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So this is our summer.

Summer vacation is in full-swing in the MM household. Look at the "f-u-n" we are having. Luckily there is a bribe of a vacation dangling in a couple weeks and getting out of this non-air-conditioned house.  And, this trip -- is for the whole family -- everyone at one time! That has not occurred for us since 2007. If we survive that vacation, we're immediately planning another. Just saying.


Coca-Cola + OBESITY + Bad PR.

Oh Coca-Cola!  Is this an admission of guilt?  Finally, you understand?  You get that drinking pure liquid diabetes leads our children to instant weight gain?

KO 20 oz

^ This twenty ounce bottle of typical Coke has more sugar than a typical person requires in a day.  

Please note that I am a bit sugar-shocked and twitchy just reading the label since I can't handle more than 10-15 grams of sugar at any given time due to my altered (superhero status...) roux en y digestion and reactive hypoglycemia.  If you gave a this blogger a Coke?

...She'd Have A Seizure, Slip Into A Hypoglycemic Coma, And You Could Pay The Ambulance Bill?

Screen Shot 2013-01-15 at 8.05.52 AMIronically, the cause of my potential demise would also be the cure as the Coke could be poured into my facehole to fix my problem.

"Her blood sugar is 20?  GIVE HER A COCA COLA!  STAT!"

Twitch.  Twitch.  Twitch.

But, I digress.  

I haven't had a regular-sugar soda, or "tonic" as we up heah in Beantown call it -- in at least ten years.  Before that maybe a can here and there but oddly, this formerly 320 lb girl is a Diet Coke-head.  

Twitch.

Right.  I never took to the real "sugared" stuff.  Many of my long term weight-loss surgery peers would say that their drink of choice was actually the super high-caffeine sugar Mountain Dew -- that is before much of them found coffee drinks.  I was ALWAYS a "Diet" soda drinker, regardless of the FOOD I would eat alongside the drink.

Coca-Cola is finally opening up the discussion - but sort of not really blaming everyone else -  

WAIT - they say - It's not OUR FAULT -  you just ATE too much.

Remember COKE LOVES YOU.  

We love everyone!  Everyone hug, smile, get together, have a COKE AND SMILE!  GET HAPPY!  PEACE!  SMILE! HUGS AND KISSES!  PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE FAT KIDS HAVING BARIATRIC SURGERY!  Because EVERYTHING is GREAT when WE COME TOGETHER FOR GOOD.  Good is good enough.  We don't HAVE TO BE PERFECT.  

COKE LOVES YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE.

I think I need a new college major.  Advertising hurts my heart.

Coca-Cola to tackle obesity for 1st time in TV ads

Coca-Cola became one of the world's most powerful brands by equating its soft drinks with happiness. Now it's taking to the airwaves for the first time to address a growing cloud over the industry: obesity.

The Atlanta-based company on Monday will begin airing a two-minute spot during the highest-rated shows on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC in hopes of flexing its marketing muscle in the debate over sodas and their impact on public health. The ad lays out Coca-Cola's record of providing drinks with fewer calories and notes that weight gain is the result of consuming too many calories of any kind — not just soda.

For Coca-Cola, the world's No. 1 beverage company, the ads reflect the mounting pressures on the broader industry. Later this year, New York City is set to enact a first-in-the-nation cap on the size of soft drinks sold at restaurants, movie theaters and sports arenas. The mayor of Cambridge, Mass., has already introduced a similar measure, saying she was inspired by New York's move.

Even when PepsiCo Inc., the No. 2 soda maker, recently signed a wide-ranging endorsement deal with pop singer Beyonce, critics called for her to drop the contract or donate the funds to health initiatives.

New research in the past year also suggests that sugary drinks cause people to pack on the pounds independent of other behavior. A decades-long study involving more than 33,000 Americans, for example, suggested that drinking sugary beverages interacts with genes that affect weight and enhances a person's risk of obesity beyond what it would be from heredity alone.

Michael Jacobson, executive director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, was skeptical about Coca-Cola's ads and said the company would stop fighting soda taxes if it was serious about helping reduce obesity.

"It looks like a page out of damage control 101," he said. "They're trying to disarm the public."

The group has been critical of the soft drink industry and last year released a video parodying Coke's famous polar bears becoming plagued with diabetes and other health problems.

Coca-Cola said its ads aren't a reaction to negative public sentiment. Instead, the idea is to raise awareness about its lower-calorie drinks and plans for the coming months, said Stuart Kronauge, general manager of sparkling beverages for Coca-Cola North America.

