I swear I am not giving up, I have just had a week where I am preoccupied with other stuff.
I realize I have not posted my less than 30 minute recipe yet and really nothing else.
I have had this stupid, annoying rash around my mouth for 6 weeks now and nothing is making it go away. Then Sat. night, out of nowhere a couple of spots on my chest started bleeding. Freaked my shit out. I was sitting there checking email, I felt a tickle on my chest and came away with a handful of blood. WTF?!
It happened again last night, and this morning, so I finally made an appt. with a dermatologist.
They were able to squeeze me in this afternoon. I was able to farm out Mike to Auntie M. but I had to take Jake and Bekah to the appt.
But first this morning, I took all 3 kids to Jake's 2 year wellness check. It's confirmed, he is a tank. 75% height and 95% weight, he is built like a fireplug with a bowling ball for a head. My pediatrician started making noises like Jake should see a speech therapist. I rolled my eyes. My daughter started talking at 9 months old and hasn't stopped, but my boys don't start talking until after the age of 2. They are bright boys, but still more braun than brains at this point, and I am not sweating it at all!
I compromised a follow-up in 3 months. I love my pediatrician, but he is way more academically focused than I am, so I take some of his advice with a grain of salt.
Before we left Jake had to get 1 vaccination and a T.B. test. Me and the nurse got Jake restrained as best we could to give him his injections. What amused me was that Mike was huddled in the corner shaking, while Bekah watched the entire process. I guess we can add one more doctor to the bunch.
After we did lunch, and some quiet time, Auntie M. picked up Mike and I roused Jake from his nap early and took him and his sister to my dermatology appointment
A brand new office in Danville. Everything freshly painted white. With brand new, gleaming equipment, glass table tops and potted plants. Ugh. Jake was not allowed out of the stroller and I had to keep picking up Bekah's dropped apple bits, pretzel crumbs and string cheese globs. She eats 24/7!
My diagnosis was....... no idea. I was prescribed 2 different creams and told to come back if it doesn't get better. She was nice, polite, absolutely beautiful, but not super helpful. My husband wants me to get a biopsy, I am not ready to go there yet. I am sure they are just zits.
I dropped off the scrips at my pharmacy and went back home. It was a stunning day so I filled our water table from the hose, and let Bekah and Jake get wet and wild, while I checked email on my laptop in a corner of my garden.
Auntie M. came over later with some alcohol, my monkey, and her 2 monkeys and we hung out a little. The pharmacy called me and said that one of the scrips was not approved by my insurace and was going to cost me $279! Uh, no. She was smart to call me first. Sigh, I will have to take care of that in the morning.
Shortly after that phone call, Jake slipped through the hole he tore in our screen door and dropped our cordless phone in the water table. If you wanna call us, try our cell phones first.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Measure C- Super Important For My Local Readers
Go here , sign petition, feel good because you give a shit about the kids in our community, have a beer.
Friday, March 27, 2009
G-d Bless California
At this present moment, 5:07pm, I am sitting in my backyard next to a Redwood tree, watching a woodpecker inspect the Oak tree in front of me and listening to a Red-Tailed Hawk screech off in the distance. I am drinking an icy beer and my kids are all happily playing by themselves. The only possible way this moment could get better is if my 2 year old would stop eating tanbark like they were potato chips and toddle off to get me another beer.
G-d Bless California.
G-d Bless California.
Slain Oakland Police Officers
I was driving my youngest to Lafayette this morning for his Jewish monkey playgroup. As I was cruising on North 680 I noticed 2 firetrucks on the overpass with firemen standing at attention. That's curious. Then I saw it again on the next overpass. I quickly learned from listening to the news on KGO radio that the local fire stations had dispatched their trucks and firefighters to these overpasses to pay tribute to the 4 Oakland police officers that were murdered last weekend. Sigh.
I started off this morning so happy thinking of my brother, now home from Iraq, safe and sound. Seeing those firetrucks and then the funeral procession leaving Danville, where one of the officer's family lives, I got teary-eyed. I grabbed a clean diaper off the floor of my van and dabbed my eyes so I wouldn't have to pull over.
How sickening, how completely unfair, what a waste. Not a total waste because one of the officers, John Hege, did donate organs and tissue, saving the lives of 4 other men.
In situations like this I would also feel sad for the family of the murderer, because they also lost a son. Uhm, no. Lovelle Mixon's family is pointing fingers at their brother's parole officer who allegedly missed appointments with his client. So it's the parole officer's fault Mixon shot and killed 4 police officers with a semi-automatic weapon? These people are scum.
Even more shocking than blaming a parole officer for a criminal's behavior is that some residents of Oakland are labeling the murder of these officers, vengence for the murder of Oscar Grant. I will tell you right now that when that BART officer shot Oscar Grant, a handcuffed black man laying on his stomach, he committed a crime. Nothing in his police training would have ever taught him to do that. I am not sure if it was evil, but it was stupid, careless and criminally negligent. But to tie-in that tragic incident with this new tragic incident ,and to somehow make Lovelle Mixon a hero for avenging the death of Oscar Grant is despicable!
Lovelle Mixon was not just a guy who didn't pay his speeding tickets. He was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon and he had just been tied, by DNA evidence, to the rape of a 12 year old girl. Disgusting.
I really hope this horrible event brings the good people of Oakland together to promote positive change. I really hope my brother does not have to go back to Iraq. I really hope that the next time I see a bunch of tall, gorgeous, firefighters standing on a freeway overpass, they all have their shirts off.
I started off this morning so happy thinking of my brother, now home from Iraq, safe and sound. Seeing those firetrucks and then the funeral procession leaving Danville, where one of the officer's family lives, I got teary-eyed. I grabbed a clean diaper off the floor of my van and dabbed my eyes so I wouldn't have to pull over.
How sickening, how completely unfair, what a waste. Not a total waste because one of the officers, John Hege, did donate organs and tissue, saving the lives of 4 other men.
In situations like this I would also feel sad for the family of the murderer, because they also lost a son. Uhm, no. Lovelle Mixon's family is pointing fingers at their brother's parole officer who allegedly missed appointments with his client. So it's the parole officer's fault Mixon shot and killed 4 police officers with a semi-automatic weapon? These people are scum.
Even more shocking than blaming a parole officer for a criminal's behavior is that some residents of Oakland are labeling the murder of these officers, vengence for the murder of Oscar Grant. I will tell you right now that when that BART officer shot Oscar Grant, a handcuffed black man laying on his stomach, he committed a crime. Nothing in his police training would have ever taught him to do that. I am not sure if it was evil, but it was stupid, careless and criminally negligent. But to tie-in that tragic incident with this new tragic incident ,and to somehow make Lovelle Mixon a hero for avenging the death of Oscar Grant is despicable!
Lovelle Mixon was not just a guy who didn't pay his speeding tickets. He was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon and he had just been tied, by DNA evidence, to the rape of a 12 year old girl. Disgusting.
I really hope this horrible event brings the good people of Oakland together to promote positive change. I really hope my brother does not have to go back to Iraq. I really hope that the next time I see a bunch of tall, gorgeous, firefighters standing on a freeway overpass, they all have their shirts off.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sore Throat Tuesday
A dear friend sent me an email this morning. I won't put her name or her kids' names in here because I don't have permission. She found an email I sent her and it makes me look like such a great person I thought I would share it with the universe.
Hi Charlotte,
So my little monkey is 1 (well technically at 12:32pm he’ll be) and thus, I’m taking a trip down memory lane looking up emails from a year ago. Yes, a year ago. God, where did this year go?! Anyway, I found this email from you and reading it now, just made me cry. You’re a great, sweet person. Thanks for everything!
