Native American names

I'm a little late to the party, but I just read this great post: What is your child's Native American name?

For years, I've sworn that Girl1 would be, "Walks Into Walls." She pays absolutely no attention to what's in front of her. My mom swears my oldest sister was the same way. Too caught up in something else to even notice the wall which is quickly approaching. At camp, about two years ago, I picked her up to find a large bump on her forehead. Her poor counselor was so apologetic and obviously felt awful. She explained how the child wasn't paying attention and walked into the door. As the counselor is explaining this, the child DOES IT AGAIN right in front of me. The counselor looked startled, pointed to the child and said, "Kind of like that."

Girl2 is my constantly vocal child. I get very little pity from others since I've always been exactly the same way. My mother used to say, "You said your first word and you haven't stopped since." Girl2's name would probably be something like, "Lacks Mute Button." Yes, I admit that I have pointed the remote control at her and tried, but it never works.

I'm undecided with TheBoy. Dh has no helpful suggestions. In my comment on that post, I suggested, "Smiles Gets Way," because all that child has to do is flash a smile and people around him bend over backwards to do his bidding. He is a very charming child, but also a bit ornery. That does not the best combination make. My other suggestion for his name would be, "Yes No Go Away." He is very much at that age where he can't decide what he wants. It's one thing until that happens and suddenly, it's the oposite. I greatly dislike Gerber (now a Nestle subsidiary and we boycott Nestle), but their advertising department was brilliant with a new ad for their Graduates. The commercial features a mom with a toddler asking, "Up, up." Then the mother picks him up and a second later, he demands, "Down," only to chant, "Up," upon being put down. TheBoy is now at an age where he can accurately articulate what he wants. Problem is, he doesn't always know what that is.

So, what about the rest of you? Anyone else have ideas for their kids/husbands/pets?

Wouldn't that be a kick-ass band name?

On Yahoo, I saw the headline, Painful Fill-ups & Papal Trivia.

Am I the only one who thinks that would be a great band name?

So now you tell me, what random phrase have you heard that you think would be great band names?

My sister and I have a whole collection of not only bands, but also song titles and album names.

Hacking a cough

Does anyone have any hacks (oh the puns!) for coughs and/or congestion? I'm dying here and my sanity (and sleep which is directly related to my sanity) rely on your help.

I've tried honey.

I tried the generic equivalent of vapor rub (both on my chest/neck as is traditional and also on the soles of my feet).

I tried a sleeping pill.

I tried another sleeping pill a while later when the original combo didn't help.

Quick, someone give me some ideas--preferably from something that already exists in my cabinets because I'm not going for a walk in the wide wide world where I can pass around the cough.

My family is nucking futsSo here's a challenge.

There's currently loads of family drama as a result of my cousin's funeral.

The very brief version is that lots of people are hurt and they're all lashing out at each other.

I'm trying to play the peacemaker, but we shall see how that goes.

'm so freaking frustrated. I come from a bigger family and I believe that with larger families comes more room for dysfunction. For some reason, we seem to barrel down TotallyAndCompletelyFuckedUp Lane during and after funerals. This most recent loss is no different. Shut up. Sit down. Hug your damn cousin/brother/sister/aunt and be glad you still have him/her.

This has inspired me to issue a challenge. At any time this week, pick a day and take advantage of that time as complaint free. Do not rant about any family members. Do not roll your eyes when your mother makes another ridiculous comment. Do not call your sister screaming no matter what your kids flushed down the toilet this time. Do not complain to your spouse about how many stupid e-mail forwards your cousin sent you today.

Then come back and tell me how it felt. I plan on trying it myself. I won't tie myself to a specific day, but I promise to do it and report back.

FAQ:

• Yes, pets DO count as family members.
• While complaining ABOUT family members should be avoided, complaining TO them is allowed as long as the topic is not others in your family.
• You commit to an initial 24-hour period. If you feel compelled to continue after that, you're more than welcome.
• "Family" is defined by the individual. If your particular family includes those who are not blood relatives, you should avoid complaining about them.
  
• After you have completed your day, please come back and leave a comment on this post.
• No, it's not any sort of competition. I just want to see if it makes a difference in how we view and treat our families.

Job titles for mom

My sister and I are in the process of listing all the job titles that would cover the jobs moms do.

Amid psychologist, nutritionist, fashion consultant, vet-tech, unlicensed practical nurse, chauffer and teacher (among others); I came up with

Finder-of-lost-things/Loser-of-found-things-that-are-way-
too-obnoxious

Okay, folks, feel free to jump in. We wound up with a huge list, but of course we didn't write them down. Think about what you do every day and tell me what job titles you think are accurate.

Sharing Time: Victory in the mommy wars

There's been so much talk over the past few years about the "Mommy wars"--mothers judging one another. I propose we mount a counter-attack. Forget making that tongue-snapping noise of annoyance at other moms. Let's compliment them.

Don't look for the bad to complain about. Look for the good to praise.

I challenge you all to speak up and tell parents when you notice their kids doing something nice. Leave me a comment and tell me about the situation. Feel free to post the challenge on your blog with a link here. I want to hear lots of happy stories.

