Riding the DART rail to the Dallas Zoo
What a gorgeous day!!! It was in the 70's today. Perfect day to see the aMiNals (Jaden's word for animals). Since I couldn't get LeCount to go with us, I could only take Jaden. Morgan has enjoyed the pictures and videos of the animals, though. Sorry for the short blog. I wanted ya'll to see the pictures. I am not too much in the blogging mood today. I am stressed to the max, and am not really in the mood for much. I always try to keep my blogs light and on a happy beat, but I am all happied out right now. LeCount gets his last unemployment check this week, and my last one will be 3 weeks from now. I am beside myself with worry. We have put in for 100's of jobs, and gone on interviews, but their is so much competition right now. LeCount even started looking at temporary jobs, but we still have nothing, so far. All we can do is keep plugging along, and praying.
From the South Bend Tribune:
Analysis: Can extended jobless benefits help to cure ailing economy?Michigan's high unemployment would make it eligible under proposalBy JESSE J. HOLLANDAssociated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — For a bipartisan majority of senators, providing three months or six months of extra unemployment checks to more than 1 million jobless people is a better way to dig the economy out of a recession than just printing tax rebate checks. Some economists agree, and undoubtedly, so do the nearly 1.3 million unemployed workers who face losing an average $282 a week in benefits before June.But there is strong opposition leading up to a Senate vote in the week ahead on whether to add an extension of jobless benefits to a $161 billion House-passed combination of tax rebates and business tax cuts.
Consider Deborah El, a 64-year-old diabetic who lives in Pittsburgh. She will exhaust her 26 weeks of regular benefits this month after being laid off from her job as a program coordinator at a nonprofit literacy agency.El is taking care of her 26-year-old disabled daughter, Orissa, while also looking for a job and trying to find a new place to live."I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm really scared," she said. "I've never been like this before. I've always been employed, I've always worked. I went back to school a few years ago and got a master's degree, but it doesn't mean anything."As the economy has slowed, more people have signed up for jobless benefits. The situation can only get worse given the report last week that employers payrolls by 17,000 in January — a job loss not seen since the tail of the last recession in 2003.The unemployment rate also is on a generally upward trend. It jumped to 5 percent in December, the highest since right after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, then dipped to 4.9 percent in January.Last week, the number of laid off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits soared by 69,000 to 375,000. It was the most new claims in one week since October 2005, when Hurricane Katrina and the other Gulf Coast storms disrupted the economy.The National Employment Law Project estimates that 1.28 million people now collecting unemployment checks will be unable to find a job in the next six months and thus lose that help.The plan before the 100-member Senate will need 60 votes to prevail. It would cost $14 billion and extend unemployment payments for 13 weeks nationwide to people whose 26 weeks of regular benefits have run out.People without jobs in states where the unemployment rate has averaged 6.5 percent or more for three months could qualify for an additional 13 weeks of benefits, or 52 weeks altogether. Only Michigan would qualify for the extra 13-week extended benefits now; more states could join it if the job market continues to worsen."Every economist will tell you that stimulus spending will get into the economy much quicker than a tax rebate," says Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy, estimates that every dollar spent on extending jobless benefits will generate $1.64 in new economic activity. Income tax rebates, he said, generate $1.26 of economic activity for every dollar they cost the Treasury."It is hard to think of a group of Americans who are more likely to spend the marginal dollar than families that have been forced by job loss to scale back their normal standards of living," said Alan S. Blinder, a Princeton University economics and public affairs professor.Zandi said rebates have the added advantage of helping fight off a loss in consumer confidence."Nothing is more psychologically debilitating, even to those still employed, than watching unemployed friends and relatives lose benefits," Zandi said.House Democrats, in their negotiations with Republicans and the White House, sacrificed extended unemployment benefits in a deal to let millions of people who do not pay income taxes but earn at least $3,000 a year share in the rebates.Many conservatives and Republicans view jobless benefits as a drain on the economy rather than a potential boost to it. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said extending jobless benefits may keep people from working."Most people find a job in the last two weeks of their unemployment," Gregg said. "That's human nature. They stay on unemployment almost until the end and then they find a job. If you extend it another year, those folks who could be productive, producing a job, creating economic activity by having a job will stay on unemployment even though there may be a job out there that they could take."Unemployment insurance is a joint program between states and the federal government that is almost completely funded by employer taxes, either state or federal. Only three states — Alaska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — collect taxes from workers for their unemployment benefit programs.Currently, people who are out of work generally through no fault of their own can collect up to 26 weeks of state aid in most states, with an additional 13 weeks available in states that have high unemployment rates.The Labor Department estimates that 7.5 million people got about $32.2 billion in unemployment benefits between October 2006 and September 2007.The average weekly benefit is $282; Hawaii has the highest state average, $384.16, and Mississippi the lowest, $176.05, according to the most recent Labor Department data.Congress has extended the benefits before during periods that turned out to be recessions: twice in the 1970s, again in the early 1980s and 1990s and most recently from March 2002 through December 2003.
