Shannon Kristine Croft

Blinded Me With Science

2010-03-08T08:10:00.012-06:00

Before freezing:

After freezing:

The boys school recently wrapped up the science fair. I have blogged previously about my negative feelings about the science fair, but as the years go on, I do see some value in it. It promotes critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as learning how to research a topic and present it. The kids have been doing these projects for the last 5 years, so now we pretty much have it down to a "science" (haha).

Ben's project involved preventing damage to cells that have been frozen. He used a microscope to study the cells.

Tommy's project tested the magnetic pull on a floating object.

At this schools science fair, the kids had to be dropped off in the morning to set up and present their project to volunteer judges. Parents were to come that afternoon to look at the projects and see the award ceremony. When they started to announce the winners, I did not know what to expect. After announcing the winners for Honorable Mention, 3rd and 2nd place, I started to put my camera away. It was such a surprise when they announced the winner for the Life Science category and it was Ben!

Ben also won the 1st place award for 7th grade overall. The mayor of Carrollton was in attendance and presented gift cards to all the grade level winners.

Tommy won too!

Me and Fergie go way back.

2010-02-19T19:33:00.006-06:00

Ben loves to listen to the Black Eyed Peas. A few days ago, one of their songs came on the radio and I started to sing along.
"You can't sing that mom." Ben informed me.
"For your information, Fergie and I are the same age." I replied.
"Well, Fergie is black so its ok for her." Ben said.
"Uhh, no she isn't."
"Half-black?"
"No"
"Half-mexican?"

To explain, we live in an area where it is very uncool to be white, which we are, and Ben is the only white child in his grade at school.
At this point, I told Ada who was on the computer to search You Tube for "Kids Incorporated."

I watched this show all the time growing up. I wanted to be Stacy (as her name was back then) since we were the same age.

The kids were so shocked by this video that they didn't even finish it.

The next day Ben told his friends at school that Fergie was white.

They didn't believe him.

Family Photo

2010-02-05T23:15:00.000-06:00

Taken at my sister's wedding. 12-05-2009

2009 in pictures

2010-02-02T12:48:00.020-06:00

January:

Ben received an award for a story he wrote.

February:

My baby shower for Theodore.

March:

Abe's 3rd Birthday.

April:

Theodore is born!

May:

Family time.

June:

Ada's Birthday

August:

Dallas Arboretum

Storybook houses

First day of school - 9th grade
Creekview High School

4th grade - Harmony School of Innovation

7th grade - Harmony School of Innovation

September:

Home

October:

Theodore

Halloween

November:

Abe

My house was struck by lightning. Some of the debris that came out of a crack in the ceiling.

December:

Heather and Mike's wedding.

Great Wolf Lodge.

Back to blogging

2010-02-02T11:49:00.001-06:00

Having two babies at home makes doing everything difficult. Especially things that take time, like writing an email or blogging.

My blog has a new look and I am going to try to do more frequent updates.

Horn-rimmed glasses

2009-09-06T13:34:00.002-05:00

Which Heroes Character Are You?

More on Heroes. Created by BuddyTV

Heroes starts Sept 21!

2 sleeping babies

2009-08-07T15:24:00.001-05:00

David Lynch, I'd like to punch you in the face!

2009-07-04T22:47:00.004-05:00

I just finished watching the stupidest movie and biggest waste of time EVER. How is this movie a "cult classic?" I'm pretty sure a child could come up with a more "creative" story than that and if I wanted to watch a video written by a child, I would watch You Tube. Oh, I'm so mad!
I realize after watching this movie that I cannot tolerate surrealism. I thought maybe the movie was being symbolic but it isn't. It's just stream of consciousness BS. It's like watching someone's bad dream. If I wanted to watch a bad dream, I'd go to sleep!

A visit with a congressman,

2009-07-01T23:23:00.008-05:00

The following notice is on the website of the Secular Coalition for America.
http://action.secular.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27503

Action Alert: Stop Promoting Religion at the Capitol Visitor Center

Before the August recess, a resolution will be voted on by the House of Representatives that will require the Architect of the Capitol to engrave the words "In God We Trust" and the post-1954 Pledge of Allegiance onto the walls of the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). References to religion and faith are already included in several of the permanent exhibits, and the words "In God We Trust" are even present in one such exhibit. But that's not enough for Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) who is pushing for a larger, bolder display. Let your Representative know that you oppose his efforts.

Now I live in Texas, so I am used to seeing things like this. What caught my eye on this alert was the bills sponsor, Dan Lungren. You see, I met Mr. Lungren when I was in the 4th grade. He came to visit my class at school in California. Mr. Lungren's niece was in my class and we were actually quite good friends.

Oh, how I remember the excitement that was buzzing in our class that we were lucky enough to have the privilege of a congressman's visit. We spent days getting the classroom ready. A vote was taken on who, besides his niece, would get to walk congressman Lungren from the school office to the classroom. When he arrived we were all on our best behavior. I still remember his fancy suit and how tall he was compared to our petite teacher.

After his visit, the class wrote letters to Mr. Lungren, thanking him for the visit. Imagine our surprise when a few weeks later he wrote back! Each of our letters was personalized at the bottom replying to what we wrote to him. I had written that a congressman's job seemed hard.
The letter meant so much to me that I saved it all these years. (click to enlarge)

I feel such disappointment that Dan Lungren is the sponsor of the resolution. I completely disagree with having the engravings done, especially at taxpayer expense. It is such a clear violation of church/state separation and just another way to try to promote America as a "Christian Nation". My happy school memory is now tarnished. In his letter, the congressman invited me to visit his office in Washington, D.C.
I wonder, after 25 years, if the offer is still good.

Get off the computer!

2009-06-29T22:44:00.002-05:00

A few nights ago I came into the living room to see Abe standing on the closed laptop which was on the table. "Get off the computer!" I shouted at him. Ben heard me from the kitchen and thought my comment was directed at Ada. "Hey," he said, "you can't yell at Ada to get off the computer for no reason." "I wasn't talking to Ada." I informed him. "Abe was standing on the computer. When I said 'get off the computer' I meant that literally - get off the computer."

A poem about allergies

2009-06-20T19:48:00.005-05:00

Wouldn't it be nice to be
In a world with no allergies?

Instead, I have to be alert
To make sure the kids don't get hurt.

It seems there are peanuts all around
In sandwiches, desserts and on the ground.

It's hard to make Abe understand
That he can't have what others can.

I must keep Tommy away from ants
And Ada and Ben away from cats.

What allergies will belong to Ted?
The answer to this question I dread.

Me and Gym

2009-06-09T15:44:00.003-05:00

Gym: Well look who's here...it's been a while.
Me: That's because I hate you.
Gym: Have you gained weight?
Me: Shut up, I had a baby.
Gym: Well better get up on that treadmill and start working it off.
Me: I don't want to.
Gym: Fine, leave. I don't care. I'm going to charge you if you are here or not.
Me: Yes I know, you evil !@#$%.
Gym: Well you did sign a contract.
Me: Leave me alone.
Gym: Look I have a TV in front of the treadmill.
Me: So what? I have a TV at my house.
Gym: My TV gets channel 8. Isn't that the channel you don't get at your house?
Me: There's nothing good on that channel.
Gym: The View is on right now.
Me: Who cares?
Gym: Hurry, get on the treadmill! They're talking about Tori Spelling!
Me: Dammit Gym, you win.

