Wordless Weekend

I really want pickles...

and no I'm not pregnant!

I'm also craving things like cheeseburgers and chocolate. If you know me I don't crave chocolate I don't know whats wrong with me. Also since the bebes birth...I had a hard time enjoying a glass of wine. I get all stuffed up. I also LOVE tomatoes now? It's like they are candy!

Maybe I'm just crazy....last night I had the meanest craving for tuna noodle casserole. We are SOOO having tuna noodle casserole tonight for dinner! Everyone I've said that to has given me the "ew gross" look but I'm really excited about it. It's not going to be one of those heavy creamy casseroles its going to be loaded with peas and broccoli and tuna...aaaand some pasta and cream sauce but still...it's going to be amazing. I threatened a coworker with it earlier. I know she secretly wants it!

I have been monitoring my Twitter and Facebook over the last week and apparently all I talk about is food? Am I a bit of a foodie? Yes. Is it all I do? No......am I now blogging about it? You betcha!

That is all...goodnight and so long!

Forget Wordless Wednesdays....this is Wordless Weekend

A Cathartic Need to Share my Opinions

Last Friday the Bebe's fell, and chipped her tooth...and busted up her lip...yes busted up...it looked rather ghetto so busted up is the right phrase here. First thing Saturday morning we took her to the dentist to get her all checked out. Apparently there wasn't an exposed nerve so our options were to A) leave it alone B) if sensitivity is noticed fix the tooth or C) for aesthetic reasons we could just fix the tooth.

Saturday and Sunday proved to be a bit of a pain for the Bebe's and you could tell her tooth was bothering her. Monday morning I called and made an appointment for the following day (because Dave had that day off) to take her in and get it fixed. We were presented with two more options. A) put an inexpensive "band aid" over the tooth and wait a few years for the baby tooth to fall out or B) fix the tooth and return it to its normal shape. I struggled with whether we were being vain in wanting our child's flawless till Friday baby teeth back to normal or if we actually cared. After talking to everyone I know...because that's just what I do...we decided to fix the tooth completely. Dave and I felt like having our child with a bum tooth for the next 4-5 years till it feel out was rather silly and it would affect her chewing and all that crazy nonsense. So decision made....Tuesday Dave heads to the dentist.

I get a call when everything is all over (I like it this way...causes me to chill out and not freak out). Apparently it did not go well. The Bebe's tooth got infected. Her cute little snaggle tooth managed to get infected between Saturday and Tuesday. They did x-rays and decided that we had two new options....A) pulpotomy or a pulpectomy (Baby root canal) or B) pull the tooth. Dave decided to do the what I come to find out is a VERY painful for all parties option the pulpotomy.

Poor Dave is now laying on the dentists chair with the Bebe's over his shoulder and their heads are right next to each other and she's screaming and hes within inches of it and I don't even want to type the rest out here...it was bad...

They came to visit after it was all done and she looked like she had been beaten with a wet noodle...for hours and hours and hours. Poor kid needed a hug and a bath and some baked beans from Steak n' Shake apparently. Point here: she needed some serious extra lovin.

So Dave's giving me the recap of the events and he's really good at remembering specific details much better than I am. So I feel adequately informed of everything that went on and heck if I had an issue, it's done and over with what am I going to do about it? Apparently though... during the whole dentist visit the doctor kept asking Dave if he wanted to call his wife and talk it over, make sure everything was okay with me yadda yadda etc etc. Dave insisted quite a few times that it was no big deal and what he agreed with and supported in our child's dental health was fine. At the end of the visit the Dr. said he would call later and check on our kiddo and see if we had any additional questions. Or I guess to see if "I" had any additional questions.

