Entries RSS Comments RSS

Archive for November, 2008

« Older Entries

Not Wigged out in the Least

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

The Thanksgiving Holiday was a good one.  My Mom-in-law thought that I might have been wigged out by the reservation, and I was thinking I might be, to be honest.  We didn’t experience any pan handling or get chased by any stray rez dogs (even though there was a beautiful blue boxer mix that I really wanted to bring home, if it weren’t wild…) and all in all it was mostly just a quiet holiday with family.  But I’ll start from the beginning.

First of all- do you have any idea how much effort and planning it takes to travel with a baby?  I’m sure you do.  I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we needed to bring.  We brought his travel yard, and while it is super comfy for baby…not the best thing to take apart and put together.  We also (and this made me feel like a grown up) packed a cooler with drinks and snacks from home, which meant that we only ate out 1 time the entire trip!  We made it almost home, but ended up getting 11pm McDonalds after a particularly fussy baby decided to fill his diaper and we just needed a break.  With chicken nuggets.

The drive down was quick, it seemed.  We started out around 11am on Wednesday and just took our time.  Camper slept most of the way, woke up and ate once and seemed like he wanted to play, so we walked around outside a bit.  Then he fell asleep again.  He actually slept quite a bit the entire time, not sure why.  Travelling seems to mess with his schedule in a weird way.

We got there and visited with le parents for awhile.  The 5th wheel they’ve been assigned to live in (they’re serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) is actually quite spacious and nice, although they said that while it looks nice it wasn’t made very nicely.  But it was definitely warm and cozy for us over the holiday.  We stayed in a Holiday Inn, which was also nice, except for the fact that no one cleaned our room the entire time we stayed there, even after I called and requested new towels and someone to come and clean while we were gone for the afternoon.  When I talked to the manager at check out he didn’t seem to want to compensate us with a free night…so he gave us 50% off each night (2 night stay) instead.  Yeah.  That’s what I thought.

We ate a good meal on Thanksgiving Day, watched some movies and just chatted.  Camper seemed to love the attention he was getting- there were always arms to hold him and someone talk to.  He’s been rather chatty these days…and when he wasn’t chatting he was sleeping.  The first night in the hotel he was particularly chatty.  John was feeling really sick, I think it was the worse night of the cold he’s had lately, and le baby decided he just wanted to visit.  He wasn’t fussy, just AWAKE.  He finally laid down in his travel crib and closed his eyes only to open them coyly, look at me all cute-like and say a teeny “goo.”  He knows I love it when he says goo.  Silly baby.  And this is how he ended up sleeping with us.  And how he ended up getting spoiled to the point where he doesn’t like his crib very much right now.  Sigh.  Maybe one day he’ll sleep alone again.

We stayed Friday as well, which ended up being my favorite day as we just ate leftovers and talked and watched more movies.  We also had some visitors, the couple who runs horses on John’s parents’ land.  They were interesting to listen to. It made me want to ride a horse.  We were planning on riding this past summer, but I ended up being pregnant for most…no…ALL of it.  So that plan got left behind.

We were trying to figure out whether we should sleep Friday night and then drive home Saturday, or just head out Friday evening…and decided on the latter.  I figured if we were counting on Camper to sleep he wouldn’t, so we’d be better off just getting home where we could take turns napping and taking care of him in his own space.  I’m not sure if that was a mistake or not, we were majorly uberly tired by the time we got home.  I’m still working through the laundry, the house is still a mess, and only today have we started to feel a little more energetic again.  Hopefully we’ll be rested up enough to start now on the things we really need to do…lost of packing and studying and test taking and paper writing and cleaning and organizing and planning and oh yeah baby watching…yeah.  The move is 20 days away.  Crazy close.