Doctor, doctor

2009-05-20T16:19:00.005-05:00

Today Theodore went to the doctor for his 1 month check up. We switched some time ago from a pediatrician to a family practice doctor. The two doctors are so completely different. Here is a previous post about how it was taking baby Abe to the doctor.
At this visit with Theodore, the doctor did not ask me one single question about carseats, or smoking, or guns, or smoke/carbon monoxide detectors, or alone time with my husband, or sleep positions, or feedings, or dirty diapers. And he did not give me an infant care sheet.

Rather, he told me an interesting thing about the company that makes vaccines, Merck. Apparently they have some sort of monopoly on making the vaccines, so no one else can, and they stopped making the mumps vaccine. You can still get the MMR vaccine, which is a combination of measles, mumps and rubella. This doctor would prefer to give the vaccines separately since he feels it would lower the threat of autism. His son is autistic so he feels very strongly about this. This is interesting because at our old doctor there were articles posted in each exam room stating that there is no link between vaccines and autism and parents should not be afraid of vaccines. I have never felt that strongly one way or the other, but the doctors opinions are notably different.

How tall will your child be?

2009-05-16T08:54:00.002-05:00

I used the child height predictor on Babycenter.com to see how tall the boys would be when they turn 18. According to the calculator:

Ben 5'11"
Tommy 5'8"
Abe 5'11"

Rest in Peace

2009-05-02T16:38:00.002-05:00

The kids and I sing a lot to Theodore. While singing Rock-A-Bye baby to him, I began to wonder about the strange lyrics and why in the world anyone sing to a baby about falling out of a tree. Then I remembered about the time when Ada was a baby and was up most of the night crying, I found myself singing the song "Trust in Me" from the Jungle Book. Specifically the verse:

Please, go to sleep
Sleep little man cub
Rest in Peace

"What the heck am I singing?" I remember thinking.

It seems that Theodore does nothing but sleep (so far). Sometimes when he's sleeping I think of the Talking Heads song, "Stay up Late".

Baby, baby, please let me hold him
I wanna make him stay up all night

A baby story

2009-04-22T14:17:00.002-05:00

I had my baby on Saturday, April 18. I woke to contractions at 4am and was reminded of the difference between the real ones and the fakes. Real ones hurt quite a bit more. These went on most of the morning but were not too bad and were not getting regular or close together. By the afternoon they had really slowed down and I was able to take a nap. I was not sure if the baby would be born that day or not. At about 6pm I had a very strong contraction and though the pain peaked, it never went away. This was shortly followed by another contraction and another. I knew the baby was coming fast. I informed David that we needed to leave right away. We got to the hospital about 6:45pm. I told the nurse that the baby was coming fast and she was great and got all the nurses to help. As soon as the on-call doctor came in I started pushing. It was very intense since the baby was coming so fast, there was not time to stretch out. The nurses kept turning me from one side to the other since the babies heart rate was going down due to being squished. At 7:20pm Theodore was born! He weighed 7lbs, 8oz which oddly, was the exact weight that my doctor predicted he would be. So far he is pretty quiet. You can follow the adventures of Teddy on his blog.

TAKS day. Tax day.

2009-04-15T10:17:00.002-05:00

Today on the radio, the DJ's mentioned today was tax day. Tommy heard this and said, "No, TAKS day is April 28th." I had to explain that they mean t-a-x. TAKS is a test that Texas school children have to take.

In love with a smell

2009-04-01T23:24:00.004-05:00

I usually go to do my grocery shopping late at night so I can go alone. It is at this time that the stores are restocking the shelves. There is a certain stock boy that smells exactly the way my husband smelled when I first met him. It is a combination of Drakkar Noir mixed with cigarette. Nowadays, my husband neither smokes nor wears cologne. However, this smell reminds me of the happy exciting days of young love and dating. I always smile to myself when I remember it.

I'm sure this guy is wondering why I always am smiling when I see him and why I push my cart a little too close to him. It's nothing personal. It's the smell I am in love with. I can't help myself.

Maybe everyone is "gifted".

2009-03-24T12:04:00.004-05:00

The school district we live in puts a very big emphasis on providing special services to those who are what they call, "identified gifted". My daughter is one of those that are "identified". There are all sorts of resources provided by our district for both the parents of gifted and the gifted students. For students, there are many advanced classes and college credit classes offered. They even have their own PTA type group which puts on a symposium every year with several speakers and other information for parents. I have been to some of their meetings and they certainly do like to toot their own horn about all the wonderful things they do for the gifted kids.

I also have experience with the opposite end of the spectrum. Over the years, a few of my children have needed help in reading, writing and speech. To receive any help in these areas was quite difficult. I was told there actually was no help for writing and I ended up having to pay for private tutoring. Other services can take almost a year to get and not even have satisfactory results.

Last year at one of the meetings for the parents of gifted, the school representative was telling us all about the things they do for the gifted students. Besides the classes, each student also had some sort of gifted specialist looking out for them. We were told that if the child's grades began slipping the specialist would be called in to find out why. This person would check with the student to make sure that assignments were being turned in and their locker was organized and help if needed.

"Gee, couldn't EVERY student benefit from that?" I thought to myself. I began to wonder just how many "unidentified gifted" students there were in this district. Perhaps if every student were treated like they were "gifted", they would be.

50 days & A new blog

2009-02-22T16:09:00.002-06:00

I can't hide it anymore. I'm having a baby in 50 days.
Even though he is not here yet, he already has a blog.

I'm a dog stalker

2009-02-18T12:15:00.002-06:00

When I was growing up we had a Saint Bernard dog named Buffy. She was such a nice dog and great around us kids. When she got old, it was very sad for everyone.

I do not consider myself to be a "dog" person. After Buffy, my family did not get another dog. As an adult I've never even considered getting one. BUT-

There is a couple in my neighborhood that has two Saint Bernards. The first time I saw them (a few years ago), I came running out of my house. "I love your dogs!" I told the couple. I told them all about my old dog. I did not see them very often, but when I did it made me so happy.

Once they were walking by our house and I was near the window talking to David. I stopped in mid-sentence and screamed, "Look! The Saint Bernards are outside our house!" A few days later, David left to run an errand and called me from his cell phone to let me know the dogs would be walking by our house shortly. I waited by the window.

One day I was walking down the alley and I found out where the dogs live because I saw them in their backyard.

Yesterday, when driving out of the neighborhood, I actually gasped aloud when I saw that their house is for sale.

It took me 30 years to see a pattern

2009-02-16T19:53:00.004-06:00

With my recent illness came some insight. Last week I had a craving for some sort of cherry dessert. I browsed the grocery store and settled on a cherry turnover from the bakery section. I had never had it before and it was pretty good. I ate the last one on Tuesday, which was the day I got sick.

Now the turnover had nothing to do with why I got sick, but for some reason I cannot even think of this pastry without strongly holding back my gag reflex. I know I will not be able to look at or eat one for a long, long time. So this food is now added to my list of things that I cannot eat anymore due to illness:

plain marshmallows
fresh apricots
peanut butter/chocolate candy (like Reeses)
ranch flavored crackers
craisins
cherry turnover

Now I have been sick plenty of times over my lifetime, so why do I have such a strong aversion to these foods? Why not some of the other foods I have eaten before getting sick like: pancakes, cheeseburger, yogurt, Starburst, Sprite, etc.?

I think I figured it out. Those foods on my list I had only eaten once or twice before getting sick. Therefore my brain/stomach is falsely associating the illness with the food. The other foods I had eaten many times before so my brain/stomach knows that they are safe. This is just my theory but I think it is true for me.

A Rock Feels No Pain

2009-02-11T16:22:00.003-06:00

Otherwise titled: Getting sick during a power outage.
Or: Losing 6 pounds in one day.

