I keep putting off this post, hoping things will improve. Of course, I jinx myself or something, by writing that last post. Not really, I know that. But, as I've said earlier, this healing thing has been very "two steps forward, three steps back." So I've been more on the 3 steps back side of things and when I'm like that I'm not much in the mood to post. Lying on the couch doesn't leave much to talk about, you know? Things got real bad last Thursday night. I had a pretty intense Physical Therapy (PT) session that day, but I felt good when doing it, so I didn't think it was from that. My muscles were stiff that night when I was heading to bed so I took one of my muscle relaxers (haven't had one of those in several weeks). I woke up Friday and could barely move. It was super bad. AND my foot was numb! The numbness slowly worked it's way up my leg during the day and by the time Daddyspeak got home (and I could take a much desired pain pill) my leg was gone!
I thought I was done w/the numbness!
I only took half pain pills (vicodin) cause, even though it hurt, it wasn't debilitating and I wanted to know if I started to come out of it. (Plus those things really screw w/my sleep patterns.) I'd been taking anti-inflammatory meds all day (and icing) w/out any luck. Since I knew the disc wasn't pushing on the nerve, and I don't have excess scar tissue (something PT works on every time I go in) I figured something must've been inflamed and pushing on the nerve. While it was unpleasant, it did improve and by Sunday I was able to host Easter for my family.
My guess was that I might be a human barometer now. That was the only major change I could think of, that could've caused such a drastic reaction; we had a MAJOR pressure change Thursday/Friday. My back doc had asked if I'd noticed anything related to weather since I'd had the healing issues w/my bones; it's not uncommon for people to have that added affect.
I had PT again today & told them about my little experience. My PT did some extra massage on the vertebrae directly affected from the surgery. She thinks I might have scar tissue building/attaching directly to the nerve root. I guess the scar tissue isn't just on the cut itself. I was actually feeling pretty good before she started & by the time she was done it was hurting like heck and I had the pins and needles going down my leg. I did the rest of my exercises & was OK by the time I left. (I basically work out for 2 hours at PT.) I got home & capitalized on my energy burst (and the fact that Little was in school and Big was out w/G'ma) and did a load of laundry & got some picking up done. Then I was losing steam so I worked at my computer. I was pretty good (even got dinner on the table & ate w/the family tonight, Woo!) But when I started to clear the table my leg went numb. I took my cue & got my butt on the couch. I ended up taking a pain pill (full one) cause it was giving me waves of increasing pain. I did notice that if I touch the area next to my scar it's incredibly tender. That's new, so I think this is a reaction to the massage. I'm also thinking my little weekend pain jaunt was probably more related to PT than not. I iced my back again & I'm better. Still tingly, but not completely numb. Hopefully, it'll not get worse by morning.
So there's your medical post for the day. I feel bad that so much of what I'm writing these days is about this, but that's my life these days. I can say that things are still better and continuing to get that way. My energy level is improved and the pain I'm having is no where near what I was having in November and December or even in February or March. It's all about babysteps, but we are getting there.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Back to Me
No, this isn't a post about my back.
Really, it's not. Well, everything is about my back, sort of, but as much as anything in my life can be removed this post is just that. Removed.
Did you read my last post?
Recognize anything? No really, think about it.
ME!
Yes, me I'm back.
No, I never totally left, and I've been off the drugs for weeks now, but since Thursday I've been back.
God, I hope it doesn't go away. For the first time in months (maybe 2 years) I feel like I'm back to being me. No underlying current of pain in everything I do. I'm not pain free. Well, occasionally, like right now, I can get into a position that doesn't hurt, isn't even uncomfortable, for a period of time.
That's new.
Yeah, that's how bad it really was, there was never a time when it didn't actively hurt. Ever. Then it was just that I was always at least uncomfortable, if not in pain. But today, today, I've had periods of time when I don't hurt. Well, if I move I'll still feel it, but damn that light at the end of that tunnel is getting bright.
Last Thursday I saw my back doctor. He was IMPRESSED w/my ability. "Things were looking good, I had another month of Physical Threapy (PT) and if I needed more they would let him know, so he released me from his care. "
Wow.
I mean I knew I was doing well, but I still was having a lot of pain and are you sure? I didn't say anything. I was actually surprised during the appointment. I did my usually; touch your toes, bend backwards, walk; on your toes, on your heels, etc... The bending got me. It didn't hurt. Hmmm....that 's new.
Next day I went to PT. Had a different threapist since it was a different day of the week. It was like someone had lifted a layer of brick off my right hip & she was able to get into the layer of muscle that was really giving me the problem. Hurt like heck, but at least someone else could feel the place that was pulling everything forward. (That's the best way I can describe it. It feels like my pelvic bone on the right is being pulled forward, everything else along with it.) After, I went through all my exercises, they're getting easier still. She added two more and I was still done 15 mins earlier.
I was riding high when I left that session. You know when you work out and you have tons of energy at the end. Not, go run a marathon energy, more like you are finally really awake for the day energy. The kind where you want to hit your ToDo list & knock out as much as possible before you run out. I figured it would last a hour at most & then I would crash.
I haven't crashed yet.
No, I'm not on that euphoric super-charged high anymore. That lasted about 4 hours, and when it ended it was gradual. But my energy level is still up. I'm functioning like a normal person. I can knock out something on my list, like unload the dishwasher and not have to sit down for the next hour to rest after. Yeah, that's been my life at best for the last 6-12 months. Today, (Monday,) I went so far as to write a ToDo list, cause I felt like I could do some of it.
No, I'm not pain-free yet. But I'm drug-free, and I'm only uncomfortable, and that's not all the time. I believe I'm about to be back.
I have hope again that I can be the person I want to be.
The mom & wife I want to be and my family deserves. That makes it all worth it.
Originally written 3/30/09, and then I got a killer sinus infection for the next week or so. Yes, I'm feeling better and my medicine cabinet is stocked, so I feel fairly safe in making this post. KNOCK ON WOOD!
Really, it's not. Well, everything is about my back, sort of, but as much as anything in my life can be removed this post is just that. Removed.
Did you read my last post?
Recognize anything? No really, think about it.
ME!
Yes, me I'm back.
No, I never totally left, and I've been off the drugs for weeks now, but since Thursday I've been back.
God, I hope it doesn't go away. For the first time in months (maybe 2 years) I feel like I'm back to being me. No underlying current of pain in everything I do. I'm not pain free. Well, occasionally, like right now, I can get into a position that doesn't hurt, isn't even uncomfortable, for a period of time.
That's new.
Yeah, that's how bad it really was, there was never a time when it didn't actively hurt. Ever. Then it was just that I was always at least uncomfortable, if not in pain. But today, today, I've had periods of time when I don't hurt. Well, if I move I'll still feel it, but damn that light at the end of that tunnel is getting bright.
Last Thursday I saw my back doctor. He was IMPRESSED w/my ability. "Things were looking good, I had another month of Physical Threapy (PT) and if I needed more they would let him know, so he released me from his care. "
Wow.
I mean I knew I was doing well, but I still was having a lot of pain and are you sure? I didn't say anything. I was actually surprised during the appointment. I did my usually; touch your toes, bend backwards, walk; on your toes, on your heels, etc... The bending got me. It didn't hurt. Hmmm....that 's new.
Next day I went to PT. Had a different threapist since it was a different day of the week. It was like someone had lifted a layer of brick off my right hip & she was able to get into the layer of muscle that was really giving me the problem. Hurt like heck, but at least someone else could feel the place that was pulling everything forward. (That's the best way I can describe it. It feels like my pelvic bone on the right is being pulled forward, everything else along with it.) After, I went through all my exercises, they're getting easier still. She added two more and I was still done 15 mins earlier.
I was riding high when I left that session. You know when you work out and you have tons of energy at the end. Not, go run a marathon energy, more like you are finally really awake for the day energy. The kind where you want to hit your ToDo list & knock out as much as possible before you run out. I figured it would last a hour at most & then I would crash.
I haven't crashed yet.
No, I'm not on that euphoric super-charged high anymore. That lasted about 4 hours, and when it ended it was gradual. But my energy level is still up. I'm functioning like a normal person. I can knock out something on my list, like unload the dishwasher and not have to sit down for the next hour to rest after. Yeah, that's been my life at best for the last 6-12 months. Today, (Monday,) I went so far as to write a ToDo list, cause I felt like I could do some of it.
No, I'm not pain-free yet. But I'm drug-free, and I'm only uncomfortable, and that's not all the time. I believe I'm about to be back.
I have hope again that I can be the person I want to be.
The mom & wife I want to be and my family deserves. That makes it all worth it.
Originally written 3/30/09, and then I got a killer sinus infection for the next week or so. Yes, I'm feeling better and my medicine cabinet is stocked, so I feel fairly safe in making this post. KNOCK ON WOOD!
Friday, April 03, 2009
Thank Goodness for Fish Cake!
Today was not my most stellar day as a mom. I'm sure it's one that will stick in my kids' minds, but it's one I'd probably like to forget. I got a diagnosis; sinus infection. Some antibiotics, cough meds w/codeine & I'm on the mend, I hope. Today was the day our cleaning people come. In order for them to really be able to clean, the house needs to be picked up. It wasn't. Well it wasn't this AM. This morning when I got up I found that every single room in this house looked like the contents of the drawers/shelves/cupboards had all thrown up. I was too tired to be pissed. I got Big off to school & laid down on the couch. I then worked on the house 10 mins at a time w/my timer. The state of my house was the reason for my less than stellar mom skills today. At one point I told the girls; "If this house EVER looks like this again, I'm just not coming home till it's picked up." I think what made me that maddest is that it was like, "Hey, Mom's sick, it's a free for all!" As if I wouldn't notice or care. If the cleaners weren't coming I wouldn't have picked it all up, I would've made them all do it. My girls know to put their trash in the trash can & their dirty clothes in the hamper. I don't normally have to tell them to put their dishes in the sink when they're done or to put their toys away when they move on to something else. They know. I guess that's what bugged me the most, that they do it w/out being told if I'm around.
On another note, I discovered something about myself. You know when you're not feeling well you want comforting things. I realized that my version of comfort food is Japanese. Who knew? Well, I sort of did, but it's been a while. Tonight, I went out & got myself some Udon (Japanese noodle soup) and sushi. And now, I'm sitting my quiet, clean house alone (the kids & daddy are at the neighbors having pizza, although I did drop off a spider and part of a rainbow roll to daddy.) But I suddenly feel so much more human!
Nothing a little fish cake & wasabi can't fix, right?
On another note, I discovered something about myself. You know when you're not feeling well you want comforting things. I realized that my version of comfort food is Japanese. Who knew? Well, I sort of did, but it's been a while. Tonight, I went out & got myself some Udon (Japanese noodle soup) and sushi. And now, I'm sitting my quiet, clean house alone (the kids & daddy are at the neighbors having pizza, although I did drop off a spider and part of a rainbow roll to daddy.) But I suddenly feel so much more human!
Nothing a little fish cake & wasabi can't fix, right?
Thursday, April 02, 2009
She Plans & God Laughs...
Ever heard that expression before? It's my life lately. Last week I wrote a post about how much better I'm feeling, how I'm seeing that light at the end of the tunnel and it's gotten really bright lately, blah, blah, blah....
Then I got sick.
Got the worst flu I've had in ages. AGES!
Was sick w/it for like 5 days, w/no one around to help me out, G'parents on vacations. Yes, I know lots of you never have anyone to help you out, you don't live near family or they're gone, etc...I get that. But you've also got a back up plan of some sort, right? I'm getting there on the back up plan, but we're still sorting it out, because most of the time I don't need it.)
After 5 days of that I was feeling better and was ready to post my "feeling better" post and then I get sick again! I jinxed myself I guess. Not sure what I have now is not the same thing that just sat for a week and has turned into a secondary infection. What I can tell you is that I feel like creamed crap again. Bah!
I'm feeling bad enough that I asked DaddySpeak to stay home from work today. That's pretty bad in my book. I hate asking for help. HATE IT!
I slept till 11 (sort of, woke a lot w/sore throat & coughing) then got in the shower thinking that might help. It did, a bit. But my body is obviously at war & I'm feeling the effects. I'm super achy. Like typing does me in. And my neck is super sensitive from holding my head up. Seriously. (Melodramatic much? But really that is how I feel.)
So, once I get well, I will list that post. I thought it'd be nice for you to hear about something beside my bitching all the time. But after that, never again. I learned my lesson. Bitchy, snarky posts only from here on out!
Then I got sick.
Got the worst flu I've had in ages. AGES!
Was sick w/it for like 5 days, w/no one around to help me out, G'parents on vacations. Yes, I know lots of you never have anyone to help you out, you don't live near family or they're gone, etc...I get that. But you've also got a back up plan of some sort, right? I'm getting there on the back up plan, but we're still sorting it out, because most of the time I don't need it.)
After 5 days of that I was feeling better and was ready to post my "feeling better" post and then I get sick again! I jinxed myself I guess. Not sure what I have now is not the same thing that just sat for a week and has turned into a secondary infection. What I can tell you is that I feel like creamed crap again. Bah!
I'm feeling bad enough that I asked DaddySpeak to stay home from work today. That's pretty bad in my book. I hate asking for help. HATE IT!
I slept till 11 (sort of, woke a lot w/sore throat & coughing) then got in the shower thinking that might help. It did, a bit. But my body is obviously at war & I'm feeling the effects. I'm super achy. Like typing does me in. And my neck is super sensitive from holding my head up. Seriously. (Melodramatic much? But really that is how I feel.)
So, once I get well, I will list that post. I thought it'd be nice for you to hear about something beside my bitching all the time. But after that, never again. I learned my lesson. Bitchy, snarky posts only from here on out!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Who Do You Love?"
"Mommy, who do you love more?"
Big hit me with that one today. Didn't see that one coming at all. They always manage to blindside you with the big ones.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Us and Daddy? Who do you love more"
I would've thought it would've been more about the two of them, but maybe she's smart enough to know she's afraid of the possibilities of that answer. At least in this case it's apples & oranges and she knows that. Even at age 5 somewhere in her she understands it's different.
"Honey, I love you all equally in different ways."
She waits.
"Listen, I love you and your sister the way a mother loves her daughters and your father the way a wife loves her husband and G'ma & Papa the way a daughter love her parents."
"A Daughter!?"
"Yeah, remember G'ma & Papa are my mom & dad."
"And even though I love you and your sister like a mother loves a daughter the way I love you each is different too. I love you each because of who you are, so that makes it different and the same. "
She just looks at me skeptical (jeez, she's only FIVE!)
"Listen, before we had your sister, when you were our only child, I loved you so much. I just couldn't imagine being able to have enough love in my heart to be able to love another child as much as I loved you. I just couldn't. I'd never known the kind of love a parent has for a child & once I knew I couldn't imagine being able to love another child that much too."
"Really?"
"Yup. But you know what happened?"
"What?"
"When your sister was born my heart grew."
"It did?"
"Yup. That's what happens, your heart grows to be big enough for all the love for everyone you need to. Especially your kids."
"Is that true?"
"Yup. It is."
And it is.
Big hit me with that one today. Didn't see that one coming at all. They always manage to blindside you with the big ones.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Us and Daddy? Who do you love more"
I would've thought it would've been more about the two of them, but maybe she's smart enough to know she's afraid of the possibilities of that answer. At least in this case it's apples & oranges and she knows that. Even at age 5 somewhere in her she understands it's different.
"Honey, I love you all equally in different ways."
She waits.
"Listen, I love you and your sister the way a mother loves her daughters and your father the way a wife loves her husband and G'ma & Papa the way a daughter love her parents."
"A Daughter!?"
"Yeah, remember G'ma & Papa are my mom & dad."
