And what does Stephen Hawking say? Check it out.
Wordless Wednesday: Who is this guy . . .
and what did he do with this cute little boy?
Check out more Wordless Wednesday posts over at is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom
what is it with watermelons this week?
Sometimes my blog stats spike. Usually due to a Mr. Linky post from another site or a kind “shout out” from another blog. But this week just confuses me. Take a look:
My September 8th Google search strings included:
watermelon (31),
square watermelon (8),
square watermelons (5)
resulting in 60 VIEWS of the “my kind of watermelon” post
My September 9th Google search strings included:
watermelon (19),
square watermelon (8),
square watermelons (6)
resulting in 70 VIEWS of the “my kind of watermelon” post
And as of 6:55 p.m. (eastern time) on September 10th stats:
watermelon (26),
square watermelon (10),
square watermelons (2),
square water melon (2),
water melon square (2)
AND “καρπούζι τετράγωνο” (1) (which, when Googled – showed THIS page)
resulting in 66 VIEWS of the “my kind of watermelon” post
Look in my sidebar under “Top 10” posts. It’s moved to the top of the list.
I don’t get it. Do I just need to watch the news more? Disney’s Pass the Plate? Listen to NPR? Anyone?
UPDATE: I did figure out that the referring site is Google Images. Search for “watermelon” in Google Images and I’m on the first row. I guess when you’ve got a photo of watermelon showing up on the first page of Google Images, everyone in the world who searches for watermelon could potentially click on the image to see it better. Lucky me.
pragmatic idioms
I find myself saying certain things that, in the future, when they are adults, I’m sure my kids will remember and make fun of. My own personal idioms. Keep in mind that these phrases are spoken in a lighthearted, casual tone. I’m not angry or snippy when I say this stuff (okay – MOST of the time.) So. Here’s stuff I say a LOT.
“Yo. Pretend I’m your mother and that you respect me.” (When I’ve asked a kid to do something one too many times.)
“Is that working for you? Cause it’s not really working for me.” (In the middle of a tantrum.)
“Handle it differently, please.” (most recently, this is being said to PinkGirl when her first response is to yell at someone – usually her brother – when she perceives herself a victim of something “unfair.” Also said to FavoriteSon when he reacts to the yelling.)
“It’s not grace when you give it that way.” (Said when someone makes a “sacrifice” or “compromise” for another, but in the process, makes sure everyone knows how put out they are by doing it.)
“Solve your problem.” (In response to whining, complaining or having a fit.)
“What do you git, when you have a fit?” (answer? “nothin.”)
“Will you be complaining all day?” (Self-evident. I asked PinkGirl this question yesterday and she flippantly replied, “Pretty much.” I am so proud!)
“Don’t eat it.” (Deadpan response when a kid – ANY kid, says they see something yucky or gross. OFTEN said when a kid says they see a bug or lizard, but also when they say the see dog poop, rotten food in a forgotten lunch box, a cat hairball . . . you get the idea.)
“Are you done yet? How bout now? Now? What about now?” (This one is just fun. It can be used in the middle of a tantrum, when a kid is complaining about something or even when they are just thinking about something.)
“Leave no trace.” (Picked this one up from cub scouts. I say it when I see a kid’s stuff – aka “path of destruction” – dumped in the common living areas.)
“Isn’t it annoying that you had to stop (playing/watching tv/doing something fun) and come back and (do that/pick that up/put that away)? If you had (done it/picked it up/put it away) before, you wouldn’t have to do it now. You could still be (playing/watching tv/doing something fun).” (oh. they are getting TIRED of this one.)
“Good enough isn’t good enough.” (I rarely finish this sentence. I usually say, “Good enough . . . ” and the kids finish it in that “alright, already” tone of voice, while rolling their eyes.)
“Sometimes it’s not enough to do your best, sometimes you have to do what’s required.” (Got this one from Winston Churchill.)
Mom, can I . . . (something ridiculous – or ridiculously expensive)? “Yes” “REALLY?” “No.” (PinkGirl recently asked me if I would buy her the Barbie Mariposa doll. I said “Yes” and she looked at me and said. “I’m not fallin for it.”)
This was fun! I may make a page and keep adding to this.
What about you? What will your children remember and imitate when they are grown, sitting around the Thanksgiving table, doing the “do you remember . . . ” thing? What will they say to their kids? What do you remember hearing from your parents – over and over and over . . . ?”
