So...even though I have been aware that I've not really dumped any of my memory cards in awhile. (due to my rule I made for myself, not allowing me to add more to the madness until I clean up some of my files!!!). I suppose I did not realize that I actually had not emptied any of my cards since May!
That's likely a new record for me. I've just not been in photo mode lately I suppose, add in that the boys only give me scowls most often anyway and I still loathe to sit at my computer for long at all. Well...it's just not happening lately.
At any rate, don't you know the drill? I finally steal a few moments. Plant myself inthe chair completely intent on breaking my rule (big shocker) and then the inevitable... computer says, " FREEZE?!?!?!?! "
So. Now it is midnight.
I'm so tired my head hurts.
So.... this I leave you with. There will be more soon, whenever I can force myself to sit down at this computer again.
Love and MIss!!!!
Nearly there....
Sunday, June 28, 2009
More to come
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sue Ellen
Sue Ellen, is beyond the character well known in the old TV show Dallas, our chocolate lab. We had so little notice that we were coming to England, she had to stay behind for a bit. We were so very lucky that she could stay with Pop and Shannon, we KNEW that she would be spoiled beyond recognition and probably never want to live with us again afterward! We knew she would be extremely well cared for, given treats and special bits and lots of cuddles. We knew all of this, so we never worried one moment.
We laughed to hear that Shannon had purchased a dog house and heated bed for her, did I mention how spoiled she was going to be? We were saddened to find that supposedly a law had been changed regarding import of pets to the U.K. which basically added a few more grand to the price tag. Small children and the exchange rate and a wrecked car, again got in the way of getting our girl here. We found not long ago that there was actually no such law, but would not have been surprised as the U.K. has the most stringent and expensive pet importation rules in place. Meaning...we could have afforded a few times to get her here but did not know it and then as usual, something got in the way. I so badly wanted to get her here for a surprise for Mike. For Christmas, for his birthday, for his promotion...next step, father's day.
However, we were saddened to hear that she'd fallen ill. She was playing and happy and that big thumpy tail still wagging but not hungry. Which...if you know Sue at all, something is very very wrong with that scenario. She could stop everything else, but so long as she were eating...she was fine. They rushed her to the vet and he said it was an infection, gave her antibiotics and sent them on their way. Within 48 hours she'd lost 4lbs and could no longer get up. They took her to a different vet, that Shannon had used for a few years now and loves and that is when they got the sad news. Her bloodwork showed cancer. It was just too late. Obviously, whatever it was, it was extremely aggressive. They had to make the heart breaking decision, the same one that we would have made ourselves, to put her down.
We take great comfort in knowing that Shea had spent the weekend prior at Granny's house and played with Sue the whole time. That Sue was happy, and waggy and doing her best doggie smile. That means, she may not have felt 100% but she was still very happy and fighting whatever it was she was unable to tell, with every bit of her being. SHe did not suffer. SHe was happy and well cared for and so very loved. I am beyond saddened that we have lost our fat grizzly bear doggie. I am saddened all the more that Pop and Shannon had to be put through this at all. Knowing how deeply they love animals, how special they are to them and how much they just loved our Sue-dog especially, it just honestly broke our hearts that much more. They had to go through this with their own little pup just a year ago, so to open that wound again FOR us, kills me.
I know it was difficult enough for them to have to even go through this, difficult still more to be the ones holding this decision in their hands as it was down to very little time and she was indeed at this point, suffering, and adding to all of that the difficulty that came with having to call Mike. I know how hard it has been to have to explain things to my little boys who really don't understand what I"m talking about much. That hurt, and their questions and trying to understand it hurt, their tears hurt all the more...I can only imagine having to tell them something sad in 10, 20 or 30 years. It will forever be difficult and make things that much more painful.
So...just a note for Shannon and Pop. Thank you from the depths of our hearts for caring for her so much, so well. Thank you for taking her in for us, thank you for not being put out when we could not get her here when expected, thank you for gladly taking her and being happy to do it. Thank you for letting her be somewhere she was comfortable and used to and happy, around people she still knew and that have always loved her. I am so very very sorry that you guys had to go through this, but I thank you for doing it and for not being afraid to make the right decision. We owe you both so much.
THANK YOU.
I must say I guess this is one of those times Mike pulled out his "man-ness" and I actually cried more over the dog than he did. It's okay though, we know that there were probably times it got down to me or the dog and I might not have been so comfortable in my placement! (just kidding of course...I think!). When I met Mike he already had Sue, she was about 4 months old. Spoiled out of her ever loving mind already too I must say. She was NOT pleased with my presence either. In a labrador sort of way though. She played the dopey dumbass dog, but she was no such fool. She knew better than to growl or snap...nope. She was a true female through and through. That's not how you go about things. No sir. Us sly gals go around the back way. She tried with all her doggie might the best she could to get her place back, but unfortunately I was bigger and supplied food. It, of course, is all in jest.
