Every baby born in America should be a citizen

I've been hearing on the radio, hearing on the news, and reading in the newspaper about people and political candidates who don't want children of illegal immigrants born in the USA to automatically be citizens. I think it's a bad idea for some babies to be born citizens and some babies not to be. Let's consider a few scenarios:

1. Both parents are illegal aliens (or rather, both parents cannot prove citizenship) - then the child isn't a citizen or has to go through a process. Easy enough.
2. Both parents can prove citizenship. Child is automatically a citizen.
3. Mother is citizen, but husband is not. OK, what now, does the mother have to go through immigration to get her own child, born in the US, citizenship? What if the process takes too long,will her baby be deported, but to where?
4. Mother is citizen, but father is unknown. This is like #3, only even more complicated. Because if the father is a citizen, the child should be, but if he isn't, who knows.
   
5. Father is citizen, but mother is not. Even more fun, since courts seem to side with a child staying with his or her mother, so maybe citizenship status should be the same as the mother's. But that seems unfair, especially if for #3 and #4 the child has citizenship.
   
6. Mother and Father are unknown. This could happen in states with safe harbor laws (where babies can be left anonymously at hospitals.) So, does the baby have to go through immigration to be adopted?
7. What if the parents are legal aliens? Will green cards require that you accept your future child is not a citizen?
8. What about sperm / egg donors used for infertility? Usually parents have no idea who the donor is. Would the baby be a citizen if the birth mother is or only if the biological mother / father is?
   

The end result will be a very complicated set of laws which will probably end with a Supreme Court ruling and a new government bureaucracy.

[edited 7/19/10]
If the laws are the most lenient, that is every case except #1 is a citizen, then I would expect a large number of babies whose mothers suddenly have no idea who the father is.

If the law is closer to the UK's, then the mother's citizenship would be what counts. If the father refuses to sign the birth certificate, the child would not be a citizen if his/her mother wasn't. If the father was and signed, then the child would be a citizen. The problem is if someone signed the birth certificate as the father who wasn't really. Maybe the thought of having to pay child support would be enough to keep people honest.

If the laws are the strictest, that only #2 are citizens, I would expect a large out cry, but worse, a significant number of children who are not citizens of any country. America would still have to school them (because some school districts are forbidden to ask about immigration status). When they became adults, they would have no where legally to go. This is the same problem faced by children of illegal immigrants brought here illegally, but worse because they might not have another country to return to. (Especially if the mother is a native born us citizen, but the father is unknown.) These would end up being second class in the US, unable to legally hold a job. Even if there were a way for the babies to become citizens, it would probably involve a fee and many of the poorest could not afford it, or alternately, the taxpayer would foot the bill.

If not all children are born citizens of American, then who a baby's parents are is of utmost importance. If the government accepts a signed paper saying who the parents are, I suspect there would be a large number of people lying. The number of children being citizens wouldn't be significantly different than they are today. But if the law wants to be sure, it would require DNA testing to prove the baby is the child of the mother and father. To avoid profiling, every name that goes on the birth certificate will have to be tested. That will come at a cost, both economic and to our personal freedom. The poor couldn't afford the test, so either the taxpayers would pay for the test, or again, there would be a large number of children who live in the US, but are not citizens. I also wouldn't trust the government with a large database of DNA.

We need to take a good look at why people feel the laws should be changed. I am trying to be open minded (possibly failing :) ). I can understand not wanting to pay for children of illegal immigrants born in the US. I am not sure changing citizenship rules is the best way to address that issue. The cost of enforcing the change might be higher than just dealing with things how they are. The easiest, and best, solution is to leave things the way they are. Every baby born in America should be a citizen.

2010 utah state representative race

Val Peterson

Mike Thompson

I hadn't realized I had a state representative race too, this primary. Both of these seem like good men, so it will be hard to decide.

Book Review: The Bishop's Bride: The Honey Moon is Over

I enjoyed "The Bishop's Bride" and was excited that my sister had a copy of the sequel.

Summary: Andrew and Jeanette are happily married, but work and his calling as Bishop are interfering with their time together. Jeanette also feels like she needs to be everything Andrew's first wife was. Throw in a member of the mafia that wants to go straight, Andrew's son's broken engagement, and a dead body, things get pretty exciting, but of course everything ends happily.

