Technology Hiatus

Ricky needs to take one. He's wearing me out. I swear, his hands are going to turn into iProducts. I used to consider myself a technology guru, but now I only wonder if I was this annoying? iPod, iPhone, iPad, Macbook, and now he wants a simple "...one that clips right here (pointing toward his collar, if you can find it under the beard) so you can have your hands free when you work out..." I won't even begin to point out all of the irony in that one statement. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if every spare chance I find to sit down with a device wasn't prematurely destroyed by the low battery warning. Womp.

ON A MUCH HAPPIER NOTE (to distract from all of that gripe-mess), SUPERDAD TRIMMED HIS BEARD!!! It's still gross, but it's progressing!! I miss his face. Terribly mushy for me, I'm aware. It looks more like a thick fu-man-chu. Anything is better than the kid-grabber mess that was threatening his life - beards are a terrible choking risk. Not only that, but they are BAD for hygiene, complexion, and tickling babies. Amazingly enough, contrary to popular belief, they are NOT good for food-storage.

This is no longer a daily fixture in my life.

Hallelujah!!

OMG, dont people no too check there grammer!??

This is a shout out to Janet.

I am a lover of words. An admirer of well-spoken, articulately phrased thoughts. I understand that in a creative context, rules-to-live-by in writing and speaking can be thrown to the wind. In real life and conversational situations, a casualness may displace "up-tight," proper language. I know that punctuation can be played with to fit mood, and sentence structure can be toyed with to create emphasis or emotional power.

Here is my horror story. I spent the past two school years trembling from behind my podium in my big-girl-teacher clothes. My brain convulsed in panic over the reality of my situation. "How can these upperclassmen have NO idea which homophone to use? There is a place! Their shows ownership from a group. THREE is a number!! How do they have zero concern for what they sound like vocally OR on paper? How have they skipped through our educational system without the slightest idea of how to organize a sentence or paragraph? AND NOT CARE?? Do they not know that EVERY word they say or write can create a perception from another's point of view?? YES, even welders need to know how to write!!"

I really thought i'd have to get out a pair of Everlast and duke it out when the idea came across the table that we should teach our kids to take notes in "cell-phone" jargon. Gag me with a spoon. If we TEACH and ENCOURAGE that - then all hope is lost. It's way too difficult to cure that problem! Of course, I'm just that old-soul in a mid-twenty-year-old's body. I completely spell out EACH word in it's entirety when I write my complete sentence riddled text messages. What an old hag. Instead of inviting some fellow staffers into the ring, I made it a point to show all of my little pupils the importance of readin' and writin'. We learned homophones, studied sentence structure, watched Schoolhouse Rock, and practiced TONS of other fun little gimmicks that make the world go round. I sure do hope they remember their helping verb song that I passed on from Mrs. Maurer...

NOW, before you bark and spend your time scanning through this post in search of errors, I'll admit I can be a bit loose in my composition. I consider it the luxury of owning (yes, I went there) my own beautifully framed piece of paper that proclaims that the five years of college tuition were not in vain, and I have in fact mastered the universe with a degree in English. It gives me the right to be the authority. Ha, that really was a joke. I hate to proofread, too. I'll admit it.

I understand that social networking can persuade all of us to dip into our elementary lexicon at times. (Lexicon = mental dictionary. Probably one of my top five words. I'm obsessed.) We may even get in a rush once in a while and abbreviate a few words in a text message.

With all of this highly intellectual chit-chat in mind, I think it's time to introduce a new scale to our beloved Facebook. Can we grade our friends on their ability/inability to communicate with others? Zero being "I rite like a litle kid" and ten being all of us who are able to use our words like big kids. Oh, and we can spell grammar. YES, GRAMMAR. It's not grammer people. Before you get on someone's butt about intellect, brains, wisdom, education, intelligence, or smarts you must be able to spell the one word that we all learned so early!!

It's oh-so terribly sad, but our words define us. I'm sorry if you don't believe it. If you write like an uneducated person people will notice. If your status update is littered with misspelled and misused words, people will notice. Same goes for the alternative. Call me biased, but i'd much rather do my dealings with "It's a miserable day today! The weather is nasty, and I'm such a lucky girl to be stuck inside - not!" than mess with "urrrr, the dr again and home to were we have 2b inside w/moms wild childrens!"

Oh, and at this point I'd like to formally thank Mrs. B. It is because of you that I have a deep hatred for all words that are changed to fit cutesie titles. Kreative Kids, you just don't fly with me.

Now watch this video and laugh out loud.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OonDPGwAyfQ&feature=related

I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.

The photo above is not me. Not in the literal sense of the word, nor in the figurative sense. I didn't realize that when I signed on -in joint agreement, and with encouragement, from the father of my child - to stay home with my baby that I would be expected to live up to the standards of these modern times we inhabit. Yes, these modern times referred to as 1950. Oh the modern convenience of a machine that cleans your carpets! A box that expedites the process of preparing food! Ladies! We live in a time of such revolution!

To be a housewife is to be a member of a very peculiar occupation, one with characteristics like no other. The nature of the duties to be performed, the method of payment, the form of supervision, the tenure system, the "market" in which the "workers" find "jobs," and the physical hazzards are all very different from the way things are in other occupations. Barbara Bergmann

I don't know if i'm alone in saying this, but good-golly I don't believe I should don my high heels and apron and meet my man at the door with his plated dinner on a daily basis. Do not take this the wrong way - I am INCREDIBLY grateful that I get to spend these days with my boy. I'm amazingly fortunate! I wouldn't have it any other way! HOWEVER, I do not believe that today's "housewife," "stay-at-home-mom," "housekeeper/maid/domestic servant" has to be what it was in the past.

