Freaking Annoying Cell Phone Habits

FIRST: Annoying answering habits:

1. Answering your phone when you can't talk for more than 1 minute because you're doing something else. Someone actually invented something to solve this problem. It's called VOICEMAIL. USE IT!
2. Answering your phone during a movie, concert, or otherwise interactive situation where you are expected to NOT be on a phone. This includes while paying for goods or services. It's rude to both parties. Again...voicemail was invented for this issue.
3. Answering your phone while doing something extremely loud...you know, using power tools, or vacuuming are good examples of when to let your call go to voicemail.
4. Answering your phone when talking to someone else. Nobody wants to be on hold. Hold should have never been invented. It sucks for everyone.
5. Answering your phone while in a public restroom. Nobody wants to hear flushing while they talk to you. And nobody wants to hear your stall call while they are going potty. It's a little creepy to hear a one-way conversation in an otherwise quiet restroom.
6. Answering your phone while waiting in line at the grocery store because you're expected to um, interact with the cashier. Besides, you might want to pay attention and make sure you don't get double charged for something. Oh, and that beeping of the scanned items is very annoying to hear.
7. Answering your phone while watching TV or listening to music loudly. Either let it go to voicemail OR hit pause. Don't do both.
8. Answering your phone while eating. Listening to someone chew while amplified over the phone is just downright disgusting.
9. Answering your phone and then 3-way connecting the call to someone else without asking. Maybe we don't want to talk to that person right now or just had a quick question for the person that we actually called...not the other person.
10. Answering your phone in your own bathroom and and then flushing the potty. Seriously. If you have to answer your phone now, then don't flush the potty. I don't care how close you are. I don't want to know that you just crapped or peed. And I'm gonna laugh if you ever accidently drop your phone in the dirty crapper water.
11. Answering your phone in the car. Um, driving requires some attention. I don't want to be responsible for your next car accident. Plus it's freaking annoying to other drivers and can even be fined in some areas. HANG UP AND DRIVE.
12. Don't answer a landline while on a cell phone or vice-versa. It's like holding. Let the other one go to voicemail. You can't be on 2 lines at once. It's just rude to both people and frustrating to yourself when you try and decide who you want to talk to more.
13. Don't answer an unknown number when you're talking to me. That's like beyond retarded. That's like leaving a $12 IMAX movie to go home and check your email to read the SPAM that you get.
14. Don't answer a survey. What a waste of freaking time. No wonder you have to keep close tabs on minutes.
15. Don't answer your phone while at a restaurant, even if your food isn't there yet. The only place that is ok is a place like McDs where you pay for the food at the counter and get it yourself.

NOW: Annoying calling habits:

1. Don't call me for directions to my house on the way to an event. I'm likely busy getting things ready or already have other company here. Ok, if it's a true emergency, fine. But plan ahead. Get online and look up directions and print them out if you still live in the dinosaur age...better yet...get a GPS. Again, inventions were invented for a reason.
2. Don't call me for the phone number or address to where you are going. What the crap. I have a life. Just because I *might* be home doesn't mean I want to look things up for you. There is actually a service that will do this for you for a small fee. It's called...ready for this...INFORMATION! But...again...if you are cheap, plan ahead and http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/. OR...if you have a GPS...it will list theses these things. There are also these little electronic handheld thingys that have the Internet that will come right along with you wherever you go. OPTIONS ARE ENDLESS.
3. Don't call me while you are looking at refrigerators and ask me to research them for you while you are at the store. You've got to be beyond kidding me. This is part of doing your homework. This a MAJOR appliance. One that YOU NEED TO DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK ON!!!
4. Don't call me back without checking your freaking voicemail. It just makes you look stupid. I don't care if it wastes your minutes.
5. Check your voicemails daily. Again, stupid-looking.
6. Respond to your voicemails within 24 hours. Again, stupid and/or rude-looking...falls on YOU!
7. Delete your old voicemails. I can't believe how many people I've called who have full Voicemail boxes. Seriously. It takes 2 seconds to delete them. On the other hand, it's a pretty good indicator that I better not leave you one.
8. Don't complain that I never call you because when I do call you, you manage to somehow violate at least one of the above mentioned rules in a least every phone call.
9. Don't pass the phone off to someone else in the room without asking. If I wanted to call that person, well, I would've called that person.
10. Don't call me while you are waiting in line at the grocery store. Your fellow shoppers don't want to hear you talking while in line. We've discussed this before. Call when you have some quality time to spend chatting.
11. Don't get mad when you don't leave a voicemail and you don't get an instant call back. Just because there is a missed call from you, that doesn't mean I am going to instantly call you back. I probably haven't even missed my phone. It's probably out in my car, allowing the voicemail to pick up call after call. I will listen to my 5 voicemails and respond to those first. IF I even look at the missed calls, I may or may not get around to returning your mystery call about something you forgot about why you were calling anyways.
12. Don't call me to look up random facts. I don't care what you want to know. Use http://www.chacha.com/
13. Don't call me to go turn on the TV to watch a certain movie or show. I don't give a rat's ass what you are watching. It's not going to be on the same channel anyways.
14. Don't call me while the person next to you is on the phone. Hearing another conversation is annoying.
15. Calling me then talking to another person in the same room with you without saying "hang on" It's confusing. And rude.
16. Calling me and then not letting me go after and adequate conversation length. Once someone hints they need to "go" then it's only polite to let them go within about a minute of said hint. Continuing to try and talk to me when I've got a screaming toddler is frustrating for everyone involved, and I will hang up the phone on you.
17. Only ever calling me for to look up something online for you. I'm glad you know I've got the Internet. But you could at least call and chit chat once in awhile, too. Seriously, a 3 minute phone call could fill me in a lot about your life.
18. Calling me to tell me to check my email or snail mail box. I check those. Daily. Email I check AT LEAST 3 times a day...morning, noon, and night. Just because you only check your email...weekly, doesn't mean I do.
19. Calling me to tell me you texted me. I don't have texting. Either call me or email me. Send me a letter in the snail mail if you can't pay your phone or Internet bill this month. A stamp is only 42 cents. Steal some change out of a fountain if needed.
20. Calling to ask about a text you sent me. I don't have texting. Texting is gay. I hate texting. I can't type on a little tiny keypad to save my life. I don't want to see your stupid pictures and forwards instantly on my hip. They can wait to go to my inbox where I will delete your stupid Obama and other forwards without opening or otherwise looking at them if they have FW: in the subject line. If it's not worth a full phone call or a full email, it's probably not worth my time. Or definitely.
21. Calling and leaving extra long voicemail messages. I have set my voicemail time limit to one minute.
22. Don't call and "finish" what you were going to say on another voicemail. I will call you back. Maybe. If you don't piss me off too much.
23. Don't call me and read something to my voicemail. I don't want to hear it.
24. Don't call me and read me Bible passages to my voicemail. I have a Bible. If I want to read it, I will.
25. Don't call me and read something to me that you found in German. Unless you are my Dad or a native speaker...then your German sucks. I don't want to hear it. And even then, see 23.
26. Don't call me and call me and call me. LEAVE A VOICEMAIL. I WILL CALL YOU BACK WHEN I GET BACK TO MY PHONE.
27. Ask where I was. Maybe I was taking a shower. Maybe I was sleeping. Maybe it's none of your beeswax. Maybe I was in a public restroom or checking out at the store or I just didn't hear my phone ring. Maybe I was at the bar getting drunk because I want a FAS baby (NOT!) Just because "I stay at home" does not mean I actually sit at home on my couch all day and answer my phone instantly. If I want to tell you, I will.
28. Don't call me and leave me voicemails between the hours of midnight and six AM. You should be asleep. NOT on the phone. I turn my phone off, but most calls during these hours are never productive and usually involve mind-altering substances.
29. Don't call me for someone else's address or email address or my own. Really. Take 2 seconds and look it up for your freaking self.
30. Don't call me to edit your paper/resume/project that is due in 30 minutes. Really. I'd love to read your stuff and laugh at all your grammatical errors, but I need a little more time, especially if you want some constructive feedback.
31. Don't call me only when you need something. I've already figured those people out. I have their numbers in my phone, not because I'm going to call them, but just so I can see when they call and then I hit "Ignore."
32. Don't call me and ask what I'm doing tomorrow. I know you'll want me to do something for you, so just tell me and then I'll decide what I'm doing tomorrow...aka helping you out or sticking to my original plan.
33. Don't call me to babysit for your kid plus 5 other random kids I've never watched before 2 hours before you need me. I'm going to say no and wonder why you thought I would watch them.
34. Don't call me when I'm in a bad mood, like right now. I'll probably let it go to voicemail so I don't get pissy and unnecessarily irritate you in the process.
35. Don't only ever call me while you're in the car because it's not safe and because you probably really don't have time to chat anyways.
36. Don't put me on speaker phone ever. At best, speaker phone completely beyond sucks. Nobody can hear anything. If you don't have time to chat, please be polite enough to let me know.
37. Don't complain that I don't have a landline or have texting blocked. I really don't care that this fact might piss you off. I might actually giggle about the fact that it pisses you off.
38. Don't call me to ask me my own address. Don't be so freaking lazy. I know you have it. Keep yourself organized to freaking know where it is.
39. Don't call me and tell me some long website address. I'm not going to go look it up. I'm not going to probably even listen to my entire voicemail message. Email it to me. Duh. And even then I'm probably just going to delete it. :)
40. Please don't call me ask my husband computer questions. He has email. He doesn't want to help you. But neither do I. Your computer probably sucks. You need to stop going to crappy porno sites. Email him your questions, don't call me about them. It makes me want to stab you and drink your blood when you ask about computer questions. Nom, nom, nom! I don't call you for computer help.
41. Don't call my husband's work Blackberry and leave a message. He didn't stutter on his message. (Go ahead for those of you that have never called. Call it and get a giggle out of it.) But don't leave a message. Either me or one of his coworkers will be deleting your message that nobody is going to hear. And we are just going to think you're even stupider for leaving a message. And don't leave a message to be funny, because the messages were just deleted today and probably won't even be acknowledged (ahem, deleted) for a few more months.

The End.

