randomness of the iPod shuffle setting.

Before you look, I still swear I have somewhat better taste in music than what appears on the list below. Believe it or not there actually is music on my iPod that was written and produced in this century.

I believe the next logical entry will be to analyze how I became so old so fast.

Swingtown-- Steve Miller Band (freshman year college)
Our Lips Are Sealed-- The Go-Go’s
You Were Only Joking-- The Indigo Girls
Cherry Cherry-- Neil Diamond
AllStar-- Smash Mouth
A Fine Romance-- Ella Fitzgerald
Real Love-- Mary J. Blige (Luh-uv this song! I want to sing like Mary J.)
Cream-- Prince
My City Was Gone-- The Pretenders
When Love Comes To Town-- BB King & U2
Shadows of the Night-- Pat Benatar
The Joker-- The Steve Miller Band
Diggin’ Your Scene -- Smash Mouth
That’s Life-- Frank Sinatra
Cowboy Take Me Away-- Dixie Chicks
My Guy-- Mary Wells
Open Your Heart*-- Madonna
Can’t Help Falling In Love-- Elvis Presley
Crash Into Me-- Dave Matthews Band
Tripping Billies-- Dave Matthews (is this thing really on shuffle?)
Breakdown-- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Travelin’ Soldier-- Dixie Chicks
A Pirate Looks At Forty-- Jimmy Buffett
Midnight Train to Georgia-- Gladys Knight & The Pips (I don’t think I’d want to be a pip)
Mamma Mia-- ABBA
Wouldn’t It Be Good-- Danny Hutton Hitters (teenage angst)
Lazy River-- Pete Fountain
Don’t Cry-- Seal (a certain boy)
Stomp-- The Brothers Johnson (Jazzercise—7th grade)
Just When I Needed You Most*-- Randy VanWarmer
Destination Anywhere-- The Commitments (the ultimate need my freedom song)
Hang-- Matchbox Twenty
My Way*-- Frank Sinatra (song ruined for me by idiot old boss)
Callin’ Baton Rouge-- Garth Brooks (I didn’t know I liked some country until I heard this song)
Evenflow-- Pearl Jam
Southern Girl-- Better Than Ezra
Slow Ride-- Foghat
Sweet Dreams (Of You)-- Patsy Cline
One Of These Nights*-- The Eagles
Sexual Healing-- Marvin Gaye (also Jazzercise—my dancing girls—good cover by someone)
Dreaming-- Blondie
Walking in Memphis-- Marc Cohn
Your Love Is King-- Sade
When I Look To The Sky-- Train (live version)
Wishing Well-- Terence Trent D’Arby
Good Day Sunshine-- The Beatles
Cecilia-- Simon & Garfunkel
Cowboy-- Kid Rock
Mr. Big Stuff-- Jean Knight (Gladys’ sister?)
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning-- Carly Simon
Son Of A Son Of A Sailor-- Jimmy Buffett
Stardust-- Nat King Cole (the voice of velvet)
With This Ring-- The Platters
The Power of Love*-- Huey Lewis & The News (I really have to delete this song)
I Feel The Earth Move Carole King
So Little Kindness*-- Huey Lewis & The News
She’s Crafty-- The Beastie Boys (how can you NOT love them?)
Over The Rainbow-- Ray Charles & Johnny Mathis
Never Tear Us Apart-- INXS
They Can’t Take That Away From Me-- Billie Holiday
The Winner Takes It All-- ABBA
Crazy For You-- Madonna (oh how I wanted to slow dance w/Matthew Modine)
Jack And Diane-- John Mellencamp
Fire And Ice-- Pat Benatar
Purple Rain* Prince (needed more upbeat tunes at 5:20 p.m.)
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)-- U2
Like A Song…*-- U2 (don’t want to hear two songs by the same band in a row while on shuffle)
I Need Love-- Sam Phillips
Unforgettable*-- Nat King Cole
Hammer And A Nail-- Indigo Girls (such a happy song)
I Got You Under My Skin*-- Frank Sinatra (too much Frank today—is that possible?)
All You Zombies*-- Hooters (heard in earlier experiment this morning)
Twice As Hard-- The Black Crowes
Take The Money And Run-- The Steve Miller Band (I don’t have that much SMB on my iPod)*
Let My Love Open The Door-- Pete Townshend
Diamond Girl*-- Seals And Croft (too mellow for today)
Hey Ya!-- Outkast (OMG! A song from this century!)

