Okay, so the pics aren't that great, but aside from my own kids' ultrasound pics, these have to be the most adorable baby pics ever!
Penguins from Mary Poppins
Image by Disney
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Here's My Little Twinkerbell! (just Twinker, if it turns up a boy)
Okay, so the pics aren't that great, but aside from my own kids' ultrasound pics, these have to be the most adorable baby pics ever!
And who's supposed to be having pregnancy mood swings?
Okay. Cheeks is the pregnant one. She's the one who should be having mood swings. Which she does. Believe me, she does. They aren't the hell on earth ones, yet. Those come later if I remember right. The point though is, I'M GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!!!
Yes, that was excitement. See, now there are pictures of the baby. Only ultrasound pics, true, but the little bugger is too cute! Zombiedude has given his child the unfortunate nickname of Nougat McFroggy. This is apparently soley based on the fact that in one of the ultrasound pics, the baby's butt and legs are all you can see...and the legs do look a bit like splayed out frog's legs. It's till an unfortunate nickname. I hope my son comes up with a better one before the child is born. I'm still trying to come up with one. Grandmas get to pick cutsie little nicknames that stick around.
Cheeks and I also think the baby is a girl. Zombiedude and Cheeks' mom think it's a boy. My mother says she already knows...that it's a baby. Smart ass. I hope it's a girl for two reasons: 1) it's my first grandchild, and 2) Cheeks has decided on a girl's name and it's one I gave to her. I am revealing no names until we know for fact what sex the baby is though. I'm afraid to jinx it.
At any rate, yes, I've swung from not knowing whether to be happy or not to full on granny bragging. The little honey waving her arms at me from the ultrasound melted my little heart, what else can I say? Besides, I can either be happy about it or waste time and energy being pissy about it. I think the way I've chosen is the better start to the grandma-granddaughter relationship.
So, here's to sharing baby's first pics with the cyber world!
Yes, that was excitement. See, now there are pictures of the baby. Only ultrasound pics, true, but the little bugger is too cute! Zombiedude has given his child the unfortunate nickname of Nougat McFroggy. This is apparently soley based on the fact that in one of the ultrasound pics, the baby's butt and legs are all you can see...and the legs do look a bit like splayed out frog's legs. It's till an unfortunate nickname. I hope my son comes up with a better one before the child is born. I'm still trying to come up with one. Grandmas get to pick cutsie little nicknames that stick around.
Cheeks and I also think the baby is a girl. Zombiedude and Cheeks' mom think it's a boy. My mother says she already knows...that it's a baby. Smart ass. I hope it's a girl for two reasons: 1) it's my first grandchild, and 2) Cheeks has decided on a girl's name and it's one I gave to her. I am revealing no names until we know for fact what sex the baby is though. I'm afraid to jinx it.
At any rate, yes, I've swung from not knowing whether to be happy or not to full on granny bragging. The little honey waving her arms at me from the ultrasound melted my little heart, what else can I say? Besides, I can either be happy about it or waste time and energy being pissy about it. I think the way I've chosen is the better start to the grandma-granddaughter relationship.
So, here's to sharing baby's first pics with the cyber world!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Birth Control
Okay, so I'm used to the idea now that Cheeks and Zombiedude are going to be parents. I'm still weighing whether or not to like it. Several people have asked me about the apparent lack of birth control in some form or another. I am 95 % certain that it was actually being used. I try not to be in the same room at such times, so there is some room for error on my part. I do know that Cheeks was using the Nuva Ring. Which obviously failed. Another obvious failure is telling them that no method is 100% effective except not having sex. Silly me. At any rate, since all this began (again) I did some research into birth control. Just out of curiosity. I mean, I haven't had to use birth control for that purpose since 1997. And, I simply cannot believe how many different kinds there are now! It used to be condoms and the Pill. Then diaphrams. Sponges. Assorted creams, foams, and gels. Then that Norplant thing. Which I tried. I gained a ton and got so sick, they took it out two months later. I don't trust diaphrams. They look more like a trampoline for sperm than anything else. I know it's supposed to be a barrier, but I get the idea it's more like running your kid ragged at an amusement park...you do it because it's fun, but you also hope that by the end, she's so tired that she falls asleep before you even get home. A diaphram seems to operate on the same principle in my opinion: a very small trampoline put in the way of the traveling spermies. Not only do you hope they get distracted enough by it that they never make it 'home', but you pray that if they do head in the right direction, they're so tired from the trampoline that they wear out before they get there. Sorry. I just doubt the entire objective. For starters, I've seen my ADD child after playing on our trampline. Guess what? He's far from tired when he's done! Same thing.
Then there's the female condom. I've only seen one once. People, these things come with an instruction book thicker than my stereo system had. They're also huge! And that little stick thing? Hmph. Plus, from the instructions, you need to be far more flexible than I've been since grade school to use one. I like the concept of them. I do. And one woman I know who has used them, says they're fairly comfortable and easy to use once you have practiced a couple times. I guess this is why I keep getting told not to judge things by how they look. I'm just glad I don't need them.
And the Pill? It certainly isn't the same as the ones my mother saw come into existence. Or the ones I used. Now there's like 100 different kinds? Whafuck? Ones that help with acne, ones that help with PMS. Wow. Ones you only have to take once a week or something. I tell ya, if I was still having those messy, once a month deals, I'd be all over some of these pills. Not only do they prevent pregnancy, but they have cool fringe benefits...such as no period for three months. Works for me.
And then there's this Nuva Ring. For anyone who hasn't seen one of these things, they look a lot like a larger version, slightly lumpy, of those jelly bracelets girls used to wear. They're clearish and look about as much like birth control as a cupcake. The icing on this cupcake? You have to store them in the fridge! Yes. They must be kept cold up to the point of insertion. Again, I don't need to use these things, but from what Cheeks and a few others have told me, that chill factor lasts about a half an hour. And is fairly unpleasant. Not excruciating, but still unpleasant. I believe them.
Oh, and IUD's. These have apparently been revamped and are less hazardous to your health than the ones around in the last few decades. I'm glad. Those old model IUD's were something beyond painful from the stories I've read, not to mention worthless. I just still have an issue with allowing a doctor to insert a metal object into my uterus. Besides, as high tech as we're getting in security measures, I'd be afraid of setting off metal detectors everywhere I went. I'm sure that doesn't happen, but the idea it could would bother me. Does bother me.
There are even a variety of natural birth controls out there. Aside from the rhythm method or keeping track of fertile times. It seems there is an entire market of herbal contraception. Of course, these are not evaluated or monitored by the FDA, but many of them boast a 100% effectiveness rating. Right. I'm all for herbal remedies and such. And I have no doubt that our forebears used plants in ways we would never dream of and to great effectiveness in many different things. I just worry that most of these herbal contraceptives are a bunch of dried grass with no value or worse, harmful side effects. When the FDA and drug companies and such perform studies and begin to turn to nature for remedies and give them the 'ok', then I'll worry less.
I don't know. There's no guarantees on any birth control, aside from abstinence, but there's so many rumors, myths, and utter crap out there I'm surprised the birth rate isn't higher than it is. I'm also very glad I don't need to worry about it any more. For starters, refrigerating my birth control and then putting it inside my body? No thanks. I'd rather take a pill.
Then there's the female condom. I've only seen one once. People, these things come with an instruction book thicker than my stereo system had. They're also huge! And that little stick thing? Hmph. Plus, from the instructions, you need to be far more flexible than I've been since grade school to use one. I like the concept of them. I do. And one woman I know who has used them, says they're fairly comfortable and easy to use once you have practiced a couple times. I guess this is why I keep getting told not to judge things by how they look. I'm just glad I don't need them.
And the Pill? It certainly isn't the same as the ones my mother saw come into existence. Or the ones I used. Now there's like 100 different kinds? Whafuck? Ones that help with acne, ones that help with PMS. Wow. Ones you only have to take once a week or something. I tell ya, if I was still having those messy, once a month deals, I'd be all over some of these pills. Not only do they prevent pregnancy, but they have cool fringe benefits...such as no period for three months. Works for me.
And then there's this Nuva Ring. For anyone who hasn't seen one of these things, they look a lot like a larger version, slightly lumpy, of those jelly bracelets girls used to wear. They're clearish and look about as much like birth control as a cupcake. The icing on this cupcake? You have to store them in the fridge! Yes. They must be kept cold up to the point of insertion. Again, I don't need to use these things, but from what Cheeks and a few others have told me, that chill factor lasts about a half an hour. And is fairly unpleasant. Not excruciating, but still unpleasant. I believe them.
Oh, and IUD's. These have apparently been revamped and are less hazardous to your health than the ones around in the last few decades. I'm glad. Those old model IUD's were something beyond painful from the stories I've read, not to mention worthless. I just still have an issue with allowing a doctor to insert a metal object into my uterus. Besides, as high tech as we're getting in security measures, I'd be afraid of setting off metal detectors everywhere I went. I'm sure that doesn't happen, but the idea it could would bother me. Does bother me.
There are even a variety of natural birth controls out there. Aside from the rhythm method or keeping track of fertile times. It seems there is an entire market of herbal contraception. Of course, these are not evaluated or monitored by the FDA, but many of them boast a 100% effectiveness rating. Right. I'm all for herbal remedies and such. And I have no doubt that our forebears used plants in ways we would never dream of and to great effectiveness in many different things. I just worry that most of these herbal contraceptives are a bunch of dried grass with no value or worse, harmful side effects. When the FDA and drug companies and such perform studies and begin to turn to nature for remedies and give them the 'ok', then I'll worry less.
I don't know. There's no guarantees on any birth control, aside from abstinence, but there's so many rumors, myths, and utter crap out there I'm surprised the birth rate isn't higher than it is. I'm also very glad I don't need to worry about it any more. For starters, refrigerating my birth control and then putting it inside my body? No thanks. I'd rather take a pill.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Manic Briefs
For those in the know:
We are still living in the same place. Still have internet. No long distance, but whatever. All is well. NO further worries on that front.
For all others:
Cheeks is pregnant again! This one seems to be taking. Not sure if that's a good thing or not yet. They heard the heartbeat today. Ultrasound tomorrow to be sure everythingis cool. Also, her mother and her have both been dreaming she's having twins. They run in the family on my son's side, so it's possible, I guess. More later.
I'm presenting to a conference in November. Due to a variety of circumstances, my Self-sufficiency worker thinks I'm a great person to present on the barriers presented to self-sufficiency via bipolar disorder. I'm looking forward to it very much. I think it's a fine time to show people in the social work business exactly what can happen, and sometimes does, to prevent people from becoming "upstanding citizens" and "productive" adults.
The slug-bug game is still going on. I'm still behind. I'm still enjoying this trip back through my childhood.
School (for my kids) starts here on Monday! Hurray! I love my kids with all my heart. Really. I admit there are days, more and more of them lately, where I just want to love their little heads right off their bodies, but since school resumes Monday, I'm sure that will end shortly. In fact, they're looking forward to it too, for a change. Too much time together over the summer, I'm sure. That and utter boredom since I refuse to rent or purchase any new video games until they start doing their chores without being reminded four hundred thousand times.
I've also started a petition that will hopefully gather several thousand signatures and then be sent on to every member of our US Congress. Basically, I believe there needs to be a law, not some avoidable policy (or lack of any policy) that requires employers of any person (male or female) who is having their wages garnished by any child support collection agency to notify said agency within 7 days if the garnishee (or obligor) stops working. Too many times I have experienced a horrible wait trying to figure out if child suppport is just late or has stopped. And I'm not alone. Yet, too many states do not have a law enforcing this kind of notification. I'm not asking for any privacy to be violated. Simply faxing or calling the agency and stating, "My name is _____. I work for ______. We have been sending child support payments to your agency for (insert obligor's name here) under case number (if available). I'm calling to report that this person no longer works for this company and we will no longer be sending support payments. So and so's last paycheck will be processed or has been processed as of (provide date), and that will be or is the final support payment that will be sent by our company." Finished. How hard was that? There is no need to go into any further detail. Oh, it'd be nice if the company knew where the person is now employed or if they are employed at all and would pass that info along, but not absolutely needed. Same thing if the person is deceased. Pass it along if you know and desire to, but it is not a requirement. Things like that can be found in other ways. With thousands of deadbeat parents out there being blamed for everything from a child's behavior to a child's lack of shoes for gym, there should be no more delay than 7 days in finding out a parent is no longer employed with any given company. Not when a 3 minute phone conversation can handle it. Will this make parents pay their child support? No. But it helps the parent and the agency collecting the support to catch up with those who are supposed to be paying. As for enforcing such a law, if it's possible to fine a business for providing hazardous things to minors (cigarettes, booze, etc) then why shouldn't it be possible to fine them for NOT doing their best to help a minor in this small way?
Cheeks and my eldest son are on Grasshopper's endangered species list. Grasshopper has had three boys. She loves them very much. But she desperately wants a little girl. To this end, she has threatened that if my granchild is a girl (much less twin girls) to come and make them both extinct. At first she only threatened Cheeks. Once I pointed out that the male decides the baby's sex, she added my son to the list, citing that while his sperm give the sex to the child, Cheeks would still get all the joy of the daughter. Good point, I guess. I'd remind Grasshopper that she and Twitch could try again for a girl, but that would put ME on the endangered species list as well. Not my idea of a good time.
That's all for now. More briefs as they occur.
We are still living in the same place. Still have internet. No long distance, but whatever. All is well. NO further worries on that front.
For all others:
Cheeks is pregnant again! This one seems to be taking. Not sure if that's a good thing or not yet. They heard the heartbeat today. Ultrasound tomorrow to be sure everythingis cool. Also, her mother and her have both been dreaming she's having twins. They run in the family on my son's side, so it's possible, I guess. More later.
I'm presenting to a conference in November. Due to a variety of circumstances, my Self-sufficiency worker thinks I'm a great person to present on the barriers presented to self-sufficiency via bipolar disorder. I'm looking forward to it very much. I think it's a fine time to show people in the social work business exactly what can happen, and sometimes does, to prevent people from becoming "upstanding citizens" and "productive" adults.
The slug-bug game is still going on. I'm still behind. I'm still enjoying this trip back through my childhood.
School (for my kids) starts here on Monday! Hurray! I love my kids with all my heart. Really. I admit there are days, more and more of them lately, where I just want to love their little heads right off their bodies, but since school resumes Monday, I'm sure that will end shortly. In fact, they're looking forward to it too, for a change. Too much time together over the summer, I'm sure. That and utter boredom since I refuse to rent or purchase any new video games until they start doing their chores without being reminded four hundred thousand times.
I've also started a petition that will hopefully gather several thousand signatures and then be sent on to every member of our US Congress. Basically, I believe there needs to be a law, not some avoidable policy (or lack of any policy) that requires employers of any person (male or female) who is having their wages garnished by any child support collection agency to notify said agency within 7 days if the garnishee (or obligor) stops working. Too many times I have experienced a horrible wait trying to figure out if child suppport is just late or has stopped. And I'm not alone. Yet, too many states do not have a law enforcing this kind of notification. I'm not asking for any privacy to be violated. Simply faxing or calling the agency and stating, "My name is _____. I work for ______. We have been sending child support payments to your agency for (insert obligor's name here) under case number (if available). I'm calling to report that this person no longer works for this company and we will no longer be sending support payments. So and so's last paycheck will be processed or has been processed as of (provide date), and that will be or is the final support payment that will be sent by our company." Finished. How hard was that? There is no need to go into any further detail. Oh, it'd be nice if the company knew where the person is now employed or if they are employed at all and would pass that info along, but not absolutely needed. Same thing if the person is deceased. Pass it along if you know and desire to, but it is not a requirement. Things like that can be found in other ways. With thousands of deadbeat parents out there being blamed for everything from a child's behavior to a child's lack of shoes for gym, there should be no more delay than 7 days in finding out a parent is no longer employed with any given company. Not when a 3 minute phone conversation can handle it. Will this make parents pay their child support? No. But it helps the parent and the agency collecting the support to catch up with those who are supposed to be paying. As for enforcing such a law, if it's possible to fine a business for providing hazardous things to minors (cigarettes, booze, etc) then why shouldn't it be possible to fine them for NOT doing their best to help a minor in this small way?
Cheeks and my eldest son are on Grasshopper's endangered species list. Grasshopper has had three boys. She loves them very much. But she desperately wants a little girl. To this end, she has threatened that if my granchild is a girl (much less twin girls) to come and make them both extinct. At first she only threatened Cheeks. Once I pointed out that the male decides the baby's sex, she added my son to the list, citing that while his sperm give the sex to the child, Cheeks would still get all the joy of the daughter. Good point, I guess. I'd remind Grasshopper that she and Twitch could try again for a girl, but that would put ME on the endangered species list as well. Not my idea of a good time.
That's all for now. More briefs as they occur.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
VW Beetles
Herbies. Love bugs. Bugs. And, the all-time favorite...SLUG BUGS! Oh man, gotta love a slug bug! And suddenly, there are a plethora of them in Iowa City. Now, maybe it's just me lapsing into my childhood in a time of extreme stress, but I have recently been enjoying a near daily game of slug bug...no returns with my daughter and my soon to be daughter in law. It began just between me and Cheeks. My daughter honestly couldn't understand why we kept punching each other and yelling colors at each other. I tried being my usual sarcastic self and told her that we really hated each other and were disguising our fights with a pretend game. This backfired immediately with her trying to run interference between the two of us. So, I explained the game to her...in great detail. Apparently, I managed to NOT teach her this game years ago and neither did her brothers. I'm terribly remiss in my maternal duties, obviously. At any rate, now she's a whiz at spotting the damn things. My arm has had several bruises from her reaching between the seats and whacking me, and I believe the constant ringing in my ears is due to her shrill shrieking of "Slug Bug (fill in the color here)...no returns!" about two inches behind my head. Since I'm the driver, I'm allowed to not have to touch the others for it, just be the first to spit out the damn line with the correct color of bug. So far, I think I'm behind about 20 slug bugs to my own child and about 8 to Cheeks.
Which brings me to my next point. After one spotting of such a bug and actually being the first to notice it and the one right behind it next to us, I wondered about some stuff:
1) The people that buy these cars...did they used to be as enthusiastic slug bug-ers as my daughter, and that's why they bought one?
2) Once they do own one, when they notice a car with appropriately aged and informed children in another car in the next lane, do they chuckle to themselves, saying, "I bet those kids are just whaling on each other because of my car?" (hysterical, maniacal laughter by said owner) I know I would.
3) If the answer to either or both of the above questions is "no", then are these vehicle owners simply too old to appreciate the fun of being a slug bug-er? Or is it possible that these motorers' parents/siblings/friends/whatever NEVER educated them to the game? Are there people out there, from this country, who have never been exposed to this cultural phenomenon? Is it possible to get too old to enjoy a good game of slug bug?
I'm not sure I want to know the answers. For starters, the idea that our society has gotten so technologically adavanced that games like slug bug, zip, and license plate bingo have gone by the wayside is truly scary. No wonder there are so many kids being overmedicated, over scheduled, over stimulated, and under satisfied. Of course, those same children are the ones who grow up to be over achieving, type A personalities who only talk to their families and friends via Blackberry's and palm piloted 'quality time'. Also, I'm not sure I like the idea that people are allowing this cultural piece of history to die out from lack of exposure. What does that say about our priorities? Our parenting? MY parenting? Cripes, if there are worse parents out there than me...and I don't mean the ones that boil their kids because they wet the bed...then everyone should have to get issued a license to have sex.
As for me, I'm going to take advantage of teaching Cheeks to drive, giving Link (my middle son) driving practice, and begin allowing King Rat to drive places when we go as a family just so I can keep a better eye out for the little critters...the slug bugs, I mean.
Speaking of which...SLUG BUG YELLOW! NO RETURNS!
Which brings me to my next point. After one spotting of such a bug and actually being the first to notice it and the one right behind it next to us, I wondered about some stuff:
1) The people that buy these cars...did they used to be as enthusiastic slug bug-ers as my daughter, and that's why they bought one?
2) Once they do own one, when they notice a car with appropriately aged and informed children in another car in the next lane, do they chuckle to themselves, saying, "I bet those kids are just whaling on each other because of my car?" (hysterical, maniacal laughter by said owner) I know I would.
3) If the answer to either or both of the above questions is "no", then are these vehicle owners simply too old to appreciate the fun of being a slug bug-er? Or is it possible that these motorers' parents/siblings/friends/whatever NEVER educated them to the game? Are there people out there, from this country, who have never been exposed to this cultural phenomenon? Is it possible to get too old to enjoy a good game of slug bug?
I'm not sure I want to know the answers. For starters, the idea that our society has gotten so technologically adavanced that games like slug bug, zip, and license plate bingo have gone by the wayside is truly scary. No wonder there are so many kids being overmedicated, over scheduled, over stimulated, and under satisfied. Of course, those same children are the ones who grow up to be over achieving, type A personalities who only talk to their families and friends via Blackberry's and palm piloted 'quality time'. Also, I'm not sure I like the idea that people are allowing this cultural piece of history to die out from lack of exposure. What does that say about our priorities? Our parenting? MY parenting? Cripes, if there are worse parents out there than me...and I don't mean the ones that boil their kids because they wet the bed...then everyone should have to get issued a license to have sex.
As for me, I'm going to take advantage of teaching Cheeks to drive, giving Link (my middle son) driving practice, and begin allowing King Rat to drive places when we go as a family just so I can keep a better eye out for the little critters...the slug bugs, I mean.
Speaking of which...SLUG BUG YELLOW! NO RETURNS!
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