Changing Table Showdown

Michael says I've gotten pretty feminist since becoming a mother.  I'm not sure if I've become 'more' of a feminist, but maybe I've become more aware of how stupid our society is.

So today, I bring you my half-hearted I'm-really-too-busy-to complete-a-real-research study on the lack of diaper changing tables in MALE RESTROOMS.

@!&$@(*#

Dear World, just because I have a vagina and breasts doesn't mean that I am the one that must lug my 24 pounder into the Women's Restroom, followed by the horrors of changing the baby in the bathroom.  For those of you who have yet to experience it, let me walk you through it:

Imagine yourself at a restaurant.

You're at the table, waiting to be served, and your little ball of cuteness makes the red face that can only read "I'm workin' on a big one, folks!".  You and your partner look at one another, and a showdown happens.  In the middle of the restaurant, everything stops...a tumbleweed crosses the table along with the whistling song that always goes with the western showdowns. 

After a short bickering session, the male in the relationship often wins the "Who's going to take the pooper" to the changing table - because he has a wiener.  Awesome.  So you lug your kid on one hip, your diaper bag on the other, and your purse too, if you have one, because you know you can't always count on Mr. Wonderful to be cognisant enough to keep his eye on it.  ::facepalm::

Lug kid to bathroom.  Wait in line for 2 other families.  Put the liner down.  Buckle her in.  Make cute faces while cringing and screaming inside because of the dried poop that you see on the cover of the table (thankfully protected by the liner).  Kiddo tried to roll off, but is held on by buckle.  Buckle pisses her off, so she throws a fit.  Poop gets on her foot, which gets on my shirt.  Diaper goes on, clothes go on, we go back to the table, baby is happy, Daddy is happy, and Mamma gets crapped all over.  YAY!

Yes, an extreme story - but changing your kid in a public restroom is a PAIN, and I just wish that we could share the responsibility with our male counterparts.  I started to count how many stores had male vs. female changing stations, but then got tired of that game and just decided to write about it without any hard data.  It's not like it's a research paper.

Additionally, if an establishment welcomes families, why would you not have a diaper changing station in your bathroom?  REALLY?  That was a huge pain in the butt, thank you, Sushi Place.  You totally made my Friday night last week.

So, Mammas, before you automatically walk into the bathroom with your child to change him/her, 1 - look for a family bathroom (YAY!) and 2 - hand that kid over to the daddy, because he should have to check for the changing table possibilities too.

I did this to Michael the other day at Costco - not only did she have a very dirty diaper, the bathroom was also disgusting (or so I heard).  I got lots of thank you's that day for taking care of her in public. 

VINDICATION! 



Naomi Update:
Crawling monster!  She ended up underneath our Queen bed - don't ask me how.  Once I knew she was ok, I laughed, and so did she.  It was an adventure.  She also found the dog's water bowl - gross.  She's looking more and more like me every day, which is really scary for me!

This Week = Fail

As most people know, I've been in the hospital for 5 days.  That's right, 5 days.  I suppose I will give you the short, sweet, condensed version.  You don't need to know all of the annoying bits and pieces, like staring at the wall, being closed in a room, and having everyone you see wearing a mask.  Yay!

Here's what happened:

Tuesday, November 2nd


Terrible headache began around 10 a.m.  Meds did not help.

Went to hair appointment to find out that it was LAST Tuesday at 2 p.m.  Damn.  Head is hurting so bad I can't see.  I go vote.  I can barely make it home, because the sun is hurting my eyes.  I thought it was a migraine.  I begin to dry heave when I get in the door (which is not fun with a terrible headache).

Try to sleep.  Chills.  Wake up with 102.5 fever.

Michael gets home, tries to take care of me.  Headache is the worst I have ever, ever had.  I can't move my head in any direction, my neck is killing me, and tears are rolling down my face.  It was worse than childbirth.