Love,
The email below is from me Charlotte:
I am sorry that your birth plan didn't work out like you expected, I am sure that is dissappointing.
Thankfully all of you are healthy, besides the cold, and that you are now comfortably at home.
Coming upon Jake's 1st bday and then reading your email and that it was written "late" at night, makes me a tiny bit nostalgic. Not nostalgic enough to reverse my husband's vasectomy or anything, but just reminiscing of that exhausting, but sweet, and exciting time of bringing home a new human being. My friend Vince said once that every couple should have a child, "every 5 years so that there is always a miracle in your home". I may not agree with him on the amount of children ( he had 5 before his wife cut him off, 2 from a previous marriage and 3 with her) but his sentiment has always rang true with me.
Each one of my kids have such strong personalities, and already possess much better traits than I have, that it makes you want to have more and more, despite the temporary/ongoing discomfort and inconvenience.
Love,
Charlotte
Best part is that I don't even remember writing that so it made me feel even more awesome. A nice surprise in my email box this morning.
Much better than the sore throat I woke up with. I can still swallow without crying so I don't think it's Strep but it's damn close, ouch! To give you an example of how bad it is...........I don't even want to drink a beer. If you know me personally don't call 9-1-1, I am sure I will be fine in a couple of days. It's a damn shame though because it's in the low 70's outside and my kids are actually being pretty good today.
I scrounged up some spare change to take them out to lunch and used a Barnes and Noble gift card to get them some books. Mike and Bekah were really good at lunch, Jake was just short of a disaster. He even threw a fork at me!
At B and N they were all good. I read them a few books and they each picked out one. I got the 2nd book in the Twilight series, and a book on feelings to go over with Mike (he gets rather angry sometimes) but I couldn't find a good book for my husband.
What I was really looking for was a book on Private Parts. If you know what I mean. My oldest Mike was licking the boobs of a bridal magazine in the grocery store recently. I was so embarrassed. And he is all into grabbing body parts and talking about them. It used to be kind of cute and funny but he will be 5 in June, it's gotta stop. So I went to the section called, "Growing Up". Not helpful at all. They were either geared towards pre-teens or girls in general. There was one that seemed geared towards preschoolers but I took one look at the illustrations and I was like, "Oh Hell No.". Mike would take a gander at that guy's schlong and start laughing hysterically. It would make the problem worse not better. And this book talked about, "loving sperm", I am soooo not ready for that conversation yet. I put it back on the shelf and decided I would just keep yelling at him until I think of something better.
Anyone have a book on their shelves at home that helped?
Right now Jake is snoozing it up and even Bekah fell asleep on the way home from Barnes and Noble. Mike is playing Legos and watching Spiderman and I am going to read Bekah her new Dora book.
Hi Charlotte,
So my little monkey is 1 (well technically at 12:32pm he’ll be) and thus, I’m taking a trip down memory lane looking up emails from a year ago. Yes, a year ago. God, where did this year go?! Anyway, I found this email from you and reading it now, just made me cry. You’re a great, sweet person. Thanks for everything!
Love,
The email below is from me Charlotte:
I am sorry that your birth plan didn't work out like you expected, I am sure that is dissappointing.
Thankfully all of you are healthy, besides the cold, and that you are now comfortably at home.
Coming upon Jake's 1st bday and then reading your email and that it was written "late" at night, makes me a tiny bit nostalgic. Not nostalgic enough to reverse my husband's vasectomy or anything, but just reminiscing of that exhausting, but sweet, and exciting time of bringing home a new human being. My friend Vince said once that every couple should have a child, "every 5 years so that there is always a miracle in your home". I may not agree with him on the amount of children ( he had 5 before his wife cut him off, 2 from a previous marriage and 3 with her) but his sentiment has always rang true with me.
Each one of my kids have such strong personalities, and already possess much better traits than I have, that it makes you want to have more and more, despite the temporary/ongoing discomfort and inconvenience.
Love,
Charlotte
Best part is that I don't even remember writing that so it made me feel even more awesome. A nice surprise in my email box this morning.
Much better than the sore throat I woke up with. I can still swallow without crying so I don't think it's Strep but it's damn close, ouch! To give you an example of how bad it is...........I don't even want to drink a beer. If you know me personally don't call 9-1-1, I am sure I will be fine in a couple of days. It's a damn shame though because it's in the low 70's outside and my kids are actually being pretty good today.
I scrounged up some spare change to take them out to lunch and used a Barnes and Noble gift card to get them some books. Mike and Bekah were really good at lunch, Jake was just short of a disaster. He even threw a fork at me!
At B and N they were all good. I read them a few books and they each picked out one. I got the 2nd book in the Twilight series, and a book on feelings to go over with Mike (he gets rather angry sometimes) but I couldn't find a good book for my husband.
What I was really looking for was a book on Private Parts. If you know what I mean. My oldest Mike was licking the boobs of a bridal magazine in the grocery store recently. I was so embarrassed. And he is all into grabbing body parts and talking about them. It used to be kind of cute and funny but he will be 5 in June, it's gotta stop. So I went to the section called, "Growing Up". Not helpful at all. They were either geared towards pre-teens or girls in general. There was one that seemed geared towards preschoolers but I took one look at the illustrations and I was like, "Oh Hell No.". Mike would take a gander at that guy's schlong and start laughing hysterically. It would make the problem worse not better. And this book talked about, "loving sperm", I am soooo not ready for that conversation yet. I put it back on the shelf and decided I would just keep yelling at him until I think of something better.
Anyone have a book on their shelves at home that helped?
Right now Jake is snoozing it up and even Bekah fell asleep on the way home from Barnes and Noble. Mike is playing Legos and watching Spiderman and I am going to read Bekah her new Dora book.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #10
I have been making this for years and a mom that used to be in my old mom's club asked for the recipe. After serving it 3 nights in a row her husband finally made her stop. It's good.
Curried Chicken Salad
2 cups diced rotisserie chicken breast
1/4 cup diced green onion
1 cup green seedless grapes cut in half
or 1 cup diced green apple
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons Mango Chutney
1/2 to 1 teaspoon curry powder (to taste some people like curry more than others)
as much lettuce as you want, Romaine is good
salt and pepper to taste
dashes of Tabasco to taste
Dice your chicken, apple and/or grapes, onions. Mix all ingredients together, serve over lettuce.
1/2 cup serving of chicken salad is 5.5 points, if you use both apples and grapes it's 6 points for a 1/2 serving. Remember lettuce is zero points.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Four Generations
Yesterday we had a small family gathering for my youngest's 2nd birthday. His actual birthday is next Saturday but my husband and I have a Bar Mitzvah to go to, so we did it a week early.
I was so grateful that my mom was able to bring my grandmother Hazel. She is now 85 years old and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's so she doesn't travel very well. She did recognize me though and that made me really happy. This woman was a dynamo back in the day, definitely the matriarch of the family, and a very beautiful woman.
This picture below is, me, Charlotte, in the green, my mom Louise, my grandmother Hazel and my 3 year old daughter Rebekah Hazel. Named after my beloved grandmother.
This is the best we could do and at least my grandmother looks stunning. I am trying to hold a wiggly Bekah, my mom is staring at another camera and I have no idea why my father-in-law decided to stand there at that exact moment. I am very happy to have 4 generations of women from the same family in the same room, that is pretty awesome.
I was so grateful that my mom was able to bring my grandmother Hazel. She is now 85 years old and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's so she doesn't travel very well. She did recognize me though and that made me really happy. This woman was a dynamo back in the day, definitely the matriarch of the family, and a very beautiful woman.
This picture below is, me, Charlotte, in the green, my mom Louise, my grandmother Hazel and my 3 year old daughter Rebekah Hazel. Named after my beloved grandmother.
