Fiasco, disaster, robbery and ice cream

If you have read a few of my last posts and facebook updates, you will know that I was really really nervous about my 10 hour plane ride from Dallas to Chile with Aubrey. What I should have been nervous about was just making it to the airplane. We were set to leave yesterday at 6:45 pm, so I took the day off work to get ready, wash and dry my sheets, relax, and get to the airport early.

Well, I should have known that it was going to be a rough day when I woke up with one of the worst sore throats of my life! I decided to go to one of those urgent care places in hopes that they would give me a shot in the hip and be feeling better by the evening. Oh, no, its a virus, nothing I can do but drink tea and pray to God to heal me.

So I go home, do my stuff, and in the process of looking for some medicine to aleviate my pain, I saw something that looked like a plane ticket for Aubrey from American Airlines. Being under the impression that she had no ticket bc she was a lap child, I stuck it back in the drawer. You see where this is going. Our housesitter showed up along with my in-laws, we loaded up the car and after running into the house twice bc I felt like I forgot something, we were off.

Everything is going smoothly at the check in until we weigh our bags. One of them was 20 pounds over the limit with a $50 fee, so we had to open all our suitcases (4) and redistribute everything. But Ryan and I were laughing about it, still having fun and the excitement was building, until the dear man at the ticket counter, bless his heart, says “Oh, were is the infant ticket?”

Blink. Blink. Blink. Freakout, Acevedo-style to commence in 5,4,3,2,1… I was so furious with myself for not realizing that DUH IDIOT, if American Airlines sent you something with Aubrey’s name on it, STICK IT IN YOUR BAG. My mother in law is on the phone with the housesitter trying to find it, Ryan is saying he didn’t know we needed it, I am muttering about what an idiot I am, when it hits me that maybe, just maybe its in a bag. So we dig. The last pocket of the last bag held the winning ticket. It was then that Ryan remembered throwing it in there. Sheesh. Why not just reprint a new one, you ask? Because it would have meant paying for ANOTHER ticket and getting reimbursed minus the fee when we got home. That was $600 we don’t have, hence the freakout.

But that was all good, and I gave God the credit for finding that ticket. Security was not the nightmare it normally is, and it was actually really neat to see the technology they used to make sure Aubrey’s sippy cup was indeed filled with milk and not liquid explosives.

After all that, we get to our gate, nervous that we would be late only to find out that it would be delayed for 45 minutes. Now, I love Aubrey’s babysitter. She was awesome in keeping her awake all day so she would sleep on the plane, and she even gave her a cute Cheerios pillow for Christmas to take on the plane. But by 7 pm with no nap, Aubrey was NOT HAPPY. We distracted her with popcorn chicken and ranch dressing, books and gasp, when I got desperate, my iphone.

Finally seated on the plane, which to my relief was not one of those rinky dinky Eagles, freakout mode was inherited by Aubrey. Takeoff did not go well to say the least, and while I swore not to make eye contact with the other passengers, its kinda hard not to when they keep turning around staring at you. She was so MAD about her ears hurting that she refused to drink her bottle, so her pain was not alleviated. 10 minutes before we landed in Dallas, she fell asleep.

We had oh, about 15 minutes to get from terminal A to terminal D and while sitting on the TRAAM, we resigned ourselves to the fact that our luggage would probably not make it to our next flight. After calling our parents and taking the fastest potty break known to man, we got to our gate just as they were boarding. That flight was PACKED. So, no empty seats for Aubrey, but that was okay. We sort of knew what to expect now. We actually got her to take her bottle before we took off, so there was no meltdown this time, and we played until they served dinner (lasagna, not bad) and as we folded up our trays, the light bulb went off. Diaper change, milk and two blankets laid on our trays later, Aubrey was fast asleep in her makeshift crib and our arms and laps were free. We settled in to watch the cheesiest movie known to mankind, Journey to the Center of the Earth. We didn’t sleep much, but Aubrey did and that was the important part. Landing was fine and we waited til everyone was off the plane to even attempt gathering all our stuff.

After deplaning, we head to pay our “entrance fee” of $390 (GAG. Christmas gifts will be skimpy this year) . Only, uh, we can’t find our envelope of cash. Once again, it had gotten moved from where we thought we put it to the outside pocket of my purse. This we realized after dumping all our crap on the floor with Aubrey in the stroller (that thing is a lifesaver) and taking everything out.