Wednesday, November 3rd


Headache there when I wake up, but feels better.  Fever broke the night before.  Called Mom, told her I was feeling better.  Yay.  11 a.m., game over - called Michael to take me to Urgent Care.

Urgent Care turned into the ER at Summerlin.  The doctor immediately said Meningitis, and ordered a CT scan and Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap).  I passed out and started semi-convulsing, so they weren't able to get anything out.  I was admitted.

Thursday - Sunday, November 4 - 7th


Procedures, pokes, prods, doctors, nurses, lack of sleep, peeing a lot, and not seeing anyone.  Quarantine for 5 days, where everyone had to wear masks and gloves, including my own family.  The door had to be shut at all times, and people were in and out of my room 6 times a night taking my blood and vitals.

So, to summarize:

Total Doctors:  Neurologist (with Nurse Practitioner), General doctor, Infectious Disease doctor.

Total Days in Hospital: 6 days, 5 nights

Total Days with a migraine: 4 (3 days with pain meds)


Total Procedures: 1 CT scan, 3 total Lumbar Punctures (spinal tap), 2 MRI's, 6 total IV's, 2 swollen wrists, 19 individual needle pricks (from drawing blood), 4 days of receiving the strongest antibiotics available, potassium drip ,and lots of pain medications.

Final Verdict:  Viral Meningitis, caused by an unknown virus, and complicated by an atypical migraine.  I am not longer contagious.  I should not be taking ibuprofen in the future, as the Infectious Disease doc says it made my condition worse.  Migraine medicines have been prescribed as a preventative measure against future  apocalyptic migraines like the one I experienced.

I am still not 100%, so I am not sure if I am going to work this week.  I already had Thursday and Friday off, but I may just go in for a couple of hours on Wednesday.  We'll see how I feel, and what my discharge instructions are.

To conclude, this whole thing sucked.  I tried to stay positive, but getting my spine poked, my brain looked at, and my skin assaulted isn't fun, not to mention that I haven't seen Naomi in a week.  The most difficult thing in this whole experience is not being able to see her.  It really kind of ripped me apart.

Thank you to all who sent positive thoughts my way - I definitely felt the love.  Special thanks to my family for wanting to kick the hospital staff that didn't know how to communicate, and especially my Mom who made an emergency trip from Illinois to stay until the end of this coming week.  We couldn't have done this without her.

I'm looking forward to being back to normal.  In the meantime, I'm going to go rest.  I've got a life to live.

Decisions, Decisions

Upon our return to IL last month, Michael and I started talking about our wishes to move back to the Midwest.  We said, hey - let's save money, quit our jobs, move across the country, find a new place to live, new jobs, new childcare, and all that fun stuff.  YAY!

As much as we would love to come back...I don't know if that is possible right now.  Yeah, we're putting job feelers out right now, but when there are 200 people applying for one position, what is the likelihood of getting said position?

On top of all of that, let's be honest.  We both have great paying jobs - Michael loves his, and I at least like the people I work with.  So it doesn't challenge me in the least - big deal.  They are paying me money to do things that are easy to me.  About a million people in this city would gladly take over for me, so I need to be thankful for what I have.  We love our daycare, and we have some great friends.

Our biggest thing is that we miss our family so, so much - which is why we seem to have this same conversation every time we go home.  The grass is always greener on the other side.  Ok, say we move - yeah, we are closer to home, but why take a chance of getting a job that pays less, or that we are less happy in?  What about the stress of moving across the country again, only this time with a 7 month old and a dog?

On the other hand, if we stay, we need to get a house.  The housing market is great to buy right now, but not to sell.  What if we don't stay for more than 2 years?  Do we still leave, and try to sell?  What about trying to rent it out via a management company?  But won't EVERYONE be trying to do that?  However, we need to get a house because  I am not going to continue paying $1050 in rent for a two bedroom apartment when we could get a three bedroom two bath 1400 square foot house for $90,000 in a good part of town.  I'm just not going to do it.