I actually felt rather emotional leaving the reservation.  John got a blessing from his father, and while I sat and listened I felt overwhelmed by the love that they his parents have for him, and for me and for our son.  I wish, sometimes, that this country were smaller, or that plane tickets were cheaper, or both.  It’s bitter sweet.  John and I are so excited to move and start life in New England together, but we feel the real loss of proximity to half of our family.  I think we’re just all going to have to make more of an effort to be together when we can.  No matter what side of the country we live on we’ll always be leaving someone out, so I guess we should be looking for permanent somewhere in the middle?  Sadly, the answer is not that simple.

The reservation was an interesting experience.  It did have some amazingly beautiful views, and it was quiet.  So, so quiet.  Sadly most buildings seemed terribly run down, and the few times we stopped by a store or something we saw an incredible difference in the people, some who seemed well off and others who seemed like they had nothing.  More than anything I was struck by a sense of stagnancy.  I’m not sure how the reservations are meant to help the Native American people.  I know that what I saw was a far cry from the reservations I grew up near in Connecticut, the huge beautiful houses and casinos, theme park rides and restaurants.  Why are they so different?  Do the tribes simply make different choices?All in all I am very, very curious.  But definitely not wigged out.

Tags:
Posted in Adventures, All About Baby, Holiday! | No Comments »

The Reservation for Thanksgiving

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

We’re home!  We spent Thanksgiving in Many Farms, AZ with John’s parents.  They are serving a mission on the Navejo reservation and we brought our Camper down to get tons of cuddles from Grandma and Grandpa and eat lots o’ food.  Well, bottles, anyway.  It was a really good visit, and I’ll update more on that tomorrow or later on in the week when I get some sleep. Camper slept tons while we were driving and has apparently met his sleeping quota for the year.  He’s up now.  He might be up forever.  I posted pictures over on his site, but here are a couple shots of the strange beauty of the reservation.  There are pretty things there, but they all seem sad pretty.  More on that later, too.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Holiday! | No Comments »

And the Swaddle Continues

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

I think we’re learning how to “embrace” Camper’s sleeping schedule.  A friend of mine told me that she gives her baby boy warm bottles at night, as opposed to room temperature, and that it helps him sleep longer.  I was reluctant to try warming bottles because I was afraid that Camper wouldn’t take the lukewarm ones anymore.  I love that he will take a bottle at the mall or in the car, where ever he gets hungry! But when I heard that it helped HER baby sleep better I thought that it would be nice for my Camper to go to bed with a warm tummy…so we tried it.  The warm bottle combined with the swaddle (thanks Rebecca!! We even ordered a second one, did I tell you that?) helped him sleep for 5 hours in a row.  I woke up to him in his crib making happy little talking noises, and when I picked him up he smiled at me! Now we give him warm bottles at night and early in the morning (his 3 am feedings, etc.) and I think it helps him tell the difference between night and day.  We can only hope!

The last couple of days he’s actually been in bed about 10 or 10:30, wakes up around 2:30 or 3am and eats.  Then he goes right back down and wakes up at 6am.  I tried to get him to go back to sleep after 6 as well, but that seemed futile.  So now I just start some laundry, play with him…chat and cuddle and even do tummy time (he seems to have the most energy for it this early!) and then he gets sleepy around 8am and will sleep in his bouncy chair all swaddled up.  I’m hoping he’ll go back into his crib and sleep because I played with him and cuddled him when he woke up, so he’ll be all tired out and get a GOOD nap and avoid the 10am meltdown we’ve experienced for a week or so now.  I would LOVE a routine, even if it meant a 6am wakeup time.  But who knows, I’m not sure he’s quite old enough to stick to one routine yet.  I’m just happy if he goes to bed before 1am and stays in bed for 5 or 6 hours a night.  Happier Mommy and Daddy, happier baby, happier everyone!

It’s been a nice couple of days.  We went to church on Sunday, had a meal and relaxed at home.  I was meant to go out with Anisa on Monday, but her brother-in-law passed away last week.  It was very sudden, our thoughts are with you girly.  Let me know if you need anything.

