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My First Fail
50 funniest scenes in the history of film
Lamebook
Photo Bombs
Goths in Hot Weather
My favorites on Twitter
Lovely Listings Thanks, JMB
People of Walmart
Mint
Play Pen Slip Covers
*If you have any great links, leave a comment. If I use your link in my next Things I'm Enjoying post, I'll link to your blog.
Things I'm Enjoying 4
Things I'm Enjoying 3
Things I'm Enjoying 2
Things I'm Enjoying
So, I've written about this enthralling subject before.
I am so fucking frustrated.
We have gotten to the point where Willa only naps one or two days a week (if I'm lucky). She'll go 5 days without napping.
Here's the kicker- it's not like I'm trying to force a non-tired kid to nap. She's visibly tired. She gets whiney, and cranky, and starts falling over. If she doesn't nap, the afternoons are horrible. She'll often burst into tears for no apparent reason BECAUSE SHE IS SO TIRED.
I just don't get it. I remember nap time IN KINDERGARTEN when I WAS FIVE. Willa started fighting her naps when she was A YEAR OLD. Seriously. The first day ever that she didn't take a nap was on her first birthday. She stopped napping in her stroller when she was about 10 months old.
I honestly am more tired now then when Willa was an infant.
If she doesn't nap, it's 12-13 hours a day of non-stop action. It's not that Willa is hyper active- it's just that she's very INTERACTIVE.
"Mommy, let's dance"
"Mommy, read me this book"
"Mommy, chase me"
"Mommy, watch me!"
"Mommy look"
She's getting better, but she's not the best at playing by herself. I can't blame her. It's much more fun to share activities with someone.
Admittedly, my physical issues make parenting more challenging for me than most.
TANGENT: I am really fighting with myself to not use the TV as a crutch, but it's difficult. I used to be able to shower while she was napping, but now that there is rarely a nap, I have no choice but to turn the TV so I can shower. I must mention- Willa HATES when I shower. She cries hysterically. We think it's a fear thing. I am comfortable with letting my kid cry in certain situations, but not if she is hysterical and shaking with fear. So, a few mornings a week, I turn on Sesame Street so I can shower.
I've stopped beating myself up about it because you know what? We read about 20 books a day, we take classes at the Y, we go to programs at the library twice a week, we go to museums, etc.- a little Sesame Street isn't going to hurt her.
Back to the napping issue-
After we eat lunch, I give Willa about 10 minutes to digest (which also gives her a chance to poop). Then we head to her room, brush her teeth, change her diaper, and read a couple of books. Then I sing her her lullaby and put her in the crib. She is usually yawning and acting sleepy. We have black out curtains. The minute I walk out of her room she starts singing and jumping up and down in her crib.
After about a half an hour of her playing I go in and check to make sure she hasn't pooped. Either way, I change her diaper if necessary, and put her back down. She often cries and says "All done Mommy!"
Today, she is napping, after an hour and 45 minutes of singing and playing, and me going back in her room twice, and finally, 15 minutes of her crying it out.
It shouldn't be this hard. I hate letting her cry it out.
But, I'm exhausted. And so is she. And I have things to do.
At night, after we put her to sleep, I am too tired to get anything accomplished. To be honest, getting her to nap is so physically and mentally exhausting, that on the rare occasion that she does nap, most of the time I don't get much accomplished either. I'm not getting stuff done. I'm overwhelmed.
I was a nanny for years. I am not one of those woman who was surprised at how hard parenting is. However, I always assumed my kid would nap- at least until school started. So, I always told myself, well even if I'm really tired, or sick, at least I can have a break or take a nap when my kid naps.
Boy, was I wrong.
I might be opening a can of worms here, but I want to talk about Michael Vick, or more specifically about rehabilitation.
If I'm being honest, my first reaction to the whole situation was that Vick should never be allowed to play football again. I've since thought a lot about it. Can someone who performed such cruel acts be "reformed", or are they just inherently evil?
Then I read this article by Alec Baldwin.
