You know you're raising a country kid when you pull up to a four-way stop in your little town and there are four cars (including yours) waiting to go through the intersection. Your youngest daughter looks at all the cars, crosses her arms, sighs heavily and turns to you to say:
"I really hate big cities. There are too many cars and too many people. I'm glad we aren't city people."
Edited to fix my inappropriate use of an apostrophe. Thanks Amy and Kathy for catching it!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The bugs
See them wiggle, see them creep, see them crawl. Imagine them crawling all over your body and through your hair. Can't you feel their little legs walking across your skin? Itch itch itch. Scratch scratch scratch. Shudder!
We have (had) them. Unruly's school called Friday with the news no parent wants to hear.
"Your child has lice. You need to come pick her up. Now."
LICE!? OMG!! Gross gross gross! I am absolutely MORTIFIED!! We're not dirty people! She bathes and washes her hair EVERY night! I'm probably one of the cleanest people I know. I'm so organized and clean I have little spasms of panic when things are out of place or someone left a coffee ring or milk drip on the counter. I cannot stand disorganization or dirtiness. I'm so bad my family accuses me of being OCD.
Now imagine how someone who may be a tad bit OCD about cleanliness reacts when she finds out her kid has bugs. In her hair. And probably on every last bit of clothing and bedding she owns. It's a full-out battle.
We went through nearly an entire jug of laundry soap and at least four full hot water tanks washing everything that kid has touched. Including my sheets and blankets.
She got to sit with insecticide on her head and sit again, for hours, while her father combed through her hair seeking nits.
Ugh. Just writing about it is making my head crawl with imagined bugs. I made my hubs check ME for lice and nits because Unruly likes to climb into bed with me and snuggle. I just KNEW she snuggled those nasty little critters right onto my own head.
He found none, thank goodness!
So, in 7 to 10 days we get to dump chemicals on her head again, just in case we missed any of the nasty little critters.
We have (had) them. Unruly's school called Friday with the news no parent wants to hear.
"Your child has lice. You need to come pick her up. Now."
LICE!? OMG!! Gross gross gross! I am absolutely MORTIFIED!! We're not dirty people! She bathes and washes her hair EVERY night! I'm probably one of the cleanest people I know. I'm so organized and clean I have little spasms of panic when things are out of place or someone left a coffee ring or milk drip on the counter. I cannot stand disorganization or dirtiness. I'm so bad my family accuses me of being OCD.
Now imagine how someone who may be a tad bit OCD about cleanliness reacts when she finds out her kid has bugs. In her hair. And probably on every last bit of clothing and bedding she owns. It's a full-out battle.
We went through nearly an entire jug of laundry soap and at least four full hot water tanks washing everything that kid has touched. Including my sheets and blankets.
She got to sit with insecticide on her head and sit again, for hours, while her father combed through her hair seeking nits.
Ugh. Just writing about it is making my head crawl with imagined bugs. I made my hubs check ME for lice and nits because Unruly likes to climb into bed with me and snuggle. I just KNEW she snuggled those nasty little critters right onto my own head.
He found none, thank goodness!
So, in 7 to 10 days we get to dump chemicals on her head again, just in case we missed any of the nasty little critters.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Not getting that fuzzy feeling
When I was young and in Girl Scouts I seem to remember doing a lot of stuff: Camping, outdoor activities, indoor activities that involved more than paper and crayons, learning about different cultures and people and attending different Girl Scout activities.
I had fun. I learned a lot and I looked forward to meetings. Cookie sales were part of Girl Scouts but it certainly wasn't all that Girl Scouts was about. Sales funded our camping trips and whatnot. Sales were but a blip in the entire Girl Scouting experience.
Now it seems like sales is all that Girl Scouts do.
Unruly is in her second year of Girl Scouts and I am less than impressed. The first meeting this year we were handed a packet of information and a pile of Girl Scout calendars to sell. We had to sell magazine subscriptions and nuts/candy. No one wants to buy the calendars, the nuts or candy. They want the cookies and I don't blame them.
Now we are selling cookies. This whole year of Girl Scouts has felt like nothing more than one big sell-fest. I'm not happy. Unruly is not having fun. We've missed the last two meetings because honestly, she's just not really excited about going and I don't blame her. Their meetings consist of hanging out in the church gym and coloring or making crafts. It just doesn't seem very Girl Scout-y to me. We missed a "cookie rally" Friday night because she has riding lessons every Friday night and it wasn't a very difficult decision to make. Riding lesson or cookie-selling meeting...hmmmm.... I don't know if this means she won't be allowed to sell cookies, and frankly, I really don't care.
Last year we sold TONS of cookies and as a troop raised about $1,200. The girls were looking forward to some kind of field trip or camping during the summer to enjoy their hard-earned money. Nothing ever happened and Unruly was very disappointed. To top it off, I can't seem to get a straight answer about what happened to the money the girls earned by selling all that crap.
The leaders from last year didn't continue this year so her troop was rolled into the current troop and so far, they've really done nothing but sell crap. No field trips, no camping trips, nothing. They are just going to sit in that gym and color pictures in between selling crap for all I know.