I'd come over after I got off from bartending and climb in bed and Sue would be in the middle of the bed. She'd put her back against Mike and literally PUSH me as hard as she could with her paws trying to knock me out onto the floor. I didn't say she was subtle in her attempts, just not equipped enough is all. That didn't work so she moved on to destruction. My boots, she ate the tops off of them. Much to her dismay, Mike went out and bought me some new ones. Then, Mike's most favorite story to tell...rarely do I get embarrassed, but sometimes I prefer for him not to share with some of the folks he shares it with. However, no one is spared from this story. I'd bought a cute red (it's his favorite color) lingerie thingie with fuzzy feathery stuff all across the top of the bra. Obviously, we'll stop there, but it was on the floor and the next morning we found that Sue had plotted out her next move with quickness and tact. Red fuzzy feathery stuff from one end of the house to the other! Shredded! I am pretty sure that there was still traces of it when we sold the house a few years later.
I believe about this time she decided that wasn't going to work, as Mike was moving my belongings in, she figured out I wasn't going to be run off by a dog. Not that she ever realized she WAS a dog really. Then came the obnoxious lab "pre-teens", she drove me insane. Mike, the ol' pushover just let her get away with anything and MAN was that dog obnoxious!!! He had to deploy leaving me there in charge and Miss Sue and I enrolled in doggie boot-camp. I began taking her to USTK-9 training academy out in Tye and basically upon our first visit Malinda (the owner and head trainer) said something along the lines of, "oh my God..." and well Sue was introduced to the shock collar. Oh animal rights activists, back off. For real. Puh-LEAZE. I put it on ME before I ever put it on her. I wasn't running it, the professional was.
Before we left, that spastic obnoxious labrador blur was sitting and staying. I sat across the room and played with another dog while she stayed where I told her too. She no longer ran 900 miles an hour at the little dogs, she'd actually AVOID them at all costs. One time. All it took. New dog. Sorry, but I am a believer. Oh I'm awful? Well, there'd be a LOT fewer dogs in pounds, rescues and on the streets or worse, if people were open to a little "tough love" once in awhile. She never yelped, got hurt, or even acted afraid (okay she was a little scared of that weenie dog). It actually ended up that she was happier b/c she wasn't constantly being scolded, she was now enjoyable to be around. You could get her attention. We continued her training there and she learned how to get in a crate after only one lesson and it was never the end of the world after that. She figured out that she got treats and praise when she behaved. It was great!
Mike came home and was amazed at how much better she behaved and she was well mannered from there on out. Less a few annoyances, but we never said she had to be perfect...that'd be boring.
Other dogs came and went, Sue was always there. We added short people to the household and she loved them dearly. Mostly, I think, because they dropped a lot of food. They loved her so much. Their favorite thing was to make her speak. It was pretty cute to watch and I could've sworn I had it on video, but have yet to locate that.
Sue and I butted heads on numerous ocassions, but it's okay. That's what family does. I'd complain about her, but if anyone else did they could honestly just piss off and get over it. You know how it is.
She was a wonderful, loving, happy, fat, lazy, excitable, eager, annoying, spastic, ball chasing, food eating, begging, rule bending mutt that we loved very very much.
My most favorite thing to do with Sue was to take her to the ranch. She could honestly swim and fetch ALL STINKIN DAY LONG. She'd wear herself down to the bone everytime we went and she'd climb up in the truck stinking of mud and tank and fish and pass out for the entire night.
She was, a damn good dog.
Yes, even as much as I hated to admit it out loud...I've missed her a GREAT deal and well... I am just as heartbroken as anything that she is no longer with us.
I didn't really bother saying anything to COdy about her because he was too little to really remember her and was actually pretty aloof about her anyway. I talked to Kade about it and he's so sensitive anyway, he asked me several questions and my parenting rule is to always be honest but definitely to keep their innocence in check. So we spoke about her getting sick, and he asked if she got sick in the potty like Cody did that time. I had to explain that sometimes people and animals get very very sick and they just can't get better. It took a few times of saying it, that he stopped asking if he could just go see her and left it at he wanted to see her with her puppy angel wings on and I told him that someday...we all would. Then Dexter the peacock showed up for his supper and our conversation was over. I assumed he'd ask me about her in depth a couple of days later, as is his usual fashion, but honestly so far nothing really. He may, he may not. He might be satisfied with the answers he got or he may come back for more in a month. At the moment though, he is fine. Obviously the fact that she's been out of sight, out of mind had a big hand in how well he took that.
Omage to Sue...in photos of course:
She always loved her Daddy best, there was never a question of that.
Always behind, beside or underneath Kade.
She rarely got bored of my camera either.
I think she had a thing for baby breath, like some people have for puppy breath!
Cody's thinking, "Oh Mom please tell me she knows I'm not an eclair..."
Happy Dog Smile
Probably plotting against me yet again... or wishing Kade would hurry and drop a cheetoh. Both equally important in her world. ;)
Of course it appears as though she's eating it, but she's just sporting her favorite stolen kid toy and showing her team support.
Camera-ham much???
We were definitely always lucky for she was always super, super healthy. Look at that stunning coat! The bat matched her eyes, that's why she liked it. ;)
dog parts, like baby parts...but ya know, in dog perspective. (okay it's just a photographer thing).
hangin' with her boy...
what she was best at, being a dipstick. Kade always giggled every single time she did this number.
Obviously, she was always up for a tea party, er...manly picnic.
#1 house rule. Don't feed the dog! Not b/c we were mean or cared, but b/c she was a lardo and I'd put her on a diet. Here's Cody's first bits of rebellion. Who could really resist that stare though?
Hehehe! Busted!
One of my ALL TIME, like EVER EVER, favorite pictures in this entire world. She LOVED that boy. I love the look in her eye here.
and HE loved HER...