After finding the money, paying the fee, joking with the customs official and finding our luggage (IT MADE IT!!!) we walked out the gate to the smiling faces of our family and ah, yes, a dry 85 degree sunny perfect day. Then we came home to hot panamasado and fresh avocado (there is nothing. nothing. nothing like a Chilean avocado), a nap and going out for ice cream.

So it wasn’t a perfect trip, but now we know what to do and where to put stuff, and the way home should be great. But for now, we are going to eat lots of good food, get a tan, and have a great experience with our family. Aubrey is taking to the family immediately which is rare for her with strangers, and so far I haven’t forgotten about the water situation and brushed my teeth without a bottle of water next to me.

We leave for the south (white water rafting, fishing, shopping, state parks, the lake at the foot of a volcano,and natural hot springs) on Monday so I might not be able to post much, but I will put pics up when I can! Thanks for your prayers, keep them coming!

You know your marriage needed work when Wal-Mart fixes it.

The past couple of weeks have been a little difficult for our family. Nothing horrible has happened but we just haven’t seen each other very much. Ryan’s work has been busy due to a death in an employee’s family, and he has been working more than usual. He doesn’t get home too late, but it is weird when he leaves so early that it’s dark out and he comes home after dark. He is more than looking forward to Christmas break (he gets a month off!) and us going to Chile during that time. I guess I could handle working 12 hour days for 4 months if I knew I’d get a month off in December too.

Anyways, we work next door to each other and have lunch together about 3 times a week, but since it’s in a university cafeteria, I don’t think you can count that as “quality time”. He was getting home at 6:30 and we would play with the baby til 8, put her to bed and take care of our respective things (I would do the dishes, pack the diaper bag, get my stuff ready for the next day, play jewel quest or watch Jon and Kate plus 8 on the DVR… he would watch football) until about 10 when we would realize how pooped we were and go to bed. Couple that with Aubrey’s new hobby of waking up at 2 and 4 am to test out her screaming capacity if someone ever tries to kidnap her (they would drop her and run if they wanted to ever hear another thing again), and you have two very tired parents who are feeling accomplished if they can get to and from work, daycare, church and keep the laundry loads to 7 a week.

Now I can see it, and I am sure you can see it, but for some reason the past two weeks WE didn’t see it- how utterly de-humanizing we were treating each other. Instead of turning off the TV or doing the dishes together, we were living separate lives. Ryan was so exhausted last Wednesday that he just sort of shut down and almost didn’t go to church that night- but he was so glad he did because the fellowship and discussion was just what he needed to wake us up out of our “stupor”. He had the entire weekend off work (that NEVER happens, even when all his help is working) and on Friday night we just kind of stared at the two days ahead and wondered what to do with ourselves.

When I jokingly told him that he should go to Wal-Mart with me the next day, I almost fell out of my chair when he enthusiastically agreed. Wal-Mart… on a Saturday… and we are out of EVERYTHING. But who cared if it took two hours? We had the weekend off! So off we headed to our Yukon shopping strip, Garth Brooks Boulevard which holds all the great retailers of our time- you know, Lowes, Target, PetSmart and of course, Wal-Mart. What the heck, we had time, so we went to lunch first. Discovered that Aubrey is a fan of Sun Chips. Got excited when we walked into the store and there was a Christmas tree up! Chatted about how cute our kid is.

We got our shopping done, went over budget bc -”Oh! I’m out of razor blades ($13) or man, I need some new mascara ($7) add in some detergent (the big container is on sale! $15) and then there is the necessary purchase of diapers ($30)- and before you know it your $100 budget just debited $180 our of your account. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching! After loading the car with the kid and the groceries, we hopped in, looked at each other and smiled. Who knew that spending an hour and a half in a super crowded super Wal-mart would be the best way for us to kick off our weekend?

Though, in my opinion, a trip to the zoo would have been cheaper. Just… not as entertaining.

Case in point.

So this has been a long and tiring week. I have been stressed to the max because I am going to NYC for work tomorrow thru Sunday. I thought I would have Monday and Tuesday to get everything ready at the office, home and to get myself ready as well. No such luck. Aubrey has been sick, vomiting and with an ear infection since Sunday night. I have zero sick leave left but Ryan is working double shifts these two days so he can take her to and from daycare when I am gone. So I have missed two days of work, unpaid because she has been sick.

