Honestly, I was just tired of seeing Heather's old post from October 2012, so I figured I will just put up the most readily available picture I could find that was taken recently. So here it is! :)
Legoland, California - June 6, 2014
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Something Different
This post is going to stray a little from the norm. It isn't about our cute kids, or happenings around the Tang home. It is something that I cared little about until recently. It is about politics.
I'm not sure where to start. A lot has been swirling around in my head recently, especially with the elections just around the corner. Facebook "friends" ranting and raving about this side or the other has caused me to ask "why?". One recently wrote "People that would vote for Republican candidates are seriously unintelligent mindless cattle waiting to be slaughtered..."
I am naturally very conservative, in my dress, demeanor, decor, you name it. Does that make me mindless? Unable to think for myself? It got me thinking though. Why so much left vs right, democrat vs republican, liberal vs conservative? Shouldn't we all be on the same team? Aren't we all working towards a better America?
And then it got me thinking to how the Democrats almost have it right. Please correct me if I'm wrong. They seem to want to help the poor and needy. The problem is that they don't seem to want to put their OWN money where their mouth is. (Just google republican vs democrat charitable donations). If you want to help, get out there and help. Give locally, volunteer at a shelter or food bank. Don't just raise taxes and hope that a trickle of it will end up helping the truly needy. The government run welfare system is out of control. Don't get me wrong, it definitely is helpful. I have been on the receiving end. It just seems to me that it encourages dependence. Instead of a helping hand towards self-sufficiency, it makes it too easy to take the hand-out. When Jason was unemployed, he received unemployment insurance benefits. I have to admit, it was great. He got a paycheck every 2 weeks, and he never even had to leave the house. I had him home with me all day, and if we ever wanted to go anywhere, he wouldn't have to put in for vacation time, or worry about what needed to be done back at the office. Our kids were on Medi-Cal health insurance, and we received WIC. We didn't qualify for food stamps, however, because we have actually been somewhat monetarily responsible, so we had too many assets (car, and retirement accounts). Now had we been up to our elbows in debt, and not put a penny away for the future, then the government would have given us a few hundred dollars per month to spend on whatever "food items" we wanted (including fast food, candy, soda, just to name a few). I have never personally been given food stamps, but from everyone I have talked to that has, they give WAY more than you need. I've heard people say they have never eaten better than when they were on food stamps. How is this encouraging self sufficiency? How are people supposed to make a better life for themselves when the government-run programs make it so easy to just keep taking? And who is going to WANT to keep giving? It's going to end at some point, and these people who feel that they are entitled to all the hand outs aren't going to know what to do with themselves when they are taken away.
I'm still trying to figure out how wanting to let the market do its thing without the government bailing everyone out makes me mindless. How does wanting to protect my family and have a say in what my children are taught make me a cow? How does not wanting to pay for someone's abortion make me unintelligent? I don't understand. They say women's rights are being taken away if planned parenthood is defunded. I don't see it that way. No one is denying anyone access to the services planned parenthood provides. They are just changing who pays for them. Just for argument's sake, let's say I want some plastic surgery. Maybe a tummy tuck. Who doesn't want nice abs, right? I NEED a tummy tuck. If I don't get one then my self-esteem will diminish as will my mental health and quality of life. I am demanding that there be a program where free tummy tucks are provided for all. And by free, I mean payed for by hard-working American's tax dollars...just free to me. But what if you don't want to pay for my tummy tuck? You are taking away my rights to have one, because I couldn't possibly pay for it out of my own pocket. Sounds a little ridiculous, right?
Which leads me to my next point. Agency and accountability. And, just to warn you, I am about to get religious. Because all of us right-wingers are religious. Before we came to this earth, we fought a war in Heaven. Not a blood spilling war, but a war of words and ideas. There emerged two sides. Jesus Christ's side, and Lucifer's side. They both had the same end-goal, but two very different ways of getting there. With Lucifer's side, he proposed a way for us all to get back to Heaven after our trial here on Earth. He would FORCE us to make the right choices. There would be no sin, because we would be unable to make the choice to sin. We would have no agency. The other side of this was Jesus' way. He proposed a plan where we would be tempted and tested and we would have to CHOOSE to do good or not. We would get to exercise free will and make our own decisions and learn and grow and make mistakes. And at the end, after we have done all we could do to make the right choices, and repent from the bad ones we would inevitably make, He would make up the difference. The people who came to Earth are inherently good. By our very nature, when we are feeling forced or coerced to do something, there will be resistance. But, if given the chance, I believe that most people will help their fellow man. They will lift up the weak and down-trod, because it is the right thing to do, not because some government program makes them. Just look at the response from average Americans after a natural disaster, or for someone in need. When asked nicely, their generosity is astounding. Wouldn't you help a friend or neighbor or family member if he genuinely needed it? I think most would.