Very much. This is their last photo together. The day the movers came and took all of our things off in giant crates.
Doing our favorite thing. The last time we took her to the farm. Always up for a game of fetch in the tank. If she couldn't find the stick, she'd not stop swimming till she found something, sometimes we'd have to toss another out so she'd come back out. Our favorite though was when she'd bound into the water full speed ahead after it.
Well this just caught me as cute. We got Kade a "kid-tough (for kids not as tough as mine) camera" for Christmas when he was 3 and this was his portrait of us w/ Sue.
Her wedding outfit. 8o)
Good dogs make good eye contact. Looks like a good dog...
Baby smile maker.
She was there with us when we got engaged, times we were together, times we were apart, through pregnancies, babies, losses, moves and everything else a family goes through as it grows.
We will miss you always Sue. Thanks for always being such a good dog and I really did enjoy you being such a pain in my ass, I think we shared that ability in life. Being a pain in the ass tends to force fondness of you into the hearts of those that fight it most.
We laughed to hear that Shannon had purchased a dog house and heated bed for her, did I mention how spoiled she was going to be? We were saddened to find that supposedly a law had been changed regarding import of pets to the U.K. which basically added a few more grand to the price tag. Small children and the exchange rate and a wrecked car, again got in the way of getting our girl here. We found not long ago that there was actually no such law, but would not have been surprised as the U.K. has the most stringent and expensive pet importation rules in place. Meaning...we could have afforded a few times to get her here but did not know it and then as usual, something got in the way. I so badly wanted to get her here for a surprise for Mike. For Christmas, for his birthday, for his promotion...next step, father's day.
However, we were saddened to hear that she'd fallen ill. She was playing and happy and that big thumpy tail still wagging but not hungry. Which...if you know Sue at all, something is very very wrong with that scenario. She could stop everything else, but so long as she were eating...she was fine. They rushed her to the vet and he said it was an infection, gave her antibiotics and sent them on their way. Within 48 hours she'd lost 4lbs and could no longer get up. They took her to a different vet, that Shannon had used for a few years now and loves and that is when they got the sad news. Her bloodwork showed cancer. It was just too late. Obviously, whatever it was, it was extremely aggressive. They had to make the heart breaking decision, the same one that we would have made ourselves, to put her down.
We take great comfort in knowing that Shea had spent the weekend prior at Granny's house and played with Sue the whole time. That Sue was happy, and waggy and doing her best doggie smile. That means, she may not have felt 100% but she was still very happy and fighting whatever it was she was unable to tell, with every bit of her being. SHe did not suffer. SHe was happy and well cared for and so very loved. I am beyond saddened that we have lost our fat grizzly bear doggie. I am saddened all the more that Pop and Shannon had to be put through this at all. Knowing how deeply they love animals, how special they are to them and how much they just loved our Sue-dog especially, it just honestly broke our hearts that much more. They had to go through this with their own little pup just a year ago, so to open that wound again FOR us, kills me.
I know it was difficult enough for them to have to even go through this, difficult still more to be the ones holding this decision in their hands as it was down to very little time and she was indeed at this point, suffering, and adding to all of that the difficulty that came with having to call Mike. I know how hard it has been to have to explain things to my little boys who really don't understand what I"m talking about much. That hurt, and their questions and trying to understand it hurt, their tears hurt all the more...I can only imagine having to tell them something sad in 10, 20 or 30 years. It will forever be difficult and make things that much more painful.
So...just a note for Shannon and Pop. Thank you from the depths of our hearts for caring for her so much, so well. Thank you for taking her in for us, thank you for not being put out when we could not get her here when expected, thank you for gladly taking her and being happy to do it. Thank you for letting her be somewhere she was comfortable and used to and happy, around people she still knew and that have always loved her. I am so very very sorry that you guys had to go through this, but I thank you for doing it and for not being afraid to make the right decision. We owe you both so much.
THANK YOU.
I must say I guess this is one of those times Mike pulled out his "man-ness" and I actually cried more over the dog than he did. It's okay though, we know that there were probably times it got down to me or the dog and I might not have been so comfortable in my placement! (just kidding of course...I think!). When I met Mike he already had Sue, she was about 4 months old. Spoiled out of her ever loving mind already too I must say. She was NOT pleased with my presence either. In a labrador sort of way though. She played the dopey dumbass dog, but she was no such fool. She knew better than to growl or snap...nope. She was a true female through and through. That's not how you go about things. No sir. Us sly gals go around the back way. She tried with all her doggie might the best she could to get her place back, but unfortunately I was bigger and supplied food. It, of course, is all in jest.
I'd come over after I got off from bartending and climb in bed and Sue would be in the middle of the bed. She'd put her back against Mike and literally PUSH me as hard as she could with her paws trying to knock me out onto the floor. I didn't say she was subtle in her attempts, just not equipped enough is all. That didn't work so she moved on to destruction. My boots, she ate the tops off of them. Much to her dismay, Mike went out and bought me some new ones. Then, Mike's most favorite story to tell...rarely do I get embarrassed, but sometimes I prefer for him not to share with some of the folks he shares it with. However, no one is spared from this story. I'd bought a cute red (it's his favorite color) lingerie thingie with fuzzy feathery stuff all across the top of the bra. Obviously, we'll stop there, but it was on the floor and the next morning we found that Sue had plotted out her next move with quickness and tact. Red fuzzy feathery stuff from one end of the house to the other! Shredded! I am pretty sure that there was still traces of it when we sold the house a few years later.