If you have more than a comment’s worth of examples and happen to write a post on your own personal idioms, include a link to your post in a comment here! I know I would love to read it! I might even discover some new things to repeatedly say to my kids.
snow chocolate angel.
My kids like to watch Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel. In it, there are three kids – an older brother, a middle sister and a younger brother – who are training to be wizards. It’s good, clean fun, usually laced with lessons of honesty, responsibility and ethics in every episode. Often, it’s the girl, Alex who has trouble following the rules and we get to see the chaos and backlash that follow her choices. In one episode, Alex cheats on a Spanish test by sneaking a Spanish “pocket elf” into her bag (a tiny little expert/encyclopedia) and her brothers decide to make her suffer some consequences by giving the pocket elf some chocolate. (You NEVER give a pocket elf chocolate!) When the pocket elf bites her as she reaches into her purse, she becomes OBSESSED with chocolate.
Whenever I watch this, I must admit, I have the urge to make a CHOCOLATE ANGEL myself.
Find more chocolaty stuff at “Would You Like Chocolate With That” hosted by Lisa at Stop and Smell the Chocolate!
Reverse WFMW: Breastfeeding Tips for Sis
What a perfect week for a BACKWARDS Works For Me Wednesday!
In my last post, “free baby holding“, I shared my previous experiences as nursing mom and a little about my sister’s current experiences as she learns how to nurse her new baby. I remembered quite a bit and was able to give her some tips that have really made things easier, but my knowledge base is tiny compared to what my fellow bloggers can offer.
So here’s my plea:
Moms out there – if you nursed or are nursing your babies – what are some favorite, tried and true tips and tricks you employed to make your breastfeeding experience better and easier? Everything from products to techniques, clothing and gadgets, cleaning and storing milk – any suggestions you might have would be VERY much appreciated!
Here are three tips that really made a difference yesterday. TMI ALERT: (click away to avoid a candid discussion of logistics)
1. If you have a scab on your nipple, take a very warm washcloth and hold it to your nipple until the scab softens. The scab will fall off and latching will be much less painful. There will be hardly – if any – blood. Doing this also speeds up healing because the scab isn’t being pulled off every time the baby nurses. My nephew was a week old yesterday and my sister’s nipples are almost completely healed.
2. When you are expressing milk, RELAX. Yesterday, my sister was trying to express and she was getting NOTHING. I told her to stop looking at the pump. To drop her shoulders. Close her eyes. Get comfortable. Breath deep. Consciously slow her heartbeat and relax her muscles. Then I told her to look up. I was holding the baby and he was looking around. He yawned. He sneezed. My sister laughed and started talking about him. We discussed how cute he was. After about 2 minutes, I told my sister to look at the pump. She looked down and then she jerked her head back up and said, “HOLY COW, I can’t believe this crap really works!!!” Having trouble expressing? It’s not all mechanics. RELAX. Think about the baby. When I expressed at work, I looked at pictures of my babies.
3. DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!! My sister keeps forgetting to get some water before she sits down to nurse. I suggested that she leave water bottles near all the different places she nurses.
Get more great tips and ideas over at Works for Me Wednesday hosted by Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.
free baby holding.
I had a GREAT day Friday. I spent the day with my sister, Wendy and LittleHoudini while her hubs was at work. I arrived a little before 9:00 a.m. and left a little before 9:00 p.m. What an amazing day:
She got:
To take a shower and wash her hair – and blow it dry!
Two 2-3 hour naps.
A fridge with about a weeks worth of cooked dinners in it.
I got:
To hold a tiny baby for HOURS!!!!
They came home from the hospital on Thursday night and I went over to stay with my sister while her husband went to to get her Percocet prescription and stop at the grocery store. LittleHoudini was having a horrible night. Screaming inconsolably. Nothing we tried worked. The nurses had given him a little formula because my sister’s milk hadn’t come in and he was working through it. Not sure if he was hungry or having digestion problems, they gave him a little more formula later that night. Whatever the problem, they all had a rough night Thursday and didn’t get much sleep.
