Doggie Style

What I am about to post really isn't nearly as offensive as the title, however, it is so very fitting. The weather today was absolutely gorgeous. So I decided to get this child out of the house since she has been couped up for so long. We played on the porch blowing bubbles, drew with sidewalk chalk, played hopscotch, then as it started to get darker, I told her that we could go for a walk and she could take her scooter or her bike. She decided on the bike.

We get about a block away and she can't go any farther. This is in part due to her small stature, but also due to the fact that the poor girl doesn't have the muscle tone or endurance and strength to go any farther. That damn prematurity thing rears it's ugly head when you least expect it I tell ya!

So of course, I carry the bike back and she runs back to the house. Then we decide to just walk...both of us. We go about a mile and on the way back, we encounter a nice gentleman with a very small dog. Naturally, Caitlyn decides to stop and pet the dog. Well, the dog jumps up and puts it's paws on her chest wanting to lick her face to death. She giggles and runs to me and tells this man....

"He humped me like Rudy humps my Mommy!!"

And she is thoroughly excited about this. The man kind of looks at me, snickers, and says, "Have a nice night." And goes about his own walk.

Now I am mortified because this man probably went home and told his wife about some weirdo woman that allows her small child to watch while she engages in sick sexual play with someone named Rudy.

Little does he know, Rudy is in fact my mother's dog. And the fucking dog humps me everytime I set foot in her damn house. Which of course my mom and Caitlyn, and everyone else in the damn house for that matter, thinks is just the funniest thing that they have ever seen.

This dog has it something terrible for me. If my mother calls me on the phone, all she has to do is say my name and the dog goes apeshit barking like crazy running around the house looking for me. When I won't pay attention to him when I am there, meaning I am not letting the heavy bastard lay on my lap, he is walking around the house barking at me or looking to chew something up.

Well of course, when I called my mom, she thinks this is the funniest thing she has heard all day. Says my name, and the dog goes nutso in the background.

And my poor child now finds nothing wrong with a dog humping her mother???? (Side note, the dog on teh street did not hump my child, I would have stopped that shit immediately.)

Damn dog...why can't Matt be as attentive???

The first night in the bed

Well, I think it went pretty well. We have hardwood floors throughout the house, so every single noise can be heard. For about 45 minutes after Caitlyn got into bed, I could hear her getting in and out of the bed. Seems to me that she thinks needing the step stool for it really is a load of fun. But she managed to stay in there all night until about 6am. Then she made her way into bed with me for the remainder of the time that we had left to sleep...all 60 minutes of it. But that is something that she has always done. Seems she has a radar that lets her know that Matt is out of the bed and she needs to fill that space LOL.

We are having a splendid time on Spring Break, despite the fact that we don't have it at the same time. The nice thing about having it at different times is that I get a couple of hours in the morning to run errands and just hang out by myself. And I really enjoy that, since it's something that I don't get much. The one major downfall, is that I don't get to sleep in at all cause I have to be up to get her ready and off to school. But she is off on Friday, so I will that day :)

Tomorrow she has her spring pictures at school and she is wearing the cutest yellow dress. (I know I am biased, but really, she is so darn cute in it.) So when those come in, I will throw them up here for your viewing pleasure. After I pick her up and run her home to get changed, we are going to hang out and the mall. Now she wants to pull some money out of her piggy bank and buy herself some Hello Kitty posters. So I told her that we would go to Claire's and she could pick out some HK stuff for her room. We'll probably eat there as well...cause that's what Americans do, shop and ruin their credit and over indulge on mall food making them obese. But that is a post for another time I suppose LOL

And I finally got the canopy up. With no help from Matt I might add. He refused to put a hook in the ceiling. We have plaster walls and that makes hanging anything much more difficult. So I ran to Walgreens (firstly for the cream to help cure the itching issue I have going on) and picked up one of those 3M hooks that are sticky. Not sure if that's going to hold it up there, but we'll see. If it doesn't then I will just hang the damn hook up there myself and not even tell him. Chances are he wouldn't notice it until she moves out of the bedroom anyway.