I believe about this time she decided that wasn't going to work, as Mike was moving my belongings in, she figured out I wasn't going to be run off by a dog. Not that she ever realized she WAS a dog really. Then came the obnoxious lab "pre-teens", she drove me insane. Mike, the ol' pushover just let her get away with anything and MAN was that dog obnoxious!!! He had to deploy leaving me there in charge and Miss Sue and I enrolled in doggie boot-camp. I began taking her to USTK-9 training academy out in Tye and basically upon our first visit Malinda (the owner and head trainer) said something along the lines of, "oh my God..." and well Sue was introduced to the shock collar. Oh animal rights activists, back off. For real. Puh-LEAZE. I put it on ME before I ever put it on her. I wasn't running it, the professional was.
Before we left, that spastic obnoxious labrador blur was sitting and staying. I sat across the room and played with another dog while she stayed where I told her too. She no longer ran 900 miles an hour at the little dogs, she'd actually AVOID them at all costs. One time. All it took. New dog. Sorry, but I am a believer. Oh I'm awful? Well, there'd be a LOT fewer dogs in pounds, rescues and on the streets or worse, if people were open to a little "tough love" once in awhile. She never yelped, got hurt, or even acted afraid (okay she was a little scared of that weenie dog). It actually ended up that she was happier b/c she wasn't constantly being scolded, she was now enjoyable to be around. You could get her attention. We continued her training there and she learned how to get in a crate after only one lesson and it was never the end of the world after that. She figured out that she got treats and praise when she behaved. It was great!
Mike came home and was amazed at how much better she behaved and she was well mannered from there on out. Less a few annoyances, but we never said she had to be perfect...that'd be boring.
Other dogs came and went, Sue was always there. We added short people to the household and she loved them dearly. Mostly, I think, because they dropped a lot of food. They loved her so much. Their favorite thing was to make her speak. It was pretty cute to watch and I could've sworn I had it on video, but have yet to locate that.
Sue and I butted heads on numerous ocassions, but it's okay. That's what family does. I'd complain about her, but if anyone else did they could honestly just piss off and get over it. You know how it is.
She was a wonderful, loving, happy, fat, lazy, excitable, eager, annoying, spastic, ball chasing, food eating, begging, rule bending mutt that we loved very very much.
My most favorite thing to do with Sue was to take her to the ranch. She could honestly swim and fetch ALL STINKIN DAY LONG. She'd wear herself down to the bone everytime we went and she'd climb up in the truck stinking of mud and tank and fish and pass out for the entire night.
She was, a damn good dog.
Yes, even as much as I hated to admit it out loud...I've missed her a GREAT deal and well... I am just as heartbroken as anything that she is no longer with us.
I didn't really bother saying anything to COdy about her because he was too little to really remember her and was actually pretty aloof about her anyway. I talked to Kade about it and he's so sensitive anyway, he asked me several questions and my parenting rule is to always be honest but definitely to keep their innocence in check. So we spoke about her getting sick, and he asked if she got sick in the potty like Cody did that time. I had to explain that sometimes people and animals get very very sick and they just can't get better. It took a few times of saying it, that he stopped asking if he could just go see her and left it at he wanted to see her with her puppy angel wings on and I told him that someday...we all would. Then Dexter the peacock showed up for his supper and our conversation was over. I assumed he'd ask me about her in depth a couple of days later, as is his usual fashion, but honestly so far nothing really. He may, he may not. He might be satisfied with the answers he got or he may come back for more in a month. At the moment though, he is fine. Obviously the fact that she's been out of sight, out of mind had a big hand in how well he took that.
Omage to Sue...in photos of course:
She always loved her Daddy best, there was never a question of that.
Always behind, beside or underneath Kade.
She rarely got bored of my camera either.
I think she had a thing for baby breath, like some people have for puppy breath!
Cody's thinking, "Oh Mom please tell me she knows I'm not an eclair..."
Happy Dog Smile
Probably plotting against me yet again... or wishing Kade would hurry and drop a cheetoh. Both equally important in her world. ;)
Of course it appears as though she's eating it, but she's just sporting her favorite stolen kid toy and showing her team support.
Camera-ham much???
We were definitely always lucky for she was always super, super healthy. Look at that stunning coat! The bat matched her eyes, that's why she liked it. ;)
dog parts, like baby parts...but ya know, in dog perspective. (okay it's just a photographer thing).
hangin' with her boy...
what she was best at, being a dipstick. Kade always giggled every single time she did this number.
Obviously, she was always up for a tea party, er...manly picnic.
#1 house rule. Don't feed the dog! Not b/c we were mean or cared, but b/c she was a lardo and I'd put her on a diet. Here's Cody's first bits of rebellion. Who could really resist that stare though?
Hehehe! Busted!
One of my ALL TIME, like EVER EVER, favorite pictures in this entire world. She LOVED that boy. I love the look in her eye here.
and HE loved HER...
Very much. This is their last photo together. The day the movers came and took all of our things off in giant crates.