I'm not sure where to start. A lot has been swirling around in my head recently, especially with the elections just around the corner. Facebook "friends" ranting and raving about this side or the other has caused me to ask "why?". One recently wrote "People that would vote for Republican candidates are seriously unintelligent mindless cattle waiting to be slaughtered..."
I am naturally very conservative, in my dress, demeanor, decor, you name it. Does that make me mindless? Unable to think for myself? It got me thinking though. Why so much left vs right, democrat vs republican, liberal vs conservative? Shouldn't we all be on the same team? Aren't we all working towards a better America?
And then it got me thinking to how the Democrats almost have it right. Please correct me if I'm wrong. They seem to want to help the poor and needy. The problem is that they don't seem to want to put their OWN money where their mouth is. (Just google republican vs democrat charitable donations). If you want to help, get out there and help. Give locally, volunteer at a shelter or food bank. Don't just raise taxes and hope that a trickle of it will end up helping the truly needy. The government run welfare system is out of control. Don't get me wrong, it definitely is helpful. I have been on the receiving end. It just seems to me that it encourages dependence. Instead of a helping hand towards self-sufficiency, it makes it too easy to take the hand-out. When Jason was unemployed, he received unemployment insurance benefits. I have to admit, it was great. He got a paycheck every 2 weeks, and he never even had to leave the house. I had him home with me all day, and if we ever wanted to go anywhere, he wouldn't have to put in for vacation time, or worry about what needed to be done back at the office. Our kids were on Medi-Cal health insurance, and we received WIC. We didn't qualify for food stamps, however, because we have actually been somewhat monetarily responsible, so we had too many assets (car, and retirement accounts). Now had we been up to our elbows in debt, and not put a penny away for the future, then the government would have given us a few hundred dollars per month to spend on whatever "food items" we wanted (including fast food, candy, soda, just to name a few). I have never personally been given food stamps, but from everyone I have talked to that has, they give WAY more than you need. I've heard people say they have never eaten better than when they were on food stamps. How is this encouraging self sufficiency? How are people supposed to make a better life for themselves when the government-run programs make it so easy to just keep taking? And who is going to WANT to keep giving? It's going to end at some point, and these people who feel that they are entitled to all the hand outs aren't going to know what to do with themselves when they are taken away.
I'm still trying to figure out how wanting to let the market do its thing without the government bailing everyone out makes me mindless. How does wanting to protect my family and have a say in what my children are taught make me a cow? How does not wanting to pay for someone's abortion make me unintelligent? I don't understand. They say women's rights are being taken away if planned parenthood is defunded. I don't see it that way. No one is denying anyone access to the services planned parenthood provides. They are just changing who pays for them. Just for argument's sake, let's say I want some plastic surgery. Maybe a tummy tuck. Who doesn't want nice abs, right? I NEED a tummy tuck. If I don't get one then my self-esteem will diminish as will my mental health and quality of life. I am demanding that there be a program where free tummy tucks are provided for all. And by free, I mean payed for by hard-working American's tax dollars...just free to me. But what if you don't want to pay for my tummy tuck? You are taking away my rights to have one, because I couldn't possibly pay for it out of my own pocket. Sounds a little ridiculous, right?
Which leads me to my next point. Agency and accountability. And, just to warn you, I am about to get religious. Because all of us right-wingers are religious. Before we came to this earth, we fought a war in Heaven. Not a blood spilling war, but a war of words and ideas. There emerged two sides. Jesus Christ's side, and Lucifer's side. They both had the same end-goal, but two very different ways of getting there. With Lucifer's side, he proposed a way for us all to get back to Heaven after our trial here on Earth. He would FORCE us to make the right choices. There would be no sin, because we would be unable to make the choice to sin. We would have no agency. The other side of this was Jesus' way. He proposed a plan where we would be tempted and tested and we would have to CHOOSE to do good or not. We would get to exercise free will and make our own decisions and learn and grow and make mistakes. And at the end, after we have done all we could do to make the right choices, and repent from the bad ones we would inevitably make, He would make up the difference. The people who came to Earth are inherently good. By our very nature, when we are feeling forced or coerced to do something, there will be resistance. But, if given the chance, I believe that most people will help their fellow man. They will lift up the weak and down-trod, because it is the right thing to do, not because some government program makes them. Just look at the response from average Americans after a natural disaster, or for someone in need. When asked nicely, their generosity is astounding. Wouldn't you help a friend or neighbor or family member if he genuinely needed it? I think most would.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
The Story of the Gopher and the Beans
Here are Heather's beans.