It's here!!!

It has arrived and is now all set up, minus the canopy. I have to go get a hook for the ceiling for that. Caitlyn couldn't be more thrilled about it. She loves it and has spent all afternoon up there (added bonus for me not having to fight for the computer with her). She couldn't run out of the door at school fast enough to set it all up and even bypassed the opportunity to go to the McDonald's playland for lunch so that we could come home and set it up.



And just to note how wonderful she thought it was, she took a nap in it in pure Caitlyn form ;)

Tomorrow is the big day

The room is cleaned and the bed frame is waiting for the new matresses. Once they are here tomorrow, they will set them up for me. Now I am debatting whether or not to get everything ready for her and surprise her or wait for her to get home to put it all up with me. After having to clean the room out with her home tonight, I am thinking it may be easier to do it while she is gone. But I know how excited she is about having it all done, so waiting for her help may be the way to go.

In other news, I went for my annual with the girlie doc today. All is well with the bits and pieces with the exception of a little bit of Vulvar Dystrophy. Sounds horrid right??? Well, basically it is fancy medical terminology for I am itching like a mad woman and wreaking havoc on my own bits and pieces. Nothing that a little cortisone shouldn't clear up in about 3 months.....yes! 3 months!!! Now, I would doubt her about that, but again, she was pretty much dead on with the recovery time for shingles, so I am going to have to assume that she is also correct on this one as well. Unfortunately.

Will post some pics of the room after it's all ready :)

Woooooohooooooo

As of 3pm this afternoon I will be on Spring Break!!! Counting down the hours here. Tomorrow I am chapperonning a field trip with the girl to the zoo. Which shoudl be loads of fun considering it is going to be a whopping 38 degrees tomorrow. I'm sure that will make all of the animals come right on out for us to stare at them. The one good thing is that they got so many responses from the parents, that you are only responsible for your child plus one other. And that I am all about ;)

From the big girl bed, to an even bigger girl bed

Caitlyn has one of those fancy smancy (not really a word?) cribs that converts from a crib to a toddler bed to a full bed. Well, she has been in the toddler bed phase of it for about 2 years now. In the recent months, she has begun falling out of her bed. The reason is trifold....

1. She is too damn long for this bed being her ginormous 44 inch self

2. The kid loves to sleep on the very edge of the bed; always has, even used to snuggle up to the plexiglass of the incubator (doesn't sound enticing to you and I, but she loved it right along with burying her face...vent tube and all...into the bedding)

3. The insane amount of stuffed animals that have taken up residency on her toddler bed.

Numbers 1 and 2, I take no issue with. It is the number 3 reason that really pisses me off. If this kid would allow me to do something, anything, with the 47 friends on her bed, we may have been able to stay in this bed for a few more months. But you see, they have to stay in the bed. Otherwise they get cold, or lonely, or a myriad of other reasons that she comes up with when questioned about the damn things.

So last night, Matt and I with Caitlyn in tow went to go buy the full size matress and box spring for her new "Even Bigger Girl Bed" as we are referring to it in the house. Luckily we were able to snatch up a set that was on clearence as a floor model. So what would have been a near $1600 purchase (with tax, delivery, and bed frame) only ended up costing just over $700. Not too bad for a bed that will hopefully last this child until she moves out of my house.

This weekend we will be doing some shopping her and I. Grabbing some new bedding and pillows and other fun stuff for the new bed that will be arriving next Tuesday. Luckily, she asked me this morning if she could keep her room pink with princesses....damn straight girlie. Cause that means no painting and redecorating for me :)

And the kciker of it all....

"Mommy, now my stuffed animals will have even more room when they sleep with me."

Damned stuffed animals...I am thinking that we need to stage a kidnapping to get them all the hell out of my house. Anyone willing to drive the get away car?

Bad bad bad bad blogger

Yes I know I have been neglectful. Kari was very quick to point that out to me. So Kari, here is an entry, a nice looooong one just for you :P

Things have been busy in the land of the Walshes. Yet it seems as though we haven't gotten much accomplished. How in the hell does that happen?

