I Not L, I Tinkerbell!

L. is in the middle of a love affair with Tinkerbell, and I think it is adorable.

We have a tattered old Tinkerbell costume that L. adores. When she gets home in the evening, one of the first things she does is strip out of her play clothes and put on that costume. The wings are falling off the back, the hemline is approaching Paris Hiltonesque proportions and the fluffy little skirt is unraveling. But, L. loves it.

So long as she is wearing that costume, she refuses to answer to her name. We must call her Tinkerbell.

The funniest thing about it, though, is that she immediately changes back into her play clothes at meal time. She doesn't want to get food on her precious Tinkerbell dress. I'm more accustomed to three year olds who insist they will NOT change a treasured piece of clothing.

I have the fixings to make a new costume, and hope to have three matching costumes made for the girls for Christmas. Who knows if I will find the time, but I plan to send Mr. W. out with the girls over the Thanksgiving break giving me a few hours with the sewing machine. Wish me luck!

Exasperated

I've got two 'oh for crying out loud' issues. Let me just get these off my chest.

1. Before you start spouting how giving the bailouts directly to the American people will make us all wealthy, please do just a tiny bit of math. Please? $700 billion divided among 300 million does not come out to $233,000. Really. It comes out to $2,300.

2. About the Baylor University 'noose' thing. People, it was a rope in a tree. Kids were swinging from it. You know, for fun? It was as racially motivated as the pumpkins they tossed off the parking garage. Don't get me wrong, I know there are racial issues and racists that attend, but those are actually the exception.

FWIW, the only noose I ever heard about at Baylor was when some students attempted to lynch a (white) Catholic about 100 years ago. Fortunately, they were interrupted in this endeavor. One of my history professors pointed out the tree, which was still standing when I was a student. It's the big, ugly tree in the quadrangle, by the way.

What a hoot!

Got this from Mayberry Mom's blog:

1. ROCK STAR NAME: Chad Honda
2. GANGSTA NAME: Mint Chocolate Chip Sneaker
3. NATIVE AMERICAN NAME: Green Cat
4. SUPERHERO NAME: Yellow Coke
5. NASCAR NAME: Hugh William
6. STRIPPER NAME: Roses Chocolate
7. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: Forgotten Frankfurt
8. SPY NAME: Spring Rose
9. CARTOON NAME: Orange Jeans
10. HIPPIE NAME: Muffin Magnolia

If you want to play, here's how:

1. first pet, current car
2. fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe
3. favorite color, favorite animal
4. 2nd favorite color, favorite drink
5. the first names of your grandfathers
6. the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy
7. 5th grade teacher's last name, name of city that starts with the same letter
8. your favorite season/holiday, flower
9. favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now
10. what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree

So why did I buy a new car?

Lucky me just got finished buying a brand new tire to replace the brand new tire on my brand new car thanks to the brand new puncture in the side wall.

Lucky me, 2, is going to be dragging said brand new car to the dealership because:

1. The oil light has started flickering on. I should not be losing oil. The car only has 3,000 miles on it and oil shows 70% lifespan left.

2. The car has started making ugly noises when shifting gears. This started out mild and has gotten progressively worse. I should not be hearing funny noises from the transmission.

I just wish I trusted my dealership...

Back off the meds

I am back off the anti-depressants. Many of my fears concerning them were coming true.

The side effects lessened in some areas and worsened in others.
I could not stop having anxiety issues that A. was suffering from the effects of the meds.
I also basically stopped eating since my appetite was completely gone.

I've talked to my doc, and I won't be trying again until after A. is weaned. He did say that if I could find out if any member of my family had successfully taken an anti-depressant, I'd run about an 80% chance of it working for me. I told him based on the amount of alcoholism and other issues, my family was far more likely to self-medicate. He just wasn't interested in prescribing valium like my grandmother took for so many years, LOL.

At least it wasn't RSV

Miss A. knows how to do misery right. Poor little lamb ran the full spectrum last week and this past weekend.

Fever, congestion, wheezing and the struggles to breathe weren't enough. She also cut her first two teeth. Poor little thing.

She is a pretty remarkable baby, though. Through it all, she still remained in pretty good spirits, so long as I was holding her. At the doctor's office, she went to the nurse, the x-ray tech (had to rule our pneumonia), back to the nurse and back to the x-ray tech without complaining. I had to run into work for a few minutes with her and stashed her with three different people so I could get a few things done. Again, no complaints (but she was awfully glad to see me).

She would have an awful coughing fit and then go right back to cooing and babbling just as soon as it was over.

I wasn't kidding when I told Nurse Bonnie that A. is like that fantasy made-up perfect baby. She makes me feel positively competent as a parent.

Jesus would be so proud...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27639792/

Or not...

It makes me very sad to see Christians behaving so badly on behalf of their faith.

Three words

Time Warner Cable!

Will these guys EVER get my bill straight?

