What A Day! What A Little Girl!

It's late! I've been going over a resume for a friend and I'm very tired. I have no idea what will come out of my mouth on here. Guess it will be a surprise to all of us!

Carly said her own name for the first time yesterday and she said it several times so it wasn't just gas--or a fluke or something like that. She really said it! She is like a one woman destruction team these days. Seriously, those little legs run fast and far and she goes from one thing to another tearing things up as fast as she can. What's surprising to me is the things she chooses to get into--like she will take the lid off her diaper pail and carry it around. We catch her immediatley but she's already gotten several feet with it by the time we get her. So has the stench, mind you. But even though it's right in her face she doesn't seem to notice. Yes, we empty it often--but we empty her often too--and it's just not pretty! Whew! Somedays, she just takes off with the lid and plays keep away from us. On those days it's easier to set the diaper pail outside the kitchen door for a few seconds until you catch her. She thinks she's so darned funny, too!

I think I already told you about the TV didn't I? Off, On, OfF, On, Off, On. It's getting incessent. We just have to pick her up and hold onto her now that is if we can catch her. She does everything for a reaction and then when you react she laughs and runs from you! Yes, I've tried not reacting. She just keeps doing it until you do react.
(Well, I don't want her to break the On/Off button!)

She's been giving Julie a run for her money, too. She turns off the computer Julie uses right as Julie is about to save or print something. It has a button at the bottom she can reach and it just shuts it right down. She's done it to Megan and to me a couple of times, too when we've been on it. Very frustrating--but again for the reaction. Then the other day I was on another computer and the hard drive with the on/off button was behind a door on the desk and I didn't even know she knew where it was. Sure enough I am just starting to print something off and she comes in, opens the door on the desk, leans down and pushes the off button. I didn't even know she had come in the room. Her Daddy was watching her (supposedly). Luckily--for him--this computer had a protect mode and didn't shut off. This little girl has BIG plans in her brain all the time! Oh my goodness!

Well, that's enough stories for tonight. I'm exhausted. Gee, I wonder why?!

I HATE DUSTING!

I've been cleaning my room all day today. I mean the kind of cleaning where you get rid of things and really move and ClEAN under things-not just dust--but I did a TON of dusting today! That means I did a TON of sneezing also. That's not what I hate about dusting, though. It's having to move everything and put everything back. I have way too many trinkets. I need to get rid of all my trinkets and all the things I have to move. I guess that means I need to get rid of everything. I think I'm willing--well, most of it, anyway.

I really, really hate dusting--and I'm not planning on liking it ever. So, I am just going to start getting rid of a bunch of the stuff I keep having to move. I've decided it's just not worth it. Don't ya think?

THE YARD IS MOWED!

I know. You really wanted to know that, didn't you? Not so much, eh? Sorry. But it feels so good. Rob's been working on the garden spot, too. We are actually putting one in this year. I am so excited. Now we just have to do a bunch of other mumbo jumbo to the lawn to get it back in shape and get all the weeds to go away.

I went to visit my older sister today. I had a doctor appt. down her way and she watched Carly for me while I went. It was good to see her. Carly slept a little bit on the way home but didn't get her regular nap so she was a pill the rest of the day. She's sleeping soundly now, though. It's a good thing when a cranky little girl gets good sleep. Hopefully she will be in a good mood again tomorrow.

Not much else going on. Time to shut these dark brown eyes. Night.

WISH UPON A HERO

I found the neatest website! Actually I read about it in USA Today. This is a website where just about anyone can afford to be a bit of a philanthropist. Anyone can go to this website and post a wish/need and anyone else can go to the website, read the need and grant it. Some of the larger needs have to have documentation. One of the ones I read about in the newspaper article was about a man in his eighties or nineties (you do the math) who had been at Pearl Harbor as a soldier and survived it but really wanted to go back before he died but couldn't afford to. His daughter posted the wish and someone sent the daughter and her father to Pearl Harbor so the father could see the area again and make peace with what happened there in his youth.

There are requests for groceries and gasoline and both larger and smaller things. One woman who was interviewed who frequents the site said she tries to grant at least one wish a day but also said that as the economy has gotten worse it has become harder for her to do that. Many wishes are so tiny. Some times I want so much to help someone and don't know how to do it. A place like this definitely gives a way.

Some wishes on it are not for help but for the wisher to help others or to give something to others. It is a very interesting site. The overhead for the site doesn't come from any of the philanthropists but rather from site ads. I like that, too.

Go take a look and maybe help someone today you weren't planning on when your day began. It will do your heart good. Have fun! Here's the website: http://www.wishuponahero.com/

The Latest Family Photo

Ain't we cute?

O.K. I'M EMBARRASSED . . .

Rob just pointed out to me that Carly is walking around with her toy cell phone between her shoulder and ear like she is talking on it. You know--the way you would hold your phone to your ear with your shoulder and talk if you had something in your hands or were doing something with your hands. Only my family members and closest friends will get the humor or should I say sad irony in this. She's definitely picking up Mommy's bad habits! Dear me --I guess I need to put the phone down more often.

Honest guys--I never do this with my cell phone--it's too small and would hurt my neck--I may do it with the real phone--but never my cell phone!

