free 2007-09-18 09:13:00 On Sunday, when the guys went out on their little outing, we all forgot that my son's car seat was moved to my husband's car. He didn't even notice it on his way to work.Yesterday morning we got dressed and were on our way out. Put there wasn't a car seat for me to put my son it. We were trapped!Three year olds don't handle a quick change of plans very well. I have to admit, that as I was trying to calm him down I recounted the days of my childhood. We took a lot of long car trips, and there were no car seats yet.I remember vividly laying on the floorboards of my parents' beat up Datsun and letting the rumble soothe me to sleep. That memory is the perfect picture of being unsafe today. I believe that my mother and grandmother drove their children around as babies to get them to sleep.That didn't exactly work for us.My son can't seem to get to sleep in his car seat. He never has been able to. Who can blame him? sitting snugly, stiff and upright like that looks so uncomfortable.
park adventures 2007-09-16 07:53:00 The guys often spend time together on the weekend. I like the break, and they get their bonding time. So my husband took my son to a local park. Besides, one of their favorite pastimes is picking up and inspecting bugs. I am just not amused.So when they returned from their outing, the first thing out of my proud three year old's mouth was "Mommy, I peed in the woods!" My husband turned beet red.I'm not sure which is more funny- my hubby's embarrassment or his gambling on a three year old not ratting him out.Apparently he was willing to admit (in a round about way) that he had gotten a little lost. They had walked in a huge circle trying to get back to the facilities. They realized they were on the other side of the park just at the point where my little one was about to burst. so, under the gun, so to speak, my husband thought it was time to explain about the woods.Well, I must say that I am a little concerned. My son is barely finished with his potty training. I once read somewher
obviously..I'm a little twisted.. 2007-09-12 22:24:00 Well I was feeling a little
depressed...so we popped in a nice werewolf movie. Spiced up with just a little cheese. Ah..that did the trick in cheering me up. Yes. I know I'm a little odd. Now you know who you're dealing with..Little Red Riding hood has been added to this blog's playlist for posterity...
Read more:obviously
six years 2007-09-11 08:44:00 Six years...it's too little time...Why isn't there more remembrance on the TV? It's like a footnote. When our lives will never be the same. It was the biggest attack on American soil since it became American soil. I still remember vividly driving home that day after the news, trying to beat the traffic which I knew would soon pour out of DC. I had just heard about the Pentagon, a few miles from my work. And I prayed to see my husband again..because for all I knew- fire was falling from the sky. Chaos. And new eyes with less innocence- for everyone. Six years is way to short a time not to talk about it. I have a pretty bad memory...generally speaking..I can't remember what I had for breakfast at dinnertime....but let's not even pretend we can forget about what today is.
traffic 2007-09-09 09:39:00 So this is an average Midwestern city. It's not particularly large or small, but it's growing. Although the government hasn't figured that out yet because they haven't expanded the freeways. The suburban town where I live is very funny about traffic
. We have our own small town etiquette. We stop at crossroads in parking lots whether there's a stop sign or not for example.The population growth has poured into the town. But there are areas where the city has placed another lane in a pivotal location to accommodate the overflow. It doesn't matter. If the lane is going to end people won't use it. Here's a new word for the people of my town..."merge". Really guys, it's not a bad word. If they saw fit to put in another lane in- use it! But no, I'm one of only a few jerks sitting in it. It would be wonderful if everyone used both lanes and then politely took turns where the new lane ends. But instead, it looks as though the expansion was a waste of our tax money. So I'm breaking to
toy recall 2007-09-05 18:27:00 Okay. I'm getting rather sick of this. Sick to my stomach actually. It's such a nightmare to hear about more things being recall
ed. We check the list. My son is a big fan of the Geo-Trax trains. He's a really big fan. So I pulled out the toy box and we played the game "see if you can find this toy" and tried to match his red engines to the picture. None of them matched.But my son is rather smart and afterwards he asked me why we were doing that. It was an unexpected question. Already a bit emotional, I hurriedly said "Because these toys are broken and if we have them we have to get rid of them. They're not safe."Oh wow. Did I say that? All I need is to make my three year old scared of his toys."But why, what's wrong with them?" he said."I don't know baby." was my reply, then I distracted him with cleaning up the mess we had made.It's actually rather unlikely that we will have a toy on the recall. It's been a rough summer financially so we haven't bought many toys for my son. B