Disclaimer: All of the above are based on actual observations or personal experiences. If you think something is directed at you, it probably is. :) Ask me, I will tell you because I'm cool like that! But don't feel bad if you think something is directed at you because most of these things have been violated by several people several times. I don't claim to have perfect manners or perfect phone manners, but I don't talk while driving or crapping or checking out at Wal-Mart. I was prompted to write this particular post when I called my mom and she answered while AT A CHRISTMAS CONCERT. SERIOUSLY! Ok, now I know that when Claire is older, I'll probably want to answer her every call just in case it's an emergency. But I've also called my Dad probably at least 2 times while he was at the movies. Seriously. LOL. If it's a true emergency then I should be calling 911.

I'm going to bed. NARGH!

Feeling Better...Not so pissed...

Well, I feel better now after ranting about my silly OB appt. today. And thank you, Amy, for pointing an obvious fact that I didn't seem to connect at the time. My boy is MEASURING 2 weeks EARLY, yet she is claiming that nursing while pregnant could some how cause the baby not to grow. CAN'T BE BOTH!!!

Hello, the milk supply would dry up first...and I am kind of waiting to see if this happens. But Claire always asks for milky nummies. I ask her if milk is coming out, and she always says YES. Once in awhile in the evening while nursing to sleep she will say it's "All gone." So I know she's drained things for a moment.

So this evening Claire and I hit up the Hancock Breastfeeding Group for their Christmas party. It was a complete blast and all the little kiddies and nurslings were dressed super-duper cute!!! And there was food...and it was super yummy!

I talked to the LC (lactation consultant) and told her Dr. N. had advised me not to nurse. And guess what? She said that I wasn't the first mom that had told her that. Seriously. I want to educate this silly OB. I'd like to find a really good, recent article that supports nursing during pregnancy to give her...but is there even a point?

She is an OB. I asked if she has kids. Nope. So obviously she's never nursed any which pretty much says it all. If you want someone to deliver your kid who has had a good nursing experience I suppose you'd have to go more the midwife route.

And it was a good night since Claire went right to sleep after running around and playing with other kids almost all day!!!

Silly, Silly OB.

I just got back from my OB appt. I am supposed to be 22 weeks, but baby boy is measuring 24 weeks. I HATE THE OBs. At my last visit, 4 weeks ago, I met with Dr. S. who already was mentioning induction because I was measuring big. GOOD GRIEF! Can we at least wait until APRIL to start mentioning inductions.

THIS TIME, I left ticked again, because I happened to mention I was still nursing. I didn't meant to. Really. I know you're not "supposed to breastfeed past 12 months." (Please not the dripping sarcasm.) The reason I'm ticked was because the silly OB, Dr. N, said "You're still nursing while you're pregnant?" Yup. "You're really not supposed to." Oh really? "There is a concern about the baby getting enough nutrients." Really.

So guess what I said. I said she could jot down on her little chart that she informed me of that, but I've read otherwise and plan on continuing. Ha. I felt her bristle a little at this point. She's like, well, legally we have to inform you to stop nursing in case the baby inside you isn't growing enough.

WHAT. THE. HELL.

Women have tandem nursed for THOUSANDS OF YEARS. I am beyond pissed right now.

I said I was in La Leche League. I dropped that "L bomb" ha. And I have read otherwise. I turned out fine and my older brother David nursed while my mom was pregnant with me...and for 9 more months alongside me!!! GEEZ!!!

ME.ANGRY=TRUE!

So then I got all bitchy. Yes I did. I said I would like to see what she had read otherwise. That caught her off guard. I asked where she had read that. Couldn't really remember. MAYBE BECAUSE THAT'S A LOT OF SHIT. Pardon my French.

Anyways, baby boy was fine. Did the normal pee in a cup, let them take my blood pressure, etc. Sometimes they want to take it twice because it tends to run low. I swear it's the fish oil vitamins I've been taking daily since trying to get pregnant with Claire.

His heart beat was strong and measured at 150. (If you follow old wives's tales, girls are supposed to have a higher heart beat, so that was wrong.)

UGH. WHY AM I SO ANGRY.

I am so mad that the back of my neck feels hot.

At least Claire was GREAT at the neighbors. She was a perfect angel and didn't hit over a toy once. And didn't cry when I left or when she realized I'd left!!! She loves playing with Christopher since they are about the same age. He just turned 2 mid-November, so about 3ish months apart...

I've got frozen pizza in the oven. I'm too mad to make dinner. I had to blog instead. ;)

WHY AM I SO PISSED?

BECAUSE I'M RIGHT?

Oh, and she also mentioned the whole contraction crap from nipple stimulation but that is crap too because contractions without dilation is fine!

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I don't know his name!

Today Claire wanted to know her baby brother's name. She asked, "What baby brother's name? I don't know his name!" TOO CUTE! Well, we don't know it either. We are completely clueless. Ha...we didn't name Claire until less than 2 weeks before I was due, and even then, we weren't entirely sure.

I don't really like specific name suggests from family members like, "You should name the baby XXXXXXXXXX because so-and-so was named that." That is a complete and 100% total turn-off for me. Those names will go on a "Definitely will not name list." I want something semi-original, yet classic. I want something that people will recognize, but it's not like in the top 10. I like traditional spellings. Plus we can't please everyone by picking a name one family member liked. So in order to keep things fair, we will just avoid all of those types of suggestions.

I also don't like names that have overly unique spellings or are trendy. Super-trendy spellings just make the parents look like they can't spell. For example, Jackson should be spelled Jackson, not "Jaxsin." I was a teacher. I've seen it. It just makes the parents look like they didn't know how to spell the name. Trendy names are just plain stupid IMHO. I don't think a name like "Blade" would look good on his job resume in about 20 years.