We are confused on where to go next.  On one hand, we leave, spend a ton of money that we've saved up to buy a house to move, get lower paying jobs, but live closer to home.  On the other hand, stay in a city that is sinking faster than the Titantic, but have the money to put down on a dirt cheap (but good) starter house, while being away from family.  Plus, both of our jobs seem pretty darn secure at the moment.

So, the next few months will be telling.  Our lease ends next August - at that time, we are either moving back to the Midwest, or buying a house and settling down here for a few more years.  We'll be looking for a house in Nevada, and jobs in the Midwest - all at the same time.  Either way we go, it's a gamble.

Being an adult sucks.

The Distortion of Our Past

With the wide range of suicides happening in our country due to bullying, I began to think about the past.

No matter what clique you were in during high school, chances are there was another clique you looked at and said "hey, I want to be like them", "omg, they dress hideously", "so and so has 'issues'", etc.  Looking back at my high school days, here are the "cliques" I remember running around - and the weird thing is, with only 99 kids in my graduating class, lots of kids were in multiple cliques.  I don't know if that was the norm everywhere else, but it was for my school.

There were the guy jocks, who thought they were the shit.  They walked around with their football jerseys on, and worked on intimidating those around them.

There were the girl jocks, who, although they seemed nice, they would talk about your horrible performance at the track meet when they thought you weren't looking.

There were the band geeks, who learned that changing on the same bus with members of the opposite sex could be fun.

There were the musical geeks, who ended up just messing around back stage and in the audience during practices.  Many of these students believed their shit didn't stink, and they were often talking about others and how they "didn't deserve that part".

There were the brainy kids, who had their heads in books all of the time, and didn't care about what was going on around them.

There were the nerdy guys, who practically peed their pants when a girl they liked came anywhere near them.

There were the nerdy girls, who tried to find love no matter where it was.

Then you have the posers, the dreamers, the ones with "issues", the teasers, the bullies, and every other stereotype out there.

I have now been out of high school for almost 9 years, and I've realized how absolutely distorted our pasts are.  We all had this warped idea that everyone fit into a mold, and would stay the same until they were 104.

I'll be honest - if you know me, you know that I had some "issues" in high school.  Yep, I was one of those people.  I attempted suicide, cut myself, and wished that I was a "cool kid".  I tried so hard to be liked, to fit in, and to be what other people wanted me to be.  These "issues" were ridiculed, pointed out, and used against me, even by parents of fellow students.  Although I had a diagnosable and treatable illness, the misconceptions of that illness followed me everywhere.  It made it hard for me to go to school, or to even function in my small town - the same town that I loved up until then.

Even though I myself was ridiculed, I also ridiculed other people.  I was not immune to the viciousness that circulates high schools.  I remember distinctly teasing students who were different than myself.  I remember teasing a girl who obviously hadn't washed her hair in multiple days.  For someone  who was teased, I certainly teased others with as much furor as those who teased me.  It was a vicious cycle.

After graduation, I peaced out - I never wanted to go back to that town.  There, everyone knew I had "issues".  I started college, and realized that I indeed was "ok".  People liked me for who I was, and I didn't have to change myself for other people.  I grew up.  I still couldn't go back to my hometown without having a panic attack (thanks, Post Traumatic Stress!), but I was getting there.  I kept thinking, "HA, I bet some people didn't even get OUT of that town!".  I refused to go to my 5 year reunion, thinking that it was just going to be a re-hash of gossip, whispers, and teasing.

Fast forward some years.  The monster that is Facebook arrived in 2004(ish), and it exploded.  First, I was friends with only college friends, then Michael's college friends, then I got a friend invite from someone from HS.