"There's an important conversation going on about obesity out there, and we want to be a part of the conversation," she said.

In the ad, a narrator notes that obesity "concerns all of us" but that people can make a difference when they "come together." The spot was produced by the ad agencies Brighthouse and Citizen2 and is intended to tout Coca-Cola's corporate responsibility to cable news viewers.

Another ad, which will run later this week during "American Idol" and before the Super Bowl, is much more reminiscent of the catchy, upbeat advertising people have come to expect from Coca-Cola. It features a montage of activities that add up to burning off the "140 happy calories" in a can of Coke: walking a dog, dancing, sharing a laugh with friends and doing a victory dance after bowling a strike.

The 30-second ad, a version of which ran in Brazil last month, is intended to address confusion about the number of calories in soda, said Diana Garza Ciarlante, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Co. She said the company's consumer research showed people mistakenly thought there were as many as 900 calories in a can of soda.

The company declined to say how much it was spending on the commercials, which it started putting together last summer. It also declined to give details on its plans for the year ahead. But among the options under consideration is putting the amount of activity needed to burn off the calories in a drink on cans and bottles.

The company noted that it already puts calorie counts on the front of its cans and bottles. Last year, it also started posting calorie information on its vending machines ahead of a regulation that will require soda companies to do so by 2014.

Coca-Cola's changing business reflects the public concern over the calories in soda. In North America, all the growth in its soda unit over the past 15 years has come from low- and no-calorie drinks, such as Coke Zero. Diet sodas now account for nearly a third of its sales in the U.S. and Canada. Other beverages such as sports drinks and bottled water are also fueling growth.

Even with the growing popularity of diet sodas, however, overall soda consumption in the U.S. has declined steadily since 1998, according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest.

John Sicher, the publisher of Beverage Digest, noted that the industry "put its head in the sand" when obesity and soft drinks first started becoming an issue more than a decade ago. Now, he said Coca-Cola is looking to position itself in the public debate rather than being defined by adversaries.

 


#20LITTLEHANDS

#20LITTLEHANDS 

Chilling. 

We'll see this sign up close very soon.

"Documented the painting of 20 little hands for Stop Handgun Violence on the largest horizontal billboard in the country. This project was to honor the 20 children that passed away in Newtown, Connecticut. 

This project was also covered by local Boston news.

Check the links below:
Boston.com
Channel7"


The Biggest Loser Season 14 Returns ... with kids?

I was just passively listening to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, when I noticed the human product placement of Jillian Michaels into the NBC parade line-up, and then the commercials started:  

Now we can warp the thinking of a whole new generation of obese kids.  

My 15 year old shook her head, stood up, and left the room.

Continue reading "The Biggest Loser Season 14 Returns ... with kids?" »


Infertility in obese women may be due to damaged eggs, Brigham study finds

Infertility in obese women may be due to damaged eggs, Brigham study finds

Obesity has long been associated with infertility as well as lower success rates with in vitro fertilization, and now researchers think they understand why: Obese women are more likely to have abnormalities in their eggs that make them impossible to fertilize.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital infertility researchers examined nearly 300 eggs that failed to fertilize during IVF in both severely obese women and those with a normal body weight.
They found that severely obese women were far more likely to have abnormally arranged chromosomes within their eggs compared with women who weren’t overweight, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal Human Reproduction.

 


Chick Fil A - WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOUR Chik'n - We make our OWN!

Weight loss surgery community, I hear you!

"We won't give up our fried chicken sandwiches!  You can peel the Chick-Fil-A from my cold, dead, hands, it's MAH chicken!"

Regardless of the political stance, you do not need a fried chicken sandwich in your post weight loss surgery life, do you?

"But, I go there for the FRIES."

Your argument is invalid.  What part of your post weight loss surgery diet includes fried chicken and waffle fries?  (Don't answer that.  I eat fast food too.)  

However, it's not a NECESSITY.  In ANY way, for ANY surgery-type.

But, if you find that you HAVETOHAVEACHIKNSANDWICH but you're sort of turned off by all the hate surrounding Chick-Fil-Aholes, and customers like this? Screen Shot 2012-08-01 at 12.36.57 PM

Make your OWN!

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It's full of THINGS YOU NEED IN YOUR DIET!

