Our house drawn by my 5 year old son. With three kids, it is just too much to save all their artwork.  I have them choose a couple at a time to display.  The rest are scanned in to the computer & the hard copies are discarded.

Sorry, I haven't been blogging lately.  I've been busy herding my clean up robots.  Here's wishing you all a lovely holiday and Happy 2011!

We finally got my oldest son's new birth certificate yesterday.  Now we can apply for passports and go see family in the US that have not met my 3 new kids yet.  I'd love to take the kids to see my folks and the brand new house they built themselves in Hawaii. And visit family in Idaho and Montana.  Plus I've been looking so forward to taking the kids on their first big airplane ride.  But all this TSA media coverage and the new body scanners are starting to put a sour taste in my mouth about the idea of flying.  I know that the power-tripping, intolerance and abuse by airport security isn't exactly new.  Three years ago, RCMP officers tasered a Polish man to death in a Vancouver airport. 

A few years back, in Boise Idaho, I was at the courthouse and my belt with its cute metal grommets set off the walk-through metal detector.  I took it off, but then they got out the metal wand and the underwire on my bra set that off.  They called over a female guard to ask me to remove my bra.  Then in view of everyone, I had to reach into my shirt and remove my bra and put it in the grey tub with my belt and purse.  But no one touched me.  There was no pat down even though I was more than a little vocally perturbed and a little slow to comply with a lot of "What? Seriously, you've got to be kidding" kinds of comments.  What would happen in today's security guard culture?

Recently, I had to put my mother-in-law on the greyhound bus here in Edmonton.  As I stood in line with her to board the bus, security systematically looked through everyone's carry-ons and asked them to empty their pockets into a grey tub just like they do at the airport.  The only difference? No xray machine to put those grey buckets through and no walk-through metal detectors or body scanners.  The security guard asked to smell a guys breath, but I didn't see any pat-downs.  After the beheading of a man on a greyhound bus last year, I can certainly understand why security has tightened up on such a personal level.

Now, the TSA methods are starting to be considered for other transportation methods like trains, boats and mass transit.  And body scanners are actually used in some court houses despite the daily dose of radiation this is giving people.  Should a mother be concerned about traveling with 3 little ones?  Are you concerned about the new security procedures?

I asked the I Ching Oracle:
Should I reply to my mother-in-law's passive/aggressive email or wait to discuss with hubby when he gets back from his business trip?

(present) 32. Heng - Constancy, Perserverance Continue to the end because luck comes to the enduring who have faith in themselves.

(future) 40. Hsieh - Release of Tension Danger subsides, and you are free from obstructions. You will feel liberated.

What does the Oracle hold for you? http://luckyhonu.com/

Seeking advice: Do you have a "difficult" relative you are trying to love but not enable? I'd like to hear how you handle it. Thanks.

Joan of Arc and her knights report they have successfully slain the dragon, although one knight was terribly wounded and nearly lost an arm.

My oldest broke his arm falling out of playground equipment at the kindergarten parent meetup last night. He took a flying leap from the 7 foot high platform onto the fire fighter pole but did not get a good grasp and fell straight down onto sand. He broke both his radius and ulna bones in his left forearm. The cast is up over his elbow. And the bones didn't set that well, we'll followup next week with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.

However, in the magical mind of childhood, the play must go on. So today, he is my wounded knight in shining armor, even if he doesn't feel like running around much, he still wants to pretend.