"And even though I love you and your sister like a mother loves a daughter the way I love you each is different too. I love you each because of who you are, so that makes it different and the same. "
She just looks at me skeptical (jeez, she's only FIVE!)
"Listen, before we had your sister, when you were our only child, I loved you so much. I just couldn't imagine being able to have enough love in my heart to be able to love another child as much as I loved you. I just couldn't. I'd never known the kind of love a parent has for a child & once I knew I couldn't imagine being able to love another child that much too."
"Really?"
"Yup. But you know what happened?"
"What?"
"When your sister was born my heart grew."
"It did?"
"Yup. That's what happens, your heart grows to be big enough for all the love for everyone you need to. Especially your kids."
"Is that true?"
"Yup. It is."
And it is.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tweet, Tweet!!!
Um yeah, I Tweet. Who doesn't? Do you both read my blog & my twitter? I've also hooked up my FaceBook account to my twitter so I can update from my cell, cause I'm hip and down with it like the kids. And, "get that ball off my lawn you whippersnappers!" Yeah, so if you do follow my twitter or FB accounts you may have noticed some odd messages from me today.
No, I am not above humiliating myself to get help fix the situation. Stop laughing! Seriously!
Yes, I locked myself out of the house today.
Remember I said I've been sick? Well, I have and I am & I'm having trouble w/completely coherent thoughts. Yes, they do still let me watch the children, why do you ask??? So let me back track a little here (although if you do follow my twitter & FB you might want to skip the rest of this paragraph as it's review.
And now, I'm exhausted. See, this is why I haven't been posting. I'm taking a break to rest because I can (DaddySpeak just walked in the door and while I do love you Internets, I am really sick and this post is partly a distraction to try and keep me awake. Since I do really need to rest and DS is here, I'll be back.) You'll hardly miss me, trust me.
See, like I never left. :-)
That's pretty much my day every day. Only when you're here, you miss me. Or I miss you. I miss major chunks of my day still, but it's getting later & later every day so progress, right?
Anywho, the tweets....oh yes!
Here's the deal; Because I have the flu (bubonic plague) I'm a little out of it. Yesterday was much worse, I had a fever most of the day w/accompanying chills & aches along w/cement filled sinuses. Just for fun, Little decided to get up before 5 yesterday. I didn't fight it (too much) got up, got her & Big to their schools & went to Physical Therapy (PT). I felt so awful I didn't actually do any PT, just got them to work on my back a bit & headed home. So that was yesterday. It was miserable, but doable because Little was at school all day. My fever broke last night, and I did get some sleep, but I was still working from exhausted when I woke up today. AND today Little's home all day. So I make it through the morning with her, (sort of, I did do the drop off and wake w/a start thing a couple times, but the house wasn't burned down & no one poisoned themselves so overall I consider that a win). The weather's been nice & the kid wants to wear all these flip-flops that I recently unpacked from her hand-me-down bins. Most are too big so they slow her down at best, (at worst, she gets tripped, but that's fodder for another post). I'm trying to kill time w/her so cool, "Hey Little, want to walk to get Sissy and you can push your doll stroller?" Heavens opened up and angels sang, at least according to her. So I didn't bring my whole purse, I did my pocket check;
ipod, "check"
cell phone, "check"
keys, "check"
water bottle? "Opps, where's my water bottle?" "Hey, Little, wait don't open the door w/out mom!"
And we're on our way!
Guess, what I put down on the counter instead of into my pocket when grabbing my water bottle to chase after my 2YO who was leaving w/out me?
Lame, yes. But understandable considering the complete mess my head is right now.
Here's how out of it I am; I didn't know I'd done this until we literally got back to the doorstep. (And looking in to see the keys sitting on the counter.)
ARGGGGG!!!!
So yes, I checked all the doors & windows (we had a spat of break-ins going on a month or so ago, so) every thing locked up tight! Big, of course, "I really have to go to the potty!" So I call our closest neighbor & we trek on down to her house. W/in minutes her daughter & my two were in full play mode. I'm on the cell trying to reach DS, who I'm assuming is ignoring my calls because he already knows that I'm sick would like him to come home early. I have a an epiphany: If I call the road side service (RSS) & tell them I'm locked out of my car, I have a garage door opener in the car & hopefully, hopefully the door from the house to the garage isn't locked.
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES. That's how long till RSS will be at our house to help me out. And that's assuming we didn't lock the garage door. The girls have gymnastics in 45 minutes and I really need them to go. Yeah, it's expensive, so I don't want them to miss it, but more than that, I need them to get tired out from it. So now I'm on the phone calling neighbor who are in the same class trying to work out a carpool and who has car seats we can borrow, etc.... In the meantime, MD, the neighbor's house I'm at, has made lunch for the girls and is getting them situated on the patio to eat, "so they'll be ready to go". MM has worked out the carpool and found seats for me and will take my girls while I wait for RSS to show up. Do I have the most rocking friends or what?
So the tweets, why would I need to alert the world to my plight? Do I just enjoy the ridicule? Well, no, I was pretty sure that the garage door would not be unlocked. In which case, I still needed DS to make his way home, and he still didn't even know it yet. Epiphany #2! If I send a Tweet (hooked up to my FB) and indicate that I'm trying to contact him, one of his co-workers will track him down for comic value if nothing else. It worked, he called me right back! Actually, he called me before anyone even saw it. By that time, RSS had shown up, and lucky me! garage door was open! The girls and I rallied and we were off to gymnastics!
A few hours later DS walked through the door. EARLY! And here we are!
So that's why I humiliated myself today via Twitter and Facebook.
No, I am not above humiliating myself to get help fix the situation. Stop laughing! Seriously!
Yes, I locked myself out of the house today.
Remember I said I've been sick? Well, I have and I am & I'm having trouble w/completely coherent thoughts. Yes, they do still let me watch the children, why do you ask??? So let me back track a little here (although if you do follow my twitter & FB you might want to skip the rest of this paragraph as it's review.
And now, I'm exhausted. See, this is why I haven't been posting. I'm taking a break to rest because I can (DaddySpeak just walked in the door and while I do love you Internets, I am really sick and this post is partly a distraction to try and keep me awake. Since I do really need to rest and DS is here, I'll be back.) You'll hardly miss me, trust me.
See, like I never left. :-)
That's pretty much my day every day. Only when you're here, you miss me. Or I miss you. I miss major chunks of my day still, but it's getting later & later every day so progress, right?
Anywho, the tweets....oh yes!
Here's the deal; Because I have the flu (bubonic plague) I'm a little out of it. Yesterday was much worse, I had a fever most of the day w/accompanying chills & aches along w/cement filled sinuses. Just for fun, Little decided to get up before 5 yesterday. I didn't fight it (too much) got up, got her & Big to their schools & went to Physical Therapy (PT). I felt so awful I didn't actually do any PT, just got them to work on my back a bit & headed home. So that was yesterday. It was miserable, but doable because Little was at school all day. My fever broke last night, and I did get some sleep, but I was still working from exhausted when I woke up today. AND today Little's home all day. So I make it through the morning with her, (sort of, I did do the drop off and wake w/a start thing a couple times, but the house wasn't burned down & no one poisoned themselves so overall I consider that a win). The weather's been nice & the kid wants to wear all these flip-flops that I recently unpacked from her hand-me-down bins. Most are too big so they slow her down at best, (at worst, she gets tripped, but that's fodder for another post). I'm trying to kill time w/her so cool, "Hey Little, want to walk to get Sissy and you can push your doll stroller?" Heavens opened up and angels sang, at least according to her. So I didn't bring my whole purse, I did my pocket check;
ipod, "check"
cell phone, "check"
keys, "check"
water bottle? "Opps, where's my water bottle?" "Hey, Little, wait don't open the door w/out mom!"
And we're on our way!
Guess, what I put down on the counter instead of into my pocket when grabbing my water bottle to chase after my 2YO who was leaving w/out me?
Lame, yes. But understandable considering the complete mess my head is right now.
Here's how out of it I am; I didn't know I'd done this until we literally got back to the doorstep. (And looking in to see the keys sitting on the counter.)
ARGGGGG!!!!
So yes, I checked all the doors & windows (we had a spat of break-ins going on a month or so ago, so) every thing locked up tight! Big, of course, "I really have to go to the potty!" So I call our closest neighbor & we trek on down to her house. W/in minutes her daughter & my two were in full play mode. I'm on the cell trying to reach DS, who I'm assuming is ignoring my calls because he already knows that I'm sick would like him to come home early. I have a an epiphany: If I call the road side service (RSS) & tell them I'm locked out of my car, I have a garage door opener in the car & hopefully, hopefully the door from the house to the garage isn't locked.
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES. That's how long till RSS will be at our house to help me out. And that's assuming we didn't lock the garage door. The girls have gymnastics in 45 minutes and I really need them to go. Yeah, it's expensive, so I don't want them to miss it, but more than that, I need them to get tired out from it. So now I'm on the phone calling neighbor who are in the same class trying to work out a carpool and who has car seats we can borrow, etc.... In the meantime, MD, the neighbor's house I'm at, has made lunch for the girls and is getting them situated on the patio to eat, "so they'll be ready to go". MM has worked out the carpool and found seats for me and will take my girls while I wait for RSS to show up. Do I have the most rocking friends or what?
So the tweets, why would I need to alert the world to my plight? Do I just enjoy the ridicule? Well, no, I was pretty sure that the garage door would not be unlocked. In which case, I still needed DS to make his way home, and he still didn't even know it yet. Epiphany #2! If I send a Tweet (hooked up to my FB) and indicate that I'm trying to contact him, one of his co-workers will track him down for comic value if nothing else. It worked, he called me right back! Actually, he called me before anyone even saw it. By that time, RSS had shown up, and lucky me! garage door was open! The girls and I rallied and we were off to gymnastics!
A few hours later DS walked through the door. EARLY! And here we are!
So that's why I humiliated myself today via Twitter and Facebook.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Awake...it's what's for dinner
Wow it's been 2 weeks since my last post. Well, not much new to report. I'm taking a scrapbook class & I've been sick. Woo-freaking-hoo! I know, the exciting life I lead. Between those two things, not much time left for much else. I am actually doing better. Yup, you heard me right,
"I'm doing better!"
Don't get too excited, I'm still very much two steps forward, three steps back, but at least now I'm past the point where I started at, it is progress and I guess I'm resigned to my snail's pace. Two nights in a row now I've actually made dinner and stayed awake for it. I didn't say I sat & ate dinner, I told you it's been slow. But the fact that I've actually pulled together more than chicken nuggets and set the table is a pretty big deal for me. I've had days where I've managed to put together a meal in a crockpot or in babysteps all day long, but this is more the whole putting it together the hour before we're due to eat kind of thing. You know, like normal people.
So yeah, it wasn't my intention but, you're getting a post about my ability to make dinner.
Wow, you may qualify as more pathetic than I if you're still reading this.
"I'm doing better!"
Don't get too excited, I'm still very much two steps forward, three steps back, but at least now I'm past the point where I started at, it is progress and I guess I'm resigned to my snail's pace. Two nights in a row now I've actually made dinner and stayed awake for it. I didn't say I sat & ate dinner, I told you it's been slow. But the fact that I've actually pulled together more than chicken nuggets and set the table is a pretty big deal for me. I've had days where I've managed to put together a meal in a crockpot or in babysteps all day long, but this is more the whole putting it together the hour before we're due to eat kind of thing. You know, like normal people.
So yeah, it wasn't my intention but, you're getting a post about my ability to make dinner.
Wow, you may qualify as more pathetic than I if you're still reading this.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
My First Best Friend (4) --Part 3
OMyGawd!OMyGawd!OMyGawd!
Guess who sent me a message today on Facebook. Ok, ok, I'll calm down a bit. I was just so damn sideswiped by it, you know. I mean I'm going along having a day. Little's at preschool, Big's having a playdate and her and I just got back from our dentist appointment. I hit the refresh button on my computer in passing, you know, not really expecting anything. Well, except for all those "sales" and "coupons" that seem to fill up my inbox these days...So I immediately go to the 3 FB notes; 2 are from a school friend who posted old high school photos of us, lovely. But the third! The third is a note from her! Just a quick, "Hi, your family is beautiful and Wow! Look at those scrapbook pages." (I get a lot of that from people who don't know better. ;-) But still, it's the first personal contact she's initiated in 15+ years. OK, I'm going to go practice my cleansing breaths and think about what 2 "not committal, casual sentences I can write back, w/out sounding desperate." Which is kind of pathetic isn't it? More later.
Guess who sent me a message today on Facebook. Ok, ok, I'll calm down a bit. I was just so damn sideswiped by it, you know. I mean I'm going along having a day. Little's at preschool, Big's having a playdate and her and I just got back from our dentist appointment. I hit the refresh button on my computer in passing, you know, not really expecting anything. Well, except for all those "sales" and "coupons" that seem to fill up my inbox these days...So I immediately go to the 3 FB notes; 2 are from a school friend who posted old high school photos of us, lovely. But the third! The third is a note from her! Just a quick, "Hi, your family is beautiful and Wow! Look at those scrapbook pages." (I get a lot of that from people who don't know better. ;-) But still, it's the first personal contact she's initiated in 15+ years. OK, I'm going to go practice my cleansing breaths and think about what 2 "not committal, casual sentences I can write back, w/out sounding desperate." Which is kind of pathetic isn't it? More later.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
And as the pendulum swings back...
I've been avoiding blogging for a while now, I guess. Part of it is frustration & I feel like all I'm doing is two steps forward then three back. And I guess I am.
I am getting better, I really am.
It's just frustrating. I feel better, I do something and then I'm on my back again. And really that's all there is going on right now. Well, it's not all, but I'm feeling very grumpy and I don't want to be all Nancy Negative, cause I that's all I feel, so thus no posting.
So here's your Monday Update grumpiness and all:
Remember all that weight I lost last summer, without trying? Yeah, you can get over being pissed at me.
It's back (I told you it wouldn't last,) oh and it brought friends. After the surgery, well it started during the holidays cause that's around the time I really stopped moving unless absolutely necessary. And also the time I started eating again. Honestly, I never stopped eating, well crap. I never stopped eating CRAP! So by the end of my "6 weeks," that magic number by which I should've been "recovered". I'd found that I'd gained back 15 lbs of that 17 I'd lost. Did that stop me? NOoooooo . I was convinced that I would miraculously jump from my bed in any moment now because I would be "recovered" and it would just "melt off". Riiiiight. Well that and there were also these Girl Scout cookies in the freezer...God forbid I be deprived of thin mints at this my time of suffering. Yeah, I know, you get the idea.
So how's that working for me?
Um yeah, I weigh as much as I did when I left the hospital after having Little. So I'm up an additional 15 lbs. Yes, up 30 lbs from say September. BAH! So you understand the grumpiness now? The frustration? Oh, and I'm having a really hard time making myself do extra stuff (to get moving to try and start losing it) for fear of ending up on the couch again.
I'm back on my low carb thing again. I had my first carb crash tonight. It was scary. I was shaking to badly I could hardly stand. I had berries & whipped cream. And when that wasn't fast enough I ate some gummies. Good News--I'm on my way to having them out of my system. Bad News--this is the hardest part.
Potty Training 08
So yeah, it really was just potty training 08. For fear of jinxing myself here, but at this point I think I'm pretty safe (knock on wood, sign of the cross…). Little has not strayed from using the potty since January. Stinker! She's SO GOOD about it that I forget to remind her to go. The biggest annoyance about it, so far, has been that she NEEDS to check out the bathroom where ever we go. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And as you know, if your recently trained toddler says she needs to go, you take her. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Yeah, she's figured out that she can prolong quite a few things this way, including the time out. Last week I told her she could pee herself, I didn't care (she'd hit her sister). She didn't, (pee herself) but I still have to let her check out every bathroom in Santa Clara County for now.