Here is the gopher that lives next to Heather's beans.
One day two of Heather's bean plants were missing without a trace.
The next day they were all gone. Heather was not happy.
Heather put a bounty on the gopher's head.
Jason delivered.
This gopher won't mess with Heather's beans anymore.
Moral of the story: Don't mess with Heather's stuff. The end.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Here's to 2012!
This may be our one and only post of 2012, so here's a picture of the fam (sans Jason) on May 13, 2012 (Mother's Day).
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Oh baby baby...
Now that our newest addition is nearly 3 weeks old, I guess it's time to update this thing again.
On September 9, I went in for my 39 week check-up. I was really hoping that this baby's birthday would be 9-10-11. So we do the routine, do some membrane sweepage, told I'm dilated 1 cm, get an ultrasound to make sure my boy is big enough (this happens every pregnancy. Jason and I are small people. We aren't going to have monster-sized babies!), and then we walked the mall for 5 hours hoping to get things going. Nothing.
Friday, September 16. One day passed my due date. Still pregnant. Another check-up. Do the normal routine, some more sweepage, told I'm now 3 cm. Schedule an induction for Monday morning at 5 am. Bummed it's not going to happen on the weekend, but glad the end is in sight.
Monday, September 19. Call the hospital at 3:30am, told there is no room for me and they will call me when there is. We waited until 8 am, and decided to head down there to see if it would speed up the process if we were close by (the hospital is an hour away). Our proximity did not help. We did get to spend the day with some friends, so the day was not a total waste.
Tuesday and Wednesday. Still waiting for the hospital to call. Although we still called every few hours to see what our chances were. I think the staff was pretty tired of us. Finally on Wednesday afternoon that blessed phone call arrived. "be here at 7:30". Yay! I was starting to think it was never going to happen. I'm pretty sure my body doesn't know how to go into labor on its own. Besides, I really didn't want to make that drive in full-blown labor anyway.
We get to the hospital and the nurse took us right to our room. We were all checked in and the pitocin was hooked up by 9:30. I started having some mild contractions, and so we just hung out and watched some "Restaurant Impossible" and "Property Brothers" for the next few hours. Around 2:30 am, the anesthesiologist was out of surgery, so they offered the epidural. I still wasn't in much pain, but I didn't want to be, so I gladly accepted. Everything was in and working a little after 3, and I was still dilated only 3cm, so I went to sleep. About 6:30 my nurse came in to see if I was feeling any pressure "down there" because the baby was acting like something was going on. I was, sort of, so she checked. He was right there! The doctor came in a few minutes later, got all set up, and this kid was out within 10 minutes. A vacuum was used though because his heart rate was dropping and staying low, so she had to get him out fast. His cord was wrapped super tight around his little neck, so Jason was off cord-cutting duty (much to his relief. He hasn't cut any. Too squeamish).
We just got to the hospital. This is the one and only belly shot taken this whole pregnancy. Yep. Looks ready to pop. 40 weeks, 6 days.
Here he is!
Tyson Marshall Tang
6 pounds 12 ounces
19 1/2 inches
September 22, 2011
6:54 am
Tyson and Daddy
Family photo. I still can't believe we have 3!
Big sister. She can't get enough!
Proud big brother.
We sure love this sweet little guy!
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Stems
So, for those of you that don't know, or who don't look at all of Jason's facebook status updates, we are in fact having another boy. Jason "put the stem on the apple", as he puts it, for a second time. We found out the end of April, and have just been major blog slackers. I like this picture because he has his feet up and his arms behind his head real chill like. Hopefully that means he will be calm (yeah right!) Now we just have to solidify the manly man's name!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Wish Granted
Ever since Jax was born, Heather and I made a pact that she would make the decisions for Ashlyn's hair and I would make the decisions for Jaxon's hair. I think she regretted that when I began refusing to cut his hair. However, today Heather got her wish, but she can thank Jax for it. He finally told me multiple times he wanted his hair cut, so I finally gave in.
Ash and Jax right after church and eating a ring pop for lunch?
(Heather's doing, not mine...)
After dinner it was to the powder room to start snipping
Jax was actually saying he didn't want his picture taken after the hair cut, but as it turns out he looks like he's posing... what a poser... haha!
He likes his new doo!... so does Ash and of course Mom!
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