So yesterday I was not feeling well for most of the day, but just ignored it. In the evening Tommy let me know that his stomach was hurting and went to lay down. Tommy quickly fell asleep and as we say about Tommy, "He sleeps like a rock." At about 9:30pm the storm sirens went off in our neighborhood. There is supposed to be some subtle difference in the sound of the siren that indicates either severe storm, tornado or air raid, but they all sound the same to me. So David got on the computer to check the weather report and within a few minutes our power was out.

We got out the flashlights, and I started to feel really sick, so I rested on the couch while the other kids ran through the house with flashlights, despite me saying, "Time for bed" or "Please go to bed" or "Why don't you get in your bed?" every time they ran past. Tommy slept through the whole thing and I was so jealous because I wished I could sleep.

Finally the kids went to bed and few minutes later I made my way to the bathroom in the dark and, well, lets just say there was a big mess. So I tried to clean the mess in the dark, while holding a flashlight. I had to stay up the whole night due to running to the bathroom approximately every 20-30 minutes.

In the morning I weighed myself and and I was 6 lbs lighter than yesterday. I went to the doctor today to learn the (not) surprising news that I am dehydrated.

Can't trust that day

2009-02-01T20:02:00.002-06:00

Sunday, that is. Near my house there is a Chick-Fil-A, a fast food chicken restaurant, which is closed on Sundays. We also have a large craft/fabric store called Hobby Lobby which is also closed on Sundays. It just seems to happen that every Sunday I get a hankering to eat at Chick-Fil-A and then go to Hobby Lobby to browse around. Then I have to remind myself that I can't.

All Different

2009-01-30T08:43:00.001-06:00

Ada likes peanut butter and jelly.
Ben only likes jelly.
Tommy only likes peanut butter.
Abe is allergic to peanut butter.

My nightmare did not come true

2009-01-28T19:16:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I had to take a glucose tolerance test at the Dr.'s office. It was so unpleasant. I have taken the test before and I don't remember it being that bad. I had to drink an orange drink at home and then go to the office for a blood test. The drink is not that big but I could barely finish it. As soon as I finished it, I got pains in my stomach. All I could think about the whole way to the Dr. was how good it would feel to throw up. If your test shows that the glucose levels are high then you have to come back for a test that takes 3 hours. I have been wondering what my results were and on Monday night I had a dream that the Dr. told me I had to take the 3 hour test. In my dream I started to cry and I refused to make an appointment to do it.

Tuesday morning the Dr.'s office called me. Now they told me that they will only call for abnormal test results, so I KNEW why they were calling. "We got the results of your glucose test," the nurse said. (Oh great, my nightmare is coming true), I thought. "They were normal," (yay!) "But your iron is low, we have to call in a prescription." I was so happy at this news for 2 reasons. 1) I do not have to re-do the glucose test. 2) I get to eat more steak.

Ice Day

2009-01-28T19:01:00.002-06:00

Today there was no school for the kids due to an ice storm. Some schools were closed yesterday, but not ours. I got up at 6am to check the closings and then turned off the alarm when I confirmed that there was no school. At around 7am the school's auto phone message called to tell everyone the news. At 8am I woke up to Ada wailing, "Why didn't anyone tell me?!"
Ben said he didn't need anyone to tell him because he knew the night before. He is magical.

When will Saw end?

2009-01-25T23:11:00.003-06:00

I started watching the Saw movies after reading a message board post about the top 10 movies with a twist ending. I simply love twist endings. I had seen most of the movies on the top 10 list already except Saw, which I never would have considered before.

When I started watching the movies, Saw -Saw III were already out on DVD already and I only had to wait a month or so before Saw IV came out on DVD. Yes, there are twists in each movie, but each movie answers only some questions and creates several more. I had to wait a whole year to watch Saw V, which I watched last night. Of course that led to more loose ends so it isn't over yet. I just read that Saw VI is set to come out Oct. 2009.

At this point I am not even enjoying it. I have just invested so much time into it that I feel the need to finish the series.

Here is what I propose:

2008-11-13T13:03:00.003-06:00

Everyday - 2 times a day. I have to drive to the middle school to drop off or pick up kids. Traffic over there is a complete mess, which is to be expected with that many cars in a small space all at the same time. What surprises me is how upset the other drivers get. It is not unusual to hear honking or see aggressive driving. I don't understand what there is to get so upset about. We are all on the same team, so to speak. We are all trying to get the same thing done - drop off or pick up. Our kids all go to the same school!

I personally have been honked at several times for not pulling out of the driveway fast enough. What the honkers don't see is that it is not safe to pull out; either because a car is coming or pedestrians are crossing. A few days ago, this was happening, I was honked at twice and I could see the driver behind me becoming really agitated and then tried to pull around me. I felt so annoyed by this, I wanted to get out of the car and say something, but I've seen enough court shows to know that's never a good idea.

What I thought of was some sort of digital sign that could be put in the back window. When someone honks, the sign could flash messages such as, "There are children crossing" or "It is not safe to exit now" or "I can't go, the intersection is blocked"

Lies my science teacher told me

2008-11-12T09:20:00.002-06:00

My 8th grade science teacher left such an impression on me. Not because he was such a great teacher, but because of all the lies he told, which took me several years to figure out were untrue. I remember he had a lot of wacky stories about all sorts of things that he said either happened to him, or someone he knew.

The most memorable was when we did a unit on parasites and he told us about tapeworms. According to him, he had some friends who had tapeworms because they took diet pills that were actually tapeworm eggs. One man would go to a restaurant, and order bad food (rotten eggs and other spoiled things). After eating that, he would order a steak or something else good. When questioned he said, "I didn't want to feed my tapeworm anything good." He also told us how these people got rid of their worms. According to my teacher you can take some medicine to kill the tapeworm, but it gives you a terrible stomach ache for a few days. So instead, one of his friends just didn't eat for a few days. Then he held a steak in front of his open mouth and waited for the tapeworm to crawl out. Another one made a cut in his leg and the worm crawled out there. (Not sure how).

The unit we did on reproduction was full of lies. I don't remember discussing how babies are made, but I remember the teacher telling us that it was possible for a woman to get pregnant again, when she is already pregnant. He said that when twins are born, one is usually smaller than the other. That is because one has been in the womb for 9 months and the other one only 8 months. He told a story about a lady he knew who went to the doctor to have a baby. After the baby was born the doctor said to the lady, "See you in 4 months." The lady asked, "What for?"
"To have the other one." was the doctors reply.

In My Dreams

2008-11-11T14:00:00.003-06:00

Last week I had a disturbing dream that my teeth fell out. I have heard that this is a common dream but I personally had never experienced it before. I googled this dream to see if I could figure out where it came from. I found an article that had several explanations.

"Dreams of tooth loss coupled with anxiety reflect a fear of change, fear of transition. Ask yourself if there is some transition that you are fearful of making. In waking life, when people lose teeth, they often cover their mouths when talking or smiling. Is there something going on in your waking life that you feel you must hide or 'cover up'?"

Yes and yes.

Who Could It Be?

2008-11-03T08:55:00.003-06:00

We have been watching some old TV shows with the kids. We rented "The Greatest Amercian Hero" a few weeks ago. The show was popular when I was in 2nd grade. I remember a time during school when we had an assignment to write about a dream we had. Everyone was quietly working, when a boy in the class raised his hand and asked, "How do you spell 'greatest'?" Upon hearing that, the whole class began giggling and laughing, just knowing that his dream had something to do with the TV character. Sure enough, when we read our stories out loud, his involved The Greatest American Hero. Later, I was wondering just how in the world the whole class (including me) knew that his dream was about the TV show and not the 'greatest' something else. I tried to think of a sentence using the word 'greatest' in it. But as hard as I tried, I could not come up with anything that did not have 'American Hero' directly after it.