I've read the entire boys name section of our baby name book over and there is not one single solitary name in there that I like. NOT ONE. Not even one that I USED to like but then some student with that name came and ruined it. I just don't LOVE any boy's names like I do girl's names. I also hate city names like Austin or Dallas or whatever. Those fall under the lines of trendy. A hot new girl name is "London." Really. City names are for cities. People names are for people. It also drives me nuts when people name pets real people names instead of something animal-appropriate like Spot or Fluffy. So this is sort of turning into a rant. DANG IT. WHY ISN'T THERE A SINGLE BOY NAME THAT I LIKE!!! I'm sure we'll think of something in the next few months...

But as a teacher, I don't want a name that people haven't seen before or won't know how to pronounce. I don't want him to have to spell his name every time he gives it. I also don't want people to say "What's his name?" with a funny look when I tell them his name. I've seen moms do this to other moms and it's so terrible. I also don't like anything that could be gender-neutral like "Sam" or "Pat." It makes me think of that Pat character that used to be on SNL.

I guess I'm pretty opinionated. I don't like "job" names like Mason because of the meanings behind them. Are all the poor Masons in the world destined to lay bricks? Probably not because most people don't really look into the meanings of names. I generally don't like last names as first names, although there are a few that work well as first names.

So what do I like? I do like most biblical names, but not the funky, hard-to-spell ones that nobody knows how to read. I like Josh, but I don't like the Jr. thing. I think the baby needs to be his own, original person, not version 2.0.

Claire has suggest Oscar and Elmo for the baby. Ha. Nope. She also likes Falcor which is from the movie Labyrinth, but again, nope! I like a lot of German names like Johann, but would never do that to my kid, living in the US. It would never get spelled or pronounced right.

Any suggestions that go well with Starr? Watch out for initials. Don't want to be spelling PMS or ASS or GAS. geesh...

Dealing with Unwanted Advice

Well unwanted advice in print is easy to deal with. You can just stop reading. Close the browser. Delete the email. Delete the comment off of your Facebook page. It's a little harder to deal with unwanted advice in person. Ahhh joy. Here is a good article that you might find interesting: http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/family-parenting/articletkt.aspx?cp-documentid=21032199&GT1=32001 It's actually applicable to anyone...which is to just ignore a lot and let the small stuff go. I think the most annoying thing with strangers is their observations if Claire is dressed to warm or cold. I love it when they say she should have a hat on and they don't and I don't. I think it's because her hair is so light...but really...she loves hats and I would put one on her if it's cold enough. 50 and above does not need a hat people.

Grumpy.

I went to bed with Claire at 8 last night and enjoyed sleeping till about 8:15 when she woke me up. ;) Oh, did I mention she still wakes up at night. Like all the time. Like 3-4 times/night. I know, get her out of our bed, right? Well, I guess her waking up isn't that bad because I'm too lazy to walk like 5 minutes to her room and put her in her room in a crib and walk back...my goal is to get her set up in a twin by Jan. or so and start laying down with her in her own room. Sigh. Sounds like work.

I'm grumpy because I'm still having a lot of queasy morning sickness feelings even though I've tried all the suggestions. Stop reading if you don't want to hear more about morning sickness. I don't like ginger. I've tried all those wacky ginger products too. I don't like ginger ale because of the carbonation. The bubbles make me feel sicker because then it makes me feel like I have to burp since I don't drink pop...except rarely a Sprite...anyways it's starting to tick me off. Grr. Preggy pops suck. I'd rather eat a sucker covered with hair that Claire found behind the couch if that tells you how badly they suck.

I've been sleeping with a trash by my bed it's that bad. When I was pregnant with Claire the only time I ever chucked was about midnight...fun. And only then half a dozen times...this pregnancy is the same...not chucking, just feeling like I have to all the time, which is almost worse. After I chuck, I always feel better.

The sickest thing is when someone clears their throat or "hocks a loogie." I seriously want to chuck in their face and then punch them. Repeatedly.

That is all for now.

I did not put Claire down for a nap today. She didn't ask either. I like the earlier bed time.

DVDs do not make your child smarter...you do!

Gotta love marketing! Here's an interesting article that says babies can't really learn from a DVD. Duh. Here are three things you can do to help your child develop.

1. Read to them and follow their lead...talk about what the child is pointing to or looking at and let them turn to their favorite page.
2. Play with them, which of course involves lots of talking.
3. Talk with them, as in conversation style. Ask them questions and give them time to respond even if they are just 8 months old and just go "Gah!!!"

I think the big one that gets forgotten about is play. Reading and talking sort of come easier. I think it's generally harder for parents to get down on the floor and manipulate toys. I read somewhere that you should let your child lead you in play for at least 10 minutes/day. They should also have 30 minutes of "free-play" by themselves where they can do what they want, and then you should read to them for 30 minutes/day...so depending on their age you might break that up into 3 chunks of 10 minutes throughout the day.

I have mixed feelings about "bedtime" books. I think it's great as a way to remember to read everyday, but so much more is gained when you can play with the books and interact. Like say you are reading "THE RUNAWAY BUNNY." You can have your toddler go find her bunny toy from the shelf...not exactly what you want to do if you're trying to settle a child down for bed.

