I recently read a story that discussed the technological savvy of the children who are a few years younger than the current Millennial Generation. Some researchers are tentatively calling them the iGeneration, since they have literally never known a time in which there was no instant messaging, no email, no Internet, etc.
I think William is a little too young to be considered part of the iGeneration, at least officially. But in spirit, he is right there. We have regular tussles over who gets to use the iPod Touch each morning. I like to check email and the weather after I wake up, but he's right there with his hand out. He wants to check the weather too--and watch a few scenes of either "Monsters Inc" or "Wall-E," both of which are loaded onto the device. Or listen to some music. Or play the Star Wars trench run game that his daddy downloaded for himself to play but which has captivated William.
And of course, I think I've already mentioned that William regularly speaks to his grandparents via Skype on the computer. He knows how to navigate the software, adjust the setting so that the video feed works, and make and end calls.
So it should come as no surprise to any of us, I guess, that today William informed me that he and his friends have a website for their favorite playground game, which they call "Bad Guys." William claims that he created the website. "There are lots of different episodes and videos," he tells me. "There's a game called Capture the Treasure." According to my son, there is a castle on the playground, and that's where the Bad Guys keep their computer, and of course, that's where the Bad Guys website is. Also, there are links to the PBS Kids websites, seeing as how William is a big fan of many of those already and likes to log onto the computer (by himself, natch) and play them. So I think I know where the Bad Guys website idea came from.
Geez. And when I was 3, the most technologically complex thing in our whole house was probably our rotary dial phone.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Reserved for a reason
I hope there is a special place in hell for the middle-aged white guy who flipped me off in the parking lot today at the mall.
He pulled into the vacant Expectant Mothers parking spot--which is very CLEARLY MARKED as being for expectant mothers or mothers of new babies--right as I turned into that row. As he hoppped athletically out of his sedan, I glared at him from inside the minivan and pointed to the sign. He turned around, saw the sign, and to his credit, got back in his car and pulled out of the spot. I looped around and took the spot. As I passed him, I nodded in thanks and he flipped me off. Jerk. One day, he'll have some knee or back injury and he'll want a close parking spot, and hopefully someone will be there to prevent him from getting one.
Grrr. Do NOT take the pregnant lady parking space from the pregnant lady who is a billion weeks pregnant, grouchy and can barely walk. At lunchtime. There are a few kinds of people that you don't want to mess with, and right now, I am one of them. And I weigh as much as a couple of them. Those spots are reserved for a good reason. I don't know why people insist on ignoring them when they are 1) not pregnant and 2) able-bodied. I can't decide which group of people annoys me the most when they take the pregnant lady spot: men in general (and it's never elderly men who might genuinely have trouble walking or might not have seen the reserved sign), teenagers, or well-to-do older women in luxury cars. I've seen all three of them do it. If they're not lugging around at least an extra 20 pounds directly on top of their bladder, then they can't understand why they need to back off.
Okay, rant over. Thank you for listening.
He pulled into the vacant Expectant Mothers parking spot--which is very CLEARLY MARKED as being for expectant mothers or mothers of new babies--right as I turned into that row. As he hoppped athletically out of his sedan, I glared at him from inside the minivan and pointed to the sign. He turned around, saw the sign, and to his credit, got back in his car and pulled out of the spot. I looped around and took the spot. As I passed him, I nodded in thanks and he flipped me off. Jerk. One day, he'll have some knee or back injury and he'll want a close parking spot, and hopefully someone will be there to prevent him from getting one.
Grrr. Do NOT take the pregnant lady parking space from the pregnant lady who is a billion weeks pregnant, grouchy and can barely walk. At lunchtime. There are a few kinds of people that you don't want to mess with, and right now, I am one of them. And I weigh as much as a couple of them. Those spots are reserved for a good reason. I don't know why people insist on ignoring them when they are 1) not pregnant and 2) able-bodied. I can't decide which group of people annoys me the most when they take the pregnant lady spot: men in general (and it's never elderly men who might genuinely have trouble walking or might not have seen the reserved sign), teenagers, or well-to-do older women in luxury cars. I've seen all three of them do it. If they're not lugging around at least an extra 20 pounds directly on top of their bladder, then they can't understand why they need to back off.