I *heart* Dave Barry

Dave Barry's election column made me laugh, in a good way. Here's to an America that grows up!

http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/dave-barry/story/756596.html

Editing because I've visited some blogs more political than mine, and I'm disappointed. Deeply and truly disappointed.

Why, oh why, do people take at face value what their party says about the 'other guy'? I just don't understand it at all. I find that the least accurate information I will get about a Democrat comes from a Republican and vice versa.

Just a couple of notables:
1. Barack Obama is not now, nor has he ever been a Muslim. In fact, his father was an ex-Muslim.

2. You know John McCain's comment about $5 million in income being rich? It was followed by, 'But seriously, though... I know this will be taken out of context...'

Scene at the Wheezers Sunday Afternoon

We have a family tradition going back a couple generations where each child is professionally photographed in one of a couple different poses. The print is done in sepia and really makes a sweet picture. The plan is to have this photo done some time before losing the front baby teeth. Sort of a permanent documentation of the baby-toothed smile.

I'm a procrastinator. I always have been. As of Sunday morning, S. still had not had her photo done. When I picked her up after Sunday School, her teacher remarked on the fact that S.' top front baby tooth was about to fall out. My first thought was we haven't done the picture and Mom will be annoyed. Oops.

Since there was no time to get her in for a professional portrait sitting, we made do at home. A hastily thrown bedsheet made the backdrop and a towel covered the piano bench where S. leaned.

Chaos ensued.

L. insisted she wanted to get her picture done, too. Mr. W. failed to turn the flash on (and Mrs. W. failed to notice). S. had the darnedest time smiling for the camera. And, we have an odd shadow I hope to photoshop out of the final picture. A. laughed at our antics while safely tucked away in her exersaucer.

Meanwhile, S. could NOT leave that tooth alone. Every 30 seconds, someone was sternly reminding her to leave.the.tooth.alone.because.Grandmother.would.be peeved.if.Mommy.didn't.get.this.picture.done.before.that.tooth.came.out. S. thought that was the funniest thing she'd heard all week. I squished on the tooth trying to get it straight for the photo, but it was a lost cause. Hey, at least it was still in her mouth, right?

Would you believe that thing was still hanging by a thread this morning? I expect she's going to come home from school with it in a little box.

So Tired of Soggy Underwear

The lovely Zoloft continues to work it's... er... magic on my sweat glands. I'm not perspiring heavily, just constantly. Please let this be one of the side effects that goes away. I'm really tired of my underwear being in a constant soggy state. It's quite unpleasant, you know.

I'm still running the gamut of GI issues, but I think I see a glimmer of improvement in my temperament. It's probably a placebo effect, but still, I'll take it.

The speech issue has mostly gone away with mild tremors taking its place. Actually, the tremors could be due to Miss A. missing the memo about the end of Daylight Savings and waking up at 3:45 this morning. Mercy am I tired.

My very dear friend is being a godsend through this. She has bipolar disorder and has experienced every side effect known to man. If not for her encouragement and well-placed guilt trips, I'd have stopped the meds. As she puts it, taking anti-depressants isn't exactly taking the easy way out. I can think of a lot of things that would make me feel much happier much faster. Of course, they are pretty much all illegal and/or hazardous. Since illegal and/or hazardous substances really don't belong in my house, I'll stick with the carefully monitored by my doc prescription variety.

Have I mentioned that I'm tired of soggy underwear?

This is day 5.

Hush, Little Baby, Mama Needs Her Zoloft

Where to start, where to start...

For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with ugly mood swings. Specifically, during the winter months and during certain parts of my menstrual cycle, I spend a good portion of my time depressed. I'm not usually a weepy depressive. I'm more a screeching, temper tantrum throwing depressive. This can be very upsetting to my kids.

Since having miss A., my cycle issues have worsened. It is affecting my children, and I can't allow that to continue.

Enter the world of psychotropic drugs.

My doc originally prescribed Prozac, but A. reacted very strongly after just one pill. So, no Prozac. Since continuing breastfeeding is important to me, the next try is Zoloft. So far, so good for her. The side effects for me are worse, though. Those are supposed to lessen after a couple weeks, and I'm only on day three. I hope the reports that side effects lessen after two weeks are true.

At night, when I'm dealing with the nausea, sweats, GI issues, etc. I swear I am stopping the meds. During the day, I decide I am going to give it a month. At this moment (5:30 AM), I am on the 'no more' end of the spectrum.

So far, the most distressing side effect is this weird thing with my speech. I find myself unable to spit out the word on the tip of my tongue. It's not stuttering, but it is extremely annoying and frustrating. Frustration seems to make it worse. Poor Mr. W. is to the point of helping me finish my sentences. This is the one side effect that will make or break the Zoloft. I can't keep on like this. Being able to clearly communicate is important to me (and to my job). I exasperated the dickens out of an agent when I just could not speak. It doesn't affect my thinking or typing, just getting the words out. Strange...