Review: I enjoyed this book. It is a lot like the first one. I thought the whole "wait, my fiancee is actually my cousin" thing was a little annoying, but the book worked well once I was willing to suspend reality. There were some fun scenes in this one too. It makes a great Sunday read.

Would I buy it: yes
Would I pay full price: no

Chocolate cheese cake flan

My husband took me to cafe rio a few weeks ago and introduced me to the deliciousness that is chocolate cheesecake flan. It is wonderful, a chocolate cheesecake that is a little lighter than regular cheesecake topped with strawberries and whipped cream. I wanted more, but it's a little pricey, so I decided to make my own. Here's the link (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Cheesecake-Flan/Detail.aspx) to the recipe I used. The recipe wasn't that hard other than the caramel. Also, the flan really does taste best with redi-whip on top.

Note: I couldn't get the caramel to come out right. It came out way too hard and lumpy. Next time I might leave it out. If anyone has suggestions on making caramel, I'd appreciate it.

review: Bumbo

So, awhile ago I broke down and bought a Bumbo. My baby was getting tired of her bouncer, but wasn't sitting up by herself yet. I like it. It is soft and rubbery. She likes sitting up in it. I'm not really sure how much longer she will be able to use it, since she is getting a little wiggly. I'm hopeful that by the time she can't use it anymore, she will be sitting up by herself. The main thing I saw that really impressed me is with in few days after she got it, she was able to sit up unaided for a few seconds. The chair had really improved her upper body strength.

My verdict: it's worth buying, as long as you realize it won't be useful for more than about 4 months. Ideally, you would borrow one from a friend and use it, then return it.

Clams

Me: what are you taking to show and tell?
Son(age 5): a clam shell
me: why do you think clams have shells?
Son: to protect them from creditors.

(This is what happens when you confuse documentaries with infomercials.)

Neighborhood Book Club books

Here's a list of what we're reading / have read:

Books for 2020:

A better way to teach kids about sex

Counting by 7s sloan

Olive kitterage

Girl wash your face hollace

Beneath a scarlet sky

Phoebe and her unicorn

The four tendencies gretchen

Essentialism

The poet x

The feather thief

Books 2019
Jan 31 - the burnout cure
Feb 28 - Eleanor oliphant is completely fine
Mar 28 - the boys in the boat
Apr 25 - A night divided
May 30 - Untangled - guiding teenage girls
June 27 - Warcross
Sep 26 - the rent collector
Oct 24 - Educated
Nov 21 - TBA

Books 2018

Jan - Me me me epidemic 

Feb - Lilac girls 

Mar- Rangers apprentice: ruins of Gorlan 

Apr- My lady Jane

May- Howls moving castle 

June - Murder on the orient express 

July- Ms bixby’s last day

Aug-The blue castle 

Sep-The crystal bridge- pulsipher 

Oct - a gentleman in Moscow 

Nov/dec - Book of Mormon challenge

2017:
January - a place called harmony
February - second season
March - a man called ove
April - Rosie project
May - Molokai
June - Ruby red
July - the 5 love languages
August - dad is fat
September - beauty and the clockwork beast
October - nothing to envy
November - Sue's dad book
Dec -

2016:
Jan - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing - Kondo

Feb - All the light we cannot see - doerr 

Mar - The graveyard book - gaiman 

Apr - The night circus

May - Mary Martha and me 

June - Life from scratch 

July - Partials - wells

Sep - Jackaby - 

Oct - The chrysalids - Wyndham

Nov - The hiding place - tenbaum 

Dec - Christmas jars - wright

Jan -  Home to harmony - gulley 

2015

Jan - The Happiness Project (Ruben)

Feb - The throne of glass (Maas) 

March - Big stone gap (trigioni)

April - Ivanhoe (Scott)

May - Cinder (Meyer)

June - Never Trust a Shadow (Haltom)

July - Patriots (Appy)

August - The selection (cass)

September - Orphan Train (Kline)

October - Tunnels 

November - Increase in learning (bednar) 

Dec - In the dark street shineth (McCullough) 

2014

Jan - An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth
Feb - Blackmoore
March  - Wonder
April - Princess of the Midnight ball
May - The Reluctant Blogger
June - The Emperor's Soul
August - Just Call me Ninja
September - The Agency
October - Glimpses into the Life of Majory Pay Hinkley
Nov - Lawn Boy
Dec - Biography of Santa Clause - L Frank Baum