Okay, rant over. Thank you for listening.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Now, we wait
I think I mentioned...or maybe I didn't...that our friends Jaclyn and Bruce helped us clear out more of the office last weekend and move the crib over from William's room. And just to be clear, people who are willing to help you disassemble and reassemble a crib all in one day? They're real friends.
William has picked out a few things and put them in the crib for his brother. I didn't realize that he'd done that, so I moved the little stuffed giraffe lovey back to his room, where it came from, only to find it in there again a few hours later. He explained that he was giving it to Baby Brother. He also carefully selected a baby blanket with frogs on it from the stash of his old blankets in the crib drawer and tossed it into the crib, too. Like I said, he's nesting.
So even if we have nothing else done, we have the crib set up and ready to go. And Shab and Santi, bless them, brought over their bassinette for us to use, too, so we even have a place for Baby Brother to sleep until we're ready to move him into his own room. Whenever that will be. The rest of the nursery can wait 'til we all have more energy.
Several friends have generously volunteered to take William for a night or two when I do go into labor, and for that, I am deeply, profoundly grateful. We've talked about how he's going to go have a sleepover with one of Mommy and Daddy's friends while we're at the hospital and tried to assuage his anxiety over that. I've notified his preschool that there may be someone else picking him up and dropping him off in the near future. And I've packed his bag, so he should be ready to go. My bag, of course, has been ready for the hospital, so I decided to go ahead and pack a bag for David, too (he said I packed him an awful lot of underpants, but what can I say, I'm used to packing for myself and a three-year-old, and that's the sort of thing you can never really have enough of. Underwear and socks.). The camera is ready, with the battery charged.
So right now, Baby Brother is in the proverbial driver's seat. All the decisions are up to him now. Now we wait. William keeps asking things like, "Is the baby going to come today?" and we keep having to say, "Well...we don't know." Not exactly the most satisfying answer, I know. Since I'm a big believer in Murphy's Law, I fully expect there to be a long wait now because we are, at last, somewhat reasonably prepared. My OB and her nurse aren't so convinced, given that I was still 4 cm dilated at yesterday's appointment but also 80 percent effaced. As the nurse said, that's about as close to being in labor as you can get without actually being in labor. Yikes.
William has picked out a few things and put them in the crib for his brother. I didn't realize that he'd done that, so I moved the little stuffed giraffe lovey back to his room, where it came from, only to find it in there again a few hours later. He explained that he was giving it to Baby Brother. He also carefully selected a baby blanket with frogs on it from the stash of his old blankets in the crib drawer and tossed it into the crib, too. Like I said, he's nesting.
So even if we have nothing else done, we have the crib set up and ready to go. And Shab and Santi, bless them, brought over their bassinette for us to use, too, so we even have a place for Baby Brother to sleep until we're ready to move him into his own room. Whenever that will be. The rest of the nursery can wait 'til we all have more energy.
Several friends have generously volunteered to take William for a night or two when I do go into labor, and for that, I am deeply, profoundly grateful. We've talked about how he's going to go have a sleepover with one of Mommy and Daddy's friends while we're at the hospital and tried to assuage his anxiety over that. I've notified his preschool that there may be someone else picking him up and dropping him off in the near future. And I've packed his bag, so he should be ready to go. My bag, of course, has been ready for the hospital, so I decided to go ahead and pack a bag for David, too (he said I packed him an awful lot of underpants, but what can I say, I'm used to packing for myself and a three-year-old, and that's the sort of thing you can never really have enough of. Underwear and socks.). The camera is ready, with the battery charged.