This is the best we could do and at least my grandmother looks stunning. I am trying to hold a wiggly Bekah, my mom is staring at another camera and I have no idea why my father-in-law decided to stand there at that exact moment. I am very happy to have 4 generations of women from the same family in the same room, that is pretty awesome.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Jet
This is for my neighbors. Did anyone hear that jet? A little after 1pm Sat. March 21st I heard a very loud, fast jet fly over my house and it even shook my bathroom windows a little. It is overcast today so I couldn't see anything in the sky. Erik is at the gym with the kids so I have no witnesses. This was not a passenger jet, those fly over my house all of the time and they are much slower and not as loud.
I hope somebody else heard this so I don't look like an paranoid idiot.
I hope somebody else heard this so I don't look like an paranoid idiot.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Things On My Mind
So there has to be 3 things on a magazine cover for me to buy it off the shelf: Britney Spears before she was medicated, Octomom, or anything to the with the FLDS. That is the Fundamental Latter Day Saints (Mormons with tons of wives and kids). When I saw them in their prairie dresses on the cover of a People magazine, I snatched it right up.
I was super excited to read about them and was all ready to be outraged and disgusted. Instead I found myself agreeing with some of their opinions. Shocking isn't it?
I realize that the FLDS handpicked 3 families to be interviewed so I am sure they are the families most likely to toe the line. But I really couldn't disagree too much with what was being said by the moms in this article.
Remember that raid on that huge FLDS compound? I totally supported that raid because they were going after parents who allowed their underage daughters to be married off. I am not talking 17 year old girls, I am talking 12 year old girls. Disgusting. Out of 439 children that were removed, 12 of them were found to have been married off between the ages of 12 and 15 and the husbands' trials will start in October. But all of the children, except 2, of been cleared to return to the ranch because everyone got re-educated. I truly hope that is the case.
So the parts I found myself agreeing with the FLDS moms had to do with diet, chores and family time. They quoted one mom as saying that she makes homemade rolls because store-bought rolls are "laundry bread" with the healthy parts washed away. I buy store-bought bread but you can't really fault a mom for feeding her kids whole grains. The children on this ranch milk cows and pitch in with the recycling and other household chores.......from the tone of this article you would think these kids were putting on hot tar roofs in the summer. My kids help bring groceries in from the car and help me sort laundry and "make" their beds. My kids are 2, 3 and 4 years old so they aren't that useful yet but I believe kids should do chores too and I don't wear a prairie dress.
This one mom also talked about how her daughter was exposed to an unmarried pregnant woman at the shelter, where they stayed after the raid. Now I know that surprise pregnancies happen to the best of us, but I have never met a single mom who really wanted to do child-rearing all by herself. Can we all just agree that having 2 parents is best? I don't care if it's 2 dads, 2 moms or an unwed couple. But it sure is a lot easier to parent with 2 adults instead of just one. Anyways, I wasn't as disgusted and enraged as I thought I was going to be.
Another thought that has been poking my frontal lobes this last week has to do with my oldest. Mike is 4.5 years old and is in Pre-K. This is Mike's 3rd preschool because he was on the verge of getting kicked out of the other 2 before I finally yanked him out and found a perfect fit for him. In his classroom there are 6 boys and 2 staff. And even though Mike is a lot more successful at this school, he is still a very demanding, high energy boy.
So my son is a case study. His lead teacher, Miss G. ,is working on her master's in education (or child development) and she is using Mike has her case study. She asked my permission, and I agreed, because I want to use the tips she will find in her research to help with his behavior at home. So I am grateful for that, but of course there is a part of me that is like great my son is a fucking case study.
Then Miss G. tells me after she presented Mike to her class, her fellow students start ripping on her and making her cry. WTF?! She told me that they believe the school is too rough on him and that maybe he has attachment issues. That is outrageous!
Let me tell you why they are wrong. After Mike's first unsuccessful preschool episode I took him to our pediatrician for an assesment. I actually believed the bullshit they were feeding me about Michael being hard of hearing, possibly autistic, only a 4 word vocabulary, etc. etc. My pediatrician rolled his eyes but agreed that responsible parents follow through with concerns like this, and since assesment is free through our school district then why not? Guess what? There is nothing wrong with Mike.
The 2 child behaviourists spent an hour with him and they said the only thing wrong was that they now needed a nap and they thought I was amazing. I was 7 months pregnant with Bekah at the time and they couldn't believe I was still standing. The diagnosis; a very energetic boy who would rather play than sit in a circle or do schoolwork.
So now Miss G. has made him her case study and they are not too hard on him and he does not have attachment issues! Mike needs rigid structure. External control for internal chaos, and me and the school are on the same page with this issue.
Attachment issues? Are you shitting me? I realize that there is a need to label Mike with something because then you will have a set method to deal with a set problem. Mike is very attached to friends and family. He has 2 parents at home, a large and super involved extended family,and a loving babysitter. I want to go to Miss G.'s class and set these people straight but obviously that would be inappropriate. The only label that really fits my son is, spazz.
Have you heard of Freecycle? It's a Yahoo! group where you can get free stuff, and get rid of your stuff. This week I swapped with another mom through freecycle. She took a bunch of Bekah's shoes and clothes and I got a DVD player that had only been used once. Sweet! Our old DVD player in the kids' rec room died after Mike gnawed through the cords (see paragraph above for the reason why). So Erik and I told Mike don't you dare do that again because it's not safe and that's not how you treat your belongings. We told him he would get electrocuted and asked him if he knew what that meant. He said, "That's when you light up, start shaking and get all bony.". Sounds like he has been watching too much Tom and Jerry.
I am sure by now you have heard of that woman who got attacked by her friend's 200 lb. chimp? I was watching the news and her current health status is that she has lost both of her hands, her eyelids, her nose and her lips and may be blind and have brain damage. They are keeping her in a medically induced coma so she can heal. It was announced this week that her family is going to sue the now dead chimp's owner. They are suing for $50 million, and I don't think that is enough. What a horrible story.
For anyone reading this for the first time I will inform you that I live in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The weather this week has been spectacular! Sunny and warm and trees are blooming. But my daughter got an ear infection and we have all been stuck inside, arrgh! After the ear infection she got some horrible diarrhea from the antibiotics, ugh! But now she is all better and it's gorgeous outside still so we will have one day to enjoy this weather before it rains again tommorrow. Beer drinking in the backyard is on my agenda for this evening, how about you?
I was super excited to read about them and was all ready to be outraged and disgusted. Instead I found myself agreeing with some of their opinions. Shocking isn't it?
I realize that the FLDS handpicked 3 families to be interviewed so I am sure they are the families most likely to toe the line. But I really couldn't disagree too much with what was being said by the moms in this article.
Remember that raid on that huge FLDS compound? I totally supported that raid because they were going after parents who allowed their underage daughters to be married off. I am not talking 17 year old girls, I am talking 12 year old girls. Disgusting. Out of 439 children that were removed, 12 of them were found to have been married off between the ages of 12 and 15 and the husbands' trials will start in October. But all of the children, except 2, of been cleared to return to the ranch because everyone got re-educated. I truly hope that is the case.
So the parts I found myself agreeing with the FLDS moms had to do with diet, chores and family time. They quoted one mom as saying that she makes homemade rolls because store-bought rolls are "laundry bread" with the healthy parts washed away. I buy store-bought bread but you can't really fault a mom for feeding her kids whole grains. The children on this ranch milk cows and pitch in with the recycling and other household chores.......from the tone of this article you would think these kids were putting on hot tar roofs in the summer. My kids help bring groceries in from the car and help me sort laundry and "make" their beds. My kids are 2, 3 and 4 years old so they aren't that useful yet but I believe kids should do chores too and I don't wear a prairie dress.
