You think your gigabit network is fast...

A Japenese company has developed a method that will send at the rate of one terabit per second.

Peggy Noonan: The Mood of the Nation

Peggy Noonan, the former speech writer for President Reagan, has written an insightful article where she puts words to a tacit anxiety felt across the nation. This may be her best editorial ever (and that's saying something since they are always excellent). The subtitle for this one is "America is in trouble -- and our elites are merely resigned." As I read the column I found that Ms. Noonan has put into writing some of the very feelings that have been percolating in my mind that I have been unable to express.

My rants on the state of things is just that inner unease trying to get control of a situation that I have no control over. I think the problems can be fixed, but not without radical changes to our political system. Just a few highlights:

• Term Limits for Congress - If two terms is good enough for the executive branch, then two terms is good enough for the Senate and three terms is good enough for the House.
• Term Limits for Supreme Court Judges - I read an article that makes a good argument for limiting Supreme Court Judges to 18 years.
• Replacement of the Income Tax with the "Fair Tax" - Regular readers to this blog should know by now that I find the Income Tax to be morally wrong. The current system is invasive and tyrannical. It is less about revenue and is more about stealth control of people, things and activities.
• Remove the Federal Government from Education. The Federal government should get entirely out of the education business, including funding and setting standards, with the exception of the service academies. Primary, secondary, post-secondary, vocational-technical and professional education should be regulated at the state and local level or by private/religious entities.
• Remove the Federal Government from Welfare. Helping the helpless is a task best left up to individuals at a local level. I am responsible for my neighbor...not for someone in Tennessee. Compassionate people are willing to help for those who truly need it. Education and training programs are needed for the rest in order to break the welfare cycle, but should be handled by state and local governments. By helping people help themselves, you can ease the financial strain on government and instill self-esteem and independence that will keep future generations from falling into the death-trap of welfare. Completely remove welfare and subsidies for all businesses.
  

These are just a few ideas (almost looks like the beginnings of a platform) that I think would return power to the individual and change the attitude of people. The despondent heart Peggy mentions is the direct result of people who feel like they are powerless. We have been shackled by the government and, like the slaves of old, our souls lament using the melody of dirges.

John Stossel Weighs in on Pork Spending

Monday, I faxed my Senator who voted to continue pork barrel spending a letter of reprimand. John Stossel writes today that "What Congress Did Is Disgusting" and cites some of the same abuses I did.

I think we as Americans need to take this issue to heart and start holding our leader's feet to the fire over it. The problem is that everybody thinks that what the other guy is doing is wrong, but think that their representative or senator is just fine. When the money is coming home, it is hard to vote against the guy who brought it in. This attitude shows that most people don't have principles because principles make something always right or wrong. Pork Barrel spending is always wrong, whether it is in Alaska or Alabama. More people need to be enraged over this.

Of course, the self-defeating attitude is "I am mad about it. But I feel powerless. How can I change the entire atmosphere of the U.S. Congress." You know, change is never easy. It does take effort. It takes getting to that point of I am sick and tired of living this way and I just won't stand for it anymore. Yesterday, Rosa Parks passed away, but her life embodies the power of the powerless. Ms. Parks was a seamstress, not an activist. She had no power. She had no pulpit. She just had two weary feet from a hard day of work and conviction that the way she was being treated was wrong. That conviction changed the course of a nation.

We need to emulate Rosa Parks. I wish we could have a tax boycott like she had a bus boycott. That is how our forefathers actually got the attention of the British Empire. They simply refused to acknowledge the taxes placed upon them. The "Tea Party" was a tax revolt. Unfortunately, our government has set up the perfect system to keep this from happening. They have our paychecks garnished by our employer and sent to them. We never get to even get the money to keep it. Employers who have refused to act as an agent of the state in this manner have been forced out-of-business. Big companies who form a symbiotic relationship with the current leaders will never revolt, because they are in cahoots with the government. Small companies and individuals are too easily crushed by big government.

I'm not sure I have an answer. However, I am sure that this a fight worth fighting. We have an inalienable right to life and an inalienable right to be masters of our own destined. We exchange a portion of our life for cash, therefore our salary, our money is a symbol of our life. When government forces us to give up a portion of our money (which is just a symbol) to them, they are actually forcing us to give up a portion of our life and refusing to acknowledge that we have the right to determine the fate of our income. That is one of the great things about the "Fair Tax" is that it places the power of my life back in my hands.