BIG GIRL NEWS (there really are no babies left in my house. *sigh*)
No, not news about Big (boy could this get confusing) but news about Little being a BIG GIRL. Last week her school told me she would be moving up w/the 3YOs so not to pay the extra $$ associated w/the 2YOs who aren't potty trained. AND then the next day, her gymnastics teacher informed me I should really consider moving her up to the 3YO class. "She's a great example to the rest of the group, but she's going to get bored pretty quick." Yikes! All in one week, damn kid w/her growing up....get that ball of my lawn....grumble, grumble.... I told her teacher I wanted to wait till I was able to get THE BIG ONE into her class on Wednesdays (we were waitlisted) so they'd be changing at the same time AND I wouldn't have to deal w/kids sitting around waiting for each other. Two days later the gym called to say we had a spot! Yeah!!!
So yeah, that earthquake you felt...it was just the planets aligning w/the sun, moon and earth so that my kids now have gym class at the same time! My life just got exponentially easier.
NEWS ABOUT THE BIG GIRL
So Big is pretty much cruising. We've gone through the similar growing pain type stuff from her G'parent's last visit. I knew what it was this time and while that hasn't seemed to stop it, it's taking care of itself. Same w/Little on that front. 48 hours of "testing" after G'ma J left to make sure all the same rules still applied. Big still has this awesome gap where her two top front teeth go, makes for some awesome pictures. Her hair is growing out & starting to look slightly less akward. I told her she can get it cut AFTER our Disney trip; we're getting princess hairdo's while there, damit!! Yes, I'm living vicariously through my kids. If I can't be Barbie well then they MUST be! And then I will scrapbook it, so later they can tell me how lame it was ,only to find that they have little girls who are dying to do it.
That is how this all works, right?
Speaking of cruising...Daddy's been taking her out to the school on weekends and she's started riding her bike w/out the training wheels. Still pretty wobbly, and when she was showing Mommy (w/Mommy doing the holding) she biffed big time. (Of course she got hurt once Mommy go involved.) But she's doing it, and she's motivated to do it. Which is more than half the battle right there. Little wants to do it so bad she can taste it. Big better pick it up before summer, I'm pretty sure Little will skip the whole training wheels thing. She's determined.
I have more, but it's tedium at it's finest, so I'll leave you w/this for now. More later this week, when I lose 30lbs and start running marathons....
I am getting better, I really am.
It's just frustrating. I feel better, I do something and then I'm on my back again. And really that's all there is going on right now. Well, it's not all, but I'm feeling very grumpy and I don't want to be all Nancy Negative, cause I that's all I feel, so thus no posting.
So here's your Monday Update grumpiness and all:
Remember all that weight I lost last summer, without trying? Yeah, you can get over being pissed at me.
It's back (I told you it wouldn't last,) oh and it brought friends. After the surgery, well it started during the holidays cause that's around the time I really stopped moving unless absolutely necessary. And also the time I started eating again. Honestly, I never stopped eating, well crap. I never stopped eating CRAP! So by the end of my "6 weeks," that magic number by which I should've been "recovered". I'd found that I'd gained back 15 lbs of that 17 I'd lost. Did that stop me? NOoooooo . I was convinced that I would miraculously jump from my bed in any moment now because I would be "recovered" and it would just "melt off". Riiiiight. Well that and there were also these Girl Scout cookies in the freezer...God forbid I be deprived of thin mints at this my time of suffering. Yeah, I know, you get the idea.
So how's that working for me?
Um yeah, I weigh as much as I did when I left the hospital after having Little. So I'm up an additional 15 lbs. Yes, up 30 lbs from say September. BAH! So you understand the grumpiness now? The frustration? Oh, and I'm having a really hard time making myself do extra stuff (to get moving to try and start losing it) for fear of ending up on the couch again.
I'm back on my low carb thing again. I had my first carb crash tonight. It was scary. I was shaking to badly I could hardly stand. I had berries & whipped cream. And when that wasn't fast enough I ate some gummies. Good News--I'm on my way to having them out of my system. Bad News--this is the hardest part.
Potty Training 08
So yeah, it really was just potty training 08. For fear of jinxing myself here, but at this point I think I'm pretty safe (knock on wood, sign of the cross…). Little has not strayed from using the potty since January. Stinker! She's SO GOOD about it that I forget to remind her to go. The biggest annoyance about it, so far, has been that she NEEDS to check out the bathroom where ever we go. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And as you know, if your recently trained toddler says she needs to go, you take her. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Yeah, she's figured out that she can prolong quite a few things this way, including the time out. Last week I told her she could pee herself, I didn't care (she'd hit her sister). She didn't, (pee herself) but I still have to let her check out every bathroom in Santa Clara County for now.
BIG GIRL NEWS (there really are no babies left in my house. *sigh*)
No, not news about Big (boy could this get confusing) but news about Little being a BIG GIRL. Last week her school told me she would be moving up w/the 3YOs so not to pay the extra $$ associated w/the 2YOs who aren't potty trained. AND then the next day, her gymnastics teacher informed me I should really consider moving her up to the 3YO class. "She's a great example to the rest of the group, but she's going to get bored pretty quick." Yikes! All in one week, damn kid w/her growing up....get that ball of my lawn....grumble, grumble.... I told her teacher I wanted to wait till I was able to get THE BIG ONE into her class on Wednesdays (we were waitlisted) so they'd be changing at the same time AND I wouldn't have to deal w/kids sitting around waiting for each other. Two days later the gym called to say we had a spot! Yeah!!!
So yeah, that earthquake you felt...it was just the planets aligning w/the sun, moon and earth so that my kids now have gym class at the same time! My life just got exponentially easier.
NEWS ABOUT THE BIG GIRL
So Big is pretty much cruising. We've gone through the similar growing pain type stuff from her G'parent's last visit. I knew what it was this time and while that hasn't seemed to stop it, it's taking care of itself. Same w/Little on that front. 48 hours of "testing" after G'ma J left to make sure all the same rules still applied. Big still has this awesome gap where her two top front teeth go, makes for some awesome pictures. Her hair is growing out & starting to look slightly less akward. I told her she can get it cut AFTER our Disney trip; we're getting princess hairdo's while there, damit!! Yes, I'm living vicariously through my kids. If I can't be Barbie well then they MUST be! And then I will scrapbook it, so later they can tell me how lame it was ,only to find that they have little girls who are dying to do it.
That is how this all works, right?
Speaking of cruising...Daddy's been taking her out to the school on weekends and she's started riding her bike w/out the training wheels. Still pretty wobbly, and when she was showing Mommy (w/Mommy doing the holding) she biffed big time. (Of course she got hurt once Mommy go involved.) But she's doing it, and she's motivated to do it. Which is more than half the battle right there. Little wants to do it so bad she can taste it. Big better pick it up before summer, I'm pretty sure Little will skip the whole training wheels thing. She's determined.
I have more, but it's tedium at it's finest, so I'll leave you w/this for now. More later this week, when I lose 30lbs and start running marathons....
Thursday, March 05, 2009
What I've been up to...
Yeah, I can't believe it's Friday already either. I'm taking another class over at Jessica's so I've been cropping instead of blogging. Sorry Internets didn't mean to neglect you (I've been tweeting though!) Here's some eye candy so you can see what I've been up to. I really like the page; photos weren't taken by me & aren't my favs, but that's what happens when you have to hand someone else the camera cause you can't hike up the hill. On that note, I'm doing better. PT is going well and kicking my butt (which is what I mean by doing well). I'll have abs of steel in no time. Seriously...
But yes, eye candy (more to come)....
But yes, eye candy (more to come)....
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Baby Week
Hey, it's baby week! OK, maybe not. But since I posted that link about the BFing & driving chick and now I'm going to go tell you to check out Nikki's new baby girl it seemed like I might have a theme going right now.
Don't get excited, that weight gain of mine is strictly based on my chocolate & cookie consumption; remember I'm the chick who loses weight while preggers (and doesn't throw up.) Yes, you can hate me for it. I would hate me over it if I wasn't me. So while I'm busy having the thin mint baby over here, go see Nikki's new bundle, it'll make your ovaries hurt I promise. Then come read some of my past stories about Little & you'll be over it.
Don't get excited, that weight gain of mine is strictly based on my chocolate & cookie consumption; remember I'm the chick who loses weight while preggers (and doesn't throw up.) Yes, you can hate me for it. I would hate me over it if I wasn't me. So while I'm busy having the thin mint baby over here, go see Nikki's new bundle, it'll make your ovaries hurt I promise. Then come read some of my past stories about Little & you'll be over it.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Extreme Breastfeeding
Ok, did you hear about the mom who was breastfeeding while driving? I am a HUGE fan of the BFing. I was blessed to be able to do this for both of my children and while I know it's not for everyone I probably would've tried just about anything to make it work for both my girls. However, even when I was a pro (baby #2) the best I could do was walk w/very small baby in sling and nurse. But that was only when the situation dictated! But really DRIVING? And talking on the phone???
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Back at it!
I know, enough w/the back jokes. It's been a while so here's my status (which I know you're just dying for.)
After a BIG scare last week (leg went numb again) everything is back in working order and seems to actually be on the mend. Week before last I went into the doctor for my 6 week follow up. He made me bend, squat, roll over, sit and beg....anyway, he checked my mobility. My ankle is still w/out a reflex and I'm still a mess whenever I have an appointment like that; all that movement F's me up really bad. But more or less I'm ploding along at an expected rate. Dr. gave me a prescription for physical therapy & steroids (to move the healing along a bit more.) Last Thursday was the last day of taking steroids (and I was feeling that they really were starting to help,) I woke up w/a numb foot. Uh oh. A few hours later & the numbness was working it's way up my leg and by 11 I had no feeling in my leg left at all. After a phone call to the doctor, he set me up for a 2nd round of steroids and told me to start Physical Therapy (PT). If I still have numbness in a week, then another scan will be scheduled. The PT thought I probably was building scar tissue which was pushing on the nerve again. She worked it out for me and I haven't had any notiable numbness since. Whew!
Ultimately, I'm frustrated. It has been very slow going, or maybe it hasn't. I've had this problem for so long now (2 years) maybe the length of time this is taking is to be expected. I'm finding that I do feel better for periods of time, but then I do something (like go out to dinner w/my hubby for his b-day) and find that it was too much. The bigest problem I have is that when I'm overdoing it, my back doesn't let me know. I find out after the fact that it was too much, and spend the next day in bed. I find it really hard to stop myself from doing things if it doesn't actively hurt, especially if it's related to the girls. I feel so guilty about how much I'm saying no to them already that if I don't know it will bother me for sure I tend to do it, and pay later.
I'm also frustrated w/other things; I've gained quite a bit of weight during this down time (15 lbs) and I get really, really tired. We took the girls to the park for a couple hours today and all I did was sit and watch, but I was wiped out from it. I slept for 3 hours after. I'm tired of being tired is all. I try not to focus on the extrainious stuff (like my weight) hoping that it will take care of it's self once I'm moving again.
Hang w/me Internet. I know I'm crabby and bitchy & I'm trying to be nice, but feel free to call me on it. I just want to be me again, you know.
After a BIG scare last week (leg went numb again) everything is back in working order and seems to actually be on the mend. Week before last I went into the doctor for my 6 week follow up. He made me bend, squat, roll over, sit and beg....anyway, he checked my mobility. My ankle is still w/out a reflex and I'm still a mess whenever I have an appointment like that; all that movement F's me up really bad. But more or less I'm ploding along at an expected rate. Dr. gave me a prescription for physical therapy & steroids (to move the healing along a bit more.) Last Thursday was the last day of taking steroids (and I was feeling that they really were starting to help,) I woke up w/a numb foot. Uh oh. A few hours later & the numbness was working it's way up my leg and by 11 I had no feeling in my leg left at all. After a phone call to the doctor, he set me up for a 2nd round of steroids and told me to start Physical Therapy (PT). If I still have numbness in a week, then another scan will be scheduled. The PT thought I probably was building scar tissue which was pushing on the nerve again. She worked it out for me and I haven't had any notiable numbness since. Whew!
Ultimately, I'm frustrated. It has been very slow going, or maybe it hasn't. I've had this problem for so long now (2 years) maybe the length of time this is taking is to be expected. I'm finding that I do feel better for periods of time, but then I do something (like go out to dinner w/my hubby for his b-day) and find that it was too much. The bigest problem I have is that when I'm overdoing it, my back doesn't let me know. I find out after the fact that it was too much, and spend the next day in bed. I find it really hard to stop myself from doing things if it doesn't actively hurt, especially if it's related to the girls. I feel so guilty about how much I'm saying no to them already that if I don't know it will bother me for sure I tend to do it, and pay later.
I'm also frustrated w/other things; I've gained quite a bit of weight during this down time (15 lbs) and I get really, really tired. We took the girls to the park for a couple hours today and all I did was sit and watch, but I was wiped out from it. I slept for 3 hours after. I'm tired of being tired is all. I try not to focus on the extrainious stuff (like my weight) hoping that it will take care of it's self once I'm moving again.
Hang w/me Internet. I know I'm crabby and bitchy & I'm trying to be nice, but feel free to call me on it. I just want to be me again, you know.
Monday, February 09, 2009
My First Best Friend (3) --Part 2
So it looks like there may be a new chapter in our dusty book. Well, maybe.
You see, in the last several month my old high school buddies have gotten very active on Facebook. I went to the reunion last year, and had a blast. Re-acquainted w/several old friends and now, because of Facebook we're all keeping in touch in ways we never dreamed. Don't think I haven't looked for her over the years. First on classmates, especially as we got closer to the reunion. Nothing. I more or less resigned myself that, that was it. As much as I hate to admit it, and small part of me might always hope, we probably would never be friends again. I'm sure it's for the best as far as my heart is concerned, but there will always be a part of me that hopes. There's still a small part of me that hopes some day she'll want to reconnect. I hate that. I hate feeling so vulnerable, still.
Guess who's on Facebook?
There's a bunch of meme's that have been going around our high school group. They've actually been a lot of fun, a quick way to catch up with each other on mundane things. She was linked on someone's this week. Like myself, she used her married name instead of including her maiden, so I had to check her pix to be sure, but it's her. She looks the same. She even has the same haircut from our freshman year, it is back in style. I'm on Facebook ALL. THE. TIME. because I'm still in recovery mode. I know she's had to have seen my pix linked to several of these memes. So I know, she knows I'm on. But she never sent a friend request. Do I send her one?
OMG! It's high school dating all over again!!!
After a couple days of debating I sent her a friend request, I was too curious not to. So this evening she accepted it. No message accompanying it, just hit the button and moved on. I included a quick note in my request of my maiden name (so she'd know who I was, but I hear I look the same, I happen to know I look better ;-) & the standard, "what have you been up to?" So now, I've checked out her profile & pix; married, still in the town where we went to college, 3 kids. Do I write her? Do I dare put myself out there to be ignored again? Do I still care that much?
This, my friends, is where our or I guess I should say MY current chapter lies. For all I know, she hasn't given me a second thought over the past 20 years. Jeez, I wasn't this stressed about reconnecting w/old flames, but then I don't care about them anymore. Not in the "I wish we could still be friends" sort of way. I do know this; even after 20 years, there's still a hole in my heart from her. I haven'd decided what I'm going to do yet. What do you think?
You see, in the last several month my old high school buddies have gotten very active on Facebook. I went to the reunion last year, and had a blast. Re-acquainted w/several old friends and now, because of Facebook we're all keeping in touch in ways we never dreamed. Don't think I haven't looked for her over the years. First on classmates, especially as we got closer to the reunion. Nothing. I more or less resigned myself that, that was it. As much as I hate to admit it, and small part of me might always hope, we probably would never be friends again. I'm sure it's for the best as far as my heart is concerned, but there will always be a part of me that hopes. There's still a small part of me that hopes some day she'll want to reconnect. I hate that. I hate feeling so vulnerable, still.