Sunday was my birthday and a fabulous time was had by all. Caitlyn woke me up, after letting me sleep in, with a birthday card for me. Made me a little weepy as she wrote "MOM" on the outside of the envelope. She was so very excited about that she could hardly contain herself. She then insisted that I get out of bed promptly as there were many more surprises waiting for me downstairs. And indeed there were....

Matt got me flowers, which happens on a rare ocassion. He also got me an onion bagel (my favorite). In case I wasn't in the mood for that, he bought chocolate donettes (yes they are already gone and have been for a couple of days now). And to be even safer, there was a cheese danish on the counter for me. Basically he was covering all of his bases. Knowing that I can be somewhat fickle (he calls it crabby) in the morning, he wanted to make sure that whatever I wanted to eat for breakfast was there for me. What a guy :)

Then we dropped the girl off at my mom's to play with Kelly. We went to a matinee (read cheap) to see Failure to Launch. Cause who doesn't want to see Matt??? He is so on my list, though it isn't laminated LOL. Then we went to dinner at the Macaroni Grill. I am convinced that this is my new favorite restaurant. And I only discovered it about 2 months ago. And I am so glad that I did. They have great food there.

So here is my Caitlyn funny....

Last night we were playing inher bedroom. She wanted me to be the daughter while she was the mom. She was in her little kitchen making me dinner, soup. Everytime that she would ask if I like something that she was going to add, I would tell her no, just like she does to me. Her response...

"Well you have to eat it hunny cause it is good for you."

Now why is it when I say that to her, it doesn't matter???? So when I insisted I wasn't going to eat it, she started wagging her index finger at me telling me I had to. Know why?

"When I wave my finger at you like this hunny you HAVE to do it."

Really? Is that all it takes to get a kid to eat a decent meal? Man oh man have I been going about this the wrong damn way for a couple of years.

So I was given turkey, ketchup, mustard, corn, peas, tomato sauce, and hot dog soup. I think I may have to add it to the list of recipies to try. Along with a can of Sprite.

She asked me a few times to be the mom and I told her I didn't want to. That she could be the mom since technically, I am always the mom. After arguing with me she yells out...

"I don't want to be the mom!!! I hate being the mom!!!"

Welcome to my world on a bad day with you kid!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update on the f word....yes it has slipped a few times. BUT, I am so much better! I have even stopped myself from saying it on several ocassions. I am even managing to type it less when the gals and I are chatting on messenger. The funny thing is, now I am realizing how much Matt says it. I think I will need to have a little chat with him about that ;) I can now you know, cause it won't make me a hypocrite LOL

And it hasn't fell from Caitlyn's lips since the Pizza Hut incident.

I have given up...

The F word for lent. Yes.

About 12 hours and counting.

I have only uttered it twice today and that was in telling the story to my boss as to why I am giving it up. But other than that, it has not left my lips. I have thought it. Don't get me wrong, I have thought it at least 10 times today. But it never fell out.
Now here's what I need from you....

Does typing it count, or am I allowed to still do that? I am thinking that I should be able to since the girl won't be able to hear me right???

STOP THE INSANITY!!!!!

The F Word must go. Forever. No questions asked.

So we were doing pretty well, not having heard from the pizza guy in a few days. Even when he was "on" her phone, she would simply hang up and move on to the next person to answer the phone.

Matt is out of town, so I decided to take Caitlyn out for dinner. Just her and I. Thinking it would be something nice for her. And it was. She loves hanging out with mom. But you see, I made one very very very fatal mistake. It was my choice in restaurants. For God's sake, I live in Chicago. There are a million and one places to go to for dinner. And what do I choose? Pizza Hut. What in the hell was I thinking. The pizza guy episode is still so very raw in this child, I totally should have known better than this. Really....I am smarter than this. But why oh why wasn't I tonight?????

You can completely see where I am going with this right?