Here is a highlight:
"What Vick did is, obviously, senseless and reprehensible. But I believe Vick, as a wealthy and talented athletic superstar who performs his job out in the open before crowds of amped-up and highly opinionated fans, suffers an unfair disadvantage as compared to, say, the heads of a meatpacking plant or the directors of a medical research lab where animals are suffering the cruelest imaginable abuses behind walls and doors that remove them from our sight and, therefore, judgments. Vick did horrific things and he deserved to be punished. He served his time and now I wonder what good does it do to exile him in shame and not let him show his example of how one can be rehabilitated after that kind of behavior. If Vick returns to his true form as an NFL pro, that platform can mean real progress for the animal rights movement. Or do some people really not want to open that conversation? Vick is one man who, along with his friends, brutally tortured and killed many innocent dogs and called it a sport. Each day in this country, millions upon millions of animals are suffering lives of daily abuse in factory farming, but we turn away because that animal, unlike Vick's dogs, ends up on a grill and then on our plates."
Mr Baldwin makes some really good points. And at the risk of sounding like a preachy vegetarian, is the way an animal is killed really what defines whether or not they are being treated with cruelty? I personally don't believe there is a "humane" way to kill a "being".
For instance- if you look at two murders- one where the person was killed quickly with a slit to throat, or one where the person was tortured first before being killed, are the murderers going to be treated any differently when they are on trial? They both killed someone. Does the way they did it matter? And if so, why is there a double standard for animals?
Stepping off my soapbox...
I'm having an internal struggle. I'm not sure what I believe. I'm not sure if people can be rehabilitated, or if some people are just plain evil. Where do you draw the line? Which crimes can be forgiven if time is served, and which deserve that the key be thrown away?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
A little background-
In 1985 I became a huge Mets fan. In 1986 they won the World Series because of THIS.
I wish every 10 year old's team could win the World Series. It was awesome. I've been a hard-core Mets fan ever since.
So, my birthday is tomorrow, and I'm really not thrilled about it, but my friends insisted on celebrating with me. So yesterday, we had some of our best friends over, and we had a great time.
Two of our friends, Goldner and Rachel, who are hard-core Yankees fans, and yet, have always been supportive of my love of the Mets, gave me the most amazing present- a picture of the moment Mookie Wilson (who my cat is named after) hit the ball between Bill Buckner's legs, signed by both Wilson and Buckner.
I, of course, burst into tears.
Here's the video of me receiving the present:
Avoid this job
Passive aggressive notes Thanks, Jenski
Food allergies get curiouser and curiouser
Why Is the Mainstream Media Spreading Misinformation about Health Care Reform? Thanks, Erin
Colbert Nails 'Em Thanks, Sara
75 Things You Can Compost, But Thought You Couldn't Thanks again, Sara
15 images you won't believe AREN'T photoshopped
Let me Google that for you Thanks, Mama in the City
There, I fixed it Thanks again, Mama in the City
Aaaaaand
Cake Wrecks Many people have suggested this as a link, and I'm not sure why I've never posted it. I guess I thought everyone knew about it already.
*If you have any great links, leave a comment. If I use your link in my next Things I'm Enjoying post, I'll link to your blog.
Things I'm Enjoying 3
Things I'm Enjoying 2
Things I'm Enjoying
So, we have a situation.
Our oldest cat, Annie's health is declining. It's not a surprise considering she is about 16 years old, but the fact that she lives in our bedroom, makes everything more complicated.
The first problem-
Annie eats only wet food, for several reasons, but mostly because her teeth have decayed, and the vet isn't comfortable putting her under anesthesia to clean her teeth at her age. I have come to terms with the fact that my bedroom occasionally smells like a fish market, but now there is another food related issue. In the past few months, Annie has become a SUPER sloppy eater. I'm not sure I can adequately express to you how sloppy. The entire wall that her food bowl sits against has cat food particles ALL OVER IT. SO does the floor. And the bed skirt. AND, if you walk to the other side of the room, you will find cat food particles on the wall there too, because apparently Annie has made a habit of walking around with a mouth full of food and then shaking her head (this is our guess, anyway). If any of you have elderly parents or grandparents, you will totally get what I'm saying. It's like life comes full circle- you need a bib at the beginning AND the end of life.