Guess who's on Facebook?
There's a bunch of meme's that have been going around our high school group. They've actually been a lot of fun, a quick way to catch up with each other on mundane things. She was linked on someone's this week. Like myself, she used her married name instead of including her maiden, so I had to check her pix to be sure, but it's her. She looks the same. She even has the same haircut from our freshman year, it is back in style. I'm on Facebook ALL. THE. TIME. because I'm still in recovery mode. I know she's had to have seen my pix linked to several of these memes. So I know, she knows I'm on. But she never sent a friend request. Do I send her one?
OMG! It's high school dating all over again!!!
After a couple days of debating I sent her a friend request, I was too curious not to. So this evening she accepted it. No message accompanying it, just hit the button and moved on. I included a quick note in my request of my maiden name (so she'd know who I was, but I hear I look the same, I happen to know I look better ;-) & the standard, "what have you been up to?" So now, I've checked out her profile & pix; married, still in the town where we went to college, 3 kids. Do I write her? Do I dare put myself out there to be ignored again? Do I still care that much?
This, my friends, is where our or I guess I should say MY current chapter lies. For all I know, she hasn't given me a second thought over the past 20 years. Jeez, I wasn't this stressed about reconnecting w/old flames, but then I don't care about them anymore. Not in the "I wish we could still be friends" sort of way. I do know this; even after 20 years, there's still a hole in my heart from her. I haven'd decided what I'm going to do yet. What do you think?
Sunday, February 08, 2009
My First Best Friend (2) --part 1
I'll bet you thought it was part 1 cause I'm splitting the story up. Surprise! It's because there's a recent new chapter in this story, but we'll get to that....
If you just got here, the beginning of the story starts here.
So as I mentioned, Marie and I had been the very best of friends for over 9 years by this time. As was typical of us we joined different social groups, but still hung out together & just introduced each other to all our new friends. One of the groups Marie joined was Young Life. It's a Christian based Youth Group. We had a very large group at our high school and we were both members. I'm pretty sure I'm the one who dragged her to it to begin with, the chapter at our school was so large that we had student leaders and I was one of them. That first semester of college I was doing my best to just stay in school, so I wasn't joining anything. But like I said, I went to the parties at Marie's complex and with the small group of friends I'd made in the dorms. My room mate and I could not have been more different. At this point we were still more or less on speaking terms, but by December it was clear we would never be friends. (Another story for another time.) By the end of that semester I had become pretty good friends with one girl in particular in the dorms, Louise. At the start of second semester Louise and I had decided to rush a little sister program to one of the fraternities. We had some good guy friends in that fraternity and thought it would be fun. And we were right, it was fun. Marie wasn't interested, she was busy enough w/our friends from the complex and her Young Life group. I didn't think much of it at the time. But, it was around this time that we started to grow apart. There were two guys in the complex that we had become very good friends with, Don and Liam. Don and I were such good friends that we got our ears pierced together (I still can't believe he hasn't come out of the closet, but he swears he's not gay, just metro. Last I talked to him he was married w/a couple of kids, so who knows.) I thought Don and her were friends like this also, but later I found that they were more along the lines of "Friends w/Benefits." When things between her and Don went South is when she really started to pull away. She got a lot more involved w/her Young Life group and I understood, we'd both had serious boyfriends in high school and dealt with type of stuff before. In the past, the other had stayed friends w/the guy if they were already friends and once the "mourning period" was over it was fine. And if the other asked, we'd have dropped the guy friend in a heartbeat, but neither of us had ever asked that of each other. This time something had changed. She stopped hanging out with anyone not in the Young Life group. I would go to parties at her next door neighbors and she wouldn't, it was kind of weird. I tried going to the Young Life meetings and such, but this particular group was heavy on the religion and the judgment, and I wasn't looking for that. I was honestly surprised she liked hanging around this group, but you know to each their own. I tried going to the church w/her, but it was very New Age-y and I wasn't into that at all. (I'm Catholic Lite, I'm all about guilt and exercise during my mass. I went to one service w/her when people were getting up sharing their family's personal problems. It was group therapy w/a religious theme. Growing up Catholic it weirded me out. But my point is that I tried.) I was getting pretty involved with the little sister group I was pledging and wasn't exactly sitting on my duff waiting for her phone call either. By the end of the year it became apparent she didn't want to be friends anymore. I'd call her to do stuff; go to the mall, a party, etc...she wasn't interested. Ever. The friendship became very one-sided and pretty soon, she just stopped returning my phone calls. If we had gone to different colleges it would've been a normal progression, but we didn't. It was very hard for me to come to grips with it. I think I would've understood it, if it had happened our first semester, but we'd weathered that and our friendship had been as strong as ever. Then all the sudden, bam! Nothing. And there didn't seem to be a good reason for it. Every time we'd be on break, if I talked to anyone from our old group of high school friends, the first thing they'd ask is if I'd talked to her. They just couldn't believe after all this time that she'd dropped me too. But she had. My parents would run into hers as the years went by and she'd gotten very, very religious. She didn't really want to have much to do with anyone who wasn't part of her church, including her parents. It was so weird. It wasn't like I was anti-religion, I just wasn't into her church, that had never been an issue for us before. Somehow, this group she was with convinced her that if she was hanging w/people who weren't practicing their faith in the same way then she was going to hell with us, so she dropped us. (I know this is NOT typical of a Young Life group and was the result of individuals w/in that group at that time. I do also know that, that group of people is where this start from.) We both finished college in the same major, so yes, we did see each other for the next four years on a fairly regular basis, but you'd never know the kind of friends we'd been. We even had a lecture class together, she came in after me and chose to sit in the back somewhere else. Point taken.
During that time I took that stance that I didn't need that kind of friend anyway. She'd changed, and not for the better. I had plenty of friends on my own and didn't need to go chase her down if she wasn't interested. The truth was that I was injured beyond belief. My heart was broken and I didn't know how to fix it. No one talks about broken hearts from your best friend dropping you, only boyfriends. If you think about it, I was in a 9 year relationship and now she was indifferent. How does that happen??? I "refused to dwell on it," so I didn't really deal with it and I let it fester for years. All of my good girl friendships were measured by this one, and tempered by it. There was a part of me that didn't want to get too close to anyone again. I didn't ever want to be hurt by indifference again. And it still hurts now, after 20 years.
I've made some good friends over the years, but none like Marie. I don't think I've idealized our friendship, I just think, in some ways, we were more mature about our friendships when we were younger. The bottom line is I've never gotten over her. I've never had a best girl friend since Marie. Our 20 year reunion was last year, she didn't show and no one seemed to know where she'd ended up for sure. I didn't dwell on it too much, but several people at the reunion did bring it up. I guess I figured that was pretty much the end of it. This was the extent of closure I'm going to get from this situation. It sucks, but that's real life. If it were a Lifetime Network movie, she would've shown up at the reunion, music would've played and all the years would've melted away.
Ummm, yeah, it's not a movie, so that's that, right? Then I joined Facebook....
If you just got here, the beginning of the story starts here.
So as I mentioned, Marie and I had been the very best of friends for over 9 years by this time. As was typical of us we joined different social groups, but still hung out together & just introduced each other to all our new friends. One of the groups Marie joined was Young Life. It's a Christian based Youth Group. We had a very large group at our high school and we were both members. I'm pretty sure I'm the one who dragged her to it to begin with, the chapter at our school was so large that we had student leaders and I was one of them. That first semester of college I was doing my best to just stay in school, so I wasn't joining anything. But like I said, I went to the parties at Marie's complex and with the small group of friends I'd made in the dorms. My room mate and I could not have been more different. At this point we were still more or less on speaking terms, but by December it was clear we would never be friends. (Another story for another time.) By the end of that semester I had become pretty good friends with one girl in particular in the dorms, Louise. At the start of second semester Louise and I had decided to rush a little sister program to one of the fraternities. We had some good guy friends in that fraternity and thought it would be fun. And we were right, it was fun. Marie wasn't interested, she was busy enough w/our friends from the complex and her Young Life group. I didn't think much of it at the time. But, it was around this time that we started to grow apart. There were two guys in the complex that we had become very good friends with, Don and Liam. Don and I were such good friends that we got our ears pierced together (I still can't believe he hasn't come out of the closet, but he swears he's not gay, just metro. Last I talked to him he was married w/a couple of kids, so who knows.) I thought Don and her were friends like this also, but later I found that they were more along the lines of "Friends w/Benefits." When things between her and Don went South is when she really started to pull away. She got a lot more involved w/her Young Life group and I understood, we'd both had serious boyfriends in high school and dealt with type of stuff before. In the past, the other had stayed friends w/the guy if they were already friends and once the "mourning period" was over it was fine. And if the other asked, we'd have dropped the guy friend in a heartbeat, but neither of us had ever asked that of each other. This time something had changed. She stopped hanging out with anyone not in the Young Life group. I would go to parties at her next door neighbors and she wouldn't, it was kind of weird. I tried going to the Young Life meetings and such, but this particular group was heavy on the religion and the judgment, and I wasn't looking for that. I was honestly surprised she liked hanging around this group, but you know to each their own. I tried going to the church w/her, but it was very New Age-y and I wasn't into that at all. (I'm Catholic Lite, I'm all about guilt and exercise during my mass. I went to one service w/her when people were getting up sharing their family's personal problems. It was group therapy w/a religious theme. Growing up Catholic it weirded me out. But my point is that I tried.) I was getting pretty involved with the little sister group I was pledging and wasn't exactly sitting on my duff waiting for her phone call either. By the end of the year it became apparent she didn't want to be friends anymore. I'd call her to do stuff; go to the mall, a party, etc...she wasn't interested. Ever. The friendship became very one-sided and pretty soon, she just stopped returning my phone calls. If we had gone to different colleges it would've been a normal progression, but we didn't. It was very hard for me to come to grips with it. I think I would've understood it, if it had happened our first semester, but we'd weathered that and our friendship had been as strong as ever. Then all the sudden, bam! Nothing. And there didn't seem to be a good reason for it. Every time we'd be on break, if I talked to anyone from our old group of high school friends, the first thing they'd ask is if I'd talked to her. They just couldn't believe after all this time that she'd dropped me too. But she had. My parents would run into hers as the years went by and she'd gotten very, very religious. She didn't really want to have much to do with anyone who wasn't part of her church, including her parents. It was so weird. It wasn't like I was anti-religion, I just wasn't into her church, that had never been an issue for us before. Somehow, this group she was with convinced her that if she was hanging w/people who weren't practicing their faith in the same way then she was going to hell with us, so she dropped us. (I know this is NOT typical of a Young Life group and was the result of individuals w/in that group at that time. I do also know that, that group of people is where this start from.) We both finished college in the same major, so yes, we did see each other for the next four years on a fairly regular basis, but you'd never know the kind of friends we'd been. We even had a lecture class together, she came in after me and chose to sit in the back somewhere else. Point taken.
During that time I took that stance that I didn't need that kind of friend anyway. She'd changed, and not for the better. I had plenty of friends on my own and didn't need to go chase her down if she wasn't interested. The truth was that I was injured beyond belief. My heart was broken and I didn't know how to fix it. No one talks about broken hearts from your best friend dropping you, only boyfriends. If you think about it, I was in a 9 year relationship and now she was indifferent. How does that happen??? I "refused to dwell on it," so I didn't really deal with it and I let it fester for years. All of my good girl friendships were measured by this one, and tempered by it. There was a part of me that didn't want to get too close to anyone again. I didn't ever want to be hurt by indifference again. And it still hurts now, after 20 years.
I've made some good friends over the years, but none like Marie. I don't think I've idealized our friendship, I just think, in some ways, we were more mature about our friendships when we were younger. The bottom line is I've never gotten over her. I've never had a best girl friend since Marie. Our 20 year reunion was last year, she didn't show and no one seemed to know where she'd ended up for sure. I didn't dwell on it too much, but several people at the reunion did bring it up. I guess I figured that was pretty much the end of it. This was the extent of closure I'm going to get from this situation. It sucks, but that's real life. If it were a Lifetime Network movie, she would've shown up at the reunion, music would've played and all the years would've melted away.
Ummm, yeah, it's not a movie, so that's that, right? Then I joined Facebook....
My First Best Friend--part 1
We were 10 years old in 5th grade when she came to our school. She had strawberry blond hair and was a little on the pudgy side; getting ready for that tween growth-spurt that was eminent for all of us. I don't remember if this was the exact day she started our school, but I do remember swinging on the monkey-bars with her at recess, and sticking up for her when some class bully was looking for her weak-link being that she was new and all. It was that recess when it became clear that we would be friends. Up until that point I had, had two good girl friends, both dictated by location more than anything else. When Marie moved in, I made my first real friend. We were friends by our choice. We didn't really live close to each other, and our folks were never what you would call "friends". In a lot of ways, your first true friend is like your first true love. We made a lot of mistakes in our friendship, but somehow we weathered them. None of them were such that I really remember any of the arguments very clearly.
During middle school our group of girlfriends grew to include 3 others and a fourth joined us in high school, and of course there were a few boys that hung with us too, but Marie and I were the best of friends within that group. We had very separate interests outside of school; she was on swim team; the result of a a doctor's prescription for bad knees and I was in dance. Instead of that pulling us apart it just included extras into our friendship. We tired to make sure we got classes together if we could, but we didn't try to influence the other's choices; she took Spanish & I took French. I went to her swim meets, she came to my dance recitals. We had, what I know now, was a very adult approach to our friendship. It was entirely based on the fact that we genuinely liked each other. No other reason then that.
I started out kindergarten w/our group of kids and knew everyone. She came in later, so when we started high school, and "shy" Marie decided she was going to run for class president, I have to admit to being a bit surprised. Our little gaggle of girls walked her around to every freshman in the class (330) and introduced her. She won. She was our class president for 3 years and was able to make everyone in our class feel included. Marie and I were even co-editors of the school newspaper together. I'm sure we drove our adviser crazy, but it was a lot of fun. Marie wasn't really all that shy. I knew that, but you had to get to know her in those early days to find that out. It was Marie who handed me my first cocktail our sophomore year of high school; 151 w/a splash of Coke for color. I'll tell you the story of that party later. The point is that we weathered all the usual friendship bumps without many issues. Our friendship was stronger than that.
All that being said, when it came time to apply for colleges no one in our group talked about where they were really applying to go to. There was some unwritten code that we would all let each other know where we were going, once we'd decided for sure. I guess we shouldn't have been all that surprised that Marie and I both applied to the same schools. We both wanted to go into journalism so it made sense. I don't think the rest of our friends really believed us about not talking about it before hand, but really we didn't. In the end, we both choose the same college. As our friendship had always gone we did decide not to room together in the dorms (meet more people this way, make more friends). Marie didn't get her form in or something and did not get a room in the dorms. Opps! She was able to get into an just off-campus apartment which operated like the dorms, pairing roommates together. It was for the best, we would know of all the fun parties on campus and off! We both moved in on the same day, a week before school started. Every day we'd lay by the pool and every night we knew where all the parties were, and we were at them. A few days before school started, I got very, very sick. It was Marie who knew me well enough to know it wasn't just too much partying and borrowed her room mate's car to get me to the hospital. I was dehydrated and went from 115 lbs to 100 lbs in 3 days (years later I would find out it was IBS from Fibromyalgia). I was sent home and missed that first week of college. I'm pretty sure my parents would've made me withdraw, except they knew Marie was there & would watch out for me. That first semester moved us along, more or less, like we always had. Missing the first week of school made it a bit harder for me to make friends, but I did. And, the kids at Marie's apartment complex were fun to hang out with anyway. It wasn't until the second semester when our relationship changed.
More later this week...