2008-10-02T13:28:00.000-05:00

Take the Hey Hey, Which Monkee Are You? Quiz.

How Many of Me

2008-08-27T10:48:00.000-05:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
20
people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

6 Quirks

2008-08-07T14:10:00.002-05:00

I was tagged by Ada to list 6 quirky things about myself so here goes:

1. I don't like tomatoes, but I do like tomato soup, ketchup, tomato sauce, etc.
2. I own 3 shares of stock in the Walt Disney Corporation.
3. I collect Alice in Wonderland items.
4. I met my husband on a blind date and got married to him after only dating for 3 months. ( We have been married 15 years).
5. All my kids have names that can be shortened to 3 letters.
6. Sometimes my dreams have closed captions. That is to say, when I have a dream, I can see the text of what is being said as well as hearing it.

Self Portrait at Going Bonkers

2008-02-05T14:35:00.001-06:00

I took Abe to "Going Bonkers" today. It's an indoor play place.

Sleep is for the weak!

2008-01-24T13:50:00.000-06:00

My baby Abe never sleeps. OK, maybe not NEVER, but not nearly enough. He has a habit of getting up at exactly 3:18am and staying awake until around 5am or sometimes just staying up! Despite my best efforts, he usually doesn't fall asleep in the evening until around 10pm. I usually stay up until midnight or so doing chores, studying and putting back everything Abe has gotten out during the day. Then at precisely 3:18am, I am awoken to the feeling of someone digging their baby toenails in my back, a bottle being poked in my eye or a wet diaper sitting on my face.
Yesterday I noticed Abe yawning at around 8:30pm. I actually felt giddy inside thinking that he might go to bed early. I tucked him in as usual with his lullaby light and water bottle. His eyes slowly closed and then suddenly opened wide, he sat up, hurled his bottle across the room and RAN laughing through the house and literally did not stop running until 10:30pm.

Time, it goes so fast (when you're having fun)

2008-01-13T17:28:00.000-06:00

Hmm, already the middle of the month and no posts since November? What's been going on here? We have had a few visits from friends and relatives for the holidays. We had a fabulous HumanLight and a nice New Year at home. Kids went back to school on Monday and they have only 7 days of school before they get 3 half-days in a row and then and 2 days off. How am I supposed to get anything done? Oh well. Resume vacation time!

My New Car

2007-11-05T11:17:00.002-06:00

Just kidding. This is not my car. But it's the car I wish I had. When I went to the dealership to look at the minivans (what else), I saw the Cruiser. The salesman took me to the back lot to look at more vans.
"Which one do you like?" The salesman asked me.
"I like that one!" I say, pointing at the Cruiser.
"It is a nice car..." the salesman agreed "...but not for someone who has 4 kids."
I ignored him and stood on my tip-toes to peer into the windows.
"Uhh, Ma'am?" he said while jangling the van keys.

The next week, while driving my new minivan, Ada commented that it was such a typical "mom" car.
That it is.

One of my many talents

2007-11-04T00:15:00.000-05:00

Over the years I have developed certain skills which have proven to be quite helpful in dealing with children. I have learned how to change the sheets on a bed that a child has has been sick in while the child is still in it without disturbing the child!

It'll hurt if I swallow.

2007-10-23T17:10:00.000-05:00

Remember the little kids voice on that old commercial? I've had a sore throat for the last few days and it is the worst sore throat that I ever remember having. When I swallow it feels as though my throat is squishing out my ears.

Birthday Treats

2007-10-19T20:00:00.001-05:00

I decided to make birthday cookies this year. Then my neighbor surprised me with cake. It was delicious!

Birthday Presents

2007-10-19T19:57:00.000-05:00

Face your fear and look at the light

2007-10-17T12:42:00.001-05:00

I had Lasik done over the weekend. Here is a picture of me while waiting my turn to go in. I had the guy next to me take it with my phone. I was waiting almost 4 hours before going in. I was nervous about the procedure and asked several people coming out about it. Even with as much as they told me, it was still not the same as experiencing it myself. When it was finally my turn and I was lying under the laser with my eye lids taped open, I started to freak out a little. I tried not to show it, but apparently I was moving around a bit. It felt like every movie I've seen of aliens torturing an abductee. The Dr. kept repositioning my head and reminding me to look at the flashing light. On the second eye he just held my head in place and said "Look I know you're nervous, but you have to face your fear and look at the light". Afterward, they taped my eyes closed and I had to sit in a chair for a while to recover. I could hear the people around me waiting to go in. One of the techs asked me "How was it?" "Scary." I replied, while I sat in my chair shaking.

Lightly Nerdy

2007-10-07T01:12:00.000-05:00

Stamp Table

2007-10-06T09:10:00.001-05:00

My table was getting a bit torn up after several craft mishaps. The kids and I decorated it with stamps.

When I went to Good News Club

2007-09-15T15:05:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to remember how old I was but I think I was around 10 (5th grade) when a neighbor of ours hosted Good News Club at her home. My neighbor did not teach the lessons, it was another lady. It was pretty fun. We heard stories, sang songs and learned bible verses by singing them. If you could sing/say the bible verse the next week you got to pick a prize. I remember that when we would sing songs the lady had large cards that had the words on them and the cards were colored with markers so meticulously. The time she must have spent on them impressed me.

One day we were discussing why God lets bad things happen. The teacher told a story of how she had a miscarriage and how sad she was about it. She had wondered why God would take her baby away. She told us that sometime later a friend of hers had a miscarriage as well. The teacher was able to comfort her friend during that time. She finished by saying that after her friends miscarriage, she knew why she herself had had one. The reason was so that she could support her friend.

Having gone through a miscarriage myself I understand what a lonely time it is. However, even when I was a 10 year old I thought something was wrong with my teachers story. My 10 year old mind wondered why God didn't just save both babies and spare everyone such grief.

Can't stay away from Target

2007-08-11T23:19:00.000-05:00

After quite a bit of fiddling around with it, I finally got Ben's game working. Ada wanted to buy some jeans for school at Target and Ben had a gift card he wanted to use so I decided to give Target a 2nd chance. Of course as any Target shopper will tell you it's hard to leave without spending a bunch. I called David when we got home. "We just got back from Target." I told him. "We got jeans, a game, and $200 of other things". Actually it was mostly school clothes and pajamas. Tommy wanted to wear his new pajamas as soon as we got home. "How do you like them?" I asked. He happily rubbed the pj shirt and exclaimed, "It's so soft and it smells like Target!"

Brick

2007-07-30T14:03:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am a poor sport.

2007-07-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

Abe and I started taking "Parent and Tot" swimming lessons this week. Yesterday was a lot of fun (even though it was raining). We sang songs like the "hokey pokey", let the kids play with some pool toys and helped them kick their legs. Today the teacher said "Ok, we are going to do underwater submission." She demonstrated with a doll how to count 1, 2, 3! and dunk your baby under. I refused to do it and I was the only one. There are 10 in the class. I was rather shocked that all the other parents just did it. Most of the babies came up crying. Abe happily splashed in my arms while we looked on at the screaming babies getting dunked 3 more times.

Rain

2007-07-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Checking the weather, here is my 10 day forecast:

T-storms
T-storms
T-storms
T-storms
T-storms
showers
showers
T-storms
T-storms
T-storms

This has been going on for the past month! I am usually not one to complain about the weather but mix 4 kids and summertime with this rain and I am going crazy.