We need to change. Our government is too big and too powerful. We need to return power to the people, power to the individual. Now can someone please tell me how (preferably without a bloody revolution).

Faxed a letter to Senator Shelby

After reading Mark Tapscott's editorial entitled "Mr. Smith Has Returned to Washington and His Name is Tom Coburn," I wrote the following letter to my senator who voted to continue pork barrel spending. I have edited the web-based version a little bit to not publish some personal information that I sent him and added links to references I made in the letter.

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Honorable Richard Shelby:

I am quite shocked that you have chosen to vote against Senator Tom Coburn's amendments that he introduced on the Senate floor on Thursday, October 20 calling for previously approved earmarked funds to be redirected to Hurricane Katrina relief. How can you choose that it is wiser to spend my money on pork projects for other states while people are suffering in Louisiana, Mississippi, and here in Alabama? Pork barrel spending is out-of-control. You, as a Senator, have the responsibility to ensure that the money the Federal Government rips from my pocketbook is at least spent wisely. You set the budget. You determine spending priorities. It is outrageous that money is being spent to paint fish on planes, plant rainforests in Iowa, and build shelters for cats and dogs in Rhode Island while people are homeless and jobless.

I work three jobs to make a little over $XX,XXX/year to provide for my wife and our two adopted children. It tears me up every time I see how much money is confiscated from my check; money that I could use to pay off the adoption expenses, money that I could use to pay off our college loans, money that I could put aside for our retirement or our children's college. These are, in my opinion, better uses of my money than giving it to some peanut farmers in Dothan to use for their stupid parade and festival every year. How dare you take my hard-earned cash and just wastefully spend it. I am sick and tired of it. I am tired of working so hard to get and make a good life for me and my family only to have you and your colleagues in the Senate seize 25% of it from my paychecks and then mishandle the money that you get from me and other tax payers. How do you live with yourself? How do you wake up and in good conscience vote to spend money that way?

I think you need to stand up for some principles. You can tell Senator Ted Stevens when he threatens to leave the Senate if you don't vote for his "Bridge to Nowhere," that he is free to go. Are you going to be scared into submission from some guy in Alaska? When you stand on morals and principles, then you come out looking like the good guy, even if you lose the fight. Instead, you look like a whipped little boy, cow-towing to people bigger and stronger than you. Guess what? I don't want a wimp for a Senator representing me. I don't want a Senator who thinks that it is better to go with the flow than rock the boat when deciding how to spend my money. I certainly hope you begin to take your role as a Senator more seriously and that you become a combatant of the average guy just trying to get by.

Sincerely,

Randall S. Bowman

Pumpkin Carving

Here is a picture of our first pumpkin ever carved as a family. After I drew the face that I actually carved, Mihaela colored the pumpkin in an effort to help. What fun.

Waste of Time?

ApocalypseSoon.org strives "to document the final moments of human history as it unfolds and to announce the return of Jesus Christ on earth."

I wonder who they are documenting the final moments for? Who will read their documentation after the Second Coming?

Pumpkin Carving

I was Googling for jack o' lantern designs to use to carve our pumpkin and ran across this great flash animation that teaches you how to carve a pumpkin and allows you to create virtual jack o' lanterns. I have practiced many times on the virtual pumpkin and am now ready to carve ours.

Weekend Retrocast: No Sleep for anyone

You may have noticed that there have been no updates since my late night posts last Thursday. The reason is that, well, we've gotten very little sleep since that fateful night. Noah started not feeling well Wednesday around 10 PM and didn't sleep well Wed. Night. Thursday seemed like he was doing OK as he just had the diarrhea. Thursday night, though, was the start of a long weekend. Noah decided that his best routine would be to sleep for 45 minutes to an hour, then wake-up and scream for an hour and half to two hours. This cycle went on all night. However, he just still had the diarrhea.

Erin and I continued our normal routine on Friday. Then, around 11:00 AM on Friday morning, the day care provider called Erin because Noah had a 102 degree fever. Erin rushed home and took him to the doctor who diagnosed him with a virus. She didn't tell us which virus (if she even knows), just a virus. There was nothing we could really do except wait it out and give him Tylenol for the fever. Friday night continued the same scenario as Thursday night. Nobody in the house was getting any sleep.