As far as language development goes, I have tried to practice "on-demand" reading...think of "on-demand" nursing. Basically I will drop whatever I am doing and go read to her for 10 minutes. I've been known to turn the burners off on the stove, etc. because if a toddler wants to sit and read...you better sit and read while they are paying attention!!!! Now that Claire is slightly older, she will want to come read when I offer, but like at this time last year...no way.

Other than those 3 things I haven't done anything special with Claire...have you seen that info-merical on a program of teaching your toddler to read. Now that's just creepy. Lol! And besides that's more "memory" anyways...

We started doing Baby Signs with her at about 10 months when she started waving, but really have dropped it altogether since she talks so well now. I still think sign is fascinating, though. I would love to learn more. Maybe we'll watch some more sign DVDs this winter. And I'll know I'll start doing it again when this 2nd baby is about 10 months or so.

I try to remember to do something writing related where she gets to use her fingers once a day. I have been looking for plastic safety scissors for her to try, but haven't seen any. Maybe I should look online. Any links for me? I bought some safety ones, but they are metal and still feel sharp. I haven't gotten brave enough to try them with her. She still SOMETIMES puts writing utensils or playdough in her mouth so I'm a little nervous she could slice her lips if she wants to taste test the scissors I got for her.

I have already started started to look into preschool for her...crazy, I know! I remember going to preschool and absolutely LOVING it! It's only like 3 days/week for 2-3 hours depending on where she would go, but it wouldn't be till fall. I could have her start in January at 2 1/2, but I think we'll wait until she turns three and just do a regular fall enrollment.

She is at the age where she loves other children. She always has loved other kids, though. She asks to play with friends now however. "I have friend come over, Mommy?" Or "I go Story Time, see friends?" It almost breaks my heart that we don't have MORE stuff scheduled that is just for her. I think she'll really like going to preschool...plus it will give me a chance to go grocery shop with just a small baby and no toddler! :)

Anyways, what kinds of activities do you do with your child/ren that are educational? I mean really anything at this age is educational. Going on walk and pointing out a fire hydrant is like a mini-lesson. She likes to tell me know what fire-hydrants do. "Mommy, that fire hydrant. Water come out! Put out fire!" We enjoyed going on a walk today in this nice fall weather. I hope it's nice on Halloween so she can go trick-or-treating!!! Daddy came with us, and it was really nice!

Claire is sleeping now. I have struggled the past few weeks getting her down for a nap. Her naps were getting later and later. This meant bedtime was getting later and later as a result because she wasn't tired yet. Then yesterday she didn't get up from her nap until 5pm. That is way too late to go to bed at 8. Well, today I decided to try a full day without a nap. It worked! We went on the walk during nap time. We'll see how tonight and tomorrow go! What age was your child/ren when they stopped napping and how did you know nap time wasn't working anymore? She's already sleeping now ... bed at 7:30 yay!

Duggars are Grandparents!

The Duggars are now Grandparents! Ok...and having that many kids is NOT normal. Back in the days when families had 12-20 kids, lots of them died or a least a few of them died! AND...they breastfed the kids on the farms for 2-4 years. She's having these kids 15 months apart...that is insane! She had a baby at the same time Claire was born, and is due about a month before I am due again, but has another girl in between there...boom, boom, boom! They must do it every night! I don't mean to sound too judgemental, because if a family is going to have that many kids, they are definitely in a financial spot to do it! Plus, their kids are all so polite and well-behaved. Seriously, though, she needs to chart her fertility, and they need to avoid having "relations" when she's fertile. It's almost as though they are trying to have so many kids! Here's a book she needs to read called Your Fertility Signals: Using Them to Achieve or Avoid Pregnancy Naturally They don't have to use birth control...just a little abstaining a few days a month or her uterus is seriously going to fall out. She is over 40...that is just not healthy for any body to be constantly pregnant like that! I read you were supposed to wait a year after having a baby before having another one to let the body heal...or was that something for VBACs? Anyways...good for them...they figured out a way to make money having lots of kids but not being on welfare! Just get your own TLC show!

Growing Girl

Well, I have Claire in some 3T pants. Or I thought I did. They are currently around her knees. I thought I could keep pulling them up, but I think I'm going to have to take them in. What's the best way to do this? Gather them at the side or the back and put in a few whip stitches? Here's the problem: http://www.carters.com/Help/SizeChart.aspx She is in the 2T weight, but tall enough for the 3T. Fun fun. Oh wait. Size 24 months goes to 30 lbs...so her weight is in 24 months...that would explain the pants falling down.

Comment Away!

Ok, so I had 3 emails yesterday about having trouble leaving comments. Yargh. Then my Dad called me and he and my mom never can leave comments...so I have changed the settings so ANYONE can comment without ever signing in. However, I am still requiring typing in a code word to prevent spam comments. Also, please do sign your name. It drove me nuts when I was trying to guess who was leaving what comments. I can kind of guess who is saying what (like my brother Richie leaves usually highly entertaining comments) but it is just easier and doesn't leave me wondering about who could leave such a gross spelling mistake. I want to call you up and tell you that YOUR and YOU'RE are NOT THE SAME.