This one mom also talked about how her daughter was exposed to an unmarried pregnant woman at the shelter, where they stayed after the raid. Now I know that surprise pregnancies happen to the best of us, but I have never met a single mom who really wanted to do child-rearing all by herself. Can we all just agree that having 2 parents is best? I don't care if it's 2 dads, 2 moms or an unwed couple. But it sure is a lot easier to parent with 2 adults instead of just one. Anyways, I wasn't as disgusted and enraged as I thought I was going to be.
Another thought that has been poking my frontal lobes this last week has to do with my oldest. Mike is 4.5 years old and is in Pre-K. This is Mike's 3rd preschool because he was on the verge of getting kicked out of the other 2 before I finally yanked him out and found a perfect fit for him. In his classroom there are 6 boys and 2 staff. And even though Mike is a lot more successful at this school, he is still a very demanding, high energy boy.
So my son is a case study. His lead teacher, Miss G. ,is working on her master's in education (or child development) and she is using Mike has her case study. She asked my permission, and I agreed, because I want to use the tips she will find in her research to help with his behavior at home. So I am grateful for that, but of course there is a part of me that is like great my son is a fucking case study.
Then Miss G. tells me after she presented Mike to her class, her fellow students start ripping on her and making her cry. WTF?! She told me that they believe the school is too rough on him and that maybe he has attachment issues. That is outrageous!
Let me tell you why they are wrong. After Mike's first unsuccessful preschool episode I took him to our pediatrician for an assesment. I actually believed the bullshit they were feeding me about Michael being hard of hearing, possibly autistic, only a 4 word vocabulary, etc. etc. My pediatrician rolled his eyes but agreed that responsible parents follow through with concerns like this, and since assesment is free through our school district then why not? Guess what? There is nothing wrong with Mike.
The 2 child behaviourists spent an hour with him and they said the only thing wrong was that they now needed a nap and they thought I was amazing. I was 7 months pregnant with Bekah at the time and they couldn't believe I was still standing. The diagnosis; a very energetic boy who would rather play than sit in a circle or do schoolwork.
So now Miss G. has made him her case study and they are not too hard on him and he does not have attachment issues! Mike needs rigid structure. External control for internal chaos, and me and the school are on the same page with this issue.
Attachment issues? Are you shitting me? I realize that there is a need to label Mike with something because then you will have a set method to deal with a set problem. Mike is very attached to friends and family. He has 2 parents at home, a large and super involved extended family,and a loving babysitter. I want to go to Miss G.'s class and set these people straight but obviously that would be inappropriate. The only label that really fits my son is, spazz.
Have you heard of Freecycle? It's a Yahoo! group where you can get free stuff, and get rid of your stuff. This week I swapped with another mom through freecycle. She took a bunch of Bekah's shoes and clothes and I got a DVD player that had only been used once. Sweet! Our old DVD player in the kids' rec room died after Mike gnawed through the cords (see paragraph above for the reason why). So Erik and I told Mike don't you dare do that again because it's not safe and that's not how you treat your belongings. We told him he would get electrocuted and asked him if he knew what that meant. He said, "That's when you light up, start shaking and get all bony.". Sounds like he has been watching too much Tom and Jerry.
I am sure by now you have heard of that woman who got attacked by her friend's 200 lb. chimp? I was watching the news and her current health status is that she has lost both of her hands, her eyelids, her nose and her lips and may be blind and have brain damage. They are keeping her in a medically induced coma so she can heal. It was announced this week that her family is going to sue the now dead chimp's owner. They are suing for $50 million, and I don't think that is enough. What a horrible story.
For anyone reading this for the first time I will inform you that I live in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The weather this week has been spectacular! Sunny and warm and trees are blooming. But my daughter got an ear infection and we have all been stuck inside, arrgh! After the ear infection she got some horrible diarrhea from the antibiotics, ugh! But now she is all better and it's gorgeous outside still so we will have one day to enjoy this weather before it rains again tommorrow. Beer drinking in the backyard is on my agenda for this evening, how about you?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Life's Little Luxuries
I just got a perfume sample in my mail for Ed Hardy's perfume, yummy! I just rubbed it all over my body. I am out of the Burberry Brit I was wearing and don't have any extra cash for perfume right now. But Mothers's Day is coming up..........hint hint to my husband.
It smells flowery but not too flowery and musky but not too musky. It smells almost as good as the corned beef in my crockpot and smells way better than the urine soaked sheets in my laundry room.
It smells flowery but not too flowery and musky but not too musky. It smells almost as good as the corned beef in my crockpot and smells way better than the urine soaked sheets in my laundry room.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #10
What is an Irish 7 course meal?
A 6-pack and a potato.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I am sorry but I couldn't come up with a suitable less than 30 minutes recipe that represents my Irish heritage. Corned beef and cabbage, any potato casseroles and even beer bread takes longer than 30 minutes. So I have come up with a very lazy menu for St. Patrick's Day.
1 potato
1-1 inch cube of white extra sharp cheddar cheese
3 tsps. butter
2 Tbs of a grainy brown mustard
1 Guinness/ Bass etc.
Scrub and rinse potato, poke holes in it with a fork. "Bake" in microwave at least 5 minutes. Split open and add cheese and butter and nuke again until melted. Add mustard, pop open a beer and grub down.
Potato= 3 points
Cheese= 3 points
Butter= 3 points
Mustard= 0 points
Dark beer= 3 points
12 points! Damn no wonder everyone in my family has heart disease and diabetes!!
A 6-pack and a potato.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I am sorry but I couldn't come up with a suitable less than 30 minutes recipe that represents my Irish heritage. Corned beef and cabbage, any potato casseroles and even beer bread takes longer than 30 minutes. So I have come up with a very lazy menu for St. Patrick's Day.
1 potato
1-1 inch cube of white extra sharp cheddar cheese
3 tsps. butter
2 Tbs of a grainy brown mustard
1 Guinness/ Bass etc.
Scrub and rinse potato, poke holes in it with a fork. "Bake" in microwave at least 5 minutes. Split open and add cheese and butter and nuke again until melted. Add mustard, pop open a beer and grub down.
Potato= 3 points
Cheese= 3 points
Butter= 3 points
Mustard= 0 points
Dark beer= 3 points
12 points! Damn no wonder everyone in my family has heart disease and diabetes!!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Fantasy Vacation Pictures
I need a mother-fucking vacation! Excuse my language but it's true. I am soooo stealing this post idea from my buddy Clare. She needs a vacation too and posted a bunch of pics of Paris. This is a complete fantasy vacation so I want to take my kids and a loving nanny for each one of them.
I want to go to a beach like the one below where me and my over-worked husband can re-connect.
I would even love a week in a city with awesome restaurants and gorgeous views.
A gourmet picnic in a scenic meadow would be soooo relaxing.
Maybe they will show up and serve me drinks at this coastal hotel.
I would also love a whole week at a romantic spa with my main squeeze Erik. That would be amazing!
A cheap ski resort would work for me also.
I would even stay in this city if I didn't have to clean up after myself.
And this bed and breakfast looks pretty friendly to me.
I am sure the food would be tasty at this picnic.
And this spa may not be romantic but they look like a fun crowd.
I want to go to a beach like the one below where me and my over-worked husband can re-connect.
Or a ski resort would be even better! I haven't been on skis since I had kids and then I wouldn't have to put my stretch marks on display.
I would even love a week in a city with awesome restaurants and gorgeous views.
I would also enjoy a stay at a romantic bed and breakfast tucked into the mountains.
A gourmet picnic in a scenic meadow would be soooo relaxing.
Here is some scenery I wouldn't mind looking at while I am on vacation!
Maybe they will show up and serve me drinks at this coastal hotel.
