Be A Good Mom

and one after she was all done eating playing,

Apparently there is this video game phenomenon called “Guitar Hero?”  I am just learning about it, but apparently its big.  And once you get good at Guitar Hero, the next logical step is to form your own “Rock Band,” which is another video game.  Last weekend, Uncle Ray brought his gear out and we played it at Mamaw’s.

Aunt Shel on vocals, BAGD on bass, Uncle Ray on guitar and Ian on drums.  The game shows the colors (notes) you are supposed to play on each instrument and you are judged on accuracy.

They did allright.  I was most impressed with Ian.  He rocks out.  He scored great every time.  Aunt Shel resorted to a few “lalala la la la lalala la” moments.  Uncle Ray actually plays the guitar, so we expected him to do well, which he did.  BAGD, by the way, is the quintessential bass player.  He just stands there, slightly rocking back and forth, eyes straight ahead, concentrating on his groove.

Due to the experience of this game, and Geetle and Pookie’s burning desire to play Ian’s drums….we are close to buying a Wii.  We’ll see which happens first…us deciding we are willing to spend the money, or us actually being able to find one.

I was hoping for a response to this email, but I have not gotten one back.  I assume its because if they took the time to respond to everyone who made the same complaint I did, they would have no time to set up for the luncheon.

First see this link, then read my email below.

 Dear National Mother and Father’s Day Council,

Are you kidding me?

Please tell me I missed something in your press release.

“The National Mother’s Day Council will be honoring deserving women for their exemplary parenthood at this year’s 2008 Outstanding Mother Awards luncheon held on Thursday, May 8 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. These honorees includeDebbie Murtha, Senior VP of Cosmetics, Macy’s Merchandising Group, Caroline Kennedy, Vice Chair, NYC Fund for Public Schools, Vera Wang, CEO and Designer, Vera Wang, Inc. and Elizabeth Edwards, attorney and author.”

These all sound like very nice and important women, but what makes them the 2008 Outstanding Mother?  They are famous and/or rich.   Sure, give them some sort of special award for the work they do for society in their important jobs of makeup seller and fashion designer.  But don’t try to tell me they are the worlds best mothers because they to these things AND manage their children.  I would assume that in their positions of power they also employ nannies.  That is less mothering and more outsourcing.  The world needs nannies and babysitters, but if you use them to raise your children, then they are not your children any more.  I assume that these women you have selected do great things for their kids.  right?  Then why didn’t you say “Jane Doe, lawyer, Girl Scout Leader and mother to 3 girls.”

Why doesn’t your organization use this luncheon to do something of value for the majority of mothers?  How about recognizing a normal non-famous mother.  How about finding that frenzied woman in the grocery store at 7pm, dragging 3 whining kids, reading labels to make sure the cereal is peanut-free, trying to stay on budget, trying to be home before bedtime?

Motherhood is hard, and I am not taking that away from these mothers.  But for you to say that they are the most deserving mothers, the most outstanding mothers of the year is an insult to the rest of us.  Money and power make life easier, we all know that.  Don’t insult us.

BeAGoodMom

mother of 3

working hard every day to raise them right

 Am I right?  Money and power make it all easier, right?  Sure, there are still challenges, but I guarantee you Vera Wang does not sit for hours in front of the Park and Rec catalog trying to coordinate swim class, karate class and the baby’s naptime.  I guarantee you Caroline Kennedy does not have to take time off of work to handle dentist appointments and eye glass fittings, or nearly cry when the pretty pink baby dress she spent $29 dollars on gets stuck to the velcro tabs on a bib in the dryer and comes out all snagged.

If I had all the money in the world, I am not sure I would hire anyone to take my kids to swimming lessons anyway.  But just knowing that I could would take some of the stress away.  I just don’t see how these are the most deserving mothers of 2008.  Maybe there are good reasons, but they are not spelled out in this press release, so I don’t know them.  Maybe if I attended the luncheon they would have a PowerPoint with all the women’s great motherly accomplishments.  I would attend but May 8th is kind of tight for me.  I have to work a 9 hour day at my corporate job, wrap presents for a birthday party on Friday, get ready for Giggles’ portrait on the 10th, clean up the house, …….