Luckily, the rain is not continuous so there are actually long periods each day where it is not raining.
Unluckily, the rain starts pretty quickly.
Like today when we went to the pool and were there for about 20 minutes when a t-storm started and so the pool threw everyone out.
Luckily, the rain stops pretty quickly.
Unluckily, the rain is usually so hard that it is a flash flood and so even when it stops the ground is soaked. My backyard is flooded. A few of the local 4th of July activities are being canceled because the fields/parks are flooded as well.

Whatever happened to customer service?

2007-06-15T18:01:00.000-05:00

Recently, I have noticed the lack of good customer service in my area which is starting to irritate me. I would have to say my biggest pet peeve of those employed in the retail/phone/customer service industry is the lack of people who are able to speak clearly. This is especially annoying on the telephone. So many times when calling a place I hear: "Thankyouforcallingourbusinesswherewe'renumberonethisisafasttalkingmumbler-
howcanIhelpyou?"
And I'm not really sure what they said or if I have the right number so I say questioningly,

"I'd like to order a pizza?" or,
"There's a problem on my bank statement?" or,
"You say that I have a video out, but I turned it in?" or most recently,
"I need to schedule a dentist appointment?"

Seriously, is there no professionalism anymore? When I was at the bank a few days ago dealing with my own issue - apparently depositing a check when you haven't deposited one in awhile flags something in the computer for the teller to treat you like a criminal depositing a fake check. So while I was dealing with that, a phone call came in and I watched the teller do the fast talking mumbler routine from above, pause and then say harshly "Yes, this is Bank of Mumbler, how can I help you!" Then proceeded to make a series of confused and exasperated faces while listening to the callers problem. She tried to blow the caller off, but ended up transferring her to someone else.

Today when grocery shopping I had my hands full at the checkout with Abe and my wallet. I was annoyed, but not surprised when the checker began handing me the full grocery sacks instead of taking 1 step to the side and putting them in the cart for me. I suppose I could have sweetly asked "Would it be possible to put those in the cart for me?" But my mind was screaming expletives, so I just silently took the bags.

12 years ago today...

2007-06-06T22:18:00.000-05:00

June 6, 1995, at 3:44am a baby was born. "Is it a boy or girl?" I asked David. "It's an Ada." he said.

That seems like such a short time ago - but our baby is long gone. In her place is a wonderful young lady. I couldn't imagine life without her. Happy Birthday Ada!

More cell phone

2007-05-30T14:49:00.001-05:00

Upon closer inspection of the phone, I found that the ringer doesn't ring anymore, it only vibrates; and the camera doesn't work.

I "heart" Yahoo! Answers

2007-05-28T21:17:00.000-05:00

You really can find the answer to any question there. I mean it, anything!

http://answers.yahoo.com/

Update on cell phone

2007-05-28T21:16:00.000-05:00

After drying out for a few days the phone is working fine. The screen was a bit discolored at first, but it fixed itself. Yay!

Something you don't want to see when you walk into the bathroom...

2007-05-24T20:42:00.000-05:00

...is your cell phone in the toilet. I suppose this is why babies are so darn cute!

Mothers Day Gifts

2007-05-20T09:49:00.001-05:00

Jealousy/Envy

2007-05-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

jeal·ous·y
–noun, plural

1. jealous resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself.

en·vy
–noun

1. a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.

—Synonyms 1. enviousness. Envy and jealousy are very close in meaning. Envy denotes a longing to possess something awarded to or achieved by another: to feel envy when a friend inherits a fortune. Jealousy, on the other hand, denotes a feeling of resentment that another has gained something that one more rightfully deserves: to feel jealousy when a coworker receives a promotion.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

2007-04-15T22:10:00.001-05:00

The Moon

2007-04-01T23:09:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures that I took of the moon using a telescope that my dad gave me and a digital camera.

It says, "crunchy"

2007-03-24T23:36:00.000-05:00

We saw "Charlotte's Web" at the dollar movie today and I have to say it was pretty good. I was worried the remake would ruin the story but it did not. It stayed true to the book and the previous cartoon movie, with many of the same lines. A good thing is that the Wilbur in this movie is a lot less whiny than in the cartoon. The real pig is very cute.
I was disappointed that two of my favorite lines in the cartoon were not in this movie.

The first one is when they see the web and Mr. Zuckerman comments that Wilbur must be no ordinary pig and Mrs. Zuckerman replies, "It seems to me you're a little off. It seems we have no ordinary spider!" In this movie it is actually Mrs. Zuckerman who decides that the spider web is a "miracle".

My second favorite line is when Templeton is asked to get a word for the web and he comes back with 'crunchy'. I was terribly disappointed when they skipped that part and he just came back with 'radiant'.

My Boss, Betty

2007-03-21T18:04:00.000-05:00

The first job I ever had was working for Betty at her teacher supply store. I worked there for 4 years; during high school and a year afterward. I only left the job because I got married and moved out of the area. During my time there, Betty trained me on all sorts of things having to do with the business, not just cashiering and stocking shelves. She allowed me to place orders with the supply companies, get the bills ready to be paid and even trusted me to do the bank deposit for the store. All of that when I was 17 or 18 years old! I was so proud to have that kind of responsibility.

I just found out that Betty passed away last month. Even though I had not seen her in awhile, I'll miss her.

Jesus Camp is not so scary

2007-02-07T11:24:00.000-06:00

It took me so long to finish this post. So much I wanted to say, but it was too hard to write without being too detailed for those who hadn't seen the movie yet.

I recently watched the movie Jesus Camp, despite being warned that it would be too shocking. As someone who has been to a "jesus camp" of sorts myself, I was not shocked.

I guess I was supposed to be shocked at what was being taught to the children. You don't have to worry about kids. When kids grow up they figure out for themselves what's true or not true.

There is a boy in the movie who gives his testament during camp and admits that he has a hard time believing in god because you can't see god or hear god. He also says he doesn't believe the bible stories that his parents tell him. He cried when telling this. I could tell that he wanted to believe, but he couldn't. I used to feel this way too. I know he will grow up to find that other people feel the same way he does, and he'll be alright.

Orb

2007-02-01T18:39:00.000-06:00

While uploading some old photos to the computer, I noticed that this one has an "orb" on it. I don't believe that it is anything paranormal, but I do think it's sort of cool that I got one.

2007

2007-01-19T14:34:00.000-06:00

To celebrate 2007 we each wrote down things we wanted to do/change in the new year and used one of our HumanLight candles to burn it. It was a nice ceremony, especially since the kids do enjoy burning things.

Each new year it is usually hard for me to remember to change the year when writing the date. Well into February I am usually still writing the previous year. However, for some reason I had been writing 2007 on my checks since October of '06. I figured that it would be easy for me to make the change this time. The other day when writing a check I accidently wrote 2008. Always thinking ahead!

Cooking is a waste of time.

2007-01-16T10:25:00.000-06:00

I don't cook anymore, I merely heat things up. At first I felt guilty about this, but I don't anymore. I used to look at things like 'place and bake' cookies or instant mashed potatoes and think, "How lazy can a person be?" Then I started trying these things, one at a time, and found that not only are they made in a fraction of the time as those made from scratch, but they taste better too. I buy frozen lasagne, bagged salad, breakfast tacos, pre-cooked bacon, and yes, sometimes when they are on sale, I buy Uncrustables too. When I watch cooking shows I am so puzzled as to why someone would waste all that time. However, I do seem to remember from my pre-children days that it is easier to prepare a meal with two hands and without a baby banging pots at your feet.