tough love 2007-09-04 09:05:00 It's 8 am. A small, sweet voice invades my sleep."Good morning Mommy."A minute later it comes again. But I don't respond fast enough so a small chin is forcefully thrust into my ear. I yelp in pain. It upsets my son. a moment later I am trying to console him for hurting me. That's a fairly typical morning for me- poked, shoved, or hit out of sleep...and therefore cranky.My three year old is a little rough physically. Just a little. Anyone who knows him, braces before one of his hugs. He's rather affectionate too. So we all have to watch out. He pokes, pulls, and punches, all with the intent of displaying affection. The worst one is when he climbs on you. He's very good at climbing. And it's truly amazing the amount of strength there is packed into such a tiny body.If you're lucky, you can spot it coming, he gets a sort of glazed look in his eyes and grits his teeth. Watch out. But usually the element of surprise is his greatest weapon.I really have no idea how this happened. I'
vanishing chocolate 2007-09-01 09:16:00 Most people may not realize it, but real chocolate is vanishing from the shelves of stores; at least real by my definition. I'm talking about chocolate made with all natural ingredients. It's ironic that while there is a surge in organic products on the market today- the popular brands found at regular stores are ever moving away from wholesome ingredients.Although there is a host of ingredients to complain about, today's complaint is about vanillin. It is slowly, and covertly seizing the dynasty which has belonged to the ingredient vanilla for ages. It is deceptively named after its target so that you will not give it another glance. Let me be frank. These two things are not the same. One is an extract of the vanilla bean, the other is made from the waste of paper products. Yuck.I really do believe that the chemical altering of our food can explain many of the maladies of today. But it is difficult to convince everyone of that when the FDA approves such things.There are an elite f
stupid questions 2007-08-26 07:33:00 Whoever said there was no such thing as a stupid question was either lying or stupid himself. I used to be tricked by this concept. That led me to deduce that if someone asked me something where the answer seemed obvious I was being insulted in some way or they were being sarcastic.I think that this issue can be quite perplexing if you know that the person who is asking is intelligent. I am trying to come to grips with them as temporary lapses in judgement rather than malicious or rude comments.There are, in fact, many stupid questions
out there. I'm sure the author of this expression meant well. It grants people the confidence to ask when they are unsure about something. But it should not be used to excuse questions which either should be answered by your own logic or any question that can be considered based on an assumption which might be rude. In this case, it is best to try to make your question broad and be sure you are aware of your tone.
allergic to dogs 2007-08-25 06:59:00 I had an allergy test a few years back. I am allergic to several things- dogs, cats, mold and hay to name a few. It doesn't really affect my life very much. Nobody wants to be around mold. I just can't really take my kid to a farm park (or can't stay long). I'm not particularly fond of animals anyway. I just have to remember not to pet a friend's dog too much. This is also not much of an issue since I'm not too into dogs. The smarter ones realize it rather quickly. They size me up and we have an understanding. The dumber ones figure it out eventually when I am unresponsive to them.It's not an actual allergy which often affects me this time of year; it's a sensitivity. I am very sensitive to the heat. It's horrible. I get sick very easily. First it starts with the chills, then there is a dizziness which comes and goes. If I don't heed the warnings, I could pass out. Once again, it really isn't too often an issue, because I don't particularly like being out in the heat anyway
depressed? don't turn on the news 2007-08-22 17:25:00 Yes..that is a no brainer. If your depressed don't turn on the news. And yet, I usually do. I'm not even going to bother to explain why this is a bad idea. But really...what is a good idea to lift your spirits? I guess it's different for everyone and it changes over time. Some say exercise. I don't know how they can get motivated to do that when they're down....but I think it's cool. Some drink away their problems. That's not really my style I guess. I found comedy shows generally aren't very funny when I'm depressed. Some great tunes will only work if the sadness is rather mild. I guess my favorite solution is sleep....lots of sleep. Things often seem a lot better when you wake up - at least for a little while...... oh- and chocolate...but that can make you feel even more depressed the next day.