During middle school our group of girlfriends grew to include 3 others and a fourth joined us in high school, and of course there were a few boys that hung with us too, but Marie and I were the best of friends within that group. We had very separate interests outside of school; she was on swim team; the result of a a doctor's prescription for bad knees and I was in dance. Instead of that pulling us apart it just included extras into our friendship. We tired to make sure we got classes together if we could, but we didn't try to influence the other's choices; she took Spanish & I took French. I went to her swim meets, she came to my dance recitals. We had, what I know now, was a very adult approach to our friendship. It was entirely based on the fact that we genuinely liked each other. No other reason then that.
I started out kindergarten w/our group of kids and knew everyone. She came in later, so when we started high school, and "shy" Marie decided she was going to run for class president, I have to admit to being a bit surprised. Our little gaggle of girls walked her around to every freshman in the class (330) and introduced her. She won. She was our class president for 3 years and was able to make everyone in our class feel included. Marie and I were even co-editors of the school newspaper together. I'm sure we drove our adviser crazy, but it was a lot of fun. Marie wasn't really all that shy. I knew that, but you had to get to know her in those early days to find that out. It was Marie who handed me my first cocktail our sophomore year of high school; 151 w/a splash of Coke for color. I'll tell you the story of that party later. The point is that we weathered all the usual friendship bumps without many issues. Our friendship was stronger than that.
All that being said, when it came time to apply for colleges no one in our group talked about where they were really applying to go to. There was some unwritten code that we would all let each other know where we were going, once we'd decided for sure. I guess we shouldn't have been all that surprised that Marie and I both applied to the same schools. We both wanted to go into journalism so it made sense. I don't think the rest of our friends really believed us about not talking about it before hand, but really we didn't. In the end, we both choose the same college. As our friendship had always gone we did decide not to room together in the dorms (meet more people this way, make more friends). Marie didn't get her form in or something and did not get a room in the dorms. Opps! She was able to get into an just off-campus apartment which operated like the dorms, pairing roommates together. It was for the best, we would know of all the fun parties on campus and off! We both moved in on the same day, a week before school started. Every day we'd lay by the pool and every night we knew where all the parties were, and we were at them. A few days before school started, I got very, very sick. It was Marie who knew me well enough to know it wasn't just too much partying and borrowed her room mate's car to get me to the hospital. I was dehydrated and went from 115 lbs to 100 lbs in 3 days (years later I would find out it was IBS from Fibromyalgia). I was sent home and missed that first week of college. I'm pretty sure my parents would've made me withdraw, except they knew Marie was there & would watch out for me. That first semester moved us along, more or less, like we always had. Missing the first week of school made it a bit harder for me to make friends, but I did. And, the kids at Marie's apartment complex were fun to hang out with anyway. It wasn't until the second semester when our relationship changed.
More later this week...
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Gray like me.
I'm tired & cranky. I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it and I'm tired of talking about it. Tuesday I had my first truly pain free day since the surgery. I did stuff, but I didn't think I overdid anything. I woke up yesterday feeling just awful; two steps forward, one step back I guess. And I know I should be grateful that it's still a step forward, but somehow it just feels like I ought to feel better than I do. It doesn't help that my parents (read: mom) decided in the third week of my recovery that I was pretty much done needing help and bailed on me. Karma, being the great equalize that she is, promptly gave my mom a strained back when reaching for her purse in the car. Ha! Take that Mom! Now you know how crappy I feel. Except, I need her to feel ok and to help me with the kids. So Karma, I get it, but really dude, couldn't it have waited?
The kids have been really good, but their patience is wearing thin as well. Littlespeak is good as long as she's got someone dedicated to her. The second you have to divde your time with her, all bets are off. Yesterday we were back to multiple time outs, 3 in 30 minutes. I desperately called my parents for help and my mom put me down, "Cause it sounds like you can't handle taking care on your own kids right now." I can't, I'm not supposed to and the fact that I have been is probably a large reason as to the amount of pain I'm still having and what I'm assuming is going to be a prolonged recovery.
I'm so frustrated! Today has started out poorly. It's raining (which is good, we need rain here in CA), but mostly it's gray, like me.
The kids have been really good, but their patience is wearing thin as well. Littlespeak is good as long as she's got someone dedicated to her. The second you have to divde your time with her, all bets are off. Yesterday we were back to multiple time outs, 3 in 30 minutes. I desperately called my parents for help and my mom put me down, "Cause it sounds like you can't handle taking care on your own kids right now." I can't, I'm not supposed to and the fact that I have been is probably a large reason as to the amount of pain I'm still having and what I'm assuming is going to be a prolonged recovery.
I'm so frustrated! Today has started out poorly. It's raining (which is good, we need rain here in CA), but mostly it's gray, like me.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
A Light at the End of the Toilet
So this last week LittleSpeak has started showing interest in using the toilet. Not really just interest, but actually using it. It started w/just before bed; after bath Daddy would ask her if she wanted to go. One night she said yes, not necessarily unusual, but this time she was actually able to go. That was unusual. She's never been consistent w/it, so it's not that it hasn't happened before, but somehow this felt much more intentional. The next night she did it again. And the night after that. Hmmmm..... (No the picture doesn't relate to the story, but it's the only recent one I had & really she is pretty yummy if you ask me. ;-)
Then we started w/the mornings, when she first got up. And she was going then. Not only that, but she's been staying dry all night, something her 5YO sister doesn't even do consistently. Occasionally she was able to do it during the day too now. I mentioned it to her preschool on last Thursday & they asked if I wanted her to start pottytraining there. "Well, lets see how she does this weekend." The thing about LittleSpeak is that if she isn't on board for something like this, there's no point in putting any effort toward it till she is.
So this weekend she was game. And she was excited about it. Hey, she gets a gummy whenever she goes, what's not to be excited about? She was still having accidents so I never really committed to the underware only, (once, for a couple hours and then she wet herself and wasn't interested in it). When I got in today I packed for training, (4 outfits & underware) but I also packed for not (pull-ups/diapers). I didn't expect much, and I took her in her pull up to start. She did start out the morning using the potty though. They were game and took her right away to put on her underware.
When I picked her up tonight: NO ACCIDENTS! Not even one! I'm floored. I guess I shouldn't be, I've said all along when she decides she's ready then she'll do it and that will be that. I guess I just wasn't entirely sure I wasn't giving her too much credit. What can I say, I know my kid. Don't worry, I know we are really just on the beginning of the path of running for the bathroom & forgetting to go, etc...time to pull that diaper bag out again; gonna need to carry multiple changes of clothes & plastic bags. But I do know from past experience that this really is the beginning of the end. While many of the "baby" things they give up are bittersweet, this is one milestone no parent is sad about, trust me.
Sigh, no more babies living in my house.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Gong hei fat choi!!!
Happy Lunar New Year!
Does your family do anything to celebrate?
Sorry, did I confuse you? Yes, I'm wonder bread (White) over here. Actually, the side of the family I feel the most influence from is the beans & rice (Mexican/Spanish) but no, no Chinese in my background. I'll explain:
I grew up in a predominantly "Asian" area; Philippine, Vietnamese, Chinese & Japanese. I guess it might be more accurate to say I grew up in a very diverse area, but the Asian cultures were quite dominate in my schools. This was a big holiday growing up for us. We usually celebrated w/a traditional lion dance or dragon parade at school. But the best part was the food!!! We always had lumpia (Philippine egg rolls), pork baus (sweet bread stuffed w/sweet & sour pork) and pho (Vietnamese soup). YUM!!!
Night before last hubby took the girls to pick up Chinese take out. Big Speak comes home yakking away about the outing; "We went this store that had a waving cat in the window." (Funny, the things they note. I don't even notice those anymore.) "And then I told the lady Happy New Year in Chinese, and she started to talk to me in Chinese." I asked her if she understood her and she said no, but I wouldn't be surprised if Littlespeak did. (Those toddlers get so much from our non verbals it's like they speak all languages.) I then explained to her about Mandarin language and Cantonese and that they're both Chinese, but most likely the lady spoke to her in Mandarin. She thought that was cool, "how come we don't have two languages?" They're having a big "Chinese New Year" parade & celebration at her school on Thursday, so she's been preparing for this week. I explained to her that it's really Lunar New Year and why (the moon cycle, and not just the Chinese celebrate it. I've actually been in Korea during it. Trust me, they celebrate.) And she got really excited about that. She's super happy to go "tell" her teacher something new. Then I promised to get some Chinese food, as well as Vietnamese, Koren, and Philippine to celebrate (looks like I'll be making a trip to the Ranch 99 this week).
So again; does your family celebrate? How?
Do you celebrate some not so common (for America) holidays? How?
Does your family do anything to celebrate?
Sorry, did I confuse you? Yes, I'm wonder bread (White) over here. Actually, the side of the family I feel the most influence from is the beans & rice (Mexican/Spanish) but no, no Chinese in my background. I'll explain:
I grew up in a predominantly "Asian" area; Philippine, Vietnamese, Chinese & Japanese. I guess it might be more accurate to say I grew up in a very diverse area, but the Asian cultures were quite dominate in my schools. This was a big holiday growing up for us. We usually celebrated w/a traditional lion dance or dragon parade at school. But the best part was the food!!! We always had lumpia (Philippine egg rolls), pork baus (sweet bread stuffed w/sweet & sour pork) and pho (Vietnamese soup). YUM!!!
Night before last hubby took the girls to pick up Chinese take out. Big Speak comes home yakking away about the outing; "We went this store that had a waving cat in the window." (Funny, the things they note. I don't even notice those anymore.) "And then I told the lady Happy New Year in Chinese, and she started to talk to me in Chinese." I asked her if she understood her and she said no, but I wouldn't be surprised if Littlespeak did. (Those toddlers get so much from our non verbals it's like they speak all languages.) I then explained to her about Mandarin language and Cantonese and that they're both Chinese, but most likely the lady spoke to her in Mandarin. She thought that was cool, "how come we don't have two languages?" They're having a big "Chinese New Year" parade & celebration at her school on Thursday, so she's been preparing for this week. I explained to her that it's really Lunar New Year and why (the moon cycle, and not just the Chinese celebrate it. I've actually been in Korea during it. Trust me, they celebrate.) And she got really excited about that. She's super happy to go "tell" her teacher something new. Then I promised to get some Chinese food, as well as Vietnamese, Koren, and Philippine to celebrate (looks like I'll be making a trip to the Ranch 99 this week).
So again; does your family celebrate? How?
Do you celebrate some not so common (for America) holidays? How?
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Look Out....the soap box is out!
I know, I never write and now that I do I'm going to pull out more politics???? OK, well since I'm still in recovery I've been watching a lot of TV. Seriously, I am bored. So part of the problem is that I've heard this same story over and over and now I'm frustrated by it. So let me get it off my chest and I'll get back to my regular bitch-fest as planned.
I'm sure you've heard that President Obama is currently in the process of trying to pass through his version of a stimulus package. A $825 billion, yes with a capital B, plan that is supposed to infuse the economy with cash; boost/create programs/infrastructure/jobs, stymie/stop the housing crunch from the homeowner perspective, etc.... Now, I am not a financial guru, and I agree that is one big hunk of money. It's debt that we will be saddling our children with if we don't make good on it. Let me be clear that giving our kids that much more debt does not sit right w/me.
BUT, (and it's a big but) I voted for this guy. I believe he (and the people he is surrounding himself with) are smart enough to know the right thing to do in this situation. I don't think I'm alone in saying that the majority of the country is supporting him right now. AND the current strategies (from this last administration) don't seem to be doing all that much to help. So, I do support this strategy. Until President Obama & his administration give me a reason not to trust their judgement I'm on board.
So here's my gripe:
There's this clip I keep seeing on TV that is driving me nuts. This clip shows House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio basically saying that they want more tax cuts and less money going into programs and that the amount is too large....yada, yada, yada. I couldn't find the exact quote on the web, sorry, but that's the gist of it. He keeps being shown saying, "If Americans are taxed less they'll have that money in their paychecks to save, invest and spend to help boost the economy." I'm paraphrasing here, cut me some slack. I've seen him saying this so many times now that I'm pretty much at the point of throwing things at the TV and yelling at him when it come on. Yes, it's gotten that bad.
Correct me if I'm wrong, aren't a huge number of people currently unemployed???
If people don't have jobs, they aren't earning paychecks and aren't getting those tax breaks, right???
So how do those tax breaks help those people????
This is the point at which I start throwing stuff at the TV because it seems like my kindergartner would be able to put this together.
These programs are supposed to create jobs for those out of work people so then they will have a paycheck providing them with the money to then help get the economy going again.
I think that Senator Boehner missed a day in his economics class is all I'm saying...
I'll move on now.
I'm sure you've heard that President Obama is currently in the process of trying to pass through his version of a stimulus package. A $825 billion, yes with a capital B, plan that is supposed to infuse the economy with cash; boost/create programs/infrastructure/jobs, stymie/stop the housing crunch from the homeowner perspective, etc.... Now, I am not a financial guru, and I agree that is one big hunk of money. It's debt that we will be saddling our children with if we don't make good on it. Let me be clear that giving our kids that much more debt does not sit right w/me.
BUT, (and it's a big but) I voted for this guy. I believe he (and the people he is surrounding himself with) are smart enough to know the right thing to do in this situation. I don't think I'm alone in saying that the majority of the country is supporting him right now. AND the current strategies (from this last administration) don't seem to be doing all that much to help. So, I do support this strategy. Until President Obama & his administration give me a reason not to trust their judgement I'm on board.
So here's my gripe:
There's this clip I keep seeing on TV that is driving me nuts. This clip shows House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio basically saying that they want more tax cuts and less money going into programs and that the amount is too large....yada, yada, yada. I couldn't find the exact quote on the web, sorry, but that's the gist of it. He keeps being shown saying, "If Americans are taxed less they'll have that money in their paychecks to save, invest and spend to help boost the economy." I'm paraphrasing here, cut me some slack. I've seen him saying this so many times now that I'm pretty much at the point of throwing things at the TV and yelling at him when it come on. Yes, it's gotten that bad.
Correct me if I'm wrong, aren't a huge number of people currently unemployed???
If people don't have jobs, they aren't earning paychecks and aren't getting those tax breaks, right???
So how do those tax breaks help those people????
This is the point at which I start throwing stuff at the TV because it seems like my kindergartner would be able to put this together.
These programs are supposed to create jobs for those out of work people so then they will have a paycheck providing them with the money to then help get the economy going again.
I think that Senator Boehner missed a day in his economics class is all I'm saying...
I'll move on now.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Inauguration Day--A Moment in History
I saw a commercial about the coverage Oprah will be having during the inauguration festivities last night. Something she said really caught my attention,
"You can feel the whole nation quivering w/excitement."
She right you can.
You can't listen/watch the news or read an article w/out it somehow referencing this upcoming event.
And there's a huge amount of irony associated w/this; we are currently in the worst economic shape since the depression; and predictions are that it's going to get worse before it gets better, but still there is this huge sense of hope that you can feel. Yeah, I know it's not the second coming, but it does feel a lot like a birth, or maybe a rebirth is a better word.
I mentioned in my last post that my 5YO doesn't understand the significance of this event. In the world she lives in, everyone is treated equal, why wouldn't they be. When does that change for us? When do we start treating people differently? I know why it happens, mostly because it's taught. But when do you start to notice it? Because she hasn't yet, and I would like to extend that for as long as possible.
I'm doing my best to do some things that I hope will give my girls memories of this day. We have our "Obama Girl" shirts and the weather is cooperating here in California so we won't have to cover them w/jackets. I'm taping everything and tonight her and I talked about it some more. She did mention that she's noticed that one of the boys in her class has darker skin then everyone else, I pointed out some of the other kids as well. I also pointed out that my skin is much darker than hers and her Uncle's skin puts us all to shame. She asked why and I told her that, that's how God made us unique & beautiful. I explained to her that a long time ago not everyone thought that different was good, and because of that someone like Barrack Obama could not have been president. That during that time people w/darker skin had to go to different schools and churches. She thought about it for a minute and said,
"Those people weren't very smart, were they?"