Normally this would not piss me off. I mean kids get sick, right? Except that this could have been totally avoided if certain parents cared as much about other kids’ health as they do their own. I took Aubrey to a birthday party on Saturday, and that is where she caught the stomach virus. Come to find out that one of the mom’s there adheres to the “no vaccinations, no medicine” policy of parenting. Like I have said before, to each his own. Only, I must have left out the part that says HEY IDIOT IF YOUR KID IS SICK AND YOU REFUSE TO MEDICATE THEM FOR “HEALTHY LIVING” REASONS DON’T BRING THEM TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH 10 OTHER INNOCENT CHILDREN YOU FREAKING HIPPIE MORON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GRR. I am so mad. Do what you want in your own house when it comes to your kids’ health but leave mine out of it. I have been puked on over ten times in the last 48 hours. I have missed 2 days of pay. Aubrey has felt like crap and has lost over half a pound because she can’t keep anything down (and the kid is underweight as it is). I finally had to go get her a shot today bc she kept throwing up the medicine. I have spent $60 on medicine and doctor visits. I haven’t slept in two days and neither has she. And now, tomorrow I have to leave town for 4 days and she won’t know what’s going on.

For the love of God, people, protect your kids against disease and if they are sick give them medicine and oh yeah, keep them away from my kid!

So pissed.

Time for a new routine

There are a few new things going on at the Parker home. The first is that we bought our tickets to go to Chile for Christmas this year. I am really excited for Ryan to meet all of my family down there and for us to go visit a part of my old life. I am also excited that my family will get to meet Aubrey. We wanted to go before she turned 2 so she could fly for free, so this was the ideal time to do so. That being said, those airline tickets wiped us out with the savings account. We weren’t too worried about it, but with the current state of things in America, I have to say that it makes me nervous not to have any backup. So we are going back over the budget, hunkering down and building that puppy back up! Good thing I bought my iphone before all of these banks started failing! So its back to simplifying my life, which will be good for me. I started working to help our family get to a place where I could stay home with the kid without jeaopardizing our livelihood, and have instead gotten caught up in all of my material tendencies. This buckling down will be for the greater good of our family. I might be annoyed that I can’t buy a certain thing right away, but in the long run it will enable me to live my dream (SAHM) and create a more stable environment for our children (because when we do reach our goals, I am having another kid).

So that’s that. The other thing that I need your help with, Internet, is that Aubrey needs a new bedtime routine. I took her for her 15 month check-up yesterday and she checked out fine. Tiny, but fine. I can’t believe she only weighs 17 pounds. I promise, I feed her, and when I try and overfeed her, she reminds me that this is a bad idea by throwing up all over me. Her doctor said I could try giving her PediaSure and it might help her start gaining. She was getting so fat before she started crawling and now that she can walk, she won’t sit still. I am sure she burns a ton of calories all day long. But she is doing everything she should be, developmentally. Then I was told that it was time to take her off her bottle.

GREAT. The bottle, filled with whole milk, is the only way Aubrey will fall asleep at night. We have a routine. Bath, Teeth brushing, Bottle, Bed. Not that she ever stays asleep for the entire night but the sucking motion makes her sleepy and her eyes start drooping and at the end of that 8 ounces, I can lay her down with relatively low levels of whimpering before she decides to give me about 4 hours of uninterrupted chore/sleeptime. So when the doctor said that this bottle business, it needs to stop, I wanted to invite her over to try putting my kid to bed everynight by merely laying her in her crib. I would have even offered to throw in some ear plugs.

New routines. For someone who hates change as much as I do, I am really not looking forward to the next couple weeks/months. I know in the end our savings account will be a nice cushiony nest again, I might be able to entertain the idea of more children, and Aubrey will go to bed at night without a bottle and perhaps even sleep all night.

So I need help! What is your bedtime routine with your toddler and how do you get them to go to sleep on their own? Please please please, comment away!

A sleep-deprived plea for advice…

So for the past 3-4 weeks Miss Cat has decided that she doesn’t want to sleep at night. She usually wakes up at 12, 2 and 6. Ryan and I have been taking turns getting up with her, checking her diaper, feeding her and rocking her back to sleep. But she will still wake up 2 hours later, just screaming. This has gone on and on and it is really wearing on us. Ryan gets up at 5:45 every day to do breakfast at the school and I get up at 6 in order to get myself ready, feed and dress Aubrey, take her to daycare and get to work by 8. I am normally good with the morning routine, and I usually get to work right on time if not a little early. The past week or so I have been lagging because we haven’t been sleeping. Its hard to get into that restful state of sleep when you are jolted awake every two hours by a piercing scream. I have stopped using the monitor because I would get up at every little noise. I have tried feeding her more later at night, I have tried putting cereal in the bottle at night, I have tried keeping her up later, I have tried reducing her naptime (well I asked the babysitter to do this during the day… 3 hour naps seemed like a little much, I dunno, is it?)… I feel like I have tried everything!