Previous years:

2013 

Jan - Daughters in my Kingdom
Feb - Divergent
Mar - My Loving Vigil Keeping (Kelly)
April - Hitler's Youth (Bartelli)
May- Mrs. Drew Plays her Hand (Kelly)
June - Girl of Fire and Thorns
July - Edenbrook
August - Secret Journal of Brett Colton
Sep - Persuasion (Austen)
October - For Darkness Shows the Stars (Peterfreund)
November - The Scarlet Pimpernel
December - Hogfather (Pratchett)

2012
Jan - To the Rescue (Swinton)
Feb - Sorcery and Celia (Wrede / Stevermer)
Mar- Strong Poison (Dorthy Sayers)
April - The Card Turner
May - The help
June - the Three Musketeers (Dumas)
July - Unbroken (Laura Hillenbrand)
Sep- A Year Down yonder (Richard Peck)
Oct- Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis)

Nov - Scorpio Races
Dec- How Carrots Won the Trojan War




2011:
Jan - Much Ado about Nothing
Feb - The Giver
Mar - Latter Days, Coke Newell
April - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
May - White Mountain
June - The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins)
July- Fable Haven 5 (Mull)
Aug - Teen Idol (Meg Cabbot)
Sep - Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver)
Oct- Cold Mountain (Frazier)
Nov- Wednesday's Wars (Gary D. Schmitt)
Dec - A Season of Gifts (Richard Peck)



2010:

Jan - Master Your Metabolism by Jilian Michaels
Feb - Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
March - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
April - The 5000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen
May - Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
June - Twenty and Ten
July - My Life by Helen Keller
Aug - English Trifle or some other food mystery
Sept - Aenid
Oct - Return of the King , Tolkein
Nov - Number the Stars
Dec - Agent Bishop



2009:

January - Crocodile on the Sandbank, Elizabeth Peters
February - Tuesdays with Morrie
March - Tales of Beetle Bard, JK Rowling
April - Lion and the Lamb, Packard
May - Westing game
June - Melea's book
July - My Father's Dragon
August - tba (religious)
Sept - Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Oct - Love Letters of Joseph and Emma
Nov - Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Dec - Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Older:

John Adams
Princess Academy
To Kill a Mocking Bird

Carseats--again

After all the commotion a few years ago, the carseat law requiring children to be in booster seats until 8 years old passed in Utah. Now KSL reports HB 113 bill would allow children over the age of 5 to ride without a booster seat if going less than 4 miles and under 45 miles per hour. (It still requires seat belts.)

I think this bill is a great idea. My main concern with the original bill that passed was that it did not take into account realities of driving more than one or two children in a car. Right now, if one of my friends wanted me to take their child home from school, I couldn't because I don't have a booster seat and another one will not fit in my van. There is an extra seat, but with two boosters back there already, a third would not fit. This means that I break the law if I help. This bill would allow for quick local travel. I'd be able to help without the guilt of breaking the law.

One of the concerns raised was how do you tell a child today he has to be in a booster seat, but tomorrow he doesn't. You tell them. Kids are used to having to deal with things that are ok some days but not others. If your child doesn't handle it well, then always make them ride in a booster.

Another concern is that most accidents happen with in 5 miles of home. But I don't think that people will suddenly stop using booster seats. Most of the children will be in a booster and a few will be in seat belts. This won't be any different than 2 years ago. The law isn't allowing for children to be unrestrained. If they aren't in a booster they would be in a seatbelt.

I think it's a bad idea to pass a law that large numbers of people will break. This change will allow people to lend a hand without breaking a law. This bill would allow for the safety of the law, while balancing the realities of moving children around.

mug cake

http://www.recipezaar.com/Cake-in-a-Mug-13921
I only needed to microwave it for a little over a minute. I also mixed in powdered eggs so I didn't have to have an egg.

Review: Panasonic DMC-ZR1

I like my Panasonic DMC-FX01 that I've owned for several years, but it is missing one thing: the ability to zoom during movies. The Panasonic DMC-ZR1 does that, along with 8x zoom instead of 3x. It should be the perfect camera, but alas, it was not to be.