2006-11-27T23:07:00.000-06:00

A good Christmas song is "Celebrate me Home".

A bad Christmas song is "Christmas Shoes" .

They must have read my blog

2006-11-17T18:03:00.000-06:00

After karate yesterday we decided to go to Braum's but I warned the kids not to play in the playland. When I pulled the car up I could see that the entire playland had been ripped out. There were visible stains on the concrete floor. "Look at all that whiz." I commented to the kids. Ben cracked up.

And speaking of odors...

2006-11-09T16:25:00.000-06:00

On Thursdays after karate, I usually take the kids somewhere for a treat. A few times we went to Braum's which is a fast food/ice cream shop. They have the filthiest playland I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of playlands. The playland does not have tables inside, just a bench, so I was sitting at our table outside with Abe, while the other kids played. When it was time to go I went in to the play area to tell the kids and had to immediatly cover my nose. Inside there was this weird sickly sweet smell, but terrible, I couldn't put my finger on what it was. As we were getting in the car I said,
"It smelled in there. What was that smell?"
"Melted ice cream mixed with whiz." was Ben's prompt reply.
Yeah, that sounds about right. Needless to say, now we go to Baskin Robbins.

An Inconvenient Smell

2006-11-08T11:56:00.000-06:00

For the last week, a mystery odor has taken over my kitchen. I'm not really sure what it smells like, but it is not good. My first thought is that it was coming from underneath the oven, but there was nothing under there that would cause it. Different members of the family smell it in different places. Sometimes it seems the smell has gone away for 1/2 a day but it always comes back. I thought perhaps an animal died in the kitchen somewhere. I cleaned under the major appliances, even disconnecting the dishwasher and pulling it out from under the counter so I could see if something was behind there (nothing). The smell is actually making me a bit crazy. Two days ago while sitting on the kitchen floor investigating, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and used a hammer to pry the front baseboards off of 2 of the cabinets. No, there was no dead mouse in there as I had hoped to see, but there was plenty of disgusting crap. Cobwebs like I had never seen before, sawdust, construction dirt etc., and thousands of dead bugs - mostly ants and rolly pollys. Despite the fact that there were about 500 of those egg sacs that spiders make, I did not see one single spider. There were no animal droppings or any evidence of larger animals being down there. Yesterday, while lying on the floor trying to vacuum it all out with the attachment hose, my hair got sucked into the main part of the vacuum where the brush spins around and some of it got ripped out. Today the smell is still there. Oh odor gods, why must you torture me?!

Spongebob Squarepants Pumpkin

2006-11-01T09:51:00.000-06:00

This is from a few years ago, but we have such fond memories of this pumpkin.

I pity the poor fool

2006-10-29T22:55:00.000-06:00

Whose car is next to mine during the trunk or treat. I went with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme this year. Ben made a replication of Jack's scientific method on his white board. We hung halloween socks as stockings, had a halloween wreath, and lights, and we even played the music from the movie. The kids reported that it was the best car there.

Weight loss

2006-10-25T19:32:00.000-05:00

This is what I have been working on since school started. It is not "pregnancy weight". It's going Ok although some days are harder. Like today when I bought $40 worth of candy. That's about 400 pieces. It's for the Trunk or Treat at the kids school. I always figure for about 350 kids. So far I ate 2 pieces. Stupid Halloween!

Birthday Presents

2006-10-20T00:31:00.000-05:00

House of Vomit

2006-10-16T15:54:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's where I live right about now. Some sort of stomach bug is making it's way through the family. The kids are still learning about appropriate places to throw up. Unfortunately (for me) I found out after the first "accident" on the carpet, that my Spot Bot was not working.

Little Girl Lost

2006-09-11T10:35:00.000-05:00

"Little Girl Lost" is the name of the first Twilight Zone episode I remember watching. It scared me so much, but in a good way. It is about a girl who ends up in another dimension after going through a portal of some sort that is in her bedroom wall. I've only seen the episode one time but I remember everything about it. There is a synopsis of it on Wikipedia, and it is just as I remembered. The Simpsons even did a take off of this episode once, which I recognized right away. When anyone ever asks me what my favorite Twilight Zone episode is, I always say this one. My local TV station started playing reruns at night. Checking the listings, it seems like they are playing them in order. Hopefully sometime next month I'll get to see my favorite.

McDonald's Friend (again)

2006-09-10T16:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I saw her again. This time it was at Meet the Teacher night at the middle school. First I saw her sitting several rows in front of me in the cafeteria, where everyone had to start. After a brief meeting there, we had to visit each of our child's classes. While entering the 4th class on Ada's list, there she was again, about 4 or 5 people ahead of me, waiting to sign in. I was pleased that I might figure out what her name is, but when I got to the sign in sheet, it was just a list of the students names and a place for parents to initial.

Ahh, back to school!

2006-08-19T00:34:00.000-05:00

Here are the boys on their first day back to school.

Confirmation

2006-08-09T11:44:00.000-05:00

I was reading a post on another blog about someone's church confirmation and it reminded me of my own. The experience was actually quite meaningless to me, which in turn had a bigger effect on who I am now.

Let me back up and tell you that I was not baptized in a church, my parents did it themselves in the ocean. I actually love that, however I grew up thinking I was not "really" baptized like everyone else at church. One time at church I read in the service leaflet, "All baptized Christians are welcome to join us for communion." Having taken communion for several months I was a bit scared that I wasn't supposed to have done it and worriedly showed my mother, who reassured me I was fine. At our church (Episcopal), most people are baptized as babies, only very rarely would an adult be baptized. As a girl, my mom told me that if I wanted to I could participate in the church ceremony. I declined, but had thoughts of doing it someday in the future.

Once a year the older teens would participate in a confirmation ceremony. I was never really sure what that was for, but watched it for several years growing up. The teens would be dressed up in even nicer than church clothes, and would receive small gifts, (usually a bible) afterwards. It turns out, it is sort of a renewing of the baptismal vows, a more mature statement of faith. When I was probably around 15 it was decided by the church that I would be confirmed. Unlike the writer of the above blog, I had no studying to do or preparation, other than shopping for an outfit to wear. In our church, a bishop was the one who did the confirmations and it was a really big deal when any of the "higher ups" came to the local church. I don't think I had to say anything during the ceremony. There were a series of statements that the bishop read and the congregation had set answers that they replied. That was it. There was no one else being confirmed that day, so unlike the ceremonies I had seen in the past, I was standing alone, not with a group of my peers.

Afterwards my mother simply gushed about how wonderful the bishop was and how magical it was when he looked at me.
"Do you feel different?" she asked me.
"No." I said, feeling rather disappointed "Should I?"
She said something like "That's up to you."
I thought about it. It seemed ridiculous to me that the bishop could be so special that he could change a person just by looking at or touching them. After all, he was just a regular man, just like everyone else.

As we were getting ready to leave, a few of the church leaders came over and spoke to us. Apparently one of them had told the bishop after the ceremony about my special situation of not being baptized at church. It was told to me rather casually something like, "by the way, he baptized you too." Yes that's right, apparently even though the ceremony was over, and even though it was only a confirmation ceremony, and even though I was already baptized, and even though I did not consent, the bishop still was able to baptize me. Now that really is magic!

You know what sucks?

2006-07-19T23:46:00.000-05:00

David: "It sucks to be cold."
Shannon: "It sucks to be hot too."
David: "You know what doesn't suck? Just right."
Shannon: "Yeah, just right is the best."

