Friday, June 14, 2013

7 Quick Takes Friday (93)



--- 1 ---

Usually I write my quick takes on Thursday night, but going on two weeks of being sick, I forgot what day it was.  I was just going to let it go and write them tomorrow or maybe not at all.  That is until I got in bed and heard the LOUD music from some party in our neighborhood (punctuated by some hooting and hollering and some coyotes, the latter of which I hope is not related to the former).  I'm really at a loss of what to do.  Do I walk around the neighborhood until I find the offending household, knock on the door, and use my "teacher voice" with some rowdy teenagers?  Do I call the cops?  No, I think I shall just I let them keep me up and write Quick Takes instead. 

--- 2 ---

Oh man, when did I become the boring adult that calls the cops on parties instead of being the foolish youth that attends them?  I think that would be about 5 years ago, so I've been an old fogy for a long time.  Come to think of it, five years ago I was 21.  So yeah, when most people were just flexing their party hearty wings, I was trading them in for some good old-fashioned responsibility. 
 
--- 3 ---

I finally wrote Lucia's birth story for the blog.  It's only been 18 months and some days since she was born.  You have to first read through a little tell-all about how I actually don't like birth stories before you get to the actual birth story.  Go check it out if you like birth stories.  If you don't, obviously I understand.  
 
--- 4 ---

It's about this point in the quick takes that the party finally ended last night (or the teenagers wizened up or the cops arrived) and I went to sleep...  At, I don't know, one in the morning?  My family has lived in this house for going on thirteen years and of all the years I lived here, I never heard a party in the neighborhood.  Never heard my parents complain about one after I moved out either, so that came as quite the surprise.  This is a pretty "old" neighborhood if you know what I mean.  It has an elementary school in it, so when it was built in the 80s, families with young kids moved in.  And most of them are still here although their kids are no longer young (and neither are they). 
--- 5 ---

I can't get the lyrics for the Mouske Marcha (Spanish version of the "Hot Dog" song) out of my head.  (If Lucia's going to watch TV it's at least going to be in Spanish.  It "educational" for her and "less annoying" for me.)  Lucia watched TV less than a dozen times before I got sick, but for the last week has gotten so used to it that she's taken to asking for "Mouse" after breakfast every morning.  I guess that's what nearly two weeks of being sick does to a mother and child.  We've just been on survival mode although David has had a few days off and was able to take Tuesday off which was when I was at my worst.  My cold turned into a sinus infection (the first I've ever had) and I was so, so miserable.  Today is the first day I'm feeling markedly better, thank goodness!

--- 6 ---


What exactly does one do while sick for two weeks?  I tried to do productive things while in bed but mostly failed.  I read.  Finished blog posts that had been sitting in drafts (Best Gifts for...One-Year-Olds and 30 Things to Do in 30 Minutes {With Your Spouse}).  Reacquainted myself with knitting.  Realized the only kids shows I actually like are the ones that were from before my time: The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, The Jetsons.  (I'm convinced those cartoons were made as much for adults as for children and that kids shows today really dumb it down for kids..."Can you say 'apple'?  GOOD JOB!"  They really deserve better, y'all.)  Played a lot of online solitaire.  (Did you know there are more than a dozen types of solitaire?  I'm too afraid to try any other than classic  and spider solitaire for fear of getting addicted to something new, but it's nice to know they're there if I have another prolonged illness).  Oh, I did do something productive!  I think we found a town house to rent in Raleigh.  What do you do when you are laid up in bed? 

--- 7 ---

Do you do safety comparisons for your baby/child products?  David and I chose Lucia's car seat, stroller, etc. based on what we liked in-store and the customer reviews online, but I didn't really think to look up safety rankings or directly compare products.  (I just assumed all car seats had to be safe in order to be sold???)  I just recently realized that there are websites like carseatanswers.com that have comparison charts of all the major convertible car seat brands/models.  We chose Lulu's because we liked the color and it was on sale online plus there was a coupon code that make it a really incredible price (almost half off!).  This is one of those things that makes me feel like I missed out on the secret parenting classes that everyone else in the world obviously attended but for some reason tell me just don't exist (because I'm not cool enough, obviously.  Not the first time I've been left out of the cool crowd).



For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!




12 comments:

  1. I needed to make a deadline, so I put on Looney Tunes clips for the baby last week. They WERE better! Don't even get me started on Yo Gabba Gabba...

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  2. I was the total loser who wanted to call the cops on the partiers when I was in college. It drives me nuts when people stay up late being loud outside. But I've always been an early bird.
    As for the safety thing, puh-leeze. I think safety is an unhealthy obsession in modern America. My opinions, however, are so inflammatory I should probably keep them to myself. LOL

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  3. Thanks for the heads up about the safety info! That is definitely something I'll have to take into consideration. Bookmarking that website!!

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  4. I've never been the party type, even in my college days. I don't feel like I missed out... I just enjoy other things. We have one set of neighbors who have a party every few months, but luckily they usually keep it down after about 9pm (I think they are related to sporting events which helps them be during more regular hours).

    Sorry about the sinus infection- those are the worst!!!

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  5. I respectfully disagree with Kathleen, at least about car seat safety. The statistics are overwhelming of preventable injuries and deaths from improper use. Now other things I merely glance at the safety ratings but in a car seat... call me Nervous Nelly but I'll follow every single little safety tip.

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  6. I never was super into parties either, but I went for the socialization part (otherwise, I would have been the only person alone in the dorms). I don't really feel like I missed out either.

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  7. I am a night person, but I don't like noise! It's so inconsiderate.

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  8. Yes, way better! I cannot stand any child's show that "talks" to the audience. It's lame.

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  9. Yes, there are accidents from improper use, but are there really car seat on the market that are unsafe? As long as you buy a new car seat and use it well, isn't it safe? I'm not disregarding what you said, I am truly curious about whether or not that's true.

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  10. I buy the new edition of the baby bargains book every time it comes out and use that for my research - there's just tooooo much online information, but that condenses it all really nicely with handy charts! It's pretty awesome :)

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  11. Well I think ease of use is one thing--which is rated. (I found it helpful when deciding on my seats.) I do think as long as you buy a new car seat, read the instruction manual and are vigilant that your child meets all the requirements than yes, they are safe.

    All seats marketed ARE safe but then there are differences. Height, weight minimums and maximums, vary greatly. As well as how long a seat is good for before it expires. Some seats are rated higher for side impact than others but you can always use the middle seat in a car.

    I suppose my big thing is following the instructions carefully. It breaks my heart seeing little babies in unsafe situations that are easily prevented. Not that I am insinuating you don't follow the instructions on your seat. I just have a hard time trusting other people on the road so I do what I can to make sure my car is as safe as possible.

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  12. You know, my mom got me a copy of that a while ago, but I never realized used it because it was an older edition. Thanks for the suggestion!

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