"No baby, they weren't. We know better know, but it took a long time for enough people to understand that so that some one like him could not only vote but be the person for which we're voting." "Now we really believe anyone can be president. Even you."
"I don't want to be president."
"Me neither baby. Too much responsibility. But we think he's really smart and that he'll do a really good job and we're excited that he does want to be. We think he's going to do the best he can, and that's all you can really ask from someone."
I was 8 months pregnant with her when we went to war in Iraq. I wrote her a letter at that time so that regardless of what history held of that event, she understood where her father and I stood. History might show that it was the right thing, but that we felt it was for the wrong reasons. I felt so desperate when I wrote that letter, what kind of a world was I bring this child into?"
That was five years ago. Now with inauguration happening in a second here, I feel hope.
I feel hope for the future and the world that my children will be living in. I feel good about some of the decisions our government will be making, for the right reasons. I know it's going to be hard. I'm ok with that. By having children I made a promise to try to give them a better place than I had. The whole "we're just borrowing the earth from our children" thing.
I am finally hopeful that I may be able to fulfill that promise to them.
"You can feel the whole nation quivering w/excitement."
She right you can.
You can't listen/watch the news or read an article w/out it somehow referencing this upcoming event.
And there's a huge amount of irony associated w/this; we are currently in the worst economic shape since the depression; and predictions are that it's going to get worse before it gets better, but still there is this huge sense of hope that you can feel. Yeah, I know it's not the second coming, but it does feel a lot like a birth, or maybe a rebirth is a better word.
I mentioned in my last post that my 5YO doesn't understand the significance of this event. In the world she lives in, everyone is treated equal, why wouldn't they be. When does that change for us? When do we start treating people differently? I know why it happens, mostly because it's taught. But when do you start to notice it? Because she hasn't yet, and I would like to extend that for as long as possible.
I'm doing my best to do some things that I hope will give my girls memories of this day. We have our "Obama Girl" shirts and the weather is cooperating here in California so we won't have to cover them w/jackets. I'm taping everything and tonight her and I talked about it some more. She did mention that she's noticed that one of the boys in her class has darker skin then everyone else, I pointed out some of the other kids as well. I also pointed out that my skin is much darker than hers and her Uncle's skin puts us all to shame. She asked why and I told her that, that's how God made us unique & beautiful. I explained to her that a long time ago not everyone thought that different was good, and because of that someone like Barrack Obama could not have been president. That during that time people w/darker skin had to go to different schools and churches. She thought about it for a minute and said,
"Those people weren't very smart, were they?"
"No baby, they weren't. We know better know, but it took a long time for enough people to understand that so that some one like him could not only vote but be the person for which we're voting." "Now we really believe anyone can be president. Even you."
"I don't want to be president."
"Me neither baby. Too much responsibility. But we think he's really smart and that he'll do a really good job and we're excited that he does want to be. We think he's going to do the best he can, and that's all you can really ask from someone."
I was 8 months pregnant with her when we went to war in Iraq. I wrote her a letter at that time so that regardless of what history held of that event, she understood where her father and I stood. History might show that it was the right thing, but that we felt it was for the wrong reasons. I felt so desperate when I wrote that letter, what kind of a world was I bring this child into?"
That was five years ago. Now with inauguration happening in a second here, I feel hope.
I feel hope for the future and the world that my children will be living in. I feel good about some of the decisions our government will be making, for the right reasons. I know it's going to be hard. I'm ok with that. By having children I made a promise to try to give them a better place than I had. The whole "we're just borrowing the earth from our children" thing.
I am finally hopeful that I may be able to fulfill that promise to them.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Email to my daughter's kindergarden class
You know, I live in Silicon Valley. So, of course, it goes without saying that my daughter's kindergarten class has a groups site to coorispond w/each other and the teacher. Below is an email I shot off yesterday to her teacher and the other parents in her class. I work in the classroom & know the teacher pretty well, so thus the tone of it being a little less then formal. I thought you might enjoy it as well. If you have younger kids you can think of it as my personal PSA to you.
---------------------------------
Mrs. B,
I was wondering if anything was happening in regard to the inauguration in class on Tuesday. While our kids may not really get the importance of this event. I'm trying to do a few small things personally in hopes that they may have some memories in it's regard;i.e.--"I didn't really get that it was that big of a deal, but I do remember my parents talking about it and watching it on TV, etc..."kind of thing. If it weren't such a historic event I wouldn't be asking, but considering it is such a historic time I thought it might be covered to some degree. I will duck now from the shoe you are throwing at me for suggesting additional stuff to your day. Bye!
MamaSpeak
FYI--Other Parents, so that you don't end up in the same situation I did let me give you a warning:
I tried explain to BigSpeak why it was a really, really big deal who our new president was going to be, in an effort to try and give her some memories of this event I've bought both my girls t-shirts (we're Obama girls ;-) and we talk about him and his family. (Even if you don't
like/didn't vote for him, this is a pretty historic event.) Since BigSpeak hasn't seemed to encounter racial biases yet, she didn't understand what the heck her Mama was saying.
That's nice to know.
However, what I did do, was open a huge jar of worms about racial (and gender) bias; and that not everyone is treated equally everywhere, so my warning to any other parents who haven't dealt w/this subject and have a question asker..."Be Prepared!" It's not that it won't come up
for you at some point, if you have a question asker, like mine, you may want to think hard about how to answer the questions so that you don't end up in a 3 hour conversation about it or so that you do, but have the answers that are appropriate for a 5/6YO.
If you have a question asker, you know exactly what I mean and are laughing at me for opening my mouth in the first place.
I can hardly wait for the conversation when she figures out what being "gay" means and realizes she has a close relative who is.
Good Times is all I'm saying...
---------------------------------
Mrs. B,
I was wondering if anything was happening in regard to the inauguration in class on Tuesday. While our kids may not really get the importance of this event. I'm trying to do a few small things personally in hopes that they may have some memories in it's regard;i.e.--"I didn't really get that it was that big of a deal, but I do remember my parents talking about it and watching it on TV, etc..."kind of thing. If it weren't such a historic event I wouldn't be asking, but considering it is such a historic time I thought it might be covered to some degree. I will duck now from the shoe you are throwing at me for suggesting additional stuff to your day. Bye!
MamaSpeak
FYI--Other Parents, so that you don't end up in the same situation I did let me give you a warning:
I tried explain to BigSpeak why it was a really, really big deal who our new president was going to be, in an effort to try and give her some memories of this event I've bought both my girls t-shirts (we're Obama girls ;-) and we talk about him and his family. (Even if you don't
like/didn't vote for him, this is a pretty historic event.) Since BigSpeak hasn't seemed to encounter racial biases yet, she didn't understand what the heck her Mama was saying.
That's nice to know.
However, what I did do, was open a huge jar of worms about racial (and gender) bias; and that not everyone is treated equally everywhere, so my warning to any other parents who haven't dealt w/this subject and have a question asker..."Be Prepared!" It's not that it won't come up
for you at some point, if you have a question asker, like mine, you may want to think hard about how to answer the questions so that you don't end up in a 3 hour conversation about it or so that you do, but have the answers that are appropriate for a 5/6YO.
If you have a question asker, you know exactly what I mean and are laughing at me for opening my mouth in the first place.
I can hardly wait for the conversation when she figures out what being "gay" means and realizes she has a close relative who is.
Good Times is all I'm saying...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
On Barbie......and self-image
Mike wrote a smackdown article over at Babble. Which is very, good and I apparently had something to say about. While writing my comment, I realized it was really more of a blog post. Rather than hijack his comments, I copied what I posted there and finished my them here:
You know, my philosophy on all of this kind of stuff is; "they covet what they can't have, so anything in moderation."
We'll see how I feel about "moderation in all things" when my girls want to do drugs or underage drinking. But I think a lot has to do with how big of a deal you make of things. If you make a big deal about it (either way/good or bad) your kid will pick up on it & then go from there..some will try to please you & some will do the exact opposite of what you want, cause that's human nature.
In regard to self-image;
Typically, the biggest influence in a girls' life is her mother, not the measurements of their Barbie doll. Kids don't miss much so if you put yourself down, even if you don't think they know, they pick up on it. Our neighbors daughter, 6, informed her the other week that she wanted to go on a diet cause she was looking fat. If we women could get over the idealizations that the media is selling us, then our kids might be able to too. Until we do, it's probably unrealistic to think they will. Sure, I wish I had my 20YO body back, I certainly didn't appreciate it then. I thought I was fat. I'm 5' 7" and I felt myself at a size 6 was FAT. Yeah, I know, but you couldn't have told me different then.
Here's the kicker, my most comfortable time in my life, body image wise, was when I was pregnant. I think that is very telling.
When I weighed the most and wore my largest dress size I was the absolute happiest with my body. To say I LOVED my pregnant self doesn't begin to convey how much I loved the way I looked at that time. Given a choice, I would be pregnant 100% of the time. Ok, I'd like to take holidays and weekends off (so I could drink lots of mulled wine & sangrias, not that I do, but I like to think I could if wanted to.) I happily wore a bikini in the summer and form fitting t-shirts and blouses. If it showed off my "bump" I wanted it. I realized when I was pregnant my body was doing exactly what it was made to do and I loved every minute of it. Talk about confident! I understood the irony of this situation. Normally I'd be wearing a bathing suit that covered much more and would be pulling in all the areas I thought I probably needed more coverage. Now a much larger me was all don the bikkini: "Check me out, I am woman (with child) hear me roar." Well, see me roar.
It was during this time that I decided that I was going to do my best to try and love my body what ever the shape and size even after I was pregnant. It became clear to me that my body image had too much to do with others not myself. My husband has always declared that he loved the way I looked and had never done or said anything for me to doubt him. Then why did I want to "have a flatter stomach, or lose 10 lbs" all the time? Because I was constantly bombarded w/images that told me I should, that's why.
I want more for my daughters. I want them to feel the way I did when I was pregnant, all the time. The only way they would learn is by example. Right now, as young children they are not self-concious at all. After bath time we often have trouble getting them to don pjs. They love to run around the house "nekkid and when we catch up with them, they shake thier booties at us." Guess I should stop encouraging that one, huh? They like it cause it gets a reaction from us. How to you bottle that self-confidence? I wish I knew. But I do think I know how to help prevent it from slipping away entirely, by example.
So now that I've had a couple of kids, and turned 40 (OMG! I'm still reeling from that number a bit, it's only been a month after all,) my body has changed even more. Yes, I do still long for the 20-something days when everything fit, my stomach was flat and gravity hadn't started to have an effect. When I had the body that gravity and time hadn't taken it's toll on and that I never appreciated until it did. But I don't dwell on it. I don't stand in front of the mirror checking out my nekkid self (I said I'm trying I didn't say I was 100% successful yet,) but I don't critisize myself either any more. (I was pretty notorious for this before.) I've been watching some shows like, "How to Look Good Naked", and how I should dress to draw your eye to my "best features" and I've gotten rid of clothes that are to "hide" my flaws. Irronically, I lost 17 lbs this summer. I wasn't trying it just came off. Am I thrilled w/the result? I like that a whole bunch of old clothes (pre-pregnancy) are fitting again, but otherwise, I'm too busy to really care too much.
After all, my daughter will only want to play Barbies with me for so long. Playing Barbies doesn't matter if you're a size 6 or a size 16, just that you can sit on the floor and pull the doll clothes on and off. I've got that part down.
You know, my philosophy on all of this kind of stuff is; "they covet what they can't have, so anything in moderation."
We'll see how I feel about "moderation in all things" when my girls want to do drugs or underage drinking. But I think a lot has to do with how big of a deal you make of things. If you make a big deal about it (either way/good or bad) your kid will pick up on it & then go from there..some will try to please you & some will do the exact opposite of what you want, cause that's human nature.
In regard to self-image;
Typically, the biggest influence in a girls' life is her mother, not the measurements of their Barbie doll. Kids don't miss much so if you put yourself down, even if you don't think they know, they pick up on it. Our neighbors daughter, 6, informed her the other week that she wanted to go on a diet cause she was looking fat. If we women could get over the idealizations that the media is selling us, then our kids might be able to too. Until we do, it's probably unrealistic to think they will. Sure, I wish I had my 20YO body back, I certainly didn't appreciate it then. I thought I was fat. I'm 5' 7" and I felt myself at a size 6 was FAT. Yeah, I know, but you couldn't have told me different then.
Here's the kicker, my most comfortable time in my life, body image wise, was when I was pregnant. I think that is very telling.
When I weighed the most and wore my largest dress size I was the absolute happiest with my body. To say I LOVED my pregnant self doesn't begin to convey how much I loved the way I looked at that time. Given a choice, I would be pregnant 100% of the time. Ok, I'd like to take holidays and weekends off (so I could drink lots of mulled wine & sangrias, not that I do, but I like to think I could if wanted to.) I happily wore a bikini in the summer and form fitting t-shirts and blouses. If it showed off my "bump" I wanted it. I realized when I was pregnant my body was doing exactly what it was made to do and I loved every minute of it. Talk about confident! I understood the irony of this situation. Normally I'd be wearing a bathing suit that covered much more and would be pulling in all the areas I thought I probably needed more coverage. Now a much larger me was all don the bikkini: "Check me out, I am woman (with child) hear me roar." Well, see me roar.
It was during this time that I decided that I was going to do my best to try and love my body what ever the shape and size even after I was pregnant. It became clear to me that my body image had too much to do with others not myself. My husband has always declared that he loved the way I looked and had never done or said anything for me to doubt him. Then why did I want to "have a flatter stomach, or lose 10 lbs" all the time? Because I was constantly bombarded w/images that told me I should, that's why.
I want more for my daughters. I want them to feel the way I did when I was pregnant, all the time. The only way they would learn is by example. Right now, as young children they are not self-concious at all. After bath time we often have trouble getting them to don pjs. They love to run around the house "nekkid and when we catch up with them, they shake thier booties at us." Guess I should stop encouraging that one, huh? They like it cause it gets a reaction from us. How to you bottle that self-confidence? I wish I knew. But I do think I know how to help prevent it from slipping away entirely, by example.
So now that I've had a couple of kids, and turned 40 (OMG! I'm still reeling from that number a bit, it's only been a month after all,) my body has changed even more. Yes, I do still long for the 20-something days when everything fit, my stomach was flat and gravity hadn't started to have an effect. When I had the body that gravity and time hadn't taken it's toll on and that I never appreciated until it did. But I don't dwell on it. I don't stand in front of the mirror checking out my nekkid self (I said I'm trying I didn't say I was 100% successful yet,) but I don't critisize myself either any more. (I was pretty notorious for this before.) I've been watching some shows like, "How to Look Good Naked", and how I should dress to draw your eye to my "best features" and I've gotten rid of clothes that are to "hide" my flaws. Irronically, I lost 17 lbs this summer. I wasn't trying it just came off. Am I thrilled w/the result? I like that a whole bunch of old clothes (pre-pregnancy) are fitting again, but otherwise, I'm too busy to really care too much.
After all, my daughter will only want to play Barbies with me for so long. Playing Barbies doesn't matter if you're a size 6 or a size 16, just that you can sit on the floor and pull the doll clothes on and off. I've got that part down.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Opps! Happy New Year!