The Lawn Doctor Showed

He gave us a multitude of prescriptions to try on our weed infested mess. We will see if any of them work. He said it will take time. Guess that is to be expected. I wish the weather would choose what it wants to do here. We go between hot and cold--no Spring at all. It's just plain cold right now.

Carly had a bad day today. I think it was a mixture of painful teething and gas. They say when Mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy--but the truth is "When Carly ain't happy--ain't nobody happy!" It was rather miserable around here because she was hurting so much. Poor thing. I just got her to sleep and I'm hoping she will sleep well and feel better tomorrow.

Here's to a painless tomorrow and a happy little girl!

The Next Time We Send A Shuttle into Space . . .

Can we load all of the pollen onto it and send it away? Puh--leeaassseee?? AHHH--AHH--AHHH---AHHH---AHHHHHHH CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GROWING DANDELIONS

So, instead of a lawn this year Rob and I have decided to just grow dandelions and weeds. It seems much simpler. It's way low maintenance and it's really colorful! I mean, why purchase all kinds of garden flowers when those beautiful dandelions don't cost you a penny? (Well, they cost you a penny didn't they Dad? A pretty one! Hee hee! Sorry private joke!) Maybe someday I'll explain.

Actually, all this lawn talk is tongue in cheek. We are so frustrated with our lawn. Rob put a weed and feed on it two weeks ago and it did nothing--that is unless it is supposed to feed and increase the weeds!

We've scheduled someone to come look at it a couple of times now and he hasn't shown up. We have him scheduled again for later this week and if he doesn't show this time we will call someone else for sure. Anyway, we thought we had a fungus or something at first and now we think it may be the ph level in the water. Whatever it is the lawn is a mess and I'm sure our neighbors are going nuts.

So, just in case anyone says anything to me before we can get it fixed--I'm getting my comebacks ready. How's this one: Oh, I've loved dandelions ever since I was a little girl. Aren't they beautiful? It took me the whole month to plant this many plants in the yard--but aren't they gorgeous? I just love how colorful the yard is!So many blooms--I really got my money's worth!

Lovin' the Warm Weather!

Carly and I went on a walk today with a neighbor and her son. Well, I guess to be accurate the Mommies did the walking and the kiddies did the riding. They had fun, though and it was a really nice day out. It was hot but there was a nice breeze blowing from time to time. I'm really hoping we are done with snow until next year.

Carly has discovered that she really likes being outside. If I even open the door for a second she wants to go out. If I happen to close it without letting her go out, I really hear about it. And man, if I do something like take her out to get the mail with me and come right back in--she is really peeved! Of course, if I don't take her out with me--she's just as mad--so I really can't win unless I want to sit outside all day. And since the pollen count is so high right now and my allergies are bad--I can't so much wanna! Even though I can't be outside every minute I'm still loving the warm weather!

Upon Request

A friend asked me to post a few more of Lori's pictures--and the only recent ones I have are the ones from Carly's sealing so here are a few more of them. I still need to visit and pick up the ones she did of her in the pink tutu. I can't wait to see them!

I Like This Picture

I just got these pictures from Lori. She took them after Carly's sealing in December and I hadn;t been to her house in a long time. They are so much better than anything I took--um, DUH! But, for some reason I think this one is really cute.

We Got Home

We got home safely from our trip and we are all bushed! So no big blog tonight. The only news is "We've All Gone to Sleep." Night, Night! Love you all.

I Love Waterfalls

We went on a fun family outing this weekend. We visited family and on our way we stopped to see this really cool waterfall. I love waterfalls! That's a major understatement having grown up with one on family property spoils you just a little! Anyway, we had a great time and were blown away by the power of this water!

Eye Eye Mates!

Yep, I've got both eyes back and I'm so excited to see again I can't even tell you! My eye is feeling so much better today. The doctor took the bandage off permanently and even said I didn't need to continue on antibiotics or other meds! Yay! I still couldn't wear my contacts today but that was a small price to pay for sight without pain. I thought I would go nuts yesterday since one of my eyes is corrected for distance and one for close up and the one that was bandaged was the one corrected for close up things. So, of course everything I was trying to do yesterday was the close up stuff and I couldn't see anything well. I couldn't concentrate at all and it was truly crazy-making. So yay for seeing with both eyes again! I'm happy!

EYE MATEY!

Tonight I will be brief because I am writing with a patch over one eye and am having a hard time seeing the screen very well. I thought I had allergy eyes and that one eye was just a lot worse than the other but I apparently have a scratch on one eye. So, my opthamologist has me medicated and patched and I look a bit like a pirate--and have had to endure pirate jokes from family all evening. Hopefully, this will just be a day or two at most and I will have both of my eyes back! It!'s really hard to chase a toddler around when you can't see very well

SOMEONE TELL ME THE "TERRIBLE TWOS" COME EARLY SOMETIMES!

Oh my goodness, either my little one has the "terrible twos" or I have a "hellion" coming! Okay, I'm just venting at the end of one of those really hard days with your toddler. It will be better tomorrow, right? I'm pretty sure this is my Mom and Dad's fault anyway--they wished days like this on me a long, long time ago. (Yes, you did--you said, "I hope you have one just like you!")