Doing our favorite thing. The last time we took her to the farm. Always up for a game of fetch in the tank. If she couldn't find the stick, she'd not stop swimming till she found something, sometimes we'd have to toss another out so she'd come back out. Our favorite though was when she'd bound into the water full speed ahead after it.
Well this just caught me as cute. We got Kade a "kid-tough (for kids not as tough as mine) camera" for Christmas when he was 3 and this was his portrait of us w/ Sue.
Her wedding outfit. 8o)
Good dogs make good eye contact. Looks like a good dog...
Baby smile maker.
She was there with us when we got engaged, times we were together, times we were apart, through pregnancies, babies, losses, moves and everything else a family goes through as it grows.We will miss you always Sue. Thanks for always being such a good dog and I really did enjoy you being such a pain in my ass, I think we shared that ability in life. Being a pain in the ass tends to force fondness of you into the hearts of those that fight it most.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo doll.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
can shorts be considered high waters?
i'm really trying to find kade some shorts that are more...his size. ha! yes. these are last years shorts, which are in the form of a 4T and well.... he's gone up 2 sizes.
and btw. i didn't just buy co new clothes and not kade although it seems to look that way. the only decent brown shoes for shorts were almost too small for co. kade had to match black chucks ;) otherwise he's got matching shorts. but...somehow i bet you knew that!
clothes? well...i have yet to find much i like here. not to mention we do get paid in USD and converting USD to GBP blows.
i've noticed and asked around b/c i thought it might just be me...that old navy sucks worse and worse each year. so i've been trying to spend $150 and when it takes me 2 hours and adding in gap just to make $100, i think it's a pretty fair assessment that old navy is sucking it up lately. used to it took me all of 3.2 seconds to have $500 in my cart.
up a tree
picnic @ the woods.
imagine that. cody digs tree climbing. kade digs it from the ground. again, like me...it LOOKS like a better idea than it ends up being once you are actually up there. :) he tried it though, so i'm proud of him!
do you call it tree CLIMBING though when it's actually MOMMY PUTTING ME IN A TREE?
well, close enough.
it's all about the boobies
So I got this link sent to me. Read and then I'll spew out my rant following the link...
INFURIATING CRAP!!!! (that's the link there just FYI).
So... I mean are we REALLY that prude as a society? I mean b/c that is even coming from over here. Which, I've found it might surprise you, but seems that all of Europe, which includes England, is actually NOT as prude as the U.S. I came with the picture of England being very uptight and prude and wondered how on earth I'd survive. Instead within the first couple of weeks here I was watching FreeView (meaning public TV like ABC, PBS...) one evening at around 10-ish and out of nowhere found myself staring at a drunk man on TV naked as the day he was born swinging his man business around at a cop. Like he got tossed out of a bar, and was in the midst of his slobbery string of curse words, somehow managed to dis-robe when he couldn't stand up straight, and was swinging his junk around like it was some choreographed bit he'd planned out ahead of time. Well now, some may be thinking, "so we see that on cops all the time?". No. You do not. For television in America would've been prude enough, if not kind enough in this instance, to cover that bad boy up with a blurry spot or a black smudge.
At any rate. Drunken penis swinging is okay on national television. Mother discreetly feeding her child by the poolside while keeping a careful watch on her other child who is swimming happily...apparently not so okay.
So their reasoning was health. There are no food and drinks allowed in the pool for health reasons. Okay, now I'm not always that quick of a thinker. My best come-backs usually creep in about 15 months later. At any rate, it took me all of 45 seconds to tear this one apart. Was I a die-hard breast-feeder brazenly walking around with my boobs bared for all the world to see as it was my right b/c I had a newborn? Not at all. Actually, and much to my own surprise, I was very anxious about breastfeeding in public. I only did it a few times and was horrified the whole time. Wonder why? (And let me please add if you may not already know, I'm just not that shy of a gal by nature...).
However, let me please tear this one up.
1. They're worried about BREAST MILK which is going straight from mother's breast to baby's mouth as a health issue. How many times did you pee in the pool when you were little and I won't even ask that of you now as an adult.
2. If it wasn't going in the baby's mouth...guess what? It's actually something to be considered more of a health issue since I mean it COULD in all honesty just be pouring down her shirt, dripping all over every person that came within 10 feet of her thus infecting them with some flesh eating bacteria found only in breast milk.
3. To keep this from happening, if they really want to keep the no food- no drinks bit going, will they now test each female between the ages of 15 and 70 to be sure they are not lactating? Trying to sneak in like a cheap-ass at the movie theater with candy in their purse so they could skip out on buying their newborn a soda and bag of chips from the concession all the while inadvertently infecting everyone with this flesh eating bacteria only found in breast milk?
4. How many men would be lining up to apply for the job of testing breasts for lactation anyway? I know the economy is in the slump and jobs are scarce...I'd feel sorry for the interviewer.
5. Do they sit there with some heat seeking doom-a-flotchie gun and pick off pool piddlers? Each warm spot gets a kid tossed over the fence? I mean if we want to talk health hazards here...how much urine have we gotten in our mouths and ears and nose at a public pool. (oh I'm dry-heaving as I type).
6. I won't even mention the pants poopers or other nasty things that would leave everyone gagging that are REAL health issues. Chlorine be damned.
PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS ARE DISGUSTING! THEY ARE ALL DISGUSTING! I personally, think they are ALL big giant cesspools of germs, bacteria and other stuff I really prefer to not know about. Ignorance is bliss and my ignorance and my bliss stay the hell out of public pools anyway. For that reason alone. Now that I know they don't allow breastfeeding though, I guess I can call it safe and head out for a swim.
So obviously if you did read the link, you noticed that they did amend the rule and apologize. Regardless of that though, I just am so flabbergasted by this sometimes I can hardly believe it. It is nothing, not even when I was young, single, thin and NEVER going to impregnate my lovely figure (well we'll be honest it IS true and I'm okay with the fact that I AM that vain but yes it is what I swore by for many many years) did it ever phase me one single bit to see a mother breastfeeding in public. It was normal, natural and commendable actually. I used to bitch a lot about things that I thought were deplorable at the time, but are just what comes along with kids. (Yes, I do still curse flat tummied, perky boobed 20 year olds who glare at my screaming crying children as if standing in line in front of me and having to listen to them wail b/c I won't give them everything they see is the worst thing they've ever had to endure for a whole 10 minutes of their lives...I curse them with 4-6 children who are possessed by Satan and talk like Gilbert Godfried). I do still do that. I can.
At any rate, what gets me...being a female and having boobs myself, is that I could walk around with a top on, that would likely show more breast than is ever visible when a woman is breastfeeding her child and be welcomed gladly by many. Okay so a lot of scowls from uptight folks too, but ya know what? How likely would they be to ask me to LEAVE vs. just talking smack, making faces and being horrified to themselves? I would not get tossed off a plane, out of a swimming pool, out of restaurants, stores, cabs...no. I would not. So please tell me, what is wrong with this picture?
It bothers me. It infuriates me. I honestly don't give a rat's ass if you think its awful, disgusting, weird...what have you, to feed a child via a breast (which guess what, that's what they're FOR, not just for fun! Functional too!) is it really so bad that we have to make women uncomfortable for needing to do it? It IS the healthiest option. It IS free! It IS a personal choice. It IS natural whether you like to think so or not. It IS sad, that women have to rush out of a store with a screaming newborn to find their car, a nearby restroom (which in itself is just a sad and gross place to feed a child) etc... out of fear of being reprimanded for feeding her child. Know where I did the majority of my public breastfeeding? In my car. In a dressing room (thank you Old Navy in Abilene for always being so understanding and sorry for that one time I wasn't so graceful out IN the store...). It is not right. It is not right at all. If you don't like it, then don't look. It's a pretty simple concept which seems to be one that is insanely hard for the world to grasp more and more. It's NONE of your damn business! Pretty simple. If it is not your breast or your baby, it's just not a bit of your concern.
My only solution I could come up with would likely end up exciting and rewarding those who probably detest public breastfeeding the most. I'd say we all shed our bras, cami's, layering tank, layering tee, and top shirt and let the boobies free! If we just had them out all the time, I suppose it wouldn't freak people out to have someone have a baby attached to it once in awhile. Not to mention it would just really make it much easier for said breastfeeding women as it is. I know I walked around my house topless for approximately 6 weeks with Kade and 13 weeks with Cody. That'd be how long I breastfed them each by the way.
With that. My rant is now finished. So is the video I've needed to load for a month now. So I shall return yet again.
If I don't get attacked by flesh eating bacteria only found in breast milk before I can get back....
INFURIATING CRAP!!!! (that's the link there just FYI).
So... I mean are we REALLY that prude as a society? I mean b/c that is even coming from over here. Which, I've found it might surprise you, but seems that all of Europe, which includes England, is actually NOT as prude as the U.S. I came with the picture of England being very uptight and prude and wondered how on earth I'd survive. Instead within the first couple of weeks here I was watching FreeView (meaning public TV like ABC, PBS...) one evening at around 10-ish and out of nowhere found myself staring at a drunk man on TV naked as the day he was born swinging his man business around at a cop. Like he got tossed out of a bar, and was in the midst of his slobbery string of curse words, somehow managed to dis-robe when he couldn't stand up straight, and was swinging his junk around like it was some choreographed bit he'd planned out ahead of time. Well now, some may be thinking, "so we see that on cops all the time?". No. You do not. For television in America would've been prude enough, if not kind enough in this instance, to cover that bad boy up with a blurry spot or a black smudge.
At any rate. Drunken penis swinging is okay on national television. Mother discreetly feeding her child by the poolside while keeping a careful watch on her other child who is swimming happily...apparently not so okay.
So their reasoning was health. There are no food and drinks allowed in the pool for health reasons. Okay, now I'm not always that quick of a thinker. My best come-backs usually creep in about 15 months later. At any rate, it took me all of 45 seconds to tear this one apart. Was I a die-hard breast-feeder brazenly walking around with my boobs bared for all the world to see as it was my right b/c I had a newborn? Not at all. Actually, and much to my own surprise, I was very anxious about breastfeeding in public. I only did it a few times and was horrified the whole time. Wonder why? (And let me please add if you may not already know, I'm just not that shy of a gal by nature...).
However, let me please tear this one up.
1. They're worried about BREAST MILK which is going straight from mother's breast to baby's mouth as a health issue. How many times did you pee in the pool when you were little and I won't even ask that of you now as an adult.
2. If it wasn't going in the baby's mouth...guess what? It's actually something to be considered more of a health issue since I mean it COULD in all honesty just be pouring down her shirt, dripping all over every person that came within 10 feet of her thus infecting them with some flesh eating bacteria found only in breast milk.
