Sunday, December 20, 2009

Am I Missing Something?

You know, I thought I was a good judge of character.  And I thought I had a good handle on how close I was to my friends.  But now I'm starting to wonder about one of them, and it bums me out because I really like this friend, and thought we were closer than I guess she thinks we are.  Damn that Facebook.

This friend posted a comment on FB about a Cuban feast tomorrow night, and two mutual friends commented that they were looking forward to it.  Needless to say, I was not invited.  WTF, right?  I feel like I'm back in seventh grade, when I started getting edged out of my usual lunch table.

Maybe I'm just hormonal, maybe it's the holidays, maybe it's something that I know nothing about, but I'm pretty hurt by this.  Is it me?  Am I missing something?

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Was This Necessary?

The other day I was watching the noon news and saw this:
http://wcbstv.com/consumer/window.blinds.recall.2.1371335.html

Look, I'm glad when manufacturers acknowledge that their products may be dangerous to children, especially products that are as ubiquitous as window shades, but are there people - and parents especially - who really need to be told to keep them away from children? 

I was especially perturbed by the couple who was profiled in this story.  Don't get me wrong; I wish them no harm and am glad that their child was not killed by the cords on the blinds.  But I don't understand this:
"We had placed those shades next to his crib with no idea they were potentially so dangerous," Susan Urpsprung said.
Really?  Really?  It didn't occur to you at any time since your child was brought home from the hospital that putting the crib near a window with shades *might* be a bad idea?  Seriously?  I have three kids, and when I was setting up the nursery for the first time, it actually occurred to me not to put the crib on a window wall.  And when my oldest started crawling, I bought "blind winders" to shorten the blind strings so he couldn't reach them.

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's the responsibility of every parent to adequately childproof their homes, and that includes everything - take the cleaning supplies out from under the sink, put latches on every cabinet (except the one where you keep the Tupperware - and only the Tupperware), and remove any potential breakables and dangerous items from all living areas.  I think it's kinda sad that it didn't occur to some parents that blinds are dangerous, especially since all of the ones in my house have bright orange warning labels on them.

I hope someone told these parents not to keep knives or full cups of hot beverages on the counters, not to buy a large-screen plasma TV whose stand is unstable, and all those other warnings that I thought reasonably intelligent people could figure out on their own. 


 

Friday, December 11, 2009

Today's Lesson

That scraping noise that you hear when you turn the drum?  It's a piece of underwire from one of your bras.  It'll take two guys about three hours to disassemble your washing machine to get it out of there, but the machine is fine.  The tub is made of stainless steel and that wire'll eventually disintegrate.

And your laundry detergent?  Don't use anything unless is says it's made for high efficiency or front-loading washers.  And don't use too much.  All those suds is what makes these things break down.  What does laundry detergent do to grease, right?  Imagine what it'll do to the lubricant on the gasket over time. 

That'll be one hundred and thirty dollars, ma'am.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Unsolicited Advice, part 1

I know there has been at least one time in your life when you wanted to tell somebody something that you know that (a) they don't want to hear, and (b) would not be received well should you have decided to tell it to them anyway. 

Well, this is another one of those times for me and since this person is Hubster's high school best friend's wife who lives three states away and with whom I am not more than an acquaintance.  For that reason, I am posting my feelings and unsolicited advice here.

First, I am really sorry that your doctor thinks that you have an autoimmune disease.  I cannot imagine the fear, uncertainty, and other emotions you are facing right now.  I also cannot imagine dealing with my own uncertainty coupled with having one child with special needs and another child who is still an infant.

Here is my unsolicited advice, given not to be mean or petty or obnoxious or negative:  for the immediate future, stop worrying about having a third child.  Seriously.  I have three that are each spaced roughly two years apart who, thank God, have no developmental or physical issues, and let me tell you, it's hard.  It's difficult physically, but you know all about that.  Imagine dealing with everything you're dealing with now, then add the stress of a newborn.  On a good day, never mind when one of them is sick or really needs some extra TLC, my kids each want more attention that I am physically capable of giving them.  Somebody, if not two somebodies, often must wait while I tend to the third.  I go to bed most days feeling guilty that I can't clone myself or be in three places at once.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is this:  I think you need to put your dreams of a larger family on hold right now, deal with the immediate issue (your health) first, and then see if having another child makes sense - not just financially (I'm sure he is making plenty and that money is not an issue), but physically and emotionally as well. 