I did not know that a 14 month old could be so opinionated. She wants what she wants when she wants it. Oh, and she seems to only want to do things I've told her she can't do which makes her throw a tantrum.

She doesn't understand why I don't want her grabbing my glass of water and running through the house with it as it sloshes all over the carpet. Why would that upset me, right? She also doesn't understand why she can't grab folders of paper and empty them all over the floor or unfold the laundry I just folded or why she can't turn her sippy cup upside down on the living room table or couch and press it down until it empties slowly all over the place. She doesn't like that I won't let her open the front door or throw her food off her high chair tray instead of eating it or put every single thing she picks up into her mouth.

Apparently, Mommy is just completely unreasonable! Whenever, I try to get her to stop one of these behaviors (or in english--just plain stop it)--she screams and cries and sometimes swats at me. Then she does it again anyway. This is definitely terrible two territory--right?!

When she's not doing this she's actually a very happy little girl but Oh My Goodness, the toddler stuff is a whole new experience. Wow!

OUR NEW BAND--SHATTERED MIRRORS

That's Rob's name for it anyway! Pretty rag-tag bunch, eh? Oh well, we had fun posing if nothing else.

OUR FAMILY EASTER EGG HUNT

This is Julie giving Carly the rules for the Easter Egg hunt. Julie is making sure she understands everything before she starts. (Right!)



This is Kaden our nephew who has just started and is already making decent progress!



Wow, our niece Keelie has quite the haul!



Gotta get our jacket on if we want to hunt for eggs outside.



What nice sisters to help me find Easter eggs on grass especially since I CAN'T STAND GRASS!!!


Oh wow, it's a real colored egg! Can I eat it?

CUTE COUSINS

Aren't these two cute? They really like each other, too. That makes it all the more fun!

HUBBY'S BACK!

Rob's been gone for two long weeks for training and he just got home tonight. I am so HAPPY! Yay for me!

FUN ADVENTURE

Tonight Uncle Steve came by with his mini four wheelers and his mini-kids. Those would be my neice and nephew and invited us out to do a little four wheelin'. Actually, they invited Julie to join their group. Megan, Carly and I went along to watch and take pictures. Megan actually rode for a few minutes, too. I even let Carly on for a minute and I walked around holding her hand--so snail's pace. Very slow. She liked it, though. I was surprised. I thought she'd cry the minute the engine went on--but then she was on Megan's lap. Here's some cute pictures.

MY LITTLE VIRTUOSO

THANKS AUNT LORI! WE LOVE YOU!

We spent the day with the Master Photographer, a.k.a., Aunt Lori. Now, mind you, these are pictures of Aunt Lori with Carly--not pictures TAKEN BY Aunt Lori. She would not want you get the two confused. Nor would I want you to. Nor should you. Lori is one of the best photographers I've ever seen and she has taken many portraits of my family and, of course, some absolutely gorgeous ones of Carly.

Today she put Carly in a TuTu and it was Way, Way cute on her. I snapped a few photos while Lori was doing some pre-work. I don't have Lori's finished products yet but I saw of few of them on screen and they were AMAZING! I will be sure to post a few when I get them. In the meantime, I present the famous--and Infamous, Aunt Lori, with her lovable little TUTU GIRL! Oh yah--and one picture of Carly in her TuTu that you'll know for sure I took--because I cut off her legs. Oops, hee hee! Yep, that's me!

AND THEY CALLED IT PUPPY LOVE . . .

Carly loves to hug these guys. I wish I could have gotten a better shot. She's too quick for me or I would have had a picture of her trying to ride one of the dogs for you. You wouldn't believe how patient they are with her. She really loves them.

SPRING WAS IN THE AIR TODAY

I love Spring! It's happy and colorful, warm but not hot, and there is always the chance of a cool breeze just when you need it! Today was such a day and I really, really liked it!

Julie, Carly and I went for a walk tonight and Carly liked it so much that when we got home and started to come in the house she threw a major tantrum. She loved being outside. Now don't confuse that with being in the grass! She still doesn't do grass--um you know what I mean! She was happy to ride in her chariot (a.k.a. stroller)and just enjoy the evening. She just didn't want to go inside!

Julie and I decided maybe she had the right idea so we went in just long enough to get some cash and went to get some shakes. Carly thought that was a great idea. So did Julie! I just go along to pay for things cuz that's my job. Ya know what I mean? Anyway, we had fun on what felt like the first day of Spring!

Carly with Her Balloon

Happy Birthday Megan - Yesterday!

Yah, so this is the only surviving picture of Megan's birthday party. I had Julie take the pictures and Megan would actually kill me if I posted them. Julie and I had a discussion this morning about taking unflattering pictures. The one I've posted is one Megan asked her to take. The rest are ones that have mouths full, eyes closed, people moving, not looking, etc. Grrr.

So much for pictures for posterity. Hopefully we will have better ones in the future. That's what learnin' is all about--right?!

MY NEW 'DO

Julie, Megan and I got brave today and took on Carly's hair. I guess I should say we took on Carly because when you take on her hair you definitely take on HER! Anyway, I learned this new fairly easy to do hairstyle by watching a utube video. It's called finger coils. It's time consuming but not too hard.