I know it seems unbelieveable, but we really got a puppy. We picked him up from the animal shelter this afternoon. They think he is about 10 weeks old. They said that even though they think he is a german shepherd mix, he will not be a large dog. He will probably be about 40 pounds or so. Jaden was trying to decide between the names Scamp and Sparky (she got those names from Lady and the Tramp II). I prefer the name Scamp, but she really wants the name Sparky, so I guess that is what it will be. His ears are the cutest feature about him, I think. Now, we are trying to set up the invisible fence so that he won't get away from us. For now, he is staying in the bathroom until we can get it set up. Hopefully, tonight he will be able to go outside.
Here is what the front of my hair looks like.
Morgan at almost 3 months old
Jaden at the same age
Rebekah and Jaden before getting their hair done
Rebekah getting braids put in
I thought a phone conversation with Daddy would calm
Jaden just got her hair flat-ironed.
This is my "do". I got mocha brown low
These are pictures from when we visited the grandparents in the southern part of the state. The bottom two pictures are at Grandma Alice and Grandpa Bonnie's house. They watched the girls while LeCount and I did two mystery shops. When we got back to their house, both of the girls were down for their naps. The stack of blankets that Morgan is standing on was her bed, and Jaden was asleep on the couch (as you can see). They had so much fun. They ate a lot of food and drank kool-aid. We don't give them Kool-aid at home because I am afraid of the stains, but it was funny to see Jaden's Kool-aid moustache. That is what the top picture is a picture of. 
After so much job hunting, I thought I had found the perfect job at the Public Library (part-time). I found out yesterday that they chose someone else. Today I had another interview, and this time I was offered a job working at home for 1800 flowers. I guess I should be happy, but I am disappointed. The job is part-time seasonal. I will train for 10 days (4 hours a day), and then, work February 10th-18th (8 hour shifts). That will be the end of it. They said that there is a possibility that I may be chosen for the same schedule around Mother's Day, but it is not guaranteed. The next is a big "if"- If I am chosen to stay on with them (they told me that they are already fully staffed right now, but maybe in the future), I would get 6 to 10 hours a week. Ouch!!! So, that is what I have going on right now.
On Thursday night, we watched Tyler Perry's play "I Can Do Bad All By Myself". At the end of the play, all of the characters get together to sign a gospel song. Morgan was dancing like crazy, so I ran to get my camera. By the time I turned the camera on, Jaden was doing most of the dancing. I don't know where they got their moves from. Hahahahahaha!!!
We went to see LeCount's half of the family this week. We had a great time. We just got back a few minutes ago, and of course, it is crazy in here- 5 loads of laundry to do, unpacking, shopping, etc. I am just going to have to upload the pictures and videos a little at a time, as I get time. This was a very funny video (in my opinion), so I thought I would share this first. Grandma Frances was having a nice cold drink, and Morgan wanted some- and then, wanted more and more... Enjoy!
Well, it isn't officially Morgan's birthday yet, since she won't be one until Tuesday. We had fun celebrating her day, anyway. You can see the contact dermatitis on her face that I talked about in the earlier post. I hate that her birthday pictures have to show her red cheeks, poor baby. We are going to wait until it clears up before we get the professional ones taken. 
15 minutes before the party was scheduled to begin, Jaden decided to make herself beautiful. Luckily, she picked the regular mascara, and not the waterproof one that was right next to it!!