My doc did let it slip that more than half his patients who work where I work (and where Mr. W. used to work) are medicated. Now what does that say about my working environment?

That didn't work...

Chat with the Cable Company's customer service advised me to, wait for it... contact the exact same people who 'fixed' my bill before. Oh, and get this, requests for a manager were met with 'We don't have a manager in this queue.' Yeah, right... they're just putting all these guys on their little computers with nobody over them? I did not just fall off the turnip truck.

I called the customer service number on our Collections notice suspecting they just might have some experience dealing with people's screwed-up bills. Veronica was very pleasant and apologetic and assured me she had everything fixed. I guess I'll know for sure if/when my cable gets turned off.

Ya know, if my bill is still screwed up, I'm going to post the name of this Cable Company on my blog so all 10 of my readers will know. (very small laugh at myself here)

Normal Channels Haven't Worked

E-mail sent to my oh-so-lovely Cable/Internet Service Provider:

I would like to please speak to a customer service representative, any customer service representative who is capable of providing just the tiniest margin of customer service. My bill is a screwed up mess, and I am begging, please, please, please, let me speak to someone who is even remotely capable of managing a billing customer service issue. Surely there is someone left.

Account: XXXXXXXXXX
Issue: $60.64 in excess charges plus a $5 late fee and threatening disconnect letter
Documentation: Transcript promising free installation; receipt dated 9/24/08 showing $0 balance and printout showing that we were charged for 2 installations. This was after speaking to an exceptionally disinterested customer service rep in person in Waco.
One unreturned voice mail from Sunday evening (I left this after being transferred three times and spending 30 minutes on the phone).

I am seriously doubting that customer service is anywhere on This Company's list of priorities.
I wonder if this will get anyone's attention. It feels like I've been yelling down an empty corridor just listening to my own echo for a month now...

The most beautiful word you ever heard... October!

My darling, sweet, L. of the speech impediment can now say the word 'October' perfectly. She was so proud of herself that the first thing she did when she got home that day was come straight up to me and repeat 'October' over and over until it dawned on me that she said it as well as her older sister.

Now, if she just hadn't stayed up half the night practicing...

Going Political (just this once, probably... maybe)

I plan to vote Libertarian this election. Quite frankly, I can't tell any real difference between the Republican and Democratic nominees beyond one of them seems more likable than the other. They've both had to sell at least 3/4 of their souls in order to get the backing needed for the nomination. All those concessions will mean that significant change to the status quo just can't happen.

If you are serious about making changes, then you should back a third party. Traditionally, it's the active third party that has ultimately made significant changes to the way our country works (abolition and women's right to vote to name a couple).

I don't trust the government to look after anything other than its own self interests. That, again, means keeping the status quo to a certain extent. Those currently in power have zero incentive to make any significant change.

I am pro life, and cannot begin to wrap my mind around choosing to have an abortion. However, I don't trust the government to enforce that, either. For one, there are way too many uncertainties. You just cannot legislate for every possible scenario. I think the pro-life movement would provide a FAR greater service if they focused on pregnancy prevention and support.

I think marriage should be between a man and a woman, and if my church officiates a same-sex marriage, I will be ticked. However, it is none of the government's (or my) business what two consenting adults of sound mind decide to do. The thought of a constitutional amendment defining marriage burns me up as a huge waste of time, energy and violates its very spirit. Beyond enforcing the marriage/civil union contract, the government should butt out. I do believe that if two same sex adults bind their lives together the same way a traditional married couple does, then they should experience all the pluses and minuses (including taxing negatives and sharing work benefits pluses).

I'm also ticked with all the political parties (even minor third parties) that turn this into a combat-fest. Come on, we are citizens and only want the best for our country. When you consider how evenly split the nation is just looking at Democrat/Republican side of the world, it is insane to keep things so full of animosity. We are going to end up (yet again) with half the country jeering at the other half, and I am dreading that.

Having been anti-major party so far, I will say that I am encouraged that whichever party wins, it will be historic. It is exciting that the Republicans were able to put a woman in the VP slot and the Democrats put a black man in the Pres spot. Who could have predicted this even 20 years ago?

Someone else who could use a science book...

The original doesn't have the inspiring music. But, the music just adds that little 'something' to her rant.

What has she been up to lately?

Baby A is on the move. Crawling, standing, trying desperately to pull up. Here are some pictures from when she turned six months old earlier this month:

Crawling, with drool:


Standing with drool:

Love those baby blues, without drool:

First Aid in the First Grade

S started first grade on Tuesday. Where, oh where, has the time gone. She has gotten to be such a big girl. It sounds like she had a good first day, even came home with a band-aid after ripping a scab off her elbow while playing outside.



First day of school. Can you tell she just could not WAIT for me to get out of there?

Isn't amazing what you can find on the web?

Awww, look, someone's created a Muppet Wiki: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Muppet_Wiki

*sigh*