I would also love a whole week at a romantic spa with my main squeeze Erik. That would be amazing!
Holy Shit! Who am I kidding? When I said I need a vacation, I really mean it and I really don't care where I end up! This beach looks fine to me.
A cheap ski resort would work for me also.
I would even stay in this city if I didn't have to clean up after myself.
And this bed and breakfast looks pretty friendly to me.
I am sure the food would be tasty at this picnic.
I would even let this guy give me a massage if I could get away for a week or two.
I don't really need to stay at a hotel on the coast either! This place has vacancies.
And this spa may not be romantic but they look like a fun crowd.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Dublin, California St. Patrick's Day Parade
Here is my Bekah-Boo in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in our neighboring town of Dublin. We got to participate in the parade because my children's pre-school is in Dublin. 
My husband just thought we were there to view the parade with the preschool he didn't realize we were going to be in it. Jake and Bekah rode in our wagon for most of the parade and Mike stayed in the school's "float. "
My husband just thought we were there to view the parade with the preschool he didn't realize we were going to be in it. Jake and Bekah rode in our wagon for most of the parade and Mike stayed in the school's "float. "
Eventually Bekah joined Mike in the "float".
Here's my gorgeous son waving a flag for Ireland.
Ok this Geico Gecko was freaking me out a little but the kids loved him.
Bekah even hugged him. Kind of creepy.
Bekah even hugged him. Kind of creepy.
Bekah and Jake Play Peek-a-Boo
After Jake enjoyed some chocolate frosted cupcake, his sister Bekah plays peek-a-boo with him.
So damn cute I can't handle it!
So damn cute I can't handle it!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Measure C- Super Important For My Local Readers
Hey everyone who is local really needs to read below. And make sure you are registered to vote. A friend sent this to me this morning and her husband got a pink slip yesterday. He is a teacher. My friend is also pregnant and only works part-time herself as a teacher, so you can imagine their anxiety. Please pass it on to anyone you know that lives in the district:
"For those who don’t know, almost 200 FTE (full time equivalent) teachers in the San Ramon Valley School District were given preliminary pink slips this week, including my husband. At this point, nearly all science specialists are being cut at the elementary level. He may be high enough to “bump” a middle or high school teacher, but at this point we don’t know. The elementary schools seems to be getting hit disproportionally high in my opinion. My school has at least 9 people I know of that got pink slips either last week or today. I have heard that Gale Ranch Middle School (which opened this year) only has 3 people who aren’t getting them because their staff is so new. I would bet Live Oak is in the same position.
We have to get this passed. . . . . . You can sign up on the website to get updates, volunteer, get a yard sign, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ Yes on C Supporter Update - March 11, 2009~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Please take a moment to invite your friends and other supporters by forwarding this message and asking them to join the Measure C supporter email list by clicking on the blue button below.
With each passing week, we feel the excitement building. People are talking about this campaign. They want to know how we are doing. They want to know what they can do to help. The answers are simple... "We are doing great!" and "The best way to help is to volunteer for phone banks, volunteer to walk precincts, or volunteer in the office." As a matter of fact, we are doing so well that we have already identified over 7,800 yes votes in the first 8 nights of phone banks. That is simply amazing! Congratulations to all of those who have made calls. Your hard work is paying off.
Precinct Walks: Our first precinct walk is coming up the weekend of March 28 and 29. Volunteers will gather at each of the 4 comprehensive high schools for rallies at 9:30 Saturday morning to get "fired up" and pick up packets.
Campaign buttons are on the way. They have been ordered and we expect delivery by next week. Buttons are a terrific way to don your support for this measure. We'll let you know next week how and where to get one.
Yard signs are coming soon. They are going to be terrific. If you wish to have a yard sign in your yard, please let us know by clicking the Update Profile link in the footer to this message and select "Display a yard sign" as one of your interests. The sooner you do this the better! When others join the list, they may do the same. We especially want signs in highly visible yards and those near school sites. We expect to deliver signs in a little over 2 weeks or have them available for pick up. Volunteers will be needed to help assemble the signs as well as deliver them. More on that next week.
Every vote and every dollar counts! A full campaign budget is essential to passing Measure C - and we need your help. Donations of any amount, big or small, can be made by visiting our website. The direct link to the donate page is http://www.srvprote ctourschools. net/donate. asp. We know that times are hard. We would be very grateful for any and all that you can afford to give. Remember our simple message: Measure C provides a stable, local funding source for our schools. These funds will: Retain qualified and experienced teachers Prepare students for college and careers in a global economy Maintain strong math, science and literacy programs
It will take all of us working together to pass this vital funding measure. Thank you for your support!
Help Spread the Word...~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~Please forward this message to other supporters who would like to be informed. New supporters can join this email list themselves by clicking this button. In the sign-up process they will have the opportunity to indicate area of interest for helping the campaign. Join the Measure C Email ListFor Email Marketing you can trust
Quick Links... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~Measure C website: www.SRVProtectOurSc hools.netSan Ramon Valley Unified School District website: www.srvusd.net Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~phone: (925) 328-1968 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ Citizens for Quality Schools 2694 Bishop Dr., Suite 122 San Ramon CA 94583
Thanks Everyone, Charlotte!!
"For those who don’t know, almost 200 FTE (full time equivalent) teachers in the San Ramon Valley School District were given preliminary pink slips this week, including my husband. At this point, nearly all science specialists are being cut at the elementary level. He may be high enough to “bump” a middle or high school teacher, but at this point we don’t know. The elementary schools seems to be getting hit disproportionally high in my opinion. My school has at least 9 people I know of that got pink slips either last week or today. I have heard that Gale Ranch Middle School (which opened this year) only has 3 people who aren’t getting them because their staff is so new. I would bet Live Oak is in the same position.
We have to get this passed. . . . . . You can sign up on the website to get updates, volunteer, get a yard sign, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ Yes on C Supporter Update - March 11, 2009~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Please take a moment to invite your friends and other supporters by forwarding this message and asking them to join the Measure C supporter email list by clicking on the blue button below.
With each passing week, we feel the excitement building. People are talking about this campaign. They want to know how we are doing. They want to know what they can do to help. The answers are simple... "We are doing great!" and "The best way to help is to volunteer for phone banks, volunteer to walk precincts, or volunteer in the office." As a matter of fact, we are doing so well that we have already identified over 7,800 yes votes in the first 8 nights of phone banks. That is simply amazing! Congratulations to all of those who have made calls. Your hard work is paying off.
Precinct Walks: Our first precinct walk is coming up the weekend of March 28 and 29. Volunteers will gather at each of the 4 comprehensive high schools for rallies at 9:30 Saturday morning to get "fired up" and pick up packets.
Campaign buttons are on the way. They have been ordered and we expect delivery by next week. Buttons are a terrific way to don your support for this measure. We'll let you know next week how and where to get one.
Yard signs are coming soon. They are going to be terrific. If you wish to have a yard sign in your yard, please let us know by clicking the Update Profile link in the footer to this message and select "Display a yard sign" as one of your interests. The sooner you do this the better! When others join the list, they may do the same. We especially want signs in highly visible yards and those near school sites. We expect to deliver signs in a little over 2 weeks or have them available for pick up. Volunteers will be needed to help assemble the signs as well as deliver them. More on that next week.
Every vote and every dollar counts! A full campaign budget is essential to passing Measure C - and we need your help. Donations of any amount, big or small, can be made by visiting our website. The direct link to the donate page is http://www.srvprote ctourschools. net/donate. asp. We know that times are hard. We would be very grateful for any and all that you can afford to give. Remember our simple message: Measure C provides a stable, local funding source for our schools. These funds will: Retain qualified and experienced teachers Prepare students for college and careers in a global economy Maintain strong math, science and literacy programs
It will take all of us working together to pass this vital funding measure. Thank you for your support!