The evening started out perfectly fine. No mention of the pizza guy and the obscenity to go along with it. Maybe because we had a female waitress, so the "guy" was far from her mind. We eat our food, she stuffs her face just like she always done at Pizza Hut.

Then....out of nowhere...it happens.

"Hey ya fuckin pizza guy!!!"

OH.MY.GOD!!!!

Wanting to crawl under the table, I am silently praying that that so did not just happen. But it did. When I lift my head from praying, my 3 shades of red head, I take a quick inventory to see who is gawking at us. And with good reason too. I mean, how often is it that you get to hear a 4 year old shouting such atrocities? Surprisingly, no one, not a single person is looking at us. For a breif moment I think it didn't happen. That it was all in my head and I was fearing it happening. But the fact that Caitlyn screeched it when she said it, I don't think it was clear to others what she had said. Audible, hell yes, but not clear enough for them to make out what vulgarities she is capable of when pissed off enough.

Then to confirm to me that she had said it, she says to me....

"Mommy did you hear what I said?"

And with that, I see her mouth open, almost in slow motion, and she is about to yell it again to make sure that I heard her. I was able to stop her this time. Which I am absolutely postive had I not stopped her, it most definitely would have warranted a call to DCFS by the management. I mean, who really lets their child yell this shit out, and in public no less??

So upon returning home, we had the talk that we had some time ago about how there are words that we say and words that we don't. And there are words that adults can use that children just aren't allowed to. Yes I am resorting to the old, "Because I am the mom that's why!" And I don't care. If it stops my child from using profanity in public, or for now, I am all about it.

I say again, and damn I am getting awfully tired of sayin git, the vernacular in this house needs to change....and right quick!

The Poor Pizza Guy

I don't know what my child has against the pizza delivery guy. All of the sudden she thinks that he is a lazy guy who apprearently doesn't know how to do his job. So here is the scene as it unfolded at my house the other night....

Mom is on computer (I know shocker!)

Caitlyn is playing on the couch with her toy phone that she can call 911 with. See, I figured I wanted her to be successful in preschool so I would teach her the damn number. Well, the toy would teach it to her, I would just explain when she is allowed to call them from the real phone.

...this toy phone also calls other people, like the little boy down the street, the librarian, the teacher, and of course, the pizza guy.

I hear Caitlyn talking to a few of the fun people in the phone and she is having a grand time with it.

Then....the poor pizza guy picks up. And I hear my child scream in a voice that paralled that of Linda Blair as she is being overtaken by satan himself. And it's not so much the voice that frightened me. Don't get me wrong, it was bone chilling and horrifying, but what came out of her mouth is now seared on my brain forever.

Screaming...."Wake up ya fuckin pizza guy!!"

And over and over and over she screams this. Everynow and again she slams the phone down in disgust. But then she picks the receiver right back up and calls the guy again. Only to yell this disturbing sentence at him once again.

I say again....the vernacular in the house MUST change now!

What is with this kid and toilets?

Some time ago, I posted about Caitlyn falling into the toilet. Not once, but twice. Our toilet issues have resumed. But not in the ways of potty training. We have now reached the stage where we are pretty much potty trained completely. Yes, there are times that we hold our BM's a little too long still. But nowhere near as bad as it used to be requiring a suppository and a lot of heartache on both ends. Instead, she just has experiences with the toilet that I fear are going to scar this poor child for life.

Typically, Caitlyn will get up once a night and go to the bathroom. That is, if she hasn't gone right before bed. Under normal circumstances, I thank my luck stars that she does this. There are a lot of kids that don't wake up from the urge to go. So I know that it is a blessing that she does this. Now, when she wakes up and goes to the bathroom, it usually wakes me up. And all I ever do is just listen for the tinkling in the toilet, and the closing of her bedroom door signifying that all is well.

Last night, or early this morning, I hear her go into the bathroom. I listen intently for the trickle. A sound that never comes. Then I hear slight whimpering. So I call to her to ask if she is okay. (I don't always go in right away cause then she seems to think it's close to the time when she has to get up and wants to chat for a bit.) She doesn't answer my calls. Then I hear all out crying. It is at this point that I assume that she has had an accident in bed. So I get up to clean her up and clean up the bed.