While Carly was eating dinner the three of us started working on her hair and she actually let us do it. She wasn't calm the whole time but was pretty good for about 45 minutes--that included getting a bunch of treats and toys to play with. We didn't finish her whole head but enough to look decent--at least for pictures.

I think it looks pretty cute. Of course, after all that trouble it won't last for more than a day or so. Ugh! Oh well, it was worth the picture!

WOW!

Tonight, completely out of the blue, my 15 year old said, "Thanks Mom." I said, "For what?" She said, "For making me perservere (and then she named three examples of things she hadn't wanted to continue doing because she either didn't like them enough once she started them or they were too hard. She told me she was really glad I'd made her keep doing them and finish because it had made her a better person. And yes, she did actually use the word "perservere." All I could think was "Wow, I thought you had to wait until you were nearly dead for your kids to tell you things like this--or at least until they had teenagers!

PLAYING OUTSIDE . . . NOT SO MUCH, MOM!

So the other day when it was nice and sunny, I thought, "I've never taken Carly outside to play in the yard." I mean, she's always been too little or it's been bad weather. So, I got her all ready and we went out into the front yard. Julie came with us and we sat down on the front lawn. I had Carly on my lap at first but then I started to put stand her on the lawn and she went nuts. She pulled her feet up and started moaning and crying and acting like she was going to have a K'niption fit. So, I held her for a few more minutes--then tried again. This time I actually got her tennis shoes on the lawn before she realized it--but up they came just as fast. She wasn't having any of it. It was like she was allergic to the grass--or worse yet, scared of it.

Then, I remembered the Christmas tree--almost four months earlier. She had the same reaction to the tree. She was fine to look at it. She loved the lights on it, but if you got her within 6 inches of it she came unglued. If you tried to make her touch it she'd freak! It wasn't even a real tree. So, she can't be scared of things that are growing. Maybe she doesn't like green things or pokey things. I haven't figured this one out yet. But, it for sure limits the time we will spend playing outside--at least for awhile. Oh well, I tried. I was all excited to see her run and play in the grass too. Darn.

O.K., I GIVE, WHAT'S THE SECRET?

How do you accomplish anything when you have a toddler? I can't figure it out. I'm serious. It seems like I can't get the smallest thing done--I mean outside of feeding, clothing, playing with her and managing to clean up a little here and there. Other than those things I simply can't make any headway at all on anything. I feel like I start in the same place every day with the same pile and never quite get to it.

I do realize the Mommying is the most important part but there comes a time when some of those other things have to get done. I just want to know how you WONDER WOMEN are doing it or how you did it? Tell, please tell! All I know is most days I am so exausted from the chasing that when I put her down for a nap I want one myself!
My little girl isn't just walking, she's running and getting faster every day! No joke! It's a good thing she's so darned adorable!

News of the Weird

Oops!
In December, Idaho State University sent certified-mail letters to its adjunct faculty to disclose (as required by law) that some of them would soon be laid off. However, only the first-class mail fee was billed to the university, leaving each professor to pay on receipt the certified-mail surcharge in order to find out what the university would send them that was so important. (The Idaho State Journal reported that it was the Postal Service's error.) [The Olympian, 12-25-08]

Jailers Not Paying Attention: Christian Colon, 21, had a plea deal worked out to testify against alleged murderer Joel Rivera in exchange for a lighter sentence, but suddenly decided in February that he would not take the stand. The change of heart came right after Colon was accidentally housed in the same Milwaukee County Jail holding cell with Rivera. (With no plea deal, Colon got 46 years.) [Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee), 2-26-09]

At least Colon is still alive. A 23-year-old inmate at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary was found beaten to death in March after being mistakenly assigned to the same cell as his ex-partner-in-crime, against whom he had testified in a 2002

A News of the Weird Classic (October 1999)
From a May 1999 police report in The Messenger (Madisonville, Ky.), concerning two trucks being driven curiously on a rural road:

A man would drive a truck 100 yards, stop, walk back to a second truck, drive it 100 yards beyond the first truck, stop, walk back to the first truck, drive it 100 yards beyond the second truck, and so on, into the evening. He did it, he told police, because his brother was passed out drunk in one of the trucks, and he was trying to drive both trucks home, at more or less the same time. (Not surprisingly, a blood-alcohol test showed the driver, also, to be impaired.)

IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WEATHER, STICK AROUND FOR A FEW MINUTES . . .

Yesterday, it was nice and sunny--almost spring-like. Today, it was a little cool when we woke up but didn't seem too different. So, we got ready for church like normal. When we got ready to head out the door we realized we'd have to change a few clothes and shoes. It wasn't just a little cool anymore. It had started snowing hard and sticking! Off with the sandals, on with shoes, sweaters, coats, heaters and such! Before the day was over we even had hail. What a weird day! Seriously. We even turned the fireplace on and huddled by it--something we haven't done in a long time. Oh well, it was kind of fun. Hopefully, that was the last snow this year, though.

My Getaway Girl

This is Carly running away while I'm trying to catch her for a picture. She's pretty proud of herself.