I think that the OPEN ID is hard to use for non-frequent users, but it is possible! Anyways, if you don't put your name in the top box, then sign it in the actual comment.

I don't know...I really don't think that my life is THAT INTERESTING that I need to make my blog private, but I think private blogs settings are annoying because they will not show up in my feedreader. If you don't know what a feedreader is (ahem, Mom and Dad) it is basically an email set-up that checks new blog posts. So 5 seconds after someone posts a new blog posting, it will show up in my feedreader, which uses the same Outlook set-up that I use for my email. I hope I didn't totally butcher that explanation. I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong. HA!

So back to other annoying things. If you have a feedreader, I would really advise you to "follow" your own blog and subscribe to your own updates. This way you can see if there are ever any problems or broken pictures, etc. Also, if you have more than one author (like a spouse) you will be alerted to their post without them having to tell you.

Also a tip...change your settings in your blog layout for a FULL feedreader view. WHY? Well, I subscribe to some more commercially blogs, that sometimes post about stuff that interests me (breastfeeding and other parenting issues like discipline, etc...) but if my attention isn't caught in those first 2 AND ONLY lines...guess what...I'm not going to click on "VIEW ONLINE" -- ever. It will get deleted and never looked at...UNLESS...it becomes a big deal, which will be made clear because some other blogger will post about it, or I might see it on Twitter. Also, if you post a video or slideshow, try to remember to SAY you are posting a video, etc.. because it will show up as a little empty white space in the feedreader, and nobody will know it was ever there.

Also, if you do not have a profile picture, SET ONE...it takes all of 30 seconds! If you do not know how to do this, then leave a comment, and I will have to take 30 seconds to write a post on HOW TO. REALLY...it's under your profile...take 5 minutes to figure it out and stop annoying me with your little grey pictures. :) HEHE. Actually, on some other blogs that I follow, with lots more followers, I've noticed like 10 or more people that haven't set profile pictures. Seriously? You take the time to have a blog and post stuff, but can't set a profile picture. This is like leaving the default answering machine message on. Oh wait? You haven't set a personal voicemail...well ok, then...that explains everything. Hehe. No, I still love you all!!!

If you follow my blog and aren't listed as a follower (check the upper right where all the little blog profile pictures are)...FOLLOW ME! :)

If you have been following my blog as a silent stalker and are waiting for a chance to introduce yourself...do so now...open comments! SAY HI! Leave a link to your blog if you have one and I may start stalking you. Blogs are fun...they are so voyeuristic...as is Facebook...a sneak peek into someones life...what fun!

Ok, that's about it for my rants and complaints then...have a happy Monday! :)

NEVER AGAIN. EVER.

Oh dear blog readers,
How I've missed you...not really! I haven't had time! So since my last post I was just cleaning and cleaning and de-crappifying my house. It's great. Welcome to my crap-free zone! Actually, it's still full of crap, but it's at least a LOT LESS! We made about 100 bucks on selling our old crap. Everyone wanted to know. We also sold a crappy TV for about 50 bucks ... so we could say 150. I suppose we could've sold everything on Craigslist or Ebay, which we have done before, but it's work. But a garage sale is a lot more work. I decided to open my garage door on Friday morning to "set up" things. Well that was great...made about 20 bucks on Friday as well. Sold a pool with a hole for 2 bucks! LOL. Anyway, about 1 pm on Saturday, I was getting hot and tired of stupid questions. So I started setting things out to the curb. MAN was it hilarious watching the trash pickers. But seriously, a lady asked me what a book was about. I told her to read the back. Seriously. Buy it and read it yourself. :)
I was also majorly irritated by all the people that pranced their dogs into my garage. I HATE DOGS. Well, let me qualify that. I hate dogs when they get into my personal zone. I do not want their nasty wet little noses on my legs. I do not want them within 10 feet of me or my child. I was also majorly grossed out by a lady paying me with a bag of dog crap waving in front of my face. I was sitting down in the lawn chair and so it was just the right level. Seriously. I'm glad she picked that stuff up but seriously...going garage sale-ing with that. What is wrong with some people.
LOL...on the plus side Josh saw someone picking and offered to load all the garage sale leftovers into the back of his truck. SWEET. We didn't even have to take it to the Goodwill.
Remind me to never have a garage sale again.
EVER.
My first garage sale here.
AND MY LAST!

Stupid Rash

So I woke up Thursday with a few spots. Friday morning at 6 am, both of my elbows looked like this. So I paid a stupid copay for the doctor to tell me to take Benadryl and that hives could be from anything. Gee, that was helpful...I still have NO IDEA what it is from. Needless to say, yesterday I washed all the bedding including the blankets in HOT water! ARGH.

Sling Babies...Risky?

Ok, check this out: http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2009/04/24/sling-babies-at-your-own-risk.aspx and my comment is any contraption involving a child is risky... think HIGHCHAIRS! And now Claire will do a dive out of the carseat the second I unbuckle her...that is pretty risky! And speaking of CARSEATS...how many hundreds of injuries have resulted from accidents involving those being set in an inappropriate place...