On Saturday, Mihaela woke up with a fever and congestion and coughing (no diarrhea, yet). Noah continued his cycle. Two sick babies and two exhausted parents...what a combination. We canceled our Small Group on Sunday night and I found someone to run the sound board at church on Sunday, knowing that, even if the babies were feeling better, we would need some recoop time. Saturday night continued with the sleep 1 hour, scream for 2 hour cycle.

Sunday, things started to improve (a little bit). We took some naps. Coughing and hacking from Mihaela (but no fever) and diarrhea and less fussiness from Noah. Even though the babies were improving, we were fairly certain that they would not be better on Monday, so Erin called in sick. Sunday night, knowing that Erin was to be all alone with two sick babies, I stayed up most of the night with Noah and let her sleep. His routine shifted a little and he started sleeping about 2 hours before waking up and crying for an hour. I got a whole 5 hours of sleep total, however, it was not uninterrupted sleep.

Yesterday was a little better and we decided to keep the babies home one more day. So, I am home today with them. Erin stayed up with Noah last night so I got six hours of uninterrupted sleep last night. That is the longest and most sleep I've gotten five days. It was like heaven.

Noah still has the diarrhea. Mihaela still has a cold. Noah isn't' screaming for hours anymore. He gets fussy when he is tired and right before he fills his diaper. Anyway, you can see we've been busy...

Good News in Race Relations

It has been my contention that we no longer need "Affirmative Action" and "Equal Hiring" laws because the attitudes of people toward race have changed in the past 30 years. Even though I live in the Deep South and we are probably the farthest behind in this area, my experience has been that racism is a thing of the past.

Many people say they are impressed that we chose to adopt bi-racial children. We don't see it as any big thing because our attitude toward "race" is that it does not exist. There is no such thing as race in our world. Sure, there is different skin colors...but there are different hair colors, eye colors, body types, etc. "So what? Who cares?" has been our attitude.

Anyway, a recent poll shows that 95% of Americans aged 18-29 see no problem with interracial dating. This shows the complete transformation of public opinion in 30 years of the attitudes of people toward race relations. This means that Mihaela and Noah will not encounter the problems that so many people predict for them as bi-racial children raised by white parents (they will have problems, but they won't be as wide-spread as people tend to think).

Of course, this does not mean our so-called "race" problems are fixed in America. However, it is important to distinguish between "racism," "bigotry," and "prejudice." These are three words that get bantered about freely by the "race warlords" and they treat all three words as synonyms. This is not the case though. All three words mean something different.

• Racism is the belief that a certain race of people is genetically superior to all others. This, of course, is just plain wrong. This would be like believing that blond hair, blue-eyed people are better than bald, brown-eyed people. It is ludicrous to even think about. Science and societal influences have pretty much defeated this kind of thinking in the modern American mind. Sure, there are still pockets of people that believe this...but they are ridiculed and neglected by the public at large.

• Bigotry is being intolerantly devoted to one's own opinions and beliefs. Notice, this is not a blind, basic fundamental belief in genetic superiority. Rather, this is the idea that my ways and my culture is better than yours and then using force to impose my ideas on you. The main evidence of bigotry is when you deny others the same rights that you claim for yourself. Many people in the south 40 years ago were not racist (i.e., they did not believe they were genetically superior to other races) but were bigots in that they denied minorities the right to vote, use public facilities, etc.; all the while claiming those rights for themselves. Bigotry exists outside the realms of race relations. You can have Environmental Bigots, Vegetarian Bigots, Religious Bigots, Intellectual Bigots, etc... These are people who believe that anyone who does not believe/act they way the do is evil. Now, of course rational people understand that not everyone is going to agree on everything.

• Prejudice is the making assumptions about what the future actions of a group of people might be based on past experiences. Everyone does this all the time. I believe that if I drop a pen then it will fall to the floor. I am pre-judging the behavior of the pen based on my past experiences. When I go to Wal-Mart, I will by-pass a short line with a girl with a top-knot pony tail and long, manicured, decorated fingernails running the register and instead find a little bit longer line with an older lady with white hair because my past experiences have taught me that the first person tends to be rude, have bad customer service skills, and doesn't want to be bothered while the latter person is usually polite and kind. I will go through the line of old black woman before going through the line of an old white woman because my past experience has taught me that she will (more than likely) be friendlier. This is prejudicial of me. How dare I make decisions of individuals based on past experiences, right? If this is the case then we need to make a law that disbands every research agency and polling company. They look at demographics (age, race, sex) all the time to figure out how people of certain demographics will react. It is almost a law among them that people of similar demographics will behave the same way. Is this racist of them? Sexist? Ageist? No, they are not saying one group is genetically superior to another. Are they bigots? No, they are not denying these people any rights. The worst that can be said is that these kinds of companies are prejudicial because they thing they can predict the future actions based on past experience. Many of us would call this common sense. Don't we have a saying, "Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me." We consider it part of maturity to learn from the past to predict the future.