BAGD has a sister named Aunt Shel.

Aunt Shel has a very good friend we will call Curly Sue.

Curly Sue was around alot when BAGD and Aunt Shel were growing up.  Everyone liked Curly Sue and would not have minded having her around all the time.  So BAGD and Curly Sue made a pact.  If neither of them was married by the time they were “old” they would marry each other and make Aunt Shel very happy.

Enter BAGM.  I stole BAGD right away from Curly Sue.  But she is OK with it.  As it turns out, neither she nor BAGD were socially repugnant and they each found a spouse.

So, the question remains….what happens to the pact?

Well, the fine print stipulates that if the pact goes un fulfilled, it passes to the next generation.  Curly Sue has 2 sons, one son is a few years older than Geetle.  But, we are pinning our hopes on Giggles and her youngest son, who were born just one week apart.

They met for the first time this weekend.

After they met, I could tell Giggles was relieved.  Now she can concentrate on school and not have to worry about getting her “Mrs” degree.  He’s a nice kid, although Giggles will have to to the driving on their dates, he tends to fall over when he sits up.

So, this guy won Big Brother 9.  He pledged to give $100,000 of his prize to an Autism organization, to apologize for his stupid remark during the show.  Apparently, not only is he bad at telling jokes, he is also unaware of the US tax code. Now that he has figured out that he is getting closer to $250,000 after taxes, he has declined to follow through with his donation. 

Whatever.  You can’t buy comaedic timing or a sense of humor.  I still stand behind my original comments, which were that this guy is horrible at telling a joke.  Regardless of the content, right or wrong, it was a bad presentation, a poorly constructed joke.  The content also angers me, but mostly I feel sorry for the goofy-looking guy.  

• stripped the beds
• cut Pookie’s toenails
• gave Giggles a bath
• worked with Pookie and Geetle on making patterns and doing school worksheets for about an hour.
• washed, dried, folded 6 loads of laundry
• made strawberry pancakes for the freezer
• cleaned out the car from our trips this weekend
• returned 3 miniblinds to Menards, wrong size
• returned a damaged can of baby formula to Walmart
• drew 18 people on the sidewalk, in chalk, at Geetle’s request
• made ponytails and supervised tooth brushing/dressing
• drew a 40 square hopscotch board to surprise Pookie when he got off the bus
• made homemade pepperoni pizza for lunch
• made applesauce out of 2 lonely Granny Smith apples in the fridge
• sewed a simple sundress for Giggles
• started sun dresses for Geetle and our little friend EB, its her birthday on Friday
• returned a permission slip to Geetle’s school
• located 10 Nukkies, per BAGDs request, and placed them next to Giggles’ crib for middle of the night emergencies
• vacuumed out the dryer lint trap
• called Pookie’s school and told them he would not be coming to summer school (more on that later)
• 30 minutes at 15% incline, 2 mph on the treadmill
• 15 minutes on the eliptical
• 100 crunches
• 45 hip abductors
• 45 hip adductors
• 45 some exercise machine I can’t remember the name of
• unloaded and loaded the dishwasher twice
• put 2 kids on 2 busses
• got 2 kids off 2 busses
• cleaned up Pookie’s art area after he went to bed
• played Polly Pocket Hair Salon with Geetle
• sang the theme song from “The Brady Bunch”, “I Will Survive”, “Take me Out to the Ballgame,” and the alphabet song to Giggles.
• took Geetle and Pookie to Menards and Walmart, where we bought garbage bags, a rake, sunscreen and new miniblinds.
• took roughly 40 pictures of Giggles.
• changed  5 diapers
• prepared 2 meals and 2 snacks
• called the park district to see when the summer catalog will be out, no answer.
• filled the salt shaker
• threw out old leftovers in the fridge
• peeled a dozen carrots
• wrote this list
• went to bed

Pookie seems to be struggling with ways to get his message across lately. But, what we are seeing is actually a good thing, we think. In the past, he was a man without a message. Now he has a message, but sometimes does not know how to express it.

What he did:
Got out of bed and got dressed in shorts and a T-shirt at 8:30 pm
What he meant:
He was having trouble falling asleep.

