My Home Security Service

So this afternoon I answer the phone thinking it's Michaela or Stephanie wanting to talk more politics... but it was..well....I'll just replay for you:

caller.."Hi, Mrs. Strang I'm with ADT Home Security and I have a great offer for you. It's.."

me: "Hey, sorry...I'm not interested in learning more about your products until after the election."

caller: "Excuse me?"

me: "Well, if Obama wins, I won't be able to buy anything from you because he's going to take all my money for his government programs. He's going to be taxing all of us..."

caller:.."(laughing)..oh, I understand but what I was going to tell you is that hook-up and installation are free and..."

me.. : "OK, but I'm still going to have to pay a monthly fee for your service and I just don't know if I'll have 'extra' money left over to invest in your company."

caller: (laughing again) OK but having a home protection service is very valuable..."

me.. : "Well, if Obama wins...I'll have to stick with using my husband's hunting rifle as our home protection service."

caller: (laughing) OK maam I get it. Thank you.

New Dietrich Baby

We welcomed a new addition to the family on Monday, October 20th. Lydia Lee was born weighing 7lbs 8 oz. Madeline is so excited and has been a great help being a little mommy. It has taken Toby a few days to warm up to her though. He is not really interested in her and would rather "roar" at her than hold her. Although yesterday when no one was looking I saw him try to read his Dinosaur book to her, which was very cute....

I thought this being my third baby I knew what to expect from labor. But delivering at a military hospital was a bit different than my experience at Mercy in Iowa City.When I got to the hospital I was obviously in labor so you would think I would get to see a doctor right away, right? Nope they were full - no room for me. I thought I was having a baby not trying to check into a hotel. Well they told me I could wait until they had room but not sure how long it would take. Umm o-kay. Well this waiting went on a tad longer than I thought neccessary, so I stood in front of the nurses station. I thought maybe they didn't believe that I was actually in pain or thought I could deliver this baby myself. So after standing in front of the nurses station having contractions and not getting anyone to notice, I took it upon myself to make it crystal clear to the male nurse that the big bump in front of me was really a baby and it was going to drop out soon. Well wouldn't you know it a bed was cleared. Great! I get hooked up to the monitor and everything looks good. Until Matt says, "Uh Michaela, your contractions on the screen don't look that bad, I hope you are at least dilated because I have "surgeries" tomorrow and need some sleep" Oh Matt you never cease to amaze me. I laugh at him and say "surgeries" Matt, really. What, do you have to fill a cavity or something"? Matt, "No Michaela I'm serious I have to take out wisdom teeth". Oh, Okay Matt - as I'm lying on the bed I'm thinking, too bad I can't hook Matt up to a machine.....

Well lucky for Matt they did admit me after some time and everything went fine. Although I did get kicked out of the hospital the day after I had Lydia because they were out of beds and had too many pregnant ladies needing a room........ But all is well and I was happy to get back home. Matt was great about making supper and taking care of the kids. I only had to remind him once that I had given birth the day before. It was the kids' bedtime and I asked Matt if he could put them to bed. "Can you Michaela? My foot really hurts from playing basketball on Friday"? Laughing I say "Really Matt? Are you sure you want to say that to me"?? Needless to say he put the kids to bed that night with a really "sore" ankle. I'm looking into getting that machine permanently installed in our house......

Shoot The Deer!

So, last Saturday evening...we are driving back from Cascade to the farm and Lee & I are saying to each other how great it is that our van is still running so well. Has close to 130,000 miles and yet no problems. It has been paid off for 4 years and our insurance on it was a meager $25/month. We were boastfully saying how lucky we were that we've never gotten into an accident, especially a deer since Mom had just run into a deer the day before on her way to Anamosa. But, not us.

Lee reminded me how his expert driving skills & near-perfect driving record were, for the most part, the main reasons why the van had survived this long! Plus, while I may have asked several times if we could get a new fancier model...like say the Dietrich's and their foreign luxury van. Lee always politely reminded me that none of his hard-working money would ever go to some foreign, sissy country. Plus, the van worked fine and was paid off. We would keep it until it died.

Well, on Sunday morning..Oct. 19th around 8:30am just west of Wyoming, Iowa....Lee was driving--thank goodness, or this whole mess may have been a bit blamed on my driving skills?!?!--anyway, a big Buck deer jumped out of the ditch on the left-side of the road and ran right into our van! Stupid animal! We were all fine. But the van is a mess.

After getting out and surveying the damage...Lee gets back in and says..."Darn it. We were just saying last night how great it is that our van still works!" I said, "Yeah, too bad. Can we get a Suburban?" He said Yes!!!! Soooo, the entire ride home I'm super excited about getting a big SUV and pissing some liberals off! I want to get an awesome bumper sticker like...."My SUV & I Love Warm Temps!" Do you get it? Help me here..I need something funny about global warming. This is actually just as important as finding the right SUV!?!