I'll get into my equal parenting rant here in one short moment.....to conclude the story....the dentist called...from a blocked number...at NINE FORTY FIVE AT NIGHT. Now maybe I'm old fashion or maybe I'm just much lamer than I was back in college and high school...but who the heck calls after 9/9:30 if it's not an emergency...unless you are expecting a call? Often my MIL calls later in the evening but that's expected. Heck my mother sometimes calls after 10 her time (very scandalous). I have a few friends who call later in the evening too but most people leave a married couple with kid(s) alone after a certain hour in the evening. On top of that...most of our friends and family are in a time zone an hour ahead of us so it's even later for them than it is for us. So really 9:45 maybe I'm being a bit dramatic but it's just a little late for a non-emergency medical call?

(Side note...this whole experience as much as it sucks...the Dr's really have rocked. From our pediatrician to the pediatric dentist they are all awesome...I think they should be given a lot of credit. And yes I'm complaining about 9:45 but heck it was nice for him to call us just to check in....)

Okay equal parenting rant.... I often get really uppity with Dave when I think he's slacking off on his parenting/husbanding/life partnering duties. Rightly so and sometimes not so rightly so....yes so rightly so rightly so...I like to use the English language and mold it into my own structure and lexiconical usages....

I get frustrated with Dave when he leaves the kitchen a mess or can't manage to get his clothes in the laundry basket. I get frustrated when I've given the Bebe's a bath for 4 straight evenings (because hes not home...hes at work...not cause hes a slacker lol) and he gives me some attitude when I suggest he take a turn. Sometimes he walks out of a room that I'm in with our child and doesn't even think to ask if I don't mind hanging out for a few minutes so he can get something done. He often assumes I'm just going to 'watch' the child. Part of this I know...is that our culture so ingrains in us that it's my responsibility. I realize in the grand scheme of things I maaaaaay have particularly high standards. I do try (although Dave would adamantly deny this) to chill out and relax about some things...

I am VERY lucky. Dave does so much around the house as an equal partner in our marriage/parenting/family life. 4-5 Days a week Dave gets our child out of bed, feeds her breakfast, packs her lunch, often packs my lunch...dresses her and hands her off so we can get out the door. On his day off during the week he stays home with her, spending quality time with her, playing beauty parlor (yep), or just hanging out refusing to get out of their pajamas.

They have a really amazing bond having absolutely nothing to do with me. The Bebe's is slightly more attached to me than she is to Dave but that's only because our work schedules permit me to spend more time with her than he gets.

Lets see if I can get to the part where I make a point. Tuesday night when the Dr called he wanted to reassure me that Dave did a great job at the office today with 'my' child. He said it 3-4 times. He then wanted to make sure that I was fine with everything that happened and to see if I had any questions. I'm so nagged by the fact that he wanted to confirm that Dave did a good job? What option was there other than to do a good job? This is our kid? We have no intention of doing a crappy job at raising her? And WHYYYYY was this so special that "Dad" brought her into the dentist? When scheduling appointments for our daughter I often look at our schedules and see what works with us and the doctors office. I regularly try to get both of us at an appointment but in this particular scenario it was just Dave. Sometimes it's just me. I can't in a million years fathom a doctor calling my husband to let him know that I handled our daughter really well at an appointment?

I'm so frustrated by this mind set and I work so hard in my own personal life to have equal parenting responsibilities with my husband that getting a phone call to tell me that my husband got an A+ reaaaaaally rubs me the wrong way. The best part is I'm not necessarily against specific gender roles but when one parent is present in a situation that parents in charge I don't need a follow up on his performance. I'd be just fine with a follow up on my child's tooth...and the dentists performance.

Now I've been ranting for WHOA...a long time here...Ironically as I'm writing this, NPR posted a story on their website and I LOVE IT. It's so very true. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113786014&sc=emaf

And because I hate when links fail here's the text:

When my son was 3, my wife and I rushed him to the emergency room. Bouncing from couch to chair in our living room, he had slipped and crashed into a coffee table. The pediatrician and the nurse explained how to care for his five stitches. At some point, it dawned on me that neither one made eye contact with me, even after I asked a question. They gave directions to my wife only. Soon after, I was bringing my older son to school, and his teacher asked me: "Would you tell your wife to pack an extra pair of shoes for Jake tomorrow?"