While racism is a thing of the past, bigotry and prejudice still abound. I think in the next generation though we will pretty much rid ourselves of blatant racial bigotry (religious bigotry will never go away, although if there is one area that it should it would be there...but that is a post for another day). However, we will never be rid of racial prejudice because it is part of the maturation process. Wise people, though, are able to distinguish their prejudices of groups and rise above them when they are dealing with individuals.

We are moving toward a color blind society. Studies like the one mentioned above show it. Most of the people I know and deal with are color blind. We deal with individuals, not groups.

Weak stomachs need not apply

I have an amazingly weak stomach. I think Noah has the Rotavirus (rotovirus) which is one of the most common causes of diarrhea in infants. The astute among you can see how these two things are causing a conflict. Yesterday, its 10:00 PM and Erin heads to bed and Noah wakes up for his bottle. I start feeding him when he begins filling his diaper with bubbly gushes. A malodorous stench knocks me backward. I jump up, run into our bedroom and get Erin up to change his diaper knowing I will never survive the ordeal. No big deal, really, as she had just gone to bed.

It is 1:20 AM this morning (you know 30 minutes ago) and Noah awakes. According to Bowman House Rule 24, subsection C, Paragraph 2, all feedings of infants prior to the 2:00 AM hour clearly fall into the domain of the paternal parental unit (i.e., the daddy, that's me). I am awaken by Erin to fulfill my parental obligation. I make a bottle, get the boy up and began to try and feed him. He doesn't want the bottle...pushes it away...squirms in my arms...and suddenly begins filling his diaper with bubbly gushes. The stench is overbearing...but it is 1:30 AM and I don't want to wake Erin up. I take Noah to the changing table in his room. I take a deep breath and hold it. Quickly I unbutton his PJs and push them around his waist. Stink emanates from him. Placing my hand on his stomach, I turn away and breathe...steeling myself for the inevitable. "You can do it!" I shout to myself. "Are you a man?" "Are you going to let a little foul-smelling diaper beat you?" "Super Dad! Super Dad! Super Dad!" Gritting my teeth, I quickly turn and un hook the diaper, pull it back...and erupt into a gagging episode. Barely holding back the vomit building up inside, I close the diaper and refasten it. Gasping for air I regain my composure and run like a little girl to the bedroom and call for reinforcements.

Yes. I hang my head in shame for I have failed. I have been beaten. Crushed by noxious fumes. O woe is me, woe is me. I have let my son down as a father. I have let my wife down as a husband. Rousing her from her blissful sleep to step in where I failed. I am so sorry honey. I really did try...but like I said, I have very weak stomach.

Well, the bad news is that the diarrhea from rotovirus lasts about 9 days. So by Friday of next week I should be able to resume diaper changing duties. However, there is also good news...I just saved a bunch of money...

John Stossel says it best

When ever my mom hears John Stossel (bio | search) do his commentary on 20/20 she is reminded of me, she says. This is because Mr. Stossel and I harbor the same mistrust of government and corporations. We share a value that individuals are the best qualified to make thier own choices. John Stossel is one of the few true journalist who remain in the industry. He holds everyone's feet to the fire and does not play games.

Anyway, the following quote from his editorial this week is great:

Part of being a free person is deciding for yourself what's in your interests. That doesn't mean you can't get expert help, but it does mean you get to decide when, how much, and from whom.

You can read the rest of his article here. Keep up the good work John. We need more people like you speaking the truth plainly and correctly.