Beware of photo offers

Ok, my last post before going to do stuff to get ready for the weekend...I was just at K-Mart, where I never go, but I had to exchange some too small new shoes for Claire that were an Easter gift. So I was walking around the baby dept. This old lady came up to me and starting trying to sell me a photo package. She said it was only $12. Good for 1 year, and up to 15 poses. I said, "What's the catch." She said, "No catch." Well as I continued to look around the racks and chase Claire down the aisles, she kept following me. ARGH. I almost wanted to say I will just give you 12 dollars to leave me alone!! Well there is a catch so beware. They don't let you pick the pose that you get. So even though you get all these pictures for 12 bucks, they are not the ones that you want.

What do YOU do all day?

Anybody that has never had a kid doesn't have a clue. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052201554.html?referrer=facebook There is a funny article about what stay-at-home moms do all day. The key line in there is "It takes us 45 minutes to do what other people do in 15." This is so true. Little kids take forever to merely load and unload into/out of the car. If it takes you 5 minutes to put clothes on yourself in the morning, it will take approximately 3 times as long to put clothes on them. Here's an example. Our story time is at 10:15. We have to be pulling out of the driveway at 10 to make it on time. Since it's only once a week, I don't want to be late! This means we start putting on coats/shoes at 9:45. Wow. What is it like to have more kids?

It breaks my heart

Hi,
Have you heard that Ken Starr -- and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund -- filed legal briefs defending the constitutionality of Prop 8 and attempting to forcibly divorce 18,000 same-sex couples that were married in California last year? The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case on March 5, 2009, with a decision expected within the next 90 days. The Courage Campaign has created a video called "Fidelity," with the permission of musician Regina Spektor, that puts a face to those 18,000 couples and all loving, committed couples seeking full equality under the law.Please watch this heartbreaking video now. If you have the same reaction that I did, you can help spread the word by sharing it with your friends ASAP -- before the Valentine's Day deadline: http://www.couragecampaign.org/DivorceThe more people who see this video, the more people will understand the pain caused by Prop 8 and Ken Starr's shameful legal proceeding. After you watch the video, please join me and over 150,000 people who have signed a letter to the state Supreme Court, asking them to invalidate Prop 8 and reject Starr's case. Thanks.
Maria Starr...no relation to Ken Starr..yikes!

I feel so VIOLATED

So um bad news...some asshat, excused the French, stole Josh's credit card number and has charged so far about $1,200 on it. Some of those are $1.00 pending charges, so who knows what those charges actually will be. GOOD NEWS...the big charges were from today at Kay Jewelers, a Cosmetics site and 2 travel agencies, as well as Match.com and Napster....so ALL the purchases were online. We still have the card...his wallet did not get swiped and our machines did not get hacked. Good lord, our machines will never get hacked. We are so over-protected at home that good e-mail gets deleted as Spam and never delivered. Josh keeps me hooked up. :) As a matter of fact, he not only got the treadmill set up and going for me this weekend, he also drilled a hole in the wall so my machine has CAT-5 cable right into his office. No more wireless...yay. We think his info was comprised on a reputable website where he has purchased some hosting from as they posted a message saying such, but really, it could have been anywhere. Oh joys.

I <3 NY

I do. I heartses NYC! I can't believe the plane went down yesterday in the river and everything happened the way it did. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/15/new.york.plane.crash/ Thank God it wasn't raining. Thank God it wasn't the middle of the night. Thank God it wasn't as cold there as it was here yesterday (-5 with a -22 windchill). Thank God he decided to land there instead of trying to make it back to the airport or the NJ airport he'd called into. I mean...everything that could go right in the case where something goes horribly insanely wrong, went right. And on all days? The last day Bush speaks to the public? What the ...? It's amazing that they all got OUT of the plane and the commuter ferries got there so fast. I mean...if that had happened ANYWHERE else...there would not have been all those ferry boats. There would have been more severe hypothermia and probably a couple drownings. Josh said there was a baby on board. I can't imagine it would do well in the water. I was trying to Google for more info on it, but have yet to find anything. Josh said that the clip he saw, there was another passenger who said that the mom had to give the baby to someone else while she was climbing over seats? And I don't know about those details, but I do know that I would probably NEVER let go of Claire in an emergency like that. I do also remember that when we flew to FL last Turkey Day, that the Flight Attendant made a mom across the aisle from me take her little 4 month old boy OUT of her baby Bjorn because FAA regulations says babies can't be in slings during take off or landings. THAT SEEMS RETARDED. Seems like of ALL times, that would be the safest. Plus, Mom could safely exit, hands free, in an event such as this one. I think someone has their head up their ass about that topic...but that's another rant.

But well done NY! Good job! And what a nice victory for them! In an incredibly sad and horrible way, 9/11 wasn't without purpose. It made everyone prepared for a large emergency like this. They said "Nobody was severely hurt." As in dead. But broken legs and definitely some hypothermia and shock. Let's not forget about Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD). There is a great book about this that I will try to post more on later, but for now I have to go! And I think it's pretty cool that we've been on one of those ferries!


Great Job NY and to everyone on the plane for staying calm and following orders! I <3 you, NY!

Extended Nursing

Here is a great blog by the "Crunchy Domestic Goddess." http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2009/01/02/breastfeeding-until-age-3-4-or-5-more-common-than-you-think/#comment-17108 I think she has some great posts!

This morning Claire and I went to the Carmel LLL group. There were a bunch of "veteran" moms which was nice as we could discuss more than "new" baby stuff. We also played a round of Jeopardy all breastfeeding question related! I feel like I learned a lot.