It seems to me that you're trying to force things to happen.  I'm not trying to say that I know what God's purpose is for heaping you with so many obstacles, but maybe he's telling you to stop trying to make things happen and let Him do it for you.

If you read this, I'm sure you would be angry with me for presuming to know what's best for you.  I don't blame you - I would feel the same way if our places were switched.  But after reading your blog for two years, I am pretty sure that you and I are more similar than you could know.  This is the advice that I would need to hear and accept and, as much as I would hate to hear it, would eventually realize is true.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

You Can't Write This Stuff

I am very glad that today is Tuesday because it means that Monday is over.  I'm hoping that it wasn't a harbinger of things to come for the rest of the week.  What was so horrible about Monday, you ask?  Well, let me tell you:
  1. T woke us up at around 1:30am saying he had to poop.  Hubster gets up and goes to help him.  When I heard Hub saying "Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh!" I knew what was going on.  The poor kid had pooped in his underpants and it was seeping out the leg holes and down his legs.  I think it took about seven wipes to get it all off his legs.  And I almost gagged washing out his underpants in the sing.  Poor kid.
  2. T then woke up at around 5:30 and was ready for the day to start.  Also, since he's a toddler, his "inside voice" is basically shouting, so I was woken to his "inside voice" announcing that he wanted to watch television.
  3. Took T and S to the pediatrician for a follow up appointment (they had ear infections because they were so congested after having the flu).  Had to circle the front parking lot twice and the back lot once.  Found at least three empty spots that my minivan could not fit into because people either (a) cannot adequately center their car between the lines, or (b) give up entirely on fitting between the lines and take up 1.2 parking spaces for their precious vehicle. 
  4. On the way out of the doctor's office, I stopped to schedule T's and S's yearly checkups.  The woman taking appointments then told me that our pediatrician is out on a personal leave of absence.  She didn't share much other than that it wasn't due to a medical issue but her behavior was, I don't know, weird?  I left with the feeling that this leave wasn't exactly the ped's decision but instead was pushed on her (she used to practice in another of the practice's offices, and I was told by an acquaintance that she was moved because she asked that her appointments be twenty minutes instead of ten, and the office wanted to "send her a message")
  5. By lunchtime, I was knocked out because we did a Santa Train Ride the night before and the kids didn't get to bed until almost nine.  Tried to take a nap on the couch with T while S was down in his crib, but T either ground his head into my sternum or kicked nonstop.
  6. When J got in the house after school, he told me that he fell asleep on the bus (see #5) and when he woke, he pooped in his pants.  It wasn't as messy as T's early morning surprise, but it was basically the same thing.  Poor kid.  I hope nobody on the bus noticed.
At least I had yoga last night...  om shanti...

Saturday, December 5, 2009

His 'n' Hers

I got my Christmas present early this year.  I asked Santa, er, the hubster, for an iPhone.  Initially he said that I didn't need one (truth be told, I don't, but after being without a laptop for two weeks, a smart phone seemed like a good idea considering that my oldest is in elementary school and many important communiques are sent electronically).  Last night at Best Buy, he had an epiphany and came around.  And fell so hard for the iPhone that he got one for himself, too.

If you don't have an iPhone or know someone who does, or even if you do, I have to say this:  it is SO freakin' cool! 

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Inventory

When deciding on a new career, the first step always seems to be to make a list of what you're good at, and what you really like to do.  So here goes(this is, by no means, an exhaustive list):
  • I like to do research on topics that interest me, such as:
    • parenting
    • technology
    • popular culture
      • television
      • music
      • the media
  • I like being a resource to my friends (see previous bullet point)
  • I'm good at reading people
    • I can usually tell who's honest and who's full of you-know-what
  • I like sharing my opinions on stuff (see first bullet point)
  • I love to read
  • I like to write
  • I like teaching people new stuff