Everything, that is, but letting her cry. We are both guilty of not wanting to do this. It really is heartbreaking and I don’t know if any of you have seen Aubrey cry, but she has the biggest crocodile tears you have ever seen. Its pitiful. Well last night after getting up three times, number 4 had us very irritated. We stumbled out of bed and tried to shoosh her. She proceeded to try to crawl out of her crib and wailed so much she started sounding hoarse. I got her some water in her cup which she threw across the room. She was holding her little arms up to me just wanting me to pick her up. But before I could, Ryan told me he would take care of her and that I should go to bed. He talked to her but didn’t pick her up and the crying was too much. I started crying. She finally fell asleep after about 15 minutes and woke up again at 6:45, so at least I got to get ready for work.

What am I doing wrong? Why can’t she just sleep? She’s gotta be exhausted, I googled some stuff and it said she is supposed to be getting 13-14 hours of sleep a day. She got 7 very disjointed hours last night plus a 2 hour nap during the day. But if I let her sleep too long during the day she won’t go to sleep until 10 or 11, and that just won’t do because Mama has to work, unfortunately.

I feel so guilty for letting her cry, I feel so guilty that she is even crying in the first place. Like, if I stayed home with her she would be more secure in knowing that I am here, I am not going anywhere, don’t be scared, and her life would be so much more uninterrupted. I hate having to work. I hate having to pay someone else to take care of my child. I hate it that she is jumbled around so much. I hate it that I can’t be a good housewife and mom and instead sit on my butt in front of a stupid computer all day while someone else is playing DHS-approved games with my kid.

Internet, please help me. Maybe there is something I haven’t tried. Or maybe I need to start buying lottery tickets so we can afford for me to stay home. Or maybe I need to get over my built-in need for mommy-ness and just deal with the fact that we can’t live on one paycheck. I hate not feeling like I can do this well, I hate vowing never to have another kid because I can’t even deal with what I juggle right now. I hate falling asleep at my desk and I hate not having energy to take my daughter on a walk when I get home from work.

Any advice?

To inoculate or not to inoculate, that is the question…

This article is a bit long, but worth the read if you have or ever want to have children. Personally, I am on the “better safe than sorry” side of the argument but I was always of the opinion that people should be free to make their own choices on this issue. The piece brings up a good point that I hadn’t thought of before, and that is a lesson that can and should be applied to everything in life- it’s never just “my life”, what I do affects everyone around me.

I have a few friends who have chosen not to vaccinate their babies right away with the idea that they might (probably will) change their minds later when their kids get older. For a family who is able to keep the child at home, I can see how this would be the best of both worlds. Not only are you not exposing your child to these diseases by them being around other kids (daycare or school), but you are allowing their immune systems to develop a little more before you inject these vaccines into them.

For most of us, though, our children go to daycare and we put them in the nursery at church where they are exposed to all sorts of germs and childhood antics. It was a requirement for her daycare that Aubrey be vaccinated and honestly, it never even crossed my mind to opt out of these shots (since she’s in a home daycare I don’t think I could have, actually). It was very hard to watch her fat little thighs get poked with those needles and I hated how much she cried. She had a bit of a fever afterwards and was fussy, but it was nothing near the fits she throws when she’s cutting a tooth, let me tell you what!

I don’t know a lot about all the things that these vaccines are being linked to, like autism and asthma. I do know this- my sister and I both got all of our shots and we turned out fine, Aubrey is up to date on hers and she has never been sick with anything worse than an ear infection. There isn’t any science linking these diseases to vaccinations that I can find, it’s all mostly opinion. One argument is that so many more cases have been reported- but hasn’t awareness and education about things like autism been heightened so much that people are catching it earlier? Couldn’t THAT be the reason these cases have spiked?

Also, I get my dog vaccinated because I’d like to keep her around as long as possible, and my sister can share the horror stories of poor animals who contract diseases that could have been easily avoided. My dog can’t tell me what’s wrong with her if she’s sick, kind of like my baby- so why not just ward off all that frustration and pain by blocking the sickness from ever getting to them?