We talked about "What is normal?" Basically...weaning at one and putting baby on cow's breastmilk. is. not. normal. WE are the only cultural who weans so prematurely and puts the kids on cow milk. WHY? I don't really know. It's just what people do.

Then the discussion was NORMAL is sooo far removed...we don't KNOW what normal is anymore! I think the whole "First Steps" crap I'm doing is crap. We started the "enrollment" at the end of October. It took 3 appointments to set things up. We will meet with a Nutritionist once a month to have her weighed, etc. I say ETC. because I don't know what the ETC. is yet. And then we will meet with a "therapist" every week for awhile, then maybe every other week.

I say "therapist" in quotes as I met ours. She is a dumb-ass. I will give her one more chance, but I don't think my opinion of her is going to change. They say you can learn a lot about people in the first 30 seconds. I think this is 100% true. There is just no good "conversation"--I would never elect to go out to lunch with her. The first appointment was for her to get to know Claire and I. Next week we will start on "eating" therapy. I don't think it's really needed. WHY? Well, because I think Claire eats what and when she wants. She has had an increased appetite in the past 2 weeks. I don't think she really has texture issues. She hasn't gagged/choked in over a month, and frankly, I feel like all these people that have been here are idiots. Am I the only one who feels surrounded by idiots?

Why do I say idiots? Because all of the 4 women who have been here to "evaluate/meet with her" have not breastfed their children. NORMALLY, I could honestly give two shits less about this because really, if you want to not, fine, don't whatever, I'm over here MINDING my own business. I won't say anything about you not bf'ing yours (for whatever reason) if you don't say anything about me bf'ing mine until 4 or whatever (who reads this that doesn't, I don't know because you've never left a comment)...BUT what HAS ticked me off, is that they are basically asking me stuff like, "Do you think she prefers nursing over solids" (yes, duh, it's superior and I think her body knows it's better than ANY solid). It's not that I don't want somebody to "help" us, it's just that I think I've realized she doesn't "need" help. Haha...I need help...lots of it...somebody please help me clean my house, etc... ;) I just feel like they don't "get" why I'm still nursing her and that if I weaned her, it would force her to eat solids. Sorry, ladies, this is the best food on earth.

But basically, I realized this at the meeting this morning when the gal said that our culture has so totally destructed WHAT NORMAL IS...that the "NORMAL" isn't what is world-wide normal (eg: child-led weaning at ages 5-7). I know if I would have read that 2 years I ago, I would be like, weird, nursing at 5. SICK...nursing at 7! But now I'm thinking...maybe this is what is so wrong with our society? WHO KNOWS? I don't know how long Claire will want to nurse. I don't know how I'll feel about things a year from now or a month from now. I don't know what kind of situations or circumstances will be around either. But what I think is awesome is something like that post by the Crunchy Domestic Goddess that she talks openly about nursing a preschooler. This morning I talked to a gal whose girl self-weaned at 5 and 1/2. I think that sometimes LLL gets a rep for nursing kids until they are really old. Really. Since when is 5 and 1/2 old? And I'm sick of the competitive parenting. I'm sick of reading all these posts on CafeMom about bf'ing moms judging other bf'ing moms about nursing older children. REALLY? IF you can't get support from other bf'ing moms who the hell are you going to get some support from? Why do you need support? Well, it's not like "support" but rather a lack of "bashing" more or less. This is why I can't do long blog postings. Once I start going, I can't shut up. LOL! I know that opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one. And if you don't like my opinion...close your freaking browser. I'm irritated by stupid people daily. Cashiers that can't count change; therapists that show up late because they "forgot" what time it was; people that can't drive....and the list goes on. Oh, and family members that comment, "You write too much." SHUT UP and just look at the pretty pictures. Just scroll down to the pretty pictures if that's all your simple little mind can handle. Haha. Ouch. Did you actually read that?!? You know I still love you. I have to. You're family. Just don't piss me off, or I'll set this blog to private and ban your ass. ;)

So what was normal before the advent of formula? Nobody spoon fed babies processed crap from a jar before they could lift their own heads up. I'd love to go back in time, see how women did things in 1940 before the big formula push and learn. I think that kids nursed longer, got solids later, and that was normal. We've fucked normal. Bottles and pacifiers are just "breast dildos" as more than one other LLL mom has referenced. HAHA. Now every time I am at the store and see a bag or wrapping paper or other baby item with a bottle on it, I think of that image. Normal is not sticking a baby in daycare. Normal is not separating the infant from it's environment. Infant primates environments = the mother. We've fucked that normal too. Society fails us all in so many ways. Any solutions?

END OF RANT!

Black Friday

Friday we just hung out at my parents house enjoying the company of family! When I heard about the shooting at the Toys R Us and the stampede at Wal-Mart that KILLED someone, it made me feel sick. How terrible. I celebrated NATIONAL BUY NOTHING DAY by BUYING NOTHING. NOT EVEN ONLINE! :) http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2008/11/26/what-will-you-do-on-buy-nothing-day/ I think I will continue this tradition in protest of consumerism. Really. People think they need every frigging thing out there.

My mom made some awesome Swedish Cabbage Rolls for dinner with a tomato sauce. YUMMERS!
Josh's brother Aaron also joined us for our Thanksgiving in Valpo!