What he did:
Came into Mamaw’s living room naked.
What he meant:
While peeing, decided he would like to play in the bathtub.

This is another one of those things that we like to see. He is interacting with his world and making his own path. Sometimes it sends him naked into Mamaw’s living room, but at least it was his idea, not ours. He is getting very independent, and that makes us happy.

These are my kids, by the way….

Pookie is SERIOUS about his cupcakes. Very serious.

There is something you should know about Geetle.  She insists on being treated fairly, and demands everything Pookie has.  Sometimes, when its some thing she does not really want, she demands it anyway.  Case in point.  Pookie wanted a Kiddie Cocktail in a martini glass at Mamaw’s party.  Geetle needed one too.  But when she got it, she was afraid we would make her drink it, which she did not want to do.  But, at least she got one.  Right?  Checkmate Geetle.

And here is Giggles and I doing our “Ahahahaaaahahaaaaa” noises for Grandma Jones.

Finally, here is a not funny, but very nice, picture of us with Great Grandma Jones.

There is a 17-24 year old guy at my gym who looks just like Juan Epstein. 

He caught me looking at him the other day and I almost blurted it out.  I did not, because

1.  I am not sure he would know who I was talking about

2.  I am not sure he would think it was a good thing

I think its a good thing.  I loved Welcome Back Kotter and Juan Epstein, the Puerto Rican Jew, was a great character.   Remember the notes from his mother, all signed “Epstein’s Mom?”  I would think its a compliment.  And if you wear a 6 inch thick brown Afro hairdo nowadays, you gotta expect some attention.

I did not want to jinx it, so I waited to write about the final chapter in Pookie’s bus drama.  But here is what has happened lately.

About 10 days ago- he was reading his “No Standing on the Bus” sign every day and seeming to get it.  But then one day took off his seatbelt, stood on the bus seat and jumped up and down.  BAD.

About 9 days ago- School district says he has to wear some device to keep him in the seat.  We agreed.  We were not against using the integrated carseat or harness, only against having it be the first thing and not giving him the chance to learn how to behave and see the consequences of his behavior.  We agreed to the integrated carseat, which has a chest and crotch buckle. 

About 8 days ago- off to school in the integrated carseat.  5 minutes into the trip, he lets himself out of the carseat by undoing the chest and crotch buckles.  If you have kids in carseats, you know that this was quite a feat, but he did it.  By the time the bus driver stops the bus, he is back in his seat FULLY BUCKLED.  This clearly shows that he knows the difference between right and wrong in this scenario.  BAGD and I are now fully ready to harness him.  He is just being naughty.  Autism is not a free ride, you still have to follow the rules….especially those that you understand!

About 7 days ago- The Bus Driver says, ” I think he is bored.  Can he read a book on the bus?”  I thought they had rules against that.  She says they do, but they will make an exception for him.

About 6 days ago- Pookie is off to school with an extra large copy of “The Adventures of Curious George.”  He behaves on the bus.

About 5 days ago- his book is “Tibor Gergely’s Big Red Story Book.”  No problems on the bus.

About 4 days ago- Usborne’s Book of First Experiences.  The Executive Director of the district preschool program calls me to discuss our situation.  Oh boy.  Our district is the second largest in the state.  That is like you getting a speeding ticket and the governor calling to see what happened.    I told her where we were and that it had worked for a few days.  She is a very nice woman and said she hoped things continued, but if not…….

About 3 days ago- The Complete Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. 

About 2 Days ago- The Complete Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Yesterday- Big Bird the Babysitter.

Today- ?

I hope we have reached a milestone here.  He has not misbehaved since he started taking a book on the bus.  Coincidence?  Temporary Solution?  Really, there is no way to know for sure, but I *feel* this is it.  Yesterday, he and I went out on the porch to wait for the bus.  he had Big Bird the Babysitter under his arm.  I offered to read it.  He said “No, read book on the bus.”  I said, come on, I will read it while we wait.  I grabbed the book and opened it.  He snatched it back, closed the cover and said “NO.  Read book on the bus.”

So, there you go.  Read book on the bus.