PAMPERED PRINCESS

Wow, do I feel pampered. After a long day with a little girl who simply did not want to take a nap a handsome prince came to my door and swept me off my feet! He took me out to a lovely dinner and then off to a movie! It was a fun evening with my handsome hubby! My two youngest stayed home and entertained each other and I'm pretty sure they had fun. Well, at least one of them did. Hee hee.

BLANKY CRANKY

Talk about cranky! Wow! Carly has a favorite blanky. It is warm and fuzzy with cute ducks all over it and since she started seriously teething she loves to suck on the corners of it. She goes to sleep at night sucking on it and we find her laying awake happily sucking on it just waiting for us to come and get her in the morning. It really is her whoobie and she is darned serious about it.

Anyway, Rob put her to bed tonight, not realizing her ducky blanket was not in her crib. Serious faux paux. All of the sudden I hear her blood curtling screaming coming from her bedroom and Rob comes running out saying "Ducky blanket, ducky blanket" as fast as he can while he's looking all around. He located it quickly in the living room and ran back to the bedroom with it. Silence. That's all she wanted. Translation: DON'T PUT ME DOWN WITHOUT DUCKY! Trust me, we all got the message. We are blanky cranky at our house!

CARLY'S NEW HABIT!

Carly has taken up toothbrushing and she loves it so much once she starts it takes a lot of convincing to get her to put her toothbrush down. She carries it around and chews on it for hours if you let her. Usually, we can distract her after awhile. That's harder to do with her 21 year old sister who wanders around doing the same thing. If anyone has any ideas, let me know before she polishes off her enamel!

TODAY IT WAS MY TURN

OK, so today it was my turn for the meltdown. Carly has learned to unscrew lids. Although, I didn't realize it. So, before I knew it she had poured fabric softener on my carpet twice and slathered some of her hair cream all over the floor and her face and arms. Then she tried to open a large container of liquid bleach in the laundry room right while I was standing there. Luckily it was screwed on pretty tight! I do have a childproof handle on the laundry room door--she just happened to be in the room with me. Needless to say--I have had to further childproof my home today! She is just getting so much bigger and smarter everyday and she is starting to outsmart me! Yikes! Hmmm. But then maybe that's not that hard. Hey, who said that?

THE HAIR MELTDOWN

Oh my goodness! I did not know a one year old could have a hair meltdown but believe me you--it happened! Julie and I decided we would get brave and take on Carly's hair. I had seen a fourteen month old last week whose cute curly hair had been braided into some cute extensions and pulled into pony-tails and it was adorable. I talked to her mom and she told me it took several hours but she gave her little girl lots of breaks and plenty of treats and let her watch cartoons and she got through it just fine. Well, Carly is thirteen months, so I figured, "What the heck?! Let's give it a try!"

Julie and I went shopping and got all the cremes and goos, the clips, rubberbands, extensions and most important the treats. We came home and washed her hair and got everything ready--turned on the cartoons, sectioned off her hair, gave her some treats and began---GETTING SCREAMED AT!! And when she was done screaming she would take a break and yell at us! She did not want her hair touched. She did want some of the treats in between the yelling--but please stop touching my hair Mom!

I think maybe we will wait a year or so to try that again. Hmmm.

Check Out My Girls . . . I'm in Love with Them!

These are my youngest girls. Aren't they adorable? Carly is showing off her new dress. She wasn't really happy about taking pictures until we took her outside and started singing to her. Then she smiled for us. Funny kid. Something about fresh air and song.

Carly at Swim Lessons With Daddy

GOING, GOING, GONE!

I Tried to Take A Picture

Seriously, I wanted to post a new picture of Carly tonight. At least that was my plan. I got the camera ready and aimed it and she would get up and walk right up to the lens. I would move back and try to re-aim and she would do the same thing. I tried for ten minutes but moving away from her only got her upset enough to make her cry so I gave up. She wanted her face right in the camera lens and that just wasn't going to work. I guess I am going to have to be trickier next time.

AUSTRIAN FATHER WHO RAPED DAUGHTER AND FATHERED CHILDREN PLEADS GUILTY

ST. POELTEN, Austria – In a stunning turn of events, an Austrian on trial for imprisoning his daughter for 24 years and fathering her seven children pleaded guilty Wednesday to all charges against him — including homicide. The move came after his daughter appeared unexpectedly in the courtroom.

Surprising even his lawyer, Josef Fritzl calmly acknowledged his guilt on the third day of a trial that has drawn worldwide media attention for its shocking allegations.

"I declare myself guilty to the charges in the indictment," Fritzl, 73, told a panel of judges, referring to what he called "my sick behavior."

Fritzl had been charged with negligent homicide, enslavement, rape, incest, forced imprisonment and coercion. Initially he had only pleaded guilty to incest and forced imprisonment. The change of plea means he could face up to life in prison for the negligent homicide charge — literally "murder by neglect" in German.

Elisabeth was the prosecution's key witness against Fritzl. Now 42, she was 18 when he imprisoned her in the cramped, windowless cell he built beneath the family's home in the town of Amstetten. He then raped her for years.