When I enter the bathroom, her pj pants and panties are around her ankles and she is crying. I ask her if she had an accident in her bed and she tells me no. So I attempt to pull up her pants, only to find them soaked. I assume she is still half asleep and doesn't remember the accident. So I take off her pants and tell her to come on in the bedroom while I change the bedding and get clean clothes on her. To my surprise, her bed is dry. It is then that the truth starts to unfold before my very eyes.

I ask her if she has to go pee and she tells me that she already did. Well, obviously, I have the piss ladden pants in my hands to prove it.

The poor girl sat down on the toilet to go. However, she forgot to pull her pants down first. And in her slumbered stupor, she couldn't for the life of her figure out how the hell she had the accident. In her mind, she went on the toilet like she is supposed to.

And of course, this morning, she has no recollection of it whatsoever.

Male or Email

So Caitlyn decided yesterday that she wanted to be a doctor. Makes me happy. However, I know that this choice will change a gazillion times before she actually does "become" something. We get home from mom's and right away she wants to play doctor with me. So we get the little doctor's kit that she has and we start playing.

She wants to be the patient first, so I get to be the doctor. There is a little clip board in her kit that has a bunch of questions on it to ask the patient. One of them is whether or not they are male or felmale. So I ask Caitlyn if she is a boy or a girl. She obviously says girl. Then I tell her that there are other names for boys and girls. Boys are males and girls are females. She understands this and says she is a female.

Then it's my turn to be the patient. She picks up the clip board and starts asking me the questions. Then she asks me if I am a boy or girl. I obviously say girl. Then pose the question to her, What is the other name for a girl?

"A boy is a male and a girl is a .....(insert long pause for her to reach into her memory)..... a girl is an email."

Children's movies

Taking a child to the theater is always an experience. Caitlyn actually really enjoys it. And she manages to sit through the entire movie, provided it peaks her interest.

Last night I took Kelly and Caitlyn to see Curious George. $19.00 just to enter the theater, and another $18.00 to get popcorn and pop. Sickens me how damn expensive it is to just go watch a movie. How in the hell is a family of say 5 or 6 supposed to go watch a movie???

After purchasing the food, we look for 3 seats. Kelly sits down, I start getting the straws in teh cups and doling out the goods. Caitlyn starts crying. Why? Well because she isn't heavy enough for the damn seat. The stupid thing keeps folding up on her. Now this happened when we went to see Madagascar, and I stupidly thought that maybe my child had put on enough weight by now that she would be able to sit alone this time around. No such luck, I would have a 35 pound 4 year old on my lap for an hour and a half, and the big ol melon of said 4 year old in front of my face the entire movie.

So we get settled into 3 seats, even though we only need 2, near the back of the theater (in case of any urgent bathroom trips or any other emergency that could rear it's ugle head) we are good to go and we wait for the movie to start. And we wait. And we wait. Oh and then we waited a little more. What in the name of all that is holy is with all the damn comercials. And I don't mean previews. I mean commercials. Commericals for Coke, commercials for cell phones. You know...all things that are relevant to the 3-10 year old population. After the commercials, then we make it to the previews. Which those I don't mind so much. And neither do most kids. They are all too busy yelling "I want to see that!!!."

Caitlyn wasn't too thrilled with the movie either. Half way through she started to get antsy. She wants to stand, she wants to talk. The movie just wasn't grabbing her. As an adult, I empathize with this reaction. Cause the movie isn't enjoyable for adults like Madagascar or Toy Story. It's completely geared towards kids. Which is fine, if you're 5, it's hell if your 31.

