08.20.2006 | 1:14 am | Uncategorized
It’s no secret that I love U2. They’re simply the greatest band ever, and no one can refute that—at least not on my blog. 
Their song “Peace on Earth” really speaks my heart. As a mother, the lyrics literally make me cry, and I wish there were some way to make everyone else see that every single person who dies in a war (on EVERY side—not just Americans), was someone’s baby. Someone’s precious child. These are lives, not just collateral damage. 
“Tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on EarthNo whos or whys
No one cries like a mother cries
For peace on Earth
She never got to say goodbye
To see the colour in his eyes
Now he’s in the dirtThey’re reading names out over the radio
All the folks the rest of us won’t get to know
Sean and Julia, Gareth, Ann, and Breda
Their lives are bigger than any big ideaJesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth To tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth
Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won’t rhyme
So what’s it worth
This peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth”
For people who argue that “if we don’t fight in these other countries, then they’ll come & get us”…I kind of see the point, but I can’t say I agree with it anymore. More lyrics, same song:
“And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you
And it’s already gone too far
You say that if you go in hard
You won’t get hurt…
Tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth”
Last night Philip and I had a long, spirited, yet good-natured and polite debate about the wisdom (or lack thereof, in his opinion) of that song. He’s of the “war is bad, but you have to bomb other countries in order to protect your own” mentality. I respect that, and I used to kind of believe that, too—until I had G. Since becoming a mother, I find that I think very differently about a lot of things. For one, I can no longer justify going into other countries and killing, simply as a precaution.
I tried to use his pro-life stance by reminding him that accepting the death of young soldiers in the name of “the greater good” is not very pro-life. But he’s hard to argue with, and I’m not a very good debater. At 2am, we decided to wrap it up and go to sleep. He patted me on the head and told me, “It’s okay. I still love you, even when you’re wrong.” 
It’s always interesting around here with two very opinionated people whose beliefs clash the way ours sometimes do. And they clash more and more often these days! 
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08.17.2006 | 11:46 pm | Daily Life, Gray Matters, Memes
Appetizer
What color is your car?
Our car is silver. The truck is some freaky turquoise color: I say it’s green; Philip says it’s blue. It’s actually somewhere in between.
Soup
If you could wake up tomorrow with full training in another occupation and a job in that field, what would it be?
A Lactation Consultant. If I ever have time to go to college, that’s what I’m going to do.
Salad
How many times in your life have you had the flu (or something similar)?
I’ve had the flu 3 times that I know of. I’m talking the real flu, not just a bad cold, or a stomach virus (both of which people erroneously call “the flu”, but I have no idea why).
Main Course
What is something that has happened to you this week that you didn’t expect?
Paying $264 for a new alternator in our truck…that was a real treat.
Dessert
How old were you when you had your first kiss?
Hmm…that’s hard to answer, because I was kissed in the 8th grade, I think? But I didn’t really like the guy so I didn’t kiss him back. That kind of thing kept happening (I’d always be with guys I didn’t really like), until 11th grade, when I finally had what I considered my first real kiss—because I really liked the guy. So I think I’ll say 16. 
I really need to do more real blogging. It’s just been a crappy, sucktastic week and I’ve had nothing to say besides what would amount to whining. We’ve been throwing money that we don’t have left and right, and the truck breaking down was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Oh dear, whenever I write the word “camel”, I can’t help but giggle. Only a few people will get that. At least I’m smiling right this second. 
G is the bright spot of the week, as usual. He surprised us this week by all of a sudden knowing the lower case alphabet. I haven’t even tried to teach it to him yet (he’s known the upper-case letters since last year), but he knows all the lower-case letters now. I’m not sure how or where he learned them, but I think it’s awesome. He’s really into letters right now, the sounds they make, and he likes to figure which letter starts a given word. He also knows how to spell his name, but that’s just memorization. But I still think it’s kinda cool. That’s the good news for this week. I’ll try to update more, but until things calm down here, it’s probably a long shot.
Oh, Stacy, if you’re reading, I tried soy nuts this week! They are pretty good. Kind of like sunflower seeds. I like them!
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08.11.2006 | 10:33 pm | Daily Life, Gray Matters
My baby is officially in a big-boy bed now. No more crib. 
He had his last nap in it yesterday, and after he woke up, I took the crib down. But not before taking a picture of his last moments in the crib:
Boy was it hard to take the crib apart. I mean emotionally! I was fighting back tears and feeling so sad. He’s slept in that crib since he was 3 months old. It has his teeth marks all over it, from back in his teething days. Knowing that it’s never going to be used again makes it hard to let its use come to an end. But, he’s growing up. *sigh*
But I’m trying to see it as a positive move. I do love the new bed/bedding. We put it up yesterday after I took his crib down. He was watching everything going on, and he asked Philip,
“Where my crib at?”
Philip told him we took it down in order to put his big-boy bed up. So then he squinted his eyes (his thinking look) and asked,
“What gonna do wit my crib?”
Philip told him we were putting it away somewhere safe, so he could have it again one day. (which is true; maybe he’ll use it for his baby one day.)
Anyway, here’s how it looks:
He loves it!
Another angle (very small room!):
Before bedtime. He’s saying, “OH, more trucks! Lots of trucks! WOW!”
I need to work on dressing up the walls now. I’ve got great ideas, and we’re working on it right now. It’s gonna be cool.
The transition went very easily. He knows that when he’s on a real bed, he’s not allowed to get down until we okay it, so I’m not worried about him getting up & running around. If he wakes up or has a problem, he calls for us.
He says he loves it. He said, “It’s comfortable!” And he loves being able to “cover up” with his sheet. It also makes a great place to hang out during the day. This afternoon we spent an hour cuddled up in his bed, reading. He wanted me to read to him every single board book that he owns, and I did it. We both enjoyed it immensely.
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08.11.2006 | 11:19 am | Memes
Appetizer
Tell about a toy you remember from your childhood.
My favorite “toys” of all were books. Nothing could measure up to a good book.
Soup
If you could make one thing in the world absolutely free for everyone, what would it be?
Food & water. It’s the most basic need. Although nothing is ever truly free. Someone would have to be taxed in order to pay for that. Such a Libertarian I am!
Salad
Approximately how many times per day do you think about your significant other?
Too many to count! He works from home, so he’s always around, for better or for worse.
Main Course
What is something you believe in 100%?
The only thing I believe in 100% is God and his love for me.
Dessert
Name one thing you have done this week that you would consider a “good deed.”
I don’t like talking about “good” things I’ve done.
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08.6.2006 | 11:12 pm | Uncategorized, Daily Life, Gray Matters
Whew! Busy day! We went to town to do some shopping and to get the new mattress set squared away.
Aside from a couple of behavior-modification sessions in the car , G was overall a pretty good boy today and we all had a good time out on the town.
We went to both BB&Beyond and Linens n’ Things, to find a mattress pad. When I was looking at the pads, I took one down off of a high shelf; while I was reading the package, something fell down and bonked me in the head. G exploded in the biggest belly-laugh! Apparently one of the packages tipped & fell after I removed the one from in front of it. So I started trying to put it back up, and it kept falling. G belly laughed constantly, like it was the best comedy routine he’d ever seen. Everyone around us was giggling at him, and the way he was laughing. He sounded so happy that it brought tears to my eyes.
When I found what I needed, Philip kept G entertained so I could take all the time I needed to browse around to my heart’s content (I LOVE those stores!). The only catch was, every time Philip took G for a spin around the store in the cart, I could hear G from across the store, asking, “Where Mama at? Where Mama? Where Mama at? Maaaa-ma!”
We had dinner at Steak n’ Shake, and G was very well-behaved. He was facing toward the windows, and since we were right across from the airport, he had a front-row seat to airplane after glorious airplane flying low for landing. That made for a 5-star dining experience in his book.
After dinner we went to Target and I got to do more meaningless but oh-so-enjoyable browsing. I was looking for a replacement for my yoga pants, but alas…they are no more. There are some similar ones that I may get, but first I want to check the other Target in town, just in case they may still have the exact same ones.
While we were there, G had to go potty so Philip took him to the men’s room while I continued browsing. When they returned, Philip told me G had made a friend in the bathroom. There was a little boy in there with his daddy, and the dad was saying over & over,
“DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING. It’s NASTY. DO NOT TOUCH.”
Philip said he started laughing because that is word for word what we say to G the entire time one of us has him in a public bathroom. At his age, he likes to handle everything he sees, but in a public bathroom, that’s not okay. When G was done, Philip talked to the other dad and told him,
“Hey, we have the same mantra.” LOL!
The dad laughed and said yep, they like to keep him from even coming close to touching anything in public bathrooms, and Philip said it’s exactly how we are, too. It turns out the little boy and G are less than a month apart in age! I told Philip he should’ve set up a playdate, because he sounds really clean, which means he’s probably not a sickly kid. LOL. Philip said they actually discussed that (who would figure two men would strike up a playdate conversation???)!
Unfortunately, they live on the other side of Pcola, though, so phooey. I’m near the point of giving up on finding G a local playmate who is the same age. Apparently no one in this town gave birth to a baby anytime within a year of G’s birth! I know it can’t be possible, but it sure seems that way.
After Target, we headed back home. On the drive, G kept us in stitches with his recounting of various incidents from throughout the evening. He is so, so funny to listen to. His vocabulary is just now exploding, and the things he comes up with…the words he ends up knowing and using…I wish there were some way to spontaneously record him so that I’ll never forget how adorable, cute, and downright hilarious he can be. I was literally falling in love with him for the millionth time…and thanking God in between each laugh, for giving me this amazing little boy as the answer to all my prayers. Four years ago, I didn’t think I’d ever have this…it’s still very surreal for me to realize that I have a flesh & blood child sitting in my back seat, jabbering away, sharing our lives. I am blessed.
I’ll close with a couple of G quotes from his jabber session on the way home (which probably aren’t funny unless you hear them in his voice and in the context in which they were said, but I just want to write out a few that come to mind):
“That dinosaur be pretty WEIRD.”
“It head goes round n round all over again.”
“It scared me little bit.”
“No. I did-n’t.” (I asked him if he cried when that dinosaur scared him.)
“Whoah. That purty airplane.” (over & over & over as we sat in Steak n’ Shake.)
“Whoah. B-I-I-I-I-G soap.” (said when I squirted some foam soap in his hand.)
“I love this.” (In Target, when we let him hold a huge stuffed Spongebog pillow…he kissed it after he said it.)
“NO TOUCHING!” (telling me about what that other dad was saying to his little boy in the bathroom. If you watch Arrested Development, then you’ll understand why that wording is so freakin’ hilarious. If not…good grief, go rent season 1! )
“Uncle Wayne RETARDED.” (he randomly said this when his Uncle Wayne was mentioned. )
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08.4.2006 | 8:34 pm | Memes
I actually wrote my answers this morning, but am just now getting around to uploading them.
Appetizer
Name an actor or actress you think is totally underappreciated.
Oh, I can think of many! William Hurt, Viggo Mortensen, Andy Garcia, Joaquin Phoenix, Liv Tyler, Charlotte Gainesbourg, Linda Cardellini, Kelly McGillis…
Soup
Impress us by using a big word in a sentence.
I am an emetephobe. That’s as big as I can come up with this early in the morning. Oh, I just thought of another big word after answering the next question. How Jeepyshaneepylu of me!
Salad
What is something inanimate that you’ve given a name to (such as a pet rock)?
I used to have a Jeep Wrangler, and we affectionately called it “Jeepy”. Not to be confused with a friend I have who goes by the short nickname Jeepy!
Main Course
What color would best represent your personality and why?