So, now my bedroom is coated with cat food particles, and kitty litter, which brings me to the next problem-
I can not say enough negative things about having a kitty litter in my bedroom. The smells (WHAT THE HELL IS IN THAT CAT FOOD?), the litter everywhere (including ON MY BED), and the scratching that wakes me in the middle of the night- all suck, but not as much as Annie's other fun new problem-
Um, how do I say this? She's less AWARE of her ass these days. Like, on an almost daily basis I find a turd somewhere in our bedroom. Sometimes ON MY PILLOW. Let me tell you, there is nothing better than coming to bed EXHAUSTED only to find a turd on your pillow. And sometimes there are skid marks (gags). I'm not sure if it's a loss of bowl control, or a grooming issue, but we were already having to contend with a lot of vomit (Annie has always been a "vomiter"), and now there is bonus poop.
So for those keeping score, our bedroom is pretty much covered in cat food, kitty litter, poop and vomit. Anyone up for a sleepover?
The newest problem is that Annie sleeps on the edge of the bed, actually sometimes half on the bed, half on my husband's night stand, because cats are WEIRD. Anyway, I was kind of liking this situation because Annie used to sleep on my head every night. But, now- and I swear I am not making this up- she keeps falling off the bed in the middle of the night. REPEATEDLY. Last night it happened FIVE TIMES. I'm assuming she just falls deeply asleep and then the next thing you know she is on the floor, but she doesn't do it quietly, oh no, that would be too much to ask. She often takes items on the nightstand with her- last night it was the baby monitor. There are a lot of nails clinging to the sheets and blankets, which often leads to her hanging off the bed by one nail- which means I have to wake up and try to untangle her, which is a fun festival because she it hissing and trying to attack me the whole time. She can't figure out that she just needs to retract her claw- even after having this happen eleventy billion times.
So between eating as though she is using a chainsaw as a fork, scratching in the kitty litter for 20 minutes at a time- only to fill the room with an aroma that burns my nostril hair, leaving turd presents everywhere, vomiting under (or on!) my bed, and falling off the bed, I am getting virtually no sleep. And when I get out of bed in the middle of the night to pee, or perhaps to untangle a certain cat, I pray that I don't step on anything wet or squishy.
*I am not looking for advice. I just needed to vent. If you leave a comment about how I should "just get rid of her" or "put her to sleep" I will probably not publish it.
Tomorrow, my friend Danny's book comes out.
I can not say enough about this book.
I feel like many books have been written about women's depression, most about post-partum depression, but little has been written about male depression.
In RAGE AGAINST THE MESHUGENAH, Danny bravely talks about his battle with depression.
He talks about feeling a lack of connection with his new son, and distracting himself with his job, only to be laid off with no warning. 4 days later was September 11th, 2001. What followed was Danny's downward spiral into a debilitating depression, and how he clawed his way back out.
Rage is raw and brutally honest. It is the book equivalent of standing in gym class naked. And yet, Danny manages to effectively use humor to talk about his depression without depressing you.
As someone who has suffered from bouts of depression for years, I really related to what Danny had to say. It's funny, some people think that admitting that you suffer from depression makes you weak, especially if you are a man. I think it is just the opposite. I think Danny is brave. Because he was willing to talk about what he went through, I think he will help countless people. People who will see that they are not alone. People who who will see that it is possible to be happy again.
If you, or someone you care about has ever suffered from depression you should buy this book.
Even Willa loves this book:
You can buy the book by clicking on the link in my side-bar (on the right), or by going directly to Amazon by clicking here
or, even though the book's official release isn't until tomorrow, August 4th, 2009, some book stores (like Barnes and Noble) have already started selling it.
If you take a picture with the book, be sure to add it to Danny's Flickr group.
