What's Best For The Consumer, Is Best For The Economy, Is Best For The Country

With the presidential election just around the corner and all the crap going on with the economy, banks, mortgages, etc. I've been reflecting on our choices of candidates and who is better to lead our country through this rough patch our country is in. I find it amazing that both parties are trying to blame wall street greed for putting us in this mess. Ultimately it boils down to us, the individuals, that got us into the trouble we're in. When a bank offers a loan that is easily out of ones means to afford the monthly payments, is that wall streets fault that the individual didn't take a step back and calculate what they could truly afford? Is it the banks fault for offering adjustable rate mortgages when rates were at an all time low? Is it really that hard to calculate what the monthly payments will be if the interest rates go up? I understand the dream of owning a home and when we bought our house we spent more than we probably should've. However, with that being said, we spent a lot less than we were approved for. And now that we had twins we're living in a two bedroom house with 3 kids. Our house is worth 20k less then what we owe on it so we're going to be living here a while...wait maybe we should just walk away and let the government deal with it. Yeah, no. So why doesn't either candidate say something to the effect that we need more discipline in the consumer market and not just oversite of wall street and the banks? Well that would be unpopular and certainly lead to defeat come November.

So back to the topic of our presidential options. Neither party has really hit on what I feel is the most important issue and that is balancing the budget and paying down the national debt. The interest on our debt was 400 billion in 2006. That's half the buyout of the banks. Imagine if we didn't have to pay this interest year in and year out. Just think, about 20-25% of your taxes every year go to pay interest on the debt. Just think of what our future holds, if our government tanks, all our savings will be worthless. And who's to blame for this mess, well the voters that votes these guys in office and then don't demand a balanced budget. I could keep beating this drum but that's enough said.

As for the title of this blog post, we live in a consumer driven economy. If there's not a customer to buy a companies product they go under. Our auto industry in the US is not competitive and therefore countless jobs have been lost because of it. It has nothing to do with NAFTA, the consumers are choosing what companies stay alive. Companies need to be able to reach as many consumers as possible and they need to stay competitive. The population of the US is just over 300 million, the population of the world is 6.6 billion. So it really doesn't make sense that raising taxes and restricting trade on the richest corporations and businesses is going to somehow fix the situation that we're in. The last thing we need as a nation is the government trying to dictate which companies are evil and greedy, and then taxing them for being successful. The richest people and companies will move where it makes the most sense to do business. It happened in California and it'll happen to the country. We are the richest country in the world because companies can reap the biggest reward here as opposed to any other country in world. If that incentive goes away so will the rest of our jobs. And just remember, the rich already pay a huge percentage of our taxes already and they are consumers as well and we need them buying things to keep our economy strong.

So who do you think I'm voting for??

Kids update

Hayley has been busy going to preschool on Thursdays and Fridays. She seems to be enjoying it. Braxtyn and Elliott are rolling over and are getting a lot stronger. They love to stand against things as long as Jen or I are there to catch them when they fall sideways. I got home today and Braxtyn was going crazy rolling over and scooting backwards. Pretty entertaining stuff.

Hayley and I playing Mario Kart Wii style.

Braxtyn and Elliott playing in their toys

Braxtyn Scooten

Six Months Old!!!

Wow what a ride. Time has been flying by since the twins were born. It seems like yesterday that Jen, Jens Mom and I were trying to soothe these guys the second night we had them home. I've never heard so much crying in my life. We still joke about how Jens mom couldn't wait for her flight outta San Fran that next day. I so would've considered giving the twins up for adoption during those first few months. My head was so foggy from no sleep and the constant crying. Fortunately for us they are two fun babies now. I'd take credit for it but Jen would probably beat me silly. She spent many a night telling me to get my crabby butt sleep and that she didn't want to listen to me whine anymore. So I say to Jen "Nice Work!!!", she definitely deserves a nomination for mom of the year.

Braxtyn Bouncing

Just a quick video of Braxtyn bouncing.

The Helmets Are In

For the last couple week the twins have been wearing helmets to help with their flat heads caused by Torticollis. I'm pretty disappointed that our doctor in CA didn't warn us of it during their one month check up. Both Jen and I tried to rotate the sides these guys would sleep on but they would eventually wiggle their way back to the other side. We should have had them in physical therapy earlier which could have helped them sleep better and reduced the all day crying we had to deal with. I'm not sure what the change is now, whether it be physical therapy or they have just grown out of it, but they are much happier babies now. Even though they both have ear infections again. They sleep a lot better, although they are attached to their pacifiers so a couple times a night one of us has to get up to put it in when they cry. It's amazing to watch them go from a full out cry session to sleeping in a second after putting their pacifier in. I guess that's the next habit to work on breaking.

State Fair

We went to the State Fair for a couple hours the other night. It was pretty fun and the twins didn't cry at all. The food was good but I didn't get to eat fried candy bar on a stick. After eating a turkey sandwich, a caramel roll, and two corn on the cobs I was full. We stayed late to watch the fire works since Hayley didn't get to see any this last forth of July. Hayley was a little bummed she didn't get to ride any rides. She went down the slide with Dad and Mom so hopefully she wasn't feeling too disappointed.