I’m not trying to tell anyone what they should do or saying you are harming your child if you don’t choose to vaccinate them. What I do know is this- if I found out that there was a kid in her daycare who hadn’t been innoculated and had no plans to do so, I’d probably find Aubrey another daycare. Now, this is JUST MY OPINION, not a judgment, but I do see it as a little selfish on the parent’s part to not vaccinate their kids when they go to school and then throw them in with a bunch of other kids to spread the disease if they ever got it. I know that Aubrey probably wouldn’t catch it since she has been protected, but still. The risk is there. And I have researched a bit (not a ton, but enough to solidify my decision) on the toll it takes on their little bodies if they DO get these diseases, and the worst case scenarios are horrifying. Paralysis, deafness, seizures and other things could result from childhood diseases such as polio and measles that are routine when it comes to getting shots.

I mainly posted this article because it is great at showing both sides to the story. And I’d love to hear YOUR opinion on the matter. Not to change anyone’s mind, but to see where everyone is coming from. Dialogue is good- so start talking!

 

UPDATE: Check out this blog to get more info on the side of those who choose not to vaccinate their children. Thanks Melissa for the link!

SHE WALKED!!!

Finally, after 13 months and 15 days, Aubrey took two steps last night! She has recently discovered that she can stand up and was showing off for us last night when we got home, and all of a sudden, she stopped and took a step. The look on her face was priceless, like um “what is happening?” and “this is really cool!” Then she took one more step before falling. I was SO HAPPY that BOTH Ryan and I saw it at the same time. We squealed and high fived each other before clapping for Aubrey. She was pretty proud of herself, but as soon as we fired up the video camera, she decided that she had had enough of this walking business and would not perform.

Oh well, it happened and we saw it and she might just be able to walk down the aisle at Natalie’s wedding by herself after all!

Props to the single parent

It’s been quite the week for me, and not necessarily in a good way. I feel as though my week was going as Angie’s (as told by her husband Jeremy) did after her vacation- everything was against me. I say this lightly because comparatively, my life is so easy and happy. But I wasn’t thinking that last week when I woke up last Monday morning and felt the razor blades in my throat. I had gone to Tulsa for the weekend with my sister-which was great- but somewhere between here and there I inhaled some dust or something because I woke up feeling awful.

 

I was not happy about the throat infection and migraines that resulted in a trip to the doctor, a huge needle in my hip (OW) and a note instructing me not to go back to work until Monday. Normally I would have been really excited about having a week off, but since I was so sick that Aubrey still had to go to daycare (Ryan took her every morning), I just laid in bed praying for my head to just go ahead and explode already. I haven’t been that sick in a long time so I was glad when, 3 days of antibiotics later, I was able to shower and eat and do things that normal human beings do. I have also missed a lot of church, where most of my close relationships are so I can’t wait til Wednesday when I get to see everyone and hear what’s going on in their lives.

 

As soon as I got better, Ryan left for a fishing trip that he has been planning (and talking about) all summer. My mom was coming to town for the weekend so I didn’t throw the normal fit that I do when he dumps me for 4 days of not showering in search of a striper the size of a Labrador. I had a good weekend but was still a little weak so I was glad my mom was there to help me with the baby and everything else to do with weekend cleaning.

 

 After she left, however, I started to feel the weight of being the only adult around. Ryan and I are equal partners when it comes to most things in our lives, especially Aubrey. I know this and appreciate it but I don’t tell him enough. I know there are a lot of dads out there who don’t change diapers or delight in getting puréed bananas sneezed into their face, but Ryan is one of those guys who does. We have our routine, we have worked it out to the point that we don’t even have to play rock paper scissors anymore on who gets up in the middle of the night for a bad dream.

 

He comes home today and needless to say, I am excited. Aubrey is a remarkably good child, but she’s cutting two teeth and misses her daddy so I am ready to see her smiles when we pick her up from daycare and I am definitely ready for some help! Instead of holding her on my hip as I vacuum while defrosting chicken for dinner, he can take her outside to watch the birds (its their thing- outdoorsy people) while I scramble around my house in an attempt to put it in order so I can sleep at night. I know, I know, that’s a whole other issue, one I am sure Aubrey will remedy as she gets older. J

 

This whole thing got me thinking though, about how many single parent families are out there. I know I am spoiled, but I just don’t know how they do it all and stay calm through it all. I suppose you just do what you have to do, but I have a lot of respect for people who do it, and do it well, without the day to day support from a spouse. So props to the single parents out there- your job is tough but I know your families appreciate the sacrifices you make out of love for them.

 

As for Ryan, I missed him being around too, not just because he helps with the baby or mows the lawn (hmm… that actually needs to be done after all this rain we’ve had…) but I’m ready to hear all about his big fish, feel safe at night, tell him how Aubrey took a step yesterday (!) and to hear him laugh. This week is going to be sooo much better than last week!

The year of perfection has ended…

When Aubrey was born, she was an abnormally good baby. Sure, there were a few rough nights (due to her idiot breastfeeding mother deciding to eat chili for dinner) and crying fits when we messed with her routine, but for the most part, I kept waiting for the ball to drop. People kept saying things like, oh just wait til you get her home… just wait til she starts formula, just wait til she gets a tooth, just wait til she starts to crawl… and still, the perfect child remained. I took it for granted- the fact that a bottle could fix everything, the fact that she slept for 13 hours every night, the fact that I could set her down with a toy and have a good 30 minutes to clean or check my email.

Well, thanks a lot, “people”, because your dire predictions have come true! The child can’t have formula anymore, she has 2 teeth and 2 more coming in, and she likes to scream til 4 am unless I am holding her. And dishes? Forget it. I’m about to kill the planet and buy styrofoam plates.

Aubrey is a year old. She is becoming a little person with opinions and preferences. She is letting me know that she will not fit into any mold that I or anyone else makes for her- she is letting me know that she is Aubrey, and you know what? Aubrey is amazing. She steals my sleep and makes me smile while doing it. She smears baby food into her freshly-washed hair and manages to get a laugh from me for it. She OPENS HER MOUTH when she sees Stella going for a lick and instead of freaking out and grabbing the clorox, I delight in the fact that my dog does not want to eat her and enjoy the shrieking giggles that ensue from my daughter’s mouth.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a person of lists, to-do’s, chore days and laundry sorting. A dozen roses are nice, but Ryan really gets the “aw” factor when I come home to a house smelling like bleach and vaccum lines in the carpet. I feel safety in my routine and have done everything in my power to protect it.

Aubrey broke that down in no time… and the beautiful thing is, I have delighted in it. I still love a clean house and folded laundry, but I love sitting on the floor playing peek-a-boo with my kid way more. So yeah… I don’t have a perfect little blob anymore. I have something much better- a 15 pound teacher of life who flings her toys everywhere.

Talk about lucky.

People are strange…

Well I haven’t posted in awhile because I have been busy doing lots of mundane things that aren’t worthy to write about- just living day to day life and waiting for the weekend. However, Aubrey’s first tooth has made its grand debut and I must say, she isn’t a fan and probably wishes for it to go back where it came from so she can be fed from a bottle for the rest of her life. I keep telling her that that probably won’t go over well with the fellas when she’s 15, and then Ryan tells me that we should keep bottle feeding her to keep the evil males away from his princess. I, however, am a fan of the Famous First Tooth. Its so teeny and white and cute! It kind of made me sad because its like, she’s not a baby anymore, but it also made me excited because I could see (albeit hair full of mush) in my near future a child who can feed herself.

All that to say that the tooth, it makes her chew on her fingers a lot. The child does not understand the concept of the teething ring. I have literally bought about 5 different rings- brightly colored, different textures, refrigerated, not refrigerated, Baby Einstein for crying out loud! and she just throws them to the ground because hey, she needs those fingers free for chew toys.

Yesterday Ryan brought her up to work and we all went to lunch together. While standing in line waiting for a table, a rather large older man came out the door with some other large old men and made the usual “She’s so cute!” comment to which we replied, “Thanks!” and to which Aubrey kept gnawing on her hands and drooling. Then homeboy goes “Oh! Can I suck on that finger too?”

Blink. Blink. Blink.

No you cannot suck on my 11 month old daughter’s fingers, you pedopheliac freak! Good Lord people, I mean seriously. Seriously? It was weird. People are strange. I can’t wait til she gets older so I can teach her how to give sickos like that a swift kick in the pants.

 

*Side note: I write this with a smile on my face bc when you get over the creepiness, its funny. And I am not going to train my child to go around kicking everyone who says she’s cute. I’m going to train her to first ask “Are you a democrat?” and then she can use her own judgement on how many times they need to be kicked*