lost socks 2007-08-16 12:17:00 The mate to a sock that gets lost in the laundry is a frustrating problem for everyone. They whirl off into some vortex never to be seen again. But I don't share this issue with everyone. I stow lonely socks away in a laundry bag and clean it out once a month. You know what I find? All Pairs. Every time. I'm so proud of myself for solving such a simple problem. But this morning when I was cleaning out the bag I had an epiphany. This must be why I have bigger problems in my life. I've solved the trivial ones. Besides, violating such a solid tenet of modern civilization as the lost sock principle has got to be like cheating the universe in some way. There's got to be consequences....right?
the mysterious smell 2007-08-08 19:03:00 I first noticed a mysterious smell somewhere around five o'clock. I noticed it in the kitchen. So I took the trash out and forgot about it.But by the time my husband came home it had grown. It was foul. We couldn't figure out what it was at all. It was also unclear whether it was emanating from the bathroom or the kitchen by now. They are close together. It grew. My head started to hurt. I wondered if a mouse had gotten into the walls and died and the heat wasn't helping. Perhaps there was something wrong with the plumbing. I have always been terrible at distinguishing smells. I had no idea what it could be.This is one of the joys of living in an apartment. There's no way to tell if something is seeping in from somewhere else. And you have no control over it.The scariest thing is that because of the timing and when the odor began to fade we eventually came to the conclusion that it was a neighbor's cooking. Very, very bad ethnic cooking. How could someone want to eat something I m
movie night 2007-08-03 12:37:00 We both agreed that it was a good night to veg out to a movie
. So we were trying to decide between two movies which had arrived in the mail from Netflix. I rarely order anything remotely like a chick flick, but I did want to see Premonition. So that was one of them, the other was Shooter. I stared at them both and told my husband I wish we had a comedy. I was in the mood for a few laughs. We don't order too many comedies either. We really like dark comedy and it usually has to be of a certain caliber. He really wanted to persuade me away from the chick flick. so at the idea that I wanted something less depressing he said," Well.....in Premonition....you know someone is going to die." Uh...what was the name of the other movie? Oh- Shooter...yeah that sounds more cheerful....Well that was a good laugh for the night. Shooter was pretty good anyway.