I call myself a 'domestic goddess.'. Rosanne Barr

I'd like to embrace my time at home with a different approach all together. Yes, I want a clean and tidy home. Yes, I would like to embrace my culinary curiosity. Yes, I want to take pride in where I am fortunate to live. Most of all, however, I want to LIVE. I want to spend time playing "I'm gonna get you" in the floor even if it means I have to re-wash a load of laundry. The world will keep on spinning if just one day, I decide to nap with Jett for two hours OR watch a WHOLE movie while he snoozes!

In the beginning, I took it all on my shoulders and loaded the pack on my back with weight upon weight upon weight of "status quo" ideas. I had to keep this house super spotless. I had to have dinner prepared in chef-like form. I had to have it all together. That mentality quickly drove me looney, as in batty. It was stupid to think that someone who had ZERO domestic prowess would be able to make that Grand Canyon-size leap. I am no Martha Stewart.

I decided recently that i'm going to make my own status quo. I don't have to do it that old way. I can take care of our baby, our home, our health the best way I can, and that doesn't mean i've got to keep my hair tied nicely in a tight, little chignon to match my freshly applied red lipstick and pressed hem of my skirt. Nevermind my mid-20th century sarcasm... When it comes down to it I want to be able to look back and hum a little Frank. "I did it myyyyyyy way." Then I can say, "Look, we lived through it. We survived!"

No laborer in the world is expected to work for room, board, and love--except the housewife. Letty Cottin Pogrebin

I appreciate more and more, every single day, my female friends who are mothers and workers. My favorite coach who takes care of her baby while taking care of a slew of hormonal girls on a daily basis and managing a classroom and high school politics. The two uber intelligent stay-at-homers who I love because they are SO incredibly smart, yet they don't get near the appreciation for their intelligence that they deserve because they're not on the floor of a courtroom or an emergency room, but rather settling disputes over trucks and trains or applying bandaids to boo-boos because they CHOOSE to. My "Susie," the closest to Martha one may ever come across, who I condiser so brave because she takes on new and creative tasks with such an optimism and excitement that I envy, but is not afraid to reveal even she has her moments of chaos --all the while raising a baby and BAKING another! No pun intended. I love them all dearly, and even those who I've not mentioned, who do it all, and still manage their highs and lows, conquests and failed efforts, pains and joys, tears and smiles.

I love that in this year of modern convenience, it can be acceptable to be a MODERN mommy. I'm going to let it be my new outlook. I'm going to live and love my baby and love my loved ones and be happy. Oh, and I guess I'll still do the laundry and explore in my kitchen, too. On my own terms.

Now why can't our breadwinners just be convinced of this grand theory of mine?

Must Read

I have missed reading so much in the past year!! It seems like I don't have the energy to flip from page to page, then jump up to fix a bottle, pause to let Tag out, etc. I've seen the Kindle and the Nook, but didn't really get so interested that I hounded someone to buy one for me. Recently, however, I was able to play with Regan's Kindle and I looooooved it! Thanks to the wonderful world of applications, I can get the same type of experience on the ipad! It's so much easier than trying to hold open a book and flip through pages!

On that note, if you enjoy reading in the slightest, you must dive into this novel! It's amazing!! It's definitely one you won't put down. Thanks to my sweet high-tech tool I was able to read it in just three days! By the way, no babies were abandoned, mistreated, or ignored in the reading of this novel! :)

"The Help" was so great that, as Regan and I have discussed, you feel yourself longing for more! It touches you in such a personal way! I am a firm believer in not sharing story lines, ends of movies, or teasers, so you must read this on your own to discover the true joy of a great work of fiction -- based on an acutal period in American history! PLUS, read it now before it comes out in theaters next year! Enjoy!

For your SEVEN month birthday...

...a little snowstorm!

Jett anticipating a mini-venture out in the snow.

"Mommy, I'm quite certain I can handle this business in my snowsuit."

Jett's first snow!! Sportin' his snow bear suit from Aunt Lindy.

Here are some fun things about Jett @ 7 months!

-He's crawling all over the place! AND pulling up on everything.

-Jett loves scooting and playing with his feet. He'll teeter from side to tummy to side to back.

-He loves real solids, not that baby food business -- unless it's sweet potatoes or fruit.

-He's getting much better at grasping. We've been practicing with snacks and he's making it from the table to his mouth and IN it!

-Jett is still toothless - poor baby! He chomps like a champ - mainly in the back on both sides - and some in the front. They'll come soon enough!

-He loves to pull up on the steps (carpet curbs I like to call them) in the living room and then let go and balance while standing up. He can stand alone for up to 15-20 seconds! It's so fun to watch him get so excited!!

-He loves the window. He and Tag will sit there for hours if I let them.

-As much as i've done a pretty good job of keeping Tag away from Jett's toys, my efforts are now worthless. Jett LOVES dog toys. He and Tag share sometimes. Way cute! I'll come around the corner and each will have an end of a toy. Then Tag is squealing because Jett has a hold of his ear or whiskers. Say a prayer for my patience! :)

-At our last check up he weighed 16 pounds, and that was almost a month ago. We're thinking he's close to 20! Maybe and exaggeration, but he sure feels it! He's in 6mo. clothes still, but wears some 6-9 month gear. :( Some chubby, little, long legs and a skinny belly! Oh, and can't forget those sweet cheeks!

-Jett is still the happiest baby. He loves people so much! And I love him tooooo much!