I guess that probably wasn't so good. I announce I'm going in for back surgery, and then just sort of drop off the face of the Earth for a couple weeks. Opps! Sorry about that. I'm fine. In fact, I'm probably better than fine, so no worries. Like I was told: lots of time laying down or standing up, not so much on the sitting. I end up spending all my computer time on email & Facebook & then not getting on here to post. Not entirely true. I have a video I tried to post on the first of the year, unsuccessfully. It's cute, and I've made several attempts, but it probably isn't worth amount of time I've given it at this point. I think it might be too large for bloger, but it doesn't come back & say that to me, so I'm not positive.
So I'm totally walking around & stuff. Not even shuffling, which was really more of what I expected. I have pain, but it's more from bending, twisting and reaching for things. And a little side note here; you would be amazed at just how much of your movement involves bending, twisting and reaching. Pretty much everything! It's hard to avoid, so my pain pills have been getting their work out for sure. I haven't picked up anything beyond a piece of paper, but I hear if I go over 10lbs I'll find that I regret that movement as well. I went & bought one of those "reacher/grabber" things since I imagine my ability to bend is going to return slowly. Much cooler than the walker I originally pictured myself with when weighing my options in relation to this surgery. Although if I did end up w/a walker you can bet I would totally pimp it out. The grabber has great potential for much fun, as you might imagine, but so far all we've done with it is take it away from the kids. Oh, and LittleSpeak managed to smack me in the face w/it tonight.
Sadly, that's really about it at the house of Speak right now. Daddy has been home all week to help take care of me and the girls. Since I'm not totally incapacitated I imagine he's a bit bored. It has been really nice to have him home during our regular schedule. He worked in BigSpeak's class room this week and has been taking LittleSpeak to and from school. Little things that aren't that big of a deal, but it's a big deal to the girls that their daddy is doing these things right now. I'm sure he'll be glad to get back to work next week and away from my requests for Starbuck runs.
So I'm totally walking around & stuff. Not even shuffling, which was really more of what I expected. I have pain, but it's more from bending, twisting and reaching for things. And a little side note here; you would be amazed at just how much of your movement involves bending, twisting and reaching. Pretty much everything! It's hard to avoid, so my pain pills have been getting their work out for sure. I haven't picked up anything beyond a piece of paper, but I hear if I go over 10lbs I'll find that I regret that movement as well. I went & bought one of those "reacher/grabber" things since I imagine my ability to bend is going to return slowly. Much cooler than the walker I originally pictured myself with when weighing my options in relation to this surgery. Although if I did end up w/a walker you can bet I would totally pimp it out. The grabber has great potential for much fun, as you might imagine, but so far all we've done with it is take it away from the kids. Oh, and LittleSpeak managed to smack me in the face w/it tonight.
Sadly, that's really about it at the house of Speak right now. Daddy has been home all week to help take care of me and the girls. Since I'm not totally incapacitated I imagine he's a bit bored. It has been really nice to have him home during our regular schedule. He worked in BigSpeak's class room this week and has been taking LittleSpeak to and from school. Little things that aren't that big of a deal, but it's a big deal to the girls that their daddy is doing these things right now. I'm sure he'll be glad to get back to work next week and away from my requests for Starbuck runs.
Monday, December 29, 2008
It's Going Around....
Such a fitting title for so many reasons.
Guess what?! I wasn't being a hypochondriac! No really, I had Fifth's Disease. Never heard of it? Well neither had my mom so I've been getting lots of advice from her not to mention it to people cause "it sounds just awful". So supportive, don't you think? We got a notice home from BigSpeak's school about a day before vacation started. Happy Holidays! At that time, LittleSpeak had come down with it and I'd (self-)diagnosed that this is what her and I had, had already. Thank you Dr. Google. It's pretty miserable in general, but in adults you get some added fun; joint pain for up to a month! Not to be left out, BigSpeak showed up w/the rash on December 23. So both girls and I have been run down during most of this month. (That picture w/Santa, probably at the height of our contagiousness, don't say we never gave you anything Santa!) We ended up bowing out of our Christmas Eve dinner and staying home to put the girls to bed early and eat leftovers. The house of Speak knows how to party, let me tell you.
The family illness coupled w/the busyness of the season along w/trying to get my family/house ready for my surgery equals "not much posting," you may have noticed. On the other hand, I may need to join a self-help group for my Facebook addiction. I don't actually spend as much time as it might seem on it. I leave it open all day & periodically check it/update my status while I'm in the kitchen doing other things, like cooking breakfast, etc... My extended family thinks I sit waiting for people to update their status though, so I felt the need to clarify. I feel better now, thanks. ;-)
In spite of all of t
his, we did manage to get in quite a bit of traditional holiday fare; caroling w/BS's girl scout troop, seeing the Nutcracker ballet, holiday parties, driving around to check out over-the-top Christmas lights, etc... but it's been hectic to say the least.
I have so many good stories from this month, I'm hopeful that during my convalesce I'll be coherent enough to share them. Go read Mike and Mir, their stories today are typical of the type I have to share with you. LittleSpeak has been up to her usual tricks and is both trying and adorable at the same time. It's amazing to me how much I can love that little bundle of energy and be just enraged by her at the same time. She is definitely the daughter my mother wished on me as a teenager: "I hope you have a daughter exactly like you!" BigSpeak has had some of her own trying moments this month as we try to work out her homework vs. play/T.V. schedule. Being a big kid is not easy. That's not to say that this month hasn't been fun, cause it has. The girls have been so much fun; they were both really into Christmas this year & that's been a treat. Sometimes I just can't get enough of them you know.
I have my surgery (microdiscectomy) on 12/30. Happy New Year! I'm supposed to have a 6 week recovery; 2 weeks of which will pretty much be flat on my back (in bed). My doctor has told me I can't really screw it up during recovery, but I certainly can prolong the recovery time. I'm not sure if the end of six week is when I can start to act like a normal person again (i.e.--walk BS the 2 blocks to school again) or if I should be back up normal by then (able to walk for 30+ minutes if I wanted to). I'm under the impression it's more the first choice, but I'll have to check on that. Hopefully, I'll be posting much more very soon, since I'm going to find myself quite stationary w/only my laptop to play with. This is most likely my last post of the year, so
Happy New Year!!!
Talk to you Next year! (Hee, yes I'm like 9 or something.)
Guess what?! I wasn't being a hypochondriac! No really, I had Fifth's Disease. Never heard of it? Well neither had my mom so I've been getting lots of advice from her not to mention it to people cause "it sounds just awful". So supportive, don't you think? We got a notice home from BigSpeak's school about a day before vacation started. Happy Holidays! At that time, LittleSpeak had come down with it and I'd (self-)diagnosed that this is what her and I had, had already. Thank you Dr. Google. It's pretty miserable in general, but in adults you get some added fun; joint pain for up to a month! Not to be left out, BigSpeak showed up w/the rash on December 23. So both girls and I have been run down during most of this month. (That picture w/Santa, probably at the height of our contagiousness, don't say we never gave you anything Santa!) We ended up bowing out of our Christmas Eve dinner and staying home to put the girls to bed early and eat leftovers. The house of Speak knows how to party, let me tell you.
The family illness coupled w/the busyness of the season along w/trying to get my family/house ready for my surgery equals "not much posting," you may have noticed. On the other hand, I may need to join a self-help group for my Facebook addiction. I don't actually spend as much time as it might seem on it. I leave it open all day & periodically check it/update my status while I'm in the kitchen doing other things, like cooking breakfast, etc... My extended family thinks I sit waiting for people to update their status though, so I felt the need to clarify. I feel better now, thanks. ;-)
In spite of all of t
his, we did manage to get in quite a bit of traditional holiday fare; caroling w/BS's girl scout troop, seeing the Nutcracker ballet, holiday parties, driving around to check out over-the-top Christmas lights, etc... but it's been hectic to say the least.I have so many good stories from this month, I'm hopeful that during my convalesce I'll be coherent enough to share them. Go read Mike and Mir, their stories today are typical of the type I have to share with you. LittleSpeak has been up to her usual tricks and is both trying and adorable at the same time. It's amazing to me how much I can love that little bundle of energy and be just enraged by her at the same time. She is definitely the daughter my mother wished on me as a teenager: "I hope you have a daughter exactly like you!" BigSpeak has had some of her own trying moments this month as we try to work out her homework vs. play/T.V. schedule. Being a big kid is not easy. That's not to say that this month hasn't been fun, cause it has. The girls have been so much fun; they were both really into Christmas this year & that's been a treat. Sometimes I just can't get enough of them you know.
I have my surgery (microdiscectomy) on 12/30. Happy New Year! I'm supposed to have a 6 week recovery; 2 weeks of which will pretty much be flat on my back (in bed). My doctor has told me I can't really screw it up during recovery, but I certainly can prolong the recovery time. I'm not sure if the end of six week is when I can start to act like a normal person again (i.e.--walk BS the 2 blocks to school again) or if I should be back up normal by then (able to walk for 30+ minutes if I wanted to). I'm under the impression it's more the first choice, but I'll have to check on that. Hopefully, I'll be posting much more very soon, since I'm going to find myself quite stationary w/only my laptop to play with. This is most likely my last post of the year, so
Happy New Year!!!
Talk to you Next year! (Hee, yes I'm like 9 or something.)
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
While I was sick....
We did manage this during one of the hours I was feeling slightly ok last week:
Sunday, December 14, 2008
It's come to this....one post a week
I've got a few free, coherent moments here while DaddySpeak is bathing the girls, so lets see what I can get done.
I've spent the majority of the first week of being 40 in bed (it's not starting out well). I came down w/a flu I guess. No fever and my stomach was fine, but I had chills and aches like I never knew was possible. I'd have them for 24 hours and then feel better for 24 and be back at it again. There was also a 36 hour period which included a particularly bad migraine, just to mix it up a little. My mom was suggesting the my Fibro was back in full swing, which could be the case, but I'm refusing to accept that, and sticking w/the flu story. This afternoon I'm feel so much better that I'm believing my version.
In the interim;
LittleSpeak's school has "drop-in" which isn't cheap, but when you need it, like I did this week, it is the most rock'n invention evah! All praise the daycare Gods now please.
One thing about being sick, you stop worrying about all the things you need to get done and just focus on making it to the next hour. I had a fun morning w/LittleSpeak when I laid on a mattress on her floor (she'd fallen out of bed the night before) while she played "mommy" w/her babydoll. She rocked her, and changed diapers, and told me to be quiet because the baby was sleeping. It was pretty relaxing & very fun to just "be" with her for a change.
I "forgot" to pick up BigSpeak from school one day this week. Actually, it was the day of the migraine & I'd called neighbors for her to walk to school with in the AM. They offered to walk her home after, but I told them I'd call cause I felt like I might be getting better. (HA!) So I set an alarm & crashed on the couch. When the alarm woke me I was worse, so I thought, "I'd better call to have M walk BS home." Next thing I knew the phone was ringing w/the room mom calling me. I was in the middle of a dream in which I was calling M to walk BS home, so I was super confused. M was there and the room mom was like "no problem", but by the time M got to my house I realized what was going on and was so embarressed! I'm pretty sure my "death warmed over" appreance and the fact that I couldn't look in the direction of the door "bright light! bright light!" made her realize I was, in fact, in need of medical attention.
I've spent the majority of the first week of being 40 in bed (it's not starting out well). I came down w/a flu I guess. No fever and my stomach was fine, but I had chills and aches like I never knew was possible. I'd have them for 24 hours and then feel better for 24 and be back at it again. There was also a 36 hour period which included a particularly bad migraine, just to mix it up a little. My mom was suggesting the my Fibro was back in full swing, which could be the case, but I'm refusing to accept that, and sticking w/the flu story. This afternoon I'm feel so much better that I'm believing my version.
In the interim;
LittleSpeak's school has "drop-in" which isn't cheap, but when you need it, like I did this week, it is the most rock'n invention evah! All praise the daycare Gods now please.
One thing about being sick, you stop worrying about all the things you need to get done and just focus on making it to the next hour. I had a fun morning w/LittleSpeak when I laid on a mattress on her floor (she'd fallen out of bed the night before) while she played "mommy" w/her babydoll. She rocked her, and changed diapers, and told me to be quiet because the baby was sleeping. It was pretty relaxing & very fun to just "be" with her for a change.
I "forgot" to pick up BigSpeak from school one day this week. Actually, it was the day of the migraine & I'd called neighbors for her to walk to school with in the AM. They offered to walk her home after, but I told them I'd call cause I felt like I might be getting better. (HA!) So I set an alarm & crashed on the couch. When the alarm woke me I was worse, so I thought, "I'd better call to have M walk BS home." Next thing I knew the phone was ringing w/the room mom calling me. I was in the middle of a dream in which I was calling M to walk BS home, so I was super confused. M was there and the room mom was like "no problem", but by the time M got to my house I realized what was going on and was so embarressed! I'm pretty sure my "death warmed over" appreance and the fact that I couldn't look in the direction of the door "bright light! bright light!" made her realize I was, in fact, in need of medical attention.
Friday, December 05, 2008
FORTY, it's the new 30
Yup, today's the day. I'm officially in my mid-life. I think I'm advanced, since I've seemed to be in crisis for years now. ;-)
I'm not really freaked out by it, but it does seem weird. I don't feel 40. Mostly, I feel tired, but that's not due to my age so much. (It might have something to do with the fact that I'm up past 1 AM blogging. You think?)
I do remember being a teenager and thinking, OMG! Forty is OLD! Cause it was, you know. But these baby boomers, with their refusing to grow old gracefully are just redefining what's "appropriate" at what age and it's different now. I was 19 when my mom turned 40. Hah! I have a 5 & 2 YO. She was "finishing up" and I'm just getting started. In a lot of ways I relate much more with that 21YO my mom was than her 40YO self. In a lot of ways, I can't relate to her at all, but that's another post.
So, what am I doing on the first day of my midlife??? Yeah, I'm sitting at home waiting for the washer repair guy to show up. Yeah, I'm living it up! No slowing down for me.
Ok, we are going out on Saturday night (folks are keeping the girls overnight) . I'm sure there will be some pix to follow.
I'm not really freaked out by it, but it does seem weird. I don't feel 40. Mostly, I feel tired, but that's not due to my age so much. (It might have something to do with the fact that I'm up past 1 AM blogging. You think?)
I do remember being a teenager and thinking, OMG! Forty is OLD! Cause it was, you know. But these baby boomers, with their refusing to grow old gracefully are just redefining what's "appropriate" at what age and it's different now. I was 19 when my mom turned 40. Hah! I have a 5 & 2 YO. She was "finishing up" and I'm just getting started. In a lot of ways I relate much more with that 21YO my mom was than her 40YO self. In a lot of ways, I can't relate to her at all, but that's another post.
So, what am I doing on the first day of my midlife??? Yeah, I'm sitting at home waiting for the washer repair guy to show up. Yeah, I'm living it up! No slowing down for me.
Ok, we are going out on Saturday night (folks are keeping the girls overnight) . I'm sure there will be some pix to follow.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Get Down with the Sickness
Yeah, so this is how my life works; two steps backward, one step forward. But hey, it was only one step back overall, right?
The in laws left on Monday morning.
BigSpeak barfed her guts out Sunday about 1 AM.
Oh, and my washing machine has been broken since Friday before last (every time they come to visit we have an appliance casualty, but that's fodder for another post,) it'll be fixed until next Friday. Yes, that's two weeks without one.
So Sunday night (Monday morning) at 1 AM I was bathing a crying child, stripping a bed & remaking it, scrubbing sheets, night clothes, pillows, etc...in a sink, spot scrubing rugs and then cleaning the bathroom. My idea of a good time, don't you think?
That's the two steps back part.
On the bright side (I guess you could call it that), the second time she got sick she was in the bathroom & she did make it into the toilet. And, while the washer is broken, my MIL insisted on doing 10 loads of laundry at the laundermat before she left. Also, we have home warrentry coverage on the washer. Instead of costing $400-500 it's costing $55.
That would be that one step forward.
The in laws left on Monday morning.