Noah is getting enchiladas tonight

A recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune points out that most of what we know about weaning babies to adult food is based on either myths or cultural preferences, with no real basis in science. We like the sheep that we are have patiently followed our pediatrician's advice, thinking she was smarter than us. However, now I know can ignore her feeding guidelines and jump into really good things with Noah. So, next up is a New York Strip (rare, of course) with baked sweet potato drowning in butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Then, Papa Johns Pizza, pepperoni, onion, and mushroom (we will make sure that he gets the hot pepper, too). Let's see...then we can follow up with Erin's Ethiopian chicken (made with lots of ginger and curry). The only downside to feeding him like this is the diaper changes...but that's mommy's job more than mine...so bring on the good tasting food man. After all, if it was good enough for every generation of American to do before me, then it must be worth breaking convention and doing things my own way, right?*

On a more serious note, we have noticed that Mihaela does like her food spicy. She does not shy away from pepper and other "hot" flavorings. Mihaela LOVES wings from Applebee's. The spicy, zing is right up her alley. At the same time, she has just picked up an affinity for her daddy's bland, generic corn flakes (as long as they don't get soggy). So, I guess she has a wide gambit of flavors to choose from in enjoying dining.

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* The paragraph above employed the use of sarcasm. It its expected that intelligent readers are able to discern fact from fiction and seriousness from humorous exaggeration. In the even that you are unable to differentiate between those, please don't embarrass yourself and publicize that you are a fool by sending me an email or leaving a comment containing any sort of criticism for feeding a five month old adult fool. Thanks.

Small Group, 1 year anniversary

I just realized that last Sunday was my Small Group's one year annivessary. We have spent a great year together and have grown since those first 4 families. We now regularly have 7-8 families (if we grow anymore than we will need to multiply into two groups). In that year we have studied Revelation for 33 weeks, had a few weeks off here and there, as well as have suspended our study of Revelation at the leading of the Spirit to deal with pressing issues. For instance, one Sunday Night the conversation steered away from the text to personal struggles everyone was having. We spent the rest of the night just confessing what each of us was dealing with and followed that by the laying on of hands and praying over each and every member. Another week we were really experiencing Satan attacking the relationships of almost every married couple in our group as well as attacking the relationships between group members. We took a Sunday night to look how we could protect our relationships from his attack, air out the dirty laundry, and pray for love, acceptance, and forgiveness among our members.

Our small group rocks and I wouldn't change it for the world. This quarter one of our Sunday School classes is covering the topic of truly connecting with each other because the teacher's premise is that most small groups don't really foster the heart-to-heart connections that are necessary for life-changing ministry to happen. I was so pleased to hear that our small group members spoke up in class saying that while they had experienced that same behavior in Small Groups before, the one they were in now was completely different. I have to agree with them. It is the best Small Group I've ever been and I thank God for bringing us together.

Since this is a success, for some strange (prideful-??) reason I feel a need to give other Small Group leaders some advice. First, I am not an expert on Small Groups. As a matter of fact, I think it is important to state that this small group is the third or fourth small group I have tried to lead and the only one that has had a long term, positive impact on its members. Therefore, I would encourage Small Group leaders who have "failed" in leading a small group to try, try again. There are so many variables that make a small group and I assure you that if you keep trying, you will hit upon a "formula" that works for your personality, your small group members, and your group's spiritual needs.

Next, it takes an absolutely awesome wife. This small group would not be working if it weren't for Erin's dedication to the group. Besides the mundane (but necessary) tasks of cleaning house, preparing food, and playing hostess week after week she also serves as an emotional and spiritual thermometer that keeps me in tune with the group. I tend to be more studious and text based. Erin is more emotionally based and she keeps me grounded in the people. Also, Erin is not afraid to ask questions and press me for a deeper understanding when I am glossing over a passage. I know that if she is confused, then so are others. There is a definite partnership between her and me.

I think another characteristic of our small group that has let us succeed is that we dove into a book that required a long-term commitment. We have been studying the same thing for over year. This study has been anchor to keep us coming together for the amount of time it has taken to cement the relationships. Sure, the small group is tired of the book of Revelation now and is hastening me to finish it...but it takes a long time to get the point where the relationships are the reason to come together instead of the study. I think so many small groups fail because they don't have a clear, long-term plan...so the sessions spiral into confusion and people go away disappointed.

Also, it takes preparation time. I usually spend 1-2 hours a week preparing for a small group session. This kind of relates to what I was just saying in the paragraph above. Unprepared leaders end up taking some kind of easy route when everyone comes together. They end up just filling up time instead of filling up people. Part of that time is in prayer for the small group and small group members.