I did end up going to see Twilight.  John was already planning on staying home with the Camper, and I honestly just needed an afternoon out.  (Still going with Anisa, too, just for the record).  I saw the movie all by me onesie (don’t know why I felt I needed to be all Pirates about that sentence) and then swung by the gym on my way home.  I will reserve my formal judgment for after a lengthy discussion with Anisa- during we which we probably pick it completely apart and come up with a long list of things we liked and things we didn’t…but I will say…well.  Nothing.  I’m going to wait.

Now it’s time to do all the laundry we can (Camper delivers a streaming supply…so it’s never “done”), clean the house, and start packing so we can start out tomorrow morning for Many Farms and Thanksgiving with John’s parents.  I’m feeling a little wary about the drive with the wee one, but I think he’ll do ok.  Might just take us a bit longer to get down there.  I’m excited for Camper to have an extended visit with his Grandma and Grandpa Hattaway.  They’ve visited a couple of times, in the NICU and about a week after the baby came home, but spending a few days will be really nice.  I think it’ll be fun to tell Camper that he spent his first Thanksgiving on a Navejo reservation with his grandparents who were serving a mission.  That is certainly something to be proud of, and we are grateful for the blessings that come from having family on a mission.

I was initally worried about Jonathan for Thanksgiving, he wanted to come with us but had to work, so he’s going to a friend’s for the holiday.  I may make a pie when I get back, just to make sure he’s had enough.  I wonder if I’ll ever get over worrying about and taking care of my little brother?  Hope not.  He’s a good one.

My first Thanksgiving here (i.e. Utah) I was meant to go to a mission companion’s house, but ended up not feeling well that morning and spending the day watching movies and eating Tilapia with John.  It was our first holiday together. The first time he pretended to like my cooking.  Ah the memories, sigh.  This will be our third Thanksgiving together, and as I was falling asleep last night I remembered what it felt like to be nervous around him, when the relationship was new.  I can’t believe how much we have learned about each other, how much we improve each other and offer each other, and how things get better with each passing year.  Two Thanksgiving’s ago I was thankful for a new person in my life, challenging and loving and fun.  Now I’m Thankful for the same thing, miniature version, as well as the original.  My husband and my son are first on my list for what I’m grateful for, followed by a long line of names of family and friends who I couldn’t live life happily without. You know who you are.  Thanks for being you, and being there for me.

This is me, signing off until after the Holiday.  Have a good one, everyone.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in All About Baby, Day to day, Holiday! | 1 Comment »

Seriously Weird Dreams, Yo

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

Everyone had weird dreams last night! John woke up and told me he had a dream that he was driving and was pulled over.  That’s not the bad part, apparently they cops thought he was driving with our baby on his lap and  took Camper away and wouldn’t give him back.  He had to call me to tell me that I could pick the baby up the next morning and I got mad (which would probably be the case). You think that’s weird…well…he also dreamed that I told him I was pregnant again.  Cut to a phone call from Jonathan this morning during which he told me that he had a dream last night that I had a daughter named Isabella.  (No, he hasn’t seen Twilight.)  Weird, if I hadn’t had my period for like…10 days straight…(first one after the baby) I would be out buying a pregnancy test.  Maybe.  But no babies for us for awhile.  Except for the one we have, of course.

I had a pretty weird dream myself, very vivid! I was back on my mission in London, in one of the nasty flats we always seemed to find ourselves in (Brixton…probably) and my mission companion was none other than the newest blogger mommy, Kimba!  (Hi Kimba!)  We were trying to get our babies to go to bed so we could keep our 10:30pm bedtime.  I was going to leave a comment on her website, but I thought that it’s be less WEIRDO of me to just mention it here instead.  Haha.  It’s probably because of the pictures of her new wonderful baby boy, congratulations!

So yeah…I have a history of weird, vivid dreams, but it seems like it was going around last night.  What did YOU dream last night?