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  • Buttered white bread!
  • "Chicken" (100% natural whole breast filet, seasoning [salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices, paprika], seasoned coater [enriched bleached flour {bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid}, sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, nonfat milk, leavening {baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate}, spice, soybean oil, color {paprika}], milk wash [water, whole powdered egg and nonfat milk solids], peanut oil [fully refined peanut oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness and dimethylpolysiloxane an anti-foaming agent added]), bun (enriched flour [wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, riboflavin {Vitamin B2}, folic acid], water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, contains 2% or less of each of the following: liquid yeast, soybean oil, nonfat milk, salt, wheat gluten, soy flour, dough conditioners [may contain one or more of the following: mono- and diglycerides, calcium and sodium stearoyl lactylates, calcium peroxide], soy flour, amylase, yeast nutrients [monocalcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate], calcium propionate added to retard spoilage, soy lecithin, cornstarch, butter oil [soybean oil, palm kernel oil, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, TBHQ and citric acid added as preservatives, and artificial color]), pickle (cucumbers, water, vinegar, salt, lactic acid, calcium chloride, alum, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate [preservatives], natural flavors, polysorbate 80, yellow 5, blue 1).

Make it yourself -- SO GOOD FOR YOU!

Details here.

Or - join me in donating to GLAAD today!  

I donated the cost of feeding my family at Chick-fil-A to GLAAD!

Dear Beth,

Thank you for supporting GLAAD and helping us share stories about LGBT people and allies that move us all closer to equality. What people see and hear in the media has a huge impact on the decisions made every day in schools, businesses, churches and voting booths. Visit www.glaad.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest stories that are changing our culture.

Thank you very much for your standard donation to E-appeals & Campaign Donations.

Transaction Summary

Transaction Date:

8/1/12

 

 

Level:

Enter Amount

Amount:

$50.00

Because, I support my LGBT families.  Love is love.

Speak out against Chick-fil-A anti-LGBT stance by donating the price of a Chick-fil-A meal to GLAAD! 

 


26 Ingredients in your kids' burger at school. Tasty.

"Why are these hard-to-pronounce ingredients added to everything from a burger served in schools to veggie burgers in the frozen food aisle of the grocery store? We try to answer that on this edition of Tiny Desk Kitchen."  (NPR)

I suppose it's a bit scary that I read the ingredients and immediately recognized, "Well, those are just vitamins."  I've been reading and writing far too long in the bariatric community if I recognized them and thought, "Wait, that's a good food!"  

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I found it odd that this video made vites out to sound like FREAKISH ODDITIES, I mean cyanocobalamin (B12) is necessary for human functioning, HOWEVER...

Twenty-six ingredients in what should be a single-source product:  COW.  Although, according to some of the comments in the link, there may be hundreds of other, uh... ingredients too.

O-o

Sing it, Adam -


Dear Santa

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Dear Santa (The real one, not the creepy pedoSanta circa 1980something...) -

We all know the best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loud for all to hear.  But I would like to skip all cheer this year, please.  I haven't got any spirit and I would like to suggest post-poning, perhaps ... in May?  I like May -- it's warm.  I mean, people in Florida still put up sparkly trees and it's like 75 degrees there.  How about it?

Screen Shot 2011-12-21 at 9.15.52 PM

I am sure it's because I'm not living at home, and I haven't got any lights on a tree.  I'm not playing any seasonal music,  I'm not making cookies, there's no fudge in sight, and there's no holiday cards coming in.  I haven't even done any real shopping -- haven't stepped foot in a mall! 

I haven't done anything remotely Christmas-y this year, even the one elementary school choral concert I attended, they sang Katy Perry.

I haven't given to the Salvation Army Bell-Ringer yet!  It doesn't feel like the holiday season.  I am sure by the spring, I can gather some jingle in my bells, or at least some jingle in my wallet. 

(And this is where you visualize me as The Grinch.  But, we do know how that ends.  It's all good.)

Where is that Roast Beast? 

 


READING OUT LOUD IN AN INSIDE VOICE - What motivates US?

I don't have an iPad, Kindle or Nook:  BUT I NOW HAVE ACCESS TO A LIBRARY.  Old school, I am.  (I was also very late in getting a mobile phone and the internet -- you wouldn't expect that from a blogger but it's the truth.)

I took the little ones to the public library last week.  I quickly realized it was difficult to keep a certain small person from READING OUT LOUD IN AN INSIDE VOICE because she didn't really know about libraries and being quiet in them.  I haven't been inside a library -- since -- moving to this town.  Before that, we could walk to the library in our previous town, but I didn't do it often with babies to you know, get MYSELF a book to read.  She will learn, since her big sister was all in her face,

"You do KNOW this is a place where you HAVE TO be quiet?"  

