Well just about everyone else has weighed in on this issue this week, I think it is my turn.
3 Cheers for Airtran Airlines!
Hip Hip Horray
Hip Hip Horray!
HIP HIP HORRAY!!
I feel qualified to comment on this scenario as I am the proud mother of two kids under the age of 7, one of whom is pushing every limit of the terrible twos.
Kids will be kids. BUT parents must be parents. If the child is three, I can guarantee this is not the first time the child has had a tantrum. It happens anytime, any place any where and all to often parents can’t or won’t deal with it.
Traveling with kids presents challenges, but it can be done with a little planning and preparedness.
My 2.5 year old is a great kid, but he is a piece of work too. I know this, I plan for this when we travel. I schedule direct flights if it will be under 2.5 hours and connecting flights for farther distances to give him time to burn off some energy. I try and schedule flights during nap time. Air travel can also lead to ear infections in some children. My pediatrician suggests giving my kids a decongestant 1/2 hour prior to boarding. This has the added benefit of making them a little drowsy (I’m not suggesting that you unnecessarily drug your kids, check with your doctor to see if this is appropriate for your child).
Both kids have their on bags stuffed with favorite toys, food and comfort items. My husband and I limit our carry on items so that our hands are free to deal with the kids. I explain everything that is going to happen (They’re going to call our row, we’re going to walk down a long hall) and I set expectations (you will hold Daddy’s hand and then climb into your car seat). You can’t expect kids to remember from flight to flight. You have to go through your list prior to EVERY departure. There have been incidents (like I said cute kid, piece of work), but they have been small and quickly calmed. Singing seems to help him collect himself. On our last flight, the woman on the asile, joined in on my rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. He was fascinated with the idea that someone other than his mother would sing for hm.
Too often today parents don’t take action. They kind of shrug and say “Oh well, kids will be kids”. No, I’m sorry parents, it is our responsibility to guide them and at that age control them.
As for Airtran, I seriously doubt that they remove people from a flight lightly. I’m sure they made an effort to have the family control the child. I know I may be in the minority, but I think they did the right thing and frankly went overboard with the refund and the free flights.
The Smartest Guys in the Room. The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind.
I wasn’t directly affected by the Enron scandal, and with so much going on, at the time of the great fall. To me it was just another news story, but I know that thousands of people lost everything. In the energy giant’s collapse.
Light reading this book is not, especially for someone so numbers illiterate as I. It is equal parts fascinating and disgusting. You look back at it and say “How could they (the banks, Arthur Anderson, the Enron Board of Directors, the analysts) have missed what was going on??????? Yeah, it was the roaring ‘90’s and many of us were living high, but these guys were in the stratosphere. It is clear people wondered, but no one spoke up.
Prior to reading this book, the piece of the story that caught my eye the most was Lea and Andy Fastow and the plea bargins they cut, especially Lea. I remember being furious that her deal fell apart because the government wasn’t willing to insure that she and her husband would not go to jail at the same time. The Fastow’s wanted one parent to be with their children at all times. I can understand that, but shouldn’t you have thought about how your actions could have negatively impacted your children earlier? Given the scale of Andy Fastow’s illegal actions. I don’t think they had a lot of bargaining power. Obviously the government disagreed because the Fastow’s did not serve concurrent jail terms and ultimately he was only sentenced to 6 years. From what I got out of the book, he was the mastermind behind so much of the fraud committed against investors, but Lay and Skilling lead the parade. It is the ultimate case of the emperor’s new clothes.
It is dense, but I do recommend it.
It has been almost a month now since the mid-term elections. I hope by now you’ve realized that the Democrats didn’t win, the Republicans lost. There is a difference.
The Republicans were doing it wrong, but that doesn’t mean the Democrats were given carte blanche by the voters, even this registered Democrat. I don’t want to see our taxes sky rocket. I don’t want to see all the time, effort and lives invested in Iraq wasted.
I do want to see civil liberties respected. I do want to see an end to corruption, scandals and favoritism in Washington and Corporate America. I want to see us get out of Iraq, but as gracefully as possible. Let us not leave that country in worse shape than when we found it.
As a party, the Democrats have less than two years to demonstrate to the American public that they can get their acts together and that they can govern better than the Republicans. It can’t be business as usual or all of those hard fought battles will have been for not and there will be another Republican in the White House come 2008. The party has to focus. They need to understand what issues the voting public REALLY cares about and address those issues.
Here’s my short list:
- Protection of Civil Liberties. If law enforcement wants to listen to my conversations, they’d be bored to tears, but they better have a convinced a judge that it is a worthwhile effort and obtained a warrant.
- Better Education. No Child Left Behind is a disaster. The intention of the legislation was valid, but the outcome has sucked the creativity out of our education system and left teachers teaching to a test. And by the way, if Washington wants to mandate something and impose their will on The States, they had better be willing to pay for that mandate.
- Lower healthcare costs. With the explosion of HMO’s Big Business has taken over healthcare. Gone are the days when a doctor actually had time to TALK with patients. Too many people can’t afford decent preventive healthcare which drives the cost up for everyone. I don’t pretend to know the answer here, but something has to be done.
Come on Democrats, FOCUS. Let’s make a difference when it really counts
An night without the diaper bag. It started some six years ago, an evening out for 7 women with young kids (at the time, the majority were infants). Our common tie is a university that for a considerable length of time was an important part of our lives. Most of us worked there in various roles (or married someone who did) at one time or another. Some went to school there. While it was a starting point, we’ve all moved on, and the ties that bind now run much deeper.
We all have kids and we’ve all been through hell and back. There was infertility that lead to adoption. Infertility that lead to births and even an oops. There is ADHD, PDD and a visual impairment. There are annoying spouses, and troublesome parents (our own and our spouses). There are work/life balance issues and money constraints. Three are full time stay at home moms. 4 are work at home moms Three own our own businesses and one is a professional writer.
One a month we get together sans kids (and thus their diaper bags) for a relaxing dinner and gabfest. Very soon we’ll need to change the name as shortly, none of the kids will be in diapers.
We tell stories and share gossip, but there is a fair amount of goods exchanged too. For example, I have yet to purchase clothing for my youngest child. He wears fantastic hand me downs. The group had a good laugh recently when we looked at photo of my son and realized he was wearing pajamas that originally belonged to the oldest child in the group. My boy was the sixth owner and last in the group to wear said pajamas. As with most kids clothes, they out grow them before they out wear them, so those P.J.’s made their way to another little boy outside our group. We also share toys, those that are out grown and those that will never be used. But the sharing isn’t limited to the kids. We have lent dresses, jewelry and once and a while volunteered a spouse for assorted duties.
The spouses don’t really know each other and it is probably better that way. Their lack of relationship gives us a place to talk freely about their annoying habits and other foibles. We’re all very different, but that is part of what makes the group work so well. The different perspectives enrich all of us.
Three years ago, I moved an hour and a half away from the area where the other six live. I can count on one hand the number times the distance has been too much for me to attend. I look forward to this night out all month. I’m working hard to make new connections where I now live, but The Diaper Bag Gang will always be a very important part of my life.
We have a collie. She’s almost eight. She’s a good dog; she doesn’t bark much and she’s good with the kids.
At her most recent vet visit, we were told she’d gained seven pounds in one year. Ouch. She’s pacing me on my post partum collision course with obesity.
The jig is up.
No more sharing meals with the puppies next door.
No more extra treats from Grandpa.
We have to cut her daily food intake by half and now its only half a biscuit before bed.
We’re committed to a long and healthy life for our canine friend so we’re doing our best to turn her into a lean, mean shedding machine.
However, someone in this family isn’t on board with the new program.
Several times recently, I’ve found the closet where we keep the dog’s food open.
My husband has found a few kibbles of food in the dog’s bowl at odd times of the day. Out dog NEVER leaves food in her bowl.
This is VERY mysterious indeed.
The dog greeted the arrival of my older child with curiosity followed by resignation. With the younger one, she went straight to resignation and started sleeping in the older one’s bedroom. As the baby has grown, the dog has more or less ignored him and eventually she even started sleeping with us again. Once he was walking, she kept a healthy distance. But lately, I’ve noticed if he heads towards the mudroom she follows him and sits at the door.
Another mystery.
Tonight, we solved both mysteries with one good laugh.
The dog has an enabler. It seems the baby has been opening the closet, scooping out a few kibbles of food at a time and putting them in the dog’s bowl.
When we confronted him tonight he clapped his hands together and shouted “YAY!”
The dog hung her head.
The jig is up indeed.
I am a Democrat in sea of Republicans.
Frankly these days it isn’t easy being a Democrat but I persevere because the radical right frightens me.
This article on Boston.com struck a chord with me.
I also liked this piece from Newsweek.
So, now you know.
I like to buy toys for my kids that I enjoyed as a kid but that is getting harder and harder to do.
It seems that manufacturers think that in order to appeal to my generation, that being Generation X or wait am I part of Generations Y? Ok, I know I’m not a baby boomer, but alas, I digress. As I was saying, it seems that manufacturers seem to think that in order to appeal to my generation, they have to improve on the toys that I had. Typically that means adding batteries to something that didn’t historically require them.
Take for example, the ubiquitous Sit and Spin. In my day, the joy came from spinning around, around and around until nausea set in. The folks over at Playskool didn’t think that was enough. No, they added lights and sounds to the Sit and Spin. Making it an obnoxious experience for everyone within a 50 foot radius.
This year. They made yet another “improvement”. Playskool released the Simon Says Sit and Spin. Pretending you are on a rocket ship spiraling out of control isn’t enough for children in 2006. No, they need to be TOLD when and how to spin.
You can call me an old fart, but my daughter didn’t know that her musical Sit and Spin made noise until we went to a new pediatrician’s office.
“Mommy listen their Sit and Spin makes noises”.
“Oh, isn’t that nice dear. Gives you something to look forward to at the Doctor’s office now doesn’t it?”
Someone gave us the Simon Says Sit and Spin for Christmas. I exchanged it for a ride-on toy for my toddler. Oddly enough, you have to pay for silence in this day and age. The one that didn’t sing and dance was almost $20 more than the Winnie the Pooh model I settled for. Now I have Pooh Bear pining for hunny or complaining about terrible traffic jams in my kitchen.
Where will it end?
I have two kids.
They have given names. Formal sounding monikers that appear on their birth certificates.
Names chosen to honor people who have influenced my husband and I.
Names that I utter forcefully when I am angry.
They have nick names. Shorter versions of their given names. Names that make it easier for their friends to call them. Names that are more casual.
As their mother, I take it as my God given right to make up additional names for them.
And I do. Frequently. It is a wonder they even know who they are.
Names that make them smile now.
Names that will make them cringe when they are tweens.
Names that will always make me smile.
Mrs. Tinkabinka
Tink
RishaTroo
Fisharoo
Fish
Cuddlebug
Snugglebug
Mr. Dude
Mr. Dudapudamus
Mr. Pudaduamus
Puda
Puda Duda
TinkyToes
Gigglepus
Mr. Sqigglypants
Reesie is me.
Reesie is a child’s mispronunciation of her own name, that has developed into an adult’s identity. I’d say she is my alter ego, but most days, we share many of the same qualities.
Reesie is the woman I aspire to be all the time.
She is loving
She is loveable
She is loved
She is kind
She is patient
She loves to laugh
She is exuberent
She is passionate about life
She is energetic
She is not judgemental
She eats healthy food
She exercises regularly
She loves her time alone
She fears being alone forever
She loves to sing
I have my days of living in full Reesie mode and those are good days, very very GOOD Days.