Tags:
Posted in All About Baby, Dreams | 4 Comments »

Return to Campus

Friday, November 21st, 2008

I went to campus this morning.  I was expecting to be hit by a huge wave of nostalgia, but I was not.  Maybe I haven’t been far away enough to get hit by the smell and the atmosphere.  Usually when I walk back into a place I spent so much time I take one whiff and millions of memories flood back in, and I  miss it.  I parked my car and started walking towards the building where I was going to meet with one of my professors (I need letters of recommendation) and it…just was.  I didn’t feel like I belonged there, I didn’t feel like I didn’t.  I didn’t feel nostalgic (although I did walk by the room where John and I met because I had some extra time :)) and the buildings just seemed, smaller somehow.  Campus is beautiful, like it always is.  Beautiful buildings and beautiful snow-capped mountains, lots of beautiful things.  It was funny seeing the students walking around, some sleeping on the couches and benches in the humanities buildings.  All I could think was, “You have no idea what exhaustion is, my friends.”  Unless, of course, they have a newborn, too.  It’s BYU.  Could happen.

My meeting with my professor was nice.  We talked about family and goals and about the classes I took from him.  He’s retiring next year (most likely, he said) and I was just really glad that I got to have his class while I was at BYU.  There were only three classes I took there that I actually loved or that I thought really challenged me in the way that I enjoy.  He taught two of them.  He told me that he would definitely write my letter of recommendation and thought that my current “degree” plan was very smart.  He said, though, that he wanted me to write my own letter first and send it to him.  He wants to know what I think of myself.  My first thought was “awkward,” and then I realized I have no idea what I would say about my student-self.  I’m not sure how to approach this task.  I guess we’ll see how it turns out.  I should be able to submit all my applications before we move, I’ve been studying in the evenings to prepare for the GRE.   I just hope I still have test-taking skills.  When I started at Westminster I was so excited to start a grad program, but two things happened: I realized that I didn’t like the construct  of the program, or the teachers (at least one of them anyway…), and then I realized that I had taken on too much.  Pregnancy, full-time job, plus being a wife and taking care of our home (which we definitely shared, and still share) was wayyyyy to much for me, especially because my pregnancy turned out to be so challenging.  But this NEW idea (which I’ll share in more detail, soon), I think it’s got a shot.  And it plays into our ideal future, which is an ever-changing, revolving type goal.  One of the most amazing things about being in love with someone is dreaming with them, thinking about the future and making plans, and then adapting those plans as real life presents itself.  John and I have been doing this a lot lately and I think we’ve got a series of very interesting ideas.  Again, perphaps there will be more to share a little later on.

And as for today, it’s FRIDAY!  John has a ton of campus stuff to do- class, test, meetings, etc.  I’m going to the gym later.  I actually felt really good walking around campus today, I think I might try and take Camper over there before it gets too cold.  It’s beautiful and hilly enough that you feel the burn a bit.  Or at least I do, because I’m weak, yo.  It’s a stroller friendly campus, as well.  Not too much cobblestone.  This weekend should probably be restful, calm, etc.  We’re going to need to start packing and getting ready for the move.  But we have at least one more adventure planned before we go- a trip down to visit John’s parents on the reservation for Thanksgiving.  Long drive #1 with Le Camper.

So, here’s a question…I’ve been going back and forth with whether or not to get some sort of tree for our apartment.  We’re moving right before Christmas, and I KNOW my Mom will have a beautiful tree when we get to the other side (she always does :)) but I don’t want to miss that after-Thanksgiving tradition of putting up the tree and decorating.  There is nothing like a dark, cold evening tucked inside your house just cuddling in light given off by the tree lights.  And I’m SURE Camper would stare at it a bit.  I’m thinking of getting a small tree, one that can sit on the little table we got for Camper’s room.  I don’t know…is it worth it?  You only get one Christmas a year…and it’s my absolute favorite holiday.  We’ll see.

