DC Metro Moms

Parenting Makes Me Paranoid

Yesterday I decided not to take the kids to the pool (no, that is NOT a euphemism) because the weather report said there was going to be rain. Instead we were watching a movie. Well - The Goon Squad was watching a movie, I was writing a post for one of my sites.

So I was deep in thought when I hear this terrible noise. I looked up from the monitor and glanced out the window.

It was raining sideways.

The trees were going crazy and it was loud. Not just rain loud, but scary noise loud.

I don’t know if I have been watching too much news or if The Wizard of Oz scarred me for life, but I immediately thought tornado.

5:00 am

I'm trying to get into this weekday cycle where I get up at 5:00 am and use our elliptical machine.

Let me explain. Besides the obvious - I need to get into shape, and the maybe not so apparent - we spent a lot on the damn elliptical machine and I want to get my moneys worth. You may be asking yourself why the heck I am getting up at 5:00 in the morning when I am a stay at home mom. Why indeed?

The first reason is easy. I have tried to use the elliptical in the presence of The Goon Squad.

The last time I tried that I had to get off the thing three times in the first five minutes.  Two of those times were to break up fights. The other time was because Ian needed an emergency glass of water. It just isn't worth it.

The second reason is that by the time Gabe gets home at night I really just want to sit down. I am done. Wiped out.  I just want to sit on the couch and drink a beer and watch "Top Chef".

Did You Feel That?

Did you guys feel that Earthquake on Tuesday?

When my house first started shaking I thought it was a sonic boom. As I've mentioned here before, I am from Florida and so my first reaction was that The Space Shuttle was landing.

Being fairly certain that I hadn't heard the Shuttle from Northern Virginia, I did what any good blogger would do - I immediately twittered about it. (That is knows as tweeting to those of you who frequent Twitter.)

Forced Charity

A couple of months ago I was shopping at Safeway. The bill came to $164.72 and the cashier asked me if I would like to round up to $165 and give the change to breast cancer research. Of course I said yes. I am a huge supporter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Every year I participate in The Race for the Cure. I give them money anyway and I have no problem giving them another twenty eight cents.

A couple of weeks later I went grocery shopping and I was asked if I wanted to round up for Easter Seals then it was March of Dimes then it was some other thing. It isn't just Safeway either. I've been hit up for money at Giant and other places too.

Here is the thing. Most of the time I don't mind. I will give $.28 to anybody (within reason) but now they are asking for a dollar. Every single time I go to the store. I go to the grocery store a lot. Seriously. I probably buy food six times a week. If I said yes to giving a dollar to charity every time I went to the store it adds up to $2,160 per year. That is a lot of money! And it is a good deal of cash to be donating to just whatever organization filled out the appropriate forms for Safeway this week. We do well and live comfortably, but not that comfortably. Hell, for $2,160 I could buy that new MacBook I've been eying and have change to give to a charity of my choosing. I could also have a record of that donation and I could write it off.

Flashback

I was at Safeway yesterday and I remembered that I needed shampoo. I don't normally buy hair products at the grocery store but this was kind of an emergency. I had been using baby shampoo because that is all that was left in the shower.

So I was browsing in the shampoo aisle when I saw it. Paul Mitchell Shampoo One. I didn't even know they still made Shampoo One, but there it was.

Yes, yes, I remember the commercial where Paul himself said that they didn't guarantee their products unless I bought them in a salon but I couldn't resist.

(Don't worry, this story will eventually go somewhere.)

Rabble Rousing

I live in the suburbs, so let me ask you D.C. residents a question:

You know how you have those license plates that read "Taxation Without Representation", are you proud of it or are you complaining?

I mean, it seems like it would be a negative thing, but that is the spot on the license plate that is traditionally reserved for bragging. Usually that place says things like "First in Flight", "Land of Opportunity"  or "The Garden State".

Don't get mad at me. I am going to assume that it is a complaint, but it sure looks like you are boasting about your lack of a vote in the Senate. Maybe it is just me, or maybe you should really think about getting a new PR person.

Sarah complains about equally inane things over at Sarah and the Goon Squad.

Virginia Primaries are Strange

Those of you who don't live in the Northern Virginia part of the DC Metro Area may not know that in Virginia you don't actually register to vote as a member of any party.

I know - it is very strange. When I first registered to vote here I thought I missed something, but there was actually no place to declare a party. To be perfectly honest I was going to register as an independent anyway, but I still wanted the option.

Normally it makes no difference anyway - except I get political ads from both parties in the mail, and both parties ask us for money, but our presidential primaries were today.

Procrastination is my Middle Name

Procrastination isn't really my middle name, Heather is, but you know what I mean. You can probably tell simply by the fact that I seem to write my posts for DC Metro Moms Blog on the last day of every month.

It isn't just posting either. I procrastinate on pretty much everything. I do laundry when I run out of underwear. I clean up the house when my husband is on his way home from work. Every time my homeowners insurance is due I end up calling in my credit card number to the insurance company on the very last day.

Why Is Being a Good Parent So Hard? (Talk Me Down)

My baby always drooled a lot. When he was really little I always figured he was getting ready to cut teeth early. Plus babies drool, right? Then he actually was teething - for what seemed like an eternity. Plus, since he is a twin, someone always seemed to be cutting a tooth at my house.

Eventually he had all of his baby teeth but he still drooled. We went through all of the tests, we had the early intervention people evaluate him for problems, then I took him to a speech therapist and an ENT to see if it was a problem with low muscle tone. After months of doctor appointments and testing what we came up with was that my son has huge tonsils. I mean they are enormous. They are so big that he cannot close his mouth and breathe at the same time.

So Monday we go in to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. I know this is a very standard procedure. I know there are people out there having much more serious operations. He doesn't even have to stay in the hospital over night, but he is my baby and I am dreading this.

It Really is a Small World After All

I had a play date this morning. A normal one. It wasn't even someone I knew through blogging. (I don't know about you guys, but these days I seem to make most of my friends online.) This was a normal play date. There is a little girl that is in the same preschool class with my kids and the twins decided that they wanted Cate to come over to their house.

I was pretty excited. First of all, I was glad that my kids are actually connecting with other children. You know, twins tend to stick together, and here was another person that they both liked and they wanted to show her their toys. (Not that they shared when she got here.) Plus, I really like Cate's mom. It can be awkward making friends with other grown ups. I like all of the moms in the class, and so sometimes I feel like if we get together with one family we are excluding all the other kids and moms. I know that is silly, but I have never claimed to be a reasonable person.

Anyway, Cate's mom and I both really like to read so the conversation naturally turned to books. She mentioned that she just got "The Other Mother" from the library. I said, "Oh yeah, Gwendolen Gross. I have that book but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I've been meaning to read it for about a month."