Scary Bed - part 3

2006-07-19T13:45:00.000-05:00

Recurring nightmares! When I was little I had the same few nightmares over and over. There was one in particular that stuck with me though. It involved a puppet-like character, sort of like the characters on Sesame Street. In my dream, just like on Sesame Street, it was perfectly normal for puppets to talk to people. This puppet was sort of horse-like, with a long face/nose, the way a horse is. In each dream this horse puppet would come over to my house and ask if I could play. I didn't want to, but my mom would always tell me to anyway, to be polite. So I would go, and in each dream we would start to play but then the puppet would eat me. The way he would eat me would be the way Cookie Monster eats a cookie; loudly grunting and pieces flying all over the place. The pieces flying about looked like bits of styrofoam and that's when I would wake up. To this day when I see horses or anything else with a long face like that (some dogs have it, cartoon characters, etc.) it gives me a weird irrational feeling.

Another dream I had frequently had a few variations but it always involved any weird creatures that I had seen that week on Star Trek (the original). One time they were flying pancake-like things; another time large balls of hair. The story was this: I would be at my school in my pajamas and the Star Trek creature would be there attacking me and the other children. Most of the time I would startle awake, but I distinctly remember one time that the paramedics from the TV show Emergency! came and rescued us. So I guess my nightmares were not all bad after all!

Anti-circus, anti-zoo

2006-07-15T01:23:00.000-05:00

I didn't used to feel this way. Not so very long ago I used to love both of these places, especially the circus. When I was little we visited the LA Zoo all the time. Sometimes there would be people outside picketing. They would shout, "Boycott the zoo!" over and over as we went past. "What weirdos!" I would think to myself. Now I wish I could join them.

My feelings began after a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo about 2 years ago. It's actually a very nice zoo - one of the better ones I've been to. They have a very large gorilla exhibit. The gorillas have a place where they can play outside or come inside. Zoo guests can see them in both places too. On this visit the gorillas were inside. One of them was sitting right up against the glass. A lot of people were gathered around, all pointing, shouting and knocking on the glass. The gorilla looked sad to me (I know, they always look like that), but I felt so bad for him. The gorillas humanoid features got to me. I started to wonder if he was really happy living at the zoo.

A few weeks later we visited the circus. I have many happy memories of going there as a child and I wanted to share that with my kids. We had already been when Tommy was a baby, and I loved it, but the other kids were too young to remember. I was so excited to take them there. The tickets were about $25 each, and as it turned out they were for balcony seats. I was disappointed we were up so high, but the kids didn't seem to mind. Before the show started, I went to get cotton candy - it was $10! So with $30 worth of cotton candy we started to watch "the greatest show on earth". I started to see the show with different eyes. Did the elephants really want to be here? Did they want to be dressed up and hold each others tails? Many of the acts are animal acts. One of the acts involved horses running in one of the rings. They ran faster and faster and made their circle smaller. Then, one of the horses fell to the ground and we all gasped. The trainer cracked his whip and the horse got up and the act continued. I noticed some of the horses wobbling a bit, as clearly they aren't meant to be running so tightly. I started to feel sad again. I was ashamed that I had spent money to support such a place. As we left David commented that we should wait a few years before going again to which I replied, "I wouldn't be sad if we never went again!"

Tie-dye!

2006-07-07T13:26:00.000-05:00

We tie-dyed shirts as a summer project. As I learned, the dying part doesn't take that long. Waiting overnight to see how they would turn out was difficult, but it was worth it!

Disney dilemma

2006-07-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Every once in awhile I get this urge to go to Disneyland. Sometimes the urge is so strong that I feel like if I don't go soon I will die! I am in the middle of one of those times now. I spend some part of each day trying to figure out how I can get there. I fantasize about my ultimate Disney vacation and how great it will be. I discuss plans with David about retiring near Disneyland in the future. Yesterday I did some calculations on how much it would cost to live at one of the Disney hotels and go to the park 365 days a year. I presented the number to David. He told me that going there everyday would get old after awhile and suggested that when we retire we can go once a quarter for a week each time. My first reaction was "Wh-what?? Disneyland... get OLD?? Does not compute!!" But when I pondered it further I suppose he is right. It would be a bit like Christmas everyday, and in all the cartoon shows I've seen on that subject, it never works out.

I see London, I see France...

2006-07-02T12:19:00.000-05:00

I am so sick of looking at underpants. This trend of ladies having their underwear sticking out of their pants is driving me crazy. I used to see it all the time last summer, but not so much anymore. I would especially notice it at restaurants or other places where people were sitting. Once Ada and I were walking through the mall and a lady was in a shoe store near the window. As she crouched down to try on some shoes we had full view of her underwear. I was glad that the boys were not with me! What is wrong with these ladies? Can't they feel that their butt is sticking out? I realized I hadn't seen that in awhile but a few nights ago at Wal-Mart there was a lady wearing some sort of wrap around skirt. As she passed me I could see that she had the skirt tied in the back - just below her underpants.

4 cute kids

2006-06-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

Scary Bed - part 2

2006-06-27T11:17:00.000-05:00

"My bed tipped last night!" That is what I would say to my parents when I was very small when I was sick. I still sort of remember what it felt like. It seemed that one of the legs on the bed frame was shorter or broken and that the bed was constantly shaking or tipping. I'm not quite sure what made me feel that way. Was I just dizzy? Feverish? Have some sort of inner ear problem? I know it wasn't the bed because one time the "tipping" was really bothering me and I got up to tell my parents. On the way to their room I felt the whole house tipping and I fell down in the hallway.

Orange juice connoisseur

2006-06-26T01:13:00.000-05:00

Growing up I drank orange juice every single day with breakfast. It was the frozen kind that has to be mixed with water. We often would go camping during my youth and during those trips my mom would pack small cans of orange juice with a pull-top lid, (the kind they don't make anymore). The canned orange juice tasted a lot different; so sour, horrible really. As a kid I was so used to having oj with my breakfast that I got used to the taste. When I grew up I still had such fond memories of those camping trips. I started college right after high school and I was delighted to find that the cafeteria sold orange juice in cans. The taste of it transported me back to a happier time and place. I would buy a can on my class break and bring it back to the room.
"Eww, how can you drink that?" the other students would ask me. "It's so sour!"
"I like it." I would say.
Now I have moved several times in my life, and every state or city has different stores with different brands. I have tasted many kinds of orange juice and the kind I like the best come in cans. The juice itself tastes bad, but the memories are good.

Wipe hands on pants.

2006-06-23T23:30:00.000-05:00

Hand dryers are loud and take too long to dry your hands. In a crowded bathroom ladies sometimes have to wait to use the dryer. Using paper towels is faster and works better.

Once I was using a hand dryer that had directions printed on a metal plate on the top. The directions read:

1. Press button.
2. Place hands under dryer.
3. Rub hands briskly.

Underneath, someone had scratched into the metal:

4. Wipe hands on pants.

That was a long time ago but I still laugh when I think of it. I don't think I have ever seen a more appropriate piece of graffiti.

The pendulum - 10 years later.

2006-06-20T13:19:00.000-05:00

My comments have requested to see the "advice" from Abe's doctor. Let me start by saying that even the doctor visits for Abe are different than they were for Ada. Now it feels more like an interrogation. These "check-ups" are actually just a barrage of questions to make sure I'm following all the current parenting rules. He begins with reminding me that Abe has to sit in a carseat and it has to be rear facing. Nevermind the fact that Abe is sitting in said carseat while he's telling me this. Then he goes on with things like:

"Does anyone smoke in your house?"
"Do you have any guns?"
"How many smoke alarms do you have?"

I've been going to this doctor for 5 years and he asks me this each time. Write it down for Pete's sake!