Asked by the presiding judge what had led him to change his mind, Fritzl said it was the testimony from Elisabeth — the court had viewed 11 hours of her videotaped statement during closed-door sessions Monday and Tuesday.

Fritzl's lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, said Fritzl had asked to see a psychiatrist after Tuesday's session.

"It must really have shaken him up," he said, referring to Elisabeth's testimony.

However, a person familiar with the trial told The Associated Press that Elisabeth herself was in the courtroom on both days — suggesting her presence alone might have unnerved Fritzl and prompted him to change his pleas.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the closed-door proceedings.

Other officials would not confirm that Elisabeth was there. Before the trial, prosecutors had said she would not be present and would testify only through her prerecorded remarks.

The homicide charge came for the death of an infant twin boy — Michael — born to Elisabeth in April 1996 who prosecutors say might have survived with proper medical care had he and his mother not been locked in the basement.

Elisabeth and her six surviving children, who range in age from 6 to 20, have spent months recovering from their ordeal in a psychiatric clinic and at a secret location. Prosecutors have described her as a "broken" woman.

Psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner told the court Wednesday that Fritzl had a very serious personality disorder and would pose a threat to others even at his advanced age if freed. She recommended that Fritzl serve out his sentence in a special prison facility for psychologically deranged criminals.

Fritzl expressed regret that he didn't bring the ailing infant out of the dungeon and get medical help.

"I don't know why I didn't help," Fritzl said. "I just overlooked it. I thought the little one would survive."

"I should have recognized that the baby was doing poorly," he added.

Mayer, his lawyer, had previously said Fritzl only saw the newborn once it was already dead.

Wearing a mismatched suit and a blue shirt, Fritzl did not hide his face behind a binder Wednesday as he had done for the last two days when led into the courtroom in St. Poelten, west of Vienna.

After the plea change, the psychiatrist's testimony and brief consideration of reports about the cellar, officials adjourned the trial until Thursday morning.

Legal experts say the jury will still have to deliver a verdict despite Fritzl's guilty pleas, although his confessions are grounds for a lesser sentence. The verdict and sentence for Fritzl are expected Thursday after closing statements from both sides.

Police say DNA tests prove Fritzl is the biological father of all six of Elisabeth's surviving children, three of whom never saw daylight until the crime came to light 11 months ago.

Three of the children grew up underground in Amstetten and the other three were brought upstairs to be raised by Fritzl and his wife, Rosemarie, who apparently believed they had been abandoned.

Prosecutors have alleged that Fritzl refused to speak to his daughter during the first few years of her ordeal, coming downstairs only to rape her. They said the rapes sometimes occurred in front of the children.

Mayer had not been aware of Fritzl's change of heart before Wednesday's session. "He didn't discuss it with me," he said.

Kastner, the psychiatrist who met with Fritzl several times and put together a psychological profile for the court, said the Austrian had a deep need to control people. She said Fritzl had an ability to block out his crimes but knew what he was doing was wrong, acknowledging he had a guilty conscience when he went to bed at night and when he woke up in the morning.

"Fritzl is guilty for what he did," she said, adding he also believed "he was born to rape."

She said the large number of children Fritzl fathered only strengthened the control he had over his victim. "The more children, the more power," Kastner said. "This is about possession ... power ... control."

Fritzl had testified earlier this week that he had a difficult childhood and a bad relationship with his mother.

"The climate in his parent's house was marked by fear," Kastner said.

The Associated Press normally withholds the names of victims of sexual assault. In this case, the withholding of Elisabeth's name by the AP became impractical when her name and her father's were announced publicly by police and details about them became the subject of publicity both in their home country and around the world.

___

Associated Press Writer William J. Kole in Vienna contributed to this report.

Adoption Conference

I've spent the last couple of days attending an adoption conference and it's been really good. There have been some interesting classes, some of which have been on transracial adoption. However, there was a class today that got into some discussions on race that made me feel we had gone years back in time. It made me feel hopeless on the whole issue of ever making progress on race relations and ending racism.

I am not ignorant of the fact that there is a huge amount of racism in this country but I do think there has been progress over the years--especially since the fifties and sixties. Surely, the progress since then is measurable. Maybe it will never get completely solved but I cannot believe it is hopeless. I simply can't.

HOW TWINS ARE MADE

JESUS, I KNOW THEE

Yesterday was such a sweet day at church. Carly was being a LOT fussy during our last meeting and I had to leave with her. Way too noisy. I took her out to the foyer and sat down on the couch with her and tried to feed her a bottle but she didn't want it. She stood up on my lap and pointed to a framed portrait behind me and said, "Jesus." I was so excited. I said "Yes, that's right." Then she pointed to another one across the room and said the same thing. She was right again. I picked her up and we went walking down the hallway and passed a few more and she picked him out everytime--even when there were more people in the picture than just him--she could put her finger right on him. I'm thinking this is pretty good for a 13 month old!

When she was really tiny and fussy, I would carry her through the hall and stop at the pictures and tell her about Jesus and point to him. I had an idea at the time that she knew all about him and remembered him even better than I did. It's funny but I haven't done that with her for a long time so I was surprised yesterday when she just came out with it so clearly. Guess my first impression was right. She has come so recently from him she remembers.