The girls got signed up for library cards -- and picked out books -- each checked out two.  While my four year old was not really interested in a book, since was more interested in the toys.  

"Why do they have toys here?  I thought we were 'posed to be quiet?"  

My soon to be fourth-grader just was thrilled to find a tasseled book-mark.  

It's the little things that motivate us:  like the walk to the library for the promise of a new book, or is it?  After convincing the lady at the check out desk that I Really Did Live In Town, I checked out this book:

 

Book Description -


"Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money--the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink in Drive. In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction--at work, at school, and at home--is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world. 

Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does-and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation--autonomy, mastery, and purpose--and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live."

I'm just into the first chapter -- and it makes a lot of sense to me.    

The higher the reward, the lower the performance.   People need to be DRIVEN to TRY.  

There needs to be an internal motivation to try -- for various things -- but especially jobs -- beyond income.  

Screen shot 2011-08-28 at 10.18.21 AM The best use of money as a money as a motivator is to MAKE people not WORRY ABOUT MONEY. If you people enough that they aren't concerned about their basic needs, you take the issue off the table.  They no longer have that worry, fear and anxiety constantly stalking them.  (Although, I wonder how much of THAT motivates any number of us.  Mama's gotta pay the electric bill, you know -- you do what you have to.)

According to Pink, paying someone over and beyond their needs does not increase performance for tasks!  Being overpaid doesn't make a person ANY BETTER at their job, or motivated to DO any better.

But, does being underpaid (waves to half of the country...) create a situation where you are constantly stressed PERSONALLY about your situation and does effect your performance AND potentially effect your income?  I think so.

Does this make sense to you?   *goes to read more...*


I could have bought a car.

Yesterday was spent chasing paperwork to finalize my lease agreement for the apartment.

In a torrential downpour of huge black rain cloud proportions.  

Yesterday afternoon, the lease was signed, after I asked to see the unit to make SURE it was in the same condition as the model I had been shown.  Since we are in a high-rent area, things aren't Always What They Seem, and people will pay anyway.  

Continue reading "I could have bought a car." »


This is me, walking away ...

Bored_frustrated_pink-41
I am in week two of a very entry level math course for college.  I haven't done any sort of math, beyond retail or grocery-store calculations since 1996.  I suppose it might be frightening to know that yours truly was in fact, a Cash Office Manager for a retail store, and a banker at one time.  Yes, that means, I was In Charge Of All The Monies.  <shrug>  I did okay.

But, I am not great with working out math problems on the page -- especially if they get wordy.   "If a train leaves..."  Yes, no.  I cannot calculate.  You want the interest on how many months of what kind of loan for who, why?  I focus on the wrong details.  I am too literal. 

I  just  'walked away' from my work  before I threw it.  I'm taking an assessment, and quite frustrated at this choice:

Picture 19
...because I'm using it.  I don't know.  

I haven't done this stuff since high-school, and opening the book and reading about it is like *blank stare* to me, and worser still is LISTENING to someone else discuss math? <crickets>

Worser-er?  Is that in the time it took to open this blog page, click on compost, realize I had a chicken roasting in the oven, remove it, debone it and come back?  The school's program timed out and I lost my work.  Begin again.

But, in the way that I am a professional procrastinator, it's too late to start again, I'm too sleepy to attempt it and would likely fail the assessment entirely.  If I'm going to fail, I want to DO IT BIG.


Next year it's different.

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It may not be that peaceful here now, since we've been up since 5:30am "Having Fun" -- but AHHHH.  Another year, another Christmas, OVER.  We made it.  Phew.   DSC_5207

This year, I almost succeeded in a no-credit-card-holiday.  *confetti!*  This is a big deal.  We have been paying down the remaining credit cards, and the RELIEF...  (And, yes, I said *I.  Mama bought the presents.  Most of them.  I did good.)

DSC_5198
We'd have done it entirely card-free had the house not started blowing up (Thank you oil tank and septic tank!) and we did do it because some of the adults in the family decided not to exchange gifts this year.  It was just... less.  It didn't stop me from over-spending on my own kids, and even over-spending I had a Great Parent Fail.  

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My eight year old daughter had a very specific "Santa" list.  In her mind, I think she expected the list to be fulfilled exactly as she wrote it.  It wasn't, and there were tears this morning because she "didn't get what she asked for."  Even if she'd received fifteen other toys, clothes and goodies, the few items she expected weren't around.