As time has gone on, I've been able to not only see myself grow, but those I stereotyped?  I've seen them grow and thrive as adults as well.  Many have families, husbands, careers, dogs, cats, deaths, divorces, and family scandals.  Some have found God, some have found pot, and some have become political activists.  Some have gone to war, others to college, and some started their own business.   Those people that I thought were the most beautiful or the nicest are actually not all that pretty or not all that nice.  Some of the nerdy ones are the most successful; some of the most popular are doing great things for less fortunate populations; some of the meanest are actually now fighting for the little guy.

My point, after all this, is that our past is distorted.  We see what we want to see.  We sometimes continue to feel what we felt when we go somewhere from our past.  Thankfully, I can now go to my hometown without all the panic, but I would prefer to just avoid it.  I realize that I teased others, and feel guilty how I projected my own insecurities onto other people.  I'm not sure what happened to the girl I teased about her hair, but it left a big impact on me - but probably not as much as I made on her.  I hope that she is doing alright.

Now, almost a decade later, I am able to objectively look at my entire high school and say "I really hope they are doing well for themselves".  I realize that not going to my 5 year reunion was probably a good idea, but that it would also be good for me to go to my 10 year reunion.

As much as I still want to be bitter towards situations that happened, I remind myself that I'm a pretty changed person - and so is everyone else.  We've all had those big moments: the cringe-worthy ones; the life-changing ones; the exciting ones; the sad ones.

Everyone who bullied others were bullied by someone.  Everyone who was bullied also bullied someone.  We all had our doubts, fears, and bad moments.  We were all at the same level - just no one told us that.

As we move through the rest of our lives, we have a responsibility to pay our experiences forward - stop bullying, and be a good example to our children.  There should be no excuse for an adult to bully someone else - and we should treat our children the same.

Positive thoughts to those who have lost someone due to bullying, and to those who are still working through the scars of bullying.  I hope you can get past it soon.

10 Guilty Pleasures

I was thinking the other day about embarrassing guilty pleasures that not many people know about me.  Common, we all have them, and I'm sure that we all have those guilty pleasures that would make other people think "Wha the wha?".  I have nothing else better to do today, so I am getting my list together:

10.  I will watch an America's Next Top Model Marathon no matter when it is on, or what channel it is on, or how many times I have seen it.  There is nothing like seeing a bunch of immature wanna-be-models duke it out, cry, and backstab each other.  Awesome TV.

9.  I love playing video games.  I know that I say it is to spend more time together, but I really also like playing by myself.  I needed a "me" day yesterday - and that included 7 hours of video games.  The day was needed and well deserved, which is why I am in a much better place emotionally and physically this week.  Sweet.

8.  People watching - I love it.  But usually it's for things like counting the number of mullets or the amount of people who don't dress for their body type.  I know, but really, I'm an equal opportunity judger.  And if you think "Oh my!!" and that I am a horrible person, just ask yourself this - when was the last time you judged someone?  If you say never, you are a liar.  The end.

7.  This may not be a huge secret, but I love calling people out on their bullshit.  Sometimes people are taken aback, but that's who I am.  I own it.  If I sugar coat something, it's only a little bit.  I think this is why I love being on Baby Center's Debate Team so much.  The good this is that I won't say anything on those message boards that I wouldn't say in real life.

6.  I like researching spirits, energies, auras, and astrology.  I like meditating, yoga, and all those "weird" and "wakadoo" things.  They are so complex and interesting!

5.  I'm gonna be honest - one of my favorite guilty pleasures is illegal.  No, not prostitution.  No, not murder.  Maybe MJ.  Just sayin.  Legalize that stuff, please!  Then I can do it recreationally without worrying about it showing up on a drug test.  Or that whole jail thing.  The gubberment can even tax it and get us out of debt.  Win.

4.  My blog = guilty pleasure.  (Ok, it is, but I didn't have anything to write from number 4.  So sue me.)

3.  I am obsessed with the show "Bones".  It's really kind of dumb (I mean, really, can they get together already?), but when I discovered it on Netflix, I was hooked.  The last couple weeks of pregnancy was so great because I got to lay on the couch and watch 4 seasons of "Bones".  Alas, crap like that doesn't happen anymore.

