Taking the fun out of coloring

Marketers have done it again! Taking the fun out of childhood ...

My mom bought wesley a Disney coloring book because he loves Mickey mouse and coloring. I noticed that the pages were thicker and textured, but no matter. We broke out the crayons and stickers and had a fun time coloring (washable crayons of course - he likes to color on the table as well).

Then I noticed why the pages were different! You're not supposed to use good old fashioned crayons, but a dumb colorless marker ("No Mess!") that changes color as you go across the page. How boring is that?! 1 marker instead of a box of crayons ... No letting you decide what color Goofy is ... No making a mess... Sigh. Childhood is officially dead.

Poor ol' Grandma

It looks like no one wants to be called Grandma anymore. Too old sounding for the Baby Boomers who are becoming grandparents, it seems.

At first when I read the articles in Babble & NY Times, I thought that this is just a typical trend now that 60 is the new 40 and stretch denim has been invented. But then I took a step back. Does Wesley have a Grandma and Grandpa? Nope. Did my mom want to be called Grandma? Nope. Did we actually discuss her new name? Yep.

So it looks like we're also guilty of the Grandma-trap.

My husband's parents are Gaga (pronounced Gagi, this is what my MIL called her grandma) and Pop (this is what he wants to be called). My parents are Nonno (Italian for grandpa since my dad is from Italy) and... well, this is where we get confusing... my mom still doesn't know what she wants to be called. In the interim, I've nicknamed her Nanalee (Nana + Lee from her name Rosalie), and even though she likes this name, she's holding out that Wesley will come up with something better.

Better than Nanalee?

Maybe she's hoping that Wesley will follow in the footsteps of Paula Dean's grandson. On the Today Show a while back, Paula Dean was telling them that her son wanted his baby to call her Granny, in which she replied that if he did she was going to cut him out of her will. But her little grandson found a cuter name .. Ginny (pronounced /g/). As much as I love to make fun of Paula, that was pretty cute.

But my mom's not a Ginny. According to these articles, Goldie Hawn is being called GlamMa ... now if only my mom had thought of that first.  She doesn't have the long blond hair, but can she pull off GlamMa?

Wes and his Grandma, Nana, Glamma??

The Great Cloth Diaper Change was today!

This event started to build awareness and enthusiasm for cloth diapering our babies and keeping disposable diapers out of the landfills. It grew into a worldwide event, and we were part of it!

Hubby, Baby & I joined 30 other cloth diapered babies and their moms and dads nearby where we simultaneously changed a cloth diaper at approximately 11:30 a.m. today.

Me & Wes as the room gets ready

getting our babies ready

Holding up the cloth diaper we'll put them in

Holding up our newly changed babies (Wes is hidden)

Only 9 months old and already part of history!

Shhh the baby's sleeping!

Honestly, the other day I told someone that I felt like the Baby Whisperer trying to figure out what Wes wants when he's fussy (it's not always food, contrary to popular belief).  Then over the weekend I found this article in the tribune labeled Baby Whisperer.

Link to article

It looks like people -- mostly "high-performing professionals" -- get sleep consultants to help them put their babies to sleep (unlike us low-performing professionals who just grin and bear it and do it ourselves.) This is somewhere along the lines of all those crazy animal psychics who move to LA because the stars will pay anything to find out why Mitzi is pooing on the rug ("She's telling me that she'd like you to take her outside so she can poo in the grass instead.")

And seriously, the more money you make the more likely you're totally disconnected to reality and will listen to someone who tells you this (from the article):

"For those parents who can't stand to hear a baby cry, some consultants might recommend the "sleep shuffle," an elaborate system in which a parent spends a few nights sleeping on the floor next to the crib and then gradually moves farther away until he or she is sleeping in the hall outside the nursery door and eventually in his or her own bed."

When I read that to Matt, he laughed out loud, "Sleep on the floor? That is insane!"  If you want to be close to your baby so that you can attend to their needs, put a bassinet next to your bed. That way you're all sleeping in a bed. Duh!  That's what we did and just 2 weeks ago ( @ 6 weeks old), Wes has started sleeping in his own crib in his room.  We started slowly -- the 1st shift in there and the 2nd in our room, and now he's in there all night.

If you're a "high-performing professional" sleeping on the floor next to a crib (or in a hall outside the nursery), then you're an idiot, and you get paid too much.  One of the skills employers look for is problem solving, thinking outside the box, creative solutions -- hiring a person to tell you to sleep on the floor and actually doing it means you don't have any of those skills.

I do.  And I am sorely underpaid. And I sleep in my own bed.

