June is Bustin' Out All Over...

Carl broke his arm, Suresh broke his, Carl's cousin Jack broke his foot, and Dee injured her arm and we thought it was broke. Since the last post, Carl's arm has healed up nicely, and he is already done with casts.

Our friends Mike and Molly came down to play some D&D, which we did, and geeked out all weekend last weekend.



Also, I have been working Facebook to get a Stonington Class Reunion going, and last weekend, I met with about a third of my old class to discuss our options for a reunion. It was great to see everyone again.



Maggie got to go to her Futskils soccer camp, and she loved it. She was scheduled to go with Katie, but she was sick the day of the event.

Lastly, if you didn't hear, the state of Illinois is holding Lara and thousands of other families hostage again, by playing games with the state budget. We are probably the only state in the Union who is telling our legislature that it would be okay to tax us more to fill a budget hole, and they are not doing it.

An 11th Hour Reprieve?

It appears, through no small miracle, that Lara's job will not be cut. Over the last few days, contentious street demonstrations in Chicago, lawsuits from the ACLU, and general up in arms-ness from child advocates made it clear that there are lots of places that the state budget can be cut, but child and family services can't be one of them.

So, for the time being, it looks as though we get to have our cake and eat it, too. Actually, the no cake diet we have been on for the last few months has been a blessing in disguise. Never has it been more apparent to us that most things we come to expect in our lives ain't worth the money we spend. So, we have learned to live a little leaner, and will try to keep our excesses from getting the better of us.

Here's to all our friends and family, many of whom made it clear to us their willingness to help if we needed it. Thanks!

Lara Turns...OLD!!!

For awhile, these posts will be out of order, chronologically, until I get some of the recent events put up on the blog. Lala's birthday was a small affair this year. I rarely get to take pictures of her, however, in the last month or two, she has relented, and I've been able to take some photos.

Get your violins out, I might as well say it now, our family has some tough times ahead of it. Unless our governor gets his head out from inside his own ass where it has been planted for some time, it is possible (read as looming large like a mushroom cloud on our horizon) that she will be laid off. It is possible that she will not only lose her job, but that her position, among many others around the state, will be eliminated(that is, no job to come back to even if she were laid off). This has generally put a damper on things like birthdays and such, and has added so much stress to her already stressful life (she puts up with me), that I really stand in awe of her composure. I mean, I am composed in this situation, but that is only because I choose to ignore the dire consequences which might face us. She is staring them straight in the face and still is hanging in there.

So, here was Lara's understated, but love and happiness filled, birthday, on October 1st: