I just had to share this pic that I made while goofing around with Picnik. I originally took it when I was trying to participate in a 365 project. I didn’t make it a whole year. But this was while I was in school, taking a literature class. On Proust. It was an amazing class. One day, I hope to reread all 6 books (In Search of Lost Time
The boy has been using sippy cups for a while now. We tend to use the non-spill versions since he’s in a mode where he likes to pretend he’s an Olympian discus thrower. My floors are constantly in a state of disarray with bits and pieces of food that sacrificed themselves to the whims of my toddler baby. You can’t step very far without crushing a cheerio or a piece of toast under your feet. That’s okay, they’re easily vacuumed. But the smooshy vegetables and ice-cold watermelon are a little much on my bare feet in the middle of the night. Let’s just say it’s hard to distinguish them from cat vomit in the dark.
So we bought some sippy cups that, while they are somewhat bottle-sized, have soft spouts and one of the two has handles. They’re called transitions, as in the transition from bottle to sippy. My child likes to bite and chew. So a soft spout is perfect for him. Give him one of the hard spouts and he turns away. (He already has an opinion on just about everything. I am in so much trouble later.)
Unfortunately, the soft plastic of the spouts tend to get a little gunky, no matter how diligent I am at cleaning them. Milk just tends to get goopy and icky. Add to that the chewing and chewing my son tends to do, and the sippy spout is to the point where I can’t use it – he has chewed extra holes in it.
Enter complications. The boy loves these cups. I’ve tried several other kinds. Doc Brown, some other Gerbers, and more. He tries them and then refuses. Doesn’t want them. Unfortunately, when I went back to the store to find them, they were gone. From everywhere. Gerber stopped selling them. In desperation, I started searching the web, even going to Gerber’s own site. No transitions cups. So I emailed them and asked what I could do.
And this is where Gerber went from good to great. They emailed me back within a few days and let me know where I could get replacement spouts and valves, the cost and how to order them. And then they sent me a couple of sets at no charge, thus saving much crying and wailing and knashing of teeth. We get to continue using the cups, which were serving their purpose just fine, but without the wear and tear from my sons very pointy – and well-practiced – teeth.
Thank you, Gerber. You went above and beyond, and I really appreciate it. It didn’t cost you much, yet you made this mommy very happy.
We’ve been at my parents’ house for the last two weeks. I keep sitting down at the keyboard and walking away, unsure of what to say. There’s so much going through my head and heart right now. Writing usually helps me make sense of it. But sometimes I just have no idea where to start.
Those of you that have grandparents nearby – ones who are involved and love to see the kids – are so very lucky. And I wish I could give that to my parents. I want them to see their grandson all the time. And that’s just not possible right now. It kills me every time I think about it. Therefore, I try not to think about it too much.
My parents are so cool with the little guy and their great-granddaughter. I love watching them all together. It fills my heart so full I think it’ll burst. I just sit and watch, taking it all in, trying to memorize everything. So much so that I forget to break out the video camera and capture some of it. (Including Christmas Eve with the whole family – commence head smacking maneuvers.)
So what’s the problem? It’s not enough. This time with them. Their time with the kids. I love watching my mom and dad help the kiddo walk. He wants someone to help him walk everywhere. He loves it. It won’t be long until he’ll be taking off on his own – his balance gets better every day.
And when the Boobah crawls from the living room to the kitchen, where it’s tiled, he gets up on his tiptoes and crawls with his little bottom stuck in the air. It’s hysterical to us. So is his attitude – he is so stubborn and knows exactly what he wants. He won’t take any less. And he’s strong. He pushes his big truck – one that’s designed for him to walk behind – around with one hand. If you’re not careful, he’ll shove against you so hard that he’ll push himself right out of your arms.
He’s funny, silly, goofy, and just so much fun to be around. I’m trying to be grateful for the time we all have together instead of lamenting that it’s not enough. It’s so wonderful to have the extra hands, the extra help around. It really does help keep me from feeling so overwhelmed. And maybe I’ll be able to take some of that calmness back home, when it’s just me at home with the kid trying to get work, housework, and everything else done while keeping the kid out of trouble and entertained. Some days – maybe most days – that’s a tall order.
My family is such a gift. I need to be grateful for what we have, instead of crying about what we don’t have. But wanting to be near them is a strong motivator to get things in order and move. With low interest rates and falling real estate prices, it’s actually a perfect time to do so. I wish we could. Oh, how I wish we could.
Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate, and Happy Holidays to those of you who have something else you enjoy.
I hope you get to enjoy family, friends, food, and lots of love.
If you follow me on Twitter, you saw a lot of posts about the F-18 crash in my neighborhood yesterday.
Let me start by saying that the kiddo and I had left our house about a 1/2 hour before. I wasn’t headed anywhere in particular, just getting out of the house with the boy. Mondays are my day off so it’s perfect for a short jaunt. We wound up meeting my husband at Costco and doing a little last-minute shopping before we head to visit family for the holidays.
When we got back into our cars, we heard the news on the radio. My heart froze for a minute. Would we come back to a home? Maybe that sounds a little melodramatic, but that’s what goes through your head at first when you don’t know exactly what happened nor where. We knew it was our neighborhood, which really isn’t that big.
As we heard more, we figured out it was just down the road a bit. Less than a mile. Really not that far at all, considering the size of San Diego.
More details poured in over the afternoon, and I found myself unable to break away from the news. I needed to know more. Was it someone we knew? A classmate of our daughter? Eventually they started giving the house address. A wave of relief swept over me and then I immediately felt bad.
Some man went to work one day, and before lunch his whole world was gone. Wife, two kids, and the grandmother. The entire house. Instantly gone. No warning. No way of preventing. Just gone.
Let me stop here for a moment. I believe that the pilot truly did everything he could to avoid hitting the homes. He was headed for a canyon, trying to make it there. He stayed in the plane until it was seconds from the ground. What more could he have done? I think he’ll be beating himself up enough as it is. I think the calls for the military to leave Miramar are ridiculous. I don’t feel like saying more on that topic right now.
I cannot imagine losing my whole family in one swoop. It makes me sick just thinking about it. How would you go on? My heart goes out to that poor family. It’s awful.
I couldn’t get to sleep last night for quite a while. I couldn’t get my brain to quiet down, to stop thinking about this. You try to protect your family the best you can. But you can’t control everything. I want to, dammit, but you can’t. And that’s what keeps me awake. The things you absolutely can’t plan for.
I have to distract myself, think about other things like fluffy bunnies and kittens. And puppies. Because if I don’t, I’ll think too much about what I would do if I lost my baby. Or my husband. It could easily drive you crazy. If I lost them both at once, I think you’d have to cart me off to the looney bin. Seriously. I don’t think I could handle it.
So I have to force my mind to other things. Think about what I do have, And remember how fleeting life truly is. It makes all the little irritations just drift away. Because in the end? It’s all just small stuff.
I hug my little boy a little closer, remind myself to be kinder to my husband, and enjoy what we do have. And be extremely freaking grateful for it. Extremely.
It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these, so I thought I’d do it since Chefdruck tagged me.
1. Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. A the end of your blogpost, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their name.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.
Yeah, I’m adapting this to suit me. If you want to play, feel free. 
Eight random things about me:
1) I never planned to live in Cali, even though I thought about applying to Stanford.
2) This is my 2nd marriage.
3) I still bite my nails, because I hate it when they’re uneven.
4) I’ve worn glasses since I was two.
5) None of my grandparents are still living, and this makes me very sad.
6) I have a ton of family in NorCal that I haven’t seen since I was a little girl.
7) I like to drive a stick.
8 ) I’m a terrible rollerblader.
There you have it. Want to make any confessions? Post ‘em on your site or leave them here.
Dear Time Warner,
We don’t appreciate you slowing our connection down just so you can sell your new “Turbo” service for an extra $10. Not cool.
Love,
Me
PS) Tricks like that suck.
Dear Nintendo Santa,
I would like a Wii for Christmas. If you could find it in your heart to send me one, I’d really like that.
And if you just so happened to throw in a Wii Fit, I wouldn’t complain. (In fact, Santa, if you send me two, I promise (cross my heart) to give it away. Really.)
Yours til New Years,
Becky
PS) I wouldn’t turn down a Saturn Vue, either. Just sayin’.
Hubby and I stopped by Goodwill recently to see if they had any cool kid toys for a reasonable price. It’s a drop-off center so we figured they would have tons of goodies. They did, but it was mostly clothing and a bit of glassware (plates, glasses, vases, you name it).
But they did have one killer deal: light bulbs. What? Packages of two compact florescent lights, plus a bonus miniature night light. The local electric company, SDGE, sponsored an instant rebate. The final cost? 99 cents. Yes, 99 cents for the equivalent of 100 watt bulbs. We bought 5 packs and now I wish we’d gotten more.
Although I’m not so sure about all of the plastic packaging for all of those bulbs, it was a good deal. Even cheaper than Costco’s bulbs. I don’t know if other areas are doing something similar, or just SDGE. But I think we’ll be going back so we can stock up. Know of any better deals than that?
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