3. To keep this from happening, if they really want to keep the no food- no drinks bit going, will they now test each female between the ages of 15 and 70 to be sure they are not lactating? Trying to sneak in like a cheap-ass at the movie theater with candy in their purse so they could skip out on buying their newborn a soda and bag of chips from the concession all the while inadvertently infecting everyone with this flesh eating bacteria only found in breast milk?
4. How many men would be lining up to apply for the job of testing breasts for lactation anyway? I know the economy is in the slump and jobs are scarce...I'd feel sorry for the interviewer.
5. Do they sit there with some heat seeking doom-a-flotchie gun and pick off pool piddlers? Each warm spot gets a kid tossed over the fence? I mean if we want to talk health hazards here...how much urine have we gotten in our mouths and ears and nose at a public pool. (oh I'm dry-heaving as I type).
6. I won't even mention the pants poopers or other nasty things that would leave everyone gagging that are REAL health issues. Chlorine be damned.
PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS ARE DISGUSTING! THEY ARE ALL DISGUSTING! I personally, think they are ALL big giant cesspools of germs, bacteria and other stuff I really prefer to not know about. Ignorance is bliss and my ignorance and my bliss stay the hell out of public pools anyway. For that reason alone. Now that I know they don't allow breastfeeding though, I guess I can call it safe and head out for a swim.
So obviously if you did read the link, you noticed that they did amend the rule and apologize. Regardless of that though, I just am so flabbergasted by this sometimes I can hardly believe it. It is nothing, not even when I was young, single, thin and NEVER going to impregnate my lovely figure (well we'll be honest it IS true and I'm okay with the fact that I AM that vain but yes it is what I swore by for many many years) did it ever phase me one single bit to see a mother breastfeeding in public. It was normal, natural and commendable actually. I used to bitch a lot about things that I thought were deplorable at the time, but are just what comes along with kids. (Yes, I do still curse flat tummied, perky boobed 20 year olds who glare at my screaming crying children as if standing in line in front of me and having to listen to them wail b/c I won't give them everything they see is the worst thing they've ever had to endure for a whole 10 minutes of their lives...I curse them with 4-6 children who are possessed by Satan and talk like Gilbert Godfried). I do still do that. I can.
At any rate, what gets me...being a female and having boobs myself, is that I could walk around with a top on, that would likely show more breast than is ever visible when a woman is breastfeeding her child and be welcomed gladly by many. Okay so a lot of scowls from uptight folks too, but ya know what? How likely would they be to ask me to LEAVE vs. just talking smack, making faces and being horrified to themselves? I would not get tossed off a plane, out of a swimming pool, out of restaurants, stores, cabs...no. I would not. So please tell me, what is wrong with this picture?
It bothers me. It infuriates me. I honestly don't give a rat's ass if you think its awful, disgusting, weird...what have you, to feed a child via a breast (which guess what, that's what they're FOR, not just for fun! Functional too!) is it really so bad that we have to make women uncomfortable for needing to do it? It IS the healthiest option. It IS free! It IS a personal choice. It IS natural whether you like to think so or not. It IS sad, that women have to rush out of a store with a screaming newborn to find their car, a nearby restroom (which in itself is just a sad and gross place to feed a child) etc... out of fear of being reprimanded for feeding her child. Know where I did the majority of my public breastfeeding? In my car. In a dressing room (thank you Old Navy in Abilene for always being so understanding and sorry for that one time I wasn't so graceful out IN the store...). It is not right. It is not right at all. If you don't like it, then don't look. It's a pretty simple concept which seems to be one that is insanely hard for the world to grasp more and more. It's NONE of your damn business! Pretty simple. If it is not your breast or your baby, it's just not a bit of your concern.
My only solution I could come up with would likely end up exciting and rewarding those who probably detest public breastfeeding the most. I'd say we all shed our bras, cami's, layering tank, layering tee, and top shirt and let the boobies free! If we just had them out all the time, I suppose it wouldn't freak people out to have someone have a baby attached to it once in awhile. Not to mention it would just really make it much easier for said breastfeeding women as it is. I know I walked around my house topless for approximately 6 weeks with Kade and 13 weeks with Cody. That'd be how long I breastfed them each by the way.
With that. My rant is now finished. So is the video I've needed to load for a month now. So I shall return yet again.
If I don't get attacked by flesh eating bacteria only found in breast milk before I can get back....
well what'dya know???
i just thought i was going to be cool. it was 5:30 PM. my boys were up late last night, up early this morning and SO tired by 11AM --- but the SUN came out! it warmed up! they've been cooped up for two whole days meaning they were beyond destructive and obnoxious. i turned them outside and told them naps were off today. they even played pretty damn well together today.
i knew, however, that co wouldn't make it much longer, so i was trying to cook up a quick dinner. i was trying to keep them outside b/c again i know him well (since he's mine and all) and if he came in, he'd sit in the big chair and pass out. well... wouldn't ya know it, it cooled off a LOT suddenly so i had to usher them inside. tried everything but to no avail. by 5:30 PM cody was pass smooth the hell out. which might horrify some folks, but...he actually will sleep all night, he'll just be up with the sun, which if you are not aware comes up at completely unnatural times here this time of year. kade wasn't far behind him and neither of them would budge. no matter how much i tickled, sang at the top of my lungs as terribly as possible (which isn't hard for me), banged things around...they weren't acknowledging my lame attempts. no matter how much i tried to find my inner Poppy (my grandfather could NOT stand for ANYONE to be asleep still if he was awake and he could get pretty darn creative, trust me..).
