Category Archives: The Next Generation

Election 2016, thoughts

A few thoughts and I’m done thinking about this. I have to move on, I have enough on my plate that I can’t worry about the idiocy of 50+ million people.

1 – If you voted for Hillary just because she’s a woman, that’s terrible and you should not play politics until you understand that the candidates gender means NOTHING. It’s about policy and lies and morals and ethics. If you think she would have made a great role model for your daughters, which I don’t, you weren’t paying attention when her husband cheated on her and she stood by his side supporting his corruption. You weren’t paying attention when people died. You weren’t paying attention when she lied to our faces. And you weren’t paying attention when she colluded with others to shut out Sanders.

2 – Sin legislature doesn’t work – you can pass laws against abortion, gay marriage, drug use, and so on, but it doesn’t matter – if people want it, they will have it, legal or not. Give up on trying to legislate sin. See also: prohibition.

3 – What happened is exactly what we should have expected, it’s what our culture has been asking for. You can only shout into the echo chamber so much before the only thing you hear is yourself. You are not alone in this world, and no one has to agree with anything you say. If we all agreed with each other, imagine how boring and stagnating this world would be. When we become so offended by another person’s very breath, this is the backlash.

4 – The goal is smaller government, not bigger government. The more laws you make, the more restrictions you place, the worse things are for everyone. You can’t say that we can make a choice but then say your only choice is horseshit or bullshit. That’s not choice.

5 – Nothing is going to change in the big picture. The world today is the same as it was last week. Let’s be honest. The only thing to change in the last 8 years is the sad state of health case. No one is going to have to wear yellow patches. They’re not going to round up people into gay camps.

So, what am I going to tell my daughter about this?
1. I’m going to tell her not to aim for president, because she needs to be an astronaut so she doesn’t have to live on this planet anymore.
2. I’m going to tell her that we have a media problem and that she shouldn’t believe everything she hears, that she needs to do her own research and make her own decisions, and to turn off the damned talking heads.
3. I’m going to tell her that just because 50+ million people think something is right, that doesn’t make that true.
4. I’m going to tell her that I’m not afraid of what’s to come.
5. I’m going to tell her to vote her conscience because she has to be able to look at herself in the mirror every day and know she made the right statement.
6. I’m going to tell her to work hard, do the right thing, stand up for what she believes in, and do what she can to make the world a better place.

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I have disabled comments because, as I mentioned above, I am done with this. It’s time to move on. I will not respond any further on this topic.

She’s here!!! (part 3)

It’s time to have a baby! Here’s the story of Rachel’s birth!

Same warnings as before: Don’t read any further if you don’t want to know gross body stuff!

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Just when you’re getting used to it… (part 2)

The previous post was just getting too long, so we now begin part 2…

Same warning applies: Don’t read any further if you don’t want to know gross body stuff (the same will be said about the birth story later).

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Vaccinations. OMG, seriously?

It all started with me wanting to know the lyrics to Pop! Goes the Weasel to go along with our Jack-in-the-Box that Rachel got for Christmas.

All around the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel;
The monkey thought ’twas all in good fun,
Pop! goes the weasel.

Like many rhymes and songs that we tell and sing to our children, there’s dark connotations attached (see Ring Around the Rosie). But let’s be honest, we don’t expect to have them be true again.

Jimmy’s got the whooping cough
And Timmy’s got the measles
That’s the way the story goes
Pop! goes the weasel.

This article infuriated me. As I posted to Facebook about it, science doesn’t give two shits about your feelings. I don’t care at all if you feel that you shouldn’t put “toxins” in your child. Especially since you’re not doing that if you vaccinate.

Before Rachel, I simply thought these people were idiots. Now, I still feel that way, but I’m angry that they’re getting away with it because my daughter is too young to have the MMR yet and could potentially catch the measles from one of these people’s children. There are currently at least 84 people in 14 states that have the measles that SHOULD NOT HAVE IT. This is the United States. We do not live in a third world country. This disease, like several others, should not be an issue. This is 2015, for God’s sake. I shouldn’t have had to double check that my six month old was getting all of her polio vaccinations in 2015. This is wrong.

There is a chicken pox vaccination. I had the chicken pox in the third grade. I have scars from the chicken pox still and I had it about 30 years ago. My husband had it about 33 years ago. He had to stay at a friend’s house while he had it because his baby brother had just been born. I have fairly detailed memories as to how the chicken pox felt. And there’s a vaccine for that now! That’s amazing! That’s scientific progress in our own generation!

And yet…

Our parents are of an age to remember polio. At one time, it was feared my mother had polio, she didn’t, but the scare was there. The problem is that the people making the decision not to vaccinate their children do not fear.

I suppose with only 84 cases so far in 2015, that doesn’t constitute enough for fear to be a reasonable response. But wait until it looks like this:

Year : Cases of Paralytic Polio
1933 : 5000
1943 : 12,000
1946 : 25,000
1948 : 27,000
1950 : 33,000
1952 : 59,000

[source]

Go ahead, continue not vaccinating. I have my hypothesis about what’ll happen.

missingvaccinations

Quick book recommendation for those interested: Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme

It’s not actually 9 months… (part 1)

Everyone says nine months and then baby. It’s not actually nine months. You get 2 weeks free (before ovulation). However, because it’s actually 40 weeks, that’s TEN months. And that sucks.

Don’t read any further if you don’t want to know gross body stuff (the same will be said about the birth story later). You’ve been warned.

Here’s how baby Rachel came about… (part 1)
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First 5 things I said after giving birth

1. Is she out?
2. I wish Mom could have been here.
3. She’s really a girl, right?
4. I’m not pregnant anymore!
5. She has such a pretty voice.

The Ring Sling

Being the crafty lady that I am, and the thrifty one, I decided that I would make a ring sling rather than spend $50+ on one. If you don’t know what a ring sling is, here’s a picture (not the one I made, obv.).

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presenting… the next generation

birth_announcement

Paul and I welcomed Rachel Anneka into the world on July 19 at 12:07am.

If you are interested in my pregnancy story or our birth story, stick around, they will be posted.

We’ve been very busy these last eight weeks, getting to know our beautiful little girl and figuring out how to be parents. I’m surprised at how much this has changed my perspectives on all sorts of things, and this blog will reflect that. I will be posting my reviews on the various baby products we have, as well as my experiences as a level 1 mom. The crafty/cat-lady/geek/book-lover stuff will be around too; I haven’t changed that much…

It’s not just Cinco de Mayo for me…

Mom,

Today is your birthday. I tried not to think about it today, but it was hard not to. I wish beyond wishing that you were here to celebrate. So many things have changed since you died and I should have been able to share them all with you. To have you smile your slightly crooked smile about your granddaughter and all the weirdness that pregnancy is bringing me. And laugh about how I’m not enjoying being pregnant at all. And hold her when she comes later this summer.

Part of it hurts because I’m doing this same thing to her that you did to me. And next week it will hurt more, being Mother’s Day. Sometimes I think I’m really insane for doing this to another human being knowing how much pain this will lead to down the road when I’m gone too.

I love you, Mom. And I miss you like crazy.

All the news that’s fit…

So, because I haven’t posted in a LONG time and a LOT has happened since the last post, this one will be brief.

It turns out that:

o + , = @

Baby Rachel, due July 2014!