Help Spread the Word...~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~Please forward this message to other supporters who would like to be informed. New supporters can join this email list themselves by clicking this button. In the sign-up process they will have the opportunity to indicate area of interest for helping the campaign. Join the Measure C Email ListFor Email Marketing you can trust
Quick Links... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~Measure C website: www.SRVProtectOurSc hools.netSan Ramon Valley Unified School District website: www.srvusd.net Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~phone: (925) 328-1968 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ Citizens for Quality Schools 2694 Bishop Dr., Suite 122 San Ramon CA 94583
Thanks Everyone, Charlotte!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Recession Proof Jobs
Being a doctor is not a recession proof job. That's what my husband does for a living and people always get sick right? True, but when they lose their jobs they lose their health insurance. And if people don't have health insurance they don't go see their family practice physician. They wait until they are really, really sick and then they go to the emergency room.
Usually at this time of year people are starting to suffer from seasonal allergies and our business is booming. Not this year. I took the boys to see daddy at his office this morning and it was empty. Just my husband and his 2 staff and the overhead meter is ticking away. This was 10:30 in the morning. Have you ever seen a doctor's office that was empty at 10:30 in the morning? There was a fucking tumbleweed blowing down the hallway.
Now when I use my credit card I get a hot, prickly feeling in my armpits. You know that feeling? It's the one you get right before you break into a cold sweat.
We are now upside down with our mortgage. A few months ago I would have been ashamed to admit that, but now it's downright trendy.
And today I heard of another friend losing a job! Dude! This isn't good.
Yesterday I was watching MSNBC while folding the never ending pile of laundry and the anchorwoman was interviewing a man from the Sacramento Tent City. I am sure you have heard of this, either from Oprah or some other news source. So they trotted this guy out for an interview, and he wasn't your random drug addicted homeless guy. This was a man laid-off from a construction job who is now living in a tent and using public transportation to look for work. A decent respectable guy who looks like one of my Uncles. And this is the part that killed me, the anchorwoman, after cutting him off in mid-sentence said, "Well the stock market is up today.". WTF?! This poor guy is living in a tent by the river and probably shitting in a bucket and you tell him about the stock market?! Un-fucking-believable. This gentleman just politely chuckled.
Ok here is the cherry on top..........my husband just got home from work at 3:15 in the afternoon and said he saw, drumroll please,....... 3 patients today. One patient in the office and 2 of his elderly patients in their nursing home. Last year he was seeing 25 or more patients a day.
My poor husband slumped in here and asked if he could go upstairs lay down. Of course!! If my kids weren't awake right now I would go up there and give him a beer and a blowjob.
Hmmmm blowjobs............sounds like a new career for me.
Usually at this time of year people are starting to suffer from seasonal allergies and our business is booming. Not this year. I took the boys to see daddy at his office this morning and it was empty. Just my husband and his 2 staff and the overhead meter is ticking away. This was 10:30 in the morning. Have you ever seen a doctor's office that was empty at 10:30 in the morning? There was a fucking tumbleweed blowing down the hallway.
Now when I use my credit card I get a hot, prickly feeling in my armpits. You know that feeling? It's the one you get right before you break into a cold sweat.
We are now upside down with our mortgage. A few months ago I would have been ashamed to admit that, but now it's downright trendy.
And today I heard of another friend losing a job! Dude! This isn't good.
Yesterday I was watching MSNBC while folding the never ending pile of laundry and the anchorwoman was interviewing a man from the Sacramento Tent City. I am sure you have heard of this, either from Oprah or some other news source. So they trotted this guy out for an interview, and he wasn't your random drug addicted homeless guy. This was a man laid-off from a construction job who is now living in a tent and using public transportation to look for work. A decent respectable guy who looks like one of my Uncles. And this is the part that killed me, the anchorwoman, after cutting him off in mid-sentence said, "Well the stock market is up today.". WTF?! This poor guy is living in a tent by the river and probably shitting in a bucket and you tell him about the stock market?! Un-fucking-believable. This gentleman just politely chuckled.
Ok here is the cherry on top..........my husband just got home from work at 3:15 in the afternoon and said he saw, drumroll please,....... 3 patients today. One patient in the office and 2 of his elderly patients in their nursing home. Last year he was seeing 25 or more patients a day.
My poor husband slumped in here and asked if he could go upstairs lay down. Of course!! If my kids weren't awake right now I would go up there and give him a beer and a blowjob.
Hmmmm blowjobs............sounds like a new career for me.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #9
So in honor of the Jewish Holiday of Purim which begins tonight at sundown, I am offering a cookie recipe. Hamantaschen are a 3 cornered cookie with a fruit filling. The shape of the cookie is to represent Haman's hat. Haman is an asshole who gets defeated. These cookies can be labor intensive so in light of a less than 30 minute recipe I am going to use refridgerator dough.
Ingredients:
Pillsbury sugar cookie dough from fridge section
Your favorite jam (I like strawberry or blackberry)
drinking glass, rim dipped in flour
Preheat oven roll out sugar cookie dough, cut circles with a large drinking glass with rim dipped in flour. Put 1 Tbs. of favorite jam in center of circle and pinch 3 corners together. Bake according to package.
Weight Watchers points are 5 pts. for 2 cookies. Each cookie is 1.5 points and 1 Tbs. of jam (any flavor) is 1 point.
Ingredients:
Pillsbury sugar cookie dough from fridge section
Your favorite jam (I like strawberry or blackberry)
drinking glass, rim dipped in flour
Preheat oven roll out sugar cookie dough, cut circles with a large drinking glass with rim dipped in flour. Put 1 Tbs. of favorite jam in center of circle and pinch 3 corners together. Bake according to package.
Weight Watchers points are 5 pts. for 2 cookies. Each cookie is 1.5 points and 1 Tbs. of jam (any flavor) is 1 point.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Purim 2009
I give huge credit to child photographers! Taking pics of my kids is more like wildlife photography. In fact below is my husband, Erik, trying to pose them. 
My three monkeys are dressed up in costumes because it is Purim .
Which is like a Jewish Halloween. We took them all to a carnival at our temple in Lafayette.
Below is Jake at the carnival and all he wanted to do was watch the disco lights on stage. He was a cheap date. Love his binkie and Black Spiderman combination.
Bekah doing a cake walk, which unfortunately she didn't win. I love cake walks.
We left the carnival earlier than planned because this guy on stage here was a complete spazz and ran off. So we had to drag all 3 of them away screaming and crying, it was lovely. Michael carried on all the way home. He kept saying, "You are a mean mommy and daddy because you never let me run off!". " I don't like you because you never let me run off by myself." Then he called Erik a robot, which was bizarre. Of course Erik and I are trying not to laugh the whole time.
My three monkeys are dressed up in costumes because it is Purim .Which is like a Jewish Halloween. We took them all to a carnival at our temple in Lafayette.
Below is Jake at the carnival and all he wanted to do was watch the disco lights on stage. He was a cheap date. Love his binkie and Black Spiderman combination.
Bekah doing a cake walk, which unfortunately she didn't win. I love cake walks.
We left the carnival earlier than planned because this guy on stage here was a complete spazz and ran off. So we had to drag all 3 of them away screaming and crying, it was lovely. Michael carried on all the way home. He kept saying, "You are a mean mommy and daddy because you never let me run off!". " I don't like you because you never let me run off by myself." Then he called Erik a robot, which was bizarre. Of course Erik and I are trying not to laugh the whole time.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Things On My Mind
1. Nadya Suleman bugs the shit out of me. I can't get her out of my head. I was the same way with Brittany Spears when she was going through her nut job phase, but I had a ton of compassion for Brittany. I have no compassion for Nadya. For her 14 kids I have a ton of compassion, and concern.