Can Things Get More Absurd Than This?

I got this article off the wierd news file and it isn't just wierd it's ridiculous! If this guy wasn't being ousted by term limits he should be ousted by his constituents. We need to throw out all the politicians and start over! That's what I think anyway!

Senator Suing God Urges Judge to Proceed
Court Could Throw Suit Out Because of Failure to Serve Notice on God
By JOSH FUNK Associated Press Writer
August 5, 2008—


OMAHA, Neb. (AP) --State Sen. Ernie Chambers says his lawsuit against God might seem funny but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a serious point.

Chambers asked Douglas County District Judge Marlon Polk on Tuesday to let his lawsuit proceed. Chambers said he wants to make the point that everyone should have access to the courts regardless of whether they are poor or have the means of billionaire Warren Buffett of Omaha.

"What brought me to the point of filing this lawsuit was the ill-advised attempts by certain legislators to prevent the filing of certain lawsuits," Chambers said.

Polk said he would consider the issue and rule later.

Chambers acknowledges using wit and humor in the lawsuit he filed last September seeking a permanent injunction against God. Chambers said God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents in Omaha, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."

The court told Chambers last week that his lawsuit may be dismissed because he had failed to serve notice on God. Chambers acknowledged that failure in court Tuesday while sitting a few feet away from an empty table reserved for God and God's attorney.

"Despite my most sincere, zealous efforts, I could not find a location to serve the defendant," Chambers said.

But Chambers asked Polk to take official notice of God, and the Almighty's omniscience and omnipresence.

Chambers argued that courts and the U.S. government already routinely take notice of God. Courts swear in witnesses with an oath that includes the phrase "so help me God." Plus, the pledge of allegiance describes "one nation, under God," and U.S. currency proclaims "In God We Trust."

And the senator said that if the court recognizes God, the deity wouldn't need formal notice of the lawsuit because he knows everything. And God would be at every hearing because he's everywhere always.

A senator for 38 years, Chambers skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians. He is being pushed out of the Legislature by term limits.

Chambers said he appreciates the difficult position Judge Polk is in because of the unique nature of the case, but he hopes the lawsuit will be allowed to proceed.

"Your honor, I do not envy your position," Chambers said.

This Is A Great Article

Is Obama the New Coke?
By John Tantillo
Marketing and Brand Expert

Folks, first some history. In the early eighties, one of Jimmy Carter’s bright young political advisers, Pat Caddell, landed the plum marketing gig of guiding Coca Cola into the future–and he almost ran that venerable brand into the ground

I’m talking about the “New Coke” debacle. Threatened by Pepsi’s growing market share and driven by data that said that the consumer wanted sweeter drinks, Coca Cola scrapped its time-honored soda formula and introduced New Coke.

Presidents Reagan and Clinton both knew this about their Target Markets: the American people could be stretched, but in the end political marketing was the order of the day: Americans’ fundamental needs and beliefs cannot be forgotten.

The outrage was deafening. People couldn’t believe that their soda was being taken away from them. Coca Cola listened and New Coke is now just a distant memory.

How could all of the polls, surveys and consumer data have been wrong?

Well, they didn’t take into account what really mattered to the consumer: choice and continuity. One more thing –and it’s a biggie– Coke was thinking about cola drinkers not Coke drinkers. It forgot its target market.

So I ask, is President Obama the New Coke?

The electorate seemed to want change in 2008 and Obama seemed to represent the change they wanted. This change was about politicians moving beyond partisanship to get things moving again in Washington –it was not about big government solving everyone’s problems. It wasn’t a Democrat or a Republican that the electorate wanted. No, it was a person of change who would not put the same old practices into political play.

In the early eighties, the cola consumer seemed to want change too, but when they got change, they didn’t like what they got. The people drinking Pepsi didn’t start drinking New Coke. And Coke drinkers stopped drinking the New Coke. This is the worst possible marketing outcome for any product or political brand — you end up pleasing none of the people all of the time.

There are two basic scenarios for Brand Obama at this point.

One, the electorate thought they were getting one thing in Obama and instead got something very different. In other words, they wanted the change he said he would bring, but dislike the change he is actually bringing and actually believes in. In this scenario, Obama is what he is and simply won’t be able to adapt to what the Target Market demands –this spells a short stay — one term — in the White House.

Two, Obama is the change the electorate wants and he is capable of embodying this change. But the president has lost sight of his Target Market’s needs and is falling prey to inside-the-Beltway realities and left-leaning pieties and interest groups.

This is the New Coke scenario. Instead of subtly altering the ingredients of the product to adapt to changing tastes, you make a big product change, bring people’s attention to that change and alienate your Target Market. Go ahead and do that Mr. President –but only if you want to squander the marketing success that brought you to the show and got you elected president of the United States!

The problem for Brand Obama is that once you become the New Coke, it’s very hard to become “Classic Coke” again. Every compromise, every pork-filled, partisan program, every pro-big government, anti-free market message drives his brand farther and farther from the Target Market that elected him.

Presidents Reagan and Clinton both knew this about their Target Markets: the American people could be stretched, but in the end political marketing was the order of the day: Americans’ fundamental needs and beliefs cannot be forgotten.