I set out to determine if the pictures it took were at least as good as the FX01. They seemed to be. But the video was its downfall. Outdoors the video was fine. Indoors with the lens in its widest setting it was fine. When I took video indoors at night (lights were on) with the ZR1, as soon as I began to zoom, the video got darker and darker. After 2 or 3x it was too dark to be usable. An email to Panasonic support confirmed there was no way to brighten the video. Since I frequently take movies of my kids indoors at night, this was unacceptable. Especially since I hoped to take movies at school functions which requires zoom; The fx01 was able to take movies at3x zoom just fine. so I wasn't gaining anything with the zr1.

I am very sad this wasn't the right camera for me. It is a good camera in so many ways: small size, zoom during movies, a shortcut menu of common settings. and excellent outdoor performance. If zoomed indoor video isn't something you need. consider this camera. otherwise the Panasonic DMC-ZS3 is probablyy your best bet.

Companies that make 18 inch dolls

I've been trying to find a list of companies that manufacture 18 dolls. I like the American Girl dolls, I just have trouble justifying the money, so I was wondering what other companies made similar dolls. I haven't been able to find a list online, so I started my own list.

18 inch dolls (in no particular order) :

1. American Girl
2. Our Generation
3. Corolle (17 inch)
   
4. Gotz Precious Day
5. Springfield
   
6. Best Friends Club
   
7. Madame Alexander
8. Today's Girl

The links above link to a sample doll, all blond and blue eyed like my daughter.

Pregnancy on tv

So I read this Slate article about a TLC show called "I didn't know I was Pregnant". I was searching for an online episode to watch and did find one. It actually wasn't that bad. Basic plot is woman rushes to emergency room to discover she doesn't have appendicitis, she is delivering a pretty much perfectly healthy baby.

The other thing I came across while searching for a free episode of the show was a discussion about the show. One of the commentator mentioned they thought the show should show bad outcomes because it might give people the idea that they don't need prenatal care. Now, I agree that pregnant women should get prenatal care, but I actually wonder how many "I didn't know I was pregnant" turn out badly. In my experience with 3 births, all my visits consisted of "baby's fine". I know that things can go terribly wrong. I am very grateful that all my kids have been healthy. However, the people on the show are delivering in a hospital, and in my mind delivery is the biggest risk during pregnancy. People have been having babies for a very long time without prenatal care, so I wonder if the risk factors are not as high as many people believe.

Mythbusters Birthday Party

My now five-year-old son loves Mythbusters and wanted a Mythbusters birthday party. He invited 3 of his friends to the party. We did 7 myths in 1 hour and 15 minutes (that was plenty of time). I didn't really explain the whys, the kids didn't seem very interested.

Here is what we did:

Myth: a toy car can out race a sports car.
What we did: raced toy cars against bigger toy cars. Little toy car was a party favor.

Myth: A pirate's eye patch was to help with seeing below deck
What we did: did an obstacle course in the garage, then wore an eye patch for part of the party and went through the obstacle course a second time.

Myth: You can't fold a piece of paper in half more than 8 times
What we did: folded pieces of paper in half. I then showed them (with a piece of newspaper) the trick about folding height-wise until it couldn't fold any more then folding in half lenght-wise. I got 9 folds out of it.

Myth: You can't pull apart 2 phone books with interleaved pages
What we did: Interleaved the pages of two novels (would have done phonebooks, but couldn't find 2 of the same size) and let the kids pull. They eventually succeeded, mostly because I was lazy in layering the pages. It went through 4 sets of kids and 1 set of adults before they managed it.

Myth: Quicksand will suck you under
What we did: mixed cornstarch and water and let the kids see that moving their hand slowly through it worked better than moving quickly

Myth: Diet Coke and mentos
What we did: Bought a six pack of little diet cokes and let each child put a mentos in it. Then for the grand finale, I did a big bottle of diet coke.

Myth: Pop rocks and soda will make your stomach explode
What we did: decorated cupcakes with pop rocks, ate them, and drank soda. I also explained a person would burp before their stomach exploded.