Comparing the Twins to Hayley

More then once I've said "why can't these twins have the temperament Hayley had when she was a infant?" I know a parent shouldn't compare their kids against siblings but it's tough not to. Especially when they are so different. Hayley was so easy going and she was always smiling. Everywhere we went she'd smile at strangers prompting comments such as "she's a keeper" and "what an awesome baby". Hayley was the only baby out of 10 that did not cry at her baptism. By four months Hayley was sleeping through the night most of time. When she started teething she would wake up a here and there but for the most part a quick comforting and she'd be back sleeping. When Hayley was born she had to go to the ICU for four days to monitor her for a possible infection. Having this IV in her head didn't bother her a bit.

Anyway, since the twins were born they have been in constant need of attention. It's so stressful to take them anywhere because it's inevitable they will end up crying. Especially on long road trips. Since they seem to sleep better in the truck we'll even bite the bullet in gas money and drive it instead of the car. They aren't too bad during the day, but around 7pm they start their usual cry fest. One or the other is always in need of something and they do not enjoy laying on the floor like Hayley did. It drives us so crazy. When we had Hayley we didn't know what to expect. It was such an awesome experience we couldn't wait to have another one. Now we sometimes question having more then one. Which makes us feel terrible. There's a couple across the street from us waiting to adopt another child and here we are complaining. Hopefully now that they are closing in on four months old things will get better.

Wally Worst

After about a year of procrastinating getting our hallway painted I finally got to it today. It's been a major pain in the butt. It started a few years back when the wall paper started pulling away from the wall. When Hayley started crawling she tore a bunch more of it off. Eventually I tore off the wall paper when I was home last Christmas which caused a chunck of sheet rock paper and mud to get ripped off as well. I tried skimming the wall but after I sanded the wall I primed the wall only to have a bunch more sheet rock paper come loose. Finally I just started ripping a bunch of the sheet rock paper off and I tried priming over that. Needless to say it looked terrible. I finally gave up and decided I'd spend some time on it to do it right. Since Jen was in Little Falls this week I skimmed the wall again with mud and sanded. I repeated the processes a few times until I got the desired result.

I got up early today (9:00am) to get some more primer and paint from Wal-Mart. I was the only person in the paint area for 10-15 minutes or so. I had picked my color out so I waited for the employee behind the counter to finish putting away a cart full of stuff. Clearly one could see I standing next to the counter waiting for help. Then a couple came walking up looking for paint and they asked a question and the guy started helping them. When he was done I asked if I could get some paint mixed. He said "I was helping them first, I'll get to you when they're done". We'll this is fine but they were picking out a color. So this guy couldn't help me quick and while they were picking out their color. At first I was just going to wait but after thinking about it for a sec I said screw it and I left my cart in the isle with my grocieries that I'd picked up and left. I went to Home Depot where the paint guys behind the counter were more then happy to help me.

I really can't stand Wal-Mart. Why people continue shopping there is beyond me. (Myself included) They've basically undercut all their competitors to the point where there is no competition anymore in many towns. Luckily I live next to a Super Target, it's to bad they don't sell paint.

The Car Seat Dilema

A couple weeks ago we drove home from Little Falls and the Twins fell asleep in their car seat. We brought them in the house and just let them sleep instead of trying to move them into their crib. They woke up about 8 hours later. Whenever we put them in the crib both twins generally wake up once a night or about every 4 hours. Two nights ago they both got up twice and woke up super early. So being super sleep deprived we decided to try letting them sleep in their car seats last night. Braxtyn fell asleep at 9 and Elliot at 9:30. It's 6:30am now and both of them are still sleeping.

When they slept for 8+ hours last time in there car seat I mentioned it at work. I thought maybe we should use their car seats all the time. A girl overheard me and stopped by my cube to tell me that her doctor said that it causes the back of their heads to become flat. I wonder if there is a way to prevent the flat head thing in a car seat. In the crib we use a blanket to prop them up on one side or the other but that's difficult to do in a car seat.

Hayley's First Time Fishing

Sunday Hayley's uncle, Matt, wanted to take Hayley fishing. We were planning on heading home early so my dad could meet the twins for the first time. We tried to sneak in a quick fishing trip, but as it always turns out a quick trip turns into an excursion. The fish were biting within 10 seconds of casting so it was a ton of fun for Hayley. Hayley's grandpa caught a fish and after to unhooked it, he dropped it on the dock and it bounced up into his drink. That was pretty funny. So needless to say we missed my dad. Sorry dad. Anyway, hopefully they'll get to see them soon like over the 4th of July. In the mean time here's some video of Hayley catching fish.





Head on over to the photo gallery from the day if you're interested as well these videos are in full resolution too. Although taking video into the sun didn't work so well.

Unpacking More Boxes

I've basically been on baby watching duty as Jen is going through boxes. She's about half way. I can see outside the porch windows now. It's starting to look promising. Here's some pics of my big helper and the twins.