Then on to more personal questions that seem to try to judge my mental state.

"How do the other kids like the baby?"
"Do they help you out?"
"Are you getting any sleep?"
"How often do you get out alone with your husband?"

Then the questions actually about Abe:

"He is sleeping on his back?"
"How often does he eat?"
"How many diapers does he go through?"
"You're not feeding him any solid food, right?"

Abe's infant care sheets are actually very general compared to Ada's. There's nothing on there about not giving your baby water, however I had heard of it before he was born. It has just recently become taboo to do so. Weird how something that was recommended less than 2 years ago is now considered poison. Double weird since your body is made mostly of water. Apparently the baby could get water intoxication from having too much water and possibly die. Well so can adults! A little water never hurt anyone, and I mean that literally, 1 ounce of water!

Abe's sheet does say: "Sleeping on the back or side only, not on the stomach. However, this is a good time to work on 'tummy time', putting your child on the stomach for 5-10 minutes twice a day while awake in preparation for rolling and crawling."
I simply hate the phrase "tummy time". So you can't put your baby on it's tummy to sleep, even though it is obviously more comfortable that way. But now twice a day you have to put it on it's tummy while awake. Some babies hate "tummy time" and who could blame them? But now there are a whole line of mats and other products to get babies to tolerate "tummy time". Ridiculous. What ever happened to trusting your instinct?

There is nothing on Abe's sheet about staying out of the sun, which seems to be common knowledge now. I don't think anyone in their right mind would give a baby a sunbath nowadays.

Although I disagree with some of these new rules, all these changes are done with safety in mind and that I can support. I feel kids these days are safer now than in the past. I sometimes think I go overboard in trying to protect my kids. I don't allow them to do some of the things their friends can do and I don't feel guilty about it.

When Tommy was a baby we visited some relatives. While eating cinnamon rolls for breakfast with them one of them asked me, "Did he have some cinnamon roll?"
I looked around, "He who? You mean Tommy? He's only 4 months old!"
"Well he could gum it." was her reply. She laughed and said, "Mothers these days! So cautious!"

Indeed.

And the pendulum swings.

2006-06-16T19:48:00.000-05:00

The following are direct quotes from information sheets given to me by Ada's doctor at her infant checkups 11 years ago.

1. Warm tap water may be offered between feedings if the baby is awake.

2. Juice may be offered if the infant does not like water.

3. Let the baby sleep on it's abdomen, back or side as it prefers.

4. Baby may sleep outdoors if weather permits.

5. Sun baths may be started at 6 weeks of age. Expose front and back each one minute and, if tolerated, increase one minute a day up to 15 minutes each back and front.

6. Do not let strangers handle your baby.

Before I became a skeptic.

2006-06-06T17:39:00.000-05:00

When I was about 5 years old, my sister and I would play with a boy named Jeremy who lived at the corner of our street. He was the same age as my sister (about 7 years old) so they played together more often. Jeremy had a swing in his front yard, and a treehouse in the back. One day we were all playing together and I think we were playing hide and seek. I was looking for my sister and Jeremy and I was pretty sure they were in the treehouse. I climbed up the ladder and tried to push the door up, but someone was holding it closed. I could hear them laughing inside. My sister shouted "We're not in the treehouse! We're by Jeremy's swing!" I stopped pushing on the door. All logic told me they were in the treehouse, however, I listened to my sister and pictured in my mind that they really were by the swing. I happily ran to the front yard and was shocked to see the swing empty, with no one around. I ran back to the treehouse and this time they were looking over the side, laughing at me. I couldn't believe it! I went to bed that night a little wiser.

4 kids

2006-05-22T16:31:00.000-05:00

2nd generation.

2006-05-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

My sea monkeys had babies! I started a sea monkey kit just after Christmas and have been faithfully feeding them and aerating their water. There were a lot of monkeys that hatched originally. When they got bigger, pairs of sea monkeys seemed to be "mating" all the time. I waited and waited for babies to come but none ever did. Occasionally, one or two of the sea monkeys would die. Last week I counted only 5 left. I was hoping they would have babies before they all died out. A few days ago I saw three of the sea monkeys stuck together, instead of the usual two. I guess that did the trick!

I am a ruler.

2006-05-18T19:54:00.000-05:00

Here is a note that Ben gave me for Mother's Day. I love it.

What the...?

2006-05-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

This picture hangs at the Dallas Zoo. They don't have the actual animal there. I looked it up and it turns out that it is not a cross between a turkey and chicken as the name would imply. I'd like to see a real one someday.

My religion comes from a coloring book

2006-05-11T12:09:00.000-05:00

Recently, David has been doing a lot of research. He is working on defining his beliefs and putting those beliefs into a religion. He has spent countless hours reading, discussing, defining and redefining these beliefs. All the work he is doing is exhausting to me. Every variation in beliefs has a different definition and a different name: Agnostics, Atheists, Existentialists, Extropians, Freethinkers, Humanists, Igtheists, Materialists, Naturalists, Objectivists, Optihumanists, Positivists, Rationalists, Secularists, Skeptics, Transhumanists, Universal Immortalists, Universists and more! It's too much for me to absorb.

I told him I don't think it should be that hard. How I want to live my life is quite simple. I showed David a coloring book that I purchased two years ago to celebrate HumanLight. It has simple statements and illustrations on each page describing good ways to live, like the above "Hurting people is wrong and helping people is good.", and "Be nice and fair to everyone, including people who are different from you." and "Be kind and careful with animals." It also has reminders of the importance of Art and Science.

I don't know the name for what I believe, but I believe everything in this book.

http://www.evolvefish.com/fish/colorbook.html

I'm full of rage.....to have fun

2006-05-09T20:59:00.000-05:00

There once was a commercial for Levi's (I think) that was on MTV a long time ago. It was full of people saying random things including a lady saying, "Fine. It's over." two times. My favorite one was a boy saying "I'm full of rage...to have fun."

Sometimes when I'm full of rage and I think that, my brain automatically adds on the "to have fun" part. Then I crack up.

Why I don't want to try Netflix

2006-05-06T10:51:00.000-05:00

It seems that everyone I talk to is using Netflix instead of Blockbuster. I don't get it. Even though my closest Blockbuster is closing, the next closest one is 1.7 miles away. I can go there WHENEVER I WANT.

Kids want a movie? We can go.
They go to bed and I want my own movie? I can go.
Something wrong with the movie? I can go back.
Don't like the movie, want to change it? Problem fixed within 10 minutes.

New releases come out on Tuesdays. Every Tuesday at 10am, I can watch the latest movies. I'll bet I couldn't do that if I used Netflix.

Netflix recently settled a class action lawsuit against them regarding limiting their rentals to those who watched a lot of movies:
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2006/05/01/daily31.html?from_rss=1

"Subscribers who signed up for "unlimited" DVD rentals found that shipments were slowed down if they watched large numbers of DVDs and returned them quickly. Heavy renters, who use more of the postage-paid envelopes provided by Netflix, provided lower profits; critics called the approach "throttling.""

Someone who rents as much as I do would be affected by this practice.

Blockbuster now has an online rental service as well. It seems better than Netflix since you get 2 free in store rentals per month. That would help you get a new release without waiting, but there still is the problem of getting a broken DVD. Once I was in Blockbuster and a customer was speaking to the manager. She said that she was an online customer and several of the movies she received recently were damaged and unplayable. She further commented that was disappointing and also that it rarely happened when she rented the movies from the store. She asked if there was anything the store could do about it. The manager sadly told her no.

After about a year of being on the Blockbuster movie pass, I am used the instant gratification I get from it. There's no way I can stop.