BigSpeak barfed her guts out Sunday about 1 AM.
Oh, and my washing machine has been broken since Friday before last (every time they come to visit we have an appliance casualty, but that's fodder for another post,) it'll be fixed until next Friday. Yes, that's two weeks without one.
So Sunday night (Monday morning) at 1 AM I was bathing a crying child, stripping a bed & remaking it, scrubbing sheets, night clothes, pillows, etc...in a sink, spot scrubing rugs and then cleaning the bathroom. My idea of a good time, don't you think?
That's the two steps back part.
On the bright side (I guess you could call it that), the second time she got sick she was in the bathroom & she did make it into the toilet. And, while the washer is broken, my MIL insisted on doing 10 loads of laundry at the laundermat before she left. Also, we have home warrentry coverage on the washer. Instead of costing $400-500 it's costing $55.
That would be that one step forward.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Big Girl Bed
There are no more babies in my house.
Only children who sleep in regular beds.
Sigh.
I'm going to go smell our neighbor's newborn now; so my ovaries can ache along with my heart.
Only children who sleep in regular beds.
Sigh.
I'm going to go smell our neighbor's newborn now; so my ovaries can ache along with my heart.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Am I Overthinking this?
So yeah, it's been rough this last week or so. In-laws are visiting now, so I'm getting some help, but generally I'm wondering if I should've just had the surgery and missed a few things, but been done with it. I knew I'd do this though, and I have a date set, so I just need to suck it up and take lots of pictures, right?
LittleSpeak has gone 4 nights in a row of staying bed. Wahoo!!! I give her a gummy in the morning if she stays in bed all night & it seems to be working. It was also working for her seatbelt until today. Bah! I knew the gummy would be short-lived as a motivator, but I'd hoped she'd be mature enough to at least deal w/her seatbelt when it did. Silly me. I've seen the kiddie shrink 2x now and one thing I brought up is that I think LittleSpeak may have some sensory issues. I'll explain why in a minute, but upon looking for a tool to help keep the seatbelt on her I'm reading more and more stuff that really sounds like her AND falls into the realm of sensory issues. Her shrink agreed w/me that it does sound like that might be the part of the problem but suggested to me that if I had her tested she's not really sure what I'd do with that information. Upon some of the reading I just did I'm wondering how good this kiddie shrink really is, it's pretty apparent there are quite a few tools for the things that LittleSpeak seems to have issues with, which, one would think, she ought to know.
Here's the the clues I've gotten about possible sensory issues with her; she doesn't want to be restricted in any way, shape or form; includes clothing, sock & shoes, seatbelts, etc... This escalating to that point that she won't wear certain kinds of clothing now and the seatbelt in the car is a constant battle (she can get it off). She has been complaining a lot lately about things beeing too loud, even when they arent'. She also wants a blanket or 3 on her to sleep. I understand wanting that sense of weight I'm the same way to a degree, but I'm beginning to feel that she needs that sense of weight on her in order to settle down. The waking up in the middle of the night could be because she didn't have the weight on her and it was freaking her her out. I believe I'm going to make the phone calls tomorrow to have her tested. If she's not great! If she is, I don't want to make her suffer, especially not when I know there are tools to help her deal with it.
Of course, there's a part of me that's concerned that I'm totally being a helicoper mom and overthinking some pretty normal toddler stuff. If you know anything about sensory issues leave me your email, I'd love to talk/write to you.
LittleSpeak has gone 4 nights in a row of staying bed. Wahoo!!! I give her a gummy in the morning if she stays in bed all night & it seems to be working. It was also working for her seatbelt until today. Bah! I knew the gummy would be short-lived as a motivator, but I'd hoped she'd be mature enough to at least deal w/her seatbelt when it did. Silly me. I've seen the kiddie shrink 2x now and one thing I brought up is that I think LittleSpeak may have some sensory issues. I'll explain why in a minute, but upon looking for a tool to help keep the seatbelt on her I'm reading more and more stuff that really sounds like her AND falls into the realm of sensory issues. Her shrink agreed w/me that it does sound like that might be the part of the problem but suggested to me that if I had her tested she's not really sure what I'd do with that information. Upon some of the reading I just did I'm wondering how good this kiddie shrink really is, it's pretty apparent there are quite a few tools for the things that LittleSpeak seems to have issues with, which, one would think, she ought to know.
Here's the the clues I've gotten about possible sensory issues with her; she doesn't want to be restricted in any way, shape or form; includes clothing, sock & shoes, seatbelts, etc... This escalating to that point that she won't wear certain kinds of clothing now and the seatbelt in the car is a constant battle (she can get it off). She has been complaining a lot lately about things beeing too loud, even when they arent'. She also wants a blanket or 3 on her to sleep. I understand wanting that sense of weight I'm the same way to a degree, but I'm beginning to feel that she needs that sense of weight on her in order to settle down. The waking up in the middle of the night could be because she didn't have the weight on her and it was freaking her her out. I believe I'm going to make the phone calls tomorrow to have her tested. If she's not great! If she is, I don't want to make her suffer, especially not when I know there are tools to help her deal with it.
Of course, there's a part of me that's concerned that I'm totally being a helicoper mom and overthinking some pretty normal toddler stuff. If you know anything about sensory issues leave me your email, I'd love to talk/write to you.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Another Reason for my nomination to Mother of the Year
Does the relief I feel when I’m away from my child make me a bad mom?
Perhaps relief isn’t really a strong enough word to describe it. Little Speak She’s LOVES it. I have to remind her to kiss me goodbye when I drop her off. And when I pick her up I get a look that says, “oh, you’re still around?”
On Tuesdays, I work in BigSpeak’s (BS) class so I only have about an hour sans kids, but Thursday? Glorious, beautiful Thursday? That’s my new favorite day of the week. I get 3, count them, 3 glorious child-free hours on Thursday. And at the end of those 3 hours, I get 3 hours of just BS. In some respects, that practically child-free. My stress level has dropped exponentially this week. I actually made it to dinner 3 nights this week (I usually pass out in pain, waiting for the pain pills to take effect w/in 10 mins of Daddy Speak (DS) getting home.) Having time away from LS is making me a better mom. I can’t say she isn’t still driving me insane, but actually getting a true break from her is making a world of difference.
Things with her, have gotten so bad that our pediatrician actually referred us to a “behaviorist:” read: kiddie shrink. Ironically, I believe, (on my own,) I discovered my child’s kryptonite: Gummies. Today she peed in the potty for one, (that was the ground shaking you felt) and I’ve gotten through 3 days w/out having to pull the car over because she’d taken off her seatbelt (yes, she’s in a 5-point harness, but this kid is wicked smart, has incredible motor skills and determined is too mild a word to describe her.) Whenever she starts to pull the seatbelt off, which is often these days, (she hates restraint on any level,) I pull the car over and put it back on. If we have the time, I just sit until she sees fit to put it back on herself. But this week, I promised a gummy if she kept the belt on for a whole ride to the grocery store and it worked. So as long as it works, I’ll bribe her. All hail the Halloween Gods! I’ll pay for the dental work if it means it’ll help me keep my kid safe enough to be alive to have the dental work done.
I realize as I'm writing this that there’s a lot going on w/LS and it’s a large part of the reason the pain in my back has been so bad. It’s been so bad that I haven’t been up to writing about it. Now that I’m getting a few hours to rest, I’m seeing the forest for the trees and you‘ll be getting to hear more about it. I won’t be winning any awards for mom of the year, but when you hear some of this stuff, you’ll be amazed that I haven’t paid the gypsies to take her. I guess I'm hopeful that I can teach her to use her powers for good instead of evil. So far, I seem to be losing that battle.
The really scary part: she’s only TWO. I can NOT imagine what the teenage years are going to be like.
Perhaps relief isn’t really a strong enough word to describe it. Little Speak She’s LOVES it. I have to remind her to kiss me goodbye when I drop her off. And when I pick her up I get a look that says, “oh, you’re still around?”
On Tuesdays, I work in BigSpeak’s (BS) class so I only have about an hour sans kids, but Thursday? Glorious, beautiful Thursday? That’s my new favorite day of the week. I get 3, count them, 3 glorious child-free hours on Thursday. And at the end of those 3 hours, I get 3 hours of just BS. In some respects, that practically child-free. My stress level has dropped exponentially this week. I actually made it to dinner 3 nights this week (I usually pass out in pain, waiting for the pain pills to take effect w/in 10 mins of Daddy Speak (DS) getting home.) Having time away from LS is making me a better mom. I can’t say she isn’t still driving me insane, but actually getting a true break from her is making a world of difference.
Things with her, have gotten so bad that our pediatrician actually referred us to a “behaviorist:” read: kiddie shrink. Ironically, I believe, (on my own,) I discovered my child’s kryptonite: Gummies. Today she peed in the potty for one, (that was the ground shaking you felt) and I’ve gotten through 3 days w/out having to pull the car over because she’d taken off her seatbelt (yes, she’s in a 5-point harness, but this kid is wicked smart, has incredible motor skills and determined is too mild a word to describe her.) Whenever she starts to pull the seatbelt off, which is often these days, (she hates restraint on any level,) I pull the car over and put it back on. If we have the time, I just sit until she sees fit to put it back on herself. But this week, I promised a gummy if she kept the belt on for a whole ride to the grocery store and it worked. So as long as it works, I’ll bribe her. All hail the Halloween Gods! I’ll pay for the dental work if it means it’ll help me keep my kid safe enough to be alive to have the dental work done.
I realize as I'm writing this that there’s a lot going on w/LS and it’s a large part of the reason the pain in my back has been so bad. It’s been so bad that I haven’t been up to writing about it. Now that I’m getting a few hours to rest, I’m seeing the forest for the trees and you‘ll be getting to hear more about it. I won’t be winning any awards for mom of the year, but when you hear some of this stuff, you’ll be amazed that I haven’t paid the gypsies to take her. I guess I'm hopeful that I can teach her to use her powers for good instead of evil. So far, I seem to be losing that battle.
The really scary part: she’s only TWO. I can NOT imagine what the teenage years are going to be like.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Life
I know it's been awhile. My back has been bad. I'm scheduled for surgery on Dec. 30th. I know, Happy New Year. We know how to celebrate 'round here. I had an exam with the neurosurgeon week before last and it really screwed things up. I was doing better before that, but in January I should be "over it". Right? I'm hopeful.
LittleSpeak is still on a roll. She's good as long as she's getting your full attention and you're doing something she really wants to be doing; playing outside, at Pump It Up, gymnastics, etc... If not, well all bets are off. The last two nights she has finally slept the full nights; we've been through 2 months of her trying to get us to let her sleep in our bed. Two-three times a night she'll wake up screaming for us. She was coming into our room so we put a gate in her doorway. Each of these episodes consists of us putting her back to bed 6-8 times. It makes for long nights. It's been weird, both my girls have always been such good sleepers and now, out of the blue, she pulls this. Knock on wood, I think we're done with this episode.
All things considered, I have finally decided to put her into preschool. I signed her up for two full days a week. Once I have my surgery I'll need to have someone to watch her during the two weeks following, so I figured it made sense to set her expectation now. I've taken her over there 2x this week and let her play with the kids and she's had fun, so hopefully she won't give me too hard a time about it. DaddySpeak will be home the week of the surgery and my folks will pitch in to help watch the girls, but it's a six week recovery, so I need some other soloutions too. Having her in school will give all of us a break. I'm also hopeful that being in school will also maybe get her to chill out a bit too.
There have been a lot of things going on, holidays and all, but one of the bigest things is that I'll start to feel better, but then I do something and end up laid up for a couple days. So we did make it to the pumpkin patch, and BigSpeak's school's Halloween Festival, things like that, but after each of those things I've ended up a mess for a couple days. So that's the reason for my absence. I have lots of things to blog about and hopefully I'll be starting to feel better so that I can tell you about them.
LittleSpeak is still on a roll. She's good as long as she's getting your full attention and you're doing something she really wants to be doing; playing outside, at Pump It Up, gymnastics, etc... If not, well all bets are off. The last two nights she has finally slept the full nights; we've been through 2 months of her trying to get us to let her sleep in our bed. Two-three times a night she'll wake up screaming for us. She was coming into our room so we put a gate in her doorway. Each of these episodes consists of us putting her back to bed 6-8 times. It makes for long nights. It's been weird, both my girls have always been such good sleepers and now, out of the blue, she pulls this. Knock on wood, I think we're done with this episode.
All things considered, I have finally decided to put her into preschool. I signed her up for two full days a week. Once I have my surgery I'll need to have someone to watch her during the two weeks following, so I figured it made sense to set her expectation now. I've taken her over there 2x this week and let her play with the kids and she's had fun, so hopefully she won't give me too hard a time about it. DaddySpeak will be home the week of the surgery and my folks will pitch in to help watch the girls, but it's a six week recovery, so I need some other soloutions too. Having her in school will give all of us a break. I'm also hopeful that being in school will also maybe get her to chill out a bit too.
There have been a lot of things going on, holidays and all, but one of the bigest things is that I'll start to feel better, but then I do something and end up laid up for a couple days. So we did make it to the pumpkin patch, and BigSpeak's school's Halloween Festival, things like that, but after each of those things I've ended up a mess for a couple days. So that's the reason for my absence. I have lots of things to blog about and hopefully I'll be starting to feel better so that I can tell you about them.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Yes. We. Can. Yes. We. Did. And, Yes. We. Will.
I know it's old, but it encompasses a lot of my emotions right now.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
The Change I Believe In
I'm so very excited right now. DaddySpeak and I are watching the election coverage, along w/so very many other people we know. I know this because I'm on Facebook, and so are many of my friends. The social colective in this milenium. I would never have thought I'd actually plan to watch this on purpose. Usually on election night I would turn the tv off, or watch a movie, because who really wants to watch election coverage? Tonight, I do.
For the first time, in a very, very long time, I am proud to call myself an American. Tonight my country came through on it's promises. It proved to my generation that all those times our parents told us that we could be "anything we want" they spoke the truth. I can't begin to imagine how it feels to be an African American right now. We are witnesing history tonight and I am so very proud of my country.
For the first time, in a very, very long time, I am proud to call myself an American. Tonight my country came through on it's promises. It proved to my generation that all those times our parents told us that we could be "anything we want" they spoke the truth. I can't begin to imagine how it feels to be an African American right now. We are witnesing history tonight and I am so very proud of my country.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!!!
Yes, I'm still alive. I'll hopefully have a few minutes to update you later this weekend.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
I Scoff at Your Safety Devices!
Yes, now be sure to say that title w/a crappy Russian accent and flick your hand in the process. That would be my LittleSpeak saying that there. Last week, I suddenly hear BigSpeak calling me, "Mom! LittleSpeak is getting on the counters!" I walk into the kitchen telling LittleSpeak to get down and find:
LittleSpeak with two cupboards open and she is using the "safety locks" (I'm using the term loosely obviously) as footholds to reach things on the counter. Not only can she now open them, she's finding new uses for them. Sorry no photo, I'll try to remember next time. Yes I'm sure there will be a next time with her.
Nothing is too high, too locked away or too guarded from this child. I am begining to believe she just may be all the bad karma I've aquired in my past lives getting even.
Ok, I know that's not nice, but DUDE! I can't catch a break with her. She's smart & has no intention of using her powers for good.
LittleSpeak with two cupboards open and she is using the "safety locks" (I'm using the term loosely obviously) as footholds to reach things on the counter. Not only can she now open them, she's finding new uses for them. Sorry no photo, I'll try to remember next time. Yes I'm sure there will be a next time with her.
Nothing is too high, too locked away or too guarded from this child. I am begining to believe she just may be all the bad karma I've aquired in my past lives getting even.
Ok, I know that's not nice, but DUDE! I can't catch a break with her. She's smart & has no intention of using her powers for good.
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