My sister and I have made a point of trying to do this for a year or two now. First off, when I read the first article about "Mommy wars," I wrote to a mom I've always admired and told her so. Then, when my sister and I went to the zoo and a little boy (maybe 6 or so) held the door for us, my sister ran over to tell his parents what he had done and to thank them. The boy was beaming and so were his parents. Another time, I noticed a girl of about 8 helping my kids in the playground. I went over to her family and asked, "Is that your daughter?" They admitted she was and I could just see they were bracing themselves for bad news. I explained how I saw her help my kids and how much we appreciated it. Once again, the family was very obviously thrilled. I heard them call her over and start to relay the conversation to her as we left.

So now, go forth and declare victory in the mommy wars. Screw this petty bickering. Keep your eyes open for kids doing something positive and make a point of letting the parents know that you appreciate it. Then come back here and tell me about it.

Sharing timeWho are the people in your neighborhood?

sing it with me now:

in your neighborhood
in your neigh-bor-hood, yeah
Who are the people in you‘re neighborhood?
They're the people that you meet when you're walking down the street,
they're the people that you meet each day.

Yeah, I realize that will be stuck in your head all day. No, I'm not particularly sorry about that. Sit down and shut up before I bust into the opening song from Tiny Tune Adventures, that obnoxious Lambchop song or the Caillou theme.

Anyway, let's get back on track. I want to have another sharing time entry. Let me explain why.

Every day, I see this elderly man walking with his dog. The man is always decked out in clothing supporting a local college team. I see him every day regardless of the weather. He's quite the fixture around here. I've even seen him on the weekends.

Well, the other day, I pulled up in front of the gym to unload the wee ones. He happened to be walking by at that moment and stopped to chat. He's such a sweet man. Turns out, he walks 7 miles every single day. Oh and he's 91. I'll give you a moment to pick your jaw up off the floor because I sure as hell needed it. 91? And he walks 7 miles a day every single day regardless of the conditions? Someone pass the cape because he's my new hero.

So now, for this installment of sharing time, I want everyone to blog about someone. Don't just leave it in my comments, create an entry on your blog, but please do leave a comment letting me know if you played the game so I can go over and read yours. You can pick anyone that you've noticed lately. Maybe it's a new co-worker. Maybe it's another mom from playgroup whose style (and that can be in relation to clothing, parenting, or just personality) you admire. Maybe it's your best friend. Maybe it's the bag boy at the supermarket. Maybe it's the guy who stopped to let you in on the road (pardon me while I bust into, "I'd like to thank you, whoever you are, you let me change lanes while I was driving in my car." I don't care if it's your very best friend or a random person you know nothing about, but find intriguing. Just go forth and blog.

Sharing time part 2happier, more upbeat, and won't make you want to injure someone.

Okay, we had sharing time where we talked about the worst of times (or comments).

Now let's flip it and have a happier sharing time.

We covered the worst comment, so let's try a happier twist.

What's the nicest thing someone ever said/wrote about you?

I have two.

A friend once told me, "You're so insightful." I LOVED that.

The second is something my midwife wrote to me. I'm going to print her e-mail out and put it under my pillow so I can pull it out and read it whenever I need to. Should I be blessed enough to get pregnant again (see below), I plan on printing out copies and posting them all over the house. I won't be able to open a cabinet without seeing that letter. The whole letter rocked, but this is my very favorite part, "You are an awesome woman.... I hope that you know that. I know it with all my heart and soul."

Does that not rock? And could you imagine an OB ever saying something like that? Hm, I think not.

And now on to something else that's been bothering me:

I don't think it's fair that you all shared your cruel comments with me, but I didn't share with you. Some people really bared their souls and I sat here quietly. I kinda didn't actually want to post about what prompted the last sharing time since she who made the comment reads my blog, but I guess I will.

First a note to she who ticked me off. I love you. You know I do. I'm having a tough time with your pregnancy. You know that or at least you should since I specifically told you 3 times and then I run away whenever I can't take it anymore (despite my name, I don't mean that to be as bitter as it sounds. Well, some days I do, but not right now). But yeah, when you made that comment, it hurt.

You remember that I may not be able to have more kids, right? I met with my midwives and have been going over my records and having some diagnostic tests to see if another baby is a possibility. It's all very stressful and I still have no answers. On top of that, I had a difficult time with my birth experiences. On the anniversary of my most recent c-section. I was on the phone with my sister. Not only had she not acknowledged the day (which was also her godson's birthday), but then she made a comment about how if her baby isn't out fairly near to the due date (remember, my girls were premies and that was the worst experience of my life), she would "cut it out with a spoon." I told her I didn't appreciate it. The conversation ended right after that. At that point, much screaming, cursing, and crying ensued.

So yeah, that's the cruelest thing anyone has said to me.

Gather round in a circle everyone.

Let's all come sit together on the rug for sharing time.

This is interactive blogging at its finest.

I'll throw out a topic and you all leave your answers in the comment section. Feel free to take this as a blog topic idea for your blog as well. Let me know you're doing it and I promise I'll pop over to take a look.

Here's today's sharing time topic:

What's the cruelest thing anyone has ever said to you?

Did mom say something that left you bawling? Did a stranger (at Walmart--the idiots are always at Walmart) say something that made you want to punch them in the face? Has your kid said something that made you wish you could sell them on ebay?

Do tell. Enquiring minds want to know.