Headache

About mid afternoon yesterday I started getting a small headache. I took some Advil but that seemed to work for an hour or so but then it came back pretty strong. By the time I left work my head was pounding so bad that my commute home was horrible. I couldn't get home fast enough. After I got home I took a nap that lasted 12 hours. I felt bad cuz Hayley was so excited to see me and then she started crying when I went to take a nap. I was hoping for a quick turnaround so I could play with her but it wasn't happening this time. Normally after a long rest my headaches are gone but it's still there today, just not as strong. Headaches are one of the biggest pains in the arse for me. I get them about once or twice a month. Lately they are more frequent and they're getting worse. Last time I asked the doctor about it he said it's just stress. Maybe I'll try a different doctor cuz if it's just stress, then I've been stressed since I was a kid. I remember getting headaches as far back as 10. Hopefully I didn't pass that trait onto the kids.

The Porch

Boxes piled to the ceiling and a small walkway through it. This would be our porch. Now this is normally not a big deal if a house is empty, the problem is our house is currently fully furnished. So where the heck did all this crap come from. I'm hoping it's just a bad packing job and maybe there's just one or two small items per box. With 2 month old twins and Hayley we don't have a lot of time to find out.

Unpacking

I finally got my computer up and running at home thanks to Janel watching Hayley and the twins this morning. Jen and I got all our bedrooms organized and most of the bedroom stuff unpacked. Now its on to organizing the living room, kitchen, basement and porch. Looking at the porch now I don't think it'll ever be livable again, there are so many unpacked boxes in there. I have no clue how we accumulated so much stuff.

Now that I have a computer working I'll try and blog again more often. In the mean time here's a slide show from my last day in CA during the 17 mile drive.

Last Day In CA

Last Saturday was my last day in CA. I haven't had a computer to blog with since then so I'm blogging about it now. Friday I left work early to hit the 17 mile drive. Jen has taken a few guest on the drive and the pics she has taken are awesome so I wanted to see it before I left. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Pebble Beach golf course is on the route as well so it was cool seeing that. I was tempted to pay the 600+ to play 18 but a 2 month advance notice tee-time is needed. Other then that it was mostly just cliff and rocks. We saw some historic bridge too. Had I had a coat Chad and I would've climbed to the bottom. It was very cold out. We turned about at the bridge and headed back to Sunnyvale. It was kind of sad leaving CA. Getting another upgrade to first class took some of the edge of leaving though.

Mountain Biking

I never got to capture video from my mountain biking excursions but Ben over at studio711 made a great video of him biking in Washington. From the video it looks like the trail he's on is similiar to the trails here in CA. Check it out video, it's pretty cool.

Mario Kart

Well I just finished whooping up on Mario Kart. I beat all but levels but he easiest. I beat a few series on the easy level and it was too easy so I moved up after a few races. There's a medium level that is motorcycles only, a hard level that mixes both karts and motorcycles and another hard level that mirrors all the tracks. I met my goal of beating the game before the movers came tomorrow morning. I would've been tempted to keep the big screen here had I not finished the game. Mario Kart is all about luck. I had so many races where I was winning for two laps and on the final lap I'll get hit with blue shell that blows me up and the a bunch more shells and before you know it I'm in last place. That part of the game kind of sucks but it adds a chance factor to the game. One can't just master the game and beat it every time they pick it up. I love the Wii Wheel. It'd be so awesome to have the wheel for Forza or Burnout. No wires or mounts to worry about just hold up the wheel and race away.

Upgraded to First Class

I went to check in yesterday and I wasn't assigned a seat when I purchased my ticket so I was expecting to have to select a seat. Well low and behold I was upgraded to first class. That was a pleasant surprise. At some point I accrued enough miles to make silver elite but I'm not sure when. The breakfast was great even for plane food. (Either that or I don't eat good otherwise making this breakfast seem awesome) Hopefully I'll be upgraded to first class on my flight home.

The only complaint I could muster on this trip was the vehicle I got from Avis. You'd think they hate me or something torchering me with a Hyundai something or other. It's a cross over and it's the most awkward driving thing and it's super uncomfortable to sit in. But I only need to drive it for a week so I'll live with it.

Hayley Flying

iFlickr
Originally uploaded by ksetrum

Hand her a Video iPod with Cars loaded and all is good. Actually she had an older lady sitting next to her that played with her the entire flight except for the last 30 minutes or so that she slept in my arms. It was great having that lady play with her as I was able to catch a nap with the twins sleeping.

The Twins Flying

iFlickr
Originally uploaded by ksetrum

We headed out for the airport and I was thinking we had plenty of time. We actually ended up being lucky the flight was delayed since we probably would've missed our flight otherwise. Security was a major pain with the twins. We had five bags 3 carseats, my laptop and a stroller for twins. It probably took 15 minutes just to get our stuff through.

When we got to the gate the twins started screaming and we could see the eyes looking over at us thinking "We don't have to deal with that on do we?" But we got on the plane and got everything situated and after feeding them they slept the entire flight. If they would sleep on every flight I'd probably buy tickets just so they'd sleep.