flip flops 2007-08-02 07:57:00 My three year old told me that his plastic flip flops were broken. I looked closely at them and could see there were tears in the straps. I guess one pair, at his age, isn't going to last the summer. After all, when they come that small, they have straps around the ankles to hold them on. I'm sure he tugs on them fairly hard to put them on.He was rather distraught. So I thought fast and convinced him we'd go get him a new pair at Old Navy. He loves that store. They have this bench by the kids section with the figure of a puppy. When you push a red button it talks. Genius.He was pleased as punch with his new blue flip flops. I was pleased with the clearance price. The cashier snipped the tag and he proudly marched out the door donning them. We even trashed the old ones on the way out. Sometimes it's little victories that make you so happy.But as I popped open the backseat door to the car and he climbed in I noticed something. There was a long white string stretching down from his fo
beauty cream 2007-07-27 17:59:00 I pretty much wake up every morning and expect to see myself in the mirror at about half my age. Yeah, it's a shock. I'm not much for taking really good care of my skin. The problem is I don't really know how.I started to worry about skin care in my teen years- which was silly. Then I kind of forgot about it. I never knew when was a good time to start worrying about wrinkles. As I crest my mid-thirties- I'm guessing now is a pretty good time. But I have no idea where to begin.Commercials for all these products do not help at all. I'm not only trying to figure out what the products do- I'm also trying to figure out how old the women are who are using them. The models probably don't accurately represent the consumer. I don't know one thing from the next- pores, wrinkles, oily, dry, sun damage, age spots. A trip to the store isn't a good solution either. I'm a bit nervous about the sales clerk at the department store scamming me. I can't make heads or tails out of the products
internet addiction 2007-07-26 12:25:00 There's a bit of an addiction
here. We spend way too much time on the Internet. My son is even on the computer. He plays games on preschool websites. I love that because he learns a lot. But I slowly began to realize it has to be tapered down....for all of us. We just get sucked in. So I bought a timer last week. This was definitely one of my better ideas. We put the timer on, and when it goes off- it's time to stop...no matter what. I started to use the timer with my son for other things too. It is absolutely fabulous! At three he doesn't understand what "five more minutes" is. Now, I'm not the bad guy anymore when bath time is over, or it's time to come inside from playing. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. Of course, I have to follow the law of the timer when I'm on the computer too. Gee I guess I didn't think this out that well after all......
myths about staying home 2007-07-25 08:02:00 I can usually handle those people who feel that I am subservient to my husband because I stay home. That viewpoint is just ridiculous. We should also be way past the "it's not a real job" mentality. I have no dispute with other mothers who choose to work to provide extra for their kids. there's quite a conflict between the two factions of motherhood today. But I think it's a personal choice and don't want to judge.I do have one problem, however, that is with people who think that since I don't work outside the home- I'm always available. This is a bit shocking. Actually, a stay at home mom doesn't get any breaks. Her job is with her 24-7. Even while writing this blog, I can usually write a sentence or two, then I have to get up to take care of my son in some way. I have plans, errands and schedules, just like anyone else. Don't assume that just because someone doesn't work outside of the home that they are just available whenever. It's rude- no matter who you are.
peace and quiet 2007-07-13 08:32:00 The aspirin I just took better hurry up and start working. My son seems just a bit louder than usual today. I know it's just me. I feel like I've been run over. I didn't get much sleep. Blessed sleep is so very important to me.I've got a serious problem. My husband snores. We've been married nine years and I swear that this problem only started a few years ago. I always thought you either snored or you didn't. I had no idea it was something that could develop over time.If I go to bed before him, I'm in the clear. If not, I've got hell to deal with. It doesn't matter how exhausted I am-I need peaceful quiet to enter the world of dreams. This is a terrible problem because robbing me of sleep makes me angry and resentful. Of course, it's not his fault. We've tried to figure out what will help. He was taking an herbal remedy which worked-for a while. It hasn't been working lately. And those nasal patches are pathetically useless. I've found myself frustratedly yanking the com
mass exodus 2007-06-30 23:08:00 Now any time you are stuck in an over crammed parking lot at a very large venue like a concert, exiting is a complex situation. Everyone knows that their strategy for leaving is an important decision. It can say so much about a person. Some leave before the show ends, sacrificing their experience to dodge the crowd. Others arrive late, so they can be near the front of the line. Some wait patiently in their cars in surrender, possibly even pretending they are content to wait.But the majority choose to meet their frustration head on and join the swarming lines in a mass exodus. Usually it's a case of sheep or bulls. People either calmly follow the line, or obnoxiously force their way in and cut. Occasionally, the lines aren't clear. When there is a lack of structure, it can be a lesson in Darwinism. The smartest will find the way to breach the chaos and emerge light years before the others.We were at one such event this evening. It had been a good many years since we had endured this t