Name-dropping

I was reading the wedding/engagements/anniversary page in the paper today and I have 1 question ...

... if you had a quasi-important cousin (say, CEO of a car company), would you put that he attended your wedding as a "special guest" in your wedding announcement?

Yeesh. Like anyone gives a crap.

Al & Tipper

Normally I don't care when this happens, but when I opened up Yahoo News and saw that Al & Tipper were getting a divorce I got really sad.  Maybe I'm too much of a romantic-optimist, believing in love no matter what -- even after 40 years... I want everyone to have a sort of Paul & Linda McCartney tale of love & companionship ...

Is there a place for gold-plated babies?

I watched this show on We called Platinum Babies. Have you seen it? It's kind of like TLC's A Baby Story except ... you don't see the actual delivery and the people are rich and better looking.

I watched 2 episodes back-to-back -- 1 was a older man/younger woman situation in CA; the other were Eco-snobs in NYC.

I learned that it sucks to be the average person. When you have money, the hospital staff pretty much bend down and kiss your $@^ every step of the way. You get the best rooms, the best Post-partum room, and the nicest nurses, and the best equipment. "It was like a hotel," she cooed, "I didn't want to go home."

Here's was something else I learned. After you have the baby, your husband should surprise you with a Push Present. "Thanks to my young hot wife for pushing my baby out! Here's some bling." GAG. I don't need to be "bought" - how about being a super supportive husband, both emotionally and physically, through it all.

Finally I learned that people who have money don't go to the Park District (like me!). The NYC couple belonged to this posh place, like a spa/health club that also had an organic cafe and kids areas. I have to admit that I was pretty "eco" green with envy; if only I had a spare $3600 lying around?

Will I be watching this again? Nah. I need to see real people.

No Olympics in Chicago ...

I love the Olympics. From when I was very young, my mom got us all excited about it and we would curl up in front of the TV every night to watch the opening ceremonies, events, and stories of the athletes and the host cities. I would always envision I was one of the skaters or gymnasts, imagining the routines in my head and the cheers from the crowds.

When my mom told me that the kids in the host city got to help out and didn't have to go to school, I was flabbergasted. I wanted to know why our small suburban town couldn't host the winter games. My mom looked at me rationally and said, "You need places to ski and ice skate to have a winter games, honey."

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I clearly pointed out to her the excellent hill by the Post Office where we used to sled, and the pond where we would go ice skating. To a six year old, those were clearly obvious and ideal places for athletes to show their stuff. My mom had to set me straight, whether I agreed or not, there would be no Olympics in our town.

So when Mayor Daley started this campaign for the Olympics, I was incredulous. But it was the summer games, and if Atlanta could pull it off, we could too. I'll be honest, I wasn't one of the Olympic die-hards rallying for the 2016 games - traffic, taxes, crowds... But every time I would see it I would feel a twinge of excitement -- regardless of the fact I was no longer in school and wouldn't get any time off.

But I thought, maybe, just maybe, we would get it and how fun would it be to bring my kid to the games, and tell them this was about 40 years in the making.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. I can't explain why I'm saddened, but I feel for Chicago as if she were that Olympic athlete, the one who gives it her all, but doesn't win. I'm saddened for the child in me that innocently thought Alberto Tomba could race down that Post Office hill.

Maybe in another 40 years, Chicago will try again, and win. And I can bring the grandkids.

Uma Yoga Uma Yoga

In recent postings, on both Rosey Cheeks and Cheap Rosie, I’ve talked about Yoga -- free yoga downloads, yoga before running, etc. Needless to say, I’ve been doing more yoga now than ever before, and I feel that it’s definitely contributed to my overall well-being.

So naturally, after reading this article I thought, “Of course it’s good for Uma to do yoga. While you’re cramped on an airplane you get stiff and some stretching can really alleviate tension…”

But my next reaction was more like … “Whoa, wait … on the plane? In the aisles?”

Unless you’re a Yogi (like a Jedi-Master of the Yoga world), you can go a few hours without sticking your leg behind your head. I understand the need to stretch on a plane – it’s imperative to do so – but you can do this by going to the bathroom or moving around your legs and such. I doubt Uma was in Coach, so she has plenty of leg room.

I mean, who has enough “gumption” (that’s not the word I wanted to use here) to get up and use the airplane aisle as your own personal sticky mat. Is it a fact that when you’re a Hollywood star, you feel that you can pretty much do whatever you want? Gumption or not, she obviously felt entitled to do something that is both rude and self-centered.

And that is something that Yoga is not all about.

Oh – and I love the bit about the smoking …

This time matters!