Even though these men came from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, as a political marketer each president remained true to the fundamentals of the American electorate that has always believed in basic fair play, the power of individual freedom and the limited uses of government.

The first 100 days in office are tricky for all presidents. In this short testing period, Kennedy went a long way to losing the South to the Republicans for a quarter century.

But if Brand Obama doesn’t want to remain the New Coke, he must make some strong statements that drive home that he is not merely a more of the same liberal Democratic brand.

There are some signs of hope for his brand. This week even as he said he would sign the omnibus spending bill, he criticized the earmarks in it and promised that in the future this kind of pork would not stand. A veto, though nearly impossible, would have sent an even better message to his Target Market.

On Tuesday, he even implied that he’s going to take on the powerful teachers union to deliver on his promise of improving our education system. That’s big and if he actually does it we might just be spared another New Coke.

Stay tuned.

And remember, it’s always easier to understand politics when you keep marketing and branding in mind.

John Tantillo is a marketing and brand expert.

Movie Night with the Kids

We just got done watching an "old" movie. You know one of those from the eighties. . . from way back when. We watched Jewel of the Nile which is the sequel to Romancing the Stone. They star Michael Douglas and Katherine Turner. We watched the latter one last week with the kids and watched the sequal tonight. I remembered them both being pretty good movies but I was disappointed in the sequal. There wasn't much to it. I think the kids still enjoyed it okay--and maybe it's just me seeing it 20 years later having a different take on it. Luckily, we have Clearplay now which edits the language and nudity out because there was plenty of both--and it was PG back then. Wierd! Anyway, we still had a fun evening together. Our kids have a hard time believing they made any good movies before they hit their teenage years--so we are trying to show them it's not true!

What Grade Would You Give the President?

I was really surprised to see this poll on MSNBC. When I first saw it this morning his numbers were much lower in the A category--like 7%. It will be interesting to see what it is at the end. You should go vote. MSNBC.com

If you were grading Barack Obama on his performance as president, what would he get? * 302627 responses

He gets an A
40%

He gets a B
8.2%

He gets a C
3.9%

He gets a D
8.3%

He gets an F
40%

Not a scientific survey. Click to learn more. Results may not total 100% due to rounding.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye . . .

My dear friend Taylor was back in town today to close on her house and so of course we had to do the tearful goodbye scene all over again. Women! What are ya gonna do?! You can't live with 'em and ya just can't shoot 'em! Hey, did I say that?! Anyway, I spent the afternoon with her and the movers and then we did dinner and our goodbyes. We were truly pitiful! I hate it when good friends move far away. It just plain stinks!

Resume Burnout

It's almost midnight and I have been working on resumes and cover letters since about 1:00 pm for a couple of friends. Rob and I are volunteers to help with employment needs in our area and lately there has been a lot of need. Luckily the last few days we've received news of a whole bunch of job openings and thus, the rush for help with writing and updating resumes and writing cover letters. I don't mind admitting I am a little burned out today, though. Ugh.

Maybe a good night's sleep will put me back on track to my cheery volunteer state. That's probably all I need. Actually, I am really excited about all the job openings. We have so many people who have been laid off and are looking for work. So, Yay for jobs! Yay for work!

Let's go America. Let's get back on track!

Oh No. More Snow!

I couldn't believe it when I awoke today to more snow. Even so, it seemed rather mild, the kind that doesn't really stick. It kept coming down most of the day really lightly but just didn't stay too much on the ground. That is until about 20 minutes before Julie was supposed to come home from school. Then it started to come in heavy flakes and torrents and it stuck! And of course, I had just gotten Carly to sleep! So, up she came and we went to get big sister in the storm so she didn't have to walk home and become a giant, frozen snow monster! She appreciated it big time. It's bedtime now and I think we have about 4 inches on the ground and it's still snowing. I just keep wondering when we are going to be through with the snow. I guess I will just be grateful for the moisture no matter what form it comes in since droughts are everywhere these days!

Carly Doing Her Thang!

Here's a little capture (I'll stop short of calling it a video) of Carly doing a little dancing to us sort of humming the weight watcher's hungry commercial theme. It's one of her favorites and always gets her hips moving. Although, we are a bit annoying--it makes her happy. I don't know why my camera is short circuiting here and there. It may be that the battery needed charging. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it enough to watch. She's pretty cute!

TURNS OUT WATER IS WET

This is Julie, Carly and our niece and nephew Keelie and Kaden after the lesson.

Swim lessons went pretty well. Carly likes water and doesn't mind getting wet--that is unless she goes under the water which she did a couple of times by falling forward but she only got her face in a little bit. Then later in the lesson they had us blow in their faces so they would take a breath and then take them under and up real quick. She was NOT a fan of that! I don't think I will do it again if they ask us to. I will just let her decide when she wants to go under by herself.

Mostly the teacher had us let them get used to the water and play with some water toys for awhile. Then we started working with our kids on floating on their backs and stomachs. I think it is going to be a good class for her.

It's a pretty big pool so Julie had a hard time getting any decent pictures since we were out in the middle and she was back on the side.