Front Page News !!?!!!!!

The Day before Thanksgiving is one of the biggest days for papers.  It is our little towns biggest paper of the year.  Stuffed full of adds for black Friday and many extras.  The paper was doing an insert for Thanksgiving about traditions.  I had talked to them about our family and our thanksgiving tree and something special I was planning on doing with the tree for my family.  They loved the story and said they would include it in there.  I thought how cool and was waiting for Wednesday to get here so I could go buy it.  I did not tell my kids they would be in the paper I wanted to surprise them.

I had to work that day and the paper comes out after I go to work so I could not pick it up.  Before noon I was walking around town and purposely walked by street news stands and they were all sold out, everyone of them.  I was dishearten.  I thought I would not get a paper and be able to save it for my kids.  The article was online but.. I wanted the newsprint.

After work I stopped by a gas station to get a drink and hopefully find a paper.  How could a whole town be sold out.  I walked in and went to the paper stand and my jaw dropped.  I froze.  It was like I was hit with a stick of disbelief.  There it was the paper and there on the FRONT page was our article!



OMGoodness!!  2 of my handsome boys were on the cover of the biggest paper of the year.  My shock turned into a smile.  A big smile I could not wipe off my face.



And then there is the article.  My secret.  It was not only in the paper but on the cover.  Needless to say my phone and facebook lit up.  Take a moment read the article.



 When does a normal mother having a baby make front page news?  When you live in a small town and not much else is happening.  And 5 babies out here is not news either.  I live in Amish/ Mennonite/ Kate +8 country big families are the norm and mine is still not considered big with 5 little ones.  Front page worthy or not it was so exciting to see the article there. 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 we are so happy to have another baby.  And for my 2 big celebrity boys, yea they think they are all that now, super stars.

Cockroach

My son is in to trying new foods and I couldn't be happier.  Tonight I made spaghetti for the kids and I was going to eat pot roast.  He told me he wanted to try my "cot roats".  My son has a very difficult speech problem we have been working on it for years.  And pot roast he just can't get out.  Every time he kept talking about  my "cot roats" It sounded like he was saying cockroach.  Gross!  Especially at dinner time.

Questions for other bloggers????

This will be boring to the rest of the world but if you too blog and have a moment please read on.  I have a few question about blogging I was wondering if I can get some help with.

1. Are any of you having trouble with photobucket?  It is so sensitive for me drives me nuts drove me to picsa. And thankfully so.  I do love picasa it is so easy.

2. Except, Are any of you having trouble with picasa?  Where I used to be able to grab the links for photos is gone.  It is now replaced by a mapping location I could care less about.

3. I used to be able to make colleges in both and no longer can in either on any of my computers.  And I bought the premium subscription to picasa.

4. How do you get rid of blogs you no longer want to follow?  I have stopped following them but they still show up in my feed.

5. What do you do to manage all the "coupon/saver/shopping" blogs?  I belong to just a few but they post so frequently that they are often the ONLY ones I see in my feed.  I miss the blogs I really want to read.  I do like these sites as they have saved/cost me much money.

6. Is there a way to put them into a certain category?  And the ones I like in another?

So if you have time and know an answer or two that would be great.  I will thank you now because it is likely I will miss your next post :( but on the cup is half full side I probably just got someone something awesome at a great deal!

Anyways stay tuned once I get the picture stuff figured out because I got some great pictures and stories to share of our Thanksgiving break, and we still have 2 days left!  Wahooo!!!  Love the family time.

Happy Thanksgiving

May everyone have a wonderful and easy day.

Another one that made me chuckle especially because of my work.

still swinging

Someday we have an Indian summer, even though it is November. If it is hot or cold we are still outside and these two still love swinging.

SMILEY!!!

The happiest Ma mum.

FAITH!!!!

Look at those two teeth.

Surprise Self Portraits

Isn't it so much fun to find surprise shots in your camera?  I find them quite often actually.  And I just love them.  This one was not to bad.  He 8 year old got him, his sister and a brother all in the arms reach shot.  I just love my little guy so much and love his surprises.

Childrens Identy Theft

I never thought that was anything to worry about.  As a matter of fact I never thought about it.  I often see the commercials on TV about protecting your identity and the programs they have to help.  Well those programs are just junk.  They can not guarantee your identity will not be stolen they will do the paperwork and leg work for you once it is.

On many blogs, and other social media outlets many people use pet names for their family members to protect them.  Some other have no pictures of there kids on facebook.  People do all different types of things to hide and protect their families identity.  I am not so private.  I have tons of pictures of my kids on my blog and facebook.  I give lots of information about them.  I rejoice in them and can't keep it in.  Maybe I should.

A few months ago one of my  kids started receiving publishers clearing house stuff.  He thought it was cool because his name was all over it.  And month after month they kept coming.  We laughed it off thinking haha what if he really one (does anyone ever really win those?)  What if it was thousands of week for life and they just named a 6 year old there winner.  He would be set.  But other pieces of junk mail kept coming.  Yesterday yet another pieces asking for money for a reputable charity.

I just threw it to the side thinking just another thing.  But my husband chimed in and said I wonder if someone might have stole his identity.  And then all the pieces started whirling through my mind.  Why is this only happening to 1 of my kids?  Why is a 6 year old receiving all these offers, continually.  He is to young to and has never entered his name on any soliciting list.  Any online game he plays is registered to me.  How could I ignore months of this and think nothing of it but as awe look honey you got mail.



We quickly looked at the credit reporting sites.  But found out you can not access a child's credit 13 and under online ever.  You can get YOUR child's credit 14 and older.  Now this does not mean you can not get your very minor child's credit.  Especially if you think there is reason to believe of misdoing.  You have to write to all three credit reporting agencies.  Two of them have online forms you can fill out and 1 you can only send a letter by mail.  They wont give you an answer at the site they email it to you or mail it to you.  So it takes a little time.

I started filling out forms and writing letters.  But my impatient self was still not at rest.  And I wondered if there might have been other ways to find out.  So I called our bank.  My son has a savings account and a CD.there so they have all his information, they know I am his mother, and they can tell me if someone has been accessing his account, and maybe be able to get me the credit report faster.

Well they too could not access his credit.  They had no reason to run his credit and identity theft does not permit the bank to access it.  But they said there has been nothing done to his accounts and as soon as someone would try they would stop it because of his age.  But they put a caution on it and said I am taking all the right steps.

Well the good news is I have heard back from 1 agency and they say there is nothing to alert them to theft.  Some how it seems as his name got on a junk mail list, maybe through a magazine?  He does get a LEGO one.  However this whole ordeal is making me step back and think.  Maybe I should not be so open.  I would hate to think of  someone ever ruining his dreams for him.  You need good credit to get through life.  For college, cars and a home, I can't imagine someone spoiling all of that for him.  Something scary did not happen but reminds you it is all to real and could.