Hide and Go Seek

Isaac loves to play the game Hide and Go Seek now. One of Ella's favorite hiding spots is under the desk in the "ploffice" (translated: playroom/office). This afternoon I walked into the ploffice find two little legs sticking out from underneath the desk. As I peeked around to see why he was hiding, I noticed he had my cell phone. So, if any of you received a random call from me, you'll know why!

LOOK AT THOSE CUTE LITTLE FEET (don't look at the dirt on the carpet or the mess beside the desk!)WHO ME???

THE AFTERMATH OF TAKING THE PHONE AWAY

The Civility Project

I came across this article posted by an old coworker from The DeMoss Group in Atlanta. The owner of the PR agency I worked for in Atlanta, Mark DeMoss, has started a new "project."

Whatever your political position, I think this is a great idea. Check out the article below and the website www.thecivilityproject.com.

Odd couple wants civility in politics
By Christopher Quinn
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Mark DeMoss, a Georgia publicist with roots in the religious right, and Lanny Davis, a former Clinton White House insider, have joined forces to try to stop the political blame-fests and name calling they believe are too common in politics.
DeMoss is on a mission, if not for God, for democracy.
“What is at stake is a real disenfranchisement of average people, for whom the political process becomes so distasteful that they want to disengage from it,” said DeMoss, founder of Duluth’s DeMoss Group, which has represented evangelical groups such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
His odd-couple partner Davis defended former President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal and campaigned for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton for president in 2008.
The two men launched their Civility Project on Jan. 18 after realizing they agree on two things: They have nearly nothing in common politically, and they both believe it is possible to have healthy debates or even stiff arguments without resorting to demonizing the other side.
“I’m not trying to put an end to partisanship,” DeMoss said. He is just trying to dial down the hate, like the kind of e-mails he got last year when he campaigned prominently for Mitt Romney in the Republican primary, DeMoss said. Romney is a Mormon. Mormons consider themselves Christian, but many Christians consider their denomination a cult. DeMoss has a collection of e-mails from fellow evangelicals castigating him for his association with Romney.
Later in the campaign, DeMoss noticed Davis’ professional demeanor when defending Sen. Clinton on news talk shows. Last summer he wrote Davis a letter one night, complimenting him on his behavior. The two men had never met.
The letter impressed Davis so much that he framed it and put it on his office bookshelf beside photos of himself and the Clintons.
DeMoss later called him and, at the end of 2008, the two were having lunch “in an increasingly uncivil town, Washington,” Davis said.
DeMoss pitched his idea of a Web site outlining some basic rules of civility where people check off a pledge to treat others with respect, even if disagreeing with them.
Davis, author of the book “Scandal: How Gotcha Politics is Destroying America,” said he and DeMoss are “singing out of the same hymn book.”
Argue with vigor, but stay away from insult, insinuations, and the devolved bickering that passes for debate, he said.
DeMoss said some may snicker at the idea that pledging to be more civil will have an impact.
“There’s a risk on both sides that it’s too simple to be taken seriously,” he said.
Davis pointed out the irony that it would probably get more attention if the two went at it tooth and nail.
“It’s a tough sell that we are not at each other’s throats,” he said.
Information: thecivilityproject.com

The Evolution of Strawberry Picking

Today we went strawberry picking with a friend from the neighborhood. This was our third year visiting Oak Haven Farms. It's such a beautiful place and the kids love it! As I downloaded our pictures, I remembered the first year that we took Ella. I think she was more interested in playing in the dirt and eating the strawberries than she was in actually picking them. So, here are a few pictures to show how much she's "evolved" in her strawberry picking.

It was Isaac's first experience and he was much neater than Ella was, however, he did his fair share of eating the strawberries! I think he might go into Quality Control when he grows up!!!

Year One: Notice the Dirt and Strawberry Stains!

Year Two: Much Cleaner!


Year Three: Looking So Grown Up (sigh)

Isaac's a Little Strawberry Picking (and Eating Pro)

Partaking in the Fruits of Ella's Labor!

Do Dog Training Methods Work on Children? (We Hope So)

Who knew we'd still be using techniques from Macey's Puppy Kindergarten class 8 years later?! Is it bad that we aren't using the discipline methods on Macey anymore, but on Isaac?

Isaac has started spitting. At first it was cute. He noticed Ella spitting out the toothpaste into the sink and started copying her by climbing up onto the stool and spitting repeatedly into the sink. We all laughed and thought it was funny.

Since he got such a great reaction from the sink spitting he decided to start spitting in people's faces...still somewhat funny. He's even started greeting guests in our home with a little spit in the face. Last week Ella had a little friend over to play, Isaac was sleeping when the boy arrived, so when he woke up he was very excited to see a new face. He walked right up to the kid and started laughing and then spit right at him. The kid, who is Ella's age, started yelling "That's disgusting," and spit back in Isaac's face. Isaac thought it was funny!

It probably doesn't help that most of the time Isaac does his little spitting routine, Jason and I are trying to keep a straight face and not laugh too. A few weeks ago when this first started he had a mouth full of raisins and started spitting. The raisins came flying out like machine gun bullets. Jason and I both about peed our pants laughing. Ella reprimanded us saying "You shouldn't laugh at him...that's GROSS!"

Apparently, we should have listened to her because here we are 3 weeks later and he's still spitting, which brings me to my dog training technique.

Jason came up with a good idea today...using the spray bottle on Isaac when he spits. We used a spray bottle on Macey when she was a puppy to keep her from pestering us at the couch. The trainer recommended we give her a squirt and give her a simple command "Go Away." It worked wonders on Macey and now we're hoping it will do the same with Isaac!

If anyone has any suggestions, we welcome them. Next we'll be trying to get Isaac to sit and stay...I wonder if he will like Macey's dog treats as much as she does :)!