hometown 2007-06-28 12:12:00 What an amazing thing it is to return to your hometown
after many years. If you can embrace the good and the bad memories, you can learn a lot about yourself. I have always thought a place is like a person. It has a personality. It has a sense..a sound...a feel...a smell..It grows and changes. You can feel comforted by it or repelled. You can get along famously or not. I was blessed this weekend with having the opportunity to catch up with my old friend Cleveland. Her streets were arms which wrapped around me in a knowing embrace. I learned of the successes I had missed, her growth. I also learned that many aspects of her are the same....so many of my favorite old haunts are still there. She is a reflection of me. I have grown and changed so much since I left her...but my heart remains. We reminisced over a few glasses of wine. She's quit smoking. She's put on some weight. But I think she looks great..... And now I know that she will always be there for me.....even if we go a long ti
it takes brains to raise a child 2007-06-27 15:43:00 I've always agreed with people who say it takes brains to raise
a child
. I guess I just thought dumb people shouldn't be breeding as a general rule- and I had my own ideas about discipline. Of course, before actually having a kid- I had no idea what I was talking about. Even though I thought I did.It's all fine and dandy to judge people when you don't really know what it's like to be in their shoes.I used to think I had all the answers about child raising. I thought I was definitely smart enough- now I wonder if anyone is. Unexpected stuff comes up and there are no right answers which fit all the time. Parenting is a constant exercise in thinking on your feet, patience, problem solving and humility-just for starters. I don't care how smart you think you are- those little buggers will humble you every time.As if it isn't hard enough to deal with the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of every stage of the growth of your child alone, you get a further boot in
wildflowers on a nice day 2007-06-11 17:28:00 Last weekend we took a nice relaxing walk after the storm. The back of the property is fairly picturesque. My son and I picked a variety of wildflowers for the kitchen table. Sprite little daisies and gentle golden rod. There's an abundance of Queen Anne's Lace so that joined everything else. It was a pleasant day...and the flowers brightened all our hearts and made it just a little more so. This weekend my brother in law was in town. My husband pointed out all the wildflowers along the hill. So the two of them went down to admire them. But my brother in law is just a bit more of a nature guy than any of us. He assured us that what was growing so rampantly all around is not Queen Anne's lace, but hemlock....the poisonous kind to be exact. I recounted how it had annoyed me by shedding so much on the table and thought of Socrates with a shiver....fabulous....just fabulous...
sugar and spice vs. snails and puppy dog tails 2007-06-09 07:51:00 Now I have to admit that I'm not very egalitarian with my son and gender symbols. He does not own any dolls...and he does not have anything pink. I am bit less restrictive on his appreciation for flowers, however. And if you read my previous post you can understand why he owns his own play kitchen( gotta level the playing field on that one) Generally, he looks like a boy, acts like a boy and owns boy things.Were he a girl he would own both dolls and soccer balls- but he's not. It's really funny that I try not to let my life concepts interfere with my son- but they do.You see- I am quite sexist, but not in a traditional way. No. I actually think women are superior. As a feminist, I believe that women are capable of assuming all types of roles, but men are much more limited. It is a very rare man indeed who can stay home with a child- and yet it is not rare at all to find powerful women in business, politics, etc. Perhaps time and social changes will alter my view. But for the moment
Potluck Phobia 2007-06-07 07:45:00 So I'm a stay at home mom. I am very happy with all my duties in this job except the one where I have to get out and expose my child to other children for socialization. That one makes me very nervous.I have tried many a mommy group. They are a bit intimidating for me. It's like trying to find the right clique in high school, and I am well past that age thank you very much.I came to realize that there are just a few general practices which compose the mommy group, not to mention mommy etiquette. Somehow they forgot to give me my mommy manual at the hospital. I wanted to know how everyone else learned the nuances of monitoring inter-child relations. The simplistic ones like what to do when Johnny hits your kid at the playground are hard enough- never mind interacting at a mommy group where you are supposed to be trying to create a social life for yourself and your kid.I've always been much better one on one than in a group anyway.The thing which has become one of the biggest sources
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