*Song I forwarded though. I’m typically a playlist kind of gal.

Blogging To The Oldies

Mamma's sending out a little love to a new "computer friend." Because how could a mamma not love a boy who says he's "down with your demographic?" You can read the interaction that took place over at Psalm A Day--a great concept with with introductions to a deeper vault of music then the one I obviously have the key to. Though I wish they'd post a little more often...

Always hoping to share my random thoughts with a larger audience (come on in, it's only a little scary), I thought I'd check out my new friend's other blog ShuffleLog. This too is an interesting experiment to look at the randomness of the shuffle setting on an iPod. The problem for me is that I only recognized one song in twenty on this fine gentleman's list. Now we know he's down with our demographic, so I continued reading but man it got me feeling old.

Lovely Clarence invited me to join in his experiment with a thirty minute trial run on my own iPod. The results--which can be seen here--were thoroughly embarrassing...so much so that I'm currently running another test. Unfortunately, I think I just really am that uncool. Who needs to wait until I have teenagers to figure that out.

PS--I'm not buying this whole "shuffle" thing. In less than one hour I've heard duplicate selections by the same band three times. And I maxed out the drive on my little music friend.

Mamma v. the Jalapeno--And It's the Jalapeno in a KO

This is the story of my Saturday night. Even if I had wanted to share it at the time, it would have been impossible. For you see...I fought the Jalapeno and the Jalapeno won.

I love to garden. Grew a ton of jalapenos this year (and they're still coming). My resourceful hubs founds a great recipe on line for cream cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped jalapenos. We tried it once, they were great. So we planned to serve them again with my folks in town.

Rather than bitch about how hot they were because hubs neglected to remove all of the white skin, I offered to scrape out the peppers. And to cut to the chase...I did it without gloves...for easily 50 pepper halves.

You know in the beginning there was just this little spot on one finger that stung--like I might have had a paper cut or something. Then a little more of that finger started to burn. Then? Yes, I touched my eye. I mean come on. How many bad stories have you heard about idiots doing this? I thought I was avoiding my eye--but apparently I hadn't. Because all of the sudden I couldn't talk. I couldn't open it, I couldn't close it, I couldn't touch it. And in front of my whole family, my parents, my mother-in-law, her sister, my good friends B & S (immature chuckle) and their kids. If the episode had ended there I would have learned my lesson.

But then the real pain began.

The burning spread across both of my palms and around the tops of my fingers. I barely slept at all Saturday night from the pain. It was mildly better Sunday when I woke up...until I took a shower. This fateful step somehow unleashed the oils. I couldn't hold the hair dryer to dry my hair. I couldn't hold the steering wheel to drive. I didn't want anyone to talk to me. I couldn't get to a bottle of Solarcaine fast enough. It felt like the worst sunburn you could imagine exacerbated by exposing it to the blistering sun the next day.

While my fingers were in too much pain to type, I had time to think about what I would title this entry. Here are a few of my initial thoughts...

The Depths to Which I'll Sink for Food

Channeling My Inner Dali

Let Down in My Hour of Need

I May Now Qualify to Join the X-Men

To elaborate, Let Down in My Hour of Need was to express the sadness I encountered when my friend the Internet did not readily provide me with an antedote to my pain. People had all sorts of suggestions (soak the skin in vegetable oil, soak it in milk, rub lemon/lime juice on the burn, wear rubber gloves--as if I'm looking for that advice at this point!). It wasn't until my final grasp for relief on Sunday morning that I found a random comment to someone's blog (thank god for comments). The suggestion called for the use of Solarcaine. Let me just tell you...the liquid of the Gods this weekend.

As for the X-Men? Until today, I could heat up anything I touched. For a while I thought I was going to come out of the experience with a new super power, but lo it is not to be.

Did I learn a lesson? Hell yeah! I will remember this experience with more clarity then I'll remember either of the times I was numbed from the waist down to extract a nearly nine pound kid from my belly. Probably because for that I got drugs!

So dear reader, learn from my stupidity, because otherwise...I'm just an idiot.

So Tired, Can't Post

I can barely form a thought, but the guilt I have for not posting in almost a week is too large for me to go to bed without a few words.

I have a story to tell you tomorrow. I have come up with a number of titles for it and I plan to include them all. I'm actually still recovering from all the "fun."

A week without blogging...it's hard to be rude to your folks when they're in town.