Now I could keep Caitlyn under control. Rubbing her head, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. All things that could keep her occupied for a good hour. What I couldn't control, was the asshole snoring in the row in front of me. Now, I understand, it's Friday, you have worked all week, the last thing you really want to do is sit through Curious George. But come the fuck on??? Now people are looking at him, not really snickering as it is completely annoying. But not a one gets up to ask him to stop. Well, not a one of them. Me on the other hand...I can't stand my husband snoring in the same room as me, I'll be damned if I am going to tolerate a perfect stranger doing it. So I kindly get up, creep over to him, tap him on the shoulder (to which he startles fiercly, and sweetly ask him if he could keep the snoring to a minimum as some kids are having trouble hearing the movie. A bit of a stretch, but I don't give a shit. he looks at me with a very befuddled look on his face and says......can you guess??? They all say it. "I wasn't snoring ma'am." Now I hear people giggle, well women do cause they have all heard this line before. And I kind of giggle too. And I say to him, "Oh good, then I won't have to come over and ask you to stop anymore." And I walk back to my set. And there is no more snoring for the duration of the film.

But a good time was had by both of the girls. Then they came to my house for a sleepover. Which entailed more crappy food, some arguing, playing loudly, some arguing. And it ended with both of them in my bed at about 2am.

Happy Friday

I am grateful that my child is smart...but sometimes it can really be an annoyance. Yesterday when I picked her up from moms, she doesn't even say hi to me. Instead, the first thing out of her mouth is that it is February 9th and tomorrow (today) will be February 10th, which means we can go see Curious George. Because about a month ago when we saw the previews I told her that I would take her and Kelly to see it. Did I think that she would be counting down the days? Hell no. But appearently she is. So here it is Friday morning, and the first thing she says is not good morning mother I am thankful for another day. No. What time are you picking me up at grandma's so that we can go to the movies?

Will let you know how it is....I have no desire to see the silly monkey and the man in the yellow hat. But alas! I will do it. I wanted to wait until Sunday when we could go to a matinee and it is cheaper, but for some reason she just doesn't understand the concept of the "cheaper" shows yet. I must teach her.

Vocabulary

Our vocabulary is booming these days. And luckily, it's not just with the words that shall not be mentioned. The things that are coming out of this child's mouth the past few weeks is unbelievable to me.

While playing with her doll....
"Look at her hair mommy. Do you like it? Isn't it stylish?"

When telling me about something she did at school....
"We were talking about dinsosaurs. They are extinct now. Do you know what that means mommy? It means there aren't any more here."

In general conversation while telling me about anything.....
"Do you understand that or do youe need me to explain it mom?"

When eating an ice cream last night....
"This is scrumptious mom."

I mean really??? When in the hell did this kid get so smart. And even yet, who is teaching it to her, cause it sure as hell isn't me? Some teacher I am I suppose :P

The Report Card

So the girl did an amazingly wonderful job on her report card. I am in awe that they even give them out to kids who are in preschool to be perfectly honest. And the most shocking thing to me is that the skills that are on it, are things that were on my kindergarted report card. So much more is expected of kids these days. There are actually prerequisites to entering kindergarten. Which I guess I can understand to a certain extent.

The are that I live in are predominantly 2 income households, as are the areas surrounding me. So I assume that the majority of children around here attend preschool or a daycare type preschool. So it is only natural that they learn these things. That's not to say that there aren't stay at home or work at home moms in my neighborhood. They are out there, I have seen them. So if these are parents that don't realize what the prerequisites are for their children come school age, what happens to them upon entering kindergarten? Since technically a child doesn't have to be enrolled in school until they are 6 years old. Though I don't know that I have run across any families out there that keep their children out of school that extra year. But I know they must exist right? What happens to these kids who don't "meet the requirements?" Do they recieve special help right off the bat? Or do the teachers hope that they will catch up to the children who attended school settings?

Anyhow...

So the report card was fabulous. In the majority of skills, shse recieved "R", meaning that she performs the skills on a regular basis. She recieved some with an "S" to indicate that she demonstrates the skill sometimes. And then there was the "N" category. These are skills that she has yet to acquire. There were 4 (I think, I have signed and returned the thing already prompt parent that I am) skills that she can't do as of yet. We have always known that Caitlyn's forte was not in the area of physical skills. Gross motor skills took her forever to get and fine motor skills were on the iffy side. But in the grand scheme of things I have never really worried about these skills either. My focus has always been her cognitive and social/emotional development. Which she is performing outstanding in.