Um…Blue? Because I can be light & cheery (like some shades of blue), or dark & not-cheery (like some other shades of blue). Deep.
Dessert
Fill in the blanks: ____________ is so ____________.
Being awakened at 6am by a school bus’ horn blowing is so FREAKIN’ ANNOYING!
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08.3.2006 | 9:45 pm | Daily Life, Gray Matters
Here I am finally writing something other than answering memes. We’re still in the throes of a very busy summer. This sure beats two summers ago, when I was pretty much housebound with an infant! I guess I’m making up for lost time. I love the freedom we have now that G is older and not napping three times a day like he was back then. I never got to go anywhere.
We’re about to ditch the crib. He’s pretty much outgrown it and I’m tired of seeing him all crammed up against the rails with his legs bent. It’s funny, he’s never ever tried to climb out…I always thought that would happen before he actually outgrew the crib!
We’ve been shopping for a bed solution that meets our budget and our space limitations (his room is 9×9). The problem is that we want solid wood, and anything solid wood is really expensive. But I don’t want particle board or even veneer…I want something that will last through generations.
We finally decided to just buy a twin mattress set and put it on a stand-alone bed rail. We can’t even afford a headboard. But this way, he’s out of the cramped crib, and even though we won’t have the decoration of a headboard, it’ll do for now. In the meantime, we can be saving up for the bed we’d really like to get.
I thoroughly enjoyed shopping for his new bedding! This is what we picked:
It’s Grayson-approved! He lives for TRUCKS and anything else with wheels, so this was perfect. We ordered it from Target.com, and it even had free shipping! I can’t wait for it to get here so we can get his “new” room all set up. We’ll definitely have to do some re-arranging. It’s going to be bittersweet to take the crib down and put it away.
I went to Walmart today, and when I grabbed a gallon of bleach and put it into my cart, I discovered the container had a bad leak. I got bleach all over my hand; luckily I had baby wipes with me so I was able to get it off my skin pretty easily. Unfortunately, I looked down and discovered that a drop of bleach had gotten on my BLACK yoga capris. D’oh! There was a big orange splotch on my leg. Those pants were a big splurge a few months ago…now they’re ruined.
When I got home, I called Walmart and told them what happened. The manager wants me to bring the pants up to the store tomorrow. She said they’ll compensate me for the value of the pants. She just needs to see them to verify that it really did happen. She was really nice about it and apologized. I was surprised at the willingness to help, coming from Walmart especially. Now, I really hope that Target still has these same pants available. Of course, they were my favorites!
I guess I was too sidetracked by the tragedy of my ruined pants, to remember to buy me a bucket of Soy nuts. I totally forgot! I really wanted to try those out. I’ll be sure to pick up a bucket tomorrow when I go up there with my pants.
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08.1.2006 | 2:12 pm | Memes
1. Do you have a photo blog? If so, feel free to share the link with us!
No, unless Flickr counts. But I haven’t uploaded new pics since May. A shame, because there are some cute ones. I just hate the process and never seem to have time to sit and endure it. :p
2. How many pets do you own, and what are their names? If none, have you had a favorite pet in the past?
We have a 7.5 year old Shepherd mix, Reagan. He’s the best pet either of us have ever had. We adopted him from the shelter four years ago. I hope he’s in our lives for a long time to come.
3. How many times a week does the carpet in your house get vacuumed? No carpet? How many times a MONTH do your floors get mopped?
I vacuum once a week and the tile floor gets mopped once a week.
4. Which room in your house do you spend the most time in?
The living room/kitchen area (it’s an open area). It’s where we hang out during the day, eat, play, and it’s also where I keep my laptop.
5. Have you read any good books lately?
No, I have one I’ve been trying to finish since May, but I can’t seem to get to more than a few pages at a time. I miss reading so much! I just never have the time.
6. What is your biggest source of news? (Newspaper? Television? Radio? Other?)
Television, followed by radio.
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No one cries like a mother cries