*tap tap* is this thing on?

It's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm sorry. I guess I kind of lost the blogging bug. But I should at least keep this blog up to date because it's the one I made to share news and photos about family and kids and stuff.

It's been about 8 months since I posted last. That's too long. Huge amounts of insanity and just plain crazy can happen in that time. And so it has. So much that I can't even begin to share it all.

We're into our thrid week of school (or is it 4th?) of the 2015-2016 academic year. And it's seriously exhausting.

Miss D is a junior, Mr. I is a sophomore, Miss G is in 8th grade, Mr. L in 4th, Miss R in 2nd. Mom is in her second year of 4th grade teaching. Marching band is already off and running and soon there will be tryouts for the winter musical - and everyone wants to tryout.

Dad is just tired trying to keep track of where everyone is.

As for dad, we're still dealing wtih his issues. A while back we started Botox shots for his migraines. They're painful, but they help. Headache days are down about 25%, which means a few more days a month, like today, that he can be productive and do some writing and photo sorting and things like that. He's been getting some exercise too, so that's helping him to feel somewhat better too. We're hoping that he'll be able to do more around the house and even consider finding some way to work or volunteer more.

Here's some pictures.

Photo

Blogging is still a thing.

I still write some. Not much makes it into the public eye, so my blogs are horribly neglected. Every once in a while I look at them and feel guilty for not writing more.

So here's some pictures.

#NotOneMore

I am devoting all my blogs to angry rants in response to yet another child being killed by yet another gun in yet another school.

I love my kids. I want to keep them safe. I know that in a perfect world I could, but it's not a perfect world. I know that even in ideal situations there are not guarantees that my kids will be safe. But in the last 18 months there have been no less than 74 shootings in schools or on college campuses in the united states. 74 since 26 children were gunned down at a grade school in New Jersey.

And yet we go on and on and on in protecting the rights of gun owners over the lives of our own children.

This has to stop.

I do not want my kids and grand kids to live in a world where they see that the Second Amendment is more important than them. This has become so far out of hand that it literally sickens me.

If I had my way all guns would be piled up and burned. Send out the national guard with tanks, go door to door, and just take them.

But it's not up to me.

This is the real world, and like Pandora's box, the demons have been let out. We can't put them back.

But we can make them cause less heartache.

The second amendment has been used and abused. It's out of date and honestly doesn't apply anymore. There are other rights in the Bill of Rights that are far more regulated than the second. Freedom of speech for example, no one balks that there are times and places you can't say certain things, and even when you can you need a permit or a license. But background checks to buy a gun? Blasphemy!

How stupid is that?

No more dead kids. #NotOneMore

I encourage you to write every legislator you can, local, state, and federal, and demand to know what they are doing to put an end to gun violence in schools. And don't take any political rant as an answer. More guns aren't the answer. Armed teachers aren't the answer. Education is not the answer. Only real painful consequences to gun owners whose guns are used to kill. And real, painful effort into making sure only the 'right' people get guns (background checks, registration, licensing, taxing, testing - all the same things we do to own a car).

I am. Starting with the school board.

Too long

It's been too long since I've posted. That's mostly because so much of my time has been devoted to chasing around a toddler.

Well, now that toddler has gone to live with her mother, which is a great thing, but now I've found myself with much time on my hands and I'm rediscovering my old hobbies. Not the least of which is my blogs.

So now here's my latest input on my 'kids and family' blog.

...Uh... and now that I'm here I don't know what to write! Well, kids are doing well in school, that's good. Anna is doing well in her career, that's good, the swallows flew back to Capistrano, that's good....

We're pretty boring people. Never go much of anywhere, never do much of anything... I wish spring would really be spring instead of this cold windy stuff we're dealing with. I want to use our deck!

But, alas.

So anyway, we're in the home stretch of the school year, about a month left. Of course there's all the field trips and so on. Exhausting. And I don't go on any of them! But it's what they do, so every day there is another permission slip or some such thing and every day someone needs to be at school early for the bus or something or other.

I'd say I'm looking forward to summer, but I'm not really. It gets too hot here. But at least we could use the deck! But it's too hot! But I wanna use the deck! Waa!

We've got praise team practice in a little while. Mr. I has filled his brother's shoes and is now playing the drums. He's doing really well!

Um... I'm really rusty at this. Don't know what else to say. So I'm signing of for now. Maybe I'll find some pictures or something.

Hiya!

New year! Yay!

2014 is here! I'm living in the freaking future! Who would have thought the world would still be here? Well it is. And so are the Andersens.

This year could be a great year for us. Mom has completed her school and is now working in her life-long dream career as a teacher. Not only is this an amazing accomplishment, but it's  a huge benefit to the family. We can catch up on our debts, fix up the house, get the kids shoes and pants.... awesome stuff like that.

In a few weeks I'll get my third Botox treatment, which my neurologist is the "magic" time that we'll know whether these treatments have been working or not. So far I haven't seen much of a change, but we'll see. I'm hoping I just feel a little better.

The kids are doing great. Miss D turns 16 this year. We really need to teach her to drive. Not because we want her to drive, if I had my way we'd wait until she was 18, but we need another driver in the house. So 2014, apparently, will be the year.

Other than that, everyone else is putting their way through school. Well, putting isn't a good word because they are all pretty much straight A students. All my kids are way smarter than me.

What else do we have to look forward to this year? I'm not sure. There is much adventure ahead.

Christmas 2013

Greetings all! I know it's been a while since I've posted. I'm sorry. But I'll try to do better.

For now, I'll post these: