A real challenge is being a mom

I used to watch MTV and really loved the Real World, Road Rules Challenges. I very rarely watch MTV anymore, but recently saw a new challenge was on so I tuned in for lack of anything else on. I've always liked the challenges, because they come up with the craziest competitions and I want to try them out myself. I still like the challenges, but all the "extra circulars" were disturbing me this time. When they aren't doing challenges the cast is seen drinking a lot and "hooking up" with someone else. The whole time I kept thinking, "what do their mothers think about this?" I wonder if their mothers do watch the show. Does CT's mom just shrug when he is shown drunk and acting like an idiot? "Oh that's just CT," she might say. Or is she really embarrassed by his behavior? I would hate to run into someone at the grocery store and have to field questions about what my son is doing these days. Does she give the truth, "my son is on a reality TV show where he gets drunk a lot, starts arguments, has intimate relationships and when he isn't doing any of that participates in a competitive challenge." Or does she kind of lie and says, "Oh, he's still trying to figure out what makes him happy in life." Or does she straight out lie and say, "he's in real estate." Once my kids move out of the house, I will support whatever they decide to do, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I do have a list of things I hope they don't do. Add reality TV star to the list.

My birthday boy

I can't believe Rion will be 5 tomorrow! Technically, in about an hour he'll offically be five since he was born shortly after midnight.

I just got done wrapping his presents. I know I still have to wrap the gift Fred got him and I'm not quite sure I got all the ones I bought him. I had them hidden in three different spots. I did find a Thomas the train I had hid for Christmas. Oh well, it's a birthday gift now. For Rion I always check out the after Christmas clearance for his birthday. I'm not one to pass up a good deal so every once in awhile I would find something and pick it up. Boys have such cool toys, I can't resist. Now it's the day before Rion's birthday and I'm not sure exactly what I bought. I know, that's awful. I feel like there was one more present, but I'm not sure what. Maybe I'll find it when I'm getting ready for Torii's birthday.

Sweet Sweet Irony

A couple of months ago I was wondering why in the world I even owned an iron. I'd be more likely to use it as a paperweight than to smooth out wrinkles on clothes. I really hate to iron, therefore, I don't. If the dryer doesn't get out the wrinkles then I either try it on one more spin in the dryer or just don't wear it. Fred has a closet full of nice wrinkly dress shirts. If he is waiting for them to get ironed, he has a long time to wait. So I find it extremely funny that I have created a business where I use iron ons for the clothes. I can't help but think about the irony each time I apply an image to a onesie. I guess the difference is that I plan on making some money off of this type of ironing. If I got paid to iron Fred's shirts? Well, he'd have a closet full of perfectly pressed shirts. And the pants to match.

Pretty funny for a drama

I've become addicted to the show Mad Men. I was lucky enough to catch it in reruns starting at the first episode. Fred likes it too. I think it might be the only TV show we have both liked. Although I think I am getting him hooked on Two and a Half Men. Anyway, back to Mad Men. If you haven't watch it you have to. It takes place in 1960 and explores the relationship of men and women in the workplace and at home. I especially like the at home issues because it's kind of fun to compare it to our lives now. The main character is married and has two young kids. Here's some of my favorite parts from the show so far:

-The mother was driving and of course the kids weren't in seat belts. The boy (of course it wasn't the girl) was playing in the car and hopping from the back seat to the front to the back again. I'm so glad my kids are strapped in. Besides the obvious safety issue, I can barely drive when the kids are screaming at each other. How would I drive if they were climbing around in the car too?

-At home the kids were playing and the girl comes into the kitchen with a big plastic bag over her head. The mother looks at her and says, "If my dry cleaning is laying on the floor you are going to be in big trouble." It shouldn't be funny, but it is.

-The mom is also in therapy and her husband calls the therapist to check on the progress. The therapist tells the husband everything the wife has been saying in her sessions. Can you imagine? Anyway, this last episode the therapist says the wife talks about being overwhelmed about running a household (she complains about the same things moms complain about today so that hasn't changed) and to him all her gripes are petty. "It's like dealing with a child," he says.

-During a birthday party the mom tells her husband to get the video recorder. She says something about buying it and never using it, it just collects dust. So that hasn't changed either. We still haven't gone through the three blank tapes we bought when we first bought our video camera four years ago.

I'm in love with this show. The men are crude towards women, but it's a fantizing look at the way it once was.

I totally understand

It's so nice to talk to other moms and hear them talk about the same things I am experiencing. I love the times when another mom will say something about being a mom and I can competely understand where she is coming from. It's nice to hear someone thinks about the same things as I do. About a month ago I read or heard a quote from Halle Berry. She said something to the effect that at some point in your pregnancy you realize that the baby has to come out. I thought that was so funny, because I totally had the same thought. The first part of your pregnancy you are so happy that you are pregnant and the birth seems like such a long ways away. Then one day you suddenly realize that no matter what, that baby has to come out. And when you look at the options, natural birth or c-section, the options aren't that great.

Doctor's appointment

Yesterday Cordelia had her 4 month checkup. She weighs 15 lbs, 12 ounces (90th percentile) and is 24 3/4 inches long (75th percentile). She was doing really good until the doctor came into the room. Then she started crying. I have never heard her cry like this before. She did not like him. After he checked her out he told me just to turn her so she couldn't see him. She kept moving her head and squirming trying to look back at him. She must have been thinking, "I know he's still there. You're not fooling me." After he left it still took some time to calm her back down. The only thing I could figure is that the doctor has a mustache like Grandpa and she doesn't always like Grandpa. Whatever it was she was not happy. I think she cried less when she got the shots.

Torii of course had to come with. He wanted his cookies again as soon as we got into the doctor's office. I told him he had to sit quiet and not ask for them. He asked me why and I explained to him that it wasn't nice to ask. To my surprise he sat there quietly the whole time and at the end the doctor gave him a little bag of Teddy Grahams.

It was really cold yesterday with the wind so we tried out the valet service at the clinic. It was so nice. We can never find a close parking spot so it was nice to drive up and let them park the car. It's also free so that's extra nice. When we left they were really busy and had to wait for a little bit. There were a lot of other parents doing the same thing we did. It was just way too cold to have little ones out for too long.

Brainwashed

I was talking to someone at work today and the conversation went from turning in credit cards receipts to commercials to Will Ferrell to Talladega Nights to teaching kids "Shake and Bake." He said his brother taught his kids how to do "shake and bake." I said it's so fun to teach little kids things like that. They're a blank slate and you can teach them what ever you want. Of course, there's a lot of responsibility that comes with this too, but for now I'm just talking about having some fun with the kids. "Shake and Bake" is funny, but it's 10 times better when a little kid does it. And if you laugh at it, they are just going to do it more so they like it too. Fred brought home an old shirt of his from his recent trip to Tenn and gave it to Rion. It has this crazy looking skeleton on it and he is playing guitar and it says,"Rock is king" or something like that. Rion looked like a little punk with it on so I taught him to stick out his tongue and stick out his pinkie and pointer finger. I'm sure it's called something, but I'm too old to know what it's called so I hope you know what I'm talking about. Anyway he looked like a hangbanger at rock concert. I did try to teach Torii to say "How you doin?" like Joey on Friends, but it never caught on. He likes girls so much I thought it would be funny.