Public Service Announcement

D.C. isn't really known as a fashion capital, so rocking the leather pants during the workday...you get points for boldness.

However...

If your leather pants are black...the brown boots will stand out...no matter how much you ignore the world with your big sunglasses and headphones.

But who am I to talk? You should have seen the momfit I was wearing today. I HATE those cute little twenty-somethings with their disposable income and lack of responsibilities.

Is This What They Meant by "Keep an Active Fantasy Life in Your Marriage"?

hubbyIM: Torre is staying if you haven't heard (Joe Torre of the Yankees)
mammaIM: I did hear
mammaIM: I was so relieved
mammaIM: I knew Steinbrenner hadn't gone that far off the deep end.
mammaIM: any word on the conditions/changes
hubbyIM: only one condition....
hubbyIM: I play second base
mammaIM: so I guess we have to move...
hubbyIM: I'll just commute
mammaIM: okay
mammaIM: but how are we going to get to the games?
hubbyIM: Steiny (as I like to call him) said you could use the private jet.
mammaIM: cool. he's such a doll

*IM screen names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Cleaning Even Mamma Can Love

Today I got to play with a powerwasher. Let me just say that if I could use a powerwasher to clean the inside of my house I would be goddamn Martha Stewart.

What immediate gratification! What a sense of accomplishment! And all with just the squeeze of the trigger!

I seriously put thought into the kind of flooring and plumbing I could install in my house to be able to use this tool from God. I'm thinking some central drains, a terrazzo floor and all my furniture made of poured concrete. Ahhhh. Makes me kind of think of the bar I hung out in in college--well except for the terrazo and the concrete furniture. Okay, so it really was just the drain in the center of the floor. But now I'm wondering why the cleaning crew even bothered with anything but the powerwasher.

The powerwasher--I bet it could even get my boys clean.

I'll never have a dirty driveway again.

Great Movie Guys!

Just saw The Departed. It was great--with a capital G! I don't get out to too many movies that aren't animated these days. Glad I saved up my visit to the multiplex for such a good one. Leonardo DiCaprio is making up for some of those crappy roles he's had lately. Matt Damon plays devious and coniving too well to believe he's normal (The Talented Mr. Ripley). And Jack? Couldn't have been a better role for Nicholson. The reviews were right on.

On another tangent, is it just coincidence that U.S. coins are manufactured to be of equal weight on both sides providing statistically even chances in a flip? The designs are different on either side, is the weight figured into the design? Were coins always made that way? Or was it just a interesting phenomena that occured and someone and decided to carry it on? Just another random thought from my brain to yours.

How My Brain Works

I just got chuckled at. Chuckled!! You share you thoughts with someone and they chuckle at you.

I just told my hubs that I think in my next life I want to live a life like Dave Grohl--and he chuckled at me. What? I ask. He just shakes his head and laughs and say "the oddities that run through your head. The tangents your thoughts run off on and the depth to which they run--I mean if God asked you, you have it all figured out who you want to come back as. You have it all justified."

So I think Dave Grohl seems to have a good life. So I put a little thought into that. It really only took the walk from the couch to the kitchen to come up with it. It's not like I've been studying him. Though I might have to Google him now just to find out more.

But here's my reasoning.

For the record, I don't know much about Dave Grohl except that:

• he's cute
• he rocks out
• he seems like he enjoys life
• he seems like a pretty normal guy

{I honesly don't if any of the above are true except the cute part--and even that is cute in a 90's rocker sort of way. I'm typically not a fan of facial hair, but further research on Google images reveals that he should keep his.}

Okay, so he achieved rocker status as a part of Nirvana (a band I really never got in to) and then survived oblivion after death of Kurt Cobain and formed the Foo Fighters (who I really do like). He's big enough to be on MTV, get radio play, yet down to earth enough that he still hangs out in his old neighborhood. I've seen him walking around Alexandria (he grew up here I think) and at restaurants with his friends. And he's got a beautiful family.

What's not to like about his life? He's famous/rich enough to hop a plane and hang out backstage at cool shows whenever he feels like it, but he's also mild enough to walk around his hometown without attracting ridiculous attention. It's through the aforementioned sightings that I've determined he seems pretty normal. And if you're going to come back to live a rock and roll lifesyle I think it would be better to do it as a man. The women don't seem to fare as well. Sheryl Crow seemed to be on track, but now she's covering Rod Stewart songs?!