Have a good Friday everyone :) I’m off to play with my baby, who is very smiley and conversational at the moment.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Toooo tired to choose a category | No Comments »

If Anyone Else Threw Up on Me I’d of Washed my Pants Already

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Camper got us good tonight.  Power puked and rebounded off his swadle (oh, the swadle), then Daddy’s chest and Mommy’s pants.  Miraculously, none ended up on the floor.  Nice job.  He then pooped his clean pants and I swear, giggled.  He is talking SO MUCH lately.  He’s been saying, “Gooo.”  So today I decided to say “Gooo” to him.  I looked at him and said, “Gooo.”  He looked at me and after a minute said, “Gooo.”  John and I were amazed.  WE HAD A CONVERSATION.  Seriously.  We went back and forth with Gooo a few times, and then we were done.  I had a conversation with my son :)

In other news, I’ve been working on my vocab list for the GRE and my applications to the three universities (although I may cut that down to two…) I want to apply to for grad school.  I’ve also made a hundred phone calls, took a nap, went to the gym, and got us a $120 rebate from our insurance company.  Sweeeeeeet.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in All About Baby, Day to day | 1 Comment »

A Few Days

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

It’s been a few days…I’m not sure why I haven’t posted.  I’m actually not sure when I posted last, could have been yesterday for all I know.  But it feels like at least a couple of days.  Yesterday was nice, Alicia brought her baby over for a visit and we took a look at her pump together.  It seems to be malfunctioning- so hopefully she gets that fixed up soon.  Then Jonathan came over and we took a walk around the mall for a bit, long enough for Camper to get fussy and mad and then come back home.  We tried him back on the regular formula again to see if the medicine fixed his problems.  Guess what.  It didn’t.  So sensitive it is.

Then Jonathan hung out and held Camper for a couple hours so that I could clean the house- which is nice.  It’s SO NICE to be able to start something and finish it without a hundred interruptions, or weighing the pros and cons of allowing my baby to see me while I clean (which would keep him calm) and at the same time exposing him to noxious fumes.  Ew.  Wall-E arrived before John got home, and so we were able to cuddle with some blankets and our baby and watch it.  It was seriously cute, and I really appreciated the Mac-ness of it.  I really want a Mac.  Anyway.  It occurred to me that I don’t have a lot of “boy” kid movies- who knows, maybe he’ll want to watch Little Mermaid.  But Wall-E might be more interesting, along with Aladdin (I remember my brother always liking that one), I really want to get Finding Nemo and Kung Fu Panda, but YO.  Those movies are expensive.  He’s too young now, anyway, so maybe we’ll do one at a time.  I think I have Monster’s Inc. at home…I’ll have to go through and see.  But I wonder, are boys just more likely to watch movies like that over Cinderella and Snow White in general, or are they more prone to watching them because that’s what we show them?  I’m not sure, because I watched a lot of “girl movies” when I was growing up and I’m sure my brother watched them too, and he still calls them “chick flicks.”  So who knows.

So I’m getting the hang of this Mom thing a little more.  For instance, I’m figuring out that if I want lunch at a normal time, I should make both my lunch and a bottle about half an hour before Camper is due to eat and then set them both on the table next to my chair so that I can eat the same time he does.  It’s kind of nice because then I feel like I’m eating with him.  It cuts down on my selection…usually something like sandwiches or cheese and crackers, no soup or saucy things…but hey.  It’s eating.

Camper got his 2 month shots today.  It broke my heart into a million kajillion pieces.  For a few reasons…really.  But the BIGGEST reason was to hear him scream, and even worse to see him jump with pain at the injections.  When he gets really mad he yells, “Maaaaa, maaaaaa, maaaaaaa” and his lip quivers.  I know he’s not really calling me, but it still makes me sad.  I just wanted to cuddle him all night.  So after a bath and a bottle, that’s what we’ve been doing.  John is cuddling him and doing school work, and I’m cuddling him and studying for the GRE.  We’ve both got to-do lists for this week dealing with schools and plans and all kinds of things…so here’s hoping we get through them ok.  I’m planning on taking the GRE on December 5th or 6th.  I haven’t taken a test in a long time- wish me luck!