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 In my mind, I was thinking "You should be grateful, do you have any IDEA how many children aren't even receiving toys today?  Do you have any idea how lucky you are to get all that you have?"  I didn't go there -- because she seemed to have the slightest inclination that Santa had something to do with this "fail."   She may have received more than plenty, but expected other things.

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It feels all very Veruca to me at times, and I loathe it.  I love to see the kids excited over a landfall of gifts, because, when does THAT happen?  But, I really dislike the grubby-greedies that take over sometimes.  "Where's MY FUSHIGI BALL?"

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Note for future-parents-of-four:  You must match quantity and visual appearance of gifts per child if they are aware of the difference between piles.  Even if one child's gifts cost more -- the kids will still see the size difference and assume that "He got more than I did.  I didn't get anything I wanted."   I think a cure for this?  One. gift. each.  (Yeah, sure.  THAT will happen, but consider it?)

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Also, future-parents-of-teens:  Functional gifts are fine, but don't expect much reaction.  "Yay. Underwear.  Thanks."  

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You have got to have something special to balance out the dull.  For the 13 year old, this was clearly, a nook book-reader.  Until you realize, "Hey, you need to put a credit card in this to set up my account."

We've never really outdone the holiday in our own home, but we've had a lot of over-gifting in the extended family that makes the receiving and appreciating one gift at a time very difficult.  This year, that didn't happen, but the kids almost "expected it."  That makes me sad.  It makes me realize that these kids need a course in giving, and not expecting.  I think next year may be different, as in, perhaps we need to spend it in a different WAY.  

This year was already different, low-key, as two of our Bob's were not well prior to the holiday, and one Mimi is recouping from surgery.  It is nice to have, less... but NOT in this way.  

Sort of photo set, here.

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PS.  Cause someone asked.  Mr. MM got two Polo sweaters and Polo 3 Cologne from me, because I like that smell.  He got Dolce and Gabana something cologne, movie gift certificates and some cash.  I got an iTouch (I may regift this, I don't really "need it..."  My phone does what this does.  I could use something else more.  Honestly, I would return it, but it's got a restocking fee...) and hot pink headphones from Mr.,  and from the Mimi's ... Pink Sugar perfume, Retro Mama calendar set, a Digital Photo Frame (that I didn't know about until I got home tonight... Squee!) and a hair-salon gift certificate.

PPSS.  When a four year old ASKS for a flashlight?  Just get the flashlight.  That will do.


Apple Spitting.

Apple Picking. We do it every year. 

(It's the only time of the year I eat apples an apple.  I only really enjoy apples directly off the tree.  I'm weird.  And, I have issues with digesting apples -- they go in the fibrous food OMG PAIN category -- so I'm not a fan even if I love them.)

This year, we drove to a new farm too far away, but they had a wild flower field that I got lost in, and while it was clearly the end of the season for flowers, yes! More! Please!

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I wished my good camera was not sitting at home again un-repaired (tomorrow, that's an issue for tomorrow) because the old one was flashing ERROR! ERROR! while I took one hundred apple spitting and flower photos.


There's something to be said about homeschooling.

Pants @ Hollister.

Picture 15 However when you are me -- homeschooling is not something in the cards -- unless public school was not an option.  While personality tests point me in the direction of "Teacher or Priest" -- I ain't havin' it.

But if we homeschooled -- my kids could be as they are now: in various stages of half-dress.

My daughter is currently next to me in a tee-shirt and underwear, the little one is in a bathing suit, my son is in pajamas, and my middle daughter is likely half-naked.

Clothes?  Who needs clothes?

And WHO came up with this idea that children have to have brand-new trendy clothing to go "back to school" in?  Huh?  We all (mostly) fall for it, the commercials, the ads, the coupons that are on my fridge for all different stores:  Famous Footwear, Justice for Girls, Kohls, JCPenney, and of course the haircut coupons!

I just spent all morning bouncing online, site-to-site looking for back to school clothes for 2 out of 4 kids in my house.  O-O

I know I ALWAYS post about school clothes shopping as I do it, but it's because I really hate it.  I do.

You say, "go goodwill shopping!!"

Realistically, I'm sooner donating bags of our things than actually having the opportunity to rifle through clothing to find plus-sized children's goods.

It just doesn't happen.

Which brings me to:  BUSINESS IDEA.  Plus Size Consignment.  Duh.  I've said it again and again, and I know it's not really profitable, but... the public demands it.

More of us and our children are plus-sized than 'skinny-pants' sized.  (And, why are there so many skinny pants in the 14-28W size range?)