Admittedly, I'm not eager to pack the shoes, and my wife and I easily slip into classic gender roles. But at the same time, my better nature cringed. Why should I so easily be let off the hook?

These days, fatherhood is trendy. Fathers are either celebrated or challenged — or both — in a flurry of dad memoirs; a new TV sitcom, Hank; and a Clive Owen film about a widowed father raising his kids solo. President Obama recently launched a series of town meetings on responsible fatherhood. His central message is that fathers need to step up and carry their share of the parenting load.

What if President Obama and other political leaders, rather than just challenging fathers, challenged the rest of us to hold fathers accountable?

But fathers, whether they are wealthy suburban corporate executives or urban convenience store clerks struggling to get by, are not likely to shape up because of this fanfare or because they hear these messages sporadically from our political leaders. These messages need to be in the air fathers breathe every day.

Schools typically don't send report cards to fathers post-divorce or invite them to graduations or parent-teacher conferences. At times when fathers answer the phone when a teacher calls, the first question they get is: "Is your wife there?" Sociologist James May's research indicates that health care professionals ask fathers 1 question for every 15 questions that they ask mothers when both are in the room, and rarely make eye contact with fathers. Hospitals and community centers routinely organize new-mom groups, but rarely groups for new dads.

Richard Weissbourd is a child and family psychologist on the faculty of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and School of Education ... and a dad.

In one sense, these people are simply responding to reality. While more fathers are taking on greater parenting responsibilities, only about 10 percent of fathers in this country are the primary caretaker.

But what if we all raised the bar? What if a teacher reminded me to pack the shoes for the field trip? What if pediatricians urged mothers to make sure fathers periodically bring the kids to checkups? What if religious leaders regularly asked noncustodial fathers how often they visit their kids, and asked all fathers whether their children confide in them? And what if President Obama and other political leaders, rather than just challenging fathers, challenged the rest of us to hold fathers accountable?

If mothers suddenly became as marginal a presence in children's lives as dads are now, the public outcry would be deafening. We can get much closer to gender parity in caring for our children. But we as fathers need to step up — and others need to expect and accept no less.

And now back to Lindso... I know there are fathers out there that may not be taking a head on roll in parenting but when you question their right to make decisions about their kid(s) maaaaaybe that's part of the problem?

And to finish up the Bebe's story: They drilled...they filled...they sealed. We have to back in a few weeks and check to see if the bacteria is gone. If its all cleared up we can fix the tooth and she'll have everything back where it started. If for some reason its not all cleaned up and bacteria free...we may have the worse case scenario of pulling the tooth.

Moral of the story folks. Brush your teeth.

This story was not brought to you by the American Pediatric Dental Association or the Feminist Mom's Movement of the Greater Chicago Area....it's here for my simple and plain amusement and out there in hopes that someone actually reads my blog...

This is me....siiiiigning off...and being lame...or lamer...as I've previously stated.

Diorama

Dave: WE HAVE FISH STICKS?

Lindso: Yeah I totally binge shopped the other day and they sounded good I thought the bebes might like them too.

Dave: Well does she?

Lindso: She LOVES them. She scarfed them down so fast the other day it was crazy. It's like baby crack!

Lindso: I don't think I've ever bought fish sticks. I think my mom used to buy them for me a lot as a kid. They kind of remind me of 4th grade sitting in my kitchen working on a dinosaur diorama in a shoe box.

Dave: *Keeping his mouth shut*

Lindso (pointing to plate with fish sticks): Do you want the last one?

Dave: You can have it, I don't want to rob you of all your precious diorama memories.

Life altering update: We are almost out of fish sticks...I wonder if they sell a HUGE bag at Costco? Oooooooh fish sticks!