So right now, Baby Brother is in the proverbial driver's seat. All the decisions are up to him now. Now we wait. William keeps asking things like, "Is the baby going to come today?" and we keep having to say, "Well...we don't know." Not exactly the most satisfying answer, I know. Since I'm a big believer in Murphy's Law, I fully expect there to be a long wait now because we are, at last, somewhat reasonably prepared. My OB and her nurse aren't so convinced, given that I was still 4 cm dilated at yesterday's appointment but also 80 percent effaced. As the nurse said, that's about as close to being in labor as you can get without actually being in labor. Yikes.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Snow, yes. Baby, no.
NO, I have not had the baby yet.
Just wanted to clear that up right at the start, in case you were wondering. However, I am nervous about it. We keep getting all this crazy snow. Last evening, about two inches fell between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Then the rain and sleet arrived. I tell you, I fretted half the night away last night, worrying about getting to the hospital in that kind of weather. I kept thinking, "Please please please let me make it through this night."
I'm sure my mother-in-law, Diane, can relate. When she was pregnant with David's brother, Mark, in 1977, it was one of the snowiest Januarys that Nashville had ever experienced. My father-in-law and David had to keep getting out there and shoveling off the driveway so they'd be ready for a fast getaway to the hospital. Okay, so Aaron really did all the hard work of shoveling. David, who was almost three, used his beach pail and shovel to "help." Hey, every little bit counts, right? (Also, the notion of little toddler David out there, anxiously helping to make the driveway passable so his mommy could go give birth to his eagerly-awaited little brother gets me every time. I always say it's one of the reasons I married him. That might be a little bit of an exaggeration...maybe....) Luckily, I have not had to enlist William to shovel off our driveway. Yet. But perhaps it will stop snowing for awhile, so I won't have to worry about it.
So, yes, we have snow. No, we don't have a baby. That's the news, folks. Keep checking back.
Just wanted to clear that up right at the start, in case you were wondering. However, I am nervous about it. We keep getting all this crazy snow. Last evening, about two inches fell between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Then the rain and sleet arrived. I tell you, I fretted half the night away last night, worrying about getting to the hospital in that kind of weather. I kept thinking, "Please please please let me make it through this night."
I'm sure my mother-in-law, Diane, can relate. When she was pregnant with David's brother, Mark, in 1977, it was one of the snowiest Januarys that Nashville had ever experienced. My father-in-law and David had to keep getting out there and shoveling off the driveway so they'd be ready for a fast getaway to the hospital. Okay, so Aaron really did all the hard work of shoveling. David, who was almost three, used his beach pail and shovel to "help." Hey, every little bit counts, right? (Also, the notion of little toddler David out there, anxiously helping to make the driveway passable so his mommy could go give birth to his eagerly-awaited little brother gets me every time. I always say it's one of the reasons I married him. That might be a little bit of an exaggeration...maybe....) Luckily, I have not had to enlist William to shovel off our driveway. Yet. But perhaps it will stop snowing for awhile, so I won't have to worry about it.
So, yes, we have snow. No, we don't have a baby. That's the news, folks. Keep checking back.
Friday, February 05, 2010
4 cm
Ack!
So I went to the obstetrician this morning, and as it turns out, I'm already 4 cm dilated. 4 cm! Now, I realize that some women walk around for weeks, dilated like that, but last time, it took me hours on a Pitocin drip to get to that point. We may be Four Peas in a Pod sooner than we originally realized.
So. Much. To. Do. I would repeat that, but it might give me heart palpitations. And I don't need any other random health issues, thanks. The carpal tunnel syndrome, reflux, and nausea have given me plenty to deal with.
What have I done so far? Well, I managed to procure a carseat. That was a huge relief. I ordered one weeks ago from Amazon, only to get an email this past weekend, notifying me that it had been back-ordered and wouldn't ship 'til mid-March. Um, no. NO. I cancelled that order and ordered a similar carseat through Target's website. And thank you, Target, you lived up to your billing: the car seat arrived in less than three days.