We didn't join Girl Scouts to sell stuff all year long. My daughter is not a salesman for this organization and I absolutely do not support the constant push to sell sell sell. She's 8. She just wants to have fun and be a real Girl Scout. This is not what we expected and definitely not what we signed up for. I'm pretty sure we're done. Of course, I'll leave the final decision up to Unruly, but I just can't see doing this for the rest of the year.
I had fun. I learned a lot and I looked forward to meetings. Cookie sales were part of Girl Scouts but it certainly wasn't all that Girl Scouts was about. Sales funded our camping trips and whatnot. Sales were but a blip in the entire Girl Scouting experience.
Now it seems like sales is all that Girl Scouts do.
Unruly is in her second year of Girl Scouts and I am less than impressed. The first meeting this year we were handed a packet of information and a pile of Girl Scout calendars to sell. We had to sell magazine subscriptions and nuts/candy. No one wants to buy the calendars, the nuts or candy. They want the cookies and I don't blame them.
Now we are selling cookies. This whole year of Girl Scouts has felt like nothing more than one big sell-fest. I'm not happy. Unruly is not having fun. We've missed the last two meetings because honestly, she's just not really excited about going and I don't blame her. Their meetings consist of hanging out in the church gym and coloring or making crafts. It just doesn't seem very Girl Scout-y to me. We missed a "cookie rally" Friday night because she has riding lessons every Friday night and it wasn't a very difficult decision to make. Riding lesson or cookie-selling meeting...hmmmm.... I don't know if this means she won't be allowed to sell cookies, and frankly, I really don't care.
Last year we sold TONS of cookies and as a troop raised about $1,200. The girls were looking forward to some kind of field trip or camping during the summer to enjoy their hard-earned money. Nothing ever happened and Unruly was very disappointed. To top it off, I can't seem to get a straight answer about what happened to the money the girls earned by selling all that crap.
The leaders from last year didn't continue this year so her troop was rolled into the current troop and so far, they've really done nothing but sell crap. No field trips, no camping trips, nothing. They are just going to sit in that gym and color pictures in between selling crap for all I know.
We didn't join Girl Scouts to sell stuff all year long. My daughter is not a salesman for this organization and I absolutely do not support the constant push to sell sell sell. She's 8. She just wants to have fun and be a real Girl Scout. This is not what we expected and definitely not what we signed up for. I'm pretty sure we're done. Of course, I'll leave the final decision up to Unruly, but I just can't see doing this for the rest of the year.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Half a pound of flesh
Hubby and I have actually been sticking to our workout plan and using the new "toy" in the basement regularly. Three days a week for half an hour. Next week it bumps up to about 45 minutes. I lift weights and do aerobics between sets and while waiting for him to do his sets. Jump rope, jumping jacks, knee lifts, jogging in place, plyometrics, sit ups on the ball, lunges, etc. It's a start. I'm walking on the "off" days plus I have all the outdoor chores that do require some effort and I ride. So, I'm burning calories. I'm sweating.
I'm on a 1,200 calorie a day diet which we started almost three weeks ago, along with the exercising. It's been tough for me as I've had to eliminate creamer and sweetener from my tea and my coffee and switch to plain, no-fat yogurt instead of all the exciting flavors I enjoyed before. We use no butter, no white bread, no white rice, no sugar, no pasta, very, very little cheese. I cook everything from scratch (I always have) and cut out the canned veggies (too much salt). And of course, people at work always bring something bad in (chocolate, cookies, bagels with cream cheese, etc. etc.) to tempt me. I've been GOOD! I indulged in ONE (yes ONE!) peanut M&M yesterday. That's it. I keep a food diary and have been using measuring cups for EVERYTHING so I know exactly what I'm eating. There isn't any guessing going on here. A serving is measured and the calories tabulated and added to the online diary so I can keep track of intake.
He has lost around 4 pounds, which is right where he's supposed to be. Me. Half a pound. Half. A. Freaking. Pound. Why do I bother? Why do I keep trying when obviously it doesn't work for me and obviously, I'm meant to be fat? Do I need to go to a 900 calorie a day diet and work out EVERY day, twice a day?
Yes, I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated and hungry and muscle sore. But, no pain, no gain, right? *sigh*
I'm on a 1,200 calorie a day diet which we started almost three weeks ago, along with the exercising. It's been tough for me as I've had to eliminate creamer and sweetener from my tea and my coffee and switch to plain, no-fat yogurt instead of all the exciting flavors I enjoyed before. We use no butter, no white bread, no white rice, no sugar, no pasta, very, very little cheese. I cook everything from scratch (I always have) and cut out the canned veggies (too much salt). And of course, people at work always bring something bad in (chocolate, cookies, bagels with cream cheese, etc. etc.) to tempt me. I've been GOOD! I indulged in ONE (yes ONE!) peanut M&M yesterday. That's it. I keep a food diary and have been using measuring cups for EVERYTHING so I know exactly what I'm eating. There isn't any guessing going on here. A serving is measured and the calories tabulated and added to the online diary so I can keep track of intake.
He has lost around 4 pounds, which is right where he's supposed to be. Me. Half a pound. Half. A. Freaking. Pound. Why do I bother? Why do I keep trying when obviously it doesn't work for me and obviously, I'm meant to be fat? Do I need to go to a 900 calorie a day diet and work out EVERY day, twice a day?
Yes, I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated and hungry and muscle sore. But, no pain, no gain, right? *sigh*
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