2.  I love to jam out to show tunes in the car, shower, or at home by myself and imagine myself on stage.  I know, dumb, but this stems from my childhood ways of doing the same thing.  If anyone actually saw me doing this, I would be completely mortified.  I'm sometimes hardcore about it.

And finally...

1.  Watching Lisa Lampenelli specials.  Yes, I am embarrassed to admit it, as she is indeed the "Queen of Mean", and bases all of her material on social, physical, and economical stereotypes.  Maybe that's why I think it is so funny - because I know that I shouldn't be laughing, but I am anyway.  I also know that no one is safe from her stand-up, and I know that she does what she does to highlight the idiocy of stereotypes.  At least I try to think that.  She's just.so.funny.  Some may be shocked by this - that is why I just keep it to myself!! 

Naomi Update!!

Naomi did great on the flight to home and back to Vegas!!  I was so proud of her.  We sat by a crabby lady on the way there, but Naomi got her revenge when she just stared at her without smiling for 80% of the flight.  HA.  Eat it, lady.  I'll get photos and videos of the trip up soon.

She's also sitting up on her own now, though we still put the Boppy pillow right behind her so she doesn't bump her head when she falls over.  She's eating lots of baby food these days - green beans are her favorite.  She turned 6 months a couple of weeks ago, and weighed 17.5 lbs.  This girl is growing!

Michael's long hours are starting to kick in, and I think that we are really ready for it.  We'll make it through this for sure!

And I'm out.  I should probably get back to work, yes?  Oops.

Hurry!

Naomi and I will be trekking back to St. Louis, Mo and Petersburg, Il in a couple of weeks, and I am scrambling to discover the best way to safely and efficiently travel on a nearly 4 hour flight with a 6 month old by myself.  I'm sure it will be interesting - I'll have to blog about our adventures when we get back.

Anyway, while I was thinking about this massive process, I mentioned to Michael that Naomi and I were going to stay on the plane until everyone had removed themselves so we don't have to fight "traffic".

As I was mentioning this, I came to this question:  Why is it necessary for ALL passengers to rush for the exits once a plane has landed?  Do we not realize that we all really, truly will get off the airplane at one point or another? 

For that matter, why is it that in most "group" situations - movie theaters, concerts, planes, meeting famous people - people are in a rush to get to where they are going?  Are we all really in that big of a hurry?  I don't really think so. 

Is this an American problem, or does this happen in other cultures too?  Is it just the American public that does everything fast, wants everything immediately, and don't take a second to stop and smell the roses? 

Take a moment.  When was the last time you just stopped and actually relaxed?  No TV, no electronics of any kind (maybe some music - whatever).  Maybe a book?  Talking with an old friend?  Hanging out by the pool? 

As my life has gotten busier and busier, I've been looking for ways to really and truly take a moment out each day and just be.  I don't think that people just look at things and say, "I don't have to do that right now - the world will not end if that isn't done".

Since I've had Naomi, I've discovered myself thinking a lot about death, and the mortality of our beings.  I'll see my family laughing together (or napping together, as of recently), and think how in just a brief moment can drastically change everything.  I try to find something little every day to fulfill the requirement of taking a moment to breathe.  My favorite activity is sitting with Naomi for awhile before she goes to bed in a recliner and singing songs together.  Dinner, dishes, and homework can wait - time needs to be taken out for just her and I.

What matters to me is that society needs to stop hustling around - pushing and shoving our way through life - and stop to reflect on how to improve our lives and the lives of people around us.  How great would it be if people started doing that?

To bad you have to go to another continent to observe this type of behavior in a society.

(PS - I wrote this blog while watching 'The Men Who Stare At Goats'.  Dumb movie.)
(PPS - Naomi's going to be getting teeth soon, as evidenced by her ever growing screaming fits.  She got her lung capacity from her mamma.)