well, i gave up the fight and carried them up to bed. mike came home from work and we sat eating our warm meal quietly, it was an odd thing really. both looking around unsure of this strange place where no one is hanging off their chair by their toes gurgling milk, no one is screaming it's too hot, too cold, don't want it, don't love it, want more.... it was just not right. so we ate quickly, wide-eyed unsure of our surroundings of this bizarro world. finally relaxing a bit, i mosied on upstairs to the office to blog b/c hey when is a better time?
yeah apparently the "tickety-tick" of my typing is a better alarm clock than anything else i could imagine. go figure.
so this will bite me in the ass even worse b/c they both did not wake up. just kade. the natural night owl. sooooo.....we can pretty much bet he'll be up until 1 or 2 am and cody will wake up at 3 or 4. bet me money.
damn it.
p.s.
i bet you still think i forgot that video from mike's promotion ceremony. nope! i finally gave in and am going youtube. it is in the process of loading and it has 20 more minutes to go.
i knew, however, that co wouldn't make it much longer, so i was trying to cook up a quick dinner. i was trying to keep them outside b/c again i know him well (since he's mine and all) and if he came in, he'd sit in the big chair and pass out. well... wouldn't ya know it, it cooled off a LOT suddenly so i had to usher them inside. tried everything but to no avail. by 5:30 PM cody was pass smooth the hell out. which might horrify some folks, but...he actually will sleep all night, he'll just be up with the sun, which if you are not aware comes up at completely unnatural times here this time of year. kade wasn't far behind him and neither of them would budge. no matter how much i tickled, sang at the top of my lungs as terribly as possible (which isn't hard for me), banged things around...they weren't acknowledging my lame attempts. no matter how much i tried to find my inner Poppy (my grandfather could NOT stand for ANYONE to be asleep still if he was awake and he could get pretty darn creative, trust me..).
well, i gave up the fight and carried them up to bed. mike came home from work and we sat eating our warm meal quietly, it was an odd thing really. both looking around unsure of this strange place where no one is hanging off their chair by their toes gurgling milk, no one is screaming it's too hot, too cold, don't want it, don't love it, want more.... it was just not right. so we ate quickly, wide-eyed unsure of our surroundings of this bizarro world. finally relaxing a bit, i mosied on upstairs to the office to blog b/c hey when is a better time?
yeah apparently the "tickety-tick" of my typing is a better alarm clock than anything else i could imagine. go figure.
so this will bite me in the ass even worse b/c they both did not wake up. just kade. the natural night owl. sooooo.....we can pretty much bet he'll be up until 1 or 2 am and cody will wake up at 3 or 4. bet me money.
damn it.
p.s.
i bet you still think i forgot that video from mike's promotion ceremony. nope! i finally gave in and am going youtube. it is in the process of loading and it has 20 more minutes to go.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
i actually won??
so as is my USUAL fashion. way late... i've been meaning to share my insanity here, yet again. always late.
at any rate, something i RARELY ever do and that is to enter any contest, certainly not one to enter any photo contests. why? no reason really beyond i actually really don't care if others think my photos are great or not. this was different anyway, it was more of an assignment type contest, where i had to shoot something specific for it. so again, something difficult for me to do and have done on TIME. yep there's the raw truth of it all.
however i was determined to at least ENTER for ONCE. it was a killer prize and while i did not hold my hopes very high, as people get CRAZY for these particular prizes, i thought for once...i should actually enter and not win, than not winning for not even trying.
well...as much as mike made fun of me. the greatest thing was telling him that, i had in fact, won with my fruitcake idea. that was the sweetest prize of all.
but...the rest of it didn't a bit at all!!!!
i'm not sure if the link will work, i'm gonna try it though, we'll see.
here it is and my prize winning, absolutely dis-GUSTING toast! i had to hold the boys back from eating it! it was 100% sandwich condiments too.
THE CONTEST
so, i never win anything like EVER! i don't enter much though...so who knows? might just be the start of something!
at any rate, something i RARELY ever do and that is to enter any contest, certainly not one to enter any photo contests. why? no reason really beyond i actually really don't care if others think my photos are great or not. this was different anyway, it was more of an assignment type contest, where i had to shoot something specific for it. so again, something difficult for me to do and have done on TIME. yep there's the raw truth of it all.
however i was determined to at least ENTER for ONCE. it was a killer prize and while i did not hold my hopes very high, as people get CRAZY for these particular prizes, i thought for once...i should actually enter and not win, than not winning for not even trying.
well...as much as mike made fun of me. the greatest thing was telling him that, i had in fact, won with my fruitcake idea. that was the sweetest prize of all.
but...the rest of it didn't a bit at all!!!!
i'm not sure if the link will work, i'm gonna try it though, we'll see.
here it is and my prize winning, absolutely dis-GUSTING toast! i had to hold the boys back from eating it! it was 100% sandwich condiments too.
THE CONTEST
so, i never win anything like EVER! i don't enter much though...so who knows? might just be the start of something!
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