Why I'm Voting Republican

Only the facts.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON ISSUE

Favors new drilling offshore US

McCain-Yes

Obama-No

Will appoint judges who interpret the law, not make it

McCain-Yes

Obama-No

Served in the US Armed Forces
McCain-Yes

Obama-No

Amount of time served in the US Senate
McCain-22 YEARS

Obama-173 DAYS

Will institute a socialized national health care plan
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Supports gun ownership rights
McCain-Yes

Obama-No

Supports homosexual marriage
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Voted against making English the official language
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)

DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN
15% (no change)

OBAMA
39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')

INCOME TAX
MCCAIN
(no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500

Single making 50K - tax $12,500

Single making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 60K- tax $9,000

Married making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400

Single making 50K - tax $14,000

Single making 75K - tax $23,250

Married making 60K - tax $16,800

Married making 75K - tax $21,000

Married making 125K - tax $38,750

INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN
- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA
Restore the inheritance tax . How does it affect you? 50% taxes on your estate after you die. The family farm will have to be divided in half to pay this tax.
The largest transfer of wealth will be in the next 20-30 years. $40-50 Trillion dollars is expected to change hands.

NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes, New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, New taxes to pay for socialized medicine.

You can verify the above at the following web sites:
http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.htmlhttp://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html%A0http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/

Happy 4th Birthday, Rebecca!

Happy 4th Birthday, baby girl. You are so sweet and growing up so quick. You will always be my first baby girl. I love you very much.

Flashback: Part 2

Continued from yesterday....I know you all were holding on to your seats! HA!

So, the doctor came in and checked one more time for any progression and there was none. I was stuck at a 3. We decided to have the c-section.

They got me prepped for surgery and it all went very quickly. The doctor said they were going to up my epidural, so I would feel nothing from my chest down. That was not the case. I was numb from mid abdomen down. That was not enough. I felt some excruciating pain and then they had to give me something that completely knocked me out. I really have no memory of my first child being born. That is okay, I have tons of pictures that I cannot locate on the computer now to show you all.

Rebecca Glenn Hansen was born at 1:45am on August 28, 2004. She weighed in at 8 pounds even. She was 20 inches long. She was so cute.

Flashback

Four years ago today, I was 37 weeks pregnant (3 weeks from my due date) with my first baby girl. It was a Friday and I was all ready for her arrival for the most part. My weekly visit to my doctor was on Monday and all was well. My doctor did however make comments about how big my baby girl was going to be. Which scared me to death.

Like I said earlier, it was Friday. I noticed since Wednesday that I had felt like I peed my pants, not a lot just a little. You know when you are pregnant, very pregnant that you have lack of bladder control. Well, that is what I thought until Friday. My husband went to work that morning and I told him that I think it was my water that had a slow leak and that I would be having the baby today. I made sure to tell him that he would have to find someone to come in for him when I confirmed with my doctor we were going to have the baby today. So, he goes to work and I get ready and get to my doctor's office by around 10am.

I walked in the office and told the lady that I did not have an appointment, but I think my water broke. She got me right back. Anyway, doctor checked and my water had broke, but I was not dilated any. He told me to go to the hospital. I said I would have to go home first and pick up my bag and call my husband. So, I was starving when I got out of the doctor's office and picked up a hamburger and fries on my way home. Knowing they were not going to let me eat while I was in the hospital. I called my husband and told him that he needed to get home soon. He had to wait for someone to come relieve him from work. So, I made my many phone calls to tell everyone that we were going to have a baby today. I was so excited and not too nervous because at that point I was not having any contractions.

Well, I waited and waited for Matt to get home. It was just before 1 pm and I knew that I needed to get to the hospital because my doctor said to meet him over there. So, I could not wait any longer. I drove myself to the hospital and checked in. The nurses were like, you drove yourself? I was not in pain so why not? I signed a bunch of papers and the nurses started me on potosin and an antibiotic since my water had started leaking since Wednesday. Matt arrived about an hour after I got there. It was a relief to know he got here and I would not have to do this by myself.

Some of Matt's cousins and his aunt and uncle arrived and wait for our baby girl. My contractions were getting pretty strong and consistent. It was funny because at one point Matt's uncle, cousin and Matt were all sitting in the room in front of me and watching the monitor telling me I was having a contraction. Like I didn't know. I can laugh about it now. At around this point I asked for an epidural. That helped a lot, however it slowed my contractions way down so they had to up the potosin.

My back was killing me at this point. The doctor came in and checked my status and I was dilated to a 3. The nurses told me I can take a bath and that might help my back pain. So, I did that but then I had to get out and back into bed, so they could hook me back up to the monitors. I forget what time it was at this point, but know it was getting late and I was hungry and so, so very thirsty. They would give me nothing. All but one cousin stayed and kept us company. I was glad to have her there. I got the best pictures from her.

So, I continued my ever so long labor and was mighty uncomfortable. My mom was on her way but would not make until early the next morning. My doctor was not happy with my progression so he said he would give me a hour to decide if I wanted to proceed with a c-section or keep trying. At this point I am still a 3 and have been in labor for 12 hours.

To be continued...........

The Terrible Addiction

This intervention was not planned. However, I could not pass up the opportunity to break-free of this terrible addiction. It is still touch and go at the moment, but going better than I thought it would. We still have ups and downs but we are getting through it.