Even though he was exhausted, my brother-in-law had to go back to work on Friday, so I dropped my kids off at school and went straight to my sister’s house. She was wiped out. She had just finished nursing LittleHoudini and I asked if she wanted to take a shower. Such a little thing, a shower, but it can make such a big difference. I just curled up in a chair with LittleHoudini and watched him sleep while she showered and got something to eat. She started to clean up the house, but I gave her such a hard time she settled for sitting on the couch and sorting through her diaper bag from the hospital.
When he woke, she nursed him and when she started to switch him over to the other side she said, “What is that on his face?”
I looked. “Milk.”
“REALLY?”
Later that day, after two naps and some food, she said, “When I saw milk on his face earlier?”
“Yeh?”
“That was the greatest accomplishment of my life.”
See, her own doctor had said to her, “Some women just don’t have much milk.”
Okay doc. Maybe so. But WHY would you say this to a woman BEFORE HER MILK EVEN CAME IN? Was it your intention to make her doubt herself? To anticipate failure even before attempt?
An aside: I admit, I believe in breastfeeding.
And before I say anything about my experience, let me say this: If you give/gave your baby formula, that’s fine with me. Whether you gave your baby formula by choice, medical necessity, or any other reason – I’m not going to berate you or beat you up for it. It’s YOUR decision. Breastfeeding was MY decision. You have every right to disagree with me and I know this can be a controversial subject. If you think formula is better than breastfeeding, feel free to comment, just realize you aren’t going to change my mind. I’ve done my research and I nursed both my kids. I’ve experienced the benefits firsthand. (And this blog is my own personal hate-free zone so any comments containing meanness or passive-aggressive sarcasm are changed to an invisible font.)
I know firsthand how difficult it is to breastfeed and work full-time. With FavoriteSon, the first two months, I was on maternity leave, the third month, I worked part-time and from the fourth through seventh month, I worked full time as a program manager at a college. Every day I expressed milk for the babysitter to give my babies. I had a male co-worker stand outside my office door while I was expressing and moo like a cow. I got him back by calling him on the phone to work through some paperwork – while the breast pump hummed in the background. For some reason, he wasn’t comfortable talking to me at that time. Said he would wait till I was finished. wimp.
From FavoriteSon’s seventh month and when I went back to work after having PinkGirl, I worked as a trainer, teaching classes. I would nurse the baby in the morning, drop off at the sitter’s, start a class, break at 10:00 a.m., express for 10 to 15 minutes, teach till we broke for lunch, sit in my car, eat lunch, express and begin an afternoon session, break at 3:00 p.m., express for 10 to 15 minutes, finish the afternoon class, express one side in the car while driving to pick up at the sitter’s. (The battery operated Medela
only takes one hand under the shirt. I got it situated before I started driving. Even the mounted police cameras couldn’t see anything.) When I got to the sitter’s I nursed the baby on whichever side I hadn’t expressed in the car. I carried a lunch box cooler full of food to work, brought home expressed milk in it EVERY day. On those days I had to attend a business lunch, I took 20 minutes before or after to express. It was a routine. It worked. I was very open with my clients about what I was going to do on my breaks and during my lunch. They respected my decision and often provided an empty office for me so I didn’t have to go to the car or drag a chair into the bathroom. When the stress built up and the milk started to go, I would spend a weekend “nursing on demand” like all the books and experts told me to do. It always worked. I got plugged ducts and mastitis. Not just once. And it hurt. And I got rid of the plugged ducts by nursing on demand, like all the books and experts told me to do. For each child, the first week, I had some serious pain. TMI ALERT: Bleeding. Cracking. Even Scabbing. But I knew it was temporary. When it was that bad, it only really hurt for a moment, during the latch. FirstHusband said that when he watched me brace myself when the baby latched on, he was never more proud of me. Me too. I knew it was temporary. By the second week, it was much better and by the third week, I was healed and it didn’t hurt at all. I nursed both my kids for more than a year. That was my decision and it required extended, sustained determination, work and sacrifice. I did it for health reasons, financial reasons . . . LOTS of reasons. That was MY decision.
Breastfeeding was my sister’s decision, too. But before her milk even came in, her doctor had given her the impression that she couldn’t do it. I spent all of Friday working on her confidence and helping her master this delicate part of motherhood. Saturday, we went back over to let PinkGirl, FavoriteSon and FirstHusband meet LittleHoudini. He had a great day, sleeping well and eating well.
I don’t know if my sister will continue to nurse LittleHoudini after she goes back to work, but for now, she’s doing GREAT!