So today we finally are going to elect a new President. After 8 crummy years, I can't believe this day would ever come. And it's pretty exciting being from the city of one of the candidates.

Rally Being Set Up
AP photo by Paul Beaty / October 31, 2008

Part of me wants to rush out of town on a 3PM train (well, I still need to vote) and avoid the crowds (trains are all running on a special schedule today). And Part of me wants to go downtown (it is after all a beautiful day) and see some history in the making, and just be part of it.

TV Satelites
Tribune photo by Kuni Takahashi / November 3, 2008

Or at the very least, see what our local newscasters look like in real life.

More on Airlines

In a previous post, I ranted about all the upcharges on airlines.

Just now, I am reading Consumer Reports' ShopSmart and they detail all the charges that the major airlines can charge you. The best airline (i.e. no extra charges): Southwest

Having relatives in Nashville, this is an airline we use quite a bit and it's always been a fine, no frills ride. Glad to see they're always ahead of the competition.

The baddies? Spirit and AirTran

These guys will charge you for just requesting a seat change or confirming your seat. Tsk. Tsk.

Flying the "Alcatraz" skies

Editor's Note: Since this was written, United decided to scrap the idea of paying for meals on International flights. Thank you United.

______________

I just saw in the Tribune that United Airlines will charge for meals on International flights (link to an article, not the Tribune). Flying nowadays is starting to resemble time in a prison cell – oh wait, they get food.

I’ve been on enough International flights to know that the meals are hardly gourmet food, but when you’re stuck in the air for 8+ hours, next to some stranger who’s probably leaching into your seat and the in-flight movie is something like Big Mama’s House, the meal is the one bright shining star. A plastic wrapped dinner roll never looked so good.

So why are they charging? They need more revenue and something to distinguish first-class from coach.

I thought what distinguished first-class from coach were the bigger seats, the nicer flight attendants, the gourmet (real gourmet) food on real china with real forks and knives, free booze, the fluffier cleaner pillow and blanket, and the “welcome aboard, here’s your champagne” greeting.

Apparently that wasn’t enough.

Well if United needs more help to distinguish First from Coach – essentially making us pay for everything so that the final bill resembles First class anyway – here are some ideas:

1) Charge us to use the bathroom
2) Charge us a breathing rate – after all, oxygen on flight is a precious commodity.
3) Wanna do the crossword in the in-flight magazine? That’ll cost you $3.50 for the magazine.
4) Blanket or pillow? Ante up. (Actually, I think this is actually going to happen).
5) No more free drinks, and ice? An extra $1.00.
6) No more gate service. If you want to get on your plane, you’ll have to walk the tarmac. First class gets limo service.

The quest for Happiness

Here's the question: What would make you happier? Buying something for you or for someone else?

If you're like most people, you would have said "yourself." This was the question posed to people during a study reported on NPR yesterday. Most people said they would be happier to buy something for themselves.

The second part of the study put this statement to task: They gave a group of people money (of various amounts). 1/2 of them were supposed to use the money on themselves, and the other 1/2 were to use the money on someone else.

When they questioned the study participants they found ... that the group who bought something for someone else were happier in the end.

The study showed that humans don't really know what makes them happy. And maybe this is why people continue to shop and consume, because they think that inside those shopping bags lie the happiness they were searching for. And this quest for happiness is what fires up the advertisers -- "buy this and you will be happy."

Wait, no you won't.

Women's Lib-ido

I was reading an article in the Chicago Tribune this morning about a new pill to help a woman's libido. Apparently, the loss of testosterone in a woman can decrease sex drive, so this pill is for amping up the testosterone (i.e. can I have a side order of facial hair with that pill, please?)

Anyway, the best part of the article came when they quoted someone as saying, "Testosterone isn't going to help if you're married to a schmuck."

I think this should be stated as one of those voice-over warning, "May cause dry mouth, fatigue, and dizziness. Do not use if taking anti-depressants. May not treat symptoms if married to a schmuck.

Sad

I was on the train last night going downtown from work and in front of me was the cutest little girl who was about 2 years old. She was with a woman who must have been her mom and what was the mom doing? Teaching her little baby to say the word "skank." And saying it she did over and over with her mom making sure it was right.

I was overcome with sadness. And I asked myself which was worse, this or the moms I see beating their kids on the train when they fuss just a little.

Not having grown up with this sort of behavior, I'm shocked and saddened each time.

I imagine these women being young, poor, single moms who are stressed out and have never been taught what it's like to be a proper mother. Each time I see this I see the continuing cycle of poverty. And every time I see this I get more and more angry with those who only want to teach abstinence instead of a comprehensive sex education to ALL people -- not just those in wealthy suburban schools.