Addicted to: The Pacifier

User: Annie Elizabeth Hansen

Has used for: Just shy of 2 1/2 years

She is so cute with her pacifier, but it was getting to be a nuisance. We could not go anywhere without it and heaven forbid if we lost it while we were out. In some previous posts I attempted to take it away gradually and it worked real well. Annie was only permitted to have it during naps and bedtime. Then we went on vacation....and we backtracked. While we were on the plane to California I gave her the pacifier to help with any discomfort she may have in her ears since she has had numerous ear infections. Anyway, that is when it started and I was her dealer.

Now back to yesterday. I have been trying to potty train Annie and she has been doing okay. That is a different post altogether. Anyway, while sitting on the toilet after her nap she yawned and her pacifier fell in the toilet. Of course, Annie freaked out and was totally grossed out. I fished out the pacifier. There was nothing in the toilet. I repeat there was nothing in there. Anyway, I told her that since it fell in the toilet, we were going to have to put it in the trash. Yeah, I could have boiled it, but really it was time to get rid of it. And of course I have 4 pacifiers secretly hidden in my bathroom, but she doesn't need to know that.

Last night was the big test. I put the girls to bed at 7:30pm, but Annie did not actually go to sleep until 11pm. It was so sad and so hard to keep this up. Annie begged and cried for her pacifier. She kept telling me "I need my pacifier." Really if she can tell me that she needs it, it is totally time. So, I held her and she finally fell asleep whispering pacifier. Sad. I thought I was going to break down and provide one but I stuck it out and helped her through her first night. Annie did sleep throughout the night without waking up. I was shocked. I did not sleep well just thinking that I was going to have to get up and sleep in her room all night long. Matt brought Annie in when he left for work at 6:30am. Annie was crying for her pacifier. So, we got up and got her preoccupied with something else.

We will do it again today. Annie is pretty grumpy, but I think that last night was a real break through for her. I feel bad that I am doing this to her but know in the long run she will be better off.

Tagged!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules to your blog
3. Write 6 random things about myself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

As you can see from the title, I've been tagged. Thanks, Marie-Etta (http://junebride2008.blogspot.com/) I don't know how to do links.

1 - I love chocolate dipped strawberries. I can eat several of them at one sitting. I don't get the chance to do that often at all. Hmmm, maybe I should learn how to make them.

2 - I hate to clean but love how my house looks and smells after I have done it. I also have this feeling of accomplishment, like my life has a purpose. And then two seconds later it doesn't look like I have done anything because of all the toys. I need to work on the girls.

3 - I count the steps that it takes to get to the mailbox. I don't know why I do this but I have done this since I live in Blythe with my parents. I also count the stairs while going up a staircase. Most houses have 14 steps.

4 - I don't think I have a good singing voice but sing to my kids all the time and don't care what it sounds like. I hope they don't mind either.

5 - I put together two day beds, a dresser and a bookshelf. One day bed and the dresser was put together while I was super, super pregnant. I was pretty proud of myself. I thought I was pretty handy.

6 - I don't know how to really work the sewing machine but have made two curtains and need to work on the third panel. My husband says I should read the instructions, but I have done pretty good so far.

Okay, now for tagging six people. Yeah, so it's only going to be four because I only know a handful of people on my links list personally.
1-Lori
2-Meredith
3- Melody
4- Sami

Sweet N' Sassy

The girls went to a birthday party yesterday at Sweet N' Sassy. Sweet N' Sassy is a little girls salon. They do manicures, pedicures, haircuts and up do's. Anyway, their friend Brooke had her 4th birthday party here. It was so cool. The girls loved it. I knew that they were going to look completely different so, I took a before picture and several after pictures. Here are the girls before we left the house.

Rebecca and Annie's before party pictures. (The spot on Annie's shirt is a water spot!)

First, the girls got to pick out a fancy dress. There were about 4-5 young ladies fixing hair, painting nails and applying make-up. There were eight little girls at the party getting pampered. They all looked so cute. Here are some pictures of the girls getting pampered.

These are the dresses that they picked out. Rebecca really loved her dress and so did 2 other girls at the party. They had some for sale, so I thought maybe I would get Rebecca one for playing dress up at home. It was $56. We didn't get it. Annie picked out a little ballerina outfit.

Here is Rebecca getting her hair fixed. It looked so cute. They sprayed this glitter spray all over their hair.

Here is Annie getting her hair and nails done at the same time. For a 2 year old she sat pretty good. They did however put clear glitter nail polish on her because the lady could just see her getting another color all over the place.

Here is Rebecca getting her nails painted. The color was bright pink.

Here is Annie picking out what color eye shadow she wanted. She picked pink. Look how cooperative she is being!

Here is Rebecca getting her make-up done. She is totally loving this.

These two pictures of the girls are as good as I could get them together. They kept bouncing around, they were so excited.

Here are the girls dancing on stage.

Here is Annie and Rebecca playing limbo at the party.

Here is Rebecca working the model stage. She is so pretty!

Here is all the girls at the party. Annie is back there somewhere.

All in all they had a great birthday party. It was just as much fun for the parent that came for this wonderful photo opportunity. This one definitely goes down into one the favorite and most memorable birthday parties.