The link above brings you to an article about the release of a 9-1-1 tape of Nadya frantically callling the police to look for her missing 5 year old son. Ok losing a kid sucks I will give her that. But on the tape she goes on and on about how she is going to kill herself, until the dispatcher rightly so, tells her to stop saying that in front of her other children. And Nadya is now quoted as saying she doesn't remember saying that about killing herself, and that she was just hormonal from the pregnancy with the octuplets.
I am telling you she can't do this by herself. And I know this for a fact because it's taken me 45 minutes just to write these 2 and a half paragraphs. I actually type pretty fast and Jake is napping, but both Bekah and Mike had to poo at the same time. Mike sprinted to the downstairs bathroom first so I had to escort Bekah upstairs to my bathroom and once I got her seated I hustled back downstairs to wipe Mike's butt. Then back upstairs to do the same for Bekah's tushy. As well as all the handwashing etc. etc. So does Nadya have 14 toilets in her house?
Two kids needing to use the toilet at the same time is really not a stressful issue. When I say Nadya can't do this by herself I mean all the other stuff and I mean all day long. And I know this for a fact.
2. So this is where I have to talk about feelings and hypocrisy. Unfortunately, my feelings and my hypocrisy. Last month I wrote about hearing of a local mom who committed suicide. I wrote about how it's important to reach out to others when we need help. But I am a big fat hypocrite because I didn't do that.
When I went to wean my youngest, Jake, from breast-feeding I suffered from post-partum depression. I was so lucky to not have gone through it before and really didn't know what was wrong with me. We had also just moved into a new house and I didn't have a nanny and I was beyond stressed out. Now I did share with others that I was stressed out but I usually talk about my feelings in a humorous way and downplay everything. So nobody knew that when Erik would go to round on his patients on the weekend, he would come home to find me in uncontrollable tears.
My children were never in any harm because I turned my anger and depression on myself and eventually, after a couple of months it all went away. But now 18 months down the road I realize that A) I was a complete coward for not seeking help. and B) It's only by luck that this period didn't last longer and ended up being detrimental for my kids. For which I would never forgive myself if that had happened.
Ok I don't necessarily feel better for admitting that I am not a super-mom but I do feel better being honest.
3. Excuse my need for numbering my thoughts but it's keeping me focused. The other issue that has been poking my frontal lobes this week is that story about the Army mom who brought her kids with her when she showed up to report for duty to go to Iraq. Her claim being that her husband travels for work and she does not have adequate care for her kids. Ok so I am not a mean person, don't get me wrong. I am all about choices though and so far in America we still have an all volunteer military. So she chose to be in the military. This woman also chose to have kids. After perusing the article it states that she had not been in active duty for quite awhile but she had to have known that we are at war and she could be called up for duty at any time. Which means she should have scrambled to have back up care for her precious kids ready to go.
Her actions/inaction pisses me off. I believe that this North Carolina Army mom did all working women and all military women a huge disservice. I have a friend in the military and I have seen her scramble for care for her kids, I also have family members active in the military, Army Ranger (cousin), a Marine (female cousin), Navy Seal (my brother Bill). These 3 do not have kids yet but I can't imagine my cousin Leah not having all her bases covered if she did have children. And I believe that if this woman had been a father he would not have been let go. I really believe this was sexist.
4. I didn't realize that people still listen to Rush Limbaugh! And not only do people still listen to him but whenever a Republican talks smack about Rush, a couple of days later that same Republican will go on his show and apologize. WTF!? He is just a radio guy. And the Democrats are playing into his bloated ego as well. I want people to ignore Rush Limbaugh because that is the worst we can do to him. So I will stop giving him attention as well.
5. American Idol is so damn boring this year!! And the new judge is pointless and the wildcard stuff is just hurting my small brain. It better pick up soon. They should have made the blind guy dance, give him a chance at least.
6. The California Supreme Court is weighing the constitutionality of Proposition 8. Hopefully they will come to their senses and realize that denying civil rights to humans is unconstitutional. So far I haven't seen any pics of guys wearing assless chaps. They are probably at work and I will have to wait for the evening news.
7. Here is the last thing I am going to talk about today; our economy now compared to The Great Depression. The article I have linked points out the similarities with our current situation to the events that lead to The Great Depression. They are very similar. That article talks about the financial factors. I want to talk about social factors.
My grandmother was born in 1923 and came to California during the depression. We are talking Grapes Of Wrath stuff here. They ended up in The Central Valley, living under a bridge in Modesto. The 7th St. bridge, also called Lion's Gate Bridge. There were 10 kids all together. Eventually they were able to get a dairy farm.
My Grandmother ended up being a mother of 6 and solidly middle class. Her house is spotless, and she prefers Cadillacs and poodles. But she saves everything. Even the very last swallow of root beer she will put in a jar and you can finish it the next day. Yuck. But I understand what drives those habits.
One time I was visiting my Grandmother while her sister Julia was in town. I was raiding her fridge and my Grandma Hazel and Great-Aunt Julia were being all cute, knitting and watch the Home and Garden channel on t.v. I was half listening to their chatter when Grandma says, "Remember when Dad tried to sell me?". I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth.
"Grandma, what?!". "Oh yes my father tried to sell me to a Modesto doctor and his wife who couldn't have kids.". I was immediately concerned thinking, if this had happened I wouldn't exist. "What stopped your Dad from selling you?", I asked. "Well he felt bad because my mother and I couldn't stop crying while we packed my suitcase.". So my Great-Grandfather changed his mind and didn't sell his precious daugther. Yikes, that story gives me the willies.
I would hope it is not that easy to sell a kid in America at this present day and age but with the rise in unemployment and homelessness what are the permanent social changes we are going to see? What are my kids' generation going to be like when they are adults? I realize my kids are not being affected by any homelessness or unemployment and I am very grateful for that. But I am curious about their generation in totality.
Ok I am done, thanks for listening.
The link above brings you to an article about the release of a 9-1-1 tape of Nadya frantically callling the police to look for her missing 5 year old son. Ok losing a kid sucks I will give her that. But on the tape she goes on and on about how she is going to kill herself, until the dispatcher rightly so, tells her to stop saying that in front of her other children. And Nadya is now quoted as saying she doesn't remember saying that about killing herself, and that she was just hormonal from the pregnancy with the octuplets.
I am telling you she can't do this by herself. And I know this for a fact because it's taken me 45 minutes just to write these 2 and a half paragraphs. I actually type pretty fast and Jake is napping, but both Bekah and Mike had to poo at the same time. Mike sprinted to the downstairs bathroom first so I had to escort Bekah upstairs to my bathroom and once I got her seated I hustled back downstairs to wipe Mike's butt. Then back upstairs to do the same for Bekah's tushy. As well as all the handwashing etc. etc. So does Nadya have 14 toilets in her house?
Two kids needing to use the toilet at the same time is really not a stressful issue. When I say Nadya can't do this by herself I mean all the other stuff and I mean all day long. And I know this for a fact.
2. So this is where I have to talk about feelings and hypocrisy. Unfortunately, my feelings and my hypocrisy. Last month I wrote about hearing of a local mom who committed suicide. I wrote about how it's important to reach out to others when we need help. But I am a big fat hypocrite because I didn't do that.
When I went to wean my youngest, Jake, from breast-feeding I suffered from post-partum depression. I was so lucky to not have gone through it before and really didn't know what was wrong with me. We had also just moved into a new house and I didn't have a nanny and I was beyond stressed out. Now I did share with others that I was stressed out but I usually talk about my feelings in a humorous way and downplay everything. So nobody knew that when Erik would go to round on his patients on the weekend, he would come home to find me in uncontrollable tears.