That’s all for now, just winding down and about to have some of what John lovingly calls, “cardboard pizza,” the fake uber-cheap frozen kind.  Yum.  Preparing for tomorrow when I’ll go to the gym, get some more paperwork and applications done, and hopefully get to some phone calls.  I HATE having to make phone calls while taking care of a 2 month old.  Like that insurance guy is going to “understand” when Camper decides to pitch a fit.  You spend the first few minutes of any “errand” type phone call just trying to get the other person understand what you need.  To then hang up because your baby needs attention and have to call back later and get a new person is a small tragedy in the world of a SAHM.  Sigh.  I’ll get the hang of it one day.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in All About Baby, Day to day | No Comments »

Life is Pretty Easy When Your Best Friend is a Bookcase

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

I woke up rather early today, as most days…because of my beautiful baby boy and his feeding habits.  For all those who are interested, we took him for his 2 month appointment yesterday.  He weighs 12 lbs. 2 oz., and is 24 inches long.  When he was born he was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 21 inches long.  I was pretty proud of him! The doctor also gave him some medicine for GERD.  Hopefully that makes feeding time easier.  We also switched to sensitive formula with some improvement, but I’d like him to be able to eat regular formula again.  Maybe with the medicine he can.  It was so sweet, he was fussing yesterday in the car while we waited for John to finish an appointment. I took him out of his car seat and snuggled him up to me and he fell asleep.  After a couple of minutes he opened his eyes and looked at me, broke out into a huge smile and then burrowed back down and went back to sleep.  Broke my heart wide open.  I love this little guy.

Last night I went and got my hair cut with the fabulous Kelly.  I am so sorry to be leaving her to move out east.  This time I got more of a layered bob…perhaps I’ll do it tomorrow for church and take a picture to show you.  Afterwards we stopped by a couple places then came home, made some hotwings and watched Kung Fu Panda (for the second time, there is no charge for awesomeness) with Jonathan.  Camper, once again, kept us up til about 2 or 3…I think we’re going to stay around home this evening and try to get him to bed REALLY early and take advantage of his evening napping to see if we can get him down and comfy for the night.  With the medicine keeping the acid out of his throat maybe he’ll actually stay asleep, poor kiddo.

So yes, after getting up and chillin’ with my baby (and his best friend the bookcase, he loves looking at one specific bookcase.  Often it’s the first thing he smiles at every morning) this morning I went to work out at Curves.  I have mixed feelings about Curves gym.  I like that it’s all women, I like that it’s a circuit, I enjoy that I don’t have to think about what to do or how long to do it for.  I dislike that it’s easy to cheat, and that the workout isn’t always incredibly challenging, and that they are always trying to get you to buy stuff or upgrade or…well, buy stuff.  The one out east didn’t seem to be that way, so who knows what makes the difference.  Regardless, though, it is something I can do (read: fit into my day) that will help strengthen my muscles again and help me start to lose the baby weight.  I feel so weak, it’s sad, so I’m looking forward to getting stronger.

So yes.  Now I’ve just got some paperwork to fill out (insurance stuff, passport stuff, all kinds of stuff) and John wants to go get a haircut.  So I think we’ll pack our baby up and go out for a bit.  We got Camper’s picture taken for his passport yesterday, haha.  My Mom called while we were at Costco and said, “Why are you getting him a passport?”  Well, why not?  Right?  And now all of our passports will need renewing at the same time as I’m changing my name on mine, John is renewing his, and Camper is getting one for the first time.  I guess we’ll wait 10 years for another baby so that we can keep the whole family on the same rotation.  Haha.  Somehow I don’t think that would sit right with ANY grandparents.

Here’s a cute shot of our Camper and his SECOND best friend, Bubba Bear.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Adventures, All About Baby, Day to day | 2 Comments »

Those Girls

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

John basically intro’d this post for me, so I thought I’d follow through.  Out of all the artists at the concert last night, he liked Meiko.  All the artists were actually talented, well-trained, and interesting.  Some were interesting good, some were interesting bad.  I liked a few, but out of the ones I didn’t like, I really didn’t like Meiko.  Here’s the thing, it’s not because she wasn’t talented or attractive- she was both- maybe more so than anyone else there.  No, I didn’t like Meiko because she was…that girl.