Now if there is a bad story about him...I don't want to know. Or maybe I should. I mean what if I do get in front of God and end up choosing to go back as someone with a well-conceled heroin addiction? There would be some highschool teacher's voice in my head saying--"you really should have done your homework."

The Tigers

Okay, the Yankees officially suck. It could have been worse, it could have been the Red Sox. But now I have the whole winter to get over it.

As much as it kills me to say this, the Tigers deserved the win, and I hope they now go all the way. They play like a team, they talk like a team and they had class in the post-game interviews. They were even nice enough to go back out on the field and thank their fans. Have there ever been that many fans in Comerica Park?

So Tim, just tell me where you want to get that steak.

Is There Anybody Out There?

First, this is a real question. I'm not sure why I feel the need to keep up with my blog. I could just be writing all of this in a journal, and then I wouldn't have to change any names to protect the innocent or hold back from sharing really juicy stories or some of my more bizarre thoughts. But there is something appealing about the idea of others being intersted in what you have to say. Call it narcissism, call it a desperate plea for validation...whatever...I still keep a journal online. I'm just not sure if anyone is really reading it. If you are...leave a comment...let me know. You don't have to say anything witty. Just let me know I actually have a reader or two. (How pathetic is it going to be when I come down tomorrow morning and there aren't going to be any comments? If there aren't, I may have to start really sharing my thoughts!)

But as I was coming up with my title for tonight I realized that there has been a tremendous amount of coincidence happening in my life lately. Now I recently had a conversation about theories of coincidence with someone much smarter than me who started throwing around Jung and I have to admit it was a bit intimidating--while at the same time intriguing. Anyway, the concept of synchronicity came up. I'm not what I would describe as a believer when it comes to notions such as the paranormal or alien life or quite frankly organized religion (though I'm not making a final judgement [yes pun intended] on the whole god/jesus thing in case it really is all true), but I do tend to be attracted to conspiracy theories and therefore I rule nothing out. So that's my very long way of saying that I usually just chalk up things to coincidence, but it's been happening so frequently lately that I might have to reconsider the whole synchronicity thing.

{Side note: My beloved Yankees are sucking right now. As a true Yankee fan it is completely my perogative--no job--to say bad things about them. But YOU can't! They just lost their second game to Detroit and if there is one more loss I'm going to owe someone a steak dinner. Crap.}

So what is this synchronicity I'm talking about? WELL, I truly just typed out the title because I was feeling sorry for myself and thinking I had no readers and then I realized that I had just been thinking about Pink Floyd the other day (and I know, big whoop what kind of story is that). And honestly, this isn't the best example of the alignment of planets that has been happening to me but it got me thinking about all of the others. Frankly, as I type this now I realize that there is no coincidence at all to this because obviously I would have Pink Floyd lyrics in my head since I've been thinking about the band. So it's no wonder that it just came out.

So there goes my whole theory. Now that I've shot this one down, I should probably go back and reexamine the other so-called coincidences that I've been seeing and find the underlying connections that can be easily explained. Man, what a bummer. I think I finally believe in a theory and then I shoot it all to hell. No wonder I don't consider myself a believer. After being in DC for just a few months I went out on a date with some DC type who told me I hadn't been here long enough to be as cynical as I was. The cynic in me then should have said "fuck him." Afterall, we honestly spent time during a date watching the President's speech (not the State of the Union mind you) on C-SPAN.

PS--For any of you who might be reading and who I haven't already hooked on this wonderful/aggravating/addictive game...check out this fun word association game. It's why I've been thinking about Pink Floyd (a band I lack any appreciation for) and not posting to my blog.

My Heart is Heavy

I had a few other things I was going to write about tonight--but I just can't. I am just so disturbed by today's shooting in PA. What is this world coming to if young children are not safe in a one-room Amish schoolhouse?!

I don't pretend to be an authority on the Amish. But from my limited knowledge it's pretty clear they leave everyone alone and offend no one. These people have chosen a life of simplicity. Can you imagine the horror they are facing trying to make sense of the unthinkable?

I can't.

Whenever a child dies I am shaken--and more so since becoming a mother--but this killing of the most innocent of innocents? I truly worry about the world we are creating.

Today the world seems grim. Our children are not safe in school, food is not safe in the grocery store, we have pedophiles running the Congressional task force for missing and exploited children and we continue to pour our nation's money into a war with no end. My children are 2, 4 and 10. Shall I start apologizing now for the world we're leaving them?

Does anyone else notice? Does anyone else care?