My children were never in any harm because I turned my anger and depression on myself and eventually, after a couple of months it all went away. But now 18 months down the road I realize that A) I was a complete coward for not seeking help. and B) It's only by luck that this period didn't last longer and ended up being detrimental for my kids. For which I would never forgive myself if that had happened.
Ok I don't necessarily feel better for admitting that I am not a super-mom but I do feel better being honest.
3. Excuse my need for numbering my thoughts but it's keeping me focused. The other issue that has been poking my frontal lobes this week is that story about the Army mom who brought her kids with her when she showed up to report for duty to go to Iraq. Her claim being that her husband travels for work and she does not have adequate care for her kids. Ok so I am not a mean person, don't get me wrong. I am all about choices though and so far in America we still have an all volunteer military. So she chose to be in the military. This woman also chose to have kids. After perusing the article it states that she had not been in active duty for quite awhile but she had to have known that we are at war and she could be called up for duty at any time. Which means she should have scrambled to have back up care for her precious kids ready to go.
Her actions/inaction pisses me off. I believe that this North Carolina Army mom did all working women and all military women a huge disservice. I have a friend in the military and I have seen her scramble for care for her kids, I also have family members active in the military, Army Ranger (cousin), a Marine (female cousin), Navy Seal (my brother Bill). These 3 do not have kids yet but I can't imagine my cousin Leah not having all her bases covered if she did have children. And I believe that if this woman had been a father he would not have been let go. I really believe this was sexist.
4. I didn't realize that people still listen to Rush Limbaugh! And not only do people still listen to him but whenever a Republican talks smack about Rush, a couple of days later that same Republican will go on his show and apologize. WTF!? He is just a radio guy. And the Democrats are playing into his bloated ego as well. I want people to ignore Rush Limbaugh because that is the worst we can do to him. So I will stop giving him attention as well.
5. American Idol is so damn boring this year!! And the new judge is pointless and the wildcard stuff is just hurting my small brain. It better pick up soon. They should have made the blind guy dance, give him a chance at least.
6. The California Supreme Court is weighing the constitutionality of Proposition 8. Hopefully they will come to their senses and realize that denying civil rights to humans is unconstitutional. So far I haven't seen any pics of guys wearing assless chaps. They are probably at work and I will have to wait for the evening news.
7. Here is the last thing I am going to talk about today; our economy now compared to The Great Depression. The article I have linked points out the similarities with our current situation to the events that lead to The Great Depression. They are very similar. That article talks about the financial factors. I want to talk about social factors.
My grandmother was born in 1923 and came to California during the depression. We are talking Grapes Of Wrath stuff here. They ended up in The Central Valley, living under a bridge in Modesto. The 7th St. bridge, also called Lion's Gate Bridge. There were 10 kids all together. Eventually they were able to get a dairy farm.
My Grandmother ended up being a mother of 6 and solidly middle class. Her house is spotless, and she prefers Cadillacs and poodles. But she saves everything. Even the very last swallow of root beer she will put in a jar and you can finish it the next day. Yuck. But I understand what drives those habits.
One time I was visiting my Grandmother while her sister Julia was in town. I was raiding her fridge and my Grandma Hazel and Great-Aunt Julia were being all cute, knitting and watch the Home and Garden channel on t.v. I was half listening to their chatter when Grandma says, "Remember when Dad tried to sell me?". I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth.
"Grandma, what?!". "Oh yes my father tried to sell me to a Modesto doctor and his wife who couldn't have kids.". I was immediately concerned thinking, if this had happened I wouldn't exist. "What stopped your Dad from selling you?", I asked. "Well he felt bad because my mother and I couldn't stop crying while we packed my suitcase.". So my Great-Grandfather changed his mind and didn't sell his precious daugther. Yikes, that story gives me the willies.
I would hope it is not that easy to sell a kid in America at this present day and age but with the rise in unemployment and homelessness what are the permanent social changes we are going to see? What are my kids' generation going to be like when they are adults? I realize my kids are not being affected by any homelessness or unemployment and I am very grateful for that. But I am curious about their generation in totality.
Ok I am done, thanks for listening.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #8
I made this last week and it was sooo good and it was surprisingly filling. I know you are thinking how can lean turkey and some lettuce be filling? That's because a 1/2 cup of lean ground turkey is only 3 points, that's a lot of meat and the plum sauce is another 2 points for a total of 5. The lettuce is Zero points. So you can have a whole cup of meat for 10 points. You are also welcome to add many more veggies to this to stretch it out but I just put carrots and green onions in the recipe below to make your life easier.
Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
A healthy handful of shredded carrots (buy pre-shredded carrots of course)
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 package of lean ground turkey
Large lettuce leaves, green leaf or butter leaf work best
1 jar of Dynasty Plum Sauce
Dashes of Tabasco to taste (optional)
Brown turkey and carrots together until no longer pink over medium heat.While that is browning, wash and pat dry your lettuce leaves and put on plate. Add diced green onions to pan and add plum sauce. If you have one of those mini spatulas from Pampered Chef those work great for getting every last drop of plum sauce from the jar. Turn off heat and stir, add some dashes of Tabasco. Scoop a 1/2 cup of turkey into each lettuce leaf and enjoy. You can eat it like a wrap but I eventually gave up and used a fork.
Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
A healthy handful of shredded carrots (buy pre-shredded carrots of course)
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 package of lean ground turkey
Large lettuce leaves, green leaf or butter leaf work best
1 jar of Dynasty Plum Sauce
Dashes of Tabasco to taste (optional)
Brown turkey and carrots together until no longer pink over medium heat.While that is browning, wash and pat dry your lettuce leaves and put on plate. Add diced green onions to pan and add plum sauce. If you have one of those mini spatulas from Pampered Chef those work great for getting every last drop of plum sauce from the jar. Turn off heat and stir, add some dashes of Tabasco. Scoop a 1/2 cup of turkey into each lettuce leaf and enjoy. You can eat it like a wrap but I eventually gave up and used a fork.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Attitude and Gratitude, It's What It's All About
My super cool friend Clare nominated me for an award so I am passing on the honors. Feel free to host a Lemonade Award on your blog by following the directions below:
1. Put the logo on your blog or in a post (lemonade picture)
2. Nominate 10 blogs that show attitude and/or gratitude. (or at least 5)
3. Be sure to link to your nominees withing your blog.
4. Let them know that they have received the award by commenting on a post.
5. Name your favorites and link them on your blog.
I have nominated the following:
1. Clare for putting up with my high school friend Chris, over at This and That
2. Meghan, my favorite beer drinking mom, over at The Quick Clan
3. Barb, a kindred spirit even if she isn't even 30 years old yet, over at Never Packed A Parachute
4. Daphne, a former boss and woman who swore up and down she would never have kids, guess what happens when you say never? Check her out at Really Me A Mom?!
5. Britta is a real write, not just a goofball like me. She resides at What I learned today.
6. Mama Ashley has such cute little monkeys, you have to see them at The Ramirez Family
7. Natural Moms Talk Radio can get fairly granola but they do have some good articles.
8. If you ever need a perfect family photo then you have to go see Melinda Bunker.
Suburban Style 2009
This is Jake putting fashion first. I am really proud of him because it took at least 5 minutes of screaming fits to put that boot on all by himself. He is almost 2 years old so I wasn't allowed to help, this was a moment of pure autonomy. He is squinting in the glare of the paparazzi flashbulbs.
Jake's really voguing and striking a pose on our version of the red carpet. He is standing in our "wreck" room and yes we do live like slobs.
Jake's really voguing and striking a pose on our version of the red carpet. He is standing in our "wreck" room and yes we do live like slobs.
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