Then there was the ability to call 911. Now if you know my kid, you would think that she would know this. However, I have not taught her how to call the police precisely because I have no desire to have them show up on my doorstep for no reason in particular. And believe me, that is exactly what would happen. She loves the phone, in pure girl fashion. So I can't imagine teaching this to her and telling her that she is allowed to call in teh even of an emergency. My gut tells me that next semester when she receives her report card again, there will be a big fat "N" right next to the one that is there now.

So as a reward for doing so wonderfully, we went to Ceasarland tonight. It's nice to go there to have her burn off all the extra energy that builds up being stuck in the house all week because of the cold. On the other hand, there is the noise, germs, all the same things I mentioned in my McDonald Play Land post. Only intensified about 1000 times. We were there for no less than 3 painstaking hours. Of which I was able to read my book and completely ignore my child. Yes, I was "that" parent tonight.

Something I find truly amazing about being in places like that though.....how is it that with about 150 screaming kids, you can hear and distinguish your own child's scream or cry out of all of the others???? Does that mean that she has just done it so damn much that it is burned on my brain?

Anyhow...she had a splendid time. And she has the big old goose egg on her forehead to prove it. I didn't even know that she rammed her melon into another kid's until we were leaving and she told me about it. Again, I was "that" mother tonight.

The Anonymous Commentor

This is a mind boggling concept to me. I enjoy reading the blogs that I do, and on some I comment, others I just peruse. However, when I do comment, I always use my name and my information. If on the off chance that I don't, it's typically because I thought I was logged in. But leaving a comment on a person's blog and not identifying yourself? I don't understand this. What could the reason be?

I wonder mainly because I have had some of those anonymous commentors in the last few days. Now I have seen people comment anonymously and at times it because they are trolling and what they have to say is so offensive, and they are so aware of it's offensiveness, that they don't want to be associated with the comment that they are leaving. I guess I can understand that. To be just stirring the pot, to start a "commenting war." And to those people, I say comment anonymously because I really don't want to be bothered with you anyhow.

But then there are the people who really believe in the comment that they are leaving. I mean, after all, they put the effort into composing their thoughts, and put the energy into typing the words out. So why would they not want to be identified? Maybe I feel this way because I am a person that stands behind what I say, regardless of the reactions that it causes. That's not to say that I just spout off the first thing that comes to my head. I do have some control. But if I feel strongly about something, and create a comment about it, I recognize that it will not always be the most popular view, but it's mine none the less. Right? If I were to voice my opinion about hot topics like abortion or the death penalty or welfare reform, I would want to get credit for my own thoughts. So I just don't get the whole leaving an anonymous comment thing.

Another interesting thing about this....with technology today, regardless of anonymity, a person can be found out. Do people really think that they are anonomous on the internet? Cause I have found otherwise. I have a site meter on my blog. It tracks IP's and where people have been referred from. So I see where comments are coming from. All you really need to do is match the time of the comment with the referral, and viola! you have your commentor. So by claiming anonymity, all they really do is peak my interest and cause to me delve into it a little more.

The Green Eyed Monster

There is a Berenstein Bears book about a green eyed monster. Kelly read it to Caitlyn about a month ago. It scared the hell out of her. So it had to go in the garbage (didn't really, we just pretended) because that's what we did with The Grinch who Stole Christmas and she was no longer afraid of it. Well it didn't work as well as it did with the Grinch. Every now and again, she mentions that she is afraid of the green eyed monster. And naturally I assure her that there is no monster in this house that will harm her. For that matter, there are no monsters here.