Along with prep-time, it also takes time outside of your regularly scheduled small group time. We have done movie nights and game nights. I remember one Friday night where we all met a restaurant in Montgomery for dinner together (that was pre-Noah...Erin and I have only be out once with both babies). When Hunter Hills had its Men's Retreat in August, all the ladies had a sleep-over/hair-dying party at our house. Some of the members of our group exercise together. We have group emails regularly. We experimented with a small group blog (it didn't work out that well...email works better for us). I remember we spent a couple of weeks showering certain members of the small group who were going through particularly difficult times with gifts/visits for an entire week. I don't think it really matters what you do, the key is just to have "through the week" interactions.

As I am re-reading this, I am seeing exactly how and why this group has succeeded where others of mine have failed in the past. Before you go thinking that I had planned a small group that had those characteristics mentioned, let me assure you that I did not. My initial reaction to re-reading those characteristics was "Hmmm...isn't that neat how we just kind of fell into doing the right things." But that is not the case. God crafted those things, not me, not our group. We were just sensitive enough to do them. We did not have a plan, but God did. That is probably the biggest characteristic that has made our group work and that is we relied on God to bring us together and grow us close to each other.

So... What's in store for this coming year? I don't know. We will finish up the book of Revelation. Then, I think we are going to do a Marriage and Family section for 2 or three months. After that, I have been asked to do a course on Spiritual Warfare. I am also interested in doing another textual study, perhaps the book of Genesis this time. Of course, what we study is probably the least important part of our Small Group. As we look forward to our next year together, I can only pray that God will continue to work in us and on us. It is my fervent prayer that we stay sensitive to His leadings and that we are truly committed to each other, that we are church to one another.

As promised: Small Group Catchup

Since my last upload of Small Group Material was in June and stopped at chapter 13 and we are now in chapter 20, I had quite a number of files to upload.

Week 25 - Chapter 14

• Teacher Notes


• Study Guide

Week 26 - Chapter 15

• Teacher Notes (I was lazy or too busy this day and did not type up notes. I just used the study guide and led a discussion from it. If you don't like this, I give you permission to ridicule me mercilessly in the comments).


• Study Guide (covers 15 and 16)

Week 27 - Chapter 16

• Teacher Notes

Week 28 - Chapter 17

• Teacher Notes


• Study Guide
  

Week 29 - Chapter 18

• Teacher Notes


• Study Guide

Week 30,31 - Chapter 19

• Teacher Notes Part I


• Teacher Notes Part II


• Study Guide
  

Week 32,33,34 - Chapter 20

• Introduction to the Millennial Views


• Teacher Notes Part I


• Teacher Notes Part II (aren't done because we will be covering that this coming Sunday)


• Study Guide

We just have study guides for chapters 21 and 22 below because we haven't got that far and I haven't prepared for those sessions yet. I plan on finishing chapter 20 this week and then probably spending two weeks each on 21 and 22. However, I won't know for sure until I jump in and prepare those sessions.

Week 35,36 (tenative) - Chapter 21

• Study Guide

Week 36,37 (tenative) - Chapter 22

• Study Guide

Small Group Material

I haven't uploaded the materials from my Revelation small group since June. The last post included chapter 13 and we are now in chapter 20. So, to catch everyone up I am going to try and get it all posted here soon. I plan on re-doing my blog site and when I do I am going to create a whole page just for all the Revelation documents in order.

Planning to Walk

Erin called me at work and asked to take a family walk this evening. I agreed and later caught myself reminiscing of the walks Erin and I used to take. We used to leash up Juliet and take long walks around the lake walk of Lake Superior in Duluth. Then, even when we moved down here, we used to quite often take Juliet around the entire apartment complex, walking and talking and holding hands the way newlyweds/young marrieds do... until they have children, and extra jobs, and piles of laundry so high that they block out the sun and cause everyone in the house to wear the same milky complexion as Casper, The Friendly Ghost (although Erin does a really good job of keeping the pile somewhat managable...but slobber baby a.k.a. The Droodle Monster...can dirty up bibs faster than a liberal will sieze someone else's cash) and are so exhausted from trying to keep up with aforementioned toddler and infant, while only sleeping in 3 or 4 hours stretches that you never really remember what day it is, and the ominous list of "THINGS TO DO" grows faster than you can cross stuff out.

Maybe a peaceful walk is just what we need...I just hope our pasty skin doesn't burn in the Alabama evening sun.