So, we get about 2 miles from our house and Lee says...."You know. The van is still drivable. Don't roll down the driver window, and don't drive in the rain because there are wires showing, and don't open the driver door too much. But, we could just drive it around like this until next summer and look for a SUV then." What did this remind me of??? How about every Saturday morning when Mom promised to take me shopping, but at the last minute said she had book work to do. Or we would go to CR and she'd drive to the fabric store saying she could sew me an outfit cheaper than buying one at the mall.

So, I told him I felt like trailer trash driving it around and I wanted a new SUV. He's in no hurry to go car shopping, but does agree that the end of the year is always a good time to buy a vehicle. It will be used, of course, but I'm excited to go looking!! The 2nd photo is off the deer Poop on the door! Notice how we can't wash off all the dirt from the gravel roads in Iowa! I don't even care--the dirt kind of hides the smashed in areas! God Bless & Safe Driving!!

Catholic Pumpkin Farm

A few weeks ago we went to an awesome Pumpkin Farm. It is run by a Catholic Deacon and his family. We went on a hay ride, picked pumpkins, went through a hay maze, corn maze, pumpkin train, ate pumpkin doughnuts, drank cider and went to Sunday evening mass there! At mass there were 3 priests and the deacon. There is an outdoor alter with huge statues of Jesus & Mary and a Grotto area. After mass, we had a picnic of hotdogs, chips, brownies! The farm is close by, so we plan on going again!

Sarah Palin

I had to write a quick blurb about how excited Elizabeth and I are about McCain's VP choice. The Friday of her announcement I was working out at the gym and watching Fox news when the anchor said there was talk about Gov. Palin being named the VP. I was excited, but didn't want to get my hopes up knowing McCain's reputation. I knew about Gov. Palin through listening to talk radio, specifically Glenn Beck who has had her on his show on several occasions. I also remember getting an email from the Catholic New Service back in May after she gave birth to Trig about how extraordinary this Governor is.

Therefore, I was very excited to hear she was a possibility. When it was confirmed Elizabeth called and said she could cry she was so happy. I was nervous for her speech after the media assault on her. The pressure on this woman to perform succesfully was enormous. But she came out punching and with a smile. She was wonderful and such an inspiration! I felt proud to be a wife, mother, and woman while listening to this American woman speak. Her speech was brillant and I have a feeling will be remembered for a long time. She is definately a formidable candidate and I am very excited to watch her debate Joe Biden.

We will now be sporting a McCain/Palin bumper sticker and yard sign proudly!!! One of many good articles about Gov. Palin http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTExYmYyYmQwMjFhNzU1YTE1MmQ3N2E1MmQ1OTI2OTI=

Texas

Well the Dietrich family have been official Texas residents for over three weeks now. We have already seen the nice benefit of getting to keep more of our own money. There is no state income tax here, which is something unusual for us since we have been Iowa residents our whole lives. The kids love the new house and more space. They also enjoy having cows, or more specifically longhorn cattle, almost in our backyard. The town we live in was once only about 3,000 people or so. But has grown significantly, due to housing developments sprouting up all over the place. I think the official population is something like 15 or 20 thousand now. But it is all housing developments sprinkled throughout cattle pastures. So we feel like we live in the country.

We've noticed a few things unique to Texas so far. It is very true that Texans love being Texans. They definitely take pride in their state, which is evident wherever you go. I can't go to the bathroom in a gas station without being reminded that I'm in Texas. They have pictures of their state everywhere down here. Along with sayings like "God Bless Texas", "Don't Mess with Texas", "Never Surrender", and "Freedom Don't Come Free".

We have also noticed almost every other car on the road is a truck, SUV, or Hummer. I didn't think people still bought Hummers, but apparently there are thriving Hummer dealerships down here. Cowboy hats are everywhere as well as signs for rodeos, bull riding, and BBQ's. The Texas twang is rich here and people are almost as friendly as Iowans! We have also noticed a growing dislike for Obama down here. We have a NOOBAMA bumper sticker on our van and have gotten honks with thumbs up from people passing us by. A few days ago after exiting the interstate a guy honked at me and signed to roll down my window. I was a little taken aback, but I smiled and rolled down my window. He smiled at me and said "I got to get one of those No Obama bumper stickers. Where can I find one?" Hopefully this is happening in more states than Texas, but I have definitely seen a lot of Stop Obama bumper stickers down here.

We are headed for a dude ranch and the cowboy capital of the world this weekend. I'm really excited for this even though I won't be able to ride a horse, but the bed and breakfast type ranch we are staying at is promising a huge cowboy breakfast in the morning.

The pictures above are of Dad and Madeline at the Enchanted Springs Ranch near San Antonio. George Strait films a lot of music videos there. A great movie was even shot there that Dad and Mom love! The other photo is of Madeline in her gymnastics outfit as today was her first day of gymnastics class. She had a lot of fun, but got two stamps on her hand instead of one (one stamp is good, two not good) because she wanted to jump off the vault too many times. Got to work on the listening concept a little more with her.

That's all for now!

1st Day of School at St. Joe's

Getting dressed in the morning is great!! Lee also started his 1st day as a professor at U of Toledo law school.