Well the other day while we were at my mom's house, my mom threw a raging fit. She used to have them about every other day or so when I was a kid. I got used to them, and pretty much blew them off. Caitlyn is still learning about them. Though now mom really only has them about once a month or so. And now they are typically revolving around Kelly. Anyway, mom throws a fit. Caitlyn gets upset and starts crying. So I comfort her telling her that grandma is just really crabby and that in a few minutes she will stop and all will be well. Like clockwork, a few minutes later, mom is calm and life resumes to the norm in her house.

We get home, Cate gets in her jammies, and I read her a bedtime story. Sounds like the norm right? Wrong. Appearently this whole episode was still looming on her little brain. She looks at me and tells me that she doesn't like it when grandma yells like that. Well who does really? The woman looks, acts, and sounds like a damn lunatic. So we begin the discussion again that we had earlier. Then the girl starts sobbing. Can you see where this is going yet? I urge her to tell me what is bothering her so much. And she does just that.....

"When grandma yells like that she reminds me of the green eyed monster."

Needless to say, grandma now has a new nickname within the family. She hates it, but holy hell are we getting a good laugh out of it.

The interent is a funny thing

As is the world of blogging. The written word versus the spoken word can be two entirely different things, and have two completely different meanings. I don't frequent that many blogs. Most of the ones that I go to visit are people that have had preemies like myself, or ones that I have stumbled upon that peak my interest. I also don't have the time to view all of the blogs that I possibly could. There's just not enough time in my day for that, something to do with work, child, husband, etc.

So I visit a blog, I won't mention the name of it, I am sure you can figure out which one it is, and I leave a comment here and there when the topic tickles my fancy. I left a comment the other day that has generated significant amounts of traffic to my own little corner of the internet here. The comment that I made seems to have gotten some panties in a bunch. When I wrote the comment, I really had no intention of upsetting the masses, really only gave my opinion on a touchy subject. And POW!!!! I am being quoted on a few other blogs, by bloggers that also visit this particular blog.

I find it humorous that my one little sentence has been so horribly misconstrued and I am now an unfeeling bitch. Which, yeah I can be, but it's not the norm for me. Though there are a few other bloggers that have made comments to say that my own comment wasn't so horrible.

I think what irks me the most about it, is that for those I have upset, it is because I don't hold the same view as them. Yet I am quoted and called closed minded, ignorant, etc. All because my opinion differs vastly from theirs. Why is it horrible that I have a different opinion and am not afraid to state that opinion? Got me. Either or, my opinion is still the same on the subject and more than likely will not be changing any time in the near future.

On a lighter note, the mail from Barney that I previously mentioned....the plot has thickened. My cousin who used to own the video with the 1 800 number called the other day to talk to Caitlyn and pretend that she was Barney. (We tried calling the number on the video, and after 10 years or so, it is no longer in existence.) We figured that a call from Barney would be even better than a letter. Right???

Couldn't have been more wrong!!!

Not only is she wanting to call him every damn day now, but she thinks that because he called her, he is in fact going to be bringing a letter to her house ASAP. So, in true Nancy fashion, I have scoured the internet looking for a letter or something of the likes that can come from the purple dinosaur himself. With no such luck. So I contacted the Gods that control Barney's website. Only to be told that the fan club is no longer in existence. Which really sucks for me. Why on earth isn't it around anymore?? There are still kids that watch the damn dinosaur.

So now I have to do what I was trying to avoid. I am going to have to create a letter and mail it to her myself. I wanted to avoid doing this, don't ask me why. I just know that it would have been so much easier to find a website, enter all the pertinent information into the little fields provided, give a debit card number, and be on my way.

If anyone knows of a Barney website, or has been in touch with the purple dinosaur as of recently, please let me know so that he can write my kid a letter and we can resume to normal activities in this house.

Mail from Barney

Caitlyn has been watching a Barney Christmas video the last few nights before bed. I have never watched it with her. It's actually one of Tutti's from when she was Caitlyn's age. So the previews that are on it, I have to assume, are quite old. But she is like me and loves previews so we don't fast forward through them.

So last night as Matt is putting her to bed (yes that is a shocker in and of itself) I hear her say to him....

"Daddy, did you know that if we call 1-800 we can get a letter from Barney?"