There is one sentence that a girl can say that makes me place her firmly in the “that girl” category, by extension causing me to dislike her immensely.  That sentence is (includes all variants): I get along better with guys than I do with girls.

That is…to channel a middle school girl… crappola.  “Those girls” simply love male attention.  They dislike hanging out with girls because they are competition.  They like to string boys along, even if they don’t like them they act like “friends” in order to have a good excuse to keep them around.  More often than not the boys fall in love, or at the very least get a crush, and instead of telling them what’s what and letting them find someone else, they actually keep them from having successful relationships with other girls.  Who wants a boyfriend with a hot best friend? a GIRL best friend.  Not me, that’s for sure.

Those girls often seek out time alone with their boy “best” friend.  They secretly (or openly)  find joy when the girlfriend gets jealous, and takes that opportunity to tell the boy that the girlfriend is obviously a jealous, high maintence lap-dog type and not necessary in life.  Often, the girl “best” friend is responsible for causing the boy to stop respecting his girlfriend’s feelings, which eventually leads to a breakup.

Occasionally (meaning every so often) the boy professes his love for the girl “friend,” and she politely shuts him down, but not harshly enough to let him to move on.  I’ve seen this happen in high school, in college, and even happen to my brother.  I especially hate it when it happens to my brother.

Even more dangerous than the pre-teen or teenage “that” girl is the fully grown adult “that” girl.  She is the girl that insists on lunch dates with fully grown adult boys who have fully grown and completely committed adult girlfriends or even wives.  I really really don’t care what ANYONE says, any serious friendship with a member of the opposite after marriage has to change.  You don’t have to change how much you respect someone or enjoy their company, but you do have to change how you act around them and when you are alone with them.  Let’s try…never.  Getting married does not automatically seal your heart so that you could never imagine being with anyone else, that is your responsibility.  Fooling yourself into having a “best friend” of the opposite sex (or even of the same sex) that gets as much attention as your marriage partner is scary, and stupid.  For shiz.

You can have friends of the opposite sex, but I’ve learned various times throughout life that while 1 is the lonliest number, 3 is the most dangerous number…It helps if that friend is married as well.  But not always.  You can tell that a friend of the opposite sex is ok if 1) they are not “that girl” (meaning they have lots of friends of their own gender and gives deference and respect to the actual wife or girlfriend, not seeking “alone time” with their boy “friend”) and 2) if they show interest in getting to know and adding spouse/partner to their life as well.  If she seems threatened it means she’s got her claws in, and likes them there.

Now, let’s be real.  Quite a lot of girls are at least a little bit “that girl,” or have been at some time in their life.  Sometimes it’s a side-affect of loving someone who doesn’t love her back, and so she has friends to “fill in the gaps.”  This may have been my issue during my brief stint as “that girl.”  The more dangerous “that girls” do it for the thrill, for the love of the game, and…(this is scariest) because they can.  Sometimes it’s as simple as that.

So how did I know Meiko was that girl?  Well, she kind of self-declared.  First by singing a song that I actually really liked, “I know better than to be friends with boys with girlfriends,” and then singing a song that she wrote specifically to freak out the girlfriend of her boy “friend” who had the audacity to dislike her.  Yup.  She is that girl, and I, like any girl who loves her husband, bristled a bit in her presence.  What can I say?  I’m the jealous type.  And THAT would need an entirely new post to explain ;)

All that said…I think I do want her music after all….

Tags: ,
Posted in Rambles | 7 Comments »

All For a Smile

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

I apparently will do anything to get my kid to smile.  After changing his monstrously poppy diaper, I started humming, and when he broke out in a grin I found myself dancing around (spirit fingers and all) singing Anchors Aweigh at the top of my lungs.  I have to figure out more than Anchors Aweigh…my…la la la la….

Tags:
Posted in All About Baby | 4 Comments »

« Older Entries