And We're Back to School!

The school year has finally hit, and the extra traffic pisses me off.  First, I don't care that you are 12 years old and have a BMW.  Please stay off my ass as we drive into the parking garage.  And, yes, I see that you, a student, parked in a staff parking spot.  I want to punch you in the face.

Now that's out of the way.  Good. 

I really, really like working with students - for the most part.  So many students that I have worked with over the last few months have been kind, thankful, and work hard.  Of course, they are overshadowed by a-holes who yell at me because they have to pay out of state tuition.  First, don't get pissed at me because you assume that since you moved here, you are suddenly entitled to in state tuition.  It doesn't work that way, princess.  Second, don't have your parents call me because they will "talk me into it".  Please.  Do your own talking. 

While I like working with students, those with an elitist attitude makes me want to put a fork in my eye.  My job is not to fix everything for you.  My job is to help you succeed by giving you resources across campus.  If I can, I'll make phone calls on your behalf - but not if you are giving me attitude.  I'm sorry that you dropped your class after the drop date.  I'm sorry you have to pay for it now, and get a W on your transcript.  BUT, you are an ADULT.  If you could act like one, and familiarize yourself with policies that are clearly posted, it would make everyone's life easier.

I'm frustrated at work.  Obviously.  But, each day, you have to get up, and say "I'm going to have a good attitude today.  How am I going to make this day great?".  When I don't feel that way in the morning, I might as well take a personal day, because me being there wouldn't be fun for anyone.  Luckily, I don't hit those days very often.  It's all good, though - I have a job that pays pretty well, I like who I work with (for the most part), and they are flexible when Naomi is sick.  These are all good things, and I need to remember that each day.

Umm, what else?  Naomi is about to roll over - but she's taking her sweet time.  We started implementing rice cereal 3 times a week at night so she can get used to it.  She hates it, and spits it out.  It was cute at first - seriously - but I can see the process frustrating me in the future.  It's one of those things that I have to take a deep breath and remember that these moments won't last forever, and I will miss them one day.

The further I get into motherhood, the more I get pissed off about people making it sound like it's all about unicorns farting rainbows.  I know I've been through this before - I just felt like saying it again.  Yep, I can do that.  It's my blog.  Ha.

Random thoughts for the week:

1. Has anyone else noticed that America's Got Talent has been going on way too long?  Choose a winner, thanks.

2. I started classes for a Mental Health and Developmental Disability certification at CSN this week.  All my courses are online, so yay! 

3. Along with #2, I decided about 6 months ago that I am going to go back to get to school for my Masters in Social Work.  I can go half time while working so I can get it 70% off (YES please).  I won't start for a couple more years, so in the meantime, I'm getting a certification or an AA degree (I know, I did it backwards - BA, Masters, then AA.  Whatever.)

4. People with nice cars (BMW, Jaguar, etc) piss me off, because let's be honest, you are just shoving it in people's faces that you have a lot of money.  Sorry if that is judgemental - but again, my blog, my rules.

5. My kid is ginormous, but she is eating less than she should be.  How does that work? 

6. I am so tired of Sharon Angle vs. Harry Reid.  I'm voting for Fred Flinstone.

7. I still like my husband.

8. I'm tired of my dog jumping on my head at 3:45 a.m., but I don't have the heart or the sanity to put her in a cage.  I know, I'm a softie.

9. Some people should not be on HD shows.  Sir, you look 100 years old and you are wearing lipstick. 

First UNLV tailgate this weekend - sweet!  Then Labor Day celebration on Sunday at Mary's.  I have Monday off, but Michael doesn't - sad panda.  I'll be playing video games while Naomi is napping, though!

I must go do my homework now.  Is it sad that I am excited about doing homework again?  I'm sure it will go away within the next couple of weeks.

Until next time - in the meantime, ponder this thought: "How did someone come up with the name 'Platypus'?"  Talk amongst yourselves.