Things that would be awesome (if they actually worked as advertised)

1. Solar powered house with battery. I saw this article in the Provo Daily Herald. I would love to have a solar powered house, but solar cells are expensive and current batteries are a pain to use.
2. Scooba. I love Roomba; I wish the Scooba were equally awesome, then I would never have to mop my floors again.
3. Health care co-ops. I would love to have insurance that wasn't tied to my husband's current job. Traditionally, they change it right before one of my kids is born, and with #4 on the way, I'm waiting for the change. But a co-op where it was a not-for-profit insurance would be nice. I'm not sure I want the government running things, but a credit union version of insurance I could go for.
   

Watching mythtv on a windows laptop

I am finally watching my mythtv recordings on my windows laptop. I have been wanting to do this for a long time, but there were some problems, mostly the mythtv windows clients were in beta and since the switch to digital, they did not handle streaming hd well. The solution is MythWeb and streaming flash.

MythWeb is a web browser front for Mythtv. I had to install mythplugins using sudo apt-get install mythplugins , (I am running ubuntu intrepid ibex on the Mythtv box) then it pretty much installed itself. MythWeb will allow you to download the complete show as well, but I really had no desire to wait for 2 gigs of "Antiques Roadshow" on WiFi. Anyway, the latest version of MythWeb has an experimental flash converter that seems to work pretty well. It encodes the show to flash on the fly and you can watch it. It was a little jerky on occasion (not sure whose fault that it is), but it is very watchable. I've heard the flash encoder does not skip commercials, but since 90% of what I watch is PBS, it doesn't matter to me.

So now, I can relax and use my eee to watch my shows.

My bracelet

Here's the bracelet I've been so excited about. It's in the pandora / chamilla / trollbeads style, although none of the beads are from any of those companies. Anyway, I think it came out pretty well. Each of the silver beads represents one of my kids (and my husband). I have to admit I love the frog lapwork bead. He is just too funny. I've also discovered I like the murano style glass beads, especially the ones with flowers inside.

Review: BabyTrends Sit-n-Stand LX

Product: BabyTrends Sit-N-Stand LX
Cost: ~ $120 (probably can get it cheaper on sale)
Review:
After much internal debate between the Joovy Caboose and the BabyTrends Sit-N-Stand, I chose the Sit-n-Stand, mostly because I could find it locally. The first stroller I got had a crooked wheel, so I traded it in for one with straight wheels :) I just use the stroller itself and removed the cup holder and sunshade, which makes it much lighter. I have a love/hate relationship with this stroller.

Pros:

• gets 2 kids around easily and my kids love it.
• not too bad to push.
• has cupholders
• folds very compactly, especially without the sunshade
  

Cons:

• it's long, so it will follow dips in the side walk down into the street. This is a problem if crossing a driveway and you aren't paying attention or are letting an older child push the stroller.
• doesn't take curbs well with 2 older children in it. I just make my almost five year old get out and the stroller works fine. It might not be a problem if you have 2 smaller children. (My husband can get up a curb fully loaded but I'm not strong enough).
  
• doesn't stand up on its own when folded
• heavy (but I knew that going into this)

All in all, I still like my purchase. It works great for taking my two-year-old around and for ending arguments with the five-year-old.

The third wheel: researching a double stroller or Baby Trend sit and stand vs. Joovy Caboose

I've been wanting a double stroller, sort of. I currently have 3 children and I'm expecting number 4 in November. The stroller we bought when my first was born is starting to show signs of age and problems due to me trying to fit 2 kids in it.
What I want it for:

• walking my kids to school (baby and 2 year old would probably ride, but needs to be able to handle the 5-year-old who sometimes decides he is "too tired" and sits down and refuses to move)
• going on walks with other moms
  
• going to the mall
• going to the zoo/ other outdoor activities

Other things it should do:

• handle curbs. I dislike walking in the street or having to use people's driveways.
• fit in my minivan
  

Options: (first 3 require little or no money expended)

• keep using the old stroller until it breaks. Tell son to tough it out.
  
• front pack for baby, umbrella stroller for who ever else. This works OK. Hard on my back though. If I go this route, I think I'll spring for a new umbrella stroller that has higher handles. This only works for the first 6 months or so, then the baby gets too heavy for me to carry for any length of time.
• wagon. this is what I used this year. The wagon doesn't handle curbs gracefully. It doesn't fit in the van well. Also, the handle is a little low. I also prefer pushing to pulling since I can see what my kids are doing. But it does fit a bunch of kids. (for reference the bed of the wagon is about 34-36 " long)
  
• toddler board that attaches to my current strollers. Those I've seen on-line are expensive, seem to break,and make it harder to push the stroller.
  