I also did manage to lay in a few baby supplies: a few diapers, some wipes, some saline drops, some diaper rash cream, a couple of new pacifiers. I have a couple of going-home outfit options. My hospital bag has been (mostly) packed. A friend is bringing me a bassinette to use at the beginning, and another friend has offered us the use of her child's swing and baby bathtub. (Thanks, y'all!)
Now, if we could just get this room in some workable order, I think I would feel a lot more relaxed. The crib is still in William's room, and poor David is dreading the task of first disassembling it, then moving it, then reassembling it in the baby's room. You know how some people buy a treadmill, and then instead of using it, it ends up collecting dust and functioning as a rack to hang clothes on? That's pretty much what our crib is doing right now. It's an ad hoc clothes rack in William's room. But we can't move it into the baby's room until we move more stuff out. William's crib may be a clothes rack, but the baby's room is still a storage room/home office. Hopefully we can do that this weekend. I'm feeling a little bit anxious about it. I guess that's the nesting instinct kicking into high gear. I wonder if I'll suddenly be inspired to clean the grout in the shower with a toothbrush next? Okay, I doubt that. But maybe I will be inspired to figure out what to do with the gazillion books we have lying around, taking up space.
Of course, now that I'm all worked up about things, watch me walk around for the next four weeks without going into labor. The OB said she didn't think I'd make it all the way to 40 weeks. It might be 39 weeks, and it could well be sooner than that. Somehow that really made it seem Real. And a little intimidating. Like I said earlier, So. Much. To. Do.
So I went to the obstetrician this morning, and as it turns out, I'm already 4 cm dilated. 4 cm! Now, I realize that some women walk around for weeks, dilated like that, but last time, it took me hours on a Pitocin drip to get to that point. We may be Four Peas in a Pod sooner than we originally realized.
So. Much. To. Do. I would repeat that, but it might give me heart palpitations. And I don't need any other random health issues, thanks. The carpal tunnel syndrome, reflux, and nausea have given me plenty to deal with.
What have I done so far? Well, I managed to procure a carseat. That was a huge relief. I ordered one weeks ago from Amazon, only to get an email this past weekend, notifying me that it had been back-ordered and wouldn't ship 'til mid-March. Um, no. NO. I cancelled that order and ordered a similar carseat through Target's website. And thank you, Target, you lived up to your billing: the car seat arrived in less than three days.
I also did manage to lay in a few baby supplies: a few diapers, some wipes, some saline drops, some diaper rash cream, a couple of new pacifiers. I have a couple of going-home outfit options. My hospital bag has been (mostly) packed. A friend is bringing me a bassinette to use at the beginning, and another friend has offered us the use of her child's swing and baby bathtub. (Thanks, y'all!)
Now, if we could just get this room in some workable order, I think I would feel a lot more relaxed. The crib is still in William's room, and poor David is dreading the task of first disassembling it, then moving it, then reassembling it in the baby's room. You know how some people buy a treadmill, and then instead of using it, it ends up collecting dust and functioning as a rack to hang clothes on? That's pretty much what our crib is doing right now. It's an ad hoc clothes rack in William's room. But we can't move it into the baby's room until we move more stuff out. William's crib may be a clothes rack, but the baby's room is still a storage room/home office. Hopefully we can do that this weekend. I'm feeling a little bit anxious about it. I guess that's the nesting instinct kicking into high gear. I wonder if I'll suddenly be inspired to clean the grout in the shower with a toothbrush next? Okay, I doubt that. But maybe I will be inspired to figure out what to do with the gazillion books we have lying around, taking up space.
Of course, now that I'm all worked up about things, watch me walk around for the next four weeks without going into labor. The OB said she didn't think I'd make it all the way to 40 weeks. It might be 39 weeks, and it could well be sooner than that. Somehow that really made it seem Real. And a little intimidating. Like I said earlier, So. Much. To. Do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)