If I cannot find any decent looking non-totally spandex/polyester legging pant sets on a clothing site like SEARS for my girls, which is part of KMART, it's sort of a sad state of affairs.  Similarly, other basic stores, don't have many options.

  • My girls WANT:  Justice, Abercrombie, Hot Topic, Hollister, etc.
  • My girls GET: Whatever we can find, after digging and whining and fighting and spending too much.

My son, forget about it.  He won't even try stuff on.  I just guess at what he wants, but seeing as he's spent a day and a half in a hand-me-down AE shirt?

UGH.

 


If you throw a three year old in the river...

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I hate to make an obvious reference, but IT WAS HOT OUT THERE TODAY.   (Don't you hate it when people talk about the weather?!  But then again, you may not know that it was hot in southeastern Massachusetts today.)

Days like today, before the summer even GETS here, makes me thankful that we DO live somewhat near the ocean, and it doesn't really get that warm here, it's always sort of diluted.  But as soon as we drive away - GACK, SPEW, YUCK!  I cannot live in the heat.  I would die.  I would.  I have these 'dreams' of living in the Sun! Sunny Days!  But who am I kidding?  I need to live in Maine.

My goal today - was to go out for breakfast.  It never happened - in fact we ended up with lunch - at 2pm out of brown bags.

We spent most of the day in the car, picking up children at various sleepovers, but in between, stopped and tried to toss a three year old in a river.  Because.  She is really.  Three.  And needs to be four soon.  Just saying.

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Moah photos here.


MM's Prisonyard Playground

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If Mama's stuck here for ANOTHER three hundred and thirtysomeodd days, this house and yard kindasortawillhave to become a playground or mental institution.   

It started with emptying the Lake Crackhouse.  It's empty, and half-destroyed.  The next step the complete destruction of the pool and surrounding area and adding 24 x 36 x 12 feet of fill and smoothing it out.  

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 We got a quote from a local contractor (who wore the best cologne I have EVER smelled, I wish I asked) for the job, using some sand/dirt from our own property, and we might be able to do it (exciting! I've been waiting to kill this eyesore/mosquito pit since we moved here!) if Mr. Smells So Good can take payments like Rent-A-Center. 

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If so!  Part one complete of - MM Prisonyard Playground!  This pool GONE!

But, MM, Why do you want it gone?  I'm not a fan of The Drowning.  I have a fear of a kid falling in the water and me not being able to save her because I've had a seizure.  Unrealistic, but the Dr's tell me NOT TO TAKE A BATH ALONE, think about it.

I was watching a show about jail last night, and thought, "We could do THAT, too!" when looking at the ways to keep inmates busy and physically entertained.  A prison yard with things to do.  That's what we need.  

It is kindasortalike reverse minimum security prison when you can't leave your house on your own.  You DO feel trapped.  You DO need things to do, or you WILL make prison knives out of wire bits just for something to do.  

Not so much "me" per se because I apparently keep myself busy without doing much of anything (I have said, this whole seizure thing would be much, much easier if I didn't have to worry about little people) but the kids, no.  

I have four kids, the older two have had a mobile parent at least most of the time, so it hasn't been that big of an issue for them, they have been able to make-do often, and will keep themselves occupied.  The boy, if asked, will go play Legos.   My oldest, has always crafted, drawn, colored, read, etc.

I have an eight year old who paces like a bull all day long, who has never really known how to play by herself.  She needs me to tell her what to do, and will respond with a "no," to every. single. suggestion.  But, give her kids to play with?  And, she's good for HOURS, so long as they stay around.  But they don't, they just aren't here.  I figured, give her a trampoline -- at least she might bounce. 

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 Every friend of hers has a trampoline, each time I pick her up, she's red and sweaty from bouncing.  She loves that kind of thing.  If I can find more outlets like this - that we can have AT HOME - why not?  I can't get her to "______ lessons" so... what is she supposed to do?  This is the kid who cries, because she calls friends, and they are busy every single day of the week with activities.  Ballet, soccer, music, art, gymnastics, skating, and a party!  Then, she's pouting, because our big outing is grocery shopping. 

The little one has been stuck at home for the majority of her life, so it isn't much of a change to be stuck at home again.  I had my first grand mal seizure on 1-10-2008, and stopped driving then, too.  But, she's older now, and definitely bored.  It was easier keeping 2 year old occupied who I could lock in the house than a 3-going-on-4-who-wants-to-run-away.  

So, either, we work with what we have or we move to a Horsey Farm or The City.

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