• sit-n-stand stroller. This could be a good solution. Baby rides and older kid can ride or not as desired. Baby Trend appears to be able to fit 3 kids, but isn't rated for it.
• full double stroller. I'm not interested in going this route. I was interested in combi double side by side stroller, but I don't like the way it handles. I prefer the tandem models.
  

Exploring the sit-n-stand options:
I've narrowed it down to 2 strollers: the baby trend sit-n-stand and the joovy caboose.

baby trend sit-n-stand
Weight: 26 lbs
Price: $129
folded dimensions: 36x18x12
dimensions: 21"W x 46.5"L x 42"H
max child weight: 40 lbs
Pros:

• big stow bag
• parent cupholder
• could fit 3 or 4 kids
• one handed fold
  

Cons:

• huge
• doesn't stand up when folded
  

joovy caboose
Weight: 26 lbs
Price: $140
folded dimensions: 10.50 x 21.50 x 43.0
unfolded: 41h x 21w x 38d
max child weight: 45 pounds
Pros:

• takes heavier children
• shorter than the parent trend (don't let the folded size fool you) by about 8 inches
  

Cons:

• more expensive
• very small basket under the stroller
• no cup holders
• folding takes two hands

Analysis:
The Joovy Caboose is smaller, takes bigger children, and costs more than the baby trend. I haven't decided if the smaller size is a blessing or a problem.

I was able to look at the Baby Trend. The thing is a beast, but it has plenty of room and handles well, even when loaded with all my kids (yes, the six year old figured out how they could all ride, although I don't know how the poor stroller would take it.)

If anyone has personal experience, and has a recommendation, I'd appreciate it.

Other resources:
Here's a video comparison of the two strollers.

Geneva Steel Redux

Geneva Steel Redux
Originally uploaded by Silus Grok

I have something I have to get off my chest: the Timpanogos Harley-Davidson building is ugly. It is located just west of the off ramp I use frequently and every time I drive by it I cringe. It is done in a style I can only describe as 1950's industrial (not just in style, it looks rusty too.) But the dealership was built within the last year. I understand trying to fit into the area you build in, but I can't imagine a city council in its right mind that would demand that a dealership build a building that would win the ugliest building in Lindon. At least with the surrounding industrial buildings, there is some faint hope the owners will eventually slap on a fresh coat of paint.

At first, I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. Maybe all Harley dealerships looked like that one, based on the look of the very first Harley dealership. Then we went on a trip through Colorado and drove by another dealership, a nice modern looking building. Harleys aren't cheap, it's not like they couldn't afford a nice building.

So did I little research and it turns out they used parts of now-defunct Geneva Steel to build it. Maybe that will help me like it more...No, and I think it might be more ugly than Geneva Steel. Geneva was ugly, but it was for a reason. I say again, if there has to be a motorcycle dealership by my house, why does it have to be the ugly one.?

Review: La Quinta in Louisville, CO

Hotel: La Quinta
Rating: 4.3 stars (out of 5)
Would stay again: yes

What I liked:

• excellent free breakfast with waffles and a variety of other foods
• easy check in and check out (fastest I've ever seen)
• friendly staff
• good location
• warm outdoor pool
• good sized room
• door key card worked every time
• clean
• right next to shopping and eating. This proved useful when I realized I had forgotten to pack my daughter's dress for the wedding reception: there was a Kohl's right across the street.
• decent tv channel selection
  

What I didn't like:
(to be fair, most of this would apply to any hotel)

• room was near the elevator, so we heard people a lot the first night (I suspect they put my family there to prevent our noise from bothering others, for which I am grateful.)
• doors to bathroom were french type doors, with pull down handles, so my toddler could get into the bathroom and into mischief easily (I might rate this differently if she were potty trained)
• door to the hallway was pull down type, so my toddler could leave the room by herself. (Fortunately, she is scared of the crack to get into the elevator, so she didn't get very far.)
  
• the bottom of the pool was rough, so my kids scraped up their toes
• ice maker didn't always work

All in all, I liked this hotel. I'd be willing to stay at other La Quintas, if they are all as nice as this one.