Falling in Love

Yes I'm corny and No I don't care! (I also don't make any sense...please read on)

This week wholeheartedly ushered in Fall. I couldn't be more thrilled. This is by far the best season of the year. I don't care if you agree with me...cause this is my square box of the world and I'm rockin it! :)

I've been wearing sweaters and zip up hoodies and casual slightly warm scarves all week. I busted out the argyle the other day...all clear signs that Fall is upon us! Dave has made me hot tea to take to work almost every morning. I've made soup! I'm embracing the season change with everything I have in me. I'm desperate to get my Fall decor out. Pumpkins and Harvest colored wall hangings and creative cream and burnt orange serving bowls. Gah! I love it.

I also love my nutcracker collection which spans all seasons. This time of year not only is beautiful it reminds me that right around the corner is Christmas. I start to pull out my Halloween themed nutcrackers and then comes Thanksgiving and ooooooh then comes the Christmas tree. I'm such a sucker for decorating. This time of year is clearly here for my own personal benefit and enjoyment.

I would flat out live every day of my life in a warm sweater comfy shoes and a hot cup of tea in my hand....

This Sunday is one of my favorite parts of Fall. The Apple Festival which we attend almost every year has finally come and I'm so jazzed for apple cider doughnuts and the eclectic group of semi farmers market booths selling everything from jalapeno jams and hot mustard's to bushels of apples and fresh apple cider. We always buy something small from the festival that's normally related to Charlie Brown and Snoopy although that really has nothing to do with anything haha

Regardless I'm just over the moon with this chilly slightly dreary...Fall is here...kind of weather. It gives me full on excuse to be cozy all the time.

*sigh*

A Rant of Geekiness

Okay...Lets put all our cards out on the table here...I LOVE geektv...I love almost all areas of SciFi. I'm only a few short steps away from attending Trekkie conventions. I was the one talking Dave into attending Comic-Con next year. Not that it took much convincing.

I really love futuristic science fiction or traveling to other worlds etc etc. I like tv that takes me to a new imaginary place. For that matter I'm really not all that into reality tv.

Star Trek Stargate Star Wars...you name it I've seen it...and I love it. I enjoy fantasy like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Narnia is also a good one.

I'm also a really big fan of science fiction that is quirky and fun. Eureka and Warehouse 13 make my day. I like seeing everyday people in strange unusual and unlikely situations. I consider Chuck in the same category as well, even though its technically classified as action-comedy.

I'm here today (yep...I'm just that cool) to throw a toddler-esque hissy fit about what is 'considered' scifi. WHY are horror movies considered science fiction? Its a bloody mess of chainsaws and creepy stalkers and guys wearing masks and disgruntled ignorant main characters getting killed off in no special or interesting way?

Now...I have no interest in watching movies such as Alien v.s. Predator but at least that's scifi horror. Most of what is on tv now that is considered scifi is horror and there's nothing SCIENCE fictional about it.

What on earth does Ghost Hunters have to do with scifi? It's considered a paranormal reality show. Ghosts are more paranormal rather than science fiction? Supernatural NOT science fiction. It's a reality show meant to scare you.....I'm still confused.

I looked at the scifi(syfy) channel line up over this upcoming weekend and its all horror, blood and gore. Why is this scifi? This is just violence meant to scare you?

How about we compromise and create a second syfy channel dedicated to Science Fiction Horror....you show enough of it now to create an entire channel and never run a repeat...come on....let me have back my true scifi and let all the people out there truly fascinated with death and dying in a most ridiculous and horrible way watch it on another channel....

Ghost Hunters...you can stay but can you not have mini marathons 2-3 nights a week. It's a bit much...and I don't really consider you scifi either...if you wanted to jump to my newly proposed SciFiHo...ooh I like that my new SciFiHo channel...I wouldn't complain.

Why not show more Chuck's and Narnias which are more closely related to the term SciFi than Slaughter and See No Evil.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programing...I hope it's something geeky!