Ahhh….how things have changed in our nation’s capitol. How sweet and magnifique for some. How dark and depressing for others. But wait – not so fast…not so dark and depressing for all.

C’est vrai. Tonight is the State of the Union. Kitty-time will likely cozy up on the couch and check up on the DVR’d shows. I hear this afternoon’s Oprah will feature the Stay-At-Home Mom’s vs. the Working Mom’s…..how positive and helpful of you, Oprah. I’ll be sure to tune in later.

But back to the highs and lows…..the sweet and the bitter……

New Washington Post/ABC poll numbers show the president’s approval rating is at an all time low. How wonderful. How wonderful that my fellow Americans are FINALLY PAYING ATTENTION.

Mon Dieu. It’s only taken SIX LONG AND MISERABLE YEARS.

The best part is that 71% of the country believes the President is seriously on the wrong track. Not just “off track” but “seriously” off track. That is fantastic.

Even the most brilliant of conservative republican “historians” can’t rewrite the ending to this president’s history. Mais non. It’s low and miserable and just plain terrible. He is probably the worst President, tied with Nixon, if not even worse, and there’s no rewriting this one, suckers.

And yet. Somehow. He’s still not paying attention. Somehow, it’s still not miserable and bitter for him.

The President will address an unfriendly Congress tonight.

So hopefully, when he stops awkwardly and pauses during his speech, waiting for the hootin‘ and hollerin‘ he’s used to hearing whenever he speaks, this time, he will be faced with a bone chilling silence. Just when we think the man can’t possibly prove that he listens to no one and does what he wants on his own terms – he goes and calls for an increase in the level of troops in Iraq.

Buddy. Dear, evil, hideous President. Come hither. Kitty-time is not afraid to speak freely to you. 65% of the public OPPOSE your plan to increase troops in Iraq.

It’s true, we know math isn’t your strong suit. You are in good company. Math is not kitty-time’s strength either. It can be fuzzy and confusing to many of us, c’est vrai. And yet, 65% is GREATER than 50%, which is half. In other words, more than half the country OPPOSES your plan. In fact, almost two-thirds of the country ARE AGAINST YOUR PLAN.

And making things worse, the people you will be addressing tonight. The men and women in the House and Senate. Yes, them. The MAJORITY of them (that means 50% or greater) – the majority of them represent the brilliant democratic voters who put them in power.

In other words, you’re about as lucky as a pimply dorky teen on prom night, my friend.

Ain’t gonna happen. No one believes you or likes your plan.

Kitty-time, she is not your friend, Monsieur Bush, but she speaks the truth.

And so, dear readers, if you really want to watch this man, with his deer in the headlights expression, address the nation and discuss a plan that no one likes…and just further lowers his approval ratings, tune in tonight.

In other assorted news, a new political web site launched today, http://www.politico.com/ Many of its writers are former Washington Post political writers, so log on. It’s not bad. Kitty-time is most interested in the Anne Schroder “shenanigans” gossip blog featured on the homepage.

And finally, could 2007 be the year of woman vs. woman in politics?
In one corner, we’ve got Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi.
In the other corner, we’ve got Condi-Sleezy and some of the Cheney women.

In today’s Washington Post, Liz Cheney submitted an oped piece and targets Hillary.
In case you are confused, Liz Cheney is the daughter the Cheney’s like to brag about. You know, the one that’s not gay and having a child out of wedlock. This one is just as hawkish as her dad and she’s married to a man. So it’s cool. We can put her out there and get her published in the Post, without embarrassing the family or rattling the conservative base. If you’d care to waste some time, check out her piece:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/AR2007012201103.html

Check back tomorrow kittens. Kitty-time will surely have something to say about the SOTU (think Bush will wear a blue tie tonight?) and this afternoon’s catty and ridiculous Oprah.

It’s true, Kitty-Time is still recovering from the great Nanny Drama of ’07. Baby Happy Hour is already lined up for this evening. 5:15pm sharp. Chez moi. All are welcome if you are in the area. And for any preggos out there, you ought to have a drink too. Don’t be ridiculous. Some wine is good for you, so long as you are out of your first tri.
C’est vrai. Kitty-time is not a doctor. But don’t doubt me.

Drinking is not meant to be the subject of today’s entry, however. The subject is the Adopt-a-mom program. While it’s framework is not like the Adopt-A-Pet program from your local Petsmart, it’s not all-together that different, except the mom you adopt is the boss of you, not the other way around.

Every mom, especially new mom’s, need to adopt-a-mom who has children older than yours. If you are wondering why, you either don’t have children yet, or you are too stubborn to know everything you don’t know.

Kitty-time calls it like she sees it. No one knows all the tricks. ESPECIALLY new moms.

New mom’s, by kitty-time’s definition, are those with babies under the age of 8 months.

By 8 months, you’ve been through some bouts of teething, you’ve endured nap time drama, you’ve endured some kind of sickness (hopefully just a cold), you’ve returned to work and know how that changes the balance of your home, and you’re ready to face down the daunting task of baby mobility.

Until that point, you are still a new mom.

After that point, you still need your adopted mom. Don’t get too cocky, now. Kitty-time will admitt she darted from Babies’R’Us like a scared preggo last weekend….completely overwhelmed by the choices of baby gates and is only able to face down this struggle with the help of some adopted moms.

Why do we all need to adopt-a-mom? It’s quite simple. You are taking on a new job with motherhood. One that you have zero qualifications for. One that you might even be wondering if you’re fit for (fyi – the answer is you’re not, at first). Babies do a lot of things…but they throw curveballs better than a professional baseball player. And mom’s with kids older than yours – they’ve been there.

Sure, every baby is different. Yadda yadda yadda. But setting that aside, the mom you adopt isn’t as sleep deprived or as attached to your baby as you are, therefore, she might think of something that just didn’t occur to you. Also, she is not as emotional about the situation as you are and might help bring some much needed perspective and humor to the crisis.

What sort of qualifications sh0uld you look for when adopting a mom?

-Similar parenting styles. Some are more anal than others. Some are more structured than others. You must adopt a mom who has a similar approach as yours.
– A proven track record. When did they get their baby to sleep through the night? How did they handle naps? Now. Don’t go challenging a mom who has achieved more than you by virtue of having an older child. But if her kid still isn’t sleeping through the night by 12 months…well…Kitty time recommends you adopt another mom.
– A good sense of humor. You need to adopt a mom who will make you laugh when you need it, particularly if you don’t know it.

Kitty-time feels that there is too much negative banter out there about mommy wars, stay-at-home moms ridiculing working moms, etc etc. All of that is nonsense. We only judge those with a bad fashion sense and Republicans here at Kitty-time. We don’t judge working moms or stay-at-home moms. So, in an effort to counter some of that negative mom-against-mom speak – I will be the first to tell you that I couldn’t have survived the beginning without the mom’s that I adopted. OF course, my own mother is one of the first ones I adopted. But there were others…I learned invaluable tricks and they provided me the reassurance that everything would workout in the end. I needed that.

And so..